Before John met Jesus, people thought that he was the promised Messiah, which of course he denied, stating that he was merely coming to prepare the way for Messiah to come. By the Lord's own admission in Luke 7:28, his ministry was the greatest ministry of all as he prepared the way of the Lord. I am utterly convinced that similar ministries to John's are being prepared now to prepare the way for the Lord's return. See Prepare the way of the Lord for more information.
John's birth was miraculous. The birth of Jesus was miraculous and His whole ministry was surrounded by the miraculous or the supernatural.
We know that God is a spirit, from what Jesus said in John 4:24, so we cannot separate the dimension of the spirit... or the supernatural aspects of God form His dealings with men.
John stated that Jesus' first miracle or the beginning of miracles occurred at the wedding at Cana when Jesus turned water into wine. See John 2:11. We also know that Jesus was approximately thirty years of age when He started His ministry. He did not do a thing until two things happened, (a) John baptised Him in water and (b) The Holy Spirit came upon Him.
Before John actually baptised Jesus, he said that the one coming after him, that is, Jesus, would be the baptiser in the Holy Spirit. See John 3:11.
After His experiences at Jordan, Jesus went into the wilderness where satan tempted Him and Luke 4:14 tells us that He returned in the Power of the Spirit. The first publicly recorded sermon Jesus preached after this was about the anointing that the Holy Spirit gave him (and gives us) for ministry. We cannot do what God wants us to do without these requisites. Without the anointing, or without the anointing of the Holy Spirit we are not equipped for a thing.
Paul knew this when he said in 1 Corinthians 2:1-5 that (his) preaching is not to be by intellect, words of man's wisdom or such like, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.
If the Holy Spirit is not in the equation, we have mere religious activity!
This study and all similar studies reveal the vital necessity of knowing God and His ways in intimacy of relationship and of working together in partnership with the Holy Spirit to bring about God's desires on the earth.

Our studies on The Holy Spirit and His Gifts have been compiled in as simple a manner as possible, avoiding the theological jargon that often confuses those who are hungry for God, or want answers that work. The problems that I have seen in my walk for more than forty years with the Lord is that most people want a God with skin on, or, one that is real and touchable, but don't know how to find Him, or have false ideas about Him.
A person lost in the darkness does not necessarily need to know the theories of electricity, power generation, supply and distribution in order to gain light. All that is necessary is where to locate the switch that connects that power source to the light bulb in the ceiling.
If someone is lost they need not know how the GPS system works. They want to know how to use it and get directions. They want to know what button to push and when to push it to get the desired result.
If someone is sitting in an airport and a terrorist is planning to blow the place up with a bomb, he or she wants to hear a voice inside them warning them to get out of there now, or do not get onto that plane!
This is where the rubber meets the road. The person who wants to know if God is real and accessible and will move in their life wants working knowledge and practical help when it matters, not theoretical, theological, hermeneutic, homiletic discourses. Sometimes, a split second decision and corresponding action is required to avoid a disaster or meet a crucial need and this is the sort of thing I am speaking about. This is practical or realistic Christianity addressing the issues of life. Questions like, “Will it work? Will it work for me? How do I do this? What do I do now?” face us regularly.

Studies on the Holy Spirit are immense. He is the third person of the Holy Trinity and such matters are better dealt with elsewhere, so at this time I am focusing only His work in the life of a believer and in particular, on His gifts to the Church.
His dealings with us are both in the natural and in the supernatural dimensions. We have certain faculties that God expects us to use, but when we need that certain something that is totally outside the scope of our own abilities, the Spirit of God helps us to do what we cannot normally do in our own abilities.