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Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit

All of the power of the Holy Spirit resides within us as believers and followers of Christ. However, few of us utilize all the power of the Holy Spirit that’s afforded us. We fail to tap into all the power that is within us. Paul said, “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe” (Ephesians 1:19).

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It’s the same power “which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all” (Ephesians 1:20-23).

A scripture we all use for prayer is, “Now unto Him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that worketh in us” (Ephesians 3:20). It indeed rightly applies to prayer that God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think.” However, we stop short of “ACCORDING TO THE (HIS) POWER THAT WORKETH IN US.” God “is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think ACCORDING TO THE (HIS) POWER THAT WORKETH IN US.” It’s His power that is at work in us by which God accomplishes great and mighty things according to the context.

Peter said, “According as His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness, through the knowledge of Him that hath called us to glory and virtue: whereby are given unto us exceeding great and precious promises: that by these ye might be partakers of the divine nature, having escaped the corruption that is in the world through lust” (2 Peter 1:3-4). Notice, “His divine power hath given unto us all things that pertain unto life and godliness.”

Life precedes godliness! If we’re going to escape “the corruption that is in the world” we will do so through the life that’s in us by His divine nature (the Holy Spirit). Jesus came “that they (we) might have life, and that they (we) might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). It’s through the abundance of life and divine power given us who are “partakers of the divine nature” (the Holy Spirit) that we’re able to live godly.

Because the Apostles tapped into and utilized all the power of the Holy Spirit that indwelt them great things were accomplished for the glory of God. If we’ll begin to tap into and utilize the power residing within we’ll begin to see God use us mightily just as He did the Apostles and New Testament believers. “These signs shall follow them that believe” (Mark 16:17). This was not for the Apostles only but for all “them that believe.” Paul said that he proclaimed the gospel “through mighty signs and wonders, by the power of the Spirit of God; so that from Jerusalem, and round about unto Illyricum, I have fully preached the gospel of Christ” (Romans 15:19). In these last days God desires to empower His church once again.

How to Tap into the Power of the Holy Spirit

1. Use the Word of God. God’s Word is Powerful! It was inspired by the Holy Spirit, therefore, when we release it into the spiritual realm things materialize in the in the natural realm. We must use His Word in prayer, preaching, witnessing, ministering to people one on one, and in spiritual warfare. When confronted by the devil Jesus used the Word to combat him and win the victory (Matthew 4:1-11). Afterwards, “Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about Him spread through all the surrounding district. And He began teaching in their synagogues and was praised by all” (Luke 4:14-15). There’s power in the Word! When we speak it out we release the power of the Holy Ghost. See also Isaiah 55:10-11, Jeremiah 1:12, Hebrews 4:12, Ephesians 6:17.
2. Praise and thanksgiving. There’s power in praise! In 2 Chronicles 20:12, the enemy was coming against the people of God and Jehoshaphat was afraid and said, “We have no power against this great multitude that is coming against us nor do we know what to do, but our eyes are upon You.”

   Have you ever been in a place where you were afraid, felt completely overwhelmed, and had no idea what to do? That is exactly where they were. It was only when they praised the Lord with all of their heart that He struck down the enemy before them. They didn’t even have to lift a hand to fight. Their praise was not timid and ritualistic, they “stood up to praise the Lord God of Israel with a very loud voice” (2 Chronicles 20:19). They praised Him with all their might, and as a result, God fought for them, struck down their enemy, gave them victory, and an abundance of spoil of their enemies, “they were three days in gathering of the spoil, it was so much” (2 Chronicles 20:25).

   In Exodus 17:10-13, when Amalek fought against Israel at Rephidim, Moses sent Joshua to fight for Israel while he stood on top of the hill with Aaron and Hur. When Moses held up his hand, Israel prevailed. When he lowered his hand, Amalek prevailed. When Moses grew weary, Aaron and Hur held up his hand allowing Joshua to overwhelm Amalek. Every man of God needs those who will hold his hands up when he becomes weary.

