THE POWER OF HOLY SPIRIT IN REFORMATION

Leading Scriptures: Acts 2:37-41; 4:8-31 and 7:59-60

WHAT IS REFORMATION?

• The action or process of reforming an institution or practice.
• Relating to Martin Luther, it is the sixteenth century movement for the reforms of the abuses in the Roman Catholic church ending in the establishment of reformed and protestant church.

HOW THE REFORMATION START?

• It is said that the father of reformation is Martin Luther.
• In sixteenth century some theologians and scholars questioned the (former) Roman Catholic teaching which said salvation was through good works.
• In 1517 John Teasel under the direction from the Pope, started selling what they called INDULGENCES (these where small pieces which they said everyone who bought those pieces would receive salvation and his sins would be forgiven).
• Martin Luther who believed that salvation was by faith and grace alone was greatly troubled by the selling of these indulgences.
• Luther full of Holy Spirit strongly objected this practice of selling the indulgences and he came up with what is called the 95 theses in which he criticized the selling of indulgences and also emphasized that salvation was by faith and grace alone.
• Because of this stand, on 30 first October 1517 he posted his 95 theses on the door of Winton Burge Castle church and soon the 95 theses were quickly distributed throughout German and Rome.
• In 1518 Martin Luther was called before the assembly but also before the Cardinal Tomas whereby for three days they tried to plead with him so that he can recant his stand.
• In July 1520 Pope-Leo the tenth issued what they called pope-issue, that was concluded that Luther proposition where heretic and he given 120 days to recant in Rome but Martin Luther refused.
• On 3 January 1521, Pope-Leo excommunicated Martin Luther from Roman Catholic church.
• On April 17 1521, Luther appealed before what they called the ‘diet of worms’ in German where he also he also refused to recant his faith and he concluded his testimony with a different statement which he said “HERE I STAND, I CAN DO NO OTHER, SO HELP ME GOD.”

From the passage of scriptures, and the story about Martin Luther during reformation, we detect some points about the Power of Holy Spirit:

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT CONVICTS PEOPLE OF THEIR SIN

• The Holy Spirit has the power to convict people of their sin.
• Martin Luther was convicted strongly that the church teaching during that time about the indulgences was a wrong teaching, it wasn’t biblical…! And that is why he stood out all by himself and spoke against it.
• After the fulfillment of the promise of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2, people came and started wondering what was happening.
• But Peter full of the Holy Spirit preached to them. After this, the Holy Spirit convicted them of their sin (act 2:37).
• When the Holy Spirit comes into your heart you are convicted of your sin and there nothing you can do apart from crying into God.
• We need to have the power of Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit needs to come into our heart and convict us of our sin, our wicked words, then we can cry to God Aba father help me.

2. THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE TRANSFORMING POWER

• The Holy Spirit has the power to transform lives.
• When you have been transformed, you are no longer the same! The old has gone, and the new has come.
• And as a transformed person, the Holy Spirit gives you patience.
• At first, before Peter received the Holy Spirit, he was a man of high temper. He was a man of a sword (John 18:10). He didn’t have patience.
• So, when you have the Holy Spirit in you, He helps you to be patience with other people.
• In Acts 2, when the disciples were baptized with Holy Spirit, people mocked them. They accused them of taking wine. Had it been if these people meet peter before the Holy Spirit some terrible would have happened, but he tried to reason with them and he patience with them and even call them our fell Jews.
• We need to be patience with our spouse, friends, working mates, e.t.c.
• Also, for a transformed person, the Holy Spirit teaches him/her forgiveness.
• In Acts 7 there is story about Stephen. He was a man full of the Holy Spirit. People stoned him, but yet when he was in pain, he prayed to God to forgive them.
• As such, the Holy Spirit helps us to forgive.
• Humanly speaking, to forgive someone who has hurt you so much its not easy since it pains…! But the Bible tells us to forgive and forget unconditionally…
• In order to exercise forgiveness, we need the power of the Holy Spirit to help us.

3. THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES US BOLDNESS AND COURAGE.

• A transformed person is a courageous person, nothing and nobody can stop him.
• Martin Luther all by himself boldly stood before the assembly (the Pope and before the diet of worms) and refused to recant. Martin Luther, full of Holy Spirit cried to God “HERE I STAND, I CAN DO NO OTHER, SO HELP ME GOD”.
• The phrase; “I can do no other, so help me God” was a hopeless phrase to pope and all the other group of people who were against Luther.
• In Acts chapter 4, Peter and John were called before the Sanhedrin because they had healed a crippled man. But In verse 8, Peter filled with the Holy Spirit replied them boldly.
• In verse 13, when they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that where un-schooled and ordinary men they were astonished and took note that these men had been with Jesus.
• Later In verse 19, they called them in again and commanded them not to speak and teach at all in the name of Jesus, But Peter and John replied; “Judge for yourselves whether it is right in God’s sight to obey you rather than God. For we cannot help speaking about what we have seen and heard.”
• They were full of boldness and full of courage! And for you and I to be courageous we need the power of Holy Spirit to give us that boldness otherwise it’s so easy to give up.
• Peter and John utilized the opportunity and full of Holy Spirit they spoke out what they believed, therefore utilize the opportunity which you have.

The Holy Spirit therefore plays a major role in REFORMATION!!!!

Febbie Chifungo