If we are going to experience transformation and see transformation, we must become desperate for the Word and the Spirit. Jesus said in John 14:10-12, “Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and the Father in Me? The words that I speak to you I do not speak on My own authority; but the Father who dwells in Me does the works.  Believe Me that I am in the Father and the Father in Me, or else believe Me for the sake of the works themselves. Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.”

Jesus walked in authority and power out of his relationship with the Father, and he calls us by his Spirit into that same relationship. Jesus said in John 16:7, “I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.” As a result of the Spirit living in us, Jesus said that “the works that I do you will do also; and greater works than these you will do, because I go to My Father. And whatever you ask in My name, that I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son.” (John 14:12-13)

We read about the authority of the Spirit, but we are so busy with our works of the flesh that we fail to submit to the transformational work of the Spirit that God has afforded us through Christ Jesus. Jesus commanded the disciples not to leave Jerusalem “until you have been clothed with power from on high.”  (Luke 24:49) Jesus understood that personal transformation was essential to produce community and national transformation.

We groan over the condition of our nation, but are we desperate enough to yield to the transformational work of the Spirit? On the Day of Pentecost a man called Peter, who only had denied Jesus and watched Him die, now stood and spoke with authority to a multitude and witnessed the transformation of thousands of people, a city, and a nation. Do we read the Acts of the Apostles as some story of exploits in times past, or can we believe that the same Spirit can transform our world today?

God is not calling you to transform the world but to allow the Spirit to first transform you, and then He can use you to transform your world or your area of influence. Initially, Peter’s world was a fisherman’s world, but as he walked with Jesus for three and a half years, Jesus expanded his world. Jesus is not going to call you to something that is too big for you, but as you walk with Him and allow the transformational Spirit to grow in you, that same Spirit will begin to impact those around you.

Allow the Holy Spirit into a greater area of your life. Begin your day with Him and pause when making decisions through out the day to allow Him to speak into your world. As you practice His presence, He will transform your life and the lives of those you encounter.