Today I want to share with you about the message I heard from Eagle Brook Church as part of the series “I Don’t Get It.” As Christians and “believers” as we call ourselves, we often talk about God and Jesus. But I have noticed that a lot of Christians don’t know the third person of the Trinity—the Holy Spirit. This message is about why Jesus left us the Holy Spirit when He left earth. There are many mysteries we will never understand with the human mind but we need to believe by faith. The Holy Spirit is one of those mysteries and thus the title for their message, “I Don’t Get It.”
As human beings we were created in God’s image, with a spirit. Therefore, God uses His Holy Spirit to communicate with us—from spirit to spirit. Jesus said in John 16:7 (NLT), “But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, because if I don’t, the Advocate won’t come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you.” The Advocate is the Holy Spirit. Jesus had to go away because, as a human being here on earth, he could only be with a few people. The Holy Spirit can be with all of us, at the same time, and forever.
In this message the pastor shared that the Holy Spirit provides us with three things:
Guidance. John 16:13 (NLT) says, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.” The Holy Spirit guides us in three ways. First, the inner promptings that we feel often is the Holy Spirit telling us what to do or what not to do. But many times we ignore those promptings and the more we ignore it the less we hear that still small voice. On the other hand, the more we carefully listen to that voice, the better we get at it and the more sensitive we become. Second, the Holy Spirit guides us through other people in our lives. Many times, He uses people we trust to tell us the direction we need to go. But again, often we disregard those people and even cut them off of our lives. The third way the Holy Spirit guides us is through the Word, the Bible. The Holy Spirit will never contradict the Word of God because they are One.
Protection. Romans 8:26 (NLT) says, “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.” The Holy Spirit prays for us in a special way and He protects us on a daily basis. Some people pray in other tongues that we don’t understand but the Holy Spirit does.
Empowerment. The Holy Spirit empowers us. Acts 1:8 (NLT) says, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” In addition, Romans 8:11 (NLT) says, “The Spirit of God, who raised Jesus from the dead, lives in you. And just as God raised Christ Jesus from the dead, he will give life to your mortal bodies by this same Spirit living within you.” Did you get that? The same power—the Holy Spirit—that raised Jesus from the dead lives within us!!
So today, I want to encourage you to ask God to give you His Holy Spirit and to fill you up with it so you can get his guidance, protection, and empowerment. Without the Holy Spirit, your walk as a Christian is not complete and you’re missing on the amazing benefits you can get from Him.