THE ENCOURAGEMENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.

When you look at Christendom today, you would observe that whereas some Churches are folding up, others are expanding tremendously. Again one would observe that the quality and level of faith of Christians differ from one Church to the other. So clearly, some Churches are growing and others are dying. A Church can only grow when it receives the encouragement of the Holy Spirit. The last part of Acts 9:31 reads “encouraged by the Holy Spirit, they (i.e. the Churches) continued to grow.”) What is this encouragement of the Holy Spirit? From the two events (one at Lydda and the other at Jaffa) narrated in Acts of the Apostles 9:31-42 “the encouragement of the Holy Spirit can be said to be signs and wonders of the Holy Spirit (miracles) that boost the faith of those who witness it”. These concrete actions of the Holy Spirit in the early Church were possible because the Church built themselves up and lived in the fear of the Lord (cf. Acts 9:31). If we want to see miracles in our parishes, we must build ourselves up and live in the fear of the Lord. To build one’s self up is to live a life of prayer. To live in the fear of the Lord is to be obedient to the Word of God. So these two- Prayer and obedience to the Word of God – bring about encouragement of the Holy Spirit. Our parishes ought to be places of prayer and reverence for the Word of God. This will make us grow and not fold up.
“Come Holy Spirit and take control; we need you every hour, we need you every day. We need your encouragement in our times. Come in your own special way. Amen.”