Tag Archives: the Holy Spirit

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – Consolation in Christ

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“If there be therefore any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies.” Philippians 2:1

Suggested Further Reading: John 16:7-15

The Holy Spirit, during the present dispensation, is revealed to us as the Comforter. It is the Spirit’s business to console and cheer the hearts of God’s people. He does convince of sin; he does illuminate and instruct; but still the main part of his business lies in making glad the hearts of the renewed, in confirming the weak, and lifting up all those that be bowed down. Whatever the Holy Spirit may not be, he is evermore the Comforter to the church; and this age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Christ cheers us not by his personal presence, as he shall do by-and-by, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Spirit the Comforter. Now, mark you, as the Holy Spirit is the Comforter, Christ is the comfort. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation. If I may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Christ is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. He takes not of his own things, but of the things of Christ. We are not consoled today by new revelations, but by the old revelation explained, enforced, and lit up with new splendour by the presence and power of the Holy Spirit the Comforter. If we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of the Paraclesis. If the one be the Comforter, the other is the comfort.

For meditation: Many of the errors taught about God the Holy Spirit would come to nothing if God’s people understood the Scriptural teaching on the relationships between the three persons of the Trinity. May the Holy Spirit help us to grow in the knowledge of the only true God and Jesus Christ whom he has sent (John 17:3).

Sermon no. 348

3 December (Preached 2 December 1860)

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Clothed With Power

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Charles Stanley

Luke 24:44-49

The power of the Holy Spirit is the dynamic, supernatural control and authority of almighty God. It is the strength by which we are enabled to serve. Tragically, too many of God’s people attempt to carry out supernatural work in their own human strength.

The Spirit of God indwells all believers. But there is a considerable distinction between having the Holy Spirit within us and the Holy Spirit releasing His power in our life. Consider the difference between a sedan and a race car. Both vehicles run, but what is under the hood of the race car makes it far more powerful than the sedan. When God’s Spirit enables you, your performance will be like that of a race car.

We often think that the power of the Holy Spirit is available only to pastors and missionaries. However, the truth is that this power is offered to every person who is willing to serve God and meet the requirements given in Scripture. First, we must be convicted of our inadequacy. This means acknowledging we cannot work for God without the aid of His Spirit. Next, recognizing and admitting our inadequacy grows out of a pure life. Confessing sin and repenting are necessary to maintain fellowship with God. When we allow deliberate sin to enter our life, we short-circuit the power of the Holy Spirit. Finally, every person who appropriates divine energy has an active prayer life.

When we trust in God to provide the stamina for the work He calls us to do, we are clothed in power. Is your confidence in yourself or in Him?

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – How to Obey God’s Laws

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“So now we can obey God’s laws if we follow after the Holy Spirit and no longer obey the old evil nature within us” (Romans 8:4).

Are you not glad that the Word of God make things so simple? If we really want to obey God’s laws, His resources are available to us. First and foremost, the Holy Spirit abides within to guide us. While it is true that we have all of the Holy Spirit at the time of conversion, we cannot expect the full blessing and power of God until the Holy Spirit has full control of all of us.

As we appropriate the fullness of His Holy Spirit by faith, we are supplied with supernatural power to obey God’s laws. That supernatural power, even, is contingent upon our cooperation in that we must not only commit ourselves to the Holy Spirit but we must also be familiar with the Word of God if we are indeed to obey its commands.

Obedience is a key word in the Christian life. This verse points it out quite clearly, for we either obey God’s laws or we obey the old evil nature. The choice is ours as we are controlled and empowered by the Holy Spirit.

Someone has well pointed out that all of life, really, is nothing more nor less than a series of choices. The secret of the successful Christian life is in making the right choices. And even the wisdom to make the right choices is available – as a gift from God.

That leaves us, you and me, without excuse. We can, if we choose, through the enabling of the Holy Spirit, obey God’s laws and thus accomplish His purpose for us as believers.