   In Exodus 17:15, Moses built an altar and named it Jehovah-Nissi, “The Lord is My banner.” As long as Moses kept his hand lifted high in praise, Israel prevailed against the enemy. The same is true for us. If we constantly praise and worship Him, God will cause us to prevail and our enemies to flea before us. Let’s lift up His banner high and unashamedly for all to see. Victory is ours!

   In Acts 16, Paul and Silas were on their second missionary journey and in Philippi they cast a demon out of a young lady with a spirit of divination. Her owners became outraged by the loss of income resulting in her deliverance, brought accusations against them, had them beaten with many stripes, cast them into prison, fastening their feet in the stocks, “and at midnight Paul and Silas prayed, and sang praises unto God: and the prisoners heard them. And suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken: and immediately all the doors were opened, and every one’s bands were loosed” (Acts 16:25-26).

   The power of praise is evident here. They sang with such intensity that the prisoners heard them. They were having church! At their midnight hour, in the deepest dungeon, they began to worship and praise the God they served. This released the power of God! God sent an earthquake which struck the very foundation of the prison so that everyone was set free. God doesn’t do anything halfway. He struck the foundation of the prison. If the foundation is destroyed it can’t be rebuilt. Worship and praise releases the overflow of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Glory to God!

   Ephesians 5:18-20 – “Be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

3. Fasting and prayer. Fasting taps into spiritual power. A man brought his son to Jesus saying, “Lord, have mercy on my son: for he is lunatic, and sore vexed: for ofttimes he falleth into the fire, and often into the water. I brought him to Thy disciples, and they could not cure him” (Matthew 17:15-16).

   Jesus of course cured the child. “Then came the disciples to Jesus apart, and said, Why could not we cast him out? And Jesus said unto them, Because of your unbelief: for verily I say unto you, If ye have faith as a grain of mustard seed, ye shall say unto this mountain, Remove hence to yonder place; and it shall remove; and nothing shall be impossible unto you. Howbeit this kind goeth not out but by prayer and fasting” (Matthew 17:19-21). Fasting taps into the power of the Holy Spirit. When we need extra power in a situation fasting may be the way to go as the Holy Spirit leads.

   I remember hearing Lester Sumrall telling the story of a person in Bilibid Prison in the Philippines who was tormented by evil spirits. Many people tried to help this person to no avail. He went to assess the situation, but before attempting to do anything he first left and spent time in fasting and prayer. When he returned, he cast the demons out and the person was completely set free. Many men of God like R. A. Torrey, Charles Finney, and D. L. Moody testified to having been fitted with power after long seasons of fasting. Sadly, few today desire God’s power enough to pay the price of fasting and prayer. Jesus Himself was endued with power after He had fasted for an extended period (Luke 4:13-15).

4. The preaching of the gospel. The preaching of the gospel and the Word releases the power of the Spirit to confirm the Word. This applies not just to preaching sermons from the pulpit but proclaiming the Word and the gospel in the highways and byways. Much of the Apostles ministering of the Word was done as they went out among the people. Just before His ascension Jesus promised power, signs, and wonders would be displayed as they went forth proclaiming the gospel.

   Mark 16:15-20 – “He said unto them, Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that believeth not shall be damned. And these signs shall follow them that believe; In My name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak with new tongues; They shall take up serpents; and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover. So then after the Lord had spoken unto them, He was received up into heaven, and sat on the right hand of God. And they went forth, and preached every where, the Lord working with them, and confirming the Word with signs following. Amen.”

   Acts 1:4-5, 8 – “Being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith He, ye have heard of Me. For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

   1 Corinthians 1:18 – “For the preaching of the cross is to them that perish foolishness; but unto us which are saved it is the power of God.”

   All the power of the Holy Spirit is released as we preach the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus. The more He is preached the more power is unleashed.

5. Faith and believing. It’s “the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe” (Ephesians 1:19). Everything of God and His kingdom is enacted by faith and believing. All we receive from God is done so by faith. “These signs shall follow them that BELIEVE” (Mark 16:17). Healing is obtained through faith as well as the miraculous. Faith and believing is where it all begins. Jesus said we could even see mountains moved by faith.

   Mark 11:22-24 – “Jesus answering saith unto them, Have faith in God. For verily I say unto you, That whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe that those things which he saith shall come to pass; he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore I say unto you, What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them.”

