April LMPS - The Holy Spirit

In today’s reflection, we want to introduce you or for those who are already in the know, to re-acquaint you with a very special Friend.

One session is nearly not enough to properly discuss this Great person but we pray that by His grace, we will be able to learn more and be blessed by this month’s theme – The Holy Spirit.

Who is the Holy Spirit?

First and foremost, it is important to understand that The Holy Spirit is God - as we read in 1 John 5:7

“For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one”.

This means that God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit are One.

He is Our Helper / Comforter (alternative version) – John 14:16, John 16:7, John 14:26

“And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever” John 14:16

“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 depart, I will send Him to you” John 16:7

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you” John 14:26

This means that if you need any help in any area, He is willing and able to help you. Many times as women, we balance and juggle a LOT of things. We want to be the perfect wife, excellent mother, and dutiful child to our earthly parents.  We aspire to be great businesswomen or career women, active workers in church, loving in-law, good friend, a worshipper, prayer warrior who has an amazing relationship with God. (phew, that sounds exhausting just reading it!).

The Holy Spirit is able to help you meet all responsibilities and do them in a very efficient manner. I’m sure you wonder how the Proverbs 31 woman was able to juggle all the things she did and still be called ‘Blessed’, it could only have been through the grace of God.

You can receive help today to be a better woman, a better, wife, a better mother, a better daughter, a better friend, a more successful business/career woman and most importantly, to have a better relationship with God. (and be great at it all)

There are other ways the Holy Spirit helps us and we will explore further.

To Advocate – John 15: 26

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me” John 15:26 (NIV)

The dictionary defines an Advocate as ‘A person who publicly supports or recommends a particular cause or policy’. Knowing the Holy Spirit and having Him involved in your life means that you are sure that you have a friend, a Lord who constantly and consistently supports you and recommends you before God the Father. When the accuser comes to lay all your faults and talk about how you don’t deserve any good, or why you deserve to be left exposed to attacks, you know that the Holy Spirit is acting as your Advocate, speaking well of you, speaking things that will cause mercy to triumph justice even when we don’t deserve it.

 

To understand the Mind of God / The revealer of God’s word– 1 Corinthians 2: 10 – 11

“But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God.” 1Corinthians 2:10 – 11

To pursue a relationship with anyone, it is important to truly know them. To know their nature, to understand the way they are, their likes and dislikes. In the same vein, our relationship with God is enhanced through the study of His word, the Bible which reveals to us the nature of God. The Holy Spirit helps us to fully understand what we read and also helps us to get to know God better.

Also, on a daily basis in our lives, we make a wide variety of decisions, from the trivial to the very important. We know that in order to live successfully, it is important to get proper guidance and direction. We want to know God’s mind concerning a matter –“Who should I marry” “How should I respond to my husband” “How can I put this matter to this individual in the right way” “What job should I go for?” Posing these questions to the Holy Spirit can help you in such a wonderful way. We encourage you to inculcate the habit of putting it before Him before making decisions. You will notice the significant (favourable) difference.

To Teach – John 14:26

“But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you”

Not only will the Holy Spirit teach you all spiritual things, He is also able to teach you all physical things. What is it that you want to learn or know how to do and has hitherto not been possible? Ask the Holy Spirit to help you today. There’s also good news for the students in our midst (at the end of the day, we learn every day, making us all students), the Holy Spirit is able to bring to your remembrance all that you have learnt. Do you desire to memorise scriptures? The Holy Spirit can help you today.

To worship – John 4:23-24

“But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him.  God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

The Holy Spirit helps us to worship God in the right way.

To intercede – Romans 8 – 26 – 27

^“Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. For we do not know what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. Now He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”

As the bible passage reads, the Holy Spirit helps us to pray in the very exact and appropriate way. There are times when we want to pray and we are lost for words or don’t even know how to go about it. You can call on the Greatest Helper of all to intercede on your behalf. This is also the reason why the gift of speaking in tongues is one that we should desire and ask for.

To be like Christ / To be Christians – Galatians 5:22 – 23

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law”

We read about the fruit of the spirit in the scripture above and to the human eye, it seems like a tall order indeed, but it is very possible to exhibit all of them. They are called the ‘fruit of the spirit’. You exhibit all of these traits when you have an in-dwelling of the Holy Spirit. The more time you spend with Him, the more you are able to love, are long-suffering, are kind, be joyous and so on.

To give power – 1 Corinthians 12: 7-11

“But the manifestation of the Spirit is given to each one for the profit of all: for to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healings by the same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of spirits, to another different kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues. But one and the same Spirit works all these things, distributing to each one individually as He wills.”

Do you desire power as a Christian? You can receive the above gifts from the Holy Spirit.

To empower us do the impossible – Luke 1: 34 – 35, Romans 8:11

“Then Mary said to the angel, ‘How can this be, since I do not know a man?’ And the angel answered and said to her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.” Luke 1:34-35

“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11

There are some things that seem absolutely, totally humanly impossible – just like a virgin conceiving and giving birth to a child. Just like a man who had been dead for 3 days, rising from the dead. BUT when the power of the Holy Spirit is introduced, things change! Impossible becomes very possible. When the Holy Spirit is present, miracles become the norm. May the Holy Spirit show up for you today, may every barren womb bring forth children, may every fruitless business become fruitful, may every single lady ready for marriage be connected to her spouse by the Holy Spirit, may every broken and troubled home be restored to a haven of peace and joy, may every sick person receive healing by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Why do we need Him?

With the snippet we have discussed above, it is clear to see that we desperately NEED the Holy Spirit. The bible says in John 15:5 – Without Him, we can do nothing and from the writings above, it is clear that in order to live a wholesome spiritual and physical life, we must have the Holy Spirit.

How can I get to meet Him and have a relationship with Him?

A.      You must be born again – John 3:3-7

“Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother’s womb and be born? Jesus answered, ‘Most assuredly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘You must be born again.’”

B.      You must desire it and ask for it– Luke 11:9-13 (God desires to freely give you the Holy Spirit), Acts 2:17-18

“So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.  For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened ……. If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him!” Luke 11:9-13

“And it shall come to pass in the last days, says God, That I will pour out of My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your young men shall see visions, Your old men shall dream dreams.
And on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days; And they shall prophesy.” Acts 2:17-18

C.      Have faith that you have received Him, thank God and begin to exercise your relationship with Him

Just like our salvation, the gifts of God are received by faith and with thanksgiving. You have to believe that the Holy Spirit has begun to dwell in you and will be manifested in your works. Congratulations, your life has just experienced a divine and dynamic change!

Please remember to cultivate and develop your relationship with the Holy Spirit, God is holy and will not dwell in a sinful vessel (Psalm 24:3-4)

Ladies! Do you realise that the bible refers to you as a HELPER (Genesis 2:18). Your responsibility to your husband is likened to that of the Holy Spirit to us – isn’t that amazing and humbling? You have a very special position and role in your husband’s life and destiny. Please don’t let self, society and fear stop you from fulfilling this God-given role. God bless you