“You are completely empty; you need the power of the Holy Spirit to be able to overcome your present predicament”, the Pastor said, as Jonathan remained mute and stared into space. He looked puzzled and continued to stare from one face to the other.

Jonathan was a new convert in one of the Pentecostal churches; he had become enthusiastic about joining the church’s evangelism team. Though he had not been baptized in the Holy Spirit; he felt his enthusiasm and academic knowledge would be enough to make him succeed.

Some members of the team had advised him to seek the baptism of the Holy Spirit, since he could never use human wisdom and academic prowess to convert souls for Christ. He argued that as a young man with a Bachelor’s degree in English Language, he knew the right tenses to apply in preaching the gospel. He felt his oratory would be enough to win the hardest of souls to Christ.

Besides, Jonathan did not even believe in demons and their manipulative powers. He concluded that demons existed in some people’s imagination, and that it was more of illusion than reality.

But on that particular morning, he had gone out for open-air preaching, in company of three other members of the evangelism team. They got to the bus stop where he was to preach; and as soon as he stepped forward and shouted ‘praise the lord’, a young man appeared from nowhere and pointed his finger at him. He lost his voice and became disorientated to persons and time. The members of the team managed to rush him to the church, where the pastor prayed for him before he regained his voice and senses.

So many believers today try to import their intellectualism into the church and feel they could do without the Holy Spirit: they end up committing spiritual blunders, because spiritual assignments are not done by academic knowledge. They require spiritual knowledge and the backing of the Holy Spirit to do them successfully.

Having given your life to Jesus Christ, you need to ask him to fill you with the baptism of the Holy Spirit as he promised (Acts2:38-39). Believe that the gift would be given to you. Give thanks to God because of the assurance that the Holy Spirit’s baptism would be given to you. If you believe and maintain your faith, Jesus will fill you with this power. He has always given to those who believe in him; so he will also give to you because he keeps his word. He knows the challenges that you would face as you go about doing his work; he’s interested to empower you so you would succeed in doing the work he has called you to do.

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