Devotions

There comes a time in every believer’s life when the Spirit must move in a way that’s external from us. We need him to do the work that’s needed — to speak, touch, deliver. That’s exactly what happened when the disciples couldn’t cast a demon out of a suffering person. Jesus told them, “This kind comes out only by prayer and fasting” (see Mark 9:29). In other words, it required utter dependence on God. We have to say, “I can’t do this in my own power. It requires God’s strength.”

If your marriage is falling apart, it needs a living word from God that is clothed in power, not merely a theological word.

Churches are a dime a dozen if they are not clothed in power. It doesn’t matter how many elders are called in to provide counsel. A clear decision can be made by one or two who are clothed with power. All of this calls for time on our knees, waiting and trusting God to supply the need in his almighty power. And he delights to meet us! Jesus told the disciples, “I am sending the promise of my Father upon you” (Luke 24:49). This promise comes not by anything we do, but by the grace of our loving Father.

I tell you, when his power comes, there is nothing like it. We not only have a sense of the Spirit in us, but everyone in the vicinity does as well. A glorious presence descends, and everyone knows they are on holy ground.

The disciples needed prayer and fasting just to cast out one demon. We need it to face an entire wicked culture. Change will come only through power that arrives from on high. That calls for a people who are not only filled with the Spirit, abide in the Spirit, and walk in the Spirit, but who wait faithfully on the Spirit to be clothed in power by him.

The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to empower God’s people to reach the lost and draw people to the cross of Jesus Christ. Just as he convicts us of our sins, he also moves in the hearts of unbelievers, bringing them face to face with their iniquities and failures, with the futility of their lives apart from God.

When Jesus was preparing his disciples for his departure from Earth, he told them, “When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me. And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning” (John 15:26-27).

Jesus tells us that we know the truth of the gospel because God’s Spirit has revealed it to us through his words. The Holy Spirit has testified to God’s grace and goodness. Our confidence in our position in God’s kingdom comes not from our own hope and imagination, but from the Creator himself, from his gentle whisper in our soul. It’s how we know that God’s love is real and definitive and unwavering.

Jesus went on to explain the Holy Spirit’s role like this: “When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me” (John 16:8-9).

It isn’t our job to convict people of their sin. The Holy Spirit is already doing that. And we are not here to judge people for their sins. Our role is to simply be there for them, to tell them about Jesus, embrace them in their pain and suffering, and love them into God’s wonderful kingdom.

Jesus came not to condemn the world, but to save it (John 3:17). Shouldn’t we have the same attitude?

Nicky Cruz, internationally known evangelist and prolific author, turned to Jesus Christ from a life of violence and crime after meeting David Wilkerson in New York City in 1958. The story of his dramatic conversion was told first in The Cross and the Switchblade by David Wilkerson and then later in his own best-selling book Run, Baby, Run.       

As God’s people, we cannot go forward to fullness in Christ if we don’t increasingly separate ourselves from the spirit of this world. If we are not becoming more heavenly minded and less attached to worldly pleasures surrounding us, we will be drained of the joy of our salvation. The sad truth is, many believers are unable to enjoy their salvation because they neglect obeying God’s Word. Obedience to his Word is the place that blessing and joy begin!

Israel did not want to lose their great spirit of rejoicing so they assembled again to obey God on this matter: “Those of Israelite lineage separated themselves from all foreigners; and they stood and confessed their sins” (Nehemiah 9:2).

Israel’s circumstances and trials didn’t change — God changed them. Nehemiah reminded a rejoicing Israel of how God had provided for their forefathers in the wilderness. The Lord had poured out manifold mercies on them. He had taught them by his Spirit and led them by the cloud and the pillar of fire. He had supernaturally provided them with manna and water. And, miraculously, he didn’t allow their clothes or shoes ever to wear out (see Nehemiah 9:19–21).

Likewise today, God has promised to pour out these same mercies on his people. In the midst of our afflictions, we must quietly go to God’s Word and pray that the Holy Spirit will write it on our hearts. That is how we begin to enter into his rest and peace.

How do we maintain the joy of the Lord? We do it the same way we obtained his joy in the beginning: We love, honor and hunger for his Word. And we continually walk in obedience by the power of the Holy Spirit. Only the joy of the Lord supplies us with true strength!

When we began Times Square Church in 1987, we quickly realized we were pastoring in a modern-day Corinth, one of the most carnal areas in the world in New Testament times. Therefore, we had to preach a convicting message that would awaken hearts. When we first opened our doors, our services were attended by many Christians who worked in the entertainment industry on stage and in television and film. Some had chosen to stay in careers that clearly dishonored the Lord.

We wondered whether we could evangelize unsaved show people if our own congregants were still involved in unsavory aspects of the business. So we preached a message of “separation,” and the Lord began to deal with people. Many gave up lucrative careers in show business and God blessed them marvelously. “Come out from among them, and be separate, says the Lord” (2 Corinthians 6:17).

We discovered that God had kept a godly remnant for himself in Times Square Church, a people who loved his Word. In every service the people sat like hungry birds, their mouths wide open for food. Afterward, they took home sermon tapes to listen to. Our church experienced a spirit of repentance, an eagerness to obey, and a readiness to conform to God’s Word.

As we all came under the power and government of God’s Word, ministers and congregants alike, our services were filled with more than tears of repentance. The sanctuary was filled with sounds of victory, joy and gladness. There was great rejoicing because we had begun to understand the great truth of God’s Word.

We learned that to maintain the joy of the Lord among his people, God calls for an even deeper work in our lives.

I believe that deep, abiding joy is largely missing in much of the church today. I have heard Christians say, “We prayed down a revival in our church.” Yet revival cannot happen by prayer alone. There cannot be any such awakening unless people hunger diligently for God’s Word. And they must wholly commit their lives to being governed by the Scriptures. We cannot obtain heaven’s joy until the pure Word has convicted us of our backslidings.

When David was disobedient, he lost the joy of the Lord. That joy could only be restored by true repentance. David knew this, so he prayed, “Wash me thoroughly from my iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin. For I acknowledge my transgressions, and my sin is always before me. . . . Purge me” (Psalm 51:2–3, 7). David also prayed to regain what he had lost: “Restore to me the joy of your salvation” (Psalm 51:12).

Ezra told the people rebuilding Jerusalem, in essence, “You have hungered for God’s Word and allowed it to work in your hearts. You have repented and mourned, and God is pleased. But now it is time to rejoice! Take out your handkerchiefs and wipe away your tears. It is a time for joy!”

The glory of the Lord fell on Israel, and the people spent the next seven days rejoicing: “All the people went their way to eat, and to drink . . . and to make great mirth, because they understood the words that were declared unto them” (Nehemiah 8:12, KJV).

The Hebrew word for “mirth” here means “gladness, happiness.” This isn’t just a good feeling, but a deep, inner exuberance. It is clear to everyone around that this wellspring of joy has come from heaven.

When God’s Word is revered, the result is an outpouring of genuine “Jesus joy.”