I am reading A.W. Tozer and came to a part that held a shocking, new insight for both Ricky and me. Definitely struck us! When either of us thought about being Spirit-filled, our first response: the power to do miracles. Right?!
"For instance, they were true disciples, and they possessed the consciousness of their discipleship and their authority from Christ. They were the Lord's own loving disciples. That did not come at Pentecost. They were converted, forgiven, and had fellowship with Christ, and they had something a lot of ministers do not have now -- they had the gift of preaching: "They… went through the towns, preaching the gospel, and healing every where" (Luke 9:6)!
Again, they had the power to work miracles, so that when they came back reciting the manifestations of their power, the Lord rebuked them for pride and told them they should be glad, rather, that their names are written in heaven. But He did not deny that they had exercised His power, for He knew they did. He gave it to them! Some teach that if you are filled with the Spirit, you will have miracles, forgetting that the disciples had the power of miracles before they were filled with the Spirit.
The power of the Holy Spirit is not necessary to make miracle workers. The power of the Holy Spirit is something infinitely higher, grander, and more wonderful than that. They worked miracles before the Spirit ever came.
Now, consider the difference in their lives and experiences when the Holy Spirit came upon them, when they were no longer in the pre-Pentecost days, but when they were in the post-Pentecost era after the outpouring of the Holy Spirit.
It is easy to list seven things that the Holy Spirit did for them, and you can check each one with the Scriptures:
