Jesus’ reception of the Holy Spirit at His baptism marked the beginning of His ministry, His work on this earth. The Holy Spirit is given to us for our work on this earth. We have made the Holy Spirit to be about wonderful religious experiences in our unrelenting self-focus. He is given to us, not for some kind of ecstatic private enjoyment, but to empower us for the sacrifices of ministry, without which we will fail. If the man Jesus needed the Spirit for effective ministry, then so will we. Chasing after ministry methods has become a modern curse, when we need to be pursuing the fullness of the Spirit, the Genius of creative ministry.
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere.” Acts 1:8a (NLT)
