Hundredfold Ministries, Int'l

Some years ago I knew a Christian who often argued with God and was reluctant to obey His word. One day, as she was reading her Bible, the Holy Spirit, in a very clear internal voice, said to her, "Psalms 32:9 is my verse for you." Startled and excited she quickly turned to the verse. To her shock and dismay she read these words: "Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you." (NIV) This was a warning to her and she knew she had heard it directly from the Lord through the Holy Spirit!

Most of the Holy Spirit's work in the believer isn't quite as obvious as what happened to this woman. Yet there are countless instances in which the Holy Spirit does work in each of us. In fact, His work is generally so quiet we often don't realize He is at work. Even while major changes, due to His workmanship, are occurring in our lives, we can be oblivious to His work. I have often wondered why this is so.

Let us examine the statement Jesus made about the Holy Spirit in John 16:13. He said, "Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come." (Jn 16:13 KJV, emphasis added.) I believe this is one of the key verses to understanding the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the believer's life.

This verse tells us that to understand the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we must view Him as He relates to Jesus. Imagine for a moment that Jesus left a Last Will and Testament when He returned to the Father and that in His will, He appointed the Holy Spirit as His executor. From that moment on, as the executor of Jesus' will, it is the Holy Spirit's job to carry out every provision of that will.

Another way to look at the Holy Spirit is to see Him as God's agent on earth. An agent acts within the scope of his authority to carry out the will of the principal. In the case of the Holy Spirit, He moves about here on earth, acting on God's behalf, carrying out His instructions.

Notice that an executor or agent is never the focal point of attention. He or she simply serves a function. He remains in obscurity while the one whom he represents is the object of attention.

So it is with the Holy Spirit. As John 16:13 states, the Holy Spirit does not speak nor draw attention to Himself. He remains in obscurity while the Father and Son are spotlighted. Yet it is by the Holy Spirit that the will of God, our Father, and His Son, Jesus, is carried out. ". . . for it is God who works in you to will and to act according to his good purpose." (Phi 2:13 NIV)

Sanctification

Now let's ask the question, "What is the will of the Father and His Son in the life of every believer?" The overarching answer is that it is the desire of God that we be perfected or sanctified. Note that God calls His people to be holy as He is holy. (See 1 Pet 1:16.) To that end, it is the Holy Spirit, working in unity with the Father and Son, who comes to do the work in the life of the believer.

The Apostle Paul penned these words to the church at Corinth:

And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect the Lord's glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit. (2 Cor 3:18 NIV)

The words "are being transformed" in the original Greek text come from the Greek verb �eta�??f??�?a, or, metamorphoumetha. This verb is in the present tense, indicative mood, passive voice. This means that the transformation is taking place now, the indicative mood states a fact, and the passive voice says that the subject (we) are receiving the action. Thus, we are progressively being transformed into His likeness.

How the Holy Spirit Works

Now that we understand that God uses the Holy Spirit to transform the believer, the next question is, "How does the Holy Spirit do the work in us?" To find the answer to this question, we must first review the basic truths of what it means to be a child of God. When we are born again, we take Jesus Christ into our lives as our Lord and Savior. We also receive a measure of the Holy Spirit. When we become filled with the Holy Spirit, we have both Christ and the fullness of the Holy Spirit dwelling within us.

Among other things, that means the Holy Spirit has access to our minds, our emotions, our will, and our bodies. In other words, He can impact our spirit, soul, and body. Because of this intimate relationship, the Holy Spirit can and does communicate with us. He can transmit thoughts into our minds. Because the Holy Spirit has access to our minds, He can also supernaturally quicken to us what we hear or read. And as He sends these thoughts and ideas into our mind, our own thought processes evolve. If we cooperate in this process we continually discard old sinful ways and seek more of Christ. The Holy Spirit can also read, understand, and use our emotions and our will to impart to us what the Lord wants imparted.

1. The Holy Spirit Works in Change

Once we understand all that the Holy Spirit is able to do within our mind, emotions, will, and body, we must examine the vehicles God uses to cause us to become more holy and more Christ-like. The first and perhaps easiest means God uses is change. We live in an ever changing world. Our families, friends, church, employment environment, community, and our countries are constantly changing. Even our weather changes daily or hourly.

