When I was just a boy, sometimes my four brothers and a cousin or two would do something dumb. Using a modified fork, we would hold hands and form a line, and then the first boy would stick the fork in an electrical socket.  We all felt the electricity in our bodies, but whoever was on the end really felt it.

Now, that was something we all experienced, so if someone had tried to tell us we were not electrocuted and felt the surge of electricity in our bodies, we would have said they were the ones who were crazy because we know what we experienced.  It was real, felt, and has not been forgotten over the years.  There’s something about the experience of power that marks us.  It was crazy what we did, but it is even more crazy for someone to try to tell us it never really happened.

I know the day I first was filled to overflowing with the Holy Spirit.  It forever marked me, and there have been many more times in my journey. He has freshly filled me to overflowing, including recently. I often get filled because I enjoy His company and empowerment to do God’s will for my life.

If all I had was an intellectual idea to stand on, then a superior debater of a higher intellect than my own might be able to persuade me to forfeit what I thought I first knew.  If all I had was information to convince me, then information could also rob me of my confidence.  But when I have a real, tangible experience with God where His supernatural nature invades my ordinary life and changes me dramatically, that cannot easily be shaken.  I know what I experienced, and I know He is real.

In Muslim nations, people have supernatural visions of Jesus and are getting born again. As a result of it and then filled with the Holy Spirit.  We know their experience is powerful and real because they are kicked out of their families, and some face the threat of death.  They were not intellectually convinced of who Jesus is; they had an experience with Jesus that convinced them and now empowers them to endure the persecution they now face as a result of believing in Him.  They were not just born again; they experienced the power of the Holy Spirit.

Many today argue to defend their lack of experience, and as a result, many have fallen away.  It is the responsibility of the Holy Spirit to empower us and keep us steadfast in the faith when we receive Him and rely on Him.  The New Covenant is a Blood and Spirit Covenant.  It is not a Law Covenant.

The New Covenant is about walking according to the Spirit.  It is not about getting a list of do’s and don’ts to follow and then setting out in one’s own strength to comply.

Romans 8:1 There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit.

Romans 8:4 that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh but according to the Spirit.

Jesus made it clear before He ascended,

Acts 1:8 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.”

When the Holy Spirit comes upon us, we receive power!  Unmistakeable power!  That power enables us in all kinds of ways to fulfill the will of God for our lives.  It is the power that separates us from this world and binds us to the will of God.  It is the power that enables us to do things that are bigger than our natural talents and abilities.  The will of God will always exceed our own abilities and talents.  It will always require the empowerment of the Holy Spirit to realize.  The Holy Spirit’s power is unmistakable and very vital to every believer.  No man-made doctrine will ever do away with this truth or our need for the Holy Spirit.  A Spirit-based Covenant will always require a Spirit-based resource.