Bible Reading: Galatians 5:16-26

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Drawing upon the supernatural resources of the Holy Spirit I choose to obey God’s laws rather than yield to the pull of my old evil nature

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Be Led by the Spirit

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Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty (emancipation from bondage, freedom). —2 Corinthians 3:17

One of the most dynamic ways to keep your joy is to allow the Holy Spirit to lead you (see Psalm 139:24). If you pray first, asking God for a plan, He will never push you into a work of the flesh. Instead, His Holy Spirit prompts, guides, and gently leads you to a place of joy; He will never manipulate or control you. If you are too consumed with your own plan, too locked into the way you think things ought to be, you won’t even hear God speak to you or recognize the promptings from Him. If you are too determined to follow your own ritualistic rules, you can miss the gentle leading of the Holy Spirit and lose the joy God intends for you to have.

It is not wrong to have a plan, but always offer your plan to God and tell Him that if He has something else in mind, you are willing to submit to Him.

Power Thought: The Spirit of the Lord has led me out of bondage and into a life of freedom and joy.

 

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – The Spirit of Holiness

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Joyce meyer

And [as to His divine nature] according to the Spirit of holiness was openly designated the Son of God in power [in a striking, triumphant and miraculous manner] by His resurrection from the dead, even Jesus Christ our Lord (the Messiah, the Anointed One).—Romans 1:4

Today’s verse refers to the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of Holiness. He is called by this name because He is the holiness of God and because it is His job to work that holiness in everyone who believes in Jesus Christ as Savior.

God wants and instructs us to be holy (see 1 Peter 1:15–16). He would never tell us to be holy without giving us the help we need to make us that way. An unholy spirit could never make us holy. So God sends His Spirit into our hearts to do a complete and thorough work in us.

In Philippians 1:6, Paul teaches us that God, Who began a good work in us, is well able to complete that work and bring it to its finish. The Holy Spirit will continue to work in us as long as we are alive on this Earth. God hates sin, and anytime He finds it in us, He quickly works to cleanse us of it.

This fact alone explains why we need the Holy Spirit living inside of us. He is there not only to lead and guide us through this life, but also to immediately work in cooperation with the Father to remove from us anything that is displeasing to Him. He will both speak to us about the things that need to change so we can grow in holiness and empower us to make the changes we need to make.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon – The Comforter

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“But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

Suggested Further Reading: 1 Peter 1:10-12, 22-25

I have heard many fanatical persons say that the Holy Spirit revealed this and that to them. Now that is very generally revealed nonsense. The Holy Spirit does not reveal anything fresh now. He brings old things to our remembrance. “He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have told you.” The canon of revelation is closed; there is no more to be added. God does not give a fresh revelation, but he rivets the old one. When it has been forgotten, and laid in the dusty chamber of our memory, he brings it out and cleans the picture, but does not paint a new one. There are no new doctrines, but the old ones are often revived. It is not, I say, by any new revelation that the Spirit comforts. He does so by telling us old things over again; he brings a fresh lamp to manifest the treasures hidden in Scripture; he unlocks the strong chests in which the truth has long lain, and he points to secret chambers filled with untold riches; but he creates no more, for enough is done. Believer! There is enough in the Bible for thee to live upon for ever. If thou shouldst outnumber the years of Methuselah, there would be no need for a fresh revelation; if thou shouldst live till Christ should come upon the earth, there would be no necessity for the addition of a single word; if thou shouldst go down as deep as Jonah, or even descend as David envisaged into the belly of hell, still there would be enough in the Bible to comfort thee without a supplementary sentence. But Christ says, “He shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.”

For meditation: The Spirit of truth who guides into all the truth (John 16:13) does not work independently of Jesus the truth (John 14:6), the only true God (John 17:3) and the word of truth (John 17:17). Otherwise “What is truth?” (John 18:38).

Sermon no. 5

17 October (Preached 21 January 1855)

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – He Brings You Comfort

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Jesus said, “But I will send you the Comforter – the Holy Spirit, the source of all truth. He will come to you from the Father and will tell you all about Me” (John 15:26).

For years I was among the more than 95 percent of church members who, according to various surveys, are not knowledgeable concerning the person and ministry of the Holy spirit. Then God, in His gracious love and wisdom, showed me how simple it is to release His power into and through my life by faith, just as years before I had received assurance of my salvation by faith.

If I had only one message to proclaim to the Christian world, it would be this: how to know and experience, moment by moment, day by day, the reality of the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit. Everything that has to do with the Christian life involves God the Holy Spirit, the third person of the Trinity.

