Be Encouraged! Remembering the Spirit.
The last two weeks, I have been taking you through a journey of encouragement by looking first at the characteristics of God, then the characteristics of Jesus. I find encouragement during these difficult times by remembering these unchanging characteristics of the triune Godhead. The reason these things are encouraging is based on Philippians 4:8.
“8 Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.”
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We are told in this verse to dwell on these things; the things being whatever is true, honorable, pure, etc. What I do know at this point in time is that not everything that is being written and put out by the media is true. Certainly, many of the goings on in our country are not honorable or pure. When this sort of chaos ensues, I think the best place to focus our minds is on God Himself. He characterizes every single one of the traits mentioned in Philippians 4:8. How do we know these things to be true? This is where we look at the Holy Spirit. One of His main jobs is the communication of truth to our spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the trinity. God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. Each of these Holy Beings is separate, yet they all have one mind and one desire: our salvation and glorification. There are churches that place too much emphasis on the Spirit, claiming that without the filling and subsequent slaying of the Spirit we are not saved. There are also churches that don’t place enough emphasis on the Spirit, claiming that it is the mind that is influenced by God and emotions have little place in the Christian religion.
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My view, is one of balance. The Holy Spirit is just as important as God the Father and God the Son, but He is not more important than them. He is not mean to be worshipped as first and foremost, but is is also not meant to be excluded.
Let’s look at a a few of the traits of the Holy Spirit.
He is a helper.
“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 that I said to you.”
I think the Holy Spirit helps us in many ways, but Jesus points out a few important ones in this verse.
He will teach us all things. I believe that when we become a Christ follower, the Spirit comes and takes up residence in us. He then works to teach us things we didn’t know; things like what sin looks like, who Jesus is, and how we are able to relate to an Almighty being like God.
He helps us remember what Jesus said. Have you ever memorized Scripture? It is amazing how, the Spirit will bring it back again and again. even when we no longer remember exactly what book and chapter it is in. Even when our minds are cluttered with so many things, the Spirit can still bring to our memory concepts and truths, even when we don’t remember the actual scriptures.
He baptizes and fills.
There is plenty of confusion and debate over the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit, and I am not claiming to know exactly when and how each of these things happens. I believe we are baptized with the Spirit when we receive Christ as our Lord and Savior. This happens once, just as the literal baptism with water is a one time act to identify ourselves in the life, death and resurrection of Christ.
“for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”
Filling, seems to be a more repetitive act that occurs as we give ourselves to God and to His work, not only in ourselves, but in the world.
“And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance.”
“Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, “Rulers and elders of the people,”
“And when they had prayed, the place where they had gathered together was shaken, and they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak the word of God with boldness.”
“And the disciples were continually filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.”
He speaks and directs.
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The Holy Spirit is the one who leads and directs us. He helps us to have wisdom, make decisions and understand the will of God. Some people will claim that the little voice inside our heads is our conscience. For those of us who claim to be Christ followers we believe those whispers and urgings are from the Holy Spirit Himself. This is especially true when we are faced with a temptation to sin. Have you even felt that tug or check from the Spirit I am talking about? Often, it is a thought that pops into my head. “Don’t do that,” or an urging in my spirit, “Go talk to that elderly lady.” Many times the Spirit brings back to my mind those Scriptural truths that I need to remember at just the right time. During this overwhelming time of Covid life, He constantly reminds me of Philippians 4:4-7 which is one of the best passages for dealing with anxiety.
“While they were ministering to the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for Me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.””
“So, being sent out by the Holy Spirit, they went down to Seleucia and from there they sailed to Cyprus.”
““For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay upon you no greater burden than these essentials:”
He embodies fellowship.
One of the things that many of us are missing right now is the ability to fellowship with other believers. It is good that churches are doing live streaming and a number of them are also doing outdoor services to provide another option for people to be together and still maintain social distancing. My spouse and I left the church we had been attending for over 20 years a few years ago, for reasons I am not able to disclose, so we have been without regular fellowship for a long time. We have looked at other churches, but as of yet have not found a new church home. I believe there are times that God leads us out into the wilderness for reasons only known to Him. While this journey has been difficult, I will say the Holy Spirit has been a true and faithful companion each and every day. There are moments where my fellowship with Him, the Lord Jesus, and God my Father, are sweeter than anything I have ever known with a person. If you are feeling alone and cut off from your family of believers, remember the Holy Spirit lives in you and you can have sweet, blessed fellowship at any time with Him.
He gives gifts to us.
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One of the reasons we are able to have sweet fellowship with and through the Holy Spirit has to do with the gifts that He gives to us.
“for the kingdom of God is not eating and drinking, but righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.”
Righteousness - It is through Jesus’ work on the cross and the Holy Spirit’s work in our lives that “we become the righteousness of God in Him,” (2 Corinthians 5:21). This is such an encouragement to me and where Christianity differs from all other religions. It is not our goodness that makes us righteous and holy, but Christ’s shed blood and the Holy Spirit’s possession of our hearts.
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Peace - Who couldn’t use a little peace right now? Yet peace is something we are guaranteed as a Christian, if we put our minds in the right place.
“These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.””
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep, For You alone, O Lord, make me to dwell in safety.”
“The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace.”
“Those who love Your law have great peace, And nothing causes them to stumble.”
“For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the Spirit is life and peace,”
“for God is not a God of confusion but of peace, as in all the churches of the saints.”
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
If you are lacking peace right now, do a Bible study on the word. You will find many scriptures that talk about peace. It is definitely worth while to know some of these scriptures.
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Joy - This is another word that has been the focus of some debate in the Christian community. What is the difference between joy and happiness. I personally think joy is much deeper and more enduring than happiness. Happiness is based on our present circumstances or attitudes, whereas joy is ours simply because we are His, no matter what the circumstances. I am sure many of you have heard the phrase, “Choose Joy.” While this might seem a bit trite in our current circumstances, it is a good idea. Just as we need to think on those things that I mentioned at the beginning of this long post, we also can choose to focus on the joy we have because of our relationship with Christ.
“You will make known to me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; In Your right hand there are pleasures forever.”
“For His anger is but for a moment, His favor is for a lifetime; Weeping may last for the night, But a shout of joy comes in the morning.”
He intercedes for us.
The Holy Spirit does many things for us, but this is perhaps my favorite. We went over this portion of scripture when we did our study of Romans 8.
“26 In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;
27 and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
To know that the Spirit is praying for me, not just praying, but interceding with groanings to deep for words makes me feel overwhelmed with gratitude. How many times, especially over the last few months, have you found yourself not even sure how to pray? I know I have many times, but it is during these difficult days our Holy Spirit is taking up the cause and praying to the Father on our behalf. The beautiful thing is, He is praying according to the Father’s will which is always for our good.
There are many other characteristics of God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit in the Bible. If you are feeling discouraged, I want to encourage you to dig deep into the truth of God’s word. It will lift you up, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.
Have a great week!