Yet most of us do not like change. We often reminisce about "the good old days." But very often, the will of God for our lives involves change. If we dig in and resist change, we will never really enter into the fullness of the life God has for us. Certainly God used change for the nation of Israel as a means of purification and sanctification. Think of the changes that nation went through: from Egypt into the wilderness, from the complacency of their homes in Israel into Babylonian captivity, and then the Roman occupation of Israel during Jesus' time.

In fact, Jeremiah strongly confirmed God's use of change to accomplish His will when he prophesied against Moab. Moab has been at rest from youth, like wine left on its dregs, not poured from one jar to another-she has not gone into exile. So she tastes as she did, and her aroma is unchanged. (Jer 48:11 NIV)

In view of this Scripture it is helpful to understand the process used by wine makers to make wine. The wine is placed in large vessels to ferment. During this process the solids, or dregs, settle to the bottom of the container. Every twenty-eight days the wine maker carefully pours the wine into another vessel, leaving the dregs behind. For the finest wine, he repeats this process for several months. Thus, the wine is continually subject to change. It is within this context that Jeremiah stated that Moab had settled on its dregs.

One more bit of information about wine making-what happens if the wine is not poured from vessel to vessel but is left with its dregs in it? It turns to vinegar! So also it can be with the believer. If we resist change, not only do we miss the fullness of life that God has for us, we often become pretty unpleasant to be around.

Let me tell you a story about how God used change in my life. When I was a teenager, I wasn't really interested in whole heartedly serving the Lord. Oh, I went to church most Sundays, but my heart just wasn't in it. I was more drawn to worldly friends and activities than I was to Christ. But when I was fifteen, my family moved to a new area about 250 miles from my old home. This move was hard for me. But it was during this transition period that a new desire was birthed in me to seek more godly friends. I didn't understand it at the time but I later came to realize that it was the Holy Spirit communicating to me concerning my lifestyle. It was the Holy Spirit stirring in me the desire for godly friends. He simply continually bombarded me with thoughts about wanting righteous friends and, as I responded, my own thought processes changed. I came to personally desire more godly friends and sought them out. He also led me to discard old, sinful habits that accompanied my old lifestyle!

Notice that I still had the choice of whether or not to listen to and obey the promptings of the Holy Spirit. In other words, my will was very much a part of that process. Each one of us is always free at any time to reject the leading of the Holy Spirit. God never forces us. The Holy Spirit never forces us. It is always up to us to obey.

We need to view every change that comes into our lives as an opportunity to allow the faithful work of the Holy Spirit. . . pouring us into another vessel! As we cooperate with this process, we leave some of the dregs of our old life behind and become more pleasing to our Father.

2. The Holy Spirit Works Through Suffering

This is one of the most difficult concepts to communicate to believers because of the excruciating pain and suffering many are enduring at this very moment. At the outset let me emphatically state that I don't believe that God causes our pain and suffering. We live in a fallen world. John tells us, ". . .the whole world is under the control of the evil one." (1 Jn 5:19 NIV) As followers of Christ, we are shining lights in a dark world.

But we still live in this world, so suffering does come in varying degrees to all of us at one time or another. God doesn't cause the suffering, but the Holy Spirit seizes the opportunity, using the suffering to crucify more of our flesh.

We are very vulnerable during times of suffering. The Holy Spirit can tune into our emotional and mental anguish. In this context He can draw us to the Lord. The Holy Spirit always directs us to Jesus in our suffering, if we only will listen. It is during this vulnerability that the Holy Spirit can do things such as to remind us that Jesus is our rock, our supply, and our staying power.

The Holy Spirit also can use friends, church, and others in our life to comfort us in times of suffering. It is through others that we often hear comforting verses or words of encouragement which are prompted by the Holy Spirit.

It is also during times of suffering that the Holy Spirit can teach us to have more comprehension and appreciation of the bigger picture. He enlarges our vision of such things as life on this earth, death, and eternity.

