Who Is The Holy Spirit?

Chapters

• 0:00 Introduction to the Holy Spirit
• 7:30 Channel Update & Schedule Changes
• 18:17 The Person of the Holy Spirit
• 29:13 The Roles of the Holy Spirit
• 38:26 The Gifts of the Holy Spirit
• 49:59 How to Cultivate a Relationship with the Holy Spirit

Transcript

Speaker 1: 0:00

What's up? Faith and Failures. Welcome to another episode. Today we're going to be talking about who is the Holy Spirit. What does it mean when you hear someone say Holy Spirit? Or if they're really old school King James, they may say Holy Ghost. So let's dive in and let's really, with intentional hearts and open minds. What does Scripture say about the Holy Spirit? Let's dive in.

Speaker 1: 0:32

Before we get into today's video, I just wanted to say thank you to all of the new subscribers. If you haven't yet consider subscribing, hit that bell notification so that you can see every time I put out a new video. A major portion of you that watch my videos haven't subscribed yet, so why not? It's free. You can also find a PayPal link below if you want to give a one time or give a monthly to support the channel. Anything, great or small, is appreciated. Now let's get into the video. Welcome back, welcome back.

Speaker 1: 1:14

So I have a small little announcement. Most of you that follow my channel, by the time this comes out on monday, you'll realize that it's been three weeks, maybe four weeks, since I put out an episode. So I have a lot of time during the cold seasons, when everything is dead, for my business to do more episodes. That being said, business has picked up so much that I am barely I can't even take on any more clients or work because I'm so busy. So this podcast is something I do for free, but I value it and I think it's important. I hope you glean something from it as well. But I'm going to back up after this episode and I'm going to start putting out one episode a month on the first Monday of every month. So if you tune in every time one goes live, make sure you come back the first Monday every month. Probably by the time you wake up on that Monday it will already have been live. I usually put it kind of early in the morning so people can see it who get up early. So first Monday of every month, some of you are like oh, and some of you are like, okay, cool, whatever it is what it is, until this thing becomes sponsored and paid for and actually makes revenue, then it's going to go on the back burner and I'm just going to teach. Hopefully, every episode you see will be very fruitful for you and you can really learn some things from it.

Speaker 1: 2:42

We got some episodes coming up going to be. Let me look at my phone. I have the notes right here. One of them is should Christians be using or dabble in crystals? Should Christians be using or dabble in crystals? What exactly does that mean? Well, you'll find out in the episode, so make sure you come back. So I know we're in the middle of the month, in the middle of March right now, but I will do one again in a couple of weeks for the 1st of April, which actually the 1st, yeah, the 1st Monday of every month, so it'll be. I think the 1st is in the middle of the week, yeah, so it'll be on April 7th. So make sure you come back for that.

Speaker 1: 3:26

We're going to dive into some controversial things that are wrong and sinful and we're going to address in another episode some LGBTQ whatever. I don't know how many letters there are now um plus, and we're going to dive into those may get kicked off of youtube. If ever a, a, um and it's happened before a episode gets flagged, then go to um spotify and go to um. Sorry, my brain is scattered right now. People are trying to get a hold of me. I'm putting my phone on. Do not disturb. Go to any place you can listen to podcasts and the full episode will be there. So just in case it ever happens and it usually does on YouTube, because apparently the fact checkers or the police on there don't like truth fact checkers or the the the police on there don't like truth.

Speaker 1: 4:26

Let's dive into why you are here today. Look with me. In acts, chapter 1, acts, chapter 1, verse 8, it says but you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, judea and throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. So what does it mean when all of a sudden, you land in this story in Acts, and there's something that happens that is promised. That was Jesus promising something. So what was it that Jesus promised?

Speaker 1: 5:10

Well, first of all, you've got to understand that it's not a what, it's not an it, but it's a who. So if you believe in the Trinitarian doctrine, which is God, the Father, god the Son, god the Holy Spirit, there are three distinct persons, but all are active together and they are unified. And if you pay attention to the Word of God, you realize that a lot of things that are spiritual aspects, spiritual principles, descriptions of spiritual things, god gives us insight, actually through physical things to be able to understand it better. For instance, if you listen to the parables Jesus would give out, he would almost always use something with agriculture. He would talk about seeds. He would talk about a young man leaving his house, taking all of his wealth and riches, and he squandered it all. He would use things that real people every day would understand.

