When you are done reading this article, you will know who the Holy Spirit is and how to ask Him into your heart. Enjoy!
Have you ever seen a child stare in wide-eyed wonder as he or she listens to a new story? That's the way many people are when it comes to the Holy Spirit. They don't have a clue to His true identity or how He works in the life of every Christian. The Holy Spirit is a mystery to them. Wide-eyed wonder is not a bad response to have to the Holy Spirit. Certainly, the Holy Spirit should inspire our awe, our wonder, our adoration. But the Holy Spirit does not desire to be a puzzle. He desires to reveal Himself to us and to be known by us. Who, then, is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit Is a Person
One of the keys to your understanding about the Holy Spirit lies in your recognition that the Holy Spirit is not an "it"; He is a person.
Have you ever been asked, "Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Do you have the Holy Spirit?" There is only one set of answers: yes or no. You can't have a little bit of the Holy Spirit. Either you have been filled by Him, or you haven't. You can't have had Him once, but not have Him now. Either you have Him, or you've never had Him. The error tends to come because we think of the Holy Spirit as a force, a power, an event, an experience, a manifestation. When you begin to see the Holy Spirit as a person—not as a power or an experience—you have a much different perspective on receiving or getting the Holy Spirit. From where does our false understanding of the Holy Spirit as an "it" tend to arise? In many cases, from Acts 2, these false understandings arise, where we read about the coming of the Holy Spirit into the lives of the first Christians:
When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance (Acts 2:1-4).
People tend to confuse the sights and sounds present at the Holy Spirit's arrival with the Holy Spirit Himself. They read of a rushing windlike sound from heaven. They read of a mass of fire that seems to divide into tongues that touch each person. They read of the people speaking in languages they didn't learn with their minds. And they assume that the sound, the fire, and the unknown tongues are the Holy Spirit. These are manifestations of the Spirit's coming to the church on the day of Pentecost shortly after Jesus' ascension. They are not the Holy Spirit Himself. The sound is as a rushing mighty wind. The glowing light seems as divided tongues of fire. The Holy Spirit is infinitely more than any single manifestation of His presence.The Characteristics of a Person
What makes a person a person—as opposed to any of God's other creatures? The three foremost qualities of personhood are these:Knowledge - an ability to know, understand, recognize, and have meaning Will - an ability to make choices and decisions on the basis of what one chooses to do, not as an instinctual response to external stimuli Emotion - an ability to feel, both to have and express feelings and to be aware of them
Let's take a look at Scriptures that reveal these qualities associated with the Holy Spirit.
We read about the knowing ability of the Holy Spirit: "For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God"
(1 Corinthians 2:11).
And we read about the will of the Holy Spirit: "But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills" (1 Corinthians 12:11).
In Romans 15:30, we read about "the love of the Spirit," and in Ephesians 4:30, we read Paul's admonishment: "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." We can't grieve Somebody who doesn't love us. Because the Holy Spirit has an emotional capacity, we can grieve Him. Yes, the Holy Spirit has emotions.
As you read through the verses below, note as part of your recording of insights that these are all the actions or functions of a person.
And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever (John 14:16). 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 (
John 14:26).
When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me (John 15:26). And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment (
John 16:8).
Helping, comforting, teaching, calling to remembrance, testifying, convicting—these are all actions of a person.
The Holy Spirit Is Part of the Trinity
The Holy Spirit is the third member of the triune Godhead: God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. He is inseparable from the Father and the Son; He is of one nature, character, and identity with them. At the same time, He is a unique person; He has a specific identity and function in our lives, just as Jesus has a specific identity and function and the Father has a specific identity and function. The Holy Spirit is present anytime the Father and the Son are present, and they in turn, are present anytime the Holy Spirit is present. The Holy Spirit was present at creation: "The earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters" (Genesis 1:2). And He was vital in the creation of humankind:
Then God said, "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth." So God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them (Genesis 1:26-27).
Note the word Our: We have been created in the full image of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit.
Now what does it mean to be created in God's image?
