For the past weeks, we have been talking about making room for the Holy Spirit in our lives. As we end our fast today, may we continue to seek the Holy Spirit in everything we do. We have interviewed Pastor Jojo Henson to encourage us to live by the Spirit every day.

What does a Spirit-empowered life look like?

There were three key words in Acts 1:4-8. The first one is wait, the second one is receive, and the third one is witness. I realized those three things–wait, receive, and witness–are a cycle of empowerment, because these three things are the ongoing practice that make up a Spirit-empowered life.

To wait is to “make room” in order to allow the Holy Spirit to empower and speak to us. To receive is to “be the room” for God’s power to move in and through our lives. And the last one, to witness, is “getting out of your room” — which means stepping out of your comfort zone, and in turn, making an impact in our world.

A Spirit-empowered life is a cycle of waiting, receiving, and witnessing.

In the book of Luke, you’ll notice that the disciples were all in one room when they were waiting for the gift of the Father, which is the promised Holy Spirit. Upon receiving the Holy Spirit, they could no longer stay in that room. They had to go out into the streets where people could hear them preach the gospel. In other words, they had to get out of their room. It started with them waiting and making room for the Spirit of God, being the room to receive what God gives, and getting out of the room to go where the Spirit of God leads.

A Spirit-empowered life is a cycle of waiting, receiving, and witnessing. It’s always the three. It’s like baseball: somebody throws the ball, then you hit the ball and go to the first base, second base, third base, and so on. In our life with God, it’s like that. You have to go through all the bases. But you must first wait for the ball to be pitched. In the story I mentioned earlier, God commanded the disciples to wait. It’s so important for them to wait in order for them to move on. A Spirit-empowered life involves a lifestyle of waiting, receiving, and witnessing and going. You can’t go without the three. They always go together.

What does that look like in daily life?

Waiting on a personal level is seen in your devotions, the discipline of reading the Word and prayer. The receiving side is when God speaks to us, when He gives us a specific word. But what do we do with that specific word? Obedience—this is the going. A Spirit-empowered life starts by waiting on the Lord and asking, “Lord, where do you want me to go? Who do you want me to talk to?” As we practice this, it becomes second nature, so we are constantly in tune with his voice.

A Spirit-empowered life starts by waiting on the Lord and asking, “Lord, where do you want me to go? Who do you want me to talk to?”

There was this time when I was on a plane. I had just finished a weekend of ministry and looked forward to finally catching on sleep. And God answered my prayer by putting an empty seat between me and the man I shared the row with. Or so I thought, because the man kept trying to start a conversation with me. I kept cutting him off, but as I did, the Holy Spirit interrupted my thoughts and gave me personal details about the man, that he was separated from his wife and missed his kids. So I silently prayed and asked God what he wanted me to do about the information. “Pray for him.” I then dutifully introduced myself as a Christian and asked, “Can I pray for you?” He said, “Sure!” So I prayed a simple and direct prayer and said, “Lord, I pray that you bless this man. Lord, whatever difficulty he has with his family, you understand it. You know the issue with his wife and he misses his family. Lord, help him go through this difficult time.” I opened my eyes and he was weeping. I thought then for sure that I was off the hook and could sleep, but he went on to show me pictures of his family. He said, “I thought that God forgotten me, but because of your prayer, I know now that God still cares for me. I had stopped going to church but I now intend to go back.”

Wait on the Lord. Hear Him speak. Go and do what He says. That’s a Spirit-empowered life. You’ll see these three always in Scripture. In the Old Testament, David inquired of the Lord. He waited on the Lord, then the Lord gave him instructions and he went. You’ll also find the same thing in Jesus’ life and ministry. You’ll find in Scripture that He’ll go to a mountainside to wait, then the Lord would speak to Him, then he’d go. Wait, receive, witness.

Pastor Jojo Henson serves Victory nationwide, as well as in Victory Makati and Victory Bacolod. He is happily married to Ida, and they have five children—Jon, Jenny, Joe, Joaquin, and Sabina. They also have a daughter-in-law named Chrina and a grandchild named Chloe.

Beyond the Series is a set of interviews with Victory pastors dealing with topics related to our sermon series.