Photo by Sebastien Gabriel on Unsplash
You may listen to this message on my Anchor podcast Moving K.O.R.E. WORD by clicking on the link here: Episode 11
In the last message, Verified as HIS Child that Covers Over Shame, we learn about the younger son given his inheritance early by his father to which he goes off on his own and spends it all on wild living. After feeding pigs for a job, he comes to his senses and decides to return to his father. He is filled with shame and doesn’t feel he deserves to be called his father’s son any longer, but has decided he will ask to be a hired hand. He is caught off guard by his father’s response of love and compassion for him as well as a celebration given on his behalf for returning home where he belongs… GOD, our FATHER, waits for HIS sons and daughters to return to HIM in humble repentance to which HE runs to show HIS enduring mercy, unfailing love, and great compassion for reconciling and redeeming their lives for continuing the relationship in full acceptance and right standing…
In this message, let’s take a look at the Holy Spirit and the gift HE is to us…
John 14:15-31
Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit
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[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”
22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?”
23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.
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. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.
“Come now; let us leave.
In verse 16, the Holy Spirit is referred to as an Advocate and in the King James Version as Comforter. It comes from the Greek word parakletos and also means an intercessor, consoler, advocate, comforter. Once we have accepted and trusted in JESUS as our Savior, JESUS Himself asks the FATHER to send the gift of the Holy Spirit to help us and to be with us forever… We are gifted with salvation in believing in and trusting JESUS for the forgiveness of our sins and then gifted with a continual helper in our spiritual walk ongoing…
The Holy Spirit, as described by JESUS, is the Spirit of Truth… In being the Spirit of Truth, JESUS says in verse 26 that He will teach us all things and will remind us of everything JESUS has spoken… JESUS is the Word made flesh… The Word, who is JESUS, is the Truth. The Holy Spirit teaches us then about the Truth as revealed in JESUS and brings to our memory what JESUS has spoken to us of HIS Word… The Holy Spirit’s working in us as Believers is for comforting us in our relationship with JESUS, for teaching us about JESUS, and for turning our attention for recollecting JESUS’ Words…
John 15:26
The Work of the Holy Spirit
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.
JESUS reiterates that the Holy Spirit’s working in us will be for testifying about JESUS Himself… It’s like the Holy Spirit shining the spotlight on JESUS for us to see Him more clearly, to learn from Him more sincerely, and to know Him more endearingly. The Holy Spirit is always with us even up until the time of His appearing and with us into eternity…
John 16:7
7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.
JESUS is preparing His disciples for when He will go away from them after His death and resurrection back up to Heaven… HE promises them HE will send the Holy Spirit to them to help carry out the continuation of the Great Commission and to be their comforter in the stresses of life’s battles…
John 16:7-15
7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
The Holy Spirit makes known to unbelievers who have not trusted in JESUS that they are in sin without JESUS, in need of righteousness as JESUS returns to the FATHER, and there is a pending judgement as JESUS overcame satan who now stands condemned.
The Holy Spirit will guide Believers into all the truth as we read the Word. He doesn’t speak on His own, but rather what He hears from GOD and will reveal what is to happen in the future.
The Holy Spirit is all about bringing glory to JESUS. He receives from JESUS what is given for us to know in His way and timing…
1 Corinthians 2
2 And so it was with me, brothers and sisters. When I came to you, I did not come with eloquence or human wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. 2 For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. 3 I came to you in weakness with great fear and trembling. 4 My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, 5 so that your faith might not rest on human wisdom, but on God’s power.
God’s Wisdom Revealed by the Spirit
6 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, but not the wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are coming to nothing. 7 No, we declare God’s wisdom, a mystery that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time began. 8 None of the rulers of this age understood it, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 9 However, as it is written:
“What no eye has seen,
what no ear has heard,
and what no human mind has conceived”[b]—
the things God has prepared for those who love him—10 these are the things God has revealed to us by his Spirit.
The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. 11 For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. 12 What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. 13 This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. 14 The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. 15 The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, 16 for,
“Who has known the mind of the Lord
so as to instruct him?”But we have the mind of Christ.