To be created in God's image means that He has given us His qualities of personhood: we have an ability to know things and remember them, we have an ability to feel emotions and to respond to life with a full range of feelings, and we have an ability to make choices and decisions, to solve problems, to have "dominion" or authority over creation. We also have God's ability to help, to teach, to testify, to call to remembrance, to give convincing, convicting arguments. God has created us with the full capacity to be people.
As part of our creation, God "breathed" Himself into us. He imparted the capacity for His very nature to us. We have the specific ability to know God, to sense God at work in us, and to respond to God. He made us with the capacity to be His children and to invite Him into our lives.
You may ask, "Are you saying that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God?" That's exactly what I'm saying. We are wise to refer to Him in just that way:
The Holy Spirit of God Almighty
The Holy Spirit of Christ Jesus—the same Spirit who indwelled Christ
The Holy Spirit who indwells us today
All are one and the same Holy Spirit! His role in the Trinity is to fill, to energize, to empower, to cause to act, to compel behavior, to produce qualities of character, to work in and through God's creation. He is not the Creator, but there was and is no creation without Him. He is not the Father, but there is no understanding of our need for relationship or confirmation of our relationship with the Father without Him. He is not God almighty, but there is no expression of or conviction about God's will apart from Him. He is not the Son, but there is no awareness of sin and no coming to a saving knowledge of Jesus Christ as Savior apart from Him. He is not Jesus, but Jesus did not do anything apart from the Holy Spirit's empowerment. The Holy Spirit is inseparable from Christ Jesus and from God the Father. What new insights do you have into the nature of the Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit Is the Promise of God to the Believer
The Holy Spirit has a unique relationship with believers. Let the verses of Scripture below speak to you directly and personally. Keep in mind that Paul is writing in both cases to people who have accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and who are following Him as the Lord of their lives.
In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory (Ephesians 1:13-14).
But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you (Romans 8:9-11).
These verses say plainly that if you have Christ, you have the Holy Spirit of God. He is the seal of your commitment to Jesus Christ. In other words, when you accept Jesus Christ as the substitutionary, sacrificial, all-sufficient atonement for your sins—as an act of your confession and will—the Holy Spirit automatically seals that decision before the Father in heaven. You belong to God forever. There is no unsealing of what the Holy Spirit seals, not by your actions or by the actions of any other person. Conversely, if you do not have the Holy Spirit resident in you, as God's seal and guarantee on your life—in other words, as God's claim that you belong to Him - you haven't received Jesus Christ as your Savior. Can you be a Christian and not have the Holy Spirit? No.
Some people ask, "Have you received the Holy Spirit since you became a Christian?"
The question they ask is an impossibility. You received the Holy Spirit as part of your receiving Christ. You can't receive just one part of the Trinity. When you became a Christian—when you confessed your sins and repented of them, when you asked for and received God's forgiveness—you received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit of God came and indwelled your spirit and claimed you as His own. He has put you into full relationship with the Father and the Son, because He is inseparable from the Father and the Son. He now seeks to live His life—the same quality of life that Jesus Christ lived—in you and through you.
The Promise to Every Believer
Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to His disciples, and that promise extends to us as His disciples today. Recall that Jesus said, "But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things" (John 14:26). Jesus said the Father will send the Spirit.
At the time of Jesus' ascension, He said to His disciples, "Behold, I send the Promise of My Father upon you; but tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endued with power from on high" (Luke 24:49). It was the promise that Jesus had made to them on the night of the Last Supper—the promise of the Holy Spirit's coming to them to help and comfort them in His absence.
In Acts 1:8, we find these additional words at the time of Jesus' ascension: "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" (emphasis added). There was no doubt in His mind that it would happen for those who desired to follow Him.
Read Peter's description of the events on the day of Pentecost:
This Jesus God has raised up, of which we are all witnesses. Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, He poured out this which you now see and hear (Acts 2:32-33).
Peter was saying, "We received the One who was promised. You witnessed the manifestation of His presence coming into our lives with your own eyes and ears."
The Holy Spirit is God's promise to you as His child today. If you are a believer and follower of the Lord Jesus Christ, you have the Holy Spirit resident in you.The Holy Spirit Is the Power of the Believer
Why did Jesus promise the Holy Spirit to those who followed Him? Because He knew that they would need to have the Holy Spirit in them if they were to be faithful, steadfast, and effective in their walk with God. The Holy Spirit enables people to live the Christian life.
