The world needs you to be plugged in to the Holy Spirit. Your ministry needs it.

Your own spirit needs fresh, living water from the source in order to remain healthy and avoid burnout. Regardless of others' opinions, living and ministering under the empowerment of the Holy Spirit is the only way to usher in revival and experience transformation.

My mission is for everyone everywhere to know the saving love of Jesus Christ and the life-changing power of His Holy Spirit living in them. To live out that mission well, I speak in tongues regularly. It allows me to remain connected to the Holy Spirit and download crucial direction and knowledge from Him. I have spoken in tongues probably every single day for the last 50 years, and I plan to continue for as long as there is breath in my lungs.

This practice has brought richness to my walk with Christ, as well as controversy. Roughly 14 years ago, I was invited to speak at an event for a group of people who were and still are doing extraordinary things around the world. They are highly favored, and I respect their work deeply to this day.

After I received the invitation, one of the board members found a video of me online speaking to my heavenly Father in tongues. In short order, a very apologetic, sweet brother on the board—who, just like me, is a Spirit-empowered believer—called to inform me that my invitation had been rescinded. Their mission just didn't line up with my calling, with my mandate, to help people understand and experience the transformative power of the Holy Spirit.

It wasn't the first time I'd come face-to-face with this difference of opinion, nor was it the last. My father was a Pentecostal church planter, and in my life, I've been called many names. Some were flattering (and probably undeserving). Occasionally there was something sarcastic, and rarely, something rude and degrading. Regardless of what others inside and outside of the church may think, my heritage—and current walk with Christ—is undeniably Spirit-empowered.

When we begin to believe that the gifts of the Spirit make us superior to those who aren't filled with His Spirit, we limit God's ability to minister through us, and people's ability to receive from us. This is simply a matter of aligning our actions with Christ's, and knowing our responsibility is to serve God in the way that He has personally called and equipped us.

For me, God has empowered me to serve Him, and operating in the gifts of the Spirit is part of that. The Holy Spirit is creating hunger, a call for holiness and righteousness. He is tearing down walls and barriers in this hour, where we are realizing we absolutely need each other. The exponential impact God is able to make on the world through us when we turn to His Spirit is beyond anything we could even yet dream or imagine.

And make no mistake: God is moving mightily in this season inside and outside of the church. In 1980, only 6% of the world's Christians considered themselves Pentecostal. Today there are nearly 2 billion believers worldwide, and a quarter of them profess to be Spirit-empowered.

Thousands upon thousands of Spirit-filled men, women and children are joining the church every day. Within the church, across denominational lines—lines that were once thick and highly divisive—the Spirit is bringing believers together in relationship and demonstrating the richness that comes from worshiping together in Spirit and truth.

So, worship in Spirit and truth, regardless of the opinions of man. It's a time to lean in to your calling, to seek the face and voice of the Father, to serve others humbly in the love of Christ and to be a conduit of His Holy Spirit. The Lord is opening the hearts of everyone, from leaders to taxi drivers, and we have to keep His vision before us. We are men and women of the Spirit, and without recognizing and submitting to the working of the Holy Spirit, nothing can be done in or through us. With Him, we can do anything.

You're beautiful. I see Jesus in you.

Have a great week!

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.

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