Speaker 1: 6:06

I think sometimes we get real caught up. Yes, there's, there's complications. I just grabbed my glasses and they're out there. There's complications with um, with sometimes very deep original language, hebrew and greek and aramaic and all these things that that as we get deeper and we grow in our maturity, we should want to know more and have a deeper understanding, because the original language of the text, a lot of the things kind of how english does when you can say, um, now what's a good one like your, your and your sure too. No, it's there. There's two. No, it's there, there and there. There's like it's the same word when you hear it, but when you actually go to the text and look at it, there's actually. It means something different. You have to have the context of the whole thing and that's a lot how the original language was. You need to know a lot of the context and the placement and that gets real super deep.

Speaker 1: 7:03

We're not going into today, but it's very important that you understand how to study the bible and what to grow deeper. So one of those things of growing deeper is understanding who the holy spirit is. So if you look in john and this is jesus again john 14, 16 through 17 it says and I will ask the father and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him. But you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. So there's a difference between the Old Testament of how the Spirit would move on people and then you have how the Holy Spirit in Acts begins to live through and in people. There's a difference.

Speaker 1: 8:08

So in the scripture Jesus promises the Holy Spirit as number one, an advocate, sometimes translated as comforter, counselor or helper. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit a he okay, showing that he is a person and not an impersonal force. So if you look back at what we just read again, acts 1.8,. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you and you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Here Jesus explains that receiving the Holy Spirit includes receiving power, something outside of us that is not just for our benefit but for the benefit of us to fulfill our mission sharing the gospel. Every believer is called to share the gospel. But you will not have the same, you will not achieve the same gaining back of the enemy's territory unless you are empowered. So the Holy Spirit is a person.

Speaker 1: 9:24

One of the greatest misunderstandings about the Holy Spirit is to treat him like a spiritual force. You know, we've got the, the star Wars movies, we've got the force, but scripture clearly teaches he is divine and personal. So let's let's look at some attributes of what the Bible, how the Bible describes, uh, the characteristics and kind of, instead of it being like a Holy Ghost, you know, or spirit, which is true, I want to almost make him tangible to you, if that makes sense. So let's look at this scripture. It says Ephesians 4.30, and do not bring sorrow to God's Holy Spirit by the way you live. Remember he has identified you as His own, guaranteeing that you will be saved on the day of redemption. If the Holy Spirit can experience sorrow, that means he has emotions like we do, that he can be emotional. He can be spurred to something, pushed into a place where he just is grieved because of the way we're living.

Speaker 1: 10:36

Also, the holy spirit teaches and he reminds us in 14 john 14, 26 I'm sorry, I have the wrong, I don't know yet. Yeah, he teaches and reminds us, but when the father sends the advocate, as my representative, that is the holy spirit. He will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. Only a person can teach and remind. Okay, it's like a relationship of like. If I forget something, my wife gently reminds me, or if she needs to teach me how I need to behave in public, she shows me. We cannot have a genuine relationship with a mere force, but we certainly can with a person. So another one he leads us into all truth. John 16, 13,. When the spirit of truth comes, he, being the Holy spirit, will guide you into all truth. He will. He will not speak on his own, but we'll tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future.

Speaker 1: 11:44

So later, past the four gospels, you get into Corinthians and it talks about the gifts of the spirit. So one of the gifts of the spirit is prophecy and the Bible it gently lays it out. It describes it in a way to where there are spiritual gifts that are available to us by the Holy Spirit. And this is not our choice of what we get. It is actually the choice of the Holy Spirit. He decides what we get, he decides what he gifts us with the gifts. So the second point is Now the second part of this.

Speaker 1: 12:25

We're going to look at the roles of the Holy Spirit. Okay, now, the first role that the Holy Spirit has is conviction of sin and of righteousness. So the Holy Spirit convicts us when we stray and points us to what is right John 16, 8. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. Conviction is different from condemnation. Conviction leads us to repentance and reconciliation with God. Condemnation leads us to hopelessness.

