“But you shall receive POWER when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”” Acts 1:8 NKJV
I must tell you something: I love talking about the Holy Spirit. I love teaching about the Holy Spirit. Because I know what happened in my own life when I began to develop an intimate relationship with Him.
I was already saved. I had already been born again. I had already been baptised in water. I attended church. But I lived a life of defeat, limitations, and spiritual frustrations. Everything began to change when I was baptised in the Holy Spirit and received the gift of speaking in tongues—and that was only the beginning.
But I didn’t stop at the baptism. Many people receive the baptism in the Holy Spirit but never develop a relationship with Him. It is like a car with a full tank that never returns to the petrol station to refuel. It is like a battery that receives a charge but is never connected to the power source again.
The baptism in the Holy Spirit is not the destination. It is the start of a journey. After I began to relate to the Holy Spirit as a Person, my life changed. I started to study everything the Bible said about Him. I began to listen to men and women of God who lived in the supernatural and impacted the world for Jesus.
Men like Paul Yonggi Cho, Kathryn Kuhlman, Derek Prince, David Pawson, Smith Wigglesworth, and Reinhard Bonnke. They didn’t just preach to millions. They saw miracles. They saw healings. They saw deliverances. They saw cities and nations transformed by the power of God.
All of them were Christians. All of them loved Jesus. But there was a moment when they developed a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit, and their lives were never the same again. And when I read the Bible, I see exactly the same pattern in the disciples. They were called by Jesus. They walked with Jesus. They learned from Jesus. They received teachings from Jesus. But it was only after being filled with the Holy Spirit that they lived a life of power, boldness, and impact in the salvation of the lost.
And my conviction is this: The Holy Spirit has not changed. He continues to transform lives today. And He wants to transform yours too.
Reinhard Bonnke said:
“The Church was born in the fire of the Holy Spirit, and nothing less than that fire will fulfil God’s purposes today. The Holy Spirit is not an optional accessory. He is an indispensable necessity for every Christian.”
Reinhard Bonnke was a pastor’s son. He already loved Jesus. He was already saved. He already had a calling from God. But he testifies that his life changed radically when he was baptised and filled with the Holy Spirit and initiated a relationship with Him. After that, a supernatural passion for the lost took hold of his heart. The result was that God used him to reach millions of people for Christ. This shows us that the Holy Spirit is not just to give us an experience; He empowers us to fulfil God’s mission.
When I heard Reinhard Bonnke’s testimony, I realised his story was very similar to many men and women of God throughout history. What transformed their lives was not just an experience with the Holy Spirit on a certain day. It was the continuous relationship with the Holy Spirit that followed that experience.
I was baptised in the Holy Spirit and began to speak in tongues. But the greatest miracle was not the gift of tongues; it was the change the Holy Spirit began to make inside me.
Education can change the mind. Discipline can change behaviours. But only the Holy Spirit can transform a sinner into the image of Jesus Christ.
“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.” (2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV)
Many people think the greatest work of the Holy Spirit is miracles. Others think it is speaking in tongues. Others think it is prophecy.
But: The greatest miracle of the Holy Spirit is not what He does through us. It is what He does in us.
The greatest miracle is not healing a sick body; it is transforming a sinful heart. The greatest miracle is becoming more like Jesus.
THE HOLY SPIRIT CHANGES OUR NATURE
When the Holy Spirit entered my life in 1985 (when I was baptised with the Holy Spirit), He did much more than give me a spiritual experience. He changed my desires. He changed my passions. He changed the direction of my life. Things I used to love, I began to hate. Things I used to ignore, I began to value.
Holiness became beautiful. Prayer became a joy. The presence of God became my greatest treasure. I was no longer trying to “become” a Christian. The Holy Spirit was transforming me from the inside out.
When we are baptised in the Holy Spirit and begin a relationship with Him, two things start to happen in our lives. First, the Holy Spirit begins to transform us on the inside. Second, the Holy Spirit begins to empower us for the work of God. In other words, the Holy Spirit produces fruit in us and also distributes gifts.
The gifts speak of what God does through us.
The fruit speaks of what God does inside us.
The gifts empower us to serve. The fruit transforms us to look like Jesus.
The gifts reveal the power of God. The fruit reveals the character of Christ.
We need both. We need the gifts of the Spirit to fulfil the mission, and we need the fruit of the Spirit to reflect Jesus. But there is something very important: a person can have gifts and still have character problems. Therefore, before talking about gifts, I want to talk about the fruit of the Spirit. Because the greatest miracle of the Holy Spirit is not what He does through us; it is what He does inside us.