The God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give to you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him . . . that you may know . . . what is the exceeding greatness of His power toward us who believe, according to the working of His mighty power which He worked in Christ when He raised Him from the dead and seated Him at His right hand in the heavenly places, far above all principality and power and might and dominion, and every name that is named, not only in this age but also in that which is to come. And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church (Ephesians 1:17-22).
Now to Him who is able to do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, according to the power that works in us, to Him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus to all generations, forever and ever (Ephesians 3:20).
Paul wanted the believers to know that they had full resurrection power in their lives. They had the same power that raised Christ Jesus from the dead. Certainly, such power was able to raise them from their sins. Not only that, but the power is above all other principality, power, dominion, or might. Nothing is more powerful than the Holy Spirit resident in you. How do you feel about the fact that if you are a believer in Christ Jesus, you have the power of the Holy Spirit in you? In what ways is the Lord challenging you in your spiritual walk with Him?
The Fruit of The Holy Spirit
Galatians 5:16-25The apostle Paul writes in Galatians 5:16-25 about walking in the Spirit and producing the "fruit of the Spirit." What is this fruit and how does it grow in me?
Fruit is a public testimony to a believer's sensitivity to and dependency on the Holy Spirit. It is the telling sign. Fruit sets the abiders apart from the producers. It is not simply one mark of a Spirit-filled life; it is the preeminent mark. When we see fruit in a life, we know without a doubt that the Holy Spirit has custody over that particular child of God. The person is more than His possession; the person is under His influence.
The closer you get to believers who are truly walking in the Spirit, the better they look. There is nothing plastic about them. You don't get the impression that they are hiding something. They radiate integrity. You get the impression you could trust them with your most intimate secret. You may even find yourself opening up to them in a way that is uncharacteristic for you.
Intimidation is not their game. They don't rely on personality and trumped-up enthusiasm to win you over. They seem to be at peace with who they are. And they seem almost anxious to accept you for who you are as well. For that reason, you may feel drawn to them. They are the people you find yourself wanting to be like, not because of a particular skill or talent, but because of the depth of their character.
We are not talking about perfection. In fact, you will hear more apologies from the lips of those who walk by the Spirit than any other group of people. Their sensitivity to the Spirit provides them with an uncanny ability to know when they have offended or hurt someone. Their internal security allows them to respond quickly once they realize their sin or error in judgment. They are not afraid to admit their faults. They have reconciled themselves to the fact that they are sinners. However, they are aware that they have within them the power to rise above their fleshly appetites and desires.
Spirit-filled believers make their biggest impression during troubled times. Then it becomes most apparent that the source of their abiding character is something that lies deep within them. When all the crutches and props are kicked away and they are still standing, no one can argue that their uniqueness was simply a byproduct of their environment. They have their down times. They don't win every battle. Doubt and temptation take them out of the race from time to time. But their recovery time is remarkably short. They don't stay down. And once they are back, it's as if they actually benefited from the experience. Specifically, their lives will be characterized by the following nine virtues:
- Love
- Joy
- Peace
- Patience
- Kindness
- Goodness
- Faithfulness
- Gentleness
- Self-control
Paul listed these virtues and moved on. They aren't given to us as goals to pursue. Why? Because we cannot produce fruit. Remember? That's not our responsibility. The Holy Spirit is the producer. We are merely the bearers. All we do is avail ourselves and He would do it. There are testing and trails that we will go through to birth, shape, and trim these fruits in our lives. The fruit of the Spirit was never intended to be a demonstration of our dedication and resolve. It is the evidence of our dependency on and sensitivity to the promptings of the Spirit. Remember it is the Holy Spirit Who works in us both to will and then to do of His good pleasures and His pleasure is for you to bear the fruit of the Spirit in your life. God bless you.