6. Revelation knowledge. Context is always imperative. In the context of Ephesians 1:19 we read in Paul’s prayer for them, “that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him: The eyes of your understanding being enlightened; that ye may know what is the hope of His calling, and what the riches of the glory of His inheritance in the saints, And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power” (Ephesians 1:17-19). Revelation knowledge is key to tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit. The revelation of God, His glory, power, and plan is key to tapping into the power of the Spirit.

   Jesus made this clear in Matthew 16. He asked the disciples, “Whom do men say that I the Son of man am? And they said, Some say that thou art John the Baptist: some, Elijah; and others, Jeremiah, or one of the prophets. He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God. And Jesus answered and said unto him, Blessed art thou, Simon Barjona: for flesh and blood hath not revealed it unto thee, but My Father which is in heaven. And I say also unto thee, That thou art Peter, and upon this rock I will build My church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. And I will give unto thee the keys of the kingdom of heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt bind on earth shall be bound in heaven: and whatsoever thou shalt loose on earth shall be loosed in heaven” (Matthew 16:13-19).

The power of the Holy Spirit is released in direct proportion to revelation. The more revelation we receive the more we’ll experience the power of the Holy Ghost in our life being manifest. Let’s cry out to God daily for revelation knowledge from the Word and the situations of life. “Open thou mine eyes, that I may behold wondrous things out of thy law” (Psalm 119:18). “Call unto Me, and I will answer thee, and show thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not” (Jeremiah 33:3).

7. Strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man. Paul’s prayer for the Ephesians was “That He would grant you, according to the riches of His glory, to be strengthened with might by His Spirit in the inner man” (Ephesians 3:16). Noticed it’s “according to the riches of His glory.” Our being strengthened with might is predicated on three things: 1) Our experience of His glory. 2) Time in His presence. 3) Our intake of God’s Word. This comes through spending time seated at the Master’s feet in prayer and His Word. Spending time with Him. This is how the power of the Holy Spirit is cultivated and released in our lives.

   Luke 10:38-42 – “Now as they were traveling along, He entered a village; and a woman named Martha welcomed Him into her home. And she had a sister called Mary, who moreover was listening to the Lord’s Word seated at His feet. But Martha was distracted with all her preparations; and she came up to Him and said, Lord, do You not care that my sister has left me to do the serving alone? Then tell her to help me. But the Lord answered and said to her, Martha, Martha, you are worried and bothered about many things; but only a few things are necessary, really only one; for Mary has chosen the good part, which shall not be taken away from her.”

   Hebrews 10:19-20 – “Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, By a new and living way, which he hath consecrated for us, through the veil, that is to say, His flesh.”

   Romans 5:2 – “By Whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.”

   Ephesians 2:18 – “For through Him we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.”

   Romans 10:17 – “So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God.”

   1 Peter 2:2 – “As newborn babes, desire the sincere milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.”

   Acts 4:13 – “When they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men, they marveled; and they took knowledge of them, that they had been with Jesus.”

   Let’s spend time at the Master’s feet!

8. Christ dwelling in your heart by faith. “That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17a). This has to do with acknowledging and practicing His presence in our heart and life through faith and maintaining an intimate relationship with our Lord. Sadly, many in our day, the Laodicean age, and lukewarmness, have shut Him out. To those who will let Him in to take up residency in the citadel of their hearts and lives by faith, making Him Lord of our lives, will see the power of His Spirit fill us to overflowing.

   Revelation 3:20 – “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear My voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with Me.”

   Hebrews 13:6 – “For He hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”

   Matthew 28:20 – “And, lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the age.”

9. Rooted and grounded in the love of Christ. “That ye, being rooted and grounded in love, May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge, that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God” (Ephesians 3:17a-19).

   I encourage you to view our teaching on The Five-fold Ministry of the Holy Spirit and The Baptism of the Holy Spirit. We all need and must seek to be filled with all the fullness of God. We must seek all God has for us even if it goes against our theological slant. Even if we are Spirit Filled we will only be filled in direct proportion to our comprehension of His love for us. This can be a major deterrent to tapping into the power and fullness of the Holy Spirit. Christ loves us beyond our greatest comprehension. His desire is that we might grasp through experience what cannot be comprehended with the mind or intellect.

