Appointed To Bear Fruit: A 90 Day JourneySample

The Work of The Spirit

Apart from the power of God working in our hearts, we can’t repent of our sins and return to God. The truth is: we are in bondage to Satan and our sinful nature, so God has to work. He has set us free by redeeming us through the precious blood of Jesus (I Pet. 1:18-19). And now as we proclaim the gospel, God works to set captives free from Satan. Convincing someone to follow Jesus is not done through debates or social work, there must be a new birth—a spiritual birth—brought about by the Holy Spirit. 

That’s why God gave us the Holy Spirit. Our testimony about Christ would be powerless against the power of Satan, except that God’s power is at work in the words that we speak. It’s the Holy Spirit who convicts the world of sin. He reveals the error of our ways and vindicates Christ. Satan and the world once judged Christ. Then they chose to willfully reject Him as the Messiah, because they wanted a God who could be manipulated so as to gain more earthly power and riches. However, Jesus taught that His kingdom was not of this world. He was interested in restoring the glory and worship due to the Father, rather than achieving secondary matters such as earthly power. 

The world manipulated sin, justice, and judgment to condemn Christ. Once the Spirit came, however, all of these things were restored to their proper meaning. Sin is rejecting Christ; the world chose to reject Christ calling Him a sinner (John 9:16, 24). It’s the Holy Spirit’s job to show the world that they are sinners and to believe in Jesus (John 6:29). Sadly, the world perverted righteousness by unjustly putting Christ to death on the Cross. However, the Father proclaimed Jesus as Lord by raising Him from the dead. God judged Satan at the Cross while lifting Jesus up to His heavenly throne. In the death and resurrection of Christ, the world’s order was completely exposed as a lie by God, and God glorified Himself by destroying the works of Satan. 

Our gospel proclamation, then, is joining with the Holy Spirit to testify to the truth about Christ. Our message should focus on sin, righteousness, and judgment. It’s our sin that deepens our debt with God and put us under judgment. The world and all its resources cannot pay off our debt of sin. In fact, it’s the world that leads us to hopelessness, but the death and resurrection of Christ is the only way of salvation and hope. The Holy Spirit bears witness to this truth. As Christ’s disciples, we are able to shine the light of God into their darkness, so they turn from their sin and reject the deceptions of Satan. Our witness is fueled by abiding in Christ. Furthermore, union with Christ results in the Spirit working through us, so that we can live out the gospel message. The Spirit works in our lives to conform us to the righteous image of Christ. We have overcome the ruler of the world through the blood of Christ. 

Without abiding in Christ, we cannot bear witness to the truth about Christ and expose the world for what it is. We are to live holy lives in obedience to God’s Word. As we abide in Christ, the fruit of the Spirit becomes ever more evident in our lives, and the world will no longer be able to deny the truth about Jesus, because they will see Him in our lives. People may persecute us, but they will not be able to deny the Spirit of God in our lives and testimonies. 

Application:  To what extent are you allowing the power of God to flow through your life and reveal the truth about Christ?