PENTECOST SUNDAY(2)

I concluded the first blog in this series with a question. Who is the Holy Spirit? This is my simple definition and answer to that question.

THE HOLY SPIRIT IS THE THIRD AND CO-EQUAL MEMBER OF THE ETERNAL GOHEAD (THE HOLY TRINITY) WITH THE FATHER & THE SON.

The Holy Spirit never talks about Himself, and always put the spotlight on the Father and the Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. There is no doubt He was involved in eternity past, and we saw in yesterday’s blog, that from the creation on and in the lives of mankind He was involved. We come to the New Testament and His ministry would seem to increase as He sought to bring the New Covenant reality to God’s creation and continues to do even to this day. I will now list many of the things the Holy Spirit does for us and brings to us.

1. He CONVICTS US of sin, John 14:7-8 NKJV Nevertheless I (Jesus) tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (The Holy Spirit) will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him (The Holy Spirit) to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment. When we hear the Word preached or shared (one on one) with us, we become convinced for the first time we are sinners and are heading for a lost eternity, and also find the remedy for our sin. With the conviction comes a DRAWING or wooing, so wonderfully expressed by the hymnwriter.

“When I saw the cleansing fountain, open wide for all my sin, I obeyed the Spirit’s WOOING, when He said “Wilt thou be clean?”

2. He permanently INDWELLS US John 14:16-18 NKJV And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper (The Holy Spirit), that He may ABIDE with you forever— the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. The Holy Spirit does not come and go like changes in the weather, when He comes, He takes up His permanent abode in us.

3. He SEALS US Eph.1:13 AMP N.T. In Him you also who have heard the Word of Truth, the glad tidings (Gospel) of your salvation, and have believed in and adhered to and relied on Him, were stamped with the seal of the long-promised Holy Spirit

MESSAGE vs13 & 14 It’s in Christ that you, once you heard the truth and believed it (this Message of your salvation), found yourselves home free—signed, sealed, and delivered by the Holy Spirit. This signet from God is the first installment on what’s coming, a reminder that we’ll get everything God has planned for us, a praising and glorious life. God through the Holy Spirit puts His permanently stamps His MARK on us.

4. He TEACHES US John 14:26 NKJV But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. We have a full time TUTOR indwelling us,

5.He will GUIDE US INTO ALL TRUTH John 16:13-15 NKJV tells us However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. May we ask and KEEP on asking.

6. He REMINDS US John 14:26 NKJV Format:HTML But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your REMEMBRANCE all things that I said to you. The older we get the tendency is to be forgetful, I am so glad He reminds us.

7. He BEARS FRUIT THROUGH US, Gal. 5:22-23 NKJV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no la. This fruit is the very nature of the Lord Jesus Christ, and as we learn to surrender ourselves more and more, and let him deal with the weeds in the garden of our heart, people will see Jesus in us.

8. He COMFORTS US John 16:7 KJV Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter (The Holy Spirit)will not come unto you. There are just so many situations in life we need comfort, and the Holy Spirit wants to wrap the everlasting arms of God around us.

9. He EQUIPS US WITH SPIRITUAL GIFTS. 1 Cor. 12:4-7 NKJV Now there are diversities of gifts, but the same Spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all. But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal. There are so many Spiritual Gifts listed in the Word of God, not just the 9 recorded in 1 Cor. 12: 8-10. God also gives us an awesome 7 piece set of armour as recorded in Eph. 6: 11-18, which includes the SWORD OF THE SPIRIT which is the RHEMA WORD OF GOD. (V.17).

10. He FILLS US, when The Holy Spirit comes into our life when we are born again, it is God’s plan that the Holy Spirit is not just resident in our lives but also PRESISENT (and fills us to overflowing). Paul tells us in Eph.. 5:18-21 NKJV And do not be drunk with wine, in which is dissipation; but be (continually) filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord, giving thanks always for all things to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another in the fear of God. We must learn to constantly fulfil Rom.12:1 AMP N.T. I APPEAL to you therefore, brethren, and beg of you in view of [all] the mercies of God, to make a (constant) decisive dedication of your bodies [presenting all your members and faculties] as a living sacrifice, holy (devoted, consecrated) and well pleasing to God, which is your reasonable (rational, intelligent) service and spiritual worship.

11. He EMPOWERS US Acts 1:8 NKJV But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. I would suggest not just power to witness ,but as His name declares (HOLY) we are empowered to live holy lives.

12. He PRAYS THROUGH US Rom. 8:26-27 NKJV Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He (The Holy Spirit) who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He (The Holy Spirit) makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God. One of the ways this can happen as we let the Holy Spirit pray through us as we use our prayer language.

13. He POURS GOD’S LOVE INTO OUR HEARTS Rom. 5:5 NKJV Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Firstly, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts, we can now truly love the Lord with all our heart, and love our enemies Luke 6:27,35) as well as our brothers and sisters in Christ, and a lost and dying world.

14. He brings forth the NATURE OF JESUS IN US. Acts 4:13 NKJV Now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John, and perceived that they were uneducated and untrained men, they marveled. And they realized that they had been with Jesus. I do not believe this text simply suggests that Peter and John were echoing words that Jesus had spoken, but now they were filled with the Spirit the nature of Jesus was shining forth. May this be our personal experience Paul speaks of in 2 Cor. 3:18 NKJV Now the Lord is the Spirit; and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty. But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.

I trust you will spend some time meditating on these 14 aspects of truth relative to the Person and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, and let the Holy Spirit do all He desires to do in you and me. On this coming Pentecost Sunday, let us thank God for the Holy Spirit’s ministry and especially as we gather together may the Holy Spirit help us to see Jesus high and lifted up, and help us to truly worship Him.

LORD POUR OUT YOUR SPIRIT.