Speaker 1: 13:04

The Spirit's conviction is meant to help us turn back to the Father. It's not to distance us, but it's to help us want to grow closer to Him. He is our helper, as we saw earlier in John chapter 14, and he is our advocate. Our advocate, someone called to work alongside us in the work for the kingdom, to help us, to empower us. He empowers us to face challenges. He counsels us when we lack wisdom. He encourages us when we are weary. He's also the sanctifier. He is the producing out of us. He helps produce and cultivate the fruit of the Spirit. Look in Galatians 5, 22 and 23.

Speaker 1: 13:54

But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. There is no law against these things. So all of us, if we think about it, really would love these qualities in our life. But a lot of times we don't allow the correction and the conviction of the Holy Spirit to take root in our heart. This seed must first be planted before we can have any other fruit that bears good fruit in our life. Now, if you look at our culture today, you can look at all these things love, joy, peace, patience, all the ones. Okay, all of these.

Speaker 1: 14:34

The world offers a fake, synthetic version, manufactured by themselves, justified by themselves. That is offering up a false sense of good fruit in your life. We see these big time and love. Let's go through them right quick. So love right now in our culture is the biggest false sense of love and painting it up as whatever my sexual preference is that is love. That's not true Matter of fact. Anything outside of what God has designed us to do and to feel and to enjoy is a abomination. It is something that is not what God intended for us to take part of as humans.

Speaker 1: 15:36

Then you have joy. The world will sell you happiness, which is a false version of joy. This means that the things you try to obtain joy, this means that the things you try to obtain, the hours you try to work, the relationships you try to cultivate that you think will make you happy, is actually false and it will not produce the proper kind of fruit that you want out of your life. It will produce a fruit, but it is not the fruit that will sustain you. And then we have peace. A lot of people chalk peace up to being no arguments, no fighting, no conflict, and that's actually not peace. That's a false sense of peace and we'll I don't know one day if we would just go through and study Revelation, but it's very, very dangerous to assume that no conflict means you have peace.

Speaker 1: 16:33

It's not Matter of fact, let me give you a real world example for a second. So if I tell you that me and my wife never fight, now how do two people that are totally different people which me and my wife are how do we stay healthy in our relationship and never fight? Well, we do that by not talking. And what happens to two people who don't talk? Well, they end up not knowing each other. And now there is a false relationship that has established itself in our home and we call it peace, but in reality it's distance. We don't have the unity in the home, we don't have the community. We don't have the things that a relationship should have. We've dodged all of the things that really make us dig our toes in the ground and really stand our ground together, as a family, we have went around all of those things thinking that we are making peace, but in reality we're headed towards destruction. And so that's how. Peace and patience, kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness, all these things you can fill in the blank with whatever, but we try to cultivate these things in our own way, to make our own peace, to pretend like we have patience Patience, isn't you just not saying anything and then going and complaining to somebody else about what happened and then going and complaining to somebody else about what happened.

Speaker 1: 18:09

Patience is. I have to use it. I have a daughter. She's about to be, she's just past 16 months. Patience is when we are feeding her and instead of eating her food, she plays with it and I correct her and instruct her. But she doesn't get a spanking because she's a child, she's learning. Instead, she likes to, especially if it's like, uh, refried beans, she'll take it and smush it in her hands and I'm gonna be honest with you, it probably feels pretty cool. You know, you ever heard that some of y'all may be too young, but that gack that came in that little container and you can squeeze it, it was real weird. You could push it in the corners and it would fart. Excuse me, it was, it was cool, and so it probably feels like that to her.

Speaker 1: 18:58

So I don't get frustrated with her. I have patience with her when she's walking, when we're walking in a store. She wants to get down, she wants to walk, she wants to do it herself. She's getting to that age where everything has to be her doing it for herself. If she doesn't want your help, she will put your hand, she'll take your hand and she'll go no, no, no. And her little eyebrows will go like this no, no, no, no, no. She understands no. And so, walking with her, especially if I'm trying to be somewhere and trying to do something, I have to remind myself that somebody once was patient with me and it will be okay if we're a little later than what we were trying to do, because she wants to walk by herself. She's learning, so patience has become really.

