The Discipline of Getting To Know God - The Holy Spirit

Have you ever wished you had a friend that would be forever loyal, would understand you completely and be able to counsel you when you are undecided and confused; one who would have direct access to God the Father and be able to intercede for you and pray for you when you don’t know how to pray; one who would be your helper when you are weak or in need, and enable you to do what you can’t do on your own; one who would illuminate the Truth to you; one who would stand by you in trouble and comfort you when you are grieving; one who would teach you the way you should walk and would lead the way down the right path? That kind of person sounds too good to be true – but He is not! He is as real and as close as your breath, and if you really love Jesus, this One lives within you and will never leave you. He is the sweet Holy Spirit, the third Person of the Godhead. The Word of God is filled with references to the Holy Spirit as a Person Who is involved in all the affairs of men, from Genesis in creation (1:2) throughout to the last chapter of the last book in the Bible, Revelation 22:17. He is the One Jesus spoke of in John 14:16 &26, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby), that He may remain with you forever.” The Holy Spirit is our Helper, the One spoken of in I Samuel 7:7-12, when the Israelites were afraid of the Philistines who were about to attack them, but Samuel prayed and sacrificed to the Lord and just as the Philistines were attacking, the Lord thundered with a great voice, which threw the enemy into confusion and they were defeated before Israel. Then Samuel took a stone and set it between Mizpah and Shen, and he called the name of it Ebenezer (stone of help), saying, “Heretofore the Lord has helped us.” He is our “Helper,” our “Enabler.” Philippians 4:13 is one of my very favorite verses. The Lord gave me this promise when I was a teenager and was asked to speak at a mission’s conference. I felt (and was) very inadequate to speak to a group of older and more mature, adult women. But the Lord gave me this scripture and I have depended on it on every occasion. It is only the Holy Spirit of Christ which enables me (or anyone who depends on Him) to do what we could not do by ourselves. It boosts our concept of our abilities through the Holy Spirit’s help. “I can do all things through Christ Who strengthens me.” This third Person of the Godhead gives us this power – power to overcome (I Cor.10:13); power to forgive (Matt.6:12-15); power over all the power of the enemy (Luke 10:19); and power to have hope (Rom.15:13). He is our Teacher, “But the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My name (in my place, to represent Me and act on my Behalf), He will teach you all things. And He will cause you to recall everything I have told you.” “He is the Spirit of Truth Whom the world cannot receive….but you know Him; for He dwells with you, and shall be in you” (John 14:17 (Amp.). He is the “Convictor.” The Holy Spirit is the One Jesus spoke of in, John 16:7-8, when He said “He (the Holy Spirit) will convict and convince the world of sin, of righteous and of judgment: about sin because they do not believe and trust in Me; about righteousness and right standing with God, because I go to My Father, and you will see me no longer; about judgment, because the ruler of this world (Satan) is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him.” He is the “Searcher of Hearts” (read Ps.139). Today He convicts us also. Are we sensitive to His convicting power? When you do something against the known will of God does your conscience bother you? Does it “hurt?” Can your conscience be your guide? Charles Stanley has some good and helpful thoughts on conviction I want to share with you below (in italics). Sometimes it’s easy even for believers to become confused, because emotions can be very tricky. For this reason, it is unwise to trust feelings or base our decisions upon them. There is a difference between emotion and true conviction, which means an awareness of wrongdoing (John 16:7-9 above). The Holy Spirit prompts conviction of sin as an expression of His love because he wants to keep you on the right path. One sure way to distinguish conviction by the Holy Spirit is that he will always identify something specific (Ps.51:3-4; Luke 22:60-62). God won’t hesitate to put His finger on whatever is outside of His will. Conversely, the Enemy will try to inspire feelings of condemnation and guilt. The Enemy wants you so weighed down that you become ineffective for the Lord. When believers listen to that deceitful voice, they can become incapacitated by the untruths from the Father of Lies. The only way that you’re going to build a defense against untruth is to saturate your mind with Truth. You must, therefore, spend time in the Bible, undergirding your belief system with God’s reality so you can easily spot error. If you are unsure where you stand on any issue, then it is imperative that you sit down with a Bible and begin researching until you hear God’s answers. Find scripture concerning each area, and ask the Holy Spirit, “What does this passage really mean?” Even as Christians, we have to be careful, or we could easily mistake personal preferences for convictions. We cannot afford to build our life’s foundation with any materials that are not totally scriptural. The apostle Paul told us that the quality of each man’s