Peter has an interesting and confirming insight on suffering. He wrote:

Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because he who has suffered in his body is done with sin. As a result, he does not live the rest of his earthly life for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. (1 Pet 4:1,2 NIV)

To many of us it is painful to even read these verses. But some of the most godly people I have ever known have endured great suffering.

Unfortunately, most of us have looked poetically or romantically rather than realistically at Jesus' invitation to, "follow me." But let's look at His whole statement:

Then Jesus said to his disciples, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. (Mat 16:24 NIV)

Suffering is a very large part of taking up our crosses while continuing to faithfully follow Jesus. Our suffering may be physical, emotional, mental, relational, financial, or any combination thereof. Many of us ask, "Why?" in our suffering. The gentle, quiet voice of the Holy Spirit answers, "Because you are being transformed into the image of Jesus." (Remember, the Holy Spirit can speak to us anytime He wants.) As in the circumstances of change, the Holy Spirit continually communicates to us, our spirit, soul, and even our body. He faithfully points to our loving, caring Jesus in the midst of our pain.

3. The Holy Spirit Works Through Control

I believe that breaking our fleshly desire to be in control is the most active way in which the Holy Spirit works in the life of the believer. God is spirit. He created man with a spirit, soul and body. It was God's original intent to instruct and train man's spirit and only then was man's spirit in turn to control his soul and body. This is known as "self-control." Peter tells us that self-control is to be desired, "For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. (2 Pet 1:5,6 NIV, emphasis added.)

But when sin entered man he became separated from God and his soul became the dominant force. Once separated from God, man quickly became attached to non-spiritual things, that is, himself and the world, along with the sin of the world. The translators of the King James Bible call this kind of man "carnal," meaning that his primary concerns in life are the things which gratify himself and his physical desires. This is the absence of Holy Spirit led self-control. Paul wrote to the Roman church concerning the carnal man:

For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace. Because the carnal mind is enmity against God: for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be. So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God. (Rom 8:6-8 KJV)

Here Paul contrasts the carnal path that leads to death with the spiritual path that leads to life.

Remember that God has called each of us to holiness. When we allow the Holy Spirit, as God's agent, to work in us and our carnal self, He can accomplish two things. First, we turn more and more from sin and the ways of the world. And second, through the renewing of our minds, we become more Christ-like. ". . . until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ." (Eph 4:13 NIV)

Let us first look at how the Holy Spirit deals with our carnal selves. When I do something I know is wrong (sin), the Holy Spirit lets me know. I am rebuked in my spirit. It is almost like a second person voice telling me I am wrong and that I must repent and make amends.

The Holy Spirit can confront us in two different ways. I believe that He always first confronts us internally. It is that inner voice or inner knowing that we have sinned. The world calls it our conscience. The other way the Holy Spirit can confront us is externally. I believe that, when we continue to ignore the internal working of the Holy Spirit, He then uses others to confront us. We are caught in our sin and exposed in some way. If we respond to the internal prompting of the Holy Spirit to repent, etc., then we never get to the external rebuke because there is no need for it.

Part of this breaking of the carnal self is through the discipline of the Lord. The Holy Spirit, through the writer of the book of Hebrews states,

"My son, do not make light of the Lord's discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son." Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father?

. . . Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it. (Heb 12:5-7, 10,11 NIV)

Here Scripture uses the words "discipline" and "rebuke" liberally. The writer of Hebrews shows us the fruit of this discipline: we share in the Lord's holiness and enjoy a harvest of righteousness and peace.

The choice is ours, isn't it? Again, our will comes into play. If we choose the way of the Lord, and are thereby willing to let our own flesh die, we become more Christ-like.

Look at the remarkable statement Paul makes in Romans.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. (Rom 8:9 NIV)

Here Paul is saying that certain of those to whom he is writing are "controlled by the Spirit."

