Knowing the Holy Spirit

[nebula]

What does it mean to you to know the Holy Spirit?

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Nebula,

You might say that the Holy Spirit is to us, what Jesus was to the disciples.

He teaches us:

John 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

This is an important verse because we must realize that being God, He speaks God's Holy Word. AND He tells us of things to come, even as Jesus did:

John 13:19 Now I tell you before it come, that, when it is come to pass, ye may believe that I am he.

John 14:29 And now I have told you before it come to pass, that, when it is come to pass, ye might believe.

Recall the OT verse:

Amos 3:7 Surely the Lord GOD will do nothing, but he revealeth his secret unto his servants the prophets.

and of course:

1 Cor 2:9-13 But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him. 10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God. 11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God. 12 Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God; that we might know the things that are freely given to us of God. 13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.

The Holy Spirit causes us to "remember" what Jesus has taught us:

John 16:4 But these things have I told you, that when the time shall come, ye may remember that I told you of them. And these things I said not unto you at the beginning, because I was with you.

Acts 11:15 And as I began to speak, the Holy Ghost fell on them, as on us at the beginning.

Acts 11:16 Then remembered I the word of the Lord, how that he said, John indeed baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost.

The Holy Spirit "grieves" over us if we are in sin:

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

The Holy Spirit "comforts" us:

John 14:26 But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.

John 16:7-13 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. 8 And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 Of sin, because they believe not on me; 10 Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; 11 Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged. 12 I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. 13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

I suppose more could be added, but today many are only hearing their OWN thoughts and determining their OWN course instead of listening to the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Only those who are listening to the Holy Spirit and being guided by Him, are the ones who will spend eternity with our Lord. So it would behoove all of us to wait upon HIM before we do a thing. This temple needs to be kept clean of the world and the Holy Spirit must have free reign in it.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie

[nebula]

Hey, Dad Earnie - thanks for responding!

That is a great post, BTW.

I have one more question from it, though.

I suppose more could be added, but today many are only hearing their OWN thoughts and determining their OWN course instead of listening to the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Only those who are listening to the Holy Spirit and being guided by Him, are the ones who will spend eternity with our Lord.

How do you know it is the Holy Spirit you are hearing and not your own, or vice versa? (Do you have any examples you can share that relay this?)

:upsided:

[Guest shadow2b]

Hey, Dad Earnie - thanks for responding!

That is a great post, BTW.

I have one more question from it, though.

I suppose more could be added, but today many are only hearing their OWN thoughts and determining their OWN course instead of listening to the Holy Spirit. The Lord tells us that His ways are not our ways, and His thoughts are higher than our thoughts. Only those who are listening to the Holy Spirit and being guided by Him, are the ones who will spend eternity with our Lord.

How do you know it is the Holy Spirit you are hearing and not your own, or vice versa? (Do you have any examples you can share that relay this?)

:upsided:

I don't have an answer yet-- but that's quite a good question-----just thought i'd join in with it--??.??.??

{Gary}---

[Dad Ernie]

Greetings Nebula,

How do you know it is the Holy Spirit you are hearing and not your own, or vice versa? (Do you have any examples you can share that relay this?)

For the young, I think this can be an honest question, especially in this day and age when everything is supposed to happen RIGHT NOW! I do not belittle you for this - it is only a "sign of the times" we are living in. One thing I have learned over my 58 years is "to be patient", God in due course will set all things right. No, I am not always so patient, but the Holy Spirit is, and HE is the one through whom we communicate with God. Once Daniel prayed for 21 straight days for His beloved people Israel and as we come to find out God answered on the very first day, but the messenger was held up for a time by the enemy.

Joseph had a dream once when he say all his brothers and parents come before him and bow. How long before God brought that to pass? Believe me, it was a very long time in men's ages.

Even further back we see a picture of Christ crushing the head of Satan (Gen 3:15), 4,000 years before THAT came to pass.

Time is irrevelent to God, all events will take place in due course.

Why do I think this is important in answering your question? Because I have waited for days, weeks and years for the Lord to respond to my prayers. So by this I am saying that God NEVER pushes, SATAN DOES! God has all the time in the world, Satan knows his days are short. When you hear a little voice that says "You must do such and so RIGHT NOW!" If it is not a matter of life and death at THAT very moment, I would question WHO it was that was speaking to you.

Secondly, God cannot contradict God, but SPEAKS THE VERY WORDS OF GOD! Now if you can believe this: It was the Holy Spirit that was speaking to the Bereans in Acts 17:10-11, and what did that do? Straight away they ran to the scriptures. So the saying is true:

Isaiah 8:20 To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them.

This goes for people as well as "spirits". Hitler was raised a Christian and he based his pogram on his spiritual beliefs, believing that he was right. What spirit do you think HE was listening to? Satan, when he was tempting Jesus, used God's very Words to tempt Jesus with. What would you have done in Jesus place?

Satan knows God's WORD better than you or I and can quite easily quote it to you. The problem is that he has an agenda that will ultimately do you harm or kill you or yours. ALSO, HE does not have the Holy Spirit residing in HIM! This is very important because the Holy Spirit is ALWAYS giving us little nudges this way or that. If something doesn't seem right, then be patient and ask God about it. God will not rush you to a decision, Satan will.

There is also another criteria for hearing the Holy Spirit, and that is your own personal fellowship and with God and with other Christians. First "We have a friend who is CLOSER than a brother." (Prov 18:24) AND "forsake not the gathering of yourself with your brothers/sisters" (Heb 10:25) for there is:

Proverbs 11:14 Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety.

Proverbs 15:22 Without counsel purposes are disappointed: but in the multitude of counsellors they are established.

Proverbs 24:6 For by wise counsel thou shalt make thy war: and in multitude of counsellors there is safety.

I hope this is sufficient to encourage you to wait upon Him and ALWAYS seek HIS counsel.

Blessings,

Dad Ernie