Speaker 1: 19:45

And kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness all these are kind of they end up being wrapped all in the same burrito and then we end up just skipping over self-control because we don't want to tell ourselves no, I am who I am, it's my truth, and then we end up throwing all of these other things in the trash. That was good fruit, because we can't have self-control and so it's very dangerous when you try to receive these false fruits. For instance, in the very beginning you have the tree knowledge of good and evil. You have the tree knowledge of good and evil and the fruit that they partook, partook, partaken, that fruit they ate. They wished they never would have tasted it, because it was not for them, it wasn't everything that they desired, needed and wanted was supplied, but it wasn't good enough. So how many, how many of you it's a personal question how many of you have been taking these fruit, pushing them aside so that you can take a bite of what you want to take a bite of, because nobody's going to tell you what to do, or you just just one last time. I just want to do this. It's not that bad and that kind of mindset is dangerous. So that was three.

Speaker 1: 21:15

He's a sanctifier. The Holy Spirit is a sanctifier. He produces spiritual fruit that are good, they are desirable, and when you bear these fruit, other people can partake of them. And what do you do with fruit when they are eaten? And you throw it on the ground because you don't eat the seeds. It produces more of the same fruit. So when it's partaken of and that seed finds new ground, it begins to produce the same fruit of the Spirit and he cultivates that. And when we yield ourselves, our desires, our wants, even the way we think, the way we feel about things, we are yielding ourselves to the Holy Spirit and he will begin to organically produce spiritual fruit in our lives. It's so much better. It's so much better.

Speaker 1: 22:09

So witnessing power. We read in acts 1 8, as we read earlier you will receive power when the holy spirit comes upon you. Just that's just not for the early disciples, but it's for us today. There's no scripture, verse, chapter book or nothing where people sometimes try to. Oh yeah, it says here there are a bunch of idiots because it's not in there. You're just twisting scripture to be what you want it to be.

Speaker 1: 22:33

And if it was in there, why did it continue after Acts to be multiplied, where people would get baptized, they would come to salvation, they would get baptized and then they would be filled with the Spirit? If it was just an Acts thing, why in the world would it keep going? And then if you say, well, that was to spread the gospel, then what in the world do we think we're supposed to be doing now? Did it stop with the disciples? Well, now we can't talk about the gospel of Jesus Christ anymore because, well, that was back then. You're an idiot. Get off your little high horse, use your brain and realize that you are wrong According to Scripture. You can argue with me all day long, but according to Scripture you are wrong. And if you say you believe in Scripture, then you need to check yourself, because the Scripture is very obvious in what it's saying. So let's look at some more.

Speaker 1: 23:26

Number three why do we need the Holy Spirit? This is why we need the Holy Spirit. Well, we need to overcome, overcome uh, I'll leave that up there. We're gonna go that in just a second. To overcome sin and temptation, apart from the holy spirit's work, we end up relying on our own strength, which fails us every time. It'll work out for a little bit, but, coming from a person of experience, I'm telling you, chill out on trying to do it yourself, because this is what god does to get our attention. He allows us sometimes to get what we pray for. He allows us, just like we do with our children.

Speaker 1: 24:10

If you're a good parent, you will let them do it on their own. You will let them figure it out for themselves, to realize that you actually know what you're talking about. Or that when you say it's dangerous, when you say it's hot, all right, fine, if you're not going to listen, touch it and see what happens. They touch it, they cry. You pat them on the back and you say see, I told you. It wasn't me just trying to be mean, I was trying to show you the danger ahead, and the Holy Spirit does this same thing. We need to rely on the Holy Spirit so that we will not fail, we will not stumble, we will not fall.

Speaker 1: 24:43

You want to keep from sinning? Well, hide God's word in your heart. How do you hide God's word in your heart? You don't do it by staring at the Bible. You do it by diving into the Bible, reading it, loving it, caring about what it says. If you have a hard time reading scripture, let me say this to you. I said this to my church a week or two ago. So if my father which I have a good relationship with now we love each other dearly If he wrote me letters about his life, or even if it was like a journal and I got a snapshot into, like remembering him as he was and he passes away, there's nothing that would stop me from reading his journal, reading those letters.

Speaker 1: 25:26

And this is the same way we should approach scripture. It is not to you necessarily, but it is for you Like. It is principles, it is guidelines. There's a prescriptive and a descriptive. Very important to know the difference. But everything in the word of God is for the believer. That's why it was canonized. That's why it was printed, that's why it was written over and over again for us today and those as they went along, and it stacked on and eventually was canonized into what we know today. There's a reason. It's so that every believer can have that to lean on, to glean from, to learn, to get wisdom to, to have guidance.

