The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit.

I once heard a famous evangelist say, “you can’t fully know God and not have the Holy Spirit.”
That was the most accurate thing I had heard in a long time.
Many Christians of different denominations will accept God the Father and God the Son (Jesus) but shrink from the Holy Spirit, denying Him completely.
God is three in one. Not two.
You need the Holy Spirit to understand God’s word.  We need Him to help us walk in line with God.

John 14:15-18, 25-26 NIV‬
[15]  “If you love me, keep my commands. [16] And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— [17] the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. [18] I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
[25]  “All this I have spoken while still with you. [26] But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.
The Holy Spirit is our gift. He is our helper. Jesus sent Him to us after He ascended so we would not be alone.
Some want to say that the Holy Spirit was for a time but is gone. Those same people want to claim that people do not speak in tongues but that those who do are pretending. They say that because they have never opened themselves up to the Holy Spirit and have never been able to speak in the language of Heaven, because they can’t they say no one really can. These same people claim that God no longer does miracle healing and no longer speaks to people. This is not true! I’m not very old and I have seen the Holy Spirit descend on a building. I have seen miracle healings. I have heard God speak. If you are open to Him and His presence you will see this happen too.
Some say, “I have sought God and wished to speak through the Holy Spirit but it never happened to me.”
This makes me think of Nikki Cruz. In his book he covers the time when he wanted to speak in tongues for the first time because He wanted that closeness, that sweetness of the Holy Spirit. He knelt at the alter day after day until the chapel closed and nothing happened. Eventually he decided that God didn’t want Him and that was why the Holy Spirit did not descend. He was going to give up school, give up trying to become a minister, go home to the slums in New York. But every time he tried to leave something got in the way and made it so he couldn’t. Very physical things. He couldn’t get the money for bus fare. He made up lies so that people would try and help him get back to the city but in the end they turned around and started benefiting the things he was lying about. For instance he said that he desperately needed to go home because a relative was ill and needed money and he needed to go to work. But instead of sending him the money he needed to get home the people he wrote to send the money they thought is relative needed to the relative. Just odd things like that making it so he couldn’t leave. Then finally he decided he was just going to hitchhike. So he got all his gear ready and was going to sneak out the window and off the campus in the middle of the night. But then one of his friends who was speaking at a nearby Church came and invited him to go to the service with him. Nikki was annoyed because the friend wouldn’t take no for an answer. That night there was an altar call for the receiving of the Holy Spirit. That night the Holy Spirit descended on Nikki and 2 hours later Nikki was still there on his knees at the altar. When his friend came to get him to go home Nikki said no just leave me here this is perfect this is all I want. The friend had to take him home though because the church building was closing and locking up for the night. But Nikki was so filled with the spirit that he went to his dorm room he opened up all his windows and he praised God until people threw pillows at him and told him to go to sleep. God wanted Nikki to seek him hard before he would answer. Some of us need that that throwing away of ourselves to find Jesus. Sometimes a simple service isn’t enough sometimes God wants us to seek after him everyday begging for the same thing because he needs us to be broken before him so he can pour into us and that is so scary and so wonderful all at the same time.
Acts 2:38 NIV‬
[38] Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. ‭

Even if God has not given you a language yet, you still have the Holy Spirit near to you and accessible