We are born again through the ministry of the Spirit (John 3). The Holy Spirit inspired men of old to record the holy, inspired Word of God (2 Peter 1:21). Only those who are filled, controlled and empowered with His presence can comprehend what He communicated to those writers centuries ago, which is the message that He has for us today (1 Corinthians 2:14).

We cannot live holy lives apart form the Holy Spirit, for He alone can produce the fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22,23) in our lives. We cannot pray intelligently unless the Holy Spirit enable us, for He makes intercession for us with groanings too deep for words (Romans 8:26). We have no power to witness for Christ apart form His power (Acts 1:8). Only the Holy Spirit can enable us to live a supernatural life.

Bible Reading: John 14:16-21

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I determine to learn everything I can about the Holy Spirit. I will refer to the concordance in my Bible and study every reference to Him in the Scriptures, and ask my pastor, or other spiritual leaders in whim I have confidence, to recommend books on the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. I will not be satisfied with anything less than the love, joy, peace, victory and power that comes from living daily in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – The Holy Spirit’s Role

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Alistair Begg

The Helper, the Holy Spirit.   John 14:26

This age is peculiarly the dispensation of the Holy Spirit, in which Jesus cheers us not by His personal presence, as He will do soon enough, but by the indwelling and constant abiding of the Holy Spirit, who is forever the Comforter of the church. It is the Spirit’s role to console the hearts of God’s people. He convinces of sin; He illumines and instructs; but the main part of His work still lies in gladdening the hearts of the renewed, confirming the weak, and lifting up all those who are bowed down. He does this by revealing Jesus to them. The Holy Spirit consoles, but Christ is the consolation.

If we may use the figure, the Holy Spirit is the Physician, but Jesus is the medicine. He heals the wound, but it is by applying the holy ointment of Christ’s name and grace. He does not take of His own things, but of the things of Christ. So if we give to the Holy Spirit the Greek name of Paraclete, as we sometimes do, then our heart confers on our blessed Lord Jesus the title of Paraclesis. If one is the Comforter, the other is the Comfort.

Now, with such rich provision for his need, why should the Christian be sad and despondent? The Holy Spirit has graciously committed to be your Comforter: Do you imagine, weak and trembling believer, that He will neglect this sacred trust? Do you suppose that He has undertaken what He cannot or will not perform? If it is His special work to strengthen you and to comfort you, do you suppose He has forgotten His business or that He will fail in fulfilling His loving task of sustaining you? Don’t think so poorly of the tender and blessed Spirit whose name is the Comforter.

He delights to give the oil of joy for mourning and the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. Trust in Him, and He will surely comfort you until the house of mourning is closed forever, and the marriage feast has begun.

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The family reading plan for October 12, 2014 * Ezekiel 45 * Psalm 99, 100, 101

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg.

Charles Spurgeon

Charles Spurgeon –  Grieving the Holy Spirit

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“And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” Ephesians 4:30

Suggested Further Reading: Isaiah 63:7-19

The Spirit of God is in your heart, and it is very, very easy indeed to grieve him. Sin is as easy as it is wicked. You may grieve him by impure thoughts. He cannot bear sin. If you indulge in lascivious expressions, or even if you allow imagination to dote upon any lascivious act, or if your heart goes after covetousness, if you set your heart upon anything that is evil, the Spirit of God will be grieved, for thus I hear him speaking of himself. “I love this man, I want to have his heart, and yet he is entertaining these filthy lusts. His thoughts, instead of running after me, and after Christ, and after the Father, are running after the temptations that are in the world through lust.” And then his Spirit is grieved. He sorrows in his soul because he knows what sorrow these things must bring to our souls. We grieve him yet more if we indulge in outward acts of sin. Then is he sometimes so grieved that he takes his flight for a season, for the dove will not dwell in our hearts if we take loathsome carrion in there. A cleanly being is the dove, and we must not strew the place which the dove frequents with filth and mire; if we do he will fly elsewhere. If we commit sin, if we openly bring disgrace upon our religion, if we tempt others to go into iniquity by our evil example, it is not long before the Holy Spirit will be grieved. Again, if we neglect prayer; if our closet door is cobwebbed; if we forget to read the Scriptures; if the leaves of our Bible are almost stuck together by neglect; if we never seek to do any good in the world; if we live merely for ourselves and not for Christ, then the Holy Spirit will be grieved.

For meditation: If we are grieving the Spirit, it is absolutely impossible for us to obey the command to “be filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18).

