Where Is the Holy Spirit?

-As recorded, the Holy Spirit came on the day of Pentecost and there are no recordings of His return (going back).

Acts 2:1-4 NKJV

     When the Day of Pentecost had fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.  And suddenly there came a sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues, as of fire, and one sat upon each of them.  And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Emphasis Mine

-For the believer, the Holy Spirit lives in us and with us.

Colossians 1:27 (NKJV)

To them God willed to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles: which is Christ in you, the hope of glory.

Emphasis Mine

- We have been sealed with Him

Ephesians 1:13 (NKJV)

In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise.

Emphasis Mine

Tracing The Holy Spirit Through Some Old Testament Scriptures

            -The Holy Spirit was present from the very beginning of creation.

Genesis 1:2 (NKJV)

The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. The Holy Spirit is not a new idea for this generation or dispensation.

Emphasis Mine

-This scripture talks about the attributes of the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 11:2 (NKJV)

The Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon Him,

The Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
The Spirit of counsel and might,

The Spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.

-Our fruitfulness in life depends on the Holy Spirit.

Isaiah 32:15 (NKJV)

Until the Spirit is poured upon us from on high, and the wilderness becomes a fruitful field, And the fruitful field is counted as a forest.

Emphasis Mine

The Purpose Of The Holy Spirit to The Believer And Unbeliever

The purpose of the Holy Spirit to the believer

       To abide with you forever.

(…that He may abide with you forever John 14:16c NKJV), (…and make Our home with him. John 14:23e NKJV) - To make home, to remain.

       To dwell with you.

(…or He dwells with you… John 14:17d NKJV) - To live with you.

       To be in you.

 (…will be in you. John 14:17d NKJV).

Note: We are looking at two aspects here. He will be with us (not temporarily – to remain, to make home, to live with) and in us.

       To guide us into all truth – because He is the Spirit of Truth.

(…He will guide you into all truth; John 16:13a NKJV).

       To teach you all things.

 (…He will teach you all things…John 14:26d NKJV).

       To bring to your remembrance all things that Jesus Christ has said to you

(…and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. John 14:26e NKJV).

       To convict the world of righteousness, and of judgment.

(…and of righteousness, and of judgment:   of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.  John 16:8c/d, vs 10, vs 11 NKJV).

       To glorify Christ.

(He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. John 16:14-15 NKJV).

The purpose of the Holy Spirit to the unbeliever

       To convict of sin (…He will convict the world of sin…: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; John 16:8b, vs 9 NKJV)

Who Is The Holy Spirit?

·

·       The Holy Spirit is a “Person” because the Word of God refers to the Holy Spirit as “He”.

John 14:16-17 (NKJV)

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever - the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Emphasis Mine

·       The Holy Spirit is a gift to us from the Father.

John 14:16b (NKJV)

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”.

Emphasis Mine

·       He is the Helper given to us.

John 14:16 (NKJV)

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever”

Emphasis Mine

Who Can Receive The Holy Spirit?
The Holy Spirit can only be received by a person who chooses to be born-again.

·       Those who have accepted Jesus Christ into their lives (salvation). When you get born-again, you receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:17 (NKJV)

the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.

Note:

Believers are categorized as those who love Jesus Christ and keep His commands (it should be noted that before Christ said He will pray for the coming of the Holy Spirit, He mentioned in John 14:15 that “If you love Me, keep My commandments”). Then He moves on to pray for the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Life Lessons From Jude - Prayers For You

As we conclude this series on building Godly character traits using the book of Jude as our guide; here are my encouragements to you. As a way of expressing your love towards God, implement the WORD heard into your life and receive the transformation that comes as a result of doing so.

Your life can change. Do not give up.

There is room for improvement. Do not say I am doing a lot already.

You have not arrived your very best yet. Avoid stagnation. Strife for a spirit of excellence in any and everything you say and do. Partner with the helper; the Holy Spirit.

So, Father, you have taught us. We have learned and we are agreeing this day to make changes in order to reflect you more.

-Like Jude, we choose to identify ourselves not by our doing but by our being, by whose we are (and that is You) and when necessary, with our earthly family. We will let our families feel our presence and consciously let our family take their rightful place in our lives.

-We choose to let you shape our thinking, our views and our perspectives concerning any and everything. We choose this day to hold on to your reputation about us. Because our reputation is Christ.

-We will make you priority over anyone and anything else. You are our choice. We value you over anyone and anything.

-You have taught us through the book of Jude that we should be vigilant, keeping watch over the craftiness of the enemy lest we become victims. So Lord, this day we make up our minds to remain spiritually alert and on guard. Using the word as our guide. Using wisdom and discretion from above.

-We choose to keep company with you on purpose; communicating with you always as a way of nurturing our companionship. Today, we are making up our minds to choose those we associate with because we understand that bad company corrupts good morals. We do not want to be corrupted. We want to grow and have a godly influence on those around, below and above us.

