We Cannot Settle for a Powerless Faith

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What if the restlessness you feel is a holy longing? Perhaps the ache in your spirit is an invitation. What if we were made to live in the power of the Holy Spirit?

A holy ache

I just returned from a 3-day conference in Ohio. I know you are probably thinking, a windowless concrete building, where you sit for 10 hours on chairs hard as rocks, as your bum goes numb, and your neck bobs up and down, left and right as endless chatter washes over you like a lullaby. 

And this blog sounds like it will be just as bland as most conferences you’ve attended, so why not save the 5 minutes it will take to read this and do something more productive, like cleaning the dirty dishes from last night’s dinner or, better yet, taking out the trash.

More than a conference

So, what’s so special about the 3-day conference called Encounter Conference 2025? In a few words, it’s everything I long to see in our Church today. What is it that I long to see in our Church, you might ask? Perhaps you are longing for the same thing. My heart longs for a Church alive with the fire that once turned the world upside down—a Church unafraid to ask for more, to expect more, because it believes Jesus meant what He said. This isn’t a longing for emotionalism or spectacle. It’s a longing for the fullness of the Holy Spirit—to see His power move through ordinary people in extraordinary ways—the power that resurrects the dead, heals the sick, performs signs and wonders, moves mountains, frees the afflicted, speaks wisdom, words of knowledge and prophecy.

In other words, the same power that accompanied Jesus in His ministry, the same power that raised Him from the dead, that He left to the apostles, disciples, and the early Church, that same power is available to you and me. It is the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s not for our gain, but to reveal God’s glory.

Okay, you might have thoughts like, ‘Well, that’s all fine and dandy, but all those miracles were only for Jesus, after all, He was and is God.’ Or, ‘These miracles were only for the early Church, so people would come to believe. They needed the signs and wonders to convince them that Jesus was Lord.’ That was then, and this is now.

But Jesus meant what He said and He said what He meant, “Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes in me will do the works that I do, and will do greater ones than these, because I am going to the Father” (John 14:12).

Power that turns the world upside down

The Holy Spirit did not come to earth to lie dormant. The Counselor didn’t come to earth to give you the occasional nudge or insight. The Comforter didn’t come to soothe your little fears. He did come for those things, but He came for so much more. The Holy Spirit came with power from on high! He came to dwell in us so that we could carry on the ministry that Jesus modeled—a ministry full of miracles. If we aren’t doing greater works, if we aren’t seeing the miracles, signs and wonders, then something has gone amiss. 

So what do we do with this holy ache? We let it compel and lead us. Ask for more. We refuse to settle for a powerless faith. As Patrick Reis of Encounter Ministries said, “Jesus Christ didn’t die for a powerless church.” The early Church didn’t grow because of a strategy or structure, programs, or classes—it grew because of the supernatural gifts poured out on ordinary believers who said yes. And He’s still pouring them out today!

Not just for the upper room

I witnessed it this past week. People healed from all kinds of injuries and chronic afflictions. They rose out of wheelchairs and left hearing aides behind. They were supernaturally filled with the fruits of joy and laughter, peace and love. Praising God with song and tongues. Others rested in the Spirit and received fresh impartation of the more that has always been promised.

The gifts of the Holy Spirit did not stay in the upper room. If complacency has crept in, pray for fervor. Has fear wrapped you like a blanket, pray for courage. If we long to see the Holy Spirit move in our churches and in our lives–if we want a Church filled with people walking in God’s power doing what Jesus did–then it starts with us. We must respond to the longing. Answer the invitation. And live in the more. Why? Because The Great I Am promised a Spirit-filled life—for you and for me. And the time is now.

The gifts are for today

Here’s how St. Paul described the gifts poured out by the Holy Spirit in 1 Corinthians 12:7–11. These aren’t outdated relics—they’re living, active tools God still uses to build His Church today

Click here for details of the Gifts of the Holy Spirit 

Word of Wisdom – Supernatural insight into God’s purpose or plan in a given situation, enabled to be put into words of advice or direction.

Word of Knowledge – Divine revelation or insight into facts not known by natural means.

Faith – A Spirit-empowered confidence in God for the miraculous, beyond ordinary saving faith.

Healing – Supernatural healing of physical, emotional, or spiritual ailments.

Miracles – Acts of divine power that transcend natural laws; a manifestation of God’s power.

Prophecy – Speaking under inspiration to edify, exhort, and comfort the Church.

Discernment of Spirits – Ability to perceive the spiritual source behind a situation—whether Holy Spirit, human spirit, or demonic spirit.

Tongues – A gift whereby the person prays to God in a language which he or she does not know, by simply yielding to the Holy Spirit.

Interpretation of Tongues – the gift given to an individual to speak, in the vernacular, the general meaning of whatever was said aloud in the gift of tongues (when spoken in a public setting).