Sermon no. 278

9 October (1859)

Alistair Begg

Alistair Begg – How Do You Pray?

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Alistair Begg

Pray in the Holy Spirit. Jude 20

Note the key characteristic of true prayer—”in the Holy Spirit.” The seed of acceptable devotion must come from heaven’s storehouse. Only the prayer that comes from God can go to God. We must shoot the Lord’s arrows back to Him. The desire that He writes upon our heart will move His heart and bring down a blessing, but the desires of the flesh have no power with Him.

Praying in the Holy Spirit is praying in fervency. Cold prayers ask the Lord not to hear them. Those who do not plead with fervency do not plead at all. We might as well talk of lukewarm fire as of lukewarm prayer—it is essential that it be red-hot. It is praying perseveringly. The true petitioner gathers force as he proceeds and grows more fervent when God delays to answer. The longer the gate is closed, the louder the knocking becomes; and the longer the angel lingers, the more determined he becomes to never let him go without the blessing. In God’s sight tearful, agonizing, unconquerable importunity is commendable. It means praying humbly, for the Holy Spirit never puffs us up with pride. It is His part to convince of sin and to cause us to bow down in contrition and brokenness of spirit.

We will never sing Gloria in excelsis except when we pray to God de profundis: Out of the depths must we cry, or we will never behold glory in the highest. It is loving prayer. Prayer should be perfumed with love, saturated with love—love for our fellow believers and love for Christ. Moreover, it must be a prayer full of faith. A man prevails only to the extent that he believes. The Holy Spirit is the author of faith and strengthens it, so that we pray believing God’s promise. Now our prayer is that this blessed combination of excellent graces, as priceless and sweet as rare spices, might be fragrant within us because the Holy Spirit is in our hearts! Blessed Comforter, exert Your mighty power within us, helping our weaknesses in prayer.

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The family reading plan for October 8, 2014 * Ezekiel 41 * Psalm 92, 93

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Devotional material is taken from “Morning and Evening,” written by C.H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg

John MacArthur

John MacArthur – Why Study the Bible?

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John MacArthur

“Be diligent to present yourself approved to God as a workman who does not need to be ashamed, handling accurately the word of truth” (2 Tim. 2:15).

The Holy Spirit protects you from false doctrine, but that doesn’t eliminate the need for diligent Bible study.

For the next few days we’ll consider several benefits of Bible study. Today we’ll address the broader question of why Bible study is necessary at all.

Perhaps you know believers who think Bible study is unnecessary. Bible reading, they say, is sufficient because we have the Holy Spirit, who teaches us all things. Often they cite 1 John 2:27 in support of their view: “As for you, the anointing [the Holy Spirit] which you received from [God] abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.”

That passage, however, isn’t implying that Bible study or Bible teachers aren’t necessary. On the contrary, John was exhorting his readers to abide in what they’d already learned (v. 24) and shun only those teachers who deny Christ and try to deceive believers.

The Holy Spirit is the believer’s resident lie detector, granting discernment to shield him or her from false doctrine. Although a Christian may be temporarily confused by false teachers, ultimately he can never drift into apostasy or deny Christ. If anyone does depart from the faith, his departure is proof that he was never a true believer in the first place (v. 19).

The Spirit protects you from error, but you must fulfill your responsibility as a student of the Word. Even a man of Timothy’s spiritual stature needed to study the Word diligently and handle it accurately (2 Tim. 2:15).

I pray that the psalmist’s attitude toward Scripture will be yours as well: “O how I love Thy law! It is my meditation all the day” (Ps. 119:97).

Suggestions for Prayer

  • Thank God for His precious Word.
  • Ask Him to give you a deeper love for its truths.

For Further Study

Read Titus 1:7-16 and 2 Timothy 2:2.

  • What skills must an overseer have regarding God’s Word?
  • Why are those skills necessary?
  • Do those skills apply to church leaders only? Explain.
  • Are you skilled in handling God’s Word?
Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Helping the Church

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“The Holy Spirit displays God’s power through each of us as a means of helping the entire church” (1 Corinthians 12:7).

A friend once asked me, “Are all the spiritual gifts for today?” and “How can I discern my spiritual gifts?”

