Are you tired of living life by your own strength? Good - because it’s not possible to live the dynamic and full life that Jesus talked about without the Holy Spirit.
Are you tired?
Many of us hustle through life at such an accelerated pace that we don’t stop long enough to realise that we are heading towards burnout and disillusionment. In the life of the 21st century Christian, the Holy Spirit is sadly often forgotten. In many instances, He is even misunderstood. But the Holy Spirit was not only sent for the early church; He was sent to be with you and I in this very age!
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He was sent by the Father to come alongside us and be our Helper. He was the One who empowered the Early Church to turn their world upside-down for Jesus. We are gravely mistaken if we think we can live a victorious and effective life without Him. A life without Him is a life of perpetual defeat from obstacles and temptations.
We need the Holy Spirit
When Jesus was present on earth, He operated in all the gifts of the Spirit to carry out His ministry. Some may argue that because Jesus was God in the flesh, it is only to be expected that He could walk in signs, miracles and power. But that is not the case!
Phil 2:7 tells us that “Jesus emptied Himself” of all His rights and privileges as God, “taking the form of a bond servant… being made in the likeness of men.'' Jesus could only operate in these gifts because He relied on the Holy Spirit. He was demonstrating to us what we as believers can do when we are filled with the Holy Spirit and operate in His power.
When the Holy Spirit becomes your friend:
1. He brings conviction
To convict is to convince. Only He can convince you of your sin, and then convince you that Jesus’ blood on the cross gives you right standing with God. He then convinces you that Satan no longer has any right over you.
2. He guides you
When we are unsure of what the next step is, the gentle voice of the Holy Spirit brings wisdom and clarity in the midst of confusion.
3. He comforts you
In the midst of pain and adversity, God’s embrace comes through the nearness of the Holy Spirit.
4. He affirms your identity
When you are overwhelmed by failure and start to define yourself by your performance, the Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.
5. He develops His fruits in you
Without the Holy Spirit, you can’t really love the ‘unlovable’. You can’t have joy or peace in the valleys. He is the one who develops love, joy, peace, patience, kindness... on the inside of you.
6. He gives you gifts
Living an empowered Christian life is simply impossible without the Holy Spirit.
The infilling of the Holy Spirit is the only way through which you can operate in the spiritual gifts that God has for you. These gifts are not reserved for people in full-time ministry or super spiritual people. The Holy Spirit distributes His gifts “to each one for the profit of all” (1 Cor 12:7).
When we minister by serving God and others, we see our gifts in action! We have done nothing to receive these grace gifts; it is the generosity of God poured out on us for the edification of believers. With Him, we can make a lasting impact like Jesus.
Demystifying Tongues
Tongues is a spiritual language that comes from our spirit man, not from our souls or our minds. Thus this language cannot be understood cognitively.
The Bible talks about two kinds of tongues:
1. The gift of tongues that is given to some for the edification (building up) of the church. This tongue needs to be interpreted if it is spoken in the church setting.
2. A prayer language to God for every believer. This prayer language can either be a known language or a heavenly language.
When we pray in our personal prayer tongues, we edify our inner man. Have you ever felt discouraged, but noticed your spirit being lifted once you started to pray in tongues? In such times, you find that clarity enters your mind. Suddenly you understand that God will take care of the situation, and that everything is going to be okay.
This happens because the Holy Spirit intercedes on our behalf when we pray in tongues. That’s the power of our prayer language! It aligns us to God’s perspective and His will for us. That is why Apostle Paul concluded by urging the church to ‘pray with the spirit and also pray with understanding ... to sing with the spirit and also sing with understanding’ (1 Cor 14:15).
In short, the Holy Spirit is still actively involved in the lives of believers today.
We might have closed the series, but let us never forget the Person of the Holy Spirit who lives inside of us. Let us be a church that functions through His power and anointing. We want to always rely on Him, ‘for those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God’ (Rom 8:14).
Editor's Note: All content was adapted from Pastor Daniel Cheo's original series, "The Forgotten God", at Impact Life Church.
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