Friday, April 19, 2013

WELCOME, HOLY SPIRIT

Good morning, Mighty Woman of God!  Good morning, Holy Spirit!  My prayer for you today is that through this devotional, you will gain more knowledge about the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity.
 
(Acts 1:8), But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 2:4), All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.  (Acts 2:17-18), 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.  Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days and they will prophesy.
 
One of the things that I have learned from people and other churches is that the Holy Spirit is rarely taught or spoken about.  In my opinion, it is because people don't fully understand the work of the Holy Spirit.  Also because they think of the Holy Spirit as thing or a that.  Also note that in the bible whenever the word is speaking about God, the Father and the Son, capital letters are used, notice in the scriptures when speaking about the Holy Spirit, caps are also used because they are pronouns.
 
In Acts 1:4-5, Jesus tells His disciples not to leave Jerusalem and to wait for the gift the His Father promised to them.  His also goes on to say the John baptized them with water, but they will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.  Please note that when you got baptized the pastor or minister that baptized you said, "In the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, so we must believe that there is a reason that the Holy Spirit was not left out.  Jesus was telling His disciples that they will receive power to evangelize, laid hands on the sick and add to the Body of Christ because the Holy Spirit will give them the words to speak and the power to heal the sick.
 
Jesus tells the disciples that God will pour out His Spirit upon them, men and women.  So the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of the Lord.  Also note that men and women will receive that same Spirit (Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Lord).  Some churches teach that women are supposed to be silent in the church and that they will not have the Spirit of the Lord to minister in the church. That's another lesson and another time.
 
Here's my quick story:  It was my turn to give the sermon to the church on Sunday and I prayed and took notes for a week.  I spent a lot of time with the Holy Spirit and reading my bible.  While on my way to church, I realized that I forgot my notes.  I told my daughter to drive so that I could write down what I could remember.  Once I got to church, I was seated in the front while we had praise and worship.  Then the pastor announced me and I went up to the pulpit.  Once I stood there, I realized that I left my notes in the chair.  I did not want to go back to get them, I just starred at them in that chair.  I would say that my notes were looking at me laughing.  So, I took a deep breath, closed my eyes and I hear the Holy Spirit say, "open your mouth".  Having no other choice, I was obedient to the Holy Spirit.  I much say that He used me in a mighty way.  It was the best sermon I had every given.  After the service, I heard the Holy Spirit say, "it's not about you".  I learned a very valuable lesson that day, which was, not by my power or my spirit but the Holy Spirit is the One that should speak for us, to glorify the Lord.
 
The reason why people don't understand who the Holy Spirit is or understand the work of the Holy Spirit, is because they have never allowed the Holy Spirit to used them.  Spending time in worship and prayer, welcoming the Holy Spirit is what you need to do.  Also, sometimes the Holy Spirit will have you do something that seems weird so people don't trust the Holy Spirit or let Him have complete control over their mind or will.  Some people don't really receive the gift of the Holy Spirit because they don't understand exactly what it means.  It is human nature not to receive something that we don't understand.  I pray that this lesson will be of help and to give you hope today.  PRAISE GOD!
 
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