work will be tested by fire (I Cor.3:13), and that includes what we believe. The Holy Spirit uses conviction positively – to warn against danger or lovingly nudge an erring believer back onto the course the Lord designed for his or her life. Thankfully, this is one of God’s unceasing acts of love. What happens if we choose not to learn through scripture what is God’s will on any issue? Have you heard of a “hard heart?” This is what happens to our hearts (mind, will and emotions) when we act against the known will of God. The first time we act conversely to God’s will our consciences will strongly bother us. If we don’t listen to the Holy Spirit’s proddings, and continue to sin in that specific area, the voice of the Holy Spirit becomes quieter and quieter; and our hearts becomes harder and harder and finally they have become like they have been seared with a hot iron (I Tim.4:2), (this particular scripture is specifically referring to lying hypocrites- (pretenders). At that point, they cannot “feel” their consciences correcting them. The hardening of their hearts was a choice on their part – whether to continue to act in God’s will or their own. This same principle applies to us also. We can become like the Children of Israel in the nineteenth chapter of Ezekiel where they had turned their hearts against God, following other gods, thus hardening their hearts. But God promised them in verses 18 and 19, “And when they return there, they shall take away from it all traces of its detestable things and all its abominations (sex impurities and heathen religious practices). And I will give them one heart, a new heart and I will put a new spirit within them; and I will take the stony, hardened heart out of their flesh, and I will give them a heart of flesh (sensitive and responsive to the touch of their God) (Amp.).” At the first twinge of “conscience” we must turn back to the Father, the only one Who can cleanse us and renew us in Him. The Holy Spirit is our “Defender” and “Deliverer.” In the Lord’s Prayer (Matt.6:13), Jesus prayed, “Deliver us from evil.” In Romans 7:24-25, Paul is anguishing over the bondage of sin in his life, but the Deliverer brings victory. By trusting in the Spirit of Christ, He will deliver us from all the power of the enemy (Rom.7:24-25; Luke 10:19). When the Holy Spirit comes to reside in our hearts He brings spiritual gifts (I Cor.12:1-11). All of these gifts are inspired and brought to pass by one and the same Holy Spirit, Who apportions to each person individually exactly as He chooses. He gives natural gifts also, but the following list is some of the spiritual gifts He gives, and He doesn’t want us to be ignorant of them. There are distinctive varieties which distinguish certain Christians, due to the power of divine grace operating in their souls by the Holy Spirit, and they may vary, but the Holy Spirit remains the same. So study these and recognize which ones you may have been given. These spiritual grace gifts are: 1) power to speak a word of Wisdom; 2) power to express a word of knowledge and understanding; 3) wonder working faith; 4) powers of healing; 5) working of miracles; 6) prophetic insight; 7) discernment, to distinguish between true and false spirits; 8) various kinds of unknown tongues; 9) ability to interpret unknown tongues. In Romans 12:6-8 more are mentioned: 10) service; 11) teaching; 12) exhortation; 13) giving; 14) superintend; 15) mercy. We will discuss these more fully in a future study. It is wonderful to know that the precious Holy Spirit prays for us. Romans 8:26-27 tells us, “So too the Holy Spirit comes to our aid and bears us up in our weakness; for we do not know what prayer to offer nor how to offer it worthily as we ought, but the Spirit Himself goes to meet our supplication and pleads in our behalf with unspeakable yearnings and groanings too deep for utterance. And He who searches the hearts of men knows what is in the mind of the Holy Spirit (what His intent is), because the Spirit intercedes and pleads before God in behalf of the saints according to and in harmony with God’s will.” The Holy Spirit is our Treasure Within. “Do you know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you(I Cor.6:19)? As Christians we have someone inside us that a hundred trillion dollars can’t buy. It is better than gold or silver or precious jewels. That someone is the Holy Spirit, Who is the down payment and guarantee of what is to come (II Cor.1:22). Did you know we as Christians have this treasure living in this “earthen vessel,” (II Cor.4:7)! We should be so thankful and grateful for this fact. As E. Stanley Jones said, “When I met Christ, I felt that I had swallowed sunshine.” When the Holy Spirit comes to live in us we will begin to display attributes just like Him: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. And just think, we have all these wonderful things by just accepting Christ and inviting the Holy Spirit to live in and take control of our lives. WHAT A WONDER! Prayer: Dear Father, we come to you in the name of Jesus, our Lord, and in the power of the indwelling Holy Spirit. We commit all that we are, and all we ever hope to be, to You, the God of all mercy, forgiveness and love. Cleanse us from all our sin/sins and give us a new heart so we can walk with You in Your righteousness, so we can have fellowship with you, Jesus, our Savior, and be filled (and continue to be filled) with Your sweet Holy Spirit. Amen! 4.