We learn that the Holy Spirit reveals the wisdom of GOD and that He is the power of GOD… The Spirit knows the thoughts of GOD and He makes known to Believers what we have been freely given in and through JESUS…
As I sat down to write this message, I went to turn on a lamp near where I was sitting on the couch. It wouldn’t turn on. I checked the light bulb and it seemed to be ok, so I put it back into the socket to try it once again. It didn’t turn on. I checked to make sure it was plugged in and it was. I went and got a new light bulb and put it into the socket. It also wouldn’t turn on. I wondered if the problem was the electrical outlet that was causing the problem. I turned into the kitchen and noticed the lights that were on just a minute prior to were turned off. I hadn’t seen one of my kids come through and turn them off. I tried turning on the light switch and it wasn’t turning on the lights either. Have you ever gotten freaked out when things just aren’t working right? Do you ever wonder if it is of a spiritual nature what is happening? When I was less mature in my walk with the LORD, I’d might become frightened about something like lights going out and wonder what’s happening. Now, I was more along the lines of thinking GOD had something to teach me. I looked and realized that the porch lights I had turned on were off now too. I tried the switch and the lights wouldn’t turn on there as well. I went by the stove and microwave and the lights were off not showing the time. I thought to check the refrigerator and it’s light wasn’t on and not working which would soon make the food etc. not keep cool. What did I do next? I went to the circuit breaker out in the garage that is the source of the electric power to turn on lights and appliances. I turned off each breaker that went to various outlets in the entire house. I waited awhile before turning the breaker switches back on. Upon returning into the house, everything that wasn’t working before, now worked again. The kitchen lights were on, the porch lights were on, the stove and microwave clock time was on, and the refrigerator was on. I put a new light bulb into the lamp and it turned on. This all happened while getting ready to talk about the Holy Spirit -the power (like the electricity flow) of GOD displayed out from HIM (like the circuit breaker) being the ultimate source into our lives to shine HIS light (the light bulbs and appliances) to properly work in and through us…
What can we learn from this? We must go to GOD directly and pray asking for HIS Holy Spirit to work in and through us. We need the Holy Spirit’s help to shine the Light of JESUS to a lost and hurting world. We may need to reconnect with JESUS by reading the Word asking the Holy Spirit to reveal Truth, to teach Truth, and for us to know the Truth once again…
James 4:1-4
Warning Against Worldliness
4 What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 2 You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask. 3 You ask and do not receive, because you ask wrongly, to spend it on your passions. 4 You adulterous people! Do you not know that friendship with the world is enmity with God? Therefore whoever wishes to be a friend of the world makes himself an enemy of God.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20
19 Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; 20 you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.
Ephesians 1:1-14
1 Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God,
To God’s holy people in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus:
2 Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.
Praise for Spiritual Blessings in Christ
3 Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 4 For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love 5 he predestined us for adoption to sonship through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will— 6 to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves. 7 In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace 8 that he lavished on us. With all wisdom and understanding, 9 he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, 10 to be put into effect when the times reach their fulfillment—to bring unity to all things in heaven and on earth under Christ.
11 In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will, 12 in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.
The Holy Spirit helps us know the many spiritual blessings we have in JESUS. It is so awesome that He became a seal of what was promised within us as a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance of an eternal home in Heaven…
Ephesians 1:15-23
Thanksgiving and Prayer
15 For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all God’s people, 16 I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people, 19 and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is the same as the mighty strength 20 he exerted when he raised Christ from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms, 21 far above all rule and authority, power and dominion, and every name that is invoked, not only in the present age but also in the one to come. 22 And God placed all things under his feet and appointed him to be head over everything for the church, 23 which is his body, the fullness of him who fills everything in every way.
This prayer of Paul’s is a model we may also pray for especially to have the Spirit of wisdom and revelation and to know JESUS and what He’s given us better…
Galatians 5:13-26
Life by the Spirit
13 You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love. 14 For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” 15 If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.
19 The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
We need the Holy Spirit to walk rightly in this new life we’ve been given in JESUS… We are clearly shown what is walking in the flesh and it’s choices that lead to ruin and what is walking in the Spirit and it’s inner fruit that leads to life…
Several years ago, I was using my lawnmower that was self-propelled to mow the grass and the empty lot next door. What I mean by self-propelled is that there was a lever I just needed to pull together toward the handle and it would move forward on it’s own. It made the job easier and go quicker than having to push it in my own strength. However, the self-propelled mechanism stopped working and I had to push a heavy mower with my own strength. I got tired very quickly and soon got frustrated with it.
It’s the same with walking in the Spirit. The Spirit is a self-propelled power that allows us to keep in step going forward and results in desirable fruit experienced and shown. To activate the Spirit, I acknowledge my need of help to Him, trust in HIS power to lead and guide me, and choose to walk in the fruit of the Spirit…
If we walk in the flesh after the desires of sin’s pleasures, we walk according to our own strength and choose not to use the self-propelled power of the Spirit and it will lead us to being tired, frustrated, but in this case lead to death.
I was not able to fix the mower for the self-propelled mechanism to work again. We bought a new mower that is lighter and easier to use.
With GOD, we can ask HIM to empower us with HIS Spirit at any time and HE can fix it so our walk is closer in step with HIS will and following closer to JESUS…
Here are some encouraging verses that GOD is able to do if you’re broken and not walking in step with the Spirit:
Ezekiel 36:26
26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you; I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh.
Psalm 51:1-17
51 Have mercy upon me, O God, according to thy lovingkindness: according unto the multitude of thy tender mercies blot out my transgressions.
