Posts Tagged ‘Holy Spirit’

Holy Spirit 102

Posted: August 20, 2023 in Knowledge
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Recently, I posted a blog about the Holy Spirit that I found interesting. To summarize, there is a great deal of Creation that would NOT be around had it not been for the Holy Spirit on this earth, including you and me. Secondly, the Holy Spirit thinks, feels, and He even wills things, meaning He determines the best course in a situation…My recommendation is to find that post, Holy Spirit 101, and read it for yourselves.

Also, before I get too far, I wanted to share that there is a HUGE amount of material about how the Holy Spirit was active during the Old Testament, so…, if I can get my act together and get that organized, I will work to post that portion also.

Today, I have some more meat for you, meaning, some fundamental details about what the Holy Spirit is doing right now that I think you will find very relevant to you and your family. The Holy Spirit doesn’t just float around in ether all day, He is actively working on God’s plan for earth, which translated, means God’s plan for you and me. 

Finally, I have elected to provide this information to you in outline format with scripture references and some commentary to make it easier for you to consume.

So back to the question, What is the Holy Spirit doing right now?

He is the Envoy of Salvation

  1. He convicts us of guilt – John 16:7-8
  2. He reveals the truth to you and me about Jesus Christ – John 14:16, 26
  3. He gives us new birth. John 3:3-6 – Please note, this is a fundamental element about Christ saving us. Christ refers to this as being reborn or born again. This is the Holy Spirit at work in us.
  4. He incorporates you and me into the body of Christ – 1 Cor 12:13

When we accept Christ into our hearts at our conversion, we receive the Holy Spirit – John 3:3-6, John 20:22. When this happens, you and I become participants in the Divine Nature of Christ – 2 Peter 1:4

This last point is HUGE because when we are part of His Divine Nature, we can escape the corruption in this world that is caused by evil desires.

Guys, this is not rocket science, we need help navigating all of the garbage that the enemy is or will throw at us while we are in this world. I have written a great deal about this in previous blogs. TRUTH STATEMENT: the Holy Spirit is what helps you and who guides you when all of the bad stuff happens. Please remember: YOU ARE NOT ALONE.

He is the Envoy of Sanctification

Please don’t stop reading at this point. I know that “Sanctification” is a $50 theological word that most people don’t understand but it is very simple. It means you are set apart, you have been made different, you are purified – Romans 8:9, 1 Cor 6:19

Because He lives in us, look at what He does:

  1. He cleanses us and motivates us toward living a Holy life
  2. He constantly delivers you and me from the bondage of sin – Romans 8:2-4, Galatians 5:16-7, 2 Thes 2:13. And believe me, we need to be delivered from those shackles.
  3. He reminds us that we are children of God – Romans 8:16
  4. He helps us worship God and helps with our prayer life – Acts 10:46
  5. He intercedes when we cry out to God –  Romans 8:26-27

This list is far longer and more comprehensive to provide and I don’t want to lose you from reading on.

He is the Envoy of Service

  1. He empowers us to service and to be His witnesses. The actual work of the Holy Spirit is related to the Baptism in the Spirit or also the fullness of the Spirit. When we are baptized, we recipe power to carry the message of Christ forward – Acts 1:8

Again, there is a HUGE amount of material about the Baptism in the Holy Spirit that if you have any interest, I highly encourage you to investigate further or leave me a note and I can send it to you.

He is the Envoy who incorporates all of us (believers) into the body of Christ, together – 1 Cor 12:13

The Church is the cornerstone of the ministry of Christ on Earth and the Holy Spirit moving is at the center of this.

  1. He lives inside the Church – 1 Cor 3:16
  2. He actively builds the Church – Ephesians 2:22
  3. He actively inspires the worship of the Church – Philippians 3:3
  4. He actively directs the mission of the Church – Acts 13:2,4
  5. He actively appoints the workers in the Church – Acts 20:28
  6. He actively appoints the Pastors for the Church – Acts 2:4, 1 Cor 2:4

I think it can be very fair to say that without the moving of the Holy Spirit in a church, the church is dead. I realize those are very strong words to use about a church but I believe they are spoken in truth. It is required by you and me to seek a church where the Spirit is active and alive in the ministry so we can be fed each week. 

The hard part about writing a blog on this topic is the fact that I have to leave out so much information just so the blog doesn’t become a book. That is where I rely on you, the reader, to take the next step of at least, looking up the scripture references simply because the Bible clearly states HIS Word will NOT return void.

Drop me a line in the comments section-

Until next time Guys…

Holy Spirit 101

Posted: August 13, 2023 in Something to think about
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Have you ever struggled to really understand a topic? I mean you work hard desperately trying to comprehend the facts, but they just seem to elude you. And then suddenly one day, the light just seems to come on and the pieces fall together. Does this sound familiar to you?

I had this same feeling when it came to the topic of the Holy Spirit. In my mind, I grasped the concept of the Trinity, meaning, how scripture reveals it as God revealed as one essence existing in 3 distinct persons who share a common divine nature. They possess a perfect unity of one nature and essence. 

