I would like to take this time to introduce to some and
present to others the person of the Holy Spirit.
Oh yes, the Holy Spirit
is a person; the most important person in your life. I know, your wife
should be up there on the scale of importance, your husband should be up
there on the scale of importance, your children your family should be
extremely important to you.
The Bible says that the Holy Spirit
is to be the most important person in your life. If the Holy Spirit is
the most important person in your life, then we can love our wives as
Christ loved the church (Eph. 5:25).
If the Holy Spirit becomes the best
friend we have ever had, then your spouse could be the best friend you
ever had. Our parents and our children could be in the best relationships
we've ever had.
Honestly, without the Holy Spirit, we don't have the
capability of loving the way we ought to and we don't have the capability
of walking in righteousness, peace and joy like it says we are to (Rom.
14: 17).
Without the Holy Spirit we won't really get to know Jesus in
our hearts because the Holy Spirit's main purpose is to reveal Jesus
(John 16:13-15).
Without the Holy Spirit we are blind spiritually. We have to
depend on our natural fallen human abilities. More times than not, incorrect decisions will be made, decisions that are very important. You might say, "Well, I know lots of people who are
successful, who have successful marriages, successful businesses etc.
and are doing just fine without the Holy Spirit."
My answer to that is,
"Of course you can be successful financially and seemingly in other
areas of life but why in the world would you want to, when God has given
this awesome gift to walk along beside us to help us"? ( The Greek word
for this divine helper that God has given us is Parakletos, which
literally means advocate, intercessor).
I owned a successful service
business in the Washington, Bellevue, Mercer Island, Kirkland and Redmond
area. I got to know many wealthy people and got to help them with
their fancy houses and fancy toys, and yeah, it's a trip. Once you take a
deeper look under the surface, you will find people who are living lives
of desperation. They look good and they smell good but they are
spiritually bankrupt. It's not "stuff" that satisfies you; most of these
"wealthy people" are looking for love and fulfillment in all the wrong
places.
So let us begin to talk about what God has done for us and how
we can live very successful lives and be very fulfilled at the same
time. Yes, yes, yes, God wants us to be successful in every area of our
life. 3 John 2 says, "Beloved, I wish above all things that thou mayest
prosper and be in health even as thy soul prospereth" (KJV).
The Holy Spirit has many attributes: "The fruit of the
Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, gentleness, goodness,
faithfulness, meekness, and temperance" (Gal 5: 22).
He is the Spirit of
God, the Spirit of Christ and just like God, He is omnipotent,
omniscient, omnipresent.
When Jesus was baptized in the River Jordan, He
appeared in the form of a dove. He is sensitive like a dove and yet all
powerful.
So, if God is love, then that makes Jesus the Son of Love, which
then makes the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Love.
If God is light, then
Jesus is the Son of Light, which then makes the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Light.
If God is grace, then Jesus is the Son of Grace, which then makes
the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Grace. He is referred to that way (Heb. 10:29). We could go on and on and on and on.
No, the Holy Spirit is not some green fog that comes
sliding under the door. He is much much more than mere influence. If
you're going to walk with God and enjoy the benefits of salvation, then
it's time to acknowledge the Holy Spirit. Unfortunately, most people in
the world and Christians alike don't even acknowledge that He exists.
Those that do know He is alive and well, do not fellowship with Him nor
allow Him to fellowship with them. Somehow they think that they will just be
able to glide through life without this incredible gift that God has
given us.
Yes, He is a "gift." He is not a thing. He is the third Person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit of God Almighty, the Spirit of
life in Christ Jesus (Rom 8:1-2). The word for "spirit" in Greek is pneuma, which would normally take the pronoun "it," but Jesus showed the
person of the Holy Spirit by speaking of "He" instead: "When He the
Spirit of truth, has come He will guide you into all truth" (John
16:13). (emphasis mine).
Just as you have a unique personality, so does the Holy Spirit.
In fact there are characteristics ascribed to Him that only a person can
have. He is a Being with intellect, emotion and a will.
So let's look at some scriptures. Let's begin unwrapping
this awesome gift that God has given us. This is just the beginning of a
series about the Holy Spirit and how we can know for a fact that the
Holy Spirit has been given to us. He's not a feeling (though you will
know for certainty that He is with you).
The biggest mistake most people
make is trying to make the Holy Spirit a feeling, looking for
indicators that the Holy Spirit might be working in their life or that
they might have the in-filling of the Holy Spirit. We will show you it's
a fact that if you have met certain criteria, you have received the gift
of the Holy Spirit.
In Ephesians 5:17-21 it says, "Wherefore be not unwise, but
understanding what the will of the Lord is. And be not drunk with wine
where is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; Speaking to
yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making
melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all
things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ; Submitting yourselves one to another in the fear of the Lord."
Verse 17 says, "be not unwise but understanding what the
will of the Lord is." What is the will of God? To be filled with the
Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God. This also indicates that you are unwise
if you don't receive this gift of the Holy Spirit.
To be
continued!