To be controlled more and more by the Holy Spirit is God's ultimate will for us. It should also be our own goal. Let me illustrate how this works with a true story. I know a woman who received $200 from an unexpected source. When she received the check she said, "Lord, this is not my money. It is your money. I will give it to whomever you direct. Just show me who should get it." Several weeks went by and nothing happened. The woman went to church camp and one night in the service the Holy Spirit pointed out a young woman in the seat ahead of her and said, "She is the one. Give the $200 to her." My friend didn't even know the young woman's name but she knew the Holy Spirit had spoken. She tapped the woman on the shoulder and asked her name. After she had been given her name, she sat down in her chair and wrote out the $200 check. She folded it and gave it quietly to the young woman and said it was from the Lord.

The next morning the young woman approached her with tears in her eyes. She told my friend that she was a single parent with a small son. She had been saving her money to try to get a bigger apartment but was having trouble getting ahead. The Lord had directed her to come to the camp and bring her son. She took the money out of her small saving account to pay for the camp. And you already know the ending. The amount of money she withdrew from the saving account to pay for the camp was exactly $200! There was absolutely no question in either woman's mind that the Holy Spirit had orchestrated this entire series of events!

I believe these kinds of true stories would be a lot more common if we were more tuned into the voice of the Holy Spirit. Yes, it was a supernatural occurrence, but God is in the business of the supernatural. As we allow our minds and wills to be more and more controlled by the Holy Spirit, we will experience more of these kinds of occurrences.

The Fragrance of the Holy Spirit

Did you know that the Bible says God smells the Holy Spirit in us? Some time ago I was in the departure lounge of a Malaysian Airport waiting to board a plane for Madras, India. To my knowledge I was the only Westerner there. Most of the three hundred or more people waiting were Indian. As I sat observing the people, I felt the Holy Spirit showing me the spiritual darkness that enshrouds those whom the Hindu demon-gods have enslaved.

Then an elderly Indian woman walked past me and sat nearby. As she sat down our eyes met. Instantly I saw in her the light of Jesus and sensed the sweet fragrance of the Holy Spirit. Before I could say anything she smiled at me and said, "You're a Christian, aren't you?" I responded, "Glory to God!" We both had a joyful laugh and some good, Christ-centered fellowship.

Isn't it amazing that in a room of hundreds of people we recognized each other? Yet it shouldn't amaze us, for the Scripture says,

But thanks be to God, who always leads us in triumphal procession in Christ and through us spreads everywhere the fragrance of the knowledge of him. For we are to God the aroma of Christ among those who are being saved and those who are perishing. To the one we are the smell of death; to the other, the fragrance of life. (2 Cor 2:14-16 NIV, emphasis added.)

Indeed, the Holy Spirit is a sweet presence or fragrance within us! To the souls hungry for God and the salvation of Jesus Christ, it causes a sweet irresistible attraction. Paul says, "But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us." (2 Cor 4:7 NIV) I'm sure that at least part of that treasure in us is the wonderful, God pleasing scent of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit In Evangelism

We see in Scripture several examples of the Holy Spirit leading a believer to share the good news of Jesus Christ. Often this leading stretches our human concept of the extent of God's encompassing love. The Apostle Peter is an excellent example. Peter, as a devout Jew, had never thought of preaching Jesus to the Gentiles. But Scripture tells us that people from every nation, tribe, language, and people group on earth will one day stand before Jesus and worship him. (See Rev 7:9.)

Remember how the Holy Spirit overcame Peter's prejudice against Gentiles in the story of Peter's vision on the rooftop in Joppa? (See Acts 10:9-23.) In Peter's vision unclean animals were placed before him with a command, "Get up, Peter. Kill and eat." Peter responds, "Surely not, Lord! I have never eaten anything impure or unclean."

The voice spoke to Peter three times, and then finally said, "Do not call anything impure that God has made clean." While Peter was pondering the meaning of the vision, "unclean Gentiles" sent from the Roman centurion, Cornelius, stood at the gate asking for Simon Peter.

Then the Spirit said to him, "Simon, three men are looking for you. So get up and go down stairs. Do not hesitate to go with them, for I have sent them." Peter did as he was commanded and we have the beginnings of the Gentile Pentecost!

