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Empowered By the Holy Spirit
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What does it mean to be empowered by the Holy Spirit?
The banner at the front of the auditorium proclaims it,
Pastor Tim has expounded on it
and the writers of the Bible under the anointing of the Holy Spirit
declare it.
Recently I
read, “God’s Word is
like yeast. It merely
needs a proper environment and it will begin to grow and change the
substance it is in. It
is up to Christians to create that environment” (Yoder 347 |
Yeast in a package is simply dry yeast. The package may be pretty
and even display a golden loaf of bread, but that does not make the yeast
active. When the dry yeast is
mixed into warm water, the
little cells begin to come to life. The addition of sugar provides instant
food for the rapidly-growing organisms, causing them to release gas
bubbles of carbon dioxide. When
the yeast is mixed into the dough, the gas bubbles become trapped, causing
the bread to rise.
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Making bread requires a correct ratio of
ingredients. Sugar
gives the yeast food while salt keeps it under control. Flour gives
it substance, and oil, along with the kneading and punching, makes
it soft and pliable. Without
this step, the bread is coarse and dry.
When bread goes through the heat of the oven, it gives off an
inviting aroma. |
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God’s Word, lying on a shelf with a beautifully bound leather
cover, is of no living value. Only
through the hearing and reading of the Word does it become alive and
begin to change us. The
Holy Spirit bubbles to life, releasing His energy to change, empower
and equip us.
As
with bread, we go through difficult times of kneading.
Under the skilled hands of our Creator, we are made soft and
pliable. God doesn’t
allow us to be tempted more than we are able.
He knows the correct ratio of joy and sorrow, good times and
difficult, valleys and mountain-top experiences, sickness and health
we need. |
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Paul says, “Now thanks be to God who always leads us to triumph
in Christ, and through us diffuses the fragrance of His knowledge in every
place. For we are to God the
fragrance of Christ among those who are being saved and among those who
are perishing” (II Corinthians 2: 14-15).
Just as the smell of baking bread is irresistible to a hungry
tummy, so Christians are an aroma of life to the unsaved.
This is the bread of life that can draw the unsaved to eternal
life. Only the fermenting
action of the Holy Spirit can produce the necessary changes within us.
By Pat Hertzler
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