Speaker 1: 26:09

But the bible is clearly alive and active. Let me explain. If you've ever done this before, you will, you will clearly know what I'm talking about. If you have ever read some scripture and then you go back, say, two months later, you can read the same scripture and it's like you see something different, I mean, I didn't. How in the world I didn't. I've never. I've read the scripture a thousand times and never seen that.

Speaker 1: 26:36

That's because the Bible is alive and active and the Holy Spirit will pull it, will reveal things out of the scripture brand new to us, and so reading the word is not boring if you come with a hungry heart. So the Holy Scripture, if we rely on him, we will not fail and he will lead us into victory. He will help us resist temptation. He will help us walk in victory. Also, the Holy Spirit helps us to discern God's will. Life is full of complicated, messy decisions every single day, every single week career paths, relationships, maybe for you, ministry opportunities. The Holy Spirit nudges us, gives us peace or tells us to hold up, gives us caution, and this will help us align our will, our hearts, with God Because, as we read in the scripture earlier, he is hearing. He is speaking from the father to us to help us hear, help us learn, help us align with God, not God. We don't pull God and force God to align with us, but we move ourselves to align with God.

Speaker 1: 27:50

Okay, so look at Romans 8, verse 16. Why we need the Holy Spirit? For His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. We can draw near to God because the Holy Spirit's presence is in us and we need to avoid quenching the Spirit. Let's look at this verse 1 Thessalonians 5.19,. Do not stifle or quench and some read the Holy Spirit. We can grieve or stifle the Holy Spirit by persistent disobedience, neglecting prayer, ignoring what the Word teaches us. The Holy Spirit is gentle. He invites but never forces. If we consistently push him away, we miss out on his power and his comfort. All right, so we touched on it earlier a little bit. We're going to touch on it again the gifts of the Holy Spirit.

Speaker 1: 29:00

Paul dedicates a significant teaching to this very topic of spiritual gifts. Well, if you have your Bible or if you're watching on your phone, make sure, screenshot this as we go through. So screenshot this verse right here on your screen, these verses, and then go and search them yourselves, because I'm going to read it. But it was so much text I didn't want to do 27 slides trying to get these 10 verses in, or it's not even 10 verses. So 1 Corinthians 12, verse 7 through 11.

Speaker 1: 29:40

A spiritual gift is given to each of us so that we can help each other. To one person, the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice. So listen, as it describes what is happening here. It is the Spirit that gives these gifts. It's wording this on purpose the way that it is. To another, the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another and to someone else, the spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the spirit of God or from another spirit, which means there are going to be some other spirits in the church trying to speak and paint it up as it being God, when it has nothing to do with God. Still, another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only one spirit who distributes all these gifts. Who distributes all these gifts? He alone decides which gift each person should have. That being said, there are two, and this is after the Acts 1-8,. We read Acts 2-4.

Speaker 1: 30:57

So that's when the power was poured out and the Holy Spirit came down in a new way. I don't know why God did it this way. I don't know why Jesus worded it this way, maybe to emphasize the Trinity doctrine. I don't know, but some people will say that it's just one deity wearing three different hats or masks instead of a Trinity. But if that were the case, jesus would not have to leave so that somebody else can come. It's not a magician's trick. They're not going to jump out of a box once they. That's the same person? Oh, I don't. I can't tell who it is. I don't believe that at all. So, that being said, the holy spirit made an entrance when he came down to earth. It was a different movement, a different characteristic that nobody had seen before.

Speaker 1: 31:54

Before this time, speaking in tongues was not a thing, and some people will chalk it up as to that's all that was there and like. Here's my thing. God, the trinity, the holy spirit, jesus, none of these change. God doesn't lose his power. He doesn't lose his sovereignty. Jesus, what he paid on the cross, that debt being paid, does not fade over time. So if that's the characteristic and the pattern of two others out of the three in the Trinity, why do people try? I think it's because there's a lack of understanding, or just a outright. They think they're right and they're arrogant. I don't know. But why would the Holy Spirit be any different If we believe God is the Trinity and all three parts of the Trinity will remain the same? They were not created, they will not end. Why is it that we think that after that moment in time? Well, now the Holy Spirit fades out. Now his power changes and doesn't do what he did then.