FELLOWSHIP OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the COMMUNION of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen. (2 Corinthians 13:14, emphasis added)
The grace of the Lord Yeshua the Messiah, the love of God and the FELLOWSHIP of the Ruach HaKodesh be with you all. (CJB - Complete Jewish Bible version, emphasis added)
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (NIV)
This is a verse of Scripture that is widely used all over. It is taught in Sunday schools and in most denominations. It is often called "the grace" ("Shall we share the grace?") or the benediction. It is the very first prayer most people learn and believe it or not, most Christian households and even non-Christians use it at meals or at bedtime. But many have not really pondered on the meaning of this very wonderful and powerful verse of Scripture. This passage of Scripture is made up of three parts:
Grace - LORD JESUS CHRIST
Love - GOD THE FATHER
Fellowship - HOLY SPIRIT
The apostle Paul wrote 2 Corinthians13: 14 as a benediction that witnesses to the New Testament church's belief in the Trinity.
Paul prayed that the Corinthians might continually experience: the grace of Christ; i.e., His nearness, power, mercy and comfort; the Fatherly love of God with all His blessings; and, a deepening fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
If this threefold reality is our abiding blessing, then our everlasting salvation will be assured. We cannot have one without the other; otherwise, we will not have a fulfilled Christian life to the glory of Almighty God. For God the Father so loved the world (sinners included) that He gave His only begotten Son Jesus, through whom we have unmerited favor (grace). And having been justified, we are required to walk in his footsteps. To enable us to do this, He sent the Holy Spirit so that through fellowship with Him, He will lead us, guide us, and help us live the life marked out for us to the glory of Almighty God.The Grace of Our Lord Jesus Christ
And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of GRACE and TRUTH (John 1:14, emphasis added).
For the law was given by Moses, but GRACE and truth came by Jesus Christ (John 1:17, emphasis added).
Therefore being justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this GRACE wherein we stand... (Romans 5:1-2, emphasis added)
GRACE to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love. (Ephesians 6:24, NIV, emphasis added)
Grace is an unmerited favor that is obtained only through Jesus Christ. It is the blessed assurance of our salvation. You who were once indebted to God had no means of being reconciled until God’s undying love brought Jesus Christ to pay the debt and reconcile you back unto God.
There is no reason why anyone should perish or be separated from God eternally because the price has already been paid and all we need to do is to know this truth and the truth will set us free. Beloved, what have you got to lose? All you have to lose is the world hell, which is "eternal separation from God" and you will gain Heaven, which is "eternal life with God." Just think about it. Your debt has been paid for in full and all you need to do is to believe in the One who graciously and unconditionally bailed you out of damnation into life eternal. It is FREE! All you need to do is to confess Jesus as your Lord and Savior and you will be saved.
with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shall believe in thine heart that God hath raised Him from the dead, thou shall be saved.
We need to plunder hell to populate Heaven!!!The Love of God
God is LOVE… (1 John 4:16, emphasis added)
How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are! (1 John 3:1, NIV)
Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through Him. (1 John 4:7-9)
God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God and God in him. (1 John 4:16a)
God's love is unconditional. He loves you regardless of who you are or what you have done. It is a kind of love that would not let you go. It is everlasting, it is divine, it is beyond our human ability, and it is only possible by grace and by the Holy Spirit. God's love is beyond human comprehension and it can only be fully understood by revelation.
Beloved, just think about this for a moment. God loved us so much that He sent His ONLY BEGOTTEN SON JESUS to die so He could pay the price for our sins in order that we could be reconciled with God, so He could love us again. Picture Jesus leaving all His glory in heaven and becoming like us, taking on the form of a servant, and dying a shameful death on the cross, just because of love. He did not go through all this trouble if not for the sake of love. Comprehending this so great a love makes you say with David in Psalm 8:4, what is man, that thou art mindful of him? And the son of man, that thou visitest him?
The worst day of Jesus’ life on earth was when the Father had to turn Him away, forsaking Him on the cross. When Jesus cried out aloud "My God, My God why has thou forsaken me," that was the only time the Father had to turn His back to His only begotten Son. Why? Because of you and me. Jesus took your sins and mine upon Himself. Sin separates us from God, so for Him to fully pay the price for our salvation He had to be separated from God and let death swallow Him up. He had to be obedient even to death! Oh but thank God He is alive again and forever. As one song goes, "Death has lost its sting and the grave its victory! Jesus is alive! He is Lord!"
