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Knowing The Holy Spirit Part 1

By Pastor J.D. Link

Abundant Grace Fellowship Church, Blanco, TX

Often times there is confusion among Christians about exactly Who or What The Holy Spirit is. Sometimes He is referred to as a person; other times as a gift. Sometimes His ministry is to the church (2Cor 3:18); other times it is to unbelievers (Jn 16:7-11). Most people can relate to the concept of God being a father, as well as a son. We can relate that to earthly relationships. However, we often struggle with the earthly equivalent to the Holy Spirit. What place does He fill? What is His role? Let’s get into God’s Word to find out.

For starters, I believe we should make clear that the Holy Spirit is as much God as The Father and The Son are. This is the doctrine of the Trinity. While the word trinity is not found in The Bible, the concept is found through and through. Sometimes the Holy Spirit inadvertently gets “disrespected”, because there is a subtle deception that He is somehow less God than The Father and Son. We must recognize this error, and correct it in our lives. The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead (Mt 28:19, 1Jn 5:7, Eph 2:18, 2Cor 13:14, Mt 3:16-17, 1Cor 12:4-6, Isa 48:16). We do not serve three gods; We serve The One True Living God- The God of Abraham, Isaac, & Jacob. The Creator of all things, seen and unseen. Yet, He clearly expresses Himself in three different ways. Do you still have difficulty with this? You must receive The Truth by faith (Gen 1:26, 11:6-8, Heb 11:6).

So, is the Holy Spirit a “He”, or a “Gift”? Well, both are right: He is a Gift. The Person of The Holy Spirit is given to us as a Gift from God. Try to comprehend that for a moment… if you can. How great is God’s love for us! How wonderful is God’s love towards us! That He would give us His Holy Spirit as a free gift, just for asking (Lk 11:13)! How special are you to God! What marvelous plans does He have for you! Do you believe it? Do you want God’s perfect will for your life? You must get to know your best friend, The Holy Ghost.

My best friend, you say? Yes, your best friend. He is your Comforter (Jn 14:26). The Greek word is “Parakletos”, which means “A helper; one who comes along side; an aide; an intercessor; an advocate.” Christian, you have an absolute, life-long, best friend (Jn 14:16). Did you know that? What a glorious reality. If you don’t know Him, you need to get to know Him. He is your teacher (Jn 14:26); your guide through life (Jn 16;13-14); He will show you things to come. If you don’t get to know Him, you will not know God’s plan for your life. He is the One that reveals it to you.

Do not suppress The Holy Spirit (1Thess 5:19). Allow Him in your life; in your home; in your business; in your church. Let Him have full access and full reign. Do not grieve The Holy Spirit of God (Eph 4:30). Do not be stiff necked, and resist The Holy Spirit (Act 7:51). Let Him have full dominion in your life. Hold nothing back. Surrender all. Do not vex (irritate; make angry) The Holy Spirit (Isa 63:10). Praise God we’re in the New Testament, and He won’t become your enemy; nevertheless, I don’t want to purposely irritate my best friend. He loves you so much. You will not regret giving up your whole life to Him.

So we’ve learned that The Holy Spirit is God; That He is a person-the third person of the Blessed Trinity (Jn 14:16, 26, 15:26, 16:7, 13-14); that He is our best friend; our helper; our advocate; our intercessor. That He is a gift from Almighty God to us (Acts 2:38, 8:20, 10:45). He is also a promise from The Father (Act 1;4, 2:33, 39), and He dwells in us (1Cor 3:16). God keeps His promises. Get to know The Holy Spirit. Talk with Him often. He has only good intended for you. Have you asked for the gift of The Holy Spirit? He is available to you today (Lk 11:13).

Lord willing, we will continue this talk next week. Until next time, rejoice in The Lord!

Knowing The Holy Spirit Part 2

By Pastor J.D. Link

Abundant Grace Fellowship Church, Blanco, TX

Last week, we began to discuss the subject of knowing the Holy Spirit. We looked at the fact that many people have a hard time relating to the Holy Spirit; at least more so than relating to The Father and The Son. We saw how The Holy Spirit was clearly God- the third Person of The Blessed Trinity. We also saw how the Holy Spirit is a He, and not an it. He (The Holy Spirit) is a gift from God; freely given to all who ask in faith. He is the believer’s best friend, advocate, counselor, comforter, teacher, leader, and helper. He also has feelings, and can be grieved, suppressed, resisted, and vexed. He indwells the believing Christian, and is known as a promise of God.

The Holy Spirit has many attributes, but the one in particular I would like to point out today is that of bringing conviction. John 16:7-11 says “ Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove (convict) the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” The Holy Spirit brings conviction, not condemnation. Conviction is a good thing, and Christians ought to welcome it.

Several times I’ve had people come up to me after church and say, “Pastor, you were talking directly to me! It’s like you’ve been following me around!”. In reality, I neither have the time, nor the desire, to follow anyone around 24-7. Often times, I don’t know what is going on with people- but God does. He knows if your faithful in your marriage; if your honest in business; how you treat your family; what you do late at night; where you go on the internet; and everything else about you. If God’s Word is used by the Holy Spirit to cut you to the heart, and expose something hidden in your life (Heb 4:12-13): Then repent. God has good plans for you, and anything He wants gone from your life; believe me, you want it gone, too.

If you’re listening to a sermon and you feel like the preacher is speaking directly to you; then you need to know that is the Holy Spirit bringing conviction. Fall on your face and worship God (1Cor 14:24-25). God loves you too much, to let you stay where you are. He wants to bring you up higher. The Word of God is a light that the Holy Spirit uses to shine on the cock roaches in our life. When light is shed on something, it is made known (Eph 5:13). Then it can be “stepped on”, like a nasty cock roach. God wants to take you to new heights, and he wants His children to walk in the fullness of blessing and victory. However, if you ignore the conviction of the Holy Ghost; you will be stuck in a rut- and you can’t blame God.

Don’t gnash your teeth at the preacher, and get mad when the Word of God cuts you to the heart (Act 5:33, 7:54, Lk 4:28-29, 6:11). That’s the wrong response; and it will only bring more destruction, deception, and darkness to your life. That’s not God’s will for you, but if that’s what you want, then you can have it. God won’t take your free will (Dt 30:19).