what comes to your mind when you think of the Holy Spirit? Just a force? An ambiguous personality? The bible first made mention of the Holy Spirit in Genesis 1:2 “And the earth was without form and void; and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.” The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity, He is God, as much as the Father and the Son. Although having a distinct personality attesting to each; these three cannot be separated, they are intertwined and exist through and in each other- God is One (Mark 12.29).
Also, in the old testament, its been mentioned of certain people that were filled with Gods Spirit; David, Saul, Zachariah, Mary the mother of Jesus, Elizabeth and so forth. But, before the death and revelation of Jesus Christ in glory, the Holy Spirit was not yet exclusively given. He filled those who feared God, He dwelt with them but not in; that’s why we come across expressions like- “to be filled with the Spirit”
Jesus Christ in John 14:16-18, said to His disciples “And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not , neither knoweth Him: but ye knoweth Him; for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you. I will not leave you comfortless, I will come to you.”
And now it is, just as Christ had promised that we not only abide with the Holy Spirit, but He Lives in us, and He is here to stay forever. And that is why John 4.24 says “For God is Spirit and those that worship Him, must do so in Spirit and in Truth” and Galatians 5:25 says “if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit. Basically, the life of a Christian is incomplete without fellowship in and with the Holy Spirit. But how does one receive the Holy Spirit? How does one know they have received the Holy Spirit? The answer is simple! Just Ask! Christ in Luke 11:13 talks about how to receive the Holy spirit “If ye being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask Him?” the moment you asked Jesus to be your personal Lord and Saviour, that very moment, the Holy Spirit was released to dwell in you. As a Christian, just like in any other relationship, we grow in Him, we deepen our relationship with Him as we seek to know Him better and as we share intimate moments with Him. So, although you’ve received the Holy spirit, it doesn’t just end there. That is why some Christians aren’t sure if they’ve received the holy spirit or not, because they don’t make Him an active part of their daily lives. You want Him to be an active part of your daily life, you want to get Him involved in every decision you make and how you live your life. This happens when you get to discern His voice- how do you get to discern His voice? – when you get to know Him. How do you get to know Him? When you are filled with His word and you submit yourself to Him. How do you submit yourself? By obedience.
Now, when the Holy Spirit abides in you, He gives you the power to be Gods Child. it is Him who transforms darkness into light and bring life to dead bones. it is evident during the creation, the Holy Spirit had to move over the face of the earth first, and when the word was released His power in the word, brought light to earth. it is the Holy Spirit who transforms you, so that you begin to have the same character as Christ- the fruits of the spirit revealed in Galatians 5:22-23 as “but the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance: against such, there is no law.” It is the Holy spirit that gives us the grace to live by faith in Christ as He continuously brings to our remembrance all the Lord has spoken and He reveals the truth of Gods word in our hearts (John 14:26). it is He who also convicts our hearts when we are going astray, so that we come back to God. As you give in to the Holy Spirit, you begin to change in certain ways, you start having a change of mindset and when this happens; you begin to see things differently- you see through Gods eyes. And the best part of it is, that you don’t struggle to do those things the world would find difficult to do. You just see yourself loving, caring, being kind, being generous, forgiving, wanting to be there for others, longing to please God- you serve with joy. Why? Because it isn’t just you, you have the Helper working with you, helping you in areas of your weaknesses, that the glory of God might be revealed in you. Zechariah 4: 6 says “its not by power nor by might but by my spirit says the Lord.”
I encourage you today, to submit to God, everything you are struggling with. Why should you have to struggle when you have the Holy Spirit to help you? Ask the Holy Spirit for help, invite Him to be your strength, to be your teacher in areas where you might be confused about certain things or just need to know more about something, Ask Him to be your guide and Comfort you in areas where you need to be comforted, make Him your best friend today. Be open minded and willing to obey when He is ministering to your heart and you will see the heavens open upon you!
LET US PRAY
Dear Heavenly Father, we thank you for the gift of Your Spirit which has been revealed to us by faith through Your Only Begotten Son Jesus Christ. Dear Holy Spirit, we are tired of trying to do things by our strength, we therefore ask that you carry us, even as we open our hearts to you today; Be glorified, Amen.
WordCosmos 