He had been reading a number of books with conflicting views on gifts and had heard sermons – some encouraging him to discover his gifts and others saying the gifts are not for today. He was woefully confused.

I shared with this friend that I have been a Christian for more than 35 years and have known the reality of the fullness of the Spirit for more than 30 years. I explained that I have seen God do remarkable – even miraculous – things in and through my life throughout the years.

Yet, I have not felt the need to “discover” my gifts, because I believe that whatever God calls me to do He will enable me to do if I am willing to trust and obey Him, work hard and discipline myself.

The Holy Spirit obviously controls and distributes all the gifts. So when I am filled, controlled and empowered with the Holy Spirit I possess all of the gifts potentially. God will give me any gifts I need.

I went on to tell my young friend that some of the gifts of the Spirit are supernatural enhancements of abilities common to all men, wisdom for instance. Other gifts, such as healing, are granted by the Holy Spirit to only a select few.

But the gifts differ in another way, too. Some are instantaneous, and others are developmental in nature. Primarily, we need to remember that whatever God calls us to do, He will enable us to do. “For it is God who works in you, both to will and to work for His good pleasure” (Philippians 2:13, NAS).

Bible Reading: I Corinthians 12:24-31

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will dwell on God’s ability to do in and through me what ever He calls upon me to do, rather than to spend precious time seeking to discover my spiritual gifts.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Maturity – In His Timing

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“But when the Holy Spirit controls our lives He will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self- control” (Galatians 5:22,23).

One of my dear friends had a 25-year old son who had never grown past the baby stage mentally or physically. He had greeted the birth of his beautiful baby boy with great joy, but his joy turned to heartache and sorrow with the passing years as his son never matured.

Unfortunately and tragically, many Christians never pass the baby or childhood stages. Think of the heartache and sorrow that God experiences when He looks upon those of His children who have never matured, though they have been Christians for many years.

Martha, a new Christian, approached me with this question, “With all my heart I want to be a woman of God, but I do not experience the consistency of Galatians 5:22,23 in my life. What is wrong?”

Maybe you are asking the same question, if so, it will be helpful for you to understand that the Christian life is a life of growth. Just as in our physical lives we begin as babies and progress through childhood into adolescence, young adulthood and mature adulthood, so it is in our spiritual lives.

The Holy Spirit takes up residence within every believer at the moment of new birth. The growth process is greatly accelerated when a believer consciously yields himself to the lordship of Christ and the filling and control of the Holy Spirit. A believer who is empowered by the Holy Spirit and is a faithful student of God’s Word, who has learned to trust and obey God, can pass through the various stages of spiritual growth and become a mature Christian within a brief period of time. Some Spirit-filled Christians demonstrate more of the fruit of the Spirit within one year than others who have been untaught, uncommitted believers for 50 years.

Bible Reading: Romans 5:1-5

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I am determined that I will become a spiritually mature Christian, in whose life the fruit of the Spirit will be demonstrated. Through the enabling of the Holy Spirit I will dedicate myself to prayer, reading the Word and witnessing, and living a life of obedience.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade – A New Quality of Life

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dr_bright
“When the Holy Spirit, who is truth, comes, He shall guide you into all truth, for He will not be presenting His own ideas, but will be passing on to you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He shall praise Me and bring Me great honor by showing you My glory. All the Father’s glory is Mine: this is what I mean when I say that He will show you My glory” (John 16:13-15).
Steve asked me the question, “What is my number 1 priority as a Christian? I want to be a man of God, so I need counsel as to what I am to do first.” This is a good question for every Christian to ask.
The answer is simply: to glorify God. Jesus tells us how we can best do this in John 15:8, “By this is My Father glorified, that you bear much fruit, and so prove to be My disciples” (NASB). Or, as the Living Bible states it, “My true disciples produce bountiful harvests. This brings great glory to My Father.”
The Holy Spirit has come to be a witness to our Lord Jesus. When the Spirit controls our lives, we too will be witnesses for Him.
Witnessing for Christ with our lips is not only a natural result of being filled and controlled by the Holy Spirit, but also is a necessary act of obedience if we are to continue to experience the fullness of the Holy Spirit.
That which is most on our hearts is most on our lips, so if we truly love Christ, we will want to share Him with others. But God does not want or need the witness of individuals whose carnal lives fail to give credibility to their testimonies.
The greatest experience that has ever happened to any believer is to know Jesus Christ personally as Savior and Lord, to be forgiven of his sins and to have assurance of eternal life.
Therefore, the most important thing we can do to help another person is to introduce him to Christ. Only the Holy Spirit can empower us to live holy lives and be fruitful witnesses for Christ.
Bible Reading: John 14:16-26
TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I will ask the Holy Spirit to glorify God through the quality of my life and the witness of my words, as a demonstration of the supernatural life that I have received from God.

