Inspire believers to focus on the kingdom and empower them to do extraordinary feats for God. This empowerment comes from the power of the Holy Spirit. In this study, you will discover how you can empower other believers to do the work of the kingdom.

Introducing Empowerment of Other Believers

Leadership does not exist without relationships. A person could teach without relationships, but he/she would be a teacher rather than a leader. Kingdom leaders operate within relationships to empower other believers. They empower others through the power of the Spirit to do the work of the kingdom.

Jesus changed lives and empowered the people through the Spirit to do incredible things in the kingdom. After Zacchaeus met Jesus, the tax collector was so changed that he gave half of his possessions to the poor (Luke 19:2-8). Zacchaeus received Jesus as Lord. After meeting Jesus, a woman of ill repute spread revival fires among the men in her city (John 4:7-42). She received Jesus as Christ and Savior. A man possessed by demons was delivered and restored to his right mind by Jesus, and he began evangelizing several cities (Mark 5:1-20). He received Jesus as Lord and obeyed him. These are just a few of the people who were changed dramatically and empowered to fulfill destiny by encountering Jesus.

Knowledge is power. Let the believers know that purity and humility must be in the heart of believers in order for them to operate in the Spirit’s power to fulfill destiny. Teaching others to believe what God says about them and to cast their cares on him will help them stay humble before him. Great power lies within the heart of a humble person. Paul prayed for the believers at Ephesus that they would know God’s “incomparably great power for us who believe” (Ephesians 1:18-19 NIV).

Imparting the Power

Empowering other believers to do the work of the kingdom and to reach their destiny is a major responsibility of kingdom leaders. As leaders empower others through the Spirit to do the work of the kingdom, their focus is on glorifying the Father not themselves. In this section, you will discover how God uses kingdom leaders to empower believers with all power.

Making Kingdom Connections

Seeking the kingdom first involves finding your God-ordained relationships. The kingdom is built on relationships. Its leaders are developed and sustained through relationships, and they pour their lives and gifts into relationships with other believers. The most valuable relationships are those ordained by God. Kingdom leaders are guided by the Spirit in connecting with people and developing meaningful relationships. They understand the eternal value of relationships.

Kingdom leaders pray for the people with whom they are connected. For example, Paul prayed for those believers he was maturing at Colossae that they would “be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding” (Colossians 1:9). With spiritual wisdom and understanding, a believer knows what to do to fulfill God’s will. As a result of being filled with knowledge, wisdom, and understanding, the believers would be “strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might” (Colossians 1:11). Literally, this phrase means empowered with infinite power.

Encourage and support others to develop and fulfil a vision. Having a vision and goals will help empower believers to reach their destiny. God is able to do above what a believer envisions according to the power that works inside of him/her (Ephesians 3:20). Without a vision, God’s people wander astray (Proverbs 29:18). It is God that gives the vision and puts the desires into the believers’ heart and then helps them accomplish the goals. The goals for accomplishing the vision come through prayer and spiritual counsel. As a kingdom leader, you can help kindle the faith of believers and encourage them to complete their vision.

Kingdom leaders demonstrate the kingdom with signs and wonders for the benefit of others. As we ministered in a recent church service, gold dust appeared throughout the building. It was on the faces, hands, and clothing of the people. The gold dust appeared as signs to encourage the people to believe.

Filling Believers with the Spirit

Empowering others comes from teaching and helping them operate with God’s indwelling presence through the Holy Spirit. This continuous empowerment of the Spirit is essential for a victorious and fulfilling life. Many people are filled with the Spirit once in their life but do not pray in the spirit or do anything else with this infilling. It is to the advantage of believers to continually be filled with the Spirit. “The disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 13:52). Kingdom leaders can pray for others to be continually filled with the Spirit and instruct them on being continually filled with the Spirit.

We recently ministered to a man with a call of ministry on his life who had been running from God. He had been in several different rehabilitation programs for drug addiction. He needed to be filled with the Spirit to be stabilized and overcome his addiction. We explained the baptism of the Holy Spirit to him and laid hands on him to receive the Holy Spirit. Immediately, he was filled with the Spirit and began praying in tongues. The Spirit gave needed stability and power in his life to answer his calling.

Stirring up the Gifts

The gifts show a person who he/she is in Christ when guided by the Spirit. Kingdom leaders operate in the spiritual gifts to reveal who people are in Christ. They stir up the gifts and call forth the gifts in believers. Kingdom leaders can affirm and encourage other believers as they begin operating in the gifts.

By operating in the empowering gifts, kingdom leaders can help others learn to follow the Spirit. For example, prophecy and words of knowledge and wisdom can be used to give people direction and let them know that they are hearing from the Spirit themselves. Do not let others become dependent on you for directions from God, but help them learn how to be led by the Spirit themselves.

Separating out Believers for Leadership

The Holy Spirit makes believers fit for the work of the kingdom and calls them to it, but he uses kingdom leaders to recognize leadership potential in other believers, prepare them, and separate them out for ministry. The early church chose leaders from their own ranks who were “of good reputation, full of the Spirit and of wisdom” (Acts 6:3). The apostles prayed for those who were chosen to lead and laid their hands on them (Acts 6:6). This choosing of the seven leaders was not an ordination, but it separated out these believers for a particular work. The prayers of the apostles to bless these men and their work were heard and answered by God for the ministry grew rapidly.

Sherry and I build relationships with believers, recognize and help develop their potential, and raise them up as kingdom leaders. We are not molding them into our image or making them a part of our vision. Instead, we help them discover God’s purpose for them and release them to fulfill destiny. Even after these leaders are released to work in the kingdom, we continue to nurture our relationship with them to help them in fulfilling destiny.

Personal Story on Being Empowered

Sherry and I were born again in our youth. We did not start the process of being empowered until we were a young married couple. At that time, we both asked for and received the infilling of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit opened up the supernatural realm to both of us. We studied God’s word for several years, and the knowledge of the word certainly empowered us. The next big breakthrough in empowerment came when we connected with our spiritual father and the other men and women connected with him.

Conclusions

Kingdom leaders empower other believers through God-ordained relationships. This empowerment comes through the power of the Spirit. It enables believers to do the work of the kingdom.

Study Questions

#1 What can you do to empower other believers?

#2 What spiritual strengths do you have for empowering other believers?

#3 What hinders you from helping empower other believers?

#4 Who can you target to help empower?

#5 What plans do you have to empower other believers?