John 10:30 says, I and my Father are ONE yet the Father's love for sinners like you and me was so great that He had to put their oneness on hold so Jesus could pay the price required for us to be reconciled back to the Father. Pray that the sweet and precious Holy Spirit will enlighten the eyes of your understanding so you can grasp so great a love - the love of God. Selah. (Stop and think about it.)
As much as the GRACE and LOVE of God is the epitome of our salvation and Christianity, our main focus and subject in this chapter is to establish the importance of fellowship with the Holy Spirit. Fellowship is our constant and continual link to reality.Fellowship with the Holy Spirit
What is fellowship?The Oxford Learner's Dictionary defines fellowship as:
1. A friendly association
2. Companionship
3. A union of sharing common interest
In other words, fellowship is a relationship that involves companionship or a friendly association between two parties with a common interest.Communion (komonia)
The Greek word komonia is translated as "communion." It is the state of sharing or exchanging the same thoughts, ideas or feelings. When we speak of fellowship and communion, there is a friendly association, companionship, sharing of common interests, participation, contribution and a relationship.
Without a relationship there can never be fellowship or communion because there has to be an agreement between the parties involved. An agreement based on a common goal - an agreement done willingly, not out of compulsion. Amos 3:3 says, Can two walk together, except they be agreed?
In the 2 Corinthians 13:14, we learned the three dimensions of our relationship with God. The reason why the fellowship of the Holy Spirit is so important is that it is the only way we can experience the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ and the love of the Father (God). Through fellowship, the Holy Spirit communicates the love of God and the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to our hearts. These are truths that our finite minds cannot comprehend except through the Spirit, for He helps us in our infirmities. (Romans 8:26)
The Holy Spirit has one mission: For Christ to be glorified! He is here to honor the name of Jesus, to lift up high the name of Jesus, to exalt the mighty name of Jesus. The only reason He is here is because of JESUS! Philippians 2:9-11 tells us that God gave Him a name that is above every other name, that at the mention of that name every knee shall bow and every tongue shall confess Him as Lord to the glory of God. He was, and still is, exalted above all things.
Jesus also said in John.15: 26, But when the Comforter (Holy Spirit) is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, He shall testify of me. (Parenthetic note added)
And in John 16:13-14, Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you into all truth: for He shall not speak of Himself; but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak: and He will show you things to come. He shall glorify me: for He shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you. (Underscoring added)
These verses of Scripture do not mean that we are to ignore the Holy Spirit; on the contrary, we are to depend on Him to help us live for Jesus. They define His mission and purpose - why He is with us and what is the benefit of having Him in us and with us.
For example, granted that you were appointed as an ambassador to a country and the President gave you a special assignment to that particular government and people. You travel to that nation but no one welcomes you, no one acknowledges your presence and your authority is disrespected, yet you and your government are expected to help them build their economy. How would you feel if you were that ambassador? Well, that is exactly how the Holy Spirit feels about the way we have treated Him all this while and still do. We have grieved Him through our actions that are prompted by our lack of knowledge and understanding of who He really is.
He could be more than a friend to you. He is the only friend you could ever know who would love you unconditionally, a friend who sticks closer than a brother. He is interested in you and wants to get close to you. He is all you need to make it through life’s journey as a child of God. You need to talk to Him, reason with Him, go to Him daily for help and guidance, and look to Him for leadership and direction. He will reveal the will, plan and purposes of God to you and help you walk in it.
You need to establish a friendly association with him, a companionship with the same interest of knowing Christ and being found in Him that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being made conformable unto His death (Philippians 3:10). Don’t think you are talking to the wind, He is right there with you. Just acknowledge Him.
Pray this prayer:
Father God I need your precious Holy Spirit in my life, Holy Spirit I need you and desire to know and fellowship with you. I want you to be my friend. Come Holy Spirit I need you. I reckon, without you I can do nothing. I am sorry for grieving you. I don’t want to grieve you any more than I already have. Help me to be sensitive to your leading and presence. I want to see Jesus. Help me Lord. This I pray in Jesus’ Mighty name!!!
