"I Live 4 U" is an adventure of intimacy—discovering the heart and impact of God.
God wants us to live a life that is naturally supernatural.
The book of Acts is God displaying Holy Spirit's impact in the followers of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts is organic, both supernaturally spontaneous and naturally supernatural. The book of Acts gives us access to the miracles of the past, a way to live a vibrant present and a faith filled hope for the future.
Perhaps my favorite example of the Holy Spirit's impact is found in the book of Acts. This book is an extraordinary depiction of impact and supernatural action. The narrative covers 28 action-packed chapters, where the church of Jesus Christ overflows with extravagant Holy Spirit impact.
Jesus gives us the first reference to His young church's source of power in Acts 1:4b: "Wait for the promise of my Father, of which you have heard from Me."
This gift that the Father promises to all believers is the third member of the trinity—the Holy Spirit.
I want to affirm and shout that the person and presence of the Holy Spirit produces great impact in our personal lives, as well as in the lives of those surrounding us. Countless times I have seen the truth of Jesus' words in Acts 1:8, " But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses." The role of a witness is to produce an impact on the people they are sharing with.
Without this power, the measure of impact from our lives is severely limited.
In my life, I have found a direct correlation between the measure of my surrender to the Spirit and the ensuing measure of impact through my ministry. This surrender to the power of the Spirit is formed in the place of intimacy!
The purpose of the first three "I's" shared is to unlock our hearts for personal growth and for inward power:
- Intimacy—connecting with God
- Inspired—faith expectation
- Informed—in order to grow
The purpose of the fourth, and now this fifth and final "I", is for us to experience an overflowing heart for the expansion of the kingdom of God through outward action:
- Illustration—leading by example
- Impacted—to discover our spiritual gifts
Living a life of impact means that we have experienced the power of the Holy Spirit and are walking out the spiritual gifts that He has deposited in our lives.
People want to discover their spiritual gifts, which are far more than just developing programs. Many times, what people desire to accomplish is not where their giftings are to be found. Therefore, they need spiritual leadership that is significant, encouraging and affirming them to acknowledge exactly where their gifting's should be applied.
For us to make an impact to the fullest with our spiritual giftings and to implement them in serving others, we must discover, develop and deploy our gifts that are revealed through intimacy with Christ.
How does this happen practically speaking?
- Be informed about spiritual gifts
- Be influenced by the Holy Spirit
- Incorporate His love in all your understanding
- Identify your spiritual gifts
- Implement your gifts in serving
Let's serve others.
Let us discover, develop and use the unique gifts that God has given to each and everyone of us.
Let us live a life of impact on our world.
- "I live 4 U" opens our heart to intimacy and connecting with God.
- "I live 4 U" moves our life to be inspired by faith and expectation.
- "I Live 4 U" inspires our thoughts to be informed in order to grow.
- "I live 4 U" loves others to be an illustration of honoring God.
- "I live 4 U" multiplies His light to be an impact on our world
Mikel French has challenged "Spiritual Awakening" all across America, where many celebrations extended into multiple weeks, and has conducted celebrations in France, Sweden, Russia, Romania, Poland, Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Germany, South Africa, Malawi, the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Haiti, Japan, Singapore, India and Thailand. He conducted an outreach celebration in Manila, Philippines, reaching 200,000 teenagers with The Book of Hope. Through the generous support of partners, he has presented the message of Jesus Christ to millions of people in the nation of Russia through televised citywide Soul-Winning Celebrations. Mikel considers it an honor to assist in conducting the annual pastor's conference, where thousands of pastors from Russia's 11 time zones come for training, teaching and equipping. Mikel and his wife, Marsha, reside in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Rebecca Moore contributed to this article.
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