-Father, we choose to improve on our acts of responsibility just as we have been taught through your servant Jude. As a way of being responsible, we will not let our lives be destroyed nor the lives of those around us. We will prayerfully identify the problem and use wisdom to resolve the problem.

As a way of being responsible, we will take ownership of our spiritual growth and maturation and also encourage those around us likewise. As iron sharpeneth iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17). We choose to be those responsible irons that sharpen another.

-Father, we declare this day that we are improving our readiness to share the word. When faced with life’s challenges, you Word would be our First Go To because you have the best solutions for us. We will use your word to build others up. We will partner with the helper (who is the Holy Spirit), learning to pray in the power and strength of the holy spirit so that we can build solid lives on our foundation of faith.

-Lord, we will continue to learn through your word how to live within the boundaries where your love can reach and bless us. We want to enjoy the blessings, we want our lives to be full and overflow for your glory.

-We are declaring this day that we will improve on our acts of service, remembering that as servant leaders we can also be of service through our words. As we help others grow, we will be cautious not to become victims of their sinful actions, but properly represent Christ, letting our light shine so bright in order to win them over. For your word tells us that, he who wins a soul is wise. Proverbs 11:30b.

-Father, we declare that we would show reverence and honor to you all the days of our lives. We make praise and worship a lifestyle.

In Jesus Name. Amen!

Life Lessons From Jude - Service and Caution

Jude proceeds by telling us that we can be of service to unbelievers by showing kindness. Jude encourages us to show kindness on purpose. Kindness is a quality of being friendly, generous and considerate.

Colossians 3:12 (NIV)

Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience.

Emphasis Mine

When you physically clothe yourselves, do you realize that it is a conscious, purposeful activity? So too it is with kindness. We are told by the above scripture to “clothe” ourselves with kindness. Show kindness consciously and on purpose. It is a useful character trait because Jesus showed kindness to others while on earth. We should do likewise.

Jude also says we should hate every trace of sin, yet help the sinner. In an attempt to help someone deal with certain aspects of their lives, for example, disobedience, stealing, pride, lies telling, vain talk, laziness, etc. It is important that you do not become a victim of circumstance as well.

An aspect of caution is also observed in Jude’s epistle when he realized that the Christian community had been infiltrated by godless teachers. He took responsibility to provide words of wisdom, advice, and caution on how to deal with the situation without becoming a victim of the situation.

Life Lessons From Jude - Service (cont'd)

Jude illustrates acts of service for a believer towards an unbeliever by saying that a believer should be merciful towards those who doubt. Mercy is simply showing compassion or forgiveness toward someone whom it is within one’s power to punish or not giving someone what they deserve. It is easy to become very critical/judgmental toward someone who doubts. Especially if they doubt something that you are convinced is very true. For example, when someone doubts God’s gift of Salvation.

Luke 6:36 (NIV)

Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.

Instead of being critical or judgmental, you will be moved with compassion towards them and begin sharing the love of God with them. By so doing, you will be emulating Christ in your actions.

Jude further teaches us to save some, by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. By bringing the message of salvation to them, that is how we snatch them from the flames of hell. The message of salvation can cause them to re-evaluate their belief system and now chose to follow Christ. Tell them about the following scriptures and more;

John 3:16-17 (NIV)

For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him.

Romans 10:9 (NIV)

If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,”, and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.

Life Lessons From Jude - Service

Jude 1:22-23 (TLB)

Try to help those who argue against you. Be merciful to those who doubt. Save some by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself. And as for others, help them to find the Lord by being kind to them, but be careful that you yourselves aren’t pulled along into their sins. Hate every trace of their sin while being merciful to them as sinners.

In these verses, Jude is teaching us how to be of service to others. He illustrates acts of service for a believer towards an unbeliever in the following ways;

·       Help those who argue against you (vs 22a)

·       Be merciful to those who doubt (vs 22b)

·       Save some, by snatching them as from the very flames of hell itself (vs 23a)

·       Help others find the Lord by being kind to them (vs 23b)

·       Hate sin, every trace of it; be merciful to sinners (vs 23c)

How can we help those who argue against us?

2 Timothy 2:23-24 (NIV)

Don’t have anything to do with foolish and stupid arguments, because you know they produce quarrels.  And the Lord’s servant must not be quarrelsome but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, not resentful.

Emphasis Mine

Why wouldn’t you argue? Because it leads to quarrels.

Proverbs 20:3 (NIV)

It is to one’s honor to avoid strife,
    but every fool is quick to quarrel.

It becomes a ripple-effect because arguments lead to quarreling.

Jude is illustrating an act of service here by teaching us that we should help those who argue against us.

Another practical way of helping those who argue against us is by you physically walking away from the environment. This action will help prevent you from saying things or getting involved in an ungodly action.  Amen!