   The four-fold aspect of the love of Christ:

   1. The breadth. This has to with the extent of His love for us and all mankind. His love reaches around the globe to all mankind. It extends to all races, social classes, bond and free, rich and poor. His love was manifest to all through His vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice for the world.

      John 3:16 – “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

   2. The length. This has to do with the dimension of His love. It reaches through all time. His love extends to from eternity past, present, and future. He was verily “the Lamb slain before the foundation of the world” (Revelation 13:8).
   3. The depth. His love reaches to the depth and lowest condition of man, even hell itself. Throughout eternity lost men will be reminded that He loved them and they could have escaped eternal torment had they not rejected Jesus. While there’s still time, we must know and receive Him and His love.

      His love also reaches to the depth of our depravity, to our lowest place, situation, and condition. There’s no depth to which we might fall or situation we might find ourselves in that His love isn’t there to bring us out. Betsy Ten Boom, when asked by Corrie her sister, why God had allowed their suffering, Betsy relied, “to show us there’s no pit so deep that He and His love is not deeper still.”

   4. The height. This deal with heavenly happiness and bliss. This has to do with both eternity and the here and now. If allowed, His love will take us to the heights of glory, victory, and abundance. His love will ultimately take to glory all who’ve placed their faith and trust in Him.

      John 10:10 – “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

      Philippians 3:20 – “For our conversation (citizenship) is in heaven; from whence also we look for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.”

      John 14:1-3 – “Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in Me. In My Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto Myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.”

10. We are seated with Christ in heavenly places. “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:6-7). The height of His love seats us together with Him, at the right hand of the majesty on high. The degree to which we grasp this is the same degree to which we will tap into the power of the Holy Spirit.

    We must by faith grasp that we are, even now in this life, seated with Jesus in heavenly places. To tap into and release the fullness of the power of the Holy Spirit we must see ourselves seated with Him far above all the battles of this life and every demonic force. Jesus is above it all and everything is under His feet, therefore we are as well, because we’re seated with Him in heavenly places.

    Ephesians 1:19-23 – “And what is the exceeding greatness of His power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of His mighty power, Which He wrought in Christ, when He raised Him from the dead, and set Him at His own right hand in the heavenly places, Far above all principality, and power, and might, and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this world, but also in that which is to come: And hath put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be the head over all things to the church, Which is His body, the fullness of Him that filleth all in all.”

    Ephesians 2:6-7 – “And hath raised us up together, and made us sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus: That in the ages to come He might show the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness toward us through Christ Jesus.”

    We must see this as a done deal. We are, even now, seated together with Christ in heavenly places. Just as everything is under His feet it’s all under our feet as well. When we begin to grasp this we will be filled with “the fullness of Him that fills all in all” and see all things under our feet just as all things are under Jesus’ feet. We must simply take the aggression which is “a forceful action, as an unprovoked attack, when intended to dominate or master.” As we do we’ll tap into all of the power of the Spirit.

    Matthew 11:12 – “From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and violent men take it by force.”

    Deuteronomy 11:24 – “Every place whereon the soles of your feet shall tread shall be yours.”

    Joshua 1:3 – “Every place that the sole of your foot shall tread upon, that have I given unto you”

    The word place in Joshua 1:3 in the Septuagint is topos and the same word used in Ephesians 4:27 “Neither give ‘place’ to the devil.” It’s the word from which we get our word topography which is “used of a region or locality, room, of a place which a person or thing occupies.” When we begin to see ourselves where He says we are we’ll begin to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit like never before and see the kingdom of darkness under our feet. That’s exactly what happened when Jesus “returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:14).

    Luke 4:18-19 – “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruise.”

    Luke 10:18-19 – “I beheld (we’ll behold) Satan as lightning fall from heaven. Behold, I give unto you power (authority) to tread on serpents and scorpions, and over all the power of the enemy: and nothing shall by any means hurt you.”

Let’s tap into all the power of the Holy Spirit!

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