Lesson 9 The Work and Ministry of the Holy Spirit

    Jesus spoke much concerning the coming of the Holy Spirit.  When He spoke about the Holy Spirit, Jesus spoke about the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit that would come to men after Jesus went to the Father.  That work and ministry has mostly been neglected by the Church.  We haven't been taught to "listen" to His leadings or how to yield to His voice.
     When Jesus was near the completion of His earthly ministry, He told the disciples that He would not leave them without Someone to replace Him.  John 14:25-26 (Amplified) says, "I have told you these things while I am still with you. But the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Stand-by) the Holy Spirit, Whom the Father will send in My Name (in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf) He will teach you all things; And He will cause you to recall (will remind you of, bring to your remembrance) everything I have told you."
     Jesus tells them in Verse 27 that He was "leaving or giving" His peace to them.  This peace is a work of the same Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit, alone, can bring the peace of God into your heart (spirit) in the midst of the world's turmoil.  Remember how Jesus said the Father would sent the Holy Spirit to earth in His stead.  The Holy Spirit was to be our Comforter.  The comfort Jesus received in the face of adversity, came from the same Holy Spirit the Father sent to us.
      How many people and how many times have you seen them seeking comfort in this world, when there's none to be found?  Whether you're concerned about your finances, job, children or any other thing, it can bring dis-comfort to you.  After telling His disciples about the coming of the Holy Spirit, He said in John 14:27 (Amplified), "Peace I leave with you; My Peace (My Own peace) I now give and bequeath to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your hearts (spirits) be troubled, neither let them be afraid (stop allowing yourselves to be agitated and disturbed; do not permit yourselves to be fearful and intimidated and cowardly and unsettled)."
     The Holy Spirit came as a direct order from the Father on our behalf.  He is the One Who will "bring to remembrance" the things Jesus said and to bring boldness and comfort to the Church.  Too many times, we forget what Jesus said about the earthly ministry and work of the Holy Spirit.  When we learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit, we will always be comforted in our walk with the Father.  The flesh only desires to condemn and accuse us before ourselves over our past.  The Holy Spirit comes to encourage and convince us of the finished work of Christ.
     We won't find comfort from listening to the flesh or the world.  The "accuser" of the Church is the devil and he won't let you remember what Jesus says about you, only what the world and the unrenewed mind says about you.  How can one live in peace and comfort and in the presence of a Holy God by only remembering who he used to be before Jesus made him new?  Remembering those past things would only make us be "cowardly" in His presence.
     The Word tells us in Hebrews 4:16 (Amplified), "Let us then fearlessly and confidently and boldly draw near to the throne of grace (the throne of God's unmerited favor to us sinners) that we may receive mercy (for our failures) and find grace to help in good time for every need (appropriate help and well times help, coming just when we need it)."
     The only way we can "Come boldly to God's throne of grace," is when we allow the Holy Spirit, the Comforter, to bring Christ's Own peace in our hearts.  If we try approaching His throne of grace through our own efforts, then it is no longer grace.  And, when it's not grace, then it is works, which will always cause us to fall short in our flesh.  We cannot do enough good works to qualify in His throne room.  It must be grace.
     When we allow the Holy Spirit into our lives, we can walk in the life of the new man leave behind the old man, dead and buried in baptism.  Romans 8:1-2 (Amplified) says, "Therefore, (there is) now no condemnation (no adjudging guilty of wrong) for those who are in Christ Jesus, who live (and) walk not after the dictates of the flesh, but after the dictates of the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of life (which is) in Christ Jesus (the law of our new being) has freed me from the Law of sin and death."
     Only when we allow the Comforter and Counselor to counsel us in our "new man," can we be free from the condemnation of the dictates (reminders) of the flesh.  The old man will always remind you of who you were.  The Holy Spirit will remind you of who you are now through Christ.
     As Christians, we seem to struggle with this the most in our walk with God.  We remain cowardly and intimidated in the presence of our Father.  Without the working of the Holy Spirit as our Comforter, we can never be comfortable in the presence of our own Heavenly Father.  We grieve the Holy Spirit by going back to the carnal mind instead of allowing Him to bring forth the mind of the Spirit to us.
     Romans 15:13 (Amplified) says, "May the God of your hope so fill you with all joy and peace in believing (through the experience of your faith) that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound and be overflowing (bubbling over) with hope."
     1Corinthians 1:6-7 (Amplified) says, "In this way (our) witnessing concerning Christ (the Messiah) was so confirmed and established and made sure in you that you are not (consciously) falling behind or lacking in any special spiritual endowment of Christian grace (the reception of which is due to the power of divine grace operating in your souls by the Holy Spirit) while you wait and watch (constantly living in hope) for the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ and (His) being made visible to all."
     There are things that cause some to "fall behind in" and "lack in," because we don't allow the Holy Spirit to work the "Peace that passes all understanding" in us.  When we're more conscious of who we were instead of who we are in Christ, we can never be bold before the throne of grace or be at ease in the Father's house.
     I can imagine how this must be the most difficult part of the Holy Spirit was dispatched to do.  It's only when He can make us confident in this, can He begin revealing what Jesus has truly done for us.  Even when we're minister and preaching God's Word, but without the Holy Spirit giving life to our words, our words can only bring remorse and not repentance.
     1Corinthians 2:4-5 (Amplified) says, "And my language and message was not set forth in persuasive (enticing and plausible) words of wisdom, but they were in demonstration of the Holy Spirit and power (a proof by the Spirit and power of God, operating on me and stirring in the minds of my hearers the most holy emotions and thus persuading them) So that your faith might not rest in the wisdom of men (human philosophy) but the power of God."