The Spirit of Creation
Theme of the Week: What the Holy Spirit Does
Sunday, October 23, 2005
 1 of 1
Who Said It…Ted Haggard
Ted Haggard is the senior pastor of New Life Church in Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1985, Ted and his wife, Gayle, moved there with two of their now five children and started New Life Church in the basement of their home. Now its membership numbers 11,000. Ted says that his goal is to make it hard to go to hell from Colorado Springs.
He also serves as president of the National Association of Evangelicals.
What He Said…The Spirit of Creation
Many churches do a good job of teaching about the power of the Holy Spirit. If we genuinely encourage people to be filled with the Holy Spirit, though, we had better be prepared for the work that He will do in them.
You see, the Holy Spirit is in the business of change. He is Mr. Change; it is what He does, and He does it well. He comes into people's lives and starts changing them, and as this process develops, He starts giving them ideas for change. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Creation. In a fallen world, He always creates change because He is the agent God uses to make the world a better place. Thus, He always improves things. He always rearranges our furniture. He always adjusts the status quo. So when He fills His people, we all prosper if our structures facilitate change. But if our structures constrain change, it's a matter of time before something breaks. Let's replace resistance to change with a culture of freedom.
Adapted from Dog Training, Fly Fishing, and Sharing Christ in the 21st Century (Nelson, 2002) by permission.
Copyright © 2005 by the author or Christianity Today International/Men of Integrity magazine.Click here for reprint information on Men of Integrity. 1 of 1
Father, I ask for Your Spirit to motivate and enable change in my life that makes me more like Jesus.
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