Speaker 1: 32:58

And they will use this verse. We just read about speaking in tongues and giving interpretation, but if you study the word. You will know that this was talking about in a public bunch of other people there setting and the reasoning. This is very, very, very important with studying scripture. Don't cherry pick one little verse and say this is my doctrine now, because it said this in this one area. Why did the author write it? Who was he writing it to?

Speaker 1: 33:27

These same people were taking the gifts and using them for their own gain, just like a lot of Pentecostal people do. They use speaking in tongues as like they are the ones that have done it and they use that as a separation in the body, when actually God is about unity. It should be unifying us, not separating us, and so it's kind of like the enemy is using something God gives us, the Spirit gives us, and using it to separate us, which I mean. He's good at what he does, he knows what he's doing, but every believer receives one gift. Let me break this down one more time. Okay, so sorry, I'm looking at my notes to make sure I'm not going. Okay, make sure I wasn't getting ahead of my notes, because I want you all to really get this. I was making sure it wasn't in there, so you have in the rest of Acts, specifically that really talks about it. Where I mentioned.

Speaker 1: 34:32

People get, they come to salvation, they get baptized in water and then there's like an impartation of laying on the hands and they begin to speak into the languages and in those times you never hear someone giving the interpretation, ever. Because this was actually a sign to the unbelievers. Because if you look in Acts 2, when they come out of the upper room and they're speaking in different languages, it did not say they were speaking in native tongues. It said they were speaking in other languages and the people that were listening, that were onlooking some heard in their own tongue, their own native tongue. Others thought they were drunk, so that means that not everyone understood them, but it was only the people that were supposed to hear the gospel of Jesus. And then Peter came out because he needed to explain to everybody not just the people that heard with their ears understood what was going on, because they can understand in their own native tongue what was being said, but every other person who did not hear needed an understanding and a translation of what was going on. So peter had to come out and be bold and tell them listen, this is exactly what has happened. And then revival broke out. That's how the church grew.

Speaker 1: 35:47

And listen. You want to talk about church growth, get the power involved. So the thing when Paul is writing about the gifts, he's being very intentional, and I believe with all my heart that every believer has at least one gift. You can just do a simple Google search of what those gifts are and then it'll give you Bible references. We're not going to go into every single gift, but every person has one gift and I believe, sometimes, even when it's not your gift from birth, that you can. God can give you a gift in a moment to be used for his glory, for his purpose, and so look at 1 Corinthians, 13, 1 through 3. I just on here again screenshot that and look it up and read it yourself and bookmark it.

Speaker 1: 36:35

If I could speak all the languages of the earth and of angels but don't love others, I would only be a noisy gong or a clinging cymbal. If I had the gift of prophecy and if I understood all of God's secret plans and possessed all knowledge, and if I had such faith that I could move mountains but didn't love others, I would be nothing. If I gave everything I have to the poor and even sacrificed my body. I could boast about it, but if I didn't love others, I would have gained nothing. Now, love is the foundation. We can have extraordinary gifts, but without love, with the wrong reasoning behind why we do something, the gifts lack the true power they were given to serve.

Speaker 1: 37:28

Look at 1 Corinthians 14.1. Let love be your highest goal. This is in the same book as these others 1 Corinthians 12, 1 Corinthians 13, 1 Corinthians 14. Let love be your highest goal, but you should also desire the special abilities the Spirit gives, especially the ability to prophesy. Yes, love is the priority, but desire spiritual gifts, seek them earnestly, pray for them daily and let the Holy Spirit move through you and bless the church and reach the lost. This is the whole point of the church. This is the whole point of the gifts to be used by God. To be used by God. So how can we cultivate a relationship with the Holy Spirit? So let's look at these. Let me name them to you. I thought I had them. Right now.