2 Wash me throughly from mine iniquity, and cleanse me from my sin.
3 For I acknowledge my transgressions: and my sin is ever before me.
4 Against thee, thee only, have I sinned, and done this evil in thy sight: that thou mightest be justified when thou speakest, and be clear when thou judgest.
5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me.
6 Behold, thou desirest truth in the inward parts: and in the hidden part thou shalt make me to know wisdom.
7 Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean: wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow.
8 Make me to hear joy and gladness; that the bones which thou hast broken may rejoice.
9 Hide thy face from my sins, and blot out all mine iniquities.
10 Create in me a clean heart, O God; and renew a right spirit within me.
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
12 Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free spirit.
13 Then will I teach transgressors thy ways; and sinners shall be converted unto thee.
14 Deliver me from bloodguiltiness, O God, thou God of my salvation: and my tongue shall sing aloud of thy righteousness.
15 O Lord, open thou my lips; and my mouth shall shew forth thy praise.
16 For thou desirest not sacrifice; else would I give it: thou delightest not in burnt offering.
17 The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit: a broken and a contrite heart, O God, thou wilt not despise.
Isaiah 40:28-31
28 Do you not know?
Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God,
the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary,
and his understanding no one can fathom.
29 He gives strength to the weary
and increases the power of the weak.
30 Even youths grow tired and weary,
and young men stumble and fall;
31 but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Now let’s look at the gifts of the Spirit a Believer can be given and/or GOD cause to use in and through us at various times…
1 Corinthians 12:7-11
7 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. 8 To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, 9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, 10 to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues,[a] and to still another the interpretation of tongues.[b] 11 All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.
We must not be disappointed if we are not given a certain one of these 9 gifts. The Spirit determines which gift He gives and to whom. Whatever gift you’re given is to be used to build up fellow Believers for their well-being… for that is their purpose! (not meant to make you exalted or better than anyone else)
Walking in the 9 fruits of the Spirit is able to go a long way toward benefitting oneself and others you interact with. GOD may have you mature for a long time before the Spirit gives you one of the 9 gifts of the Spirit. Be patient, ask GOD for a gift, and wait for HIS timing and HIS answer to your prayer…
1 Peter 4:1-19
Living for God
4 Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. 2 As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. 3 For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. 4 They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. 5 But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. 6 For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.
7 The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. 8 Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. 9 Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. 10 Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 11 If anyone speaks, they should do so as one who speaks the very words of God. If anyone serves, they should do so with the strength God provides, so that in all things God may be praised through Jesus Christ. To him be the glory and the power for ever and ever. Amen.
Suffering for Being a Christian
12 Dear friends, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal that has come on you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 13 But rejoice inasmuch as you participate in the sufferings of Christ, so that you may be overjoyed when his glory is revealed. 14 If you are insulted because of the name of Christ, you are blessed, for the Spirit of glory and of God rests on you. 15 If you suffer, it should not be as a murderer or thief or any other kind of criminal, or even as a meddler. 16 However, if you suffer as a Christian, do not be ashamed, but praise God that you bear that name. 17 For it is time for judgment to begin with God’s household; and if it begins with us, what will the outcome be for those who do not obey the gospel of God? 18 And,
“If it is hard for the righteous to be saved,
what will become of the ungodly and the sinner?”19 So then, those who suffer according to God’s will should commit themselves to their faithful Creator and continue to do good.
Peter encourages Believers above all else to love one another… He says to use the gifts given by GOD’s grace as serving unto and for the LORD that in this way will benefit others around us… He also encourages us that when we suffer for JESUS, it is as though the Spirit rests on us… GOD sees it and is pleased if we understand that this happens for a reason -sometimes for the reason only HE knows…
1 Corinthians 13
13 If I speak in the tongues[a] of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. 3 If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast,[b] but do not have love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. 5 It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. 6 Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. 7 It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
8 Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. 9 For we know in part and we prophesy in part, 10 but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. 11 When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. 12 For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
13 And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.
The most important thing to remember as we choose to commit to, pray to, ask for help to walk in the Spirit is that we love GOD and love others in remembrance of JESUS 1st and 2nd commandments spoken… Let’s love GOD with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength and love others as ourselves… If and when we are given 1 or more gifts of the Spirit, we have the attitude of being a servant like JESUS and use our gift/gifts to build others up in love as well -giving GOD all the praise, honor, and glory…
Here is a fun link to discover what may be your Spiritual Gifts in taking this survey:
Discover Your Spiritual Gifts
If you are wanting to connect with me, do so here: Connect
If you are wanting to ask for prayer, share answer to prayer, or share a testimony do so here: Share Your Life
If you are wanting to join K.O.R.E. Ministry in some way, do so here: Get Involved
Remember: JESUS loves you…
✟K.O.R.E. 