Day 3: Confirmation By The Holy Spirit

Mary said, “Behold the maidservant of the Lord! Let it be to me according to your word.” That simple phrase, “according to your word” released the greatest miracle ever. The same is true for us in our response to God’s promises. But I want to point out to you that it was the power of the Holy Spirit that will produce this miracle.

The angel said, “The Holy Spirit will conceive in your womb.” But the Holy Spirit never moved until Mary responded. When she said, “Be it to me according to your word,” she released the Holy Spirit. The point I’m making is this, we release the Holy Spirit when we respond to the word of God. The Holy Spirit is available but He doesn’t come into our lives, He doesn’t do for us what we need until we release Him through the word. Remember, don’t seek the Spirit apart from the Word, because it’s through the Word that the Spirit is released.

Let me give you just a few examples. The last verse of Mark’s gospel, Mark 16 it says: And they went out and preached everywhere, the Lord working with them and confirming the word through the accompanying signs.

So the signs confirmed the word. If there is no word, there is nothing for the Spirit to confirm. And then in Acts chapter 4 we have the prayer of the early church. You remember the apostles had been threatened not to teach anymore in the name of Jesus. They came together, they had a prayer meeting and it says the place where they were praying was shaken with the power of God. But notice what they prayed when they were forbidden to preach. It says in Acts 4:29:

“Now, Lord, look on their threats, and grant to Your servants that with all boldness they may speak Your word, by stretching out Your hand to heal, and that signs and wonders may be done through the name of Your holy Servant Jesus.”

No spoken word, you have no guarantee where the signs and the wonders come from. Never, never, never separate the Spirit from the Word, because it is the Word that releases the Spirit.