John 1:16-17 (Amplified) says, "For out of His fullness (abundance), we have all received, all had a share and were all supplied with, one Grace after another, and Spiritual Blessing upon Spiritual Blessing and even favor upon favor and Gift heaped upon Gift. For while the Law was given through Moses, Grace (unearned, undeserved favor) and Spiritual Blessing and Truth came through Jesus Christ."
Jesus told His followers in John 14:26 (Amplified), "But the Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, Standby, 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."
There have been many teachings and sermons given about Jesus, but not so much about the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit was preached in the Church, the great Pentecostal Revival was birthed and the Church began to understand Who the Holy Spirit is (at least to a degree). If the Church didn't have the Holy Spirit representing Jesus in our midst, then we would be just another religion to the world. The Holy Spirit is the One Who will now bring about the miracles and healings of old, that will Glorify Jesus in our presence. Until we come to know the Holy Spirit, we can't truly know Jesus and the Father like we should. The Holy Spirit is the Super-natural Presence of Jesus, to the world.
Jesus said in the above scripture that, "The Holy Spirit would be the One Who would take His Place in our presence and would represent Him and act on His behalf." Without having the Holy Spirit to act on His behalf, we are without the Power of God to do the works. In early days, the Church relied on the Holy Spirit and many signs and wonders followed them. What they lacked in those days was Truth. Since they had very little revelation of God's Grace and Truth, they couldn't hold onto the things the Holy Spirit had done.
Many churches were depleted by witchcraft and the occult, because we couldn't or didn't discern the difference between the Super-natural move of the Holy Spirit and the move of demonic spirits. Paul writes in 2Corinthians 11:14-15 (Amplified), "And it is no wonder, for satan himself masquerades as an angel of light; so it is not surprising if his servants also masquerade as ministers of righteousness. But their end will correspond with their deeds."
When we don't really study the Word and learn Truth, we are deceived into discarding the supernatural things altogether. The Church believed that "we'll be free from deception, if we do this." The Church began studying God's Word and established Word-based congregations, but they were mostly devoid of the Super-natural things of the Holy Spirit. The people began "trying to make God's Word work," but had very little results in their lives. That's because we left out the Component that makes it work and that's the Holy Spirit.
Today's believers probably know more about God's will and His Grace than in previous centuries, but we're still lacking the signs and wonders that should accompany these things. When we believe in the Name of Jesus, we must also believe in the One He sent to take His place. Jesus Himself said that, "It was not Him, but the Father (the Holy Spirit) in Him, that does the works." You cannot acknowledge Jesus, without acknowledging the One He sent to take His place.
We don't teach about the Holy Spirit and limit Him to speaking in tongues in the churches, without understanding the significance of even that. Speaking in tongues isn't a sign that "we've arrived," but merely a beginning point. This language is to put us in communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit, to do as He would have us do. We can read the Word and "speak the Word," but it's the Holy Spirit Who brings God's Word to pass and does the works.
Your relationship with Jesus and the Father, isn't complete until we know the Holy Spirit. Some believers think that the Holy Spirit is "somewhere out in the Universe," without realizing He lives inside them. The Holy Spirit is the One Who does the works of Jesus, at the Power of that Name. Without the Power of the Holy Spirit, we're just religious and void of ability to express the Kingdom of God to the world.
Before ascending to Heaven, Jesus told His followers (and us), in Acts 1:8 ((Amplified), "But you shall receive power, ability, efficiency, and might, when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth (the very bounds of the earth)." For centuries, many have read about the Day of Pentecost and have mostly focused on their speaking in tongues. The Holy Spirit didn't come just to bring the speaking of tongues, but to reveal the ability, efficiency and might of God that will set the captives free around us. Paul writes in 1Corinthians 14:2 (Amplified), "For one who speaks in an unknown tongue speaks not to men but to God, for no one understands or catches his meaning because in the Holy Spirit he utters secret Truths and hidden things, not obvious to the understanding."
Obviously, these are not mysteries to God, but Mysteries of God, that are moved upon by the Holy Spirit. This is the doorway to Revelation and obedience to the Holy Spirit. This is the Mystery to the ability of Jesus, as the Father revealed to Him what to do. Some say that Jesus didn't function in the speaking of tongues, because the Day of Pentecost hadn't come yet. The Day of Pentecost was the day that we received the Holy Spirit. Jesus received the Holy Spirit on the day He was baptized in the Jordan River, according to John 3:34 (Amplified) which says, "For since He Whom God has sent speaks the Word of God (proclaims His Own Message), God does not give Him His Spirit sparingly or by measure, but boundless is the Gift God makes of His Spirit."
Jesus communed with the Father by and through the Holy Spirit, just like He taught us to do. He said that this would be the Source of our ability and Wisdom, to do the work of the Father. The only Revelation we get from His Word, comes by and through His Holy Spirit. Apart from Him, we simply get education and not Revelation.
We need to spend more time learning to "know" the Holy Spirit. Jesus said that "He would never leave us or forsake us." Did Jesus mean that He wouldn't ascend to the Father? No, Jesus said that He would send the Holy Spirit to take His Place and represent Him. How much time do you spend in your life and walk with the Lord, conversing with the Holy Spirit? After all, "It's God in you, Christ in you, the Holy Spirit in you, and these Three are One," according to 1John 5:7 (Amplified) which says, "So there are Three Witnesses in Heaven; the Father, the Word (Jesus) and the Holy Spirit and these Three are One."
Do not ignore the Holy Spirit in your prayer time or in your fellowship with the Father. He is God, like Jesus was God on this earth. Jesus said that, "[He] and the Father are One" and He prayed that we would be one, just like He and the Father are One. This can only be done, by the Holy Spirit Who makes us one. When we're born-again, the Holy Spirit comes to live inside us. The Holy Spirit is a Person, just like Jesus is a Person. He isn't some abstract force in the Universe. He is the Individual Representative of the Father. When we don't acknowledge the Holy Spirit as Who He is, we're without God's Guidance and His ability on this earth. We're as mere men and women, without the Holy Spirit.
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