I want to try to discuss something that
people don’t regularly like to talk about in depth, I think mostly because it
is so often misunderstood and misinterpreted—the ever-nebulous Holy Spirit. What
is it? What can it do for and to you? The Bible explains that the Holy Spirit advocates
for and teaches you, gives you comfort, victory, and power, convicts you, brings
remembrance (of Jesus), and provides truth.
First of all, in order to understand the Holy
Spirit at all, we have to fully believe that there is a spiritual world
out there. Ephesians 6:12 says, “For our
struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against
the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against
the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms” (NIV). This verse establishes
that there is a spirit world out there and that “good spirits” (the Holy
Spirit, angels) fight against “bad spirits” (the devil, demons) for dominion
over our families, our relationships, our heats, and ultimately our souls. I’m
sure when you were younger you heard your grandmother or someone else talk
about “messing with spirits” and you immediately thought they were a bit crazy.
The reality is that if you say you believe in the Bible you have to believe that
there is a whole spiritual world out there that we cannot see, and there are
spirits fighting both FOR and AGAINST us.
Now that we know that the spiritual world is in
fact real, let’s explore real applications of what the Holy Spirit is/does.
Our
Comforter/Advocate
In John 14:16-19 Jesus basically gives his
departure speech to his disciples. He knows that he is going to be taken up to
Heaven soon, so he explains that he may be leaving, BUT he’s not leaving them
alone. He is leaving a piece of himself on earth. What is he referring to you
ask?…you guessed it—The Holy Spirit! He says, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to
help you and be with you forever— the Spirit of truth. The
world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But
you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.” The Holy Spirit is
our advocate (the King James Version uses Comforter in this verse) providing relief
and safety from the evil of this world, and advocating (supporting,
encouraging, backing, favoring) us. The Spirit not only comforts us, but shows
us what is true and right.
When I was in college, I always felt like I was
going at things alone, like I had to watch my own back. I didn’t have my family
and friends I had known for years in extremely close proximity in times when I
needed their support, comfort, and advocacy. Of course they were only a phonw
call away, but it wasn’t the same. I had friends I’d met in school, but I naturally
wondered how much I could place my trust in them. Sadly at that time, I pretty
much never attempted to access the Holy Spirit, either. And because I did not
seek the Holy Spirit, I was not lead towards the truth— that God cared and His
Spirit could comfort me in any moment.
Our
Conviction
Truth and conviction
go hand in hand. Conviction, similar to the verb convict, convinces us of the truth,
error of our ways. Not to condemn us, but to show us that through Jesus we can
be saved. “But in fact, it is best
for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I
do go away, then I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world of its
sin, and of God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment. 9 The world’s sin is that it
refuses to believe in me. 10 Righteousness
is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. 11 Judgment will come”
(John 16:7-11).
I know this to be true. I used to enjoy telling
people off and making them feel bad, feeding of the negative energy. But once I
became closer to God and started to access His Spirit I began to see that I no longer
needed to do that because I have positive energy living inside of me! Now I
sometimes have thoughts of how I can demolish people’s feelings with my mouth,
but I believe that the Holy Spirit has convicted me to the point where that is
no longer my first reaction or my only resort. Galatians 5:16 says “So
I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your
sinful nature craves.”
Our
Victory and Strength
7 The Israelites did evil in the eyes of the Lord;
they forgot the Lord their God and served the Baals and the Asherahs. 8 The
anger of the Lord burned against Israel so that he sold them
into the hands of Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram Naharaim, to whom
the Israelites were subject for eight years.9 But when
they cried out to the Lord, he raised up for them a deliverer,Othniel son
of Kenaz, Caleb’s younger brother, who saved them. 10 The
Spirit of the Lord came on him, so that he became Israel’s judge[b] and went to war. The Lord gave
Cushan-Rishathaim king of Aram into the hands of Othniel, who
overpowered him. 11 So the land had peace for
forty years, until Othniel son of Kenaz died”. --Judges 3:7-11
Even though this was in a time when people did
not have a direct connection to God as we do now, before the birth of Jesus and
before the outpouring of the Holy Spirit in Acts, the Spirit of God was still
there, When the Spirit came upon Othniel, he was empowered to defeat the King
of Aram and brought 40 years of peace. “You
will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you” (Acts 1:8), and “if the Holy
Spirit is living in you, God “will also give life to your mortal bodies because
of his Spirit who lives in you” (Romans 8:10-11).
Our Intercessor
Romans 8: 26-27 says, “In the same way, the
Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but
the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our
hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for
God’s people in accordance with the will of God.” An intercessor is someone who mediates between two or more parties
to try to help settle an argument or disagreement between them; one who speaks
to someone in order to defend or help another person (Merriam Webster).
Essentially, the Holy Spirit is on your side, going to God on your behalf to
make things happen for you. He’s handling the work for you by pleading with God
on your behalf.
Our Connection
to God
John 14:26-27 says “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
John 14:26-27 says “But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and
heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be
troubled or afraid.”
The Holy Spirit helps connects us spiritual things
in ways that they can be applied to our lives. Have you ever prayed then read
the Bible, and got a completely new outlook on something? That’s the work of
the Spirit. This can also be done through a preacher. Have you ever went to
church and gotten an understanding of a certain scripture in a way that you
never had before? Immediately after the Holy Spirit fell in Acts 2, Peter began
to preach. He reminded them of the prophecy from the Old testament (in the book
of Joel) and connected it to what had just happened. I’m sure that was
eye-opening for a lot of the people there. As a response the Bible says, “Peter’s
words pierced their hearts, and they said to him and to the other apostles, ‘Brothers,
what should we do?...41 Those who believed what Peter
said were baptized and added to the church that day—about 3,000 in all. The
Holy Spirit opened up their hearts, helped them to remember the word of God and
allowed Peter to teach them something. In the end the Spirit brought them such
peace, that they were convinced to give their lives to God, and were “added to
the church”
---
A lot of times we go to people and ask them to pray for us. We know that where two or three are gathered God is in the midst (Matthew 18:20) and that is great because we should pray with others, but we often forsake (abandon or give up) our own time with God alone at the drop of a hat because we are too tired, woke up too late, not feeling it, can’t focus, etc.
Bottom
line: We need to stop being lazy
and take time to pour our hearts out to God one-on-one. When you are low (and
when you’re not) seek after the Holy Spirit and asking Him to make intercession
for you. What does that mean? TO PRAY
FOR YOU. When you are feeling weak and when you don't even have words to say
God’s Spirit can take over for you like auto pilot.
I think sometimes we don’t want to give in to
God. We would rather sit in anger or depression to prove a point or to justify
our own desires. But that is not what God wants for us. He wants to comfort
us!!! He wants us to give in the Him so that he can make it all better. Like a
child who has a boo boo, he wants to kiss it and make it feel better.
I’ve definitely felt like not wanting to pray
because in order to prove a point by staying mad or wallowing in my self-pity.
But I’ve found that at the end of the day that’s not helping anyone, it’s just
hurting me. The real battle for me is mental, and I am sure it is for you guys
too. So I had to start praying whenever I had like an impure thought. One day I
was like working myself up getting jealous over something and I was like YO
this is not real because I’m not even a jealous person. So I had to PRAY, and
ask the Spirit to deal with me. I can honestly say that it helped, immediately,
The Holy Spirit can do the same for you, if you just take the time to truly
confess your faults, fears, an worries, and place them all in His hands.
XOxo,
Jael
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