The Holy Spirit and His Works
The Holy Spirit
Acts 13:2 As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them.
Acts 16:6 Now when they had gone throughout Phrygia and the region of Galatia, and were forbidden of the Holy Ghost to preach the word in Asia,
The Holy Spirit forbids them to preach in a certain area. Again, a force could not do that.
1 Tim 4:1 Now the Spirit speaketh expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
Here the Holy Spirit predicts the future and warns us of what will happen in the future.
Acts 20:28 Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.
Here the Holy Spirit decided who should be the overseers of the church. So the Holy Spirit is a unique, literal being who is every bit God.
The Holy Spirit seems to have a body different then our bodies. He doesn’t appear to have a literal, physical body, but indeed is a spirit. In one sense, He’s like oxygen. Oxygen is real and essential. Yet we can’t see Oxygen. We can’t smell or taste oxygen. Nor can we wrap our arms around oxygen and give it a hug. Yet it is there and essential for us. Oxygen is not a solid, but a different form.
And so the Holy Spirit does not appear to have a solid body like we do. But is more like oxygen in that He’s invisible and can spread out and you can’t throw your arms around Him like people could do with Jesus. He seems to have the power to be everywhere at once.
Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as similar to the wind:
John 3:8
The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
So we cannot see the Holy Spirit, we cannot hold the Holy Spirit, but we can sure feel His effects.
Acts 2:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost...
What does it mean to have the Holy Spirit inside of us? Is it something that hurts? Is it something we should be afraid of? Is He going to force us to do all kinds of things that we don’t want to do?
All who accept Jesus as their savior receive the gift of the Holy Spirit living inside of them ( Rom 8:9 …Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. ). And no one complains about it. No one says it hurts or is no fun to have. So the Holy Spirit is a benefit and a help to us and not a painful detriment that we should fear.
But does He make us do things that we absolutely do not want to do?
1 COR 14:32 And the spirits of the prophets are subject to the prophets."
This means that the Holy Spirit does not take control of our arms and legs outside of our will. He does not force us to do all kinds of things that we do not want to do. Even though there are segments of Christianity that claim He pins them to the floor and makes them laugh for hours on end or even bark like dogs, according to the previous verse, that’s not the Holy Spirit. That’s not the way He operates. We still have control of our faculties.
So we see that the Holy Spirit lives inside of all saved believers. But at the same time, He can also live outside of believers.
Rev 1:4 John to the seven churches which are in Asia: Grace be unto you, and peace, from him which is, and which was, and which is to come; and from the seven Spirits which are before his throne;
So here we see the Holy Spirit also lives outside of humans and is before the throne of God.
The Holy Spirit is like God in that He too is eternal. He has always been around and will always be around.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit...
And that’s good news for us. There’ll never be a time when we won’t have the Holy Spirit to help us. There’ll never be a time when we won’t have the Holy Spirit to strengthen us. He will always be there to help us through our worst of times and our deepest of troubles. The Holy Spirit loves us as much as Jesus Himself does and in fact, when we’re in prayer and we hurt so bad that we don’t know what to say and we don’t know what to do, the Holy Spirit will pray for us. He will take even our worst of prayers and interpret them perfectly to God:
Rom 8:26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Rom 8:27 And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
The Holy Spirit has always been around. He’s been in the earth from day one and even helped in creation:
Gen 1:2 And the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters.
And we say He’s always been around because some believe that the Holy Spirit was not given to us until after Jesus died. They quote John 7:39:
(But this spake he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.)
So they believe that the Holy Spirit did not inhabit anyone until after Jesus died. But this is not correct. There are many texts which tell us the Holy Spirit was in the world even in the Old Testament. It’s just that after the death of Jesus the HS was poured out more fully and more powerfully and He works stronger and more fully in our lives.
Here are some verses from the Old Testament that show that the Holy Spirit was a gift from our loving Father, even to those in the Old Testament.
Num 11:29 And Moses said unto him, Enviest thou for my sake? would God that all the LORD'S people were prophets, and that the LORD would put his spirit upon them!
1 Sam 10:10 And when they came thither to the hill, behold, a company of prophets met him; and the spirit of God came upon him, and he prophesied among them.
1 Sam 11:6 And the spirit of God came upon Saul when he heard those tidings, and his anger was kindled greatly.
Psa 51:11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
Isa 63:10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
Isa 63:11 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him?
That’s just a small sample. There are many texts that show that the Holy Spirit was a loving gift from God even in the Old Testament.
So what does the Holy Spirit do for us? Why does God give Him to us? Before we answer that, realize that the Holy Spirit relates to every single human being on the face of the earth in one of three ways:
1. The person is a saved Christian who loves Jesus. In that case He’s living inside of them:
Rom 8:9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
2. They’re not saved so He’s outside of them striving to convict them of their sins and get them to accept Jesus as their savior:
John 16:8
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
John 12:32 And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me
3. They have so hardened their hearts and so totally, utterly rejected God that they don’t want to hear what He says and they will never hear what He says. So in sorrow, the Holy Spirit has to honor their wishes and leave them. This is called the unpardonable sin: people have so hardened their hearts and so rejected God that it’s impossible for our loving Father to reach them:
Psa 19:13 Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins; let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright, and I shall be innocent from the great transgression.
The "great transgression" is to commit so many presumptuous sins, that is, to do things that we know are wrong so often and so willingly that eventually we no longer hear the Holy Spirit’s voice and it becomes impossible for us to repent. So we either have the Holy Spirit in us and with us or outside of us.
Once a person accepts Jesus as their savior they receive the gift of the Holy Spirit ROM 8:9. The Holy Spirit does several things for us:
John 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will show you things to come.
So He guides us into spiritual truth. He teaches us what the bible says. But it doesn’t say He does it all at once. He doesn’t magic place the entire contents of the bible in our memory. But as we read the bible and ask God to teach us the Holy Spirit is able to reveal truth to us.
Acts 17:11 These were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of mind, and searched the scriptures daily, whether those things were so.
1 John 2:20 But ye have an unction from the Holy One, and ye know all things.
This means that the Holy Spirit is our teacher and our guide and as we pray and study, He’s able to teach us what the bible means. Again, it doesn’t mean that we’ll understand everything the first time. But He "guides us into all truth". And this takes time and effort and energy on our part. We must take the time to read the bible and think about what we read. And as we do, the Holy Spirit will teach us.
Another thing the Holy Spirit does for us is to strengthen us during trials and tough times.
Eph 3:16 That he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory, to be strengthened with might by his Spirit in the inner man;
This means when the devil attacks us and does mean things to us, that as he turns us up the heat and brings on more and more trials, that God in His love and mercy, through the Holy Spirit, gives us more strength and more ability to endure whatever the devil throws at us. And let’s be honest, the devil throws a lot at us.
2 Cor 1:3 Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;
2 Cor 1:4 Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.
2 Cor 1:5 For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also aboundeth by Christ.
So God will comfort and strengthen us in all our trials and tribulations by the power of the Holy Spirit. And as the attacks of the devil intensify, if we will take the time to pray, God will give us the strength we need to endure.
But if we’re not a Christian who loves Jesus more than anything, we don’t have these promises. We don’t have the Holy Spirit to help us and strengthen us and encourage us. And sometimes life does get out of control and some times life does get impossible and we absolutely have no idea what to do. But when we ask Jesus to forgive our sins and be our savior, when we ask Him to help us to love Him and serve Him, He will give us the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us through all trials and all troubles and no matter how bad things get, He will be there to see us through. If you haven’t asked Jesus to be your savior and forgive your sins, won’t you ask Him to now? There’s no reason not to.
The Holy Spirit will also comfort us and give us ideas on how to deal with life and the attacks of the devil
John 14:16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;
John 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
The HS is a comforter to comfort us in times of sorrow and disappointment. He’s our helper. So whatever difficulties or struggles or emotional pain that we suffer, He’s there to help us. He’s there to lift us emotionally and point us to God’s love and mercy for us. He’s a wonderful friend and a wonderful helper and He loves to help us.
No, this doesn’t mean we’ll never have a bad day. This doesn’t mean we won’t get sick or be attacked by Satan. There’s a lot of suffering in this life, even for saved Christians.
1 Peter 4:1 Forasmuch then as Christ hath suffered for us in the flesh, arm yourselves likewise with the same mind; for he that has suffered in the flesh hath ceased from sin.
Arm yourself with the mind set that we live in a world of sin and therefore we’re going to suffer. But no matter what happens, God is there with us and for us.
Eph 6:16 Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.
So when Satan does attack us and harass us, the Holy Spirit helps us patiently deal with it.
John 16:8
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:2. V10 He tells us what is right and the things that we ought to be doing. As Christians, we should be involved in our church and witnessing to others and doing good deeds for others. And the Holy Spirit helps us to see this and realize it and helps us to do it.
3. V11 He let’s us know that we can’t be messing around and ignoring God; there’s no time for that. There is a judgment to come and all of us will be on trial:
2 Cor 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.
So we need the covering blood of Jesus to forgive our sins or we’ll be tried and found guilty. But if we give our hearts to Jesus and ask Him to forgive us and strive to love Him, we can escape the punishment that all will face who choose not to love God.
Prov 8:36 But he that sinneth against me wrongeth his own soul: all they that hate me love death.
So how does the Holy Spirit speak to us? How do we know it’s Him? Do we hear a voice inside of us? Is there a certain feeling we get when He speaks to us? Does He send us an email?
Let’s look at an example of how the Holy Spirit works:
In ACTS 2 there was a large crowd gathered. Peter then begins to preach to the people and tell them that Jesus was the Messiah and that they had crucified the Messiah.
The people then cry out, "Men and brothers what shall we do?" ACT 2:37. After hearing Peter preach, these men knew that JC was the Messiah and that they needed to repent of their sins. But how did they come to this conclusion?
Jesus says in JOHN 6:44 that "No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him." And it’s through the Holy Spirit that He draws us. So these men were being drawn by the Holy Spirit and it was not just a conclusion they came to on their own.
In LUKE 9:18-21 Jesus asked the disciples who He was and Peter said, "The Messiah". Jesus responded by saying that God had revealed that to him and that he didn’t come to that conclusion on his own. So it’s only through the power of God and the power of God the Holy Spirit that we are convicted and understand that Jesus is the Messiah and savior of the world. So when the men of Acts 2 believed the Jesus was the Messiah, it was through the Holy Spirit.
But they never heard a voice telling them that. They didn’t get an email. So the Holy Spirit is able to speak to our minds and place thoughts and convictions in our minds. We then have the choice whether or not to respond. God never forces the will; He never forces us to accept Him. But He brings it to our minds and strives to get us to accept, but He never forces.
When He does this, we don’t get a great electric charge. We don’t think differently. But it generally appears to be a normal thought. It’s not that this is a foreign thought that we can easily identify as a coming from God. But God speaks to us as if it were our own thought and we choose whether or not to accept.
Another reason God gives us the Holy Spirit is:
1 Cor 12:7 But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.
In other words, God gives us the Holy Spirit to benefit others. He will give us talents and abilities that we are to use to benefit others. God may give one the talent to teaching so they can give bible studies and tell others about Jesus. He may give one the talent of administration so they can help organize and run the church. He may give one the talent of singing so they can sing to His glory. But we all receive gifts and talents to benefit others.
When I have a project I want to accomplish, I start with a plan, then I count the cost, then I review what tools I might need. Once I have everything together, I set out to accompish my goal.
The Lord's project is to restore mankind to His original specifications. He counted the cost and determined the price of His own life in place of the sinner was nothing less than His love for the sinner could afford. The tools he uses is the Truth of His own Words. The means by which He accomplishes His goal is throught the agency of His Holy Spirit, who is also God. Below is an introduction into who the Holy Spirit is in Part I. In Part II, we will find what part the Holy Spirit plays in Last Day Truth in preparation for the Second Coming of or Lord Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit Part 2
For those who are not aware, Jesus will return very shortly to take His people back to heaven with Him. He says:
Rev 22:12
And, behold, I come quickly; and my reward is with me, to give every man according as his work shall be.
Also, in Matt 24 we see a series of signs leading up to the second coming. And most of those signs have been fulfilled, telling us, that the return of Jesus is near.
The Holy Spirit helps to prepare all who choose to love God and serve God, for that event. And the best way for us to be ready is to have our characters perfected. In other words, to be as much like Jesus as possible. And a good part of that is to overcome sin and learn to love. After all, Jesus never sinned, so why should we?
1 Pet 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
1 Pet 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
The apostle Paul said:
2 Cor 7:1 Having therefore these promises, dearly beloved, let us cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God.
2 Tim 2:19 Nevertheless the foundation of God standeth sure, having this seal, The Lord knoweth them that are his. And, Let every one that nameth the name of Christ depart from iniquity.
John said:
1 John 2:1 My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
1 John 3:3 And every man that hath this hope in him purifieth himself, even as he is pure.
Peter said:
1 Pet 2:21 For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow his steps:
1 Pet 2:22 Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth:
So each of these writers is telling us the same thing: That we need to "perfect holiness in the fear of God". That is, we need to strive to be like Jesus. And that would include overcoming sin, loving others and striving to do good deeds for others. After all, that’s what Jesus is like. And the Holy Spirit helps us to be all those things. The Holy Spirit helps us to prepare for the return of Jesus by making us like Him.
In fact, Jesus will not return until His people are like Him.
2 Th 1:7 And to you who are troubled rest with us, when the Lord Jesus shall be revealed from heaven with his mighty angels,
2 Th 1:8 In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God, and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 Th 1:9 Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power;
This is referring to the second coming of Jesus. And when does it occur (of course we don’t know the exact date, but we can know many of the circumstances)?
2 Th 1:10 When he shall come to be glorified in his saints, and to be admired in all them that believe (because our testimony among you was believed) in that day.
So breaking this verse down we see that Jesus will return "When he shall come to be glorified in his saints...". The saved people of God are the saints. And Jesus will return when He is glorified in them. What does it mean for Jesus to be "glorified in his saints"?
John 13:31 Therefore, when he was gone out, Jesus said,
Now is the Son of man glorified, and God is glorified in him.So Jesus will return when His people bring Him glory and praise. But aren’t we doing so now? Aren’t people able to look at us today and praise God because of us today? Yes; but Jesus hasn’t returned yet. So this has to mean that Jesus’s people will bring Him even more glory and more praise then they do today. So Jesus must return when His people are even more like Him then they are today.
Then it says "...to be admired in all them that believe".
Jesus will return when His people reach the point where they admire Him and admire His character and so much so, that they strive to be like Him. They strive to "perfect holiness in the fear of God". So when Jesus’s people are bringing Him glory by striving to be like Him, then He will return. Or as Revelation 14:15 says
And another angel came out of the temple, crying with a loud voice to him that sat on the cloud, Thrust in thy sickle, and reap: for the time is come for thee to reap; for the harvest of the earth is ripe.
A harvest is ripe when the product is ripe. And in this case, the product is people. So the harvest is ripe when the people are ripe. Or, as we previously stated, when Jesus’ people are so much like Him that they bring Him glory: loving, kind, compassionate, sinless. So as saved Christians who love Jesus more than anything, we must strive to love and be like Jesus.
So how is this to be accomplished? How are God’s people ever to be like Him? I try and try and put forth all my effort, but I just can’t seem to love my enemies. I just can’t seem to stop doing things I know I shouldn’t do.
Jesus, when He was on this earth, put aside His God power and relied on the power of the Holy Spirit.
Heb 9:14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?
John 5:30
I can of mine own self do nothing: as I hear, I judge: and my judgment is just; because I seek not mine own will, but the will of the Father which hath sent me.
Acts 10:38 How God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power: who went about doing good, and healing all that were oppressed of the devil; for God was with him.
And this is an example to us that we are to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to live the same life of love that Jesus lived (not that we’re going to heal or raise the dead like He did, but live the life of love). And the Holy Spirit gives us the power and the help to stop sinning. But we don’t just set back and let Him do it all, it doesn’t work that way. But we cooperate with Him to stop sinning. In other words, the Holy Spirit does not magically move our hands and feet for us. He doesn’t close our mouth when we’re wanting to say something sinful. But instead, He gives us the power and we choose to exercise the power.
Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live.
1 Pet 1:22 Seeing ye have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit unto unfeigned love of the brethren...
So notice that it is we who do it, through the power of the Holy Spirit. It’s a cooperation between us and Him. He gives us the power and we make the choice to exercise that power.
James 4:7 Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.
Or, as stated another way, when Satan comes to us with temptations, through the power of the HS, we say NO to those temptations. Then, the more we say NO, the less attractive those sins become.
Now, even though it’s God’s power and God’s strength to overcome sin, it feels like it’s our own strength and our own power. In other words, we don’t feel a rush of energy or a lightning bolt of power telling us it’s the power of God at work. Instead, it feels like it’s our own strength and our own power at work. But it isn’t; it’s God’s power at work within us. And that’s a good thing because we’re not strong enough to do things ourselves. But we need God’s help and we need God’s power.
We must decide that we love Jesus more than we love sin and through the power of the Holy Spirit resist the devil and his temptations (if we realize we love sin more than we love Jesus, pray for His help to love Him more than sin). After all Jesus says:
John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.
So if we really love Him, we will strive to show we love Him by turning from sin and keeping His commandments. And it really is good news that the Holy Spirit helps us to stop sinning because some of the sins that we commit are ruining our lives and even killing us:
Alcoholics are ruining their lives and slowly killing themselves with their alcohol and in most cases they need help to stop.
Gamblers often lose thousands of dollars and go into serious debt and they need help to stop.
Smokers are destroying their health and life and need help to stop.
The pornographer is ruining his marriage and family and needs help.
The liar loses his friends and needs help.
The single girl who is sleeping around is often looking for love and security and that’s only found in Christ.
The Holy Spirit helps us to stop doing all of these activities. The very things that are killing us and ruining our quality of life, the Holy Spirit promises to help us stop. If we will ask for His help and pray for His help, God will send the Holy Spirit and He will help us to stop doing the very things that are killing us.
Now, as most of us know, it’s not always easy to stop sinning and it’s not always fun to stop sinning, but we must.
Gal 5:16 This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh.
Gal 5:17 For the flesh lusteth against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh: and these are contrary the one to the other: so that ye cannot do the things that ye would.
Gal 5:18 But if ye be led of the Spirit, ye are not under the law.
There’s a terrible struggle that happens in most of us. We want to do right, we want to change and we don’t seem to have the power to do so. The problem is that we have what is known as a "fallen nature". It means that by default, we often want to do things that are wrong and down right sinful. And we have no power to change.
But, again, when we ask Jesus to forgive us of our sins and take us to heaven, we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit then begins to change us and show us what is right and help us to desire what is right.
Phil 2:13 For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
So God, through the Holy Spirit, is working in us to help us to do right and desire to do right. The Holy Spirit strives to change us so we want to do right and desire to do right and soon love to do right.
2 Cor 3:18 But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord.
1 Cor 6:9 Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind,
1 Cor 6:10 Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God.
1 Cor 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.
We must allow the Holy Spirit to completely lead in our lives. The problem that many have is they like everything we’ve talked about and want to make the changes, but there’s a few sinful things they want to hold on to. They’re willing to let God lead in most things, but not all things. And that’s where we have trouble, because when we’re holding on to sins and refusing to let go of them, it hinders the work of God in our lives. If we don’t allow Him to help in all areas, it hinders Him from helping in those areas that we do want help in. For example, if we really want His help to keep us from drinking alcohol, but we refuse to stop telling lies, it hinders Him from helping us in the area of alcohol. Or if we want to stop smoking but want to continue being sassy to our parents, it keeps Him from helping with smothing. That’s why Psalms 66:18 says
If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me:
When we cherish sin and refuse to change, it keeps God from hearing and answering our prayers for help.
Romans 8:14 says:
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Now, we may not hear a voice telling us what to do. We may not get an email telling us what to do. But God will somehow, someway, open doors for us and reveal to us the right way. It’s then up to us to take that right way.
Once we give our hearts to Jesus, ask Him to forgive our sins and take us to heaven, we will become saved Christians who are on our way to heaven. The devil doesn’t like that and he may lead persecution against us. In fact, millions of people through the years have died because they love Jesus.
In America, we don’t see much persecution. No one is waiting to throw us in jail or kill us because we love Jesus. But in other countries, that’s not the case. And when persecuted for our faith, when we’re brought on trial because of our love for Jesus, we don’t have to worry about what we’re going to say; we don’t have to worry about how to defend ourselves. The Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. When we speak and attempt our defense, it will actually be the Holy Spirit speaking through us.
This means we don’t have to stay awake the night before, worrying about what we’re going to say. We don’t have to spend hours preparing our defense. But instead, we spend the night in prayer, trusting and believeing that the Holy Spirit will tell us what to say.
Luke 21:12
But before all these, they shall lay their hands on you, and persecute you, delivering you up to the synagogues, and into prisons, being brought before kings and rulers for my name's sake.
Luke 21:13
And it shall turn to you for a testimony.
Luke 21:14
Settle it therefore in your hearts, not to meditate before what ye shall answer:
Luke 21:15
For I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist.
So we don’t have to worry about what to say. We don’t have to panic because we’re not sure what to say. But we spend the time beforehand praying and asking for the words and God will give them to us.
So how do we know that we have the Holy Spirit? When we begin to see all these things being fulfilled in our lives, then we know we have the Holy Spirit.
John 13:35
By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.Mat 25:34
Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world:
Also, in 2 Corinthians 9 Paul was writing to the Corinthians who were taking up a collection for the churches at Jerusalem. This is an excellent example to us that they cared about others and were willing to give of their money so others could have the gospel.
2 Cor 9:7 Every man according as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God loveth a cheerful giver.
And we too are to show love by giving of our money so others can hear the gospel.
And one last evidence that we have the Holy Spirit is when we’re willing to sacrifice and risk our lives so others can hear the gospel.
Rom 16:3 Greet Priscilla and Aquila my helpers in Christ Jesus:
Rom 16:4 Who have for my life laid down their own necks: unto whom not only I give thanks, but also all the churches of the Gentiles.
These people loved Jesus so much that they were willing to risk their lives so that Paul could give the gospel to others. And when we’re willing to do that because we love God and we love others, not to get glory and praise, then we know the Holy Spirit is working within us.
Now some Christians believe they’re saved by grace, which we are, therefore they do not have to overcome sin and it’s good enough to come to church and accept Jesus as savior and overcoming sin is not a serious issue.
Well, everything that we’ve talked about says otherwise. It shows that Jesus expects us to prove our love for Him by obeying Him. Again,
John 14:15
If ye love me, keep my commandments.