The blessings of the Holy Spirit

The blessings of the Holy Spirit

Zechariah 4:6 “Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts.”

            As recorded in this verse, it is not by power not by might but the spirit of the Lord is able to complete all the things in our lives. People around us might have some predictions or forecast concerning the new year but when we when we submit ourselves into the hands of the Holy Ghost, he will make everything possible. This is the time of the Holy Spirit and also the time of revival. These were the days where the spirit of the Lord will bring in a revival on youngsters. Today, let us meditate on the blessings we receive when the Holy Spirit takes in charge of our lives.

Builds Hope

Romans 15:13 “Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.”

            Here we see the spirit of the Lord works to build our hopes. When we entered this year with a lot of hopes. When we put our hopes on the Lord, the Holy Spirit will strengthen our hope. But where does our hope come from? Are our hopes based out of our worldly assets or traditions? We read in Romans 15:4 ‘For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the scriptures might have hope.’ We the children of God should have our hopes based on the word of the Lord. It is by the perseverance and encouragement of the scriptures our hopes are formed. We see the hope comes from the word of the Lord and was inspired by the spirit. When we do not read and mediate the word of the Lord, we will be hopeless. The Lord God expects his children to adhere to the words of the Lord in the scripture. In Ephesians 1:14 ‘In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,’ Having believed by listening to the message of truth, we have been sealed for eternity. Our very future has been sealed and it is in the hands of the Holy Spirit. When the Lord seals our future it is a seal of authority. This seal will protect us from all evil traps and hindrances in our lives. Nothing can stop us from moving forward when are lives are sealed by the Lord.

            We read in II Corinthians 1:21-22 ‘Now he which stablisheth us with you in Christ, and hath anointed us, is God;Who hath also sealed us, and given the earnest of the Spirit in our hearts.’ The Holy Spirit will not only seal us but also will anoint and establish us. The Holy Spirit will help us to build a firm hope on the Lord.

Sanctifies

Romans 15:16 “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost.”

            In the above passage we see the Holy Spirit sanctifies us. The Spirit will help us to lead a holy life. Worldly people are living their lives in their own fashion and they do not have any willingness to be sanctified. But we the children of God must lead a Holy life by offering ourselves as a sacrifice. Only when we sacrifice ourselves, we will be sanctified. As we read in Isaiah 53:7 ‘He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.’ Our Lord Jesus had already set us an example by submitting his own life to the purpose of the father God. Even in our lives, we need to live a life of submission.  As recorded in Revelation 22:11 ‘He that is unjust, let him be unjust still: and he which is filthy, let him be filthy still: and he that is righteous, let him be righteous still: and he that is holy, let him be holy still.’ we should continue to lead a Holy life. The Holy Spirit is given to those who need to be made holy. Let us not say I am leading a Holy life but let us strive to be holy every single day. There is no finish line to holiness, it is profound. We read in I Corinthians 1:2 ‘Unto the church of God which is at Corinth, to them that are sanctified in Christ Jesus, called to be saints, with all that in every place call upon the name of Jesus Christ our Lord, both theirs and ours:’ Here the Holy Spirit sanctifies the gentile church as an acceptable sacrifice to the Lord.

Testifies

Romans 8:16 “The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:”

            Here we see the spirit of the Lord testifies us. The Holy Spirit knows our hearts and bears witness concerning us. We read in John 2:25 ‘And needed not that any should testify of man: for he knew what was in man.’ The Holy Spirit knows who we are internally. The Spirit of the Lord knows our thoughts and it will testify us. Holy Spirit has to testify along with us concerning our inner relationship with the Lord. We need to live a life which earns a good testimony. In Roman culture, when a child is adopted, it warrants seven authoritative witnesses to be present. Same way, the Holy Spirit should testify that we are the children of the Lord and walk as the children of God. Amen.