Today we are going to learn about the Fruit of the Spirit.
THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT
“BUT THE HOLY SPIRIT PRODUCES THIS KIND OF FRUIT IN OUR LIVES: LOVE, JOY, PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS, AND SELF-CONTROL.
GALATIANS 5:22-23
Observe that Paul says: “The fruit of the Spirit.” Fruit is developed. Fruit grows. Fruit is the evidence that the tree is alive. You do not force the fruit. You remain connected to the tree, and the fruit appears naturally.
The closer we walk with the Holy Spirit, the more His character appears in us.
ILLUSTRATION: THE APPLE TREE
An apple tree never struggles to produce apples. It simply remains rooted. Its roots absorb water. Its branches receive sunlight. And eventually, the fruit appears. Christians often try to “produce” love. They try to “produce” peace. They try to “produce” patience. But fruit is not produced by effort.
Fruit is produced by relationship. When we remain connected to the Holy Spirit, transformation becomes inevitable.
MY TESTIMONY
I can honestly say: I am not the man I was forty years ago. I still need God’s grace every day. I still depend completely on the Holy Spirit. But He changed me. I remember a time when immorality controlled my thoughts. Fear controlled my decisions. My flesh dominated my life. But slowly… day after day… year after year… the Holy Spirit was transforming me. Not overnight, but faithfully. He taught me to love holiness. He taught me to forgive. He taught me to love people. He taught me to love His presence more than the pleasures of this world. And He is still working on me.
THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS US
Jesus said:
“And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:” John 16:8 NKJV
One of the greatest acts of love is conviction. The Holy Spirit does not condemn His children. Satan condemns. The Holy Spirit convicts.
Condemnation says: “You have no hope.”
Conviction says: “You can change.”
Condemnation drives you away from God.
Conviction brings you back to God.
Charles Spurgeon said:
“The same Spirit that keeps a Christian holy also keeps him happy.”
I love that phrase. Holiness is not misery. Holiness is freedom! Sin promises freedom but produces chains. The Holy Spirit calls us to holiness and, at the same time, leads us to true freedom.
Now let me ask you a question: Do people look at you and see joy? Are you a joyful person?
Unfortunately, there are many Christians who live with a frown, without a smile, without joy. But this does not reflect the life the Holy Spirit produces.
The Bible says the fruit of the Spirit is joy (Galatians 5:22).
And it also says: “The joy of the Lord is our strength” (Nehemiah 8:10).
Whoever walks in fellowship with the Holy Spirit may go through struggles, but they do not lose their joy. Because this joy does not depend on circumstances; it is produced by the presence of the Holy Spirit in the heart.
A.W. Tozer said:
“The Spirit-filled life is not a special deluxe edition of Christianity. It is part and parcel of the total plan of God for His people.”
God never intended for us to live defeated lives. He planned for us to live Spirit-filled lives.
ILLUSTRATION: THE GROWING CHILD
Have you ever noticed that parents never realise how much their children are growing? They live with the child every day. But then a relative arrives who hasn’t seen them for six months and says: “My goodness! How he has grown!” The parents hadn’t even noticed. Why? Because growth happens a little bit every day.
So it is with the work of the Holy Spirit. You receive Him and begin to live in fellowship with Him. He speaks to you, He helps you, He strengthens you, you experience miracles, and each day you are being transformed by your relationship with Him. Until one day, people stop seeing us… and they start seeing Jesus in us.
THE FINAL GOAL
The Holy Spirit does not want to make you famous. He wants to make you like Jesus. He does not just want to improve your behaviour; He wants to transform your heart. His goal is Christ-likeness.
Romans 8:29 says:
“For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.”
This is God’s plan. To make us like Jesus.
CONCLUSION
The greatest evidence of the Holy Spirit in your life is not how loudly you worship. The evidence is not how you dance. It is not how much biblical knowledge you have. It is not even the gifts in which you operate.
The greatest evidence is:
Are you becoming more like Jesus?
Are you loving more?
Forgiving more?
Serving more?
Walking in holiness?
The Holy Spirit is not finished with you. If you surrender to Him, He will transform you from the inside out.
Today the Holy Spirit is saying:
“Stop trying to change yourself.”
“Let Me change you.”
“Give Me your wounds.”
“Give Me your struggles.”
“Give Me your addictions.”
“Give Me your fears.”
“I know who you are. But I also know who you can become.”
The Holy Spirit does not just transform your behaviour; He transforms your nature. He will continue working in you until people look at your life and see Jesus!
God bless you.