You and I, always stand in great need of the power of the Holy Spirit in our life, the working of the Holy Spirit in our life and we should constantly be crying out to God for greater and greater infusions of His power and greater and greater outpourings of the Holy Spirit. Constantly, in our lives and in the church. Listen, what we have to do cannot be done by us – don’t you understand that? It cannot be done! The great missionary endeavor. What still lacks in taking the Gospel to the nations. It cannot be done by us! We cannot organize it into happening! We cannot make it happen. All our gifts, all our power, all our eloquence, all our strategies cannot achieve anything in what has to be done in this world. But the Holy Spirit can. The power of the Holy Spirit.
And we should constantly, and I believe this text is telling us. Constantly be crying out to God for greater and greater manifestations of His power in our life. Know this, some of the greatest manifestations have to do with character and the fruit of the Holy Spirit in our life. And the power of the Holy Spirit in ministry; NOT to create confusion in the church and turn the Church of Jesus Christ into a lunatic circus. But empower the church to be a witness for Jesus Christ and take the Gospel to the nations. We must have that. You greatest need young man, as a preacher, is to be alone with God, to shut yourself up in His Word, to study His Word, to study men of the faith who have gone on before you and been mightily used of God. But you other great need is this: to cry out and cry out for the outpouring and the power of the Holy Spirit on your life so that you might minister. You must have this.
More and more and more… When I was a young man, I would cry out and cry out and cry out, “O God pour out Your Spirit on my life that I might be able to preach.” I can remember going outside street preaching in Austin, Texas, and I had no power, no boldness, no strength. Coming home defeated and finally just putting my Bible on the bed and saying, “Whatever is in this book’s not in my life!” And then, Praise God, someone came to me one night with a bunch of books. Actually, one day with a bunch of books. Things from George Muller, from Leonard Ravenhill… so many others. I began to look and say, “These men are talking about God’s Willingness to do great and mighty through the weakest vessel.” But I can see clear, as I look through all these men, that it is done in the power of the Holy Spirit. And just to cry out for months and months and months, “O God, O God, pour out Your Spirit! Strengthen me! Do a work!” “So when I would stand up I preach!” He will do that for you. He will do that for you. And it is not some special thing that might make your ministry a little bit better. It is absolutely essential!
