Holy Spirit POWER

I John 2:6 tells us “the one who says he abides in Him ought himself to walk in the same manner as Jesus walked.” What does that look like in our culture today? As Christ followers what does it look like within our church?
Here's what it might look like: One of our church members had been wanting to visit a neighbor for over a year, but had not connected. His desire was to go from a waving neighbor to actually meeting the neighbor and hearing his story. One day this church member was walking past the neighbor’s house praying and depending on the Holy Spirit to lead him that day. Lo and behold the neighbor pulled into their driveway right in front of him. A quick thank-you prayer and a give-me-courage prayer was said. He was praying for the right words as the neighbor got out of the car.  With only a few questions, he found out where the neighbor was from, what they did for a living, what were some of his pains and what brought joy to his life. Our church member was invited back for more conversations. I believe this happened because he was depending on the Holy Spirit’s leading and prayer.  Jesus modeled for us how to depend on the Holy Spirit for direction.
Another illustration of walking as Jesus walked was another one of our members from our church whom I will call Bob. Bob has been praying for his friend who did not know Christ. Actually his friend leaned toward an atheistic philosophy. Bob had his friend over for dinner. Bob prayed for courage, wisdom and the power to listen carefully and to ask questions intentionally. Bob listened carefully and did not debate with his friend. He was able to share the good news of Jesus Christ and has an open invitation for more conversations. The friend is open to reading the Scriptures together. Jesus modeled for us how to pray so we could walk as He walked.  
We had a 6-week class this summer called Walking as Jesus Walked. It was an overview of what Jesus modeled for us as He walked on the earth. He modeled the following to help enable us to walk as Jesus walked:
Prayer--Jesus depended on prayerful guidance.
Obedience—Jesus obeyed with perfect obedience.
Word—Jesus obeyed God’s Word in every area.
Exalted—Jesus exalted His Father in everything.
Relationships—Jesus was intentional about developing relationships.
Holy Spirit Power is how Jesus lived His life, so can we. This is an exciting adventure, as others in our class can testify.
--Pastor Leon