On the day of Pentecost, when the believers were gathered in one place, the Holy Spirit came with a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4).
When it comes to the Holy Spirit, the picture many people have is a group of Pentecostal people gathered together and make a lot of noise and utter words or speech-like sounds, often thought to be some languages. The Holy Spirit is not just a powerful wind that make people weeping, shouting, dancing, shaking and speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit can come like a wind that came on the day of Pentecost, and at the same time, as part of the Trinity, He is a person just like the Father and the Son who comes in like a breeze or a silent comforter. The Holy Spirit has been variously translated "advocate", "intercessor", "teacher, "helper", "comforter".
An average non-Pentecostal person does not learn or understand about the Holy Spirit through any teaching by the church. They get stuck somewhere between Easter and Pentecost. They have been to Calvary for pardon and celebrate Easter, but they Have not been to Pentecost to learn about the Holy Spirit. Bethlehem means God With Us. Calvary means God For Us. Pentecost means God In Us.
The very first reference to the Holy Spirit in the Bible is found in Genesis 1:2 "Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters." The Spirit of God works in us in various ways to teach, guide and help us in our lives. Paul teaches in Romans chapter 8, that the Holy Spirit also helps us to pray when we are not able to pray. "The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express." (Romans 8:26). When we find ourselves confused and afraid, and we do not know what to pray for, The Holy Spirit is our prayer warrior.
When the devil accuses the children of God, it is the Spirit who will be interceding as the counsellor. In the story of Job, satan went and stood before God to accuse Job. Though Job was not able to defend himself at that time, the Holy Spirit was there to represent him and intercede for Job and helped him through his tests and trials. The purpose of our prayer is not for God to help keep a list of to-do things a. Prayer is not just asking God a bunch of things, it is a need for our own souls. Prayer strengthens our souls, it connects our life with God. Jesus prayed and he taught people how to pray. The reason for our prayer is to acknowledge our own weak and helpless condition, and acknowledge the all sufficiency of God.
The Holy Spirit is a counsellor and a coach, who stands with us in our humiliation and troubles. One day while playing in his home stadium, a well known football player committed an error and the crowd began to ridicule him. He stood in that stadium with his hands covering his face, humiliated, while the fans cheering. Then his coach came over and stood next to him. He put his arm around him and took his hands off his face and raised them up facing the crowd. The player was no longer alone and the fans grew quiet. The player said to the reporters that his coach placing his arm around his shoulder and standing with him in that situation saved his career and gave him the strength to go on.
The Holy Spirit is our spiritual life support just like Oxygen for our physical body. In Ezekiel’s vision, we read about the breath of God came on dead and dry bones and they all became alive. (Ezekiel 37:1–14). When George came down with Covid-19 , he was put on a ventilator. He realized that being able to breathe was a gift. For more than a week, a machine had to pump air into his lungs every few seconds, which was a painful part of his treatment. He made a slow but miraculous recovery, and today he reminds himself not to complain about life’s challenges. He says, “I’ll just take a deep breath,and thank God I can.” How easy it is to focus on things we need or want, and forget that sometimes the smallest things in life can be the greatest miracles. Like a Ventillator, The Holy Spirit pumps air into us when we cannot breathe. He teaches us how to pray, and He will pray and interceded for us when we cannot pray ourselves. Regardless of where you are, in the ICU or on a ventilator, or under anesthesia on a surgical table, where we find ourselves unable to pray, the Holy Spirit will be there to pray for us. Whether we are in a relationship problem or family issue, or a job situation and do not no what to pray for, what is right to do, He will be there to pray with us and guide us.
The Holy Spirit gives us the daily Power to Be a Witness. Our main purpose in life is to be a witness—to preach the gospel through our words and actions. We are called not just to talk about Jesus but to live a life that reflects His character. The only way that is possible is if the Holy Spirit moves through us. Acts 1:8 says, "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth."
The Holy Spirit helps us to walk in the way of the truth. building of our Character. Jesus said in John 14:16-18, “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to 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. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.” The Spirit brings into our life His fruit, which the Bible tells us builds a character that does not only please God but gives us an immense advantage as well. Galatians 5:22-23 promises, "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law."
The human body is a most remarkable machine. It can maintain a constant temperature of 98.6 degrees no matter what the weather is outside. Whether a man is at the Arctic Circle or the equator, his body temperature is about the same. There is an inner mechanism that makes the difference. The Holy Spirit dwells within the Christian to achieve this kind of stabilization in terms of spiritual health. Whether we face good times or bad, whether we are tempted or receiving spiritual nourishment, the Holy Spirit keeps us stable within. --Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997
It is like a vehicle, when one tire is low of air, there is a balancing system that keeps the vehicle balanced and keeps it from accident. Then the warning lights would come on. Holy Spirit gives us the warning lights when we are weak and tired. When we are on the wrong path heading into danger, he nudges us to straighten our direction. It is a warning system like our body temperature.
The body temperature is a warning system as well as an immune system that kills the external organisms trying to attack;
Like the body’s immune system that constantly guards for attacks from outside germs, the Holy Spirit constantly watches us from attacks of the devil. He will give us warning signs to keep us safe. He is there to protect us from all evil. "When the enemy comes in like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord will put him to safety." (Isaiah 59:19)
In the book Healing the Masculine Soul, Gordon Dalbey says that when Jesus refers to the Holy Spirit as the Helper, He uses a Greek word, paraclete, that was an ancient warrior’s term. "Greek soldiers went into battle in pairs," says Dalbey, "so when the enemy attacked, they could draw together back-to-back, covering each other’s blind side. One’s battle partner was the paraclete." The Holy Spirit is our battle partner who covers our blind side and fights for our well being. The Holy Spirit protects and guards us from all evil. The world is full of temptations where we can go wrong and fall. But trusting and holding on to the Spirit will keep us from falling.
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