THE HOLY SPIRIT
BY PASTOR MARK TAYLOR
Jesus Promises Another Helper - John Chapter 14
15 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever— 17 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. 18 I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you…. 23. Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My words: and My Father will love him, and We will come unto him, and make Our abode with him. 24. He that loves Me not, does not keep My sayings, and the word which you hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me. 25. These things have I spoken unto you, being present with you. 26. But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever, I have said unto you.
When you ask our Lord Jesus to come into your heart and forgive you of your sins, God the Father sends you The Holy Spirit. He lives in you and will not leave you. He is the voice of God Who gives you the ability to communicate with Him and will give you power to overcome sin and have a relationship with Him. The Holy Spirit, who is the Third member of the Trinity, is a gift to us in this dispensation, the "Church Age." The Holy Spirit's work is to give believers gifts or talents to enable him to serve and Love our Lord Jesus Christ. Our Lord in His physical body could only be present at one place at one time, but through the Holy Spirit He can be every where all the time.
The Holy Spirit is present through out the whole Bible. From Genesis 1 to Revelation. Genesis 1:2 says “darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” Revelation 22:17 says: “The Spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’”. It is evident that the Holy Spirit is present through out the whole Bible, but His function is a bit different in the Old Testament and in the New Testament. While He was with them, He mostly came upon people in the Old Testament, while He lives in us today and never leaves us.
In this short message, I want to express how important it is for you to understand The Holy Spirit. He is the third person of the Trinity - The Father, The Son, The Holy Spirit. He is God who speaks to you from Heaven who lives in you. There are many illustrations of how three can be one, but none are adequate. God has made Himself known in three different ways. One illustration is water. It can be ice, liquid, and steam, but it is all water - H2O. We were created in God’s image. We are a body, spirit, and soul. We are three, yet we are one. The difference is our three must stay together while we are alive on Earth. God can express Himself in three different forms while remaining the same substance. He is still one God.
“For My thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways My ways," declares the LORD. "As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts." (Isaiah 55:8, 9).
We not only can receive help from God The Father, and God The Son, but our Lord Jesus sent us God the Holy Spirit to be our helper.
The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit comforts us in time of trouble or sorrow; He helps us to overcome temptations & to live the way we ought; He educates our conscience; He helps us to pray as we ought; & He bears witness to God on our behalf that we are children of God. To the Christian, the Holy Spirit is God’s great Helper - helping us where we are weak, lifting us up when we fall, comforting us in trouble or sorrow, guiding us in the way we ought to go, & standing alongside us as a witness for our defense before God on that great judgment day.
God gives us the Spirit so that we can know what the right thing is and how to do it. He could of given us a huge manual to study with the right thing to do in every situation that would ever come up in life. But instead He gives us the Spirit so that we have the answer right then as it comes up.
The second thing that the Spirit does for us is allow us to live as children of God. There is a big difference between being led by the flesh and being led by the Spirit. When we were led by the flesh we were sin controlled us. We were ruled over and had no choice in the matter. When we are controlled by the Spirit we are led as children are led. How do I lead my children?
First, I lead them gently. I take them by the hand, or if the way is too difficult I carry them. Second, I lead my children in the way they need to go. I am not going to take them anywhere that is dangerous or unhealthy. No, I am going to take them to the best places for them. Third, I lead my children personally. I set the example for them. We talk along the way. I answer their questions and guide them through it encouraging and instructing.
Another work of the Spirit is intercession for us, helping us to pray. Almost like a translator allowing us to speak the language of heaven. “Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings (with feelings too deep for words) which cannot be uttered” (Romans 8:26). In our spiritual lives there are many times when we do not have any idea what is wrong, all we know is that something is not right. At these times the Spirit that is dwelling in us knows exactly what the problem is and is already taking the issue up with God.
There is much more about the Holy Spirit but this is a great start to understanding God in our hearts, making us truly alive, children of God, intimately linked with the Father, guaranteed of an inheritance and interceded for perfectly because He knows our hearts and knows the will of God. What a blessing to be led by the Spirit!