Speaker 1: 38:22

I don't Prayer and surrender, so start each day by saying Holy Spirit, lead me today. Create space for listening as well as speaking. I'm a person that I like to talk, so for me to shut up and let God speak and let the Holy Spirit speak. It takes practice for me to get there, because I want to do all the talking. Sometimes he speaks through a gentle impression, a verse of scripture or a sense of peace, and sometimes even an audible voice. The second thing is engage the word with the spirit. The Holy Spirit helps us interpret and apply scripture Before reading pray, open my eyes. Holy Spirit helps us interpret and apply Scripture Before reading. Pray, open my eyes, holy Spirit. Teach me your truth. What does the Holy Spirit do? He leads us into all truth.

Speaker 1: 39:23

The third thing is obedience. When we sense the Holy Spirit leading us whether to forgive someone to serve in a particular fashion of ministry or church or in the community, whether to forgive someone to serve in a particular fashion of ministry or church or in the community, or to share the gospel with a friend, respond quickly. Don't say, oh, I got to pray about it. You don't have to pray about preaching the gospel or sharing Christ with somebody, because that's what we're all called to do. That is not something you have to pray about. It's already been told you to do it. Get off your rear end and do it. Small acts of obedience, build sensitivity to His voice. It's training your ears, it's training your heart. It's training your mind to be still and listen to Him instead of do what you want to do, to be obedient and responsive to the Holy Spirit. And the fourth one is live in community. We must fellowship with other believers who also seek the Spirit's guidance. Often, god uses the insights and encouragement of fellow Christians to confirm His leading.

Speaker 1: 40:30

The fifth one is worship and thanksgiving. There is nothing that changes the atmosphere like worship, even when you don't feel like it, especially when you don't feel like it. And worship softens our heart to be ready to receive what God desires to place on us and to lead us to, and expressing gratitude it always draws us closer to Him. We change our mindset, the way we think about things, the way we perceive things, the way we look at things, when we are just thankful for what God has done and we realize that what he has done is just beyond anything we actually deserve. So why am I whining? Why am I complaining?

Speaker 1: 41:21

I woke up with breath in my lungs. I woke up with a song in my heart, I woke up with a wonderful wife, two beautiful kids, and I woke up with a job. I woke up with a house with a roof over my head. I woke up with two nice vehicles. I woke up with photography equipment that God gave me a way to record videos, and understanding of learning how to do a podcast. He gave me all these gifts and sometimes we get so caught up in what we don't have, we forgive and just be thankful for what we do have, and when we come before the Lord with thanksgiving in our heart, I believe he moves mountains because of our attitude towards Him and the attitude about the things that he's given us, the attitude about the place he's placed us.

Speaker 1: 42:12

The things we overlook oftentimes are some of the most important things being able to breathe. You know how many people can't breathe or struggle for their breath or fighting for their lives right now, and I get to just talk with no hurt, no pain, no issues, no struggles. I can breathe without sharp pain, I can walk without pain in my body, I can sing with the breath of my lungs that you give me. I mean, who am I to ever, ever complain about what he's given me? I mean, if some of this today on this episode was kind of weird to you and you're like, I really don't understand the Holy Spirit. It's in the Bible. It is a little weird, but I think sometimes God allows things to be weird and uncomfortable. So we actually show that we care to pursue Him and that he's not going to just hand everything to us that we need to be willing to get uncomfortable to get closer to him.

Speaker 1: 43:38

I mean ask yourself, do you want whatever God has for you? And if the Holy Spirit and the stuff in the Bible, like speaking in tongues, is weird, but if you desire, if you really desire, not just to go to church, not just to be a part of a church body, not go somewhere because your parents went there or not, what fill in the blank or whatever. But do you want more of God? You want to be closer to God? And if the answer is yes I mean personally why wouldn't we? If we love God, if we really want to be close to God, why wouldn't we want whatever he has, whatever that looks like? That's a question you have to ask yourself. And if you don't want more of God, then why are you even trying to be a Christian? It's a pretty valid question.

Speaker 1: 44:43

I hope something in this episode helps you really search and dive deep, because I want you to be closer to God. I want you to dive in to God. I want you to dive in and see who God really is, because he loves you and cares for you, but he also sent His Holy Spirit to empower you and make you stronger than you have allowed yourself to be. If he's got more, I want it. Why wouldn't you? If you haven't yet, please hit subscribe, download the episode, share this episode and also any comments or questions you can send to faithandfailures at gmailcom or comment below this video, and I will make a podcast episode diving into the questions you have. Love you, I'm praying for you and I'll see you next time.