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – True Spiritual Life

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“Only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life. Those born only once, with physical birth, will never receive this gift. But now I have told you how to get this true spiritual life” (John 6:63).

A businessman called to ask if he could bring one of his associates to talk to me about receiving Christ. As the three of us talked together, it became apparent that the businessman who arranged the meeting was not a Christian either. So after his friend had received Christ, I asked him if he believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God.

“Yes,” he said.

“Do you believe that He died for your sins?”

“Of course.”

“Have you ever received Him into you life as your Savior and Lord?”

“No,” he said, “I haven’t.”

“Wouldn’t you like to do so?”

“Yes,” he said, “I would. But I have been waiting for that peculiar time when God would speak to me in a very emotional way.”

He explained that this was the way his mother had become a Christian, and he felt that this was the way he should become a Christian, too.

Once again I reviewed very simply the plan of salvation, explaining that only the Holy Spirit gives eternal life and there may or may not be an emotional experience accompanying the moment of salvation. I explained that salvation is a gift of God, which we receive by faith on the basis of His promise.

So together we prayed, and though I had explained that he should not expect any emotional experience, God graciously touched him in a very dramatic way emotionally, contrary to my own experience and that of the majority of people with whom I counsel and pray.

Bible Reading: John 6:60-65

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: Realizing that no one can enter the kingdom of God apart from a spiritual birth, I will today pray for many opportunities to share the good news of God’s love and forgiveness in Christ with others.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – Our Helper in Prayer

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Charles Stanley

Romans 8:26-27

Most Christians feel they need help in order to pray effectively. Even the apostle Paul admitted that he sometimes did not know how to petition the heavenly Father as he should. In the supernatural exchange between God and believers, the Holy Spirit acts as a vehicle for our communication, laying our needs and desires before the Father.

We humans make our requests with a very limited knowledge of the future and an impaired sense of what is actually best for us. Consequently, circumstances arise that cause us to wonder how we should pray. If all we know to ask is, “God, what is Your will?” then the Spirit, who knows the Father’s plans for us, tells Him of our need for understanding.

Our Father does not hide His will from us. He desires to equip believers with all the information necessary for making right decisions and for being continually conformed to the likeness of His Son. Just as the Spirit carries our needs to God, He also clarifies the Father’s will to us.

Some people find the power of prayer intimidating— “Be careful what you pray for, because you might get it,” goes the old joke. Believers sometimes quit praying before receiving an answer, because they are fearful of making the wrong request. However, the Holy Spirit’s divine nature prevents Him from going before God with a petition that is outside the Father’s plan. Instead, He intercedes to make the right request. He also impresses upon us the need to adjust our desires. Therefore, we can pray in every situation, knowing the Holy Spirit is our Helper.

Charles Stanley

Charles Stanley – A Helper for All Occasions

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Charles Stanley

John 14:16-18

Did you ever wish for an emergency telephone line that rang in heaven? The truth is that we have something much better. The Holy Spirit lives inside us to be our helper in every situation.

The night before His crucifixion, Jesus warned the disciples that He was about to depart. The news probably upset them, even though it wasn’t the first time He’d spoken of His death. But the Lord offered His followers reassurance that He would send them another Helper. The Greek word for “another” implies that the new Helper would be like the previous one—in other words, a divine being with access to the Father. As promised, God’s Spirit came to dwell in everyone who receives Jesus Christ as Savior (Acts 2:1-4).

Our Helper has a distinct role within the Trinity. The Father reigns over all, while the Son sits at His right hand, interceding for believers. Meanwhile, the Holy Spirit enables Christians to accomplish the work God has designed for each one to do.

The Father knew we couldn’t follow Him without help—that was why Jesus told the disciples to remain in Jerusalem until after the arrival of the Holy Spirit. Whatever we are called to do in daily obedience or in lifelong vocation, our Helper offers direction. And when we are beset by tough times or temptations, God’s Spirit provides strength and encouragement.