How to Build an Intimate Fellowship with the Holy Spirit
….The Grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (2 Corinthians 13:14)
Fellowship with the Holy Spirit cannot be overemphasized. It should be one of our topmost priorities as Christians. Why? Because He is the propeller of our belief, He makes the Word of God alive and powerful, and He makes Jesus so real and closer to us than we may think. He helps us "walk the walk and talk the talk". He ultimately makes Christianity meaningful to us by us. Without Him we can do nothing.
How can you hear the voice of God apart from the Holy Spirit? The Bible says, My sheep hear My voice and I hear them. How can you have a Father and not know His voice, yet believe that He is your heavenly Father who loves you? Every born again Spirit-filled believer must hear and know the voice of God. We do not just want the Holy Spirit but we earnestly NEED His fellowship.
Beloved, the lifeline to every relationship is COMMUNICATION. When there is a breakdown of communication in a marriage, the marriage is history. Likewise, in your job, when there is a breakdown in the flow of communication between employers and employees, the production line is affected. Communication is an essential part of every organized institution. So it is in our relationship with Almighty God. In 1 Corinthians 2:11-13 Paul says, who has known the mind of God except the Spirit of God? We need the Holy Spirit to reveal the mind and the heart of God to us. He Himself is God.
Thank God, we do not have to go through a prophet or a priest to mediate between God and us. Since the curtain in the Holy of Holies has been torn from top to bottom, we are welcomed into the presence of fellowship.
Beloved, fellowship with the Holy Spirit is nothing out of the ordinary. The only difference is that He is God and thus deserves all honor, praise and adoration. It should be a way of life, just like having a friend. Friendships are built and need to be worked on. Our level of intimacy in any relationship depends on how much you give and on how much you invest into it because your input determines your output.
Not every friendship is worth investing in but only those that would have a significance in our lives. That should be our aim/objective when it comes to building friendship with the Holy Spirit. We need to want it, to cherish it and treat it with our highest respect, honor and dignity.
Below are some steps to help and guide you to develop your fellowship with the Holy Spirit of God.1. Relationship with Jesus
You need to be born again. Confess Jesus as your Lord and personal Savior. This gives you and me the right to partake of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship is born out of relationship; without one you cannot have the other. Your relationship with Jesus enables your fellowship with His Holy Spirit to become a reality.2. Repentance
If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. (1 John 1:8-9)
Repentance is the greatest key that unlocks the supernatural. The Bible says if you confess your sins, God is faithful and just to forgive you and cleanse you from all unrighteousness. You need to confess the sin of ignorance due to lack of knowledge, causing you to ignore the Holy Spirit, thus hindering or grieving Him and causing Him pain knowingly or unknowingly. We at times even speak against Him or oppose Him directly or indirectly. For instance, your pastor comes up with a plan or an idea born of the Spirit of God. He meets with his elders and leaders and unfolds the plan to them and they furiously oppose it just because of the level of commitment involved, the sacrifice required of them to make the plan a reality, or the fear of man (the congregation). So the Holy Spirit is shut out completely, yet we expect Him to move and do exploits. We need to ask the Father to forgive us for hindering, grieving, opposing, hurting or offending His precious Holy Spirit.Model Prayer of Repentance;
Heavenly Father, I come to you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus and by the blood. I admit I am guilty of sinning against your precious Holy Spirit, knowing and unknowingly. I am sincerely sorry and ask you to forgive me. I need your Holy Spirit and I promise to love Him, honor Him, protect His interest, adore Him, worship Him and yield my body as a living sacrifice to Him. Please take not thy precious Holy Spirit away from me! Precious Holy Spirit I need you and I want to know you. Please reveal yourself to me, help me to be sensitive to you and to know you more. I need your fellowship and I need to have an intimate relationship with you. Come Holy Spirit, I need you. Come Holy Spirit, I pray. Come in Your own special way. I yield completely to You. Have thy own way in my life. I love You, Lord. This I ask in Jesus’ Mighty name. Amen!
