Who the Holy Spirit is and what He does

Messages for November 2015: Our Month of the Holy Spirit

 John 14:18, 26; John 16:13; 1Cor.12:7

Message for Sunday 1^st November, 2015

Theme: Understanding the Gift and Ministry of The Holy Spirit.

Topic: Who the Holy Spirit is and what He does

Introduction: a look at the word of God reveals to us the names of the Holy Spirit through His multiple personalities. In Genesis 1:1-3, He is the first of the Godhead introduced to us as the Spirit of God. We know from the Bible that God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit [1John 5:7, Matthew 3:16-17]. He is on earth to accomplish a mission we shall be looking at in more details in the course of this month. According to the Lord Jesus Christ, His mission among other things is to bring conviction to the world with the aim of saving mankind and his environment and reveal God and His mind to us. See John 16:7-13, Rom.8:19-22 and Acts 3:19-21.

Who then is the Holy Spirit?

To understand who He is, we have to go back to God’s word to find our answers. From the scriptures, we are made to know that He 

1.     A person described in the male gender. In John 16:13, the Lord Jesus Christ gives us this insight when He refers to Him as follows: “When He the Spirit of truth is come, He shall…” and went on to describe His mission to us. In talking about His purpose on Earth from John 16:8-15, the Lord refers to Him as a person in the male gender. Until you recognize Him as a person, you will not be able to establish a working relationship with you and that would be very devastating considering what His purpose is on earth in relation to our fulfilling God’s purpose for us.

2.     He is God: As God, He has all the power and backing of the Godhead. Whenever He speaks to us, He speaks on behalf of the Father and the Son. Like we saw earlier, He is the first of the Godhead introduced to us in the bible. In Gen.1:3, we see Him hovering over the face of the deep before the father could issue the command that triggered the recreation of the Earth as it is today. See 1John 5:7 and Matthew 3:16-17.

3.      He is also known as The Lord: When we compare the places when He ministered in the Old Testament and some of what was reported about those same texts in the New Testament, this truth is made very evident. For instance, when we compare Hebrews 10:15-17 with Ezekiel 36:22-28, we see that Ezekiel was prophesying what was to be discussed in our Hebrew text here as having been fulfilled. Ezekiel refers to Him as The Lord God while Paul calls Him The Holy Spirit or Holy Ghost.

4.     He is the author of the entire Bible from Genesis to Revelation: As a Spirit, He could only work on Earth through human vessels. This is why we are told that He moved on Holy men to put the scriptures together. He is therefore, the most authentic source of bible interpretation. See 2Peter 1:14-21 where Peter left his legacy affirming the authority of the word of God, He makes us realize that He witnessed God Speaking and that Holy men of Old also heard God speak to them and documented them in writing which now makes up the scriptures. Also, Apostle Paul in 2Tim.3:16 makes us see that the Scriptures were not original with men but that they were given to men by the Holy Spirit to show us how to live well. This is why the Bible is God’s manual for our lives and environment.

Why is the Holy Spirit Here?

The Holy Spirit is on Earth today for the following reasons:

1.     To bring Conviction to the world: He convicts the world of sin showing us that we are all sinners and lost and hell bound and in need of salvation          [John 16:7-13; Rom.3:23; 6:23]. Then, He convicts us of righteousness that could only be found in Christ Jesus because we were not eyewitnesses to his death, burial and resurrection. Even many who witness it like Pilate could not understand it. All to the understanding given to Apostle Paul like the one in 1Cor.15:1-5 came by the revelation of the Holy Spirit. See Gal.1:12; 2:2 and Eph.3:3. Also, when People sought to know what they must do to be saved, the Holy Spirit used the disciples to show them. See Acts 2:37-39 and Acts 16:31. This is his ministry of showing the world true righteousness. See also Ephesians 2:8-10. Finally, He shows us the defeat of our archenemy and that we need not fear him anymore as all power has been given to the Lord Jesus Christ including the power he once stole from Adam. This is what gives us the audacity to bind him and cast him out. See Matthew 28:18; Mark 16;17 and Revelation 12:7-11 and 20:10.

2.     To give us vision: Vision is God’s revelation of our purpose to us: Like we already know, a life without a purpose is a meaningless life. In every right thinking person; is a desire to know why they are on earth and the only person that can reveal it to us is our manufacturer – God. This is why Jesus said He would take of Him and the father and show it to us. Then He added that He would show us things to come. See John 16:13. The importance of vision for each of us cannot be overemphasized. It is what gives us direction and the proper pursuit of it brings out the best in us. Every one without a vision lacks beauty and dignity; they perish. See Prov.29:18. Vision is the compass for life that enables us to know where to go. As we receive and follow divine instructions on a consistent basis, we will get there. The example of Joseph is very instructive here. See his story in Genesis 36-42. He knew his calling and lived a life that honored God until He was standing in his dream.  

3.     To bring us all the revelation required to fulfill our purpose: Every time we read the bible, we need the Holy Spirit to open our understanding to help us see the secrets embedded in the scriptures. Jesus said He will teach us all things in John 14:26 [all things means exactly that and includes everything about life including our profession]. It is an understanding of these mysteries that provides us with the wisdom to master our world. If it is not given to us to know the mysteries of the kingdom, we cannot know them on our own. It is the Holy Spirit that gives us to know. See Mark 4:11, Ps.127:1, Luke 24:13-31. Without the revelation from God to pursue our God given purpose, our vision will look like a lie because it would never find expression as we would not know what to do to bring it to pass. This is why the preacher says in Ecclesiastes 10:15 that the labour of the foolish brings them weariness as they do not know how to get to the city.  

4.     To help us with the power we need on the journey: He does this by filling our hearts with the Joy of the Lord. Peter refers to this joy as joy unspeakable full of glory. It is joy that provides us with the energy required to make it to the end of our journey on earth. See 1Peter 1:8, Neh.8:10.

However, this blessing is meant for those who have entered into the covenant relationship of the New Birth with the Lord. The bible says that Christ in you is the hope of glory and this mystery was hidden from the foundation of the world for our glory. They are not hidden from us but for us to be able to discover them. If you desire this new birth experience so as to take advantage of what God has given us, you can do so right away by saying the following prayer out loud in faith and you will be saved and granted access to the mysteries of God that would enable you manifest His glory on earth. When Jesus was about to round off His mission on earth, he said he had brought glory to God by fulfilling His purpose. See John 17:4. If you want to be able to say the same thing when the time comes, please say the following prayer out loud and God would honor your faith:

Heavenly Father,

Have mercy on me a sinner. Today, I believe that Jesus died for me and you raised Him from the dead for my Justification. I therefore declare that Jesus Christ is my Saviour and Lord and from today, I renounce the fatherhood of Satan and embrace Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for this father in Jesus’ name!

Amen.

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Remain on top of your challenges in Jesus’ name!