Brooding. The Holy Spirit is brooding over this earth, an analogy of the opening verses of the Book of Genesis: “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth. And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters” (Genesis 1:1-2). In the original Hebrew, the word moved means “brooded.” The Holy Spirit literally was “hovering over” (NKJV) or “brooding over” (LB) the earth, and out of that brood- ing God brought physical life to the planet. Today, it is out of the brooding of the Holy Spirit that He is bringing new spiritual life to our world. It is a Holy Spirit revival, unprecedented in human history.
Breathing. Genesis 2:7 records, “God . . . breathed into [man’s] nostrils the breath of life, and man became a living being” (NIV). The Hebrew word for “breath” is ruach. Literally, God breathed Spirit-breath into Adam. Today, the Holy Spirit is breath- ing over Planet Earth again, and specifically upon the inhabitants of the earth. Birthing. The Holy Spirit’s function on earth is also to bring new birth. The travail of the Holy Spirit—that hovering and brooding and breathing of the Holy Spirit—is likened to what happened in Luke 1:31-35. There the glory of God came upon Mary in a miraculous way that caused her to become pregnant with the Son of God. Jesus was born of a virgin due to the won- derful ministry of the Holy Spirit that brought about His birth. Today, the Holy Spirit is birthing millions of people into the kingdom of God through His glorious presence. Battling. The growth of the kingdom of God through the influx of new converts is not being accomplished without difficul-
ty, without battle, without confronting the Adversary of all things righteous. That’s why we are told to “put on the whole armor of God” (Ephesians 6:11). The armor includes taking up “the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God: praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints” (vv. 17-18). Spiritual prayer is part and parcel to the spiritual battling now taking place on earth.
Satan is doing everything he can to stop and to hinder the coming of God’s kingdom. Believers constantly battle against his powers, and it is the Holy Spirit who grants power for victory and success. In these troubling times, perhaps more than ever before, it is critically important for God’s people to have a vibrant per- sonal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
God decided before the foundation of the world that He would not let the death of His Son, Jesus Christ, be in vain. From the beginning, God planned that this end time before the return of Christ would be filled with an overwhelming deluge of His Holy Spirit, literally calling people to His side from the four cor- ners of the earth.
The Holy Spirit is transcending cultures, denominations, and man-made barriers as He reaches out and calls sinners to repen- tance. He is reaching this world by lifting up the name of God’s Son, Jesus Christ. It is always the chief ministry of the Holy Spirit to testify of Jesus Christ, who said, “When He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth. . . . He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you” (John 16:13-14 NKJV). As Jesus promised, the Holy Spirit is bringing to the world a revelation of Jesus Christ.
EVANGEL • MAY 2010 7
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