Christians haven’t really caught the revelation when it comes to "true" repentance. Repentance is not a one-second thing where you say, Oh Lord I am sorry, forgive me. Amen! True repentance brings change, a complete turn around, a "U" turn. It means taking responsibility for your actions or the actions of whomever you are repenting for. Read Daniel chapter 9. For Jesus to be able to stand in the gap for you and me, He had to take on Himself our sins and pay the consequence for them as if He were the guilty one. He stood guilty before the Father because He identified with us and took our place. He stood in our place and took the punishment as if He committed the act. Wow! That in itself is mind-boggling. Thank you, Jesus for standing in the gap for me and taking my place and the judgment that was due me. How can I ever repay You? All I can do is to say, "Thanks Master," and to give you my life, my body, my all. Take and use it for thy Praise and Glory. When you go through the Old Testament you discover the dramatic old-fashioned way of expressing true repentance. People rend their clothes, put ashes on themselves, fall prostrate, fast or deny themselves of any pleasure, etc. They were in fact using these postures to express how repentant they were to God. The church needs the Spirit of true repentance for herself, our families, communities and nation.3. Desire the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit is not cheap. No way! He is too precious and important to force Himself on you. Yes, He has an agreement with Jesus to be with you and in you, but until you desire to know Him and His friendship or fellowship, He wouldn’t impose Himself on you. He is a gentleman of a kind. To desire is to crave for. To desire is to will for. To desire is to seek earnestly. How bad do you want His fellowship? Does it mean the world to you? Would you give up anything to get it or pay whatever the price may be? Beloved, there is a price to pay and the question is, do you want it so bad that you are willing to pay the price for it? At all cost! Are you determined to have it? If your answer is "yes!" then you are on the right path.4. ASK
And I say unto you, Ask and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. If a man shall ask bread of any of you that is a father, will he give him a stone? or if he ask a fish, will he for a fish give him a serpent? Or if he shall ask an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him? (Luke 11:9-13)
The A stands for = Ask
The S stands for = Seek
The K stands for = KnockWhen you put all the three in one word, it is ASK. Every good and perfect gift comes from above but we receive not because we ask not. Many times, we want God to think like we do. You hear christians say, "The Lord knows I need this or that so He should provide it regardless." Yes He knows our thoughts from afar and He said in His word that He alone is able to do exceedingly, abundantly above all that we ask or think of according to the Holy Spirit (the power that worketh in us). These are thoughts birthed by the Holy Spirit Himself and not your own. Asking is an act of faith and a divine principle. God doesn't operate by assumption but by faith. For without faith it is impossible to please Him. You need to ask the Father to baptize you anew with His precious Holy Spirit. Tell Him you need the fellowship of His Holy Spirit. Remind Him of His promises concerning the Holy Spirit. Seek after the Holy Ghost and knock away every hindrance or obstacle that stands in your way from receiving this good and perfect gift of the Holy Spirit fellowship.
Give yourself no rest until you have what you need. Don't think you sound like a broken record simply because you keep asking for the same thing over and over again. The question is, how bad do you want Him? How would you feel if some one goes out of His way to seek your friendship? You feel important and special right,? How much more with God? He told us to draw near to Him and He will draw near to you. Seek the Lord while He may be found, call on Him while He is near.5. ACT in Faith
Anything not done out of faith is sin and faith without works is dead. The Holy Spirit is not flesh and blood but a Spirit personality and His communication to you is Spirit to spirit. He can speak to you audibly if He so wills. Faith should always be accompanied by action. John 14:16-17 says, And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you" Study the book of John because it sheds more light on the Holy Spirit, His personality and His purpose on earth. In the latter part of verse 17 of John 14 it reads, ....For He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. Ask the Lord this question;
Holy Spirit you are suppose to live in me and be with me, so Holy Spirit reveal yourself to me, I need to know that You are in me and with me.
Beloved, He is real, not a myth or wind or dove or someone invisible. No, no, no. He is real. More real than the eye could see. Pray He will help you understand. He is more real than anything you see with your naked eye. He is only waiting on you to call upon Him, to ask Him to come, to acknowledge Him. Be conscious of His presence always. Talk to Him daily, in the shower, when driving, include Him in your daily duties, love Him, adore Him, ask Him to share His thoughts with you, ask Him to help you to be sensitive to Him. He is waiting on you as always. Mind you, you need Him more than life itself. He is all you will ever need. Precious Holy Spirit reveal Yourself and satisfy the hunger in my heart and show Yourself strong in my life. Thank you, in Jesus’ Mighty name. I love you Holy Spirit!
