Thursday, November 17, 2016

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit

By Sam Nobles
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 16:7-11 ESV

Did you know that you had a relationship with the Holy Spirit before you ever knew Jesus as Lord? It's true! One of the primary roles of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world, unbelievers, of sin. It was the Holy Spirit who was pulling on the strings of your heart, convicting you that you did not have Jesus as your Savior. Mankind is utterly hopeless and helpless. People do not even have the ability or the will to come to Jesus on their own. Unless the Father first begins to work in the heart and life of unbelievers through the person of the Holy Spirit, they will never realize their terrible guilt and need of a Savior.
Once a person accepts Jesus as Savior he or she enters into another relationship with the Holy Spirit, for the Holy Spirit then dwells within the believer (Mark  1:8; Acts 1:5). This relationship is instituted by Jesus, and is called the baptism with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of this relationship is to bring or baptize the believer into the body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13). Once in the body of Christ, this relationship we have with the Holy Spirit opens up so many different kinds of blessings, such as being sealed until the day of redemption (Ephesians 1:13), being regenerated into a new creation (Titus 3:5; 2 Corinthians 5:17), being adopted as an heir into God’s family (Romans 8:14-17), and not to mention our bodies become the temple of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 6:19-20).
Another relationship that only a believer can have with the Holy Spirit is to have the Holy Spirit come upon them and fill them for service. This is seen on the day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in the upper room, enduing them with power to be witnesses (Acts 1:8, 2:1-4). This is not a one time filling. In fact the disciples are seen being filled with the Holy Spirit throughout the book of Acts (2:4; 3:10; 4:8, 31; 9:17; 13:9, 52; to name a few). This relationship with Holy Spirit is even commanded for believers (Ephesians 5:18). Guess what Billy Sunday, D. L. Moody, R. A. Torrey, and Charles Finney have in common? If you read their biographies you will see without exception each of these men had an undeniable encounter with the Holy Spirit after their salvation experience that revolutionized their ministry. If you're a believer you, without a doubt have the Holy Spirit, but the real question is, “Does the Holy Spirit have you?”

Scripture to Claim:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” (John 14:16-17 ESV)

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