The Holy Spirit is intimately involved in our life. He is more a part of us than our bones and blood. We are privileged to have a divine Helper guiding us on the path of God’s will.

Greg Laurie

Greg Laurie – It’s Already Yours

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Hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. —Romans 5:5

Have you ever owned something that you didn’t use? Have you ever gone shopping for something, only to come home and find it in your closet already? I have done that. I get this idea that I need a blue shirt. I have in mind exactly what it should look like. Then I go shopping, come home, hang it up, and see that I already have that blue shirt. No wonder I had such a vivid idea of what it should look like.

This is how we can be as Christians. We are searching for things that are already hanging in our spiritual closet, so to speak. Many times we ask God for what He has already given us.

For example, we pray, “God, give me peace.” But the Bible says, “We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ” (Romans 5:1). God is saying, “Enjoy it to the fullest.”

We might say, “God, I need more love,” when actually we need to use the love God has given us. We are praying for more of an emotional feeling of the love that God already has given us. God won’t necessarily answer a prayer like that. When we love someone, when we forgive someone, it is an act of obedience, believing “the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us” (Romans 5:5).

God has given us everything we need for spiritual growth. Many of us simply need to read His Word to find out the balance in our spiritual bank account. And then we need to start appropriating it.

Today’s devotional is an excerpt from Every Day with Jesus by Greg Laurie, 2013

Campus Crusade for Christ

Campus Crusade for Christ; Bill Bright – Promise of the Spirit

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“And Peter replied, ‘Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit. For Christ promised Him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God and to your children and even those in distant lands!'” (Acts 2:38- 39).

The most important truth that I or anyone else could share with Christians is to help them understand the person and the ministry of the Holy Spirit. My own life was dramatically transformed when by faith I claimed the fullness and power of the Holy Spirit.

“One day in New York – what a day!” declared Dwight L. Moody. “I can’t describe it. I seldom refer to it. It is almost too sacred for me to name. I can only say that God revealed Himself to me. I had such an experience of love that I had to ask Him to stay His hand.

“I went to preaching again. The sermons were no different. I did not present any new truth. Yet hundreds were converted. I would not be back where I was before that blessed experience if you would give me Glasgow.”

The Holy Spirit is the key to revival. He is the key to revival because He is the key to supernatural living, and apart from living supernaturally – living in the fullness of the Holy Spirit – the believer has no power to introduce others to Christ and help fulfill the Great Commission.

The Holy Spirit is convicting many Christians of their lethargy, their coldness of heart and unbelief, the loss of their first love. A spiritual Mount St. Helens is about to erupt, spreading the good news of love and forgiveness of our Lord Jesus Christ far and wide through our land and the world. We shall see a resurgence in evangelism and a zeal unparalleled in church history as we endeavor – in the power of the Holy Spirit – to help fulfill the Great Commission.

Bible Reading: Acts 2:32-37

TODAY’S ACTION POINT: I shall ask the Holy Spirit to empower and control my life so that I may be a part of a mighty spiritual awakening to help fulfill the Great Commission, beginning in my home, community and church in obedience to the Lord’s command.

Joyce Meyer

Joyce Meyer – Power from on High

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Joyce meyer

But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth.—Acts 1:8

When the 120 people gathered in the upper room on the day of Pentecost, the count included women (Acts 1:14–15). If women did not need power to spread the Gospel, why were they included in the outpouring of the Holy Spirit?

When Joel prophesied about the future outpouring of the Holy Spirit, he said that God would pour His Spirit out upon all flesh. Upon his menservants and his maidservants He would pour His Spirit out (Joel 2:28–29). He said that “they” would prophesy. He did not say that just men would prophesy. To prophesy can mean the same thing as teaching and preaching. It means to speak forth the inspired Word of God.

Of the thirty-nine co-workers that Paul mentions throughout his writings, at least one-fourth are women. In Philippians 4, Paul encourages Euodia and Syntyche to keep cooperating and states that they had toiled along with him in spreading the good news of the Gospel. Beyond that, I could create a very long list of women who have been successfully used throughout church history to do major things in God’s kingdom.

Lord, I ask You to send the Holy Spirit with power to make me a witness for Your name. Help me to spread Your name throughout the world. Amen.