READ: Acts 13:1-5
“The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.” – John 3:8
The direct response to the presence of the Holy Spirit is salvation and soul winning. Where the Holy Spirit is present, there is soul winning and there is an emphasis on the Great Commission. The highlight of this commission is the fact that the Holy Spirit is poured out into the world leading to an army of great commissioners being sent out.
Where the Holy Spirit is absent, there is an emphasis on other things. Today, what do churches emphasize on? The church emphasizes on pleasant times, pleasant meetings, prosperity, security, safety, good living, good experiences, happiness, money, pleasant families, pleasant children, pleasant conferences and other nice events. Where the Holy Spirit has stopped working, people do not think of souls. A church devoid of the Holy Spirit is a church that has stopped planting churches and winning souls.
One day, the Lord showed me a church. Everyone’s hands were lifted up as they worshipped the Lord. God spoke to me and said, “It is not my Spirit that is moving in this church. It is the spirit of the world.” I was stunned. He told me it is the spirit of the world that loves the things of the world. The lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh and the proud things of this life are all from the spirit of the world. He said to me, “Where the Holy Spirit is, there is soul winning, there is witnessing and there is the feeding of the sheep.” A spirit cannot be seen! You can only see the evidence of the spirit. That is how the wind is. You cannot see the wind but you can see the evidence of the wind. The great evidence of the presence of the Holy Spirit is seen in the harvesting of the lost, perishing, agonizing and desperate multitudes to Jesus Christ.