Holy Spirit 6/4/23

Why would I want the Holy Spirit?

Do I need the Holy Spirit?

Have I submitted my life to the Holy Spirit?

Acts 1

4 Being assembled with them, He commanded them, “Do not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, of which you have heard from Me.

5 For John baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

6 So when they had come together, they asked Him, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?”

7 He said to them, “It is not for you to know the times or the dates, which the Father has fixed by His own authority. 

8 But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 When He had spoken these things, while they looked, He was taken up. And a cloud received Him from their sight.

10 While they looked intently toward heaven as He ascended, suddenly two men stood by them in white garments. 

11 They said, “Men of Galilee, why stand looking toward heaven? This same Jesus, who was taken up from you to heaven, will come in like manner as you saw Him go into heaven.”

Without the Holy Spirit, Christian discipleship would be inconceivable, even impossible. There can be no life without the life-giver, no understanding without the Spirit of truth, no fellowship without the unity of the Spirit, no Christlikeness of character apart from His fruit, and no effective witness without His power. As a body without breath is a corpse, so the church without the Spirit is dead.

— John Stott 

The Holy Spirit TEACHES/COUNSELS us. 

John 14:26 — But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit HELPS us…

Romans 8:26-27

26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 

27 And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God’s own will.

The Holy Spirit LEADS/GUIDES us. 

Galatians 5

16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 

17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other, so you are not free to carry out your good intentions. 

19 When you follow the desires of your sinful nature, the results are very clear: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, 

20 idolatry, sorcery, hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, 

21 envy, drunkenness, wild parties, and other sins like these. Let me tell you again, as I have before, that anyone living that sort of life will not inherit the Kingdom of God.

22 But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 

23 gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!

24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have nailed the passions and desires of their sinful nature to his cross and crucified them there. 

25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives. 

Is the Holy Spirit leading my life? 

The Holy Spirit BUILDS my faith. 

Jude 1:20 — But you, beloved, build yourselves up in your most holy faith. Pray in the Holy Spirit.

Jude 1:20 — But you, dear friends, build yourselves up in your most holy faith, and pray in union with the Ruach HaKodesh.