Corporate Fast Encouragement - DAY ONE

Day 1

Scripture Reading: Luke 24:44-49 and Acts 1:1-8

The Promise of the Holy Spirit

Good morning, and welcome to the first day of Gateway’s Twelve-Day Corporate Fast!

Before you go any further, read through our scriptures for today. 

The first three or four days can be the most challenging, as your body protests against fasting if you are fasting food and the fleshy elements of your soul that object to what you have chosen to sacrifice. This is all very normal, and praying for strength from heaven is appropriate to overcome the temptation to break free from your fast. As a way of reminding you from yesterday’s message, make sure that you:

1.        Know what you are fasting for

2.        Prepare your Spirit

3.        Know your method

If you need more information, our booklet is available.

Today’s encouragement highlights the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. I’ve picked these two scriptures because Luke and Acts are like two chapters of the same book. If you look at Luke 1:1-4, you will see that the letter is addressed to Theopolis, the same person who receives the account of Acts that you read in Acts 1. Luke ends the first letter with Jesus’ ascension and begins the second letter (Acts) with the ascension. In both accounts, the promise of the Holy Spirit is given and expanded upon in two categories. Let’s have a quick look. 

The first category is the importance of the Holy Spirit

Luke 24:49 (ESV)  And behold, I am sending the promise of my Father upon you. But stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.” 

Jesus tells the disciples to wait until they are clothed with power from on high. We know that to be what happened in Acts 2 at Pentecost. It was as if Jesus was saying that the work of the cross is complete for us as individuals, but to engage in the mission of the cross, we must be clothed in the Holy Spirit’s power. Jesus made it clear how important the Spirit is for us as His disciples. In Luke 4, Jesus modeled that we need to be clothed with the power of the Spirit to participate in the mission of the gospel, and then this incredible instruction is given after the work of the cross is complete. “Don’t start until you have received the Holy Spirit.”  Today, invite the Holy Spirit into every aspect of your life, not just for today or for the course of our fast but for every day. Our first recognition of the Holy Spirit is His vital importance for a thriving disciple. 

The second category is the outcome of being clothed with power. 

Acts 1:8 (ESV): But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

There are several results from fresh encounters with the Holy Spirit. They are, in a sense, the benefits of His touch. Greater intimacy, sensitivity, anointing, and the experience of other manifestations of His touch are some of the many of those benefits. But the outcome of fresh encounters with the Spirit, according to Acts 1:8, releases power to be witnesses. It is for the extension of the Kingdom and its Gospel that the Spirit’s work is active in our lives. 

Take a moment to reflect on the following questions. 

In what ways have I forgotten the importance of the Holy Spirit in my life, and have I reduced His touch to its benefits and forgotten its purpose? 

Here is something to pray into concerning the promise of the Holy Spirit. 

Holy Spirit, help us stay mindful of your daily interaction and importance in our lives. Touch me today with a fresh anointing to receive from your goodness and be a witness to your goodness in the world around me today.

I love you very much. Enjoy the goodness of God in our fast.

Pastor Landen