John 3:16 “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” To give is defined as to hand something over, present a gift, or transfer possession to someone else. Wow!Jesus was the promised gift to the world from God the Father. God gifted his Son to us! How? Once you accept Jesus into your heart, you now possess Him for your very own! At the Last Supper, before Jesus is crucified, He tells his disciples in John 14:16, “And I will pray the Father, and he will give you anotherHelper, that he may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth.” Then in Acts 1:4-5, the risen Jesus commands His disciples, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift hepromised, as I told you before.” A gift is something given voluntarily. It also means a legal transfer of property. The Father wants to give us another gift! Wow! Again the Father is going to make a legal transfer–the Holy Spirit. So when the Father gaveJesus, He gave us legal possession to Jesus’ salvation, to be saved. Now the Father is gifting us legal possession to the unlimited power of the Holy Spirit!
Jesus says in John 14:12, “I tell you this timeless truth: The person who follows me in faith, believing in me, will do the same mighty miracles that I do—even greater miracles than these because I go to be with my Father!”
Do more?! So many people ask, “How can I do more than Jesus?” I love Pastor Benny Hinn’s response: “The Holy Spirit is Jesus without limits!” Meaning that Jesus in the flesh was limited to a human body, bound by space and time. But the Holy Spirit within us is unlimited! All we have to do is activate His power and authority, and that’s what the baptism of the Holy Spirit does. In Acts 19 the apostle Paul baptized some believers in the name of the Lord Jesus. Verse 6 reads, “And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”
Jesus gave his disciples temporary authority in Matthew 10:8and told them to, “Heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, cast out demons.” This is the power and authority we are given through the presence of the Holy Spirit within us, also the working of miracles. So the Father’s full intent is to gift us with the legal possession of the Holy Spirit. If the Father has gone to such lengths to gift Him to us, shouldn’t we earnestly desire Him as 1 Corinthians 14:1 tells us, “Follow the way of love and eagerly desire the gifts of the Spirit…” Accept them, embrace them, activate them and use them! As I wrote last week, just being aware of them and not using them would be like receivingGod’s gift but choosing to only play with the box and not open the gift!
So today receive the baptism of the Holy Spirit and His gifts! Pray like this: “Heavenly Father, I come to You in the name of Jesus. I am a believer, and I am thirsty for more of Your presence. Your Word says that You give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him. Lord Jesus, I ask You right now: baptize me with the Holy Spirit and with fire. I receive Him by faith right now. Fill me to overflowing, give me the power to be Your witness, and let me speak in new tongues as the Spirit gives me utterance. Thank You, Lord. Amen.”
Start using the gift that has no limits! Enjoy!!
-Emil Liko 8/28/26