As I think of you this morning I'm so thankful for the Holy Spirit, and pray that you experience His continual abiding presence and be alert to His leading. Today I pray that the Lord will bring clarity to our understanding of the ministry of the precious Holy Spirit in the life of every believer.
What an incredible miracle that when we trusted Jesus as our Savior, confessed Him as Lord, and were born again as a new creation in Christ because of His redeeming blood, something else occurred. The Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead, came into our hearts and continues to dwell in us now.
Jesus told His disciples that when His work on earth was completed He would go back to the Father, promising His return again. But in the meantime, He said He would not leave them as orphans, but would send Another like Himself, and it would be to their advantage.
John 14:16
"And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not behold Him or know Him, but you know Him, because He abides with you, and will be in you."
This same Holy Spirit is with us, dwelling in us today! Jesus called the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. In this world of uncertainty and deception, we can know God's truth! Again in John 16:13, He says that "when the Spirit of Truth is come, He will guide you into all truth; for He shall not speak of Himself, but whatsoever He hears, He will speak and He will show you things to come." This very day the Holy Spirit will guide YOU in all truth and show YOU things to come .
In John 16:8 Jesus explains that it is the Holy Spirit who will "convict the world of sin, righteousness and judgment." When we share the love of God and the Gospel with others, we don't have to point out their failures. As we present Jesus to them, the Holy Spirit will convict them of their sin and their need of a Savior. The Love of God is so amazing! When He convicts us of our sin, He also provides the power and the help to get victory over those areas. The Holy Spirit is so involved in our consecration to the will and purposes of God! He will help us have pure hearts and clean hands.
In John 14:26, Jesus speaks of the Holy Spirit as our Counselor and Teacher in this life. He says, "But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said." Practice inviting the Holy Spirit to teach you all things and bring to your remembrance the Word of God. He desires to teach and counsel us continually through His Word.
He is our Helper. The King James translation of Romans 8:26 is, "Likewise the Spirit also helps us in our infirmities." The Amplified translation, "... helps us in our present limitations." The New American Standard says "...helps us in our weakness." The Phillips translation says, ".....helps us in our distress." Realize that you have a continual Helper living in you, who, when invited, will help in every limitation, weakness and distress.
In every situation of life, every moment of this day, you have a Counselor, a Teacher, a Helper with you, abiding in you, Who is ready to give wisdom, understanding and direction. He will also give the strength for all your days. In other words, He will not only show you what to do, and how to do it, but will also supply the strength to do it! For it is God (the Holy Spirit) who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure. ( Phil 2:13) Therefore you can be confident of Philippians 4:13 that you "can do all things through Christ who strengthens you." The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ living in us.
The Holy Spirit desires to fellowship with us continually and lead us in the will of God. We can know Him well, because Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will disclose to us everything about Him. (John 16:15) He reveals the Word of God to us. When you open up the Bible today, ask the Teacher to open the eyes of your understanding and to reveal Himself to you. Pursue understanding His ministry, give Him full access to every part of your life,and be quick to obey His leading.
One of the most important truths about the Holy Spirit is that He gives us power evangelize....Acts 1:8 "but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you; and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea, and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth." Oh that the Body of Christ would arise in the power of the Holy Spirit and fulfill the commission He gave in Mark 16:14 to "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation."
Our relationship with the Holy Spirit, and our understanding of Him, should be the most intimate of all. His desire is a moment by moment abiding relationship. Every day is a new day to acknowledge and obey His leading. Know Him. Love Him. Welcome Him. Submit all of your will to Him. Allow Him full access to every area. Honor and reverence Him. Obey His leading. Invite His love to consume you and then release it to the world around you. This is the normal Christian life that our Lord intended for every believer until His return!
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