Scripture goes on to say that, of the persons in the Godhead, none is God without the others, and each, with the others, is God.

OK…Whew!

Fortunately, this post is not about the Trinity because even though I understand the words above in meaning, to truly grasp how that can happen is why God is God and we are not. I do look forward to the day when I can ask Christ himself about the Trinity and also see it for myself.

So today, I wanted to share with you some interesting things I learned about the Holy Spirit which I think can help all of us. To be honest, I think it is essential that believers recognize the importance of the Holy Spirit and the function He plays in God’s redemptive or saving purpose. I really did not understand the role He plays in the Trinity or for that matter, what he does for you and me

So let me start with a question, what difference do you think would it make if there was no Holy Spirit in this world? 

Let me help answer that.

  1. There would be no Creation
  2. There would be no Universe
  3. There would be no Human race – Genesis 1:2, Job 33:4
  4. There would be no Bible – 2 Peter 1:21
  5. There would be no New Testament – John 14:26, John 15:26-27, 1 Cor.2:10-14
  6. There would be no power to proclaim the Gospel – Acts 1:8
  7. There would be no Faith
  8. There would be no New Birth, or being born again
  9. There would be no Holiness
  10. Finally, there would be no Christians anywhere in the world

This is a staggering list and my guess is, you really never thought about this have you? Me neither, but when I investigated scripture, I realized He (the Holy Spirit) was present in all of the activities I mentioned above. Moreover, He is always working in a complementary and not contradictory manner towards the efforts of God. He is perfectly efficient.

Throughout scripture, the Holy Spirit is revealed as a person with an individuality all His own (2 Corin. 3:17-18). He is a divine person just like God and Christ so we can’t just think of him as merely an influence or just power. 

Additionally, He has personal characteristics like the examples I listed below:

He thinks:

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. Rom 8:27

He feels:

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me.  Rom 15:30

He wills:

All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.  1Co 12:11

His main job is to help you and me. Period. He was sent into this world to bring believers into the intimate presence and fellowship of Christ and most of the time, we forget He is there ready, willing, and capable of helping pull us out of the mud or wherever we happen to be stuck.

I encourage you guys that when you pray, ask for the presence of His Spirit in your daily lives. Think of Him as a person that is just there to help you. Jesus did the exact same thing when Satan tempted him. He relied on the strength of the Holy Spirit to help him get through that. You can do the same-

I have a few more notes on this topic that I will get organized and try to get you another post about this topic. Hopefully, you found this as interesting as I have.

Until next time guys-

Is my Salvation assured? Am I going to Heaven?

Posted: January 9, 2011 in Heaven Bound
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In this day of Blogs and numbered lists about how to improve my abs, or save money from home, I thought I would create the same thing for what I think are the most important questions any of us should be asking ourselves…

Is MY Salvation assured? Am I going to Heaven?

I think it is a very safe bet to assume that if I asked you if you want to go Heaven your answer would be yes. I mean, who wouldn’t? As Christians, we became believers with the promise of Heaven in our collective futures.

Some of you have been Christians for your entire lives and are still banking your eternal future on that single experience when you were 5 years old. If that describes your circumstance, then you are making a grave mistake.

What if I could provide you a list of 9 points, that if followed, you would be assured of eternal life, would you be interested?

Here they are for your review and consideration;

  1. Believe in the name of the Son of God, Jesus Christ. 1 John 5:13 – I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know you have eternal life.
  2. Honor Christ as Lord of your life and obey His commands. 1 John 2:3-5 – We know that we have come to know him if we obey his commands. The man who says, “I know him,” but does not do what he commands is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But if anyone obeys his word, God’s love is truly made complete in him. This is how we know we are in him.
  3. Love God the Father, and Jesus the Son and overcome the influence of the world. 1 John 2:15-16 – Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him. For everything in the world-the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does-comes not from the Father but from the world.
  4. Consistently and persistently practice righteousness. 1 John 2:29 – If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him.
  5. Love our brothers and our sisters. 1 John 3:14, 19 – We know that we have passed from death to life, because we love our brothers. Anyone who does not love remains in death. This then is how we know that we belong to the truth, and how we set our hearts at rest in his presence.
  6. Be aware of the Holy Spirit within us. 1 John 3:24 – Those who obey his commands live in him, and he in them. And this is how we know that he lives in us: We know it by the Spirit he gave us.
  7. We must strive to follow Jesus and live as He lived. 1 John 2:6 – Whoever claims to live in him must walk as Jesus did.
  8. We must believe, accept and remain in the Living Christ. 1 John 2:24 – See that what you have heard from the beginning remains in you. If it does, you also will remain in the Son and in the Father.
  9. We must possess a true longing and unwavering hope for Christ’s return to receive us into heaven. 1 John 3:2-3 – Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be, has not yet been made known. But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Everyone who has this hope in him purifies himself, just as he is pure. 

Reference: Full Life Study Bible, NIV, copyright 1988­

So here they are, all in one place for you to read them and memorize them.

Having read through them myself a few times and understanding the “heart condition” required to maintain them effectively…I can tell you this, follow these few points and I will get to see you in Heaven.

Looking forward to it…