AgapeFocus APPLYING GOD'S SOLUTIONS TO HUMAN PROBLEMS

The Holy Spirit: Then, Now and Tomorrow: Genesis 1:2, 26 The Holy Spirit was present at creation. The Holy Spirit showed up before, during and after the creation. Genesis 6:3 God said his Spirit shall not contend with man forever. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Justice and of judgment. Genesis 18: 1-5,8-10,22,33. When God appeared to Abraham and his wife Sarah, the Holy Spirit was there!

Daniel 4:8,9,18 – Here we see the testimony of a gentile king about Daniel and the ministry of the Holy Spirit!. As we had last week, the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of God and also the Holy Ghost. We also know He is called the Spirit of Christ, the Spirit of the Father and Spirit of the Living God. He showed himself in the lives and ministries of the patriarchs, the prophets, and saints of old. They spoke or performed miracles, signs and wonders by the same Spirit of God working upon them. When people spoke about the arm of the LORD or the finger of God, they knowingly or ignorantly referred to the same Holy Spirit. We can say more about Moses and the Holy Spirit; Samson and the Holy Spirit; David and the Holy Spirit; Elijah and Elisha and the Holy Spirit; and many more. The Holy Spirit issues command to the holy angels to do great things for the people of God and to move swiftly in the realm of the miraculous. The Holy Ghost is still very much at work today. How did the walls of Jericho fall flat? The people of God walked round in obedience for seven days and with a shout on the seventh day, the walls fell flat. Walls thick enough to accommodate modern cars parked on top of it! Invisible angels of God must have been on assignment on that day Psalms 103:20; Exodus 23:20 -23)!

We shall consider later on the power of praise! This is a foretaste of it. The Holy Spirit commissions the servants of God and sometimes angels are assigned to them too, helping them in carrying out the assignment. (Nehemiah 9:20 -21; Isaiah 48:16; Acts 10:19-20; Acts 13:1-3; Acts 8: 26- 40). The Holy Spirit teaches us Christians and gives us wisdom and understanding. Isaiah spoke about the coming Messiah and during his first coming, the Messiah, Jesus Christ, showed these qualities and set the stage for the future ministry of his servants and himself. The Holy Spirit is certