UNDERSTANDING HOLY SPIRIT BY PR. KALUNGI DENIS

KIREKA CHRISTIAN FELLOWSHIP

Who is the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is a person. This is because he has feelings, He can become sad or angry, and others can insult Him and blaspheme against Him Mathew 12:31 and Ephesian 4:30

He has intentions, shows willfulness and discretion, loves, communicates, testifies, teaches, and prays Romans 8:26, 27

statements that distinguish the Holy Spirit as a person? 

You gave your good Spirit to instruct them. You did not withhold your manna from their mouths, and you gave them water for their thirst. Nehemiah 9:20 when the advocate comes whom the father will send the spirit of the truth who goes out from the father will testify about me John 15:26

While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them Acts 13:2. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people by the same to the will of God Romans 8:26-27

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me Romans 15:30

All these are the work of the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines 1 Corinthians 12:11

Was the Holy Spirit present during Jesus’ life on earth? Yes, he was.

The Holy Spirit was present during each stage of Christ’s life. When the angel appeared to Mary, the mother of Jesus, he declared: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you. Therefore, the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God Luke 1:35

Later on, at the baptism of Jesus, which marked the beginning of His public ministry, the Holy Spirit was present and, on this occasion, could be seen in material form. When Jesus was baptized, he went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on him” {Mt 3:16} During His ministry, Jesus taught about the Holy Spirit and had a relationship with Him. Furthermore, He urged His disciples to receive Him in their lives. 

In summary:

1, He has characteristics of a person

2, He acts like a person

3, He is treated as a person

4, He is a divine person

5, He has a ministry

Does The Holy Spirit work in the lives of believers? Yes He does 

Jesus put a lot of emphasis on the Holy Spirit. He was the subject of intense prayer: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. {John 14:16}

He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see him or know him. But you do know him because he remains with you and will be in you” {John 14:16-17} The Lord mentions two points: the Holy Spirit was already real and He was about to come. At that time, the Spirit dwelled with the disciples, but they lacked having Him in them.

If the Spirit of God was so important to the life of Jesus, how much more for the lives of the believers!

The Holy Spirit is an important figure throughout the Bible. In {Genesis 1:2}, we find Him moving about the surface of the waters, and in {Revelation 22:17}, He and the bride cry with one voice. From beginning to end, the Holy Spirit has always been active: In the beginning, creating, and at the end of the story, tending to us. He comforts us, helps us, guides us, reminds us, teaches us, comes alongside us, counsels us, and intercedes and advocates for us. There is no area of life in which the believer does not need the help of the Holy Spirit.

For any problem the child will cry to the mother believers too have to cry to the Holy Spirit because he is the mother to believers, see our Lord Jesus Christ says I have not left you orphans but with the holy spirit {john 14:18} {This means for anyone who is not an orphan has got a parent so believers we have a parent.

Can anyone build the body of Christ without the Holy Spirit? It is impossible

A gospel with no emphasis on the Holy Spirit is flat. In certain moments, when there was a special manifestation of God, the New Testament emphatically states that the partakers were filled with the Holy Spirit. This was the experience of many:

John the Baptist was full of the Spirit in his mother’s womb {Luke 1:15} Elizabeth when Mary greeted her {Luke 1:41} and Zechariah, father of John the Baptist, when he prophesied {Luke 1:67} Jesus, filled with the Holy Spirit, was led by the same Spirit into the desert {Luke 4:1} 

The disciples were filled with the Spirit in the upper room, and Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, stood up to preach on the day of Pentecost {Ac 2:14}. The young Stephen, full of the Spirit, saw the glory of God when he was stoned {Ac 7:55-56} Paul, was inspired by the Spirit, to rebuke a sorcerer {Ac 13:9-11}

There is no doubt that in the church a life filled with the Holy Spirit should be the norm. The filling of the Holy Spirit was even a requirement for serving in the church. Without a life full of the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to build the body of Christ, and we end up limiting God’s work in our lives.

Does the Holy Spirit work in the world through evangelism? Yes 

Referring to the Holy Spirit, Jesus affirmed in {John 16:8} 

when he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment.” The Lord used the legal term “convict” to highlight that, even if a can point out an error, it is the Spirit that brings conviction of sin. He shows the offense, reveals the foolishness of the sin, points out the consequences, convinces of guilt, and leads the sinner to repentance. 

He is the church’s greatest ally/ partner in its evangelizing effort. Without the help and the filling of the Spirit, the evangelistic task of the church will fail. The emphasis on the Holy Spirit does not come from any religious organization in particular but from Christ Himself. When the disciples asked the Lord about the future, Christ’s answer was emphatic/forceful: “He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or periods that the Father has set by his authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth {Ac 1:7-8} 

Is it true that to receive the power of God, one does not need a religious formula, but rather a relationship with a person? Yes 

In Acts 1:7, Jesus points out what the disciples are not to know, but in verse 8, the emphasis is placed on what they are to know. With the adversative/opposing word “but,” Jesus brings the off-track attention of the disciples to the primary concern at hand: they would “receive power.” However, this depended on the Holy Spirit’s coming to them. Perhaps they did not know this person of the Trinity very well, but the idea of receiving power must have caught all of their attention. 

For over three years, these men had been witnesses of the continual manifestation of God’s power through Jesus, and now the doors were being opened for them to access this power that they had so admired. To receive the power of God, one does not need a religious formula, but rather a relationship with a person. When a farmer grows crops, his desire desires they needed to relieve its fruit, but his relationship is with the plant. It is the plant that the farmer sows, waters, and takes care of, even though he is waiting for the fruit.

He knows that, without the plant, there will be no fruit. The disciples also desired the fruit of the Holy Spirit, but for that, it was necessary for them to relate to Him as a person. Before seeing the divine manifestation, the believer will learn to love, serve, adore, and respect the Spirit, wait in Him and form a relationship with Him. 

Does the power of the Holy Spirit change a life? Yes it does 

Acts clearly state how to recognize someone of the Spirit: “You will be my witnesses” {1:8} Mark is a unique disciple, while being a witness he clarifies that It does not matter how many spiritual experiences one may have. Whoever does not testify Christ does not show evidence of being filled by the Spirit.

If we analyze what Paul says in {Galatians 3:2} I only want to learn this from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by believing what you heard? We realize that this is a rhetorical/verbal question; no one receives the Holy Spirit based on what they do. We experience salvation freely; there is no reason to relate to God differently in our experience with the Holy Spirit. It is also a grace-based experience. In the same way that we receive Christ without doubting whether He will enter our lives or not, we should receive the Holy Spirit by faith and believe that He will respond to our requests without delay.

Jesus skillfully expresses the essence of his experience: “If you know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him?” {Luke 11:13} 

Roles of the Holy Spirit 

The Holy Spirit is your Helper.

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 {John 16:7}

The Holy Spirit sanctifies us

But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God {1 Corinthians 6:11}

“Sanctified “means to be set apart as sacred/blessed. Essentially, it’s the purification of sin and spiritually maturing to become more Christ-like. This is an important process for a believer-leaving behind the old and becoming a new person. But it’s a daily process, and it takes time.

He makes you and me more like Christ

“And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit {2 Corinthians 3:18}

He helps you to do the Father’s will

“Then the Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go up and join this chariot {Acts 8:29} throughout the New Testament we see the Holy Spirit direct people do the will of God.

The Holy Spirit gifts you for ministry.

“There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us.

1, A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other

2, To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice

3, To another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge

4, The same Spirit gives great faith

5, To another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing.

6, He gives one person the power to perform miracles

7. And another the ability to prophesy

8, He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit.

9, Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages

10, While another is given the ability to interpret what is being said.

It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have {1 Corinthians 12:4-11}

He imparts love.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us {Romans 5:3-5}

He is the ally or prepares us for evangelism

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth {Acts 1:8}

The Holy Spirit guides your prayers.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groaning’s too deep for words {Romans 8:26}

The Holy Spirit teaches and gives insight. 

“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 that I have said to you {John 14:26} meaning the Holy Spirit will give us insight into what we are reading and the spirit help us recall what we’ve read in Scripture. He brings to our mind understanding and truth.

The Holy Spirit gives hope.

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope {Romans 15:13}

He releases prophecy, dreams, and visions 

In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams {acts 2:17} and {acts 11:28} One of them, named Agabus, stood up and through the Spirit predicted that a severe famine would spread over the entire Roman world. This happened during the reign of Claudius

He leads into worship 

Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth,r they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks {John 4:23}

He gives the power to cast out devils

But if it is by the Spirit of God that I drive out demons, then the kingdom of God has come upon you {Mathew 12:28}

He is a sword 

Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God {Ephesians 6; 17}

Can anyone operate a ministry without a holy spirit? No

Without the Holy Spirit, the ministry will be in total darkness {Genesis 1:2-4} explains it better, “the earth was formless and desolate. The raging ocean that covered everything was engulfed in total darkness, and the Spirit of God was moving over the water. Then God commanded, “Let there be light”—and light appeared. “

Without the Holy Spirit, we can lose battles, David understood this and cried before God not to take away his spirit from him {Psalms 51:11} explains it better,” Do not banish me from your presence; do not take your holy spirit away from me.” 

Without the power of the Holy Spirit, there will be no resurrection {Romans 8:11} explain it better,” If the Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from death, lives in you, then he who raised Christ from death will also give life to your mortal bodies by the presence of his Spirit in you.”

The church can go astray because it’s the spirit of God to lead believers {Romans 8:14} explains it very well,” Those who are led by God's Spirit are God's children.”

What are the characteristics of the Holy Spirit?

1, He is the Spirit of truth {John 14:17; 15:26; 16:13; 1 John 4:6}. As such He guides us into all truth and seeks to keep us from error.

2, He is the Spirit of holiness {Romans 1:4} as such He separates us unto God from all that is anti-God.

3, He is the Spirit of life in Christ {Rom. 8:2} as such He imparts life to those who depend on Him to keep us from the deadness of the flesh, both irreligious flesh, and religious flesh.

4, He is the Spirit of adoption {Rom. 8:15} as such when we are born again as babes in Christ, He also adopts us as mature sons with all the access rights to our inheritance in Christ.

5, He is the Spirit of faith {2 Cor. 4:13} as such when we look unto Jesus through the Word, He authors faith in our hearts by convincing us of the reality of truth so that we might exercise faith.

6, He is the Spirit of promise {Eph. 1:13} as such He seals us unto the day of redemption, moving into and joining our regenerated spirits, promising there is more to come.

7, He is the Spirit of wisdom Ephesian. 1:17 as such He imparts to us discernment and skill to apply biblical knowledge to real life.

8, He is the Spirit of revelation in the knowledge of God {Eph. 1:17} as such He reveals to us the person of God to enhance our relationship with God and keep us from ritualism.

9, He is the Spirit of power {2 Timothy 1:7} as such He imparts divine ability because spiritual ministry demands spiritual energy.

10, He is the Spirit of love {2 Timothy 1:7} as such He imparts supernatural love that would otherwise not be experienced.

11, He is the Spirit of a sound mind {2 Timothy 1:7} as such He keeps us stable and free from instability and hesitancy.

12, He is the Spirit of grace {Hebrews 10:29} as such He is the agent of the Godhead who supernaturally enables us to do the will of God.

13, He is the Spirit of glory {1 Peter 4:14} as such He radiates the glory of Jesus in us so we are aglow with Christ.

What are the seven gifts of the Holy Spirit?

Isaiah foretold that the Holy Spirit would rest upon the promised Messiah, Emmanuel and that he would possess wisdom and understanding, counsel and fortitude, knowledge, fear of the Lord {Isaiah 11:2}, and piety. As Jesus was blessed with these gifts by his Father, every believer is blessed with the same gifts by the Holy Spirit.

Wisdom is the first gift of the Holy Spirit. It is the ability to exercise good judgment. It is grounded in common sense and comes from life experience, thoughtful reflection, and learning life’s lessons in “The School of Hard Knocks.” Wisdom distinguishes between right and wrong, seeks and upholds truth and justice, and balances personal good with the common good. In the Old Testament wisdom is personified in Sophia, the mythical mother of faith, hope, and love; while in the New Testament wisdom is personified in Jesus himself.

Understanding is the gift of intelligence and enlightenment. It is the ability to perceive, comprehend, and interpret information; to have insight, and discern meaning.

Counsel is good advice. It is the ability to teach and inform, guide and direct, warn and admonish, recommend and encourage. The Holy Spirit offers this special gift to parents, teachers, coaches, mentors, advisors, supervisors, elders, and the like. Counsel is not only the ability to give good advice but to receive it as well.

Fortitude is an unwavering commitment to God or a proper course of action, and it shows itself in moral strength, courage, determination, patient endurance, long-suffering, a resolute spirit, stamina, and resiliency.

Knowledge is the ability to study and learn; acquire, retain, and master a wide spectrum of information; and put it to good use for constructive purposes.

Fear of the Lord is awe, reverence, and respect for God. It downplays human self-sufficiency and acknowledges that everything comes from God. Consequently, those who “Fear the Lord” gladly offer their praise, worship, and adoration to God alone.

Piety is the only gift not part of Isaiah’s original list. Piety is personal holiness, the ability to live a decent life, free of sin, devoted to God, and obedient to God’s will. But in all, there is only one Holy Spirit

Does the Holy Spirit get annoyed? Yes

Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them Isaiah 63:10

And so I tell you, every kind of sin and slander can be forgiven, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven Matthew 12:31

You stiff-necked people! Your hearts and ears are still uncircumcised. You are just like your ancestors: You always resist the Holy Spirit! Acts 7:51. And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption Ephesians 4:30 

How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who treats the blood of the covenants that sanctified us as unholy, and who insults the spirit of grace. Hebrews 10:29

Steps one take to receive the Holy Spirit

Repentance is a profound feeling of sorrow or regret for wrongs that have been done. It involves the following:

A sinner has to acknowledge his sin. This is the first and most important step to sincere repentance. No one can repent of what he has not acknowledged.

 A sinner has to hate sin. If a person does not hate sin, he will, without a doubt, sin again, and eventually become used to it

A sinner has to abandon his sin. If a person does not immediately turn his back on sin, he will never be able to leave it. For example, when a person accepts invitations to spend time with people who do not share his faith, he will often give in to their attempts to persuade him to do what is wrong

A sinner has to completely forget his sin, treating it as though it had never happened.

The following stage after repentance is the Water Baptism. This is a turning point for those who truly want to start a new life with the Lord Jesus. After His resurrection, the Lord Jesus taught the disciples about its importance by giving them a clear command: “He said to them, ‘Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature. He who believes and is baptized will be saved. But he who does not believe will be condemned {Mark 16:15, 16}

The meaning of Baptism in Water: In the same way that a burial ceremony signifies that the last tie between a man and his earthly life has been severed, baptism in water is a public declaration that a believer is severing all ties with his natural life. Our inner self is put to death and sin no longer has dominion over us.

The last stage is the Baptism of the Holy Spirit. Baptism of the Holy Spirit is a term used to describe the fullness of God dwelling within a person. However, for this to occur, there are steps that need to be followed

No one pours clean water into a dirty cup. Likewise, a person cannot be given the Holy Spirit when there are other spirits dwelling in his body, such as the spirit of envy, dissension, anger, greed, gossip

No one is given the Spirit of God as long as he holds a grudge against someone else. God’s greater forgiveness can only be enjoyed after the person has sincerely forgiven those who hurt him. Only then will the Holy Spirit find a place to dwell in his heart.

Prayer 

Father, as your child in Jesus I desire to be totally an instrument for Your Kingdom to manifest through my life. I desire to receive your Promise of the Holy Spirit to those who believe. Jesus, my Savior, and Kingbaptize me in the Holy Spirit so that the power of your resurrection will work in me and transform me according to your will. Holy Spirit, empower me and fill me to overflowing. I hold nothing back from you. Work your gifts in me and through me, all of me, so that the Father’s Kingdom may be manifested in and through my life. I ask this in Jesus’ mighty Name.

 Amen!”

Holy Spirit Part One