The Apostle Paul provides another scriptural example of how the Holy Spirit moves in the believer to tell others about Christ. Paul felt restrained by the Holy Spirit from entering Asia and Bithynia. But one night Paul had a vision of a man in Macedonia standing and begging him, "Come over to Macedonia and help us." (Acts 16:9 NIV) After the vision, Paul and his companions went to Macedonia to spread the gospel.

Both of these scriptural examples are rather dramatic. More commonly the Holy Spirit works in less spectacular ways. Often He may simply point out a co-worker, a neighbor, or a casual acquaintance, and gently prompt us to tell him or her of Jesus' salvation. Remember, the Holy Spirit can and does communicate with us. He can send a thought into our mind, or cause a quickening in our spirit in such a way that as we ponder that thought or leading, it becomes more alive within us. As this is occurring, we become more and more certain that it is the Holy Spirit within us who is directing us and not just our own thoughts or feelings.

Let me tell you about what happened to me just a few weeks ago in Africa. I was with a brother at a Catholic retreat center where I was to spend the night and catch my plane the next morning. We had only been there a short time when we met two men from Switzerland. One man was in his mid-thirties and the other was in his early twenties. As we talked, we got mixed spiritual signals from the older man so I finally asked him, "Have you taken Jesus Christ as your Savior and Lord?" He said, "Oh, yes, I've done that." (We later found out that this older man had a mixture of beliefs including Buddhism, New Age, and so on.)

However, as soon as I mentioned Jesus, the young man said "Oh, please tell me more about Jesus." In my spirit and my mind I knew immediately that he was the reason for the meeting. I felt, if you will, that the Holy Spirit had arranged this meeting and that this young man had a heart for the Lord. For the next hour we explained the gospel to him. Neither my friend nor I doubted for one minute that the Holy Spirit had caused this meeting so we could share the gospel with a hungry heart.

The Holy Spirit is at work in every believer, to at least occasionally prompt us to share the sweet story of salvation with those we encounter. Then He, the Holy Spirit, does the drawing of the person from the darkness of this world into the kingdom of light. Our job is simply to obey the leading and leave the rest to the Lord.

In Things To Come

John's Gospel records a period of intense instruction by Jesus to the Disciples just before His arrest. Much insight into the ministry of the Holy Spirit is gained in these chapters. (Jn 13-16) In Jesus' teaching He said, "the Spirit of truth . . . will tell you what is yet to come." (Jn 16:13)

I remember one occasion when the Holy Spirit told me that my employer would soon offer me a specific, new position and that I should take it. In less than a week I was offered the job He told me about! While instances of the Holy Spirit alerting us as to future occurrences are rather rare, they do occur.

He Gives Life

Even the act of our salvation involves the Holy Spirit, though it is made possible through the shed blood of Jesus. John tells us in his epistle "The Spirit gives life." (Jn 6:63) I believe John was speaking of spiritual life, the rebirth in Christ, not physical life. Thus, it appears that the Spirit has an active role in our life-giving salvation. Certainly we know from John 6:44 that Jesus said, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him. . . ." Who but the Holy Spirit, as God's agent, would draw us to Jesus?

The Holy Spirit Comes On Us

When we hear the phrase, the "Spirit came on him" we think primarily of the Old Testament. For example, in 1 Chronicles, the Scripture says, "Then the Spirit came upon Amasai." (12:18) But we also find the Holy Spirit moving on people in the New Testament. In Acts 1:8 we see these words: ". . . the Holy Spirit comes on you." It is my belief that this statement is intended to imply that when the Spirit "comes on" someone, it is for a special purpose, a special endument of power. In 1 Chronicles, the Spirit comes on Amasai, and causes him and his men to swear their allegiance to David. This seems to be the case in the New Testament as well. In Acts 1:8, Jesus tells his followers that ". . . you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you." (NIV)

The Holy Spirit Guides/Leads Us

I believe the Holy Spirit very often guides us though we are not aware of it. Scripture says, ". . . those who are led by the Spirit of God" (Rom 8:14), and ". . . you are led by the Spirit" (Gal 5:18).

Luke makes this statement about the Holy Spirit, "Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts." (Lk 2:27 NIV) Peter speaks of the prophets who ". . . were carried along by the Holy Spirit." (2 Pet 1:21) Many times I have seen the Holy Spirit seemingly take full control of a person. This is particularly true of one who is mature in the Lord and who is willing to yield to the Spirit.

I know such a man. Once he was in the lobby of a hotel when the Spirit moved him to walk up to a young woman who was obviously not a Westerner, and begin speaking to her in tongues! He did. To his amazement she understood his speech and was soon crying. She later told him that he was speaking to her in her native language telling her of Jesus' love. As a result of this extraordinary occurrence, she received Jesus as her Savior!

There have been times when I "just happened" to encountered a person unexpectedly who needed a word of encouragement or prayer. There are times when the thought comes to my mind to telephone someone whom I haven't seen for some time. The moment he or she answers the phone I know the Holy Spirit prompted the call. All of us have had such experiences.

The Holy Spirit Guides Us Into All Truth

Jesus said ". . . he will guide you into all truth" (Jn 16:13), and, "I am the way and the truth . . . ." (Jn 14:6) Jesus also told us, "...the Counselor, the Holy Spirit . . . will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you." (Jn 14:26) and, "When the Counselor comes . . . the Spirit of truth . . . he will testify about me." (Jn 15:26) But we need to understand that He will reveal truth to us only if we fulfill two conditions. The first condition is that we must be willing to act on that truth. For Jesus said, "If anyone chooses to do God's will, he will find out whether my teaching comes from God or whether I speak on my own." (Jn 7:17 NIV) The principle contained in this statement says, "we must be willing to obey truth, or we will not know truth."

The second condition is that we must be willing to hold to His teaching. Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples, then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." (Jn 8:31-32 NIV)

Over the years I have been faced with situations in which the truth was evasive or hard to discern. I have learned to take such matters to the Lord and leave them there. I ask the Holy Spirit to bear witness in my spirit to the truth in the matter. The Holy Spirit is faithful and, in His time, the truth concerning the issue does become clear.

The Holy Spirit Reveals Things to Us

Jesus said, ". . . the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you." (Jn 16:15 NIV) Paul states, "The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit . . ." (Rom 8:16 NIV), "The Spirit clearly says that in later times . . ." (1 Tim 4:1 NIV), and ". . . but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit." (1 Cor 2:10 NIV) Luke said, "It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit . . ." (Lk 2:26 NIV)

I am reminded of the time in the book of Acts that Ananias and Sapphira decided to lie to Peter about the price of the property they sold. The Holy Spirit revealed the lie to Peter with powerful consequences. (See Acts 5:1-11.)

On a less serious note, I have known of the Holy Spirit's revealing to parents the hidden misdeeds of their children. I know of one teenager who ran away from home to another city. God, by His Holy Spirit, gave her father the street address where she was hiding! He got in the car, drove to that city, found the right house, and found his daughter!

The Holy Spirit Speaks Through Us

Matthew writes, ". . . for it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you." (Mat 10:20 NIV) Mark says the same, ". . . for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit." (Mk 13:11 NIV) The context here involves Christians under persecution who are called to account for their testimony of Jesus. Plainly, the Holy Spirit empowers believers at these times; He will stand with us and speak through us.

But there are also other times when He will speak through us, especially when we are witnessing to the lost about the salvation that is in Christ, or the truths of His word.

I recall a time when I was exhorting a young Christian to be careful about what he said with his mouth. I told him that words are powerful and we will be held accountable for them. He asked, "Can you show me that in Scripture?" For a few seconds, I was at a total loss. I knew this to be a valid biblical principle, but I couldn't begin to locate the Scriptures in my mind. Then the thought came into my mind, "Matthew 12:37!" I said, "Yes, look at Matthew 12:37." We both turned there in our Bibles and saw these words, "For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned." (NIV) I believe this was clearly the Holy Spirit speaking through me warning that young man to be careful of his words.

The Holy Spirit Brings Gifts

The Holy Spirit brings gifts to us. "Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. . . To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." (1 Cor 12:7-12 NIV) Hebrews 2:4 says, "and gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will." (This is not the proper place to explain the gifts listed above. I simply make reference to them as from the Holy Spirit.)

Fellowship With the Holy Spirit

Paul writes to the Corinthian church, ". . . and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all." (2 Cor 13:14 NIV) At times we meet a brother or sister in Christ and there is instant fellowship. The fellowship deepens as time passes. This is the gracious work of the Holy Spirit. Fellowship with other believers by the Holy Spirit is one of the most wonderful blessings God has given us.

The Holy Spirit Brings Hope

I have heard it said that hope is the lamp of the soul. We all need hope. Yet, even hope is a product of the Holy Spirit's work. ". . . that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom 15:13) In this verse, Paul prayed, "May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit." (Rom 15:13 NIV, emphasis added.) It seems that Paul is telling us that the key to receiving this hope is "trusting in Him."

The Holy Spirit Brings Joy

All of us have experienced the joy of the Lord from time to time. It is so refreshing to enter into that joy. Again, from Scripture we see that even His joy is the work of the Holy Spirit. ". . . full of joy through the Holy Spirit . . ." (Lk 10:21) ". . . and joy in the Holy Spirit . . ." (Rom 14:17) ". . . with the joy given by the Holy Spirit." (1 Thes 1:6)

The Holy Spirit Gives Rest

God has a rest for His people. Isaiah wrote, ". . . they were given rest by the Spirit of the LORD." (Is 63:14 NIV) The writer of Hebrews wrote, "It still remains that some will enter that rest . . ." But he went on to say some, ". . . did not go in, because of their disobedience." (4:6 NIV) "For anyone who enters God's rest also rests from his own work, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by following their example of disobedience." (Heb 4:10,11 NIV)

It is clear from these Scriptures that the Holy Spirit brings God's rest to those who obey His word.

The Holy Spirit Intercedes

". . . the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will." (Rom 8:27 NIV) What a wonderful truth this is! There are times for all of us when we just don't have the right words, the will, or the energy to pray through a situation. Even then, we can know the Holy Spirit is praying God's perfect will for us. This is so comforting.

The Holy Spirit Searches

"The Spirit searches all things . . ." (1 Cor 2:10) One of the Holy Spirit's works in the believer is that of purification. He is always searching the heart looking for things in us that obstruct the work of the Lord. And, as we saw earlier in this chapter, when the Holy Spirit finds that darkness in the heart, He is faithful to act as God's agent to help us rid ourselves of it.

The Holy Spirit Drives Out Demons

Several times in the gospels we see Jesus casting demons out of people. Jesus told us He did that by the power of the Holy Spirit when He said, ". . . I drive out demons by the Spirit of God . . ." (Mat 12:28) In Luke 10:18,19 Jesus gave us that same authority over demons in His name. It is interesting to realize that it is the Holy Spirit who actually drives the demons out at our command.

The Holy Spirit Speaks to Us if We Will Quiet Ourselves and Listen

From the many examples of Scripture shown above it is quite clear that the Holy Spirit frequently speaks to us. Why then are we Christians so quick to say, "God doesn't speak to me"? I believe that it is because most of the time we are not quiet enough to even hear His voice. Or, if the Holy Spirit does try to speak over the noise in our own mind, often we don't recognize His voice. The more time we spend in prayer and meditating on His word, the more we are able to hear His voice as He speaks to us by His Holy Spirit.

Conclusion

The Holy Spirit is indeed working in each of us. He regularly communicates with us. He is God's agent to cause our spirits, souls, and bodies to become more sanctified. This enables us to respond more and more to our call to holiness. It enables us to be part of that "radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless." (Eph 5:27 NIV)

And, as part of that radiant church, we are called to spread the gospel. Paul said, "And he has committed us to the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us." (2 Cor 2:19,20 NIV) Holy Father, we humbly ask You to make us more sensitive to the work of Your precious Holy Spirit in our lives. Help us to recognize His voice and grant us the ability to be quick to obey Him. For we know that You have sent Him into our very beings to perfect us so we may live eternally in Your presence. Grant also that we become cooperative, able, and zealous fellow workers with Your Holy Spirit to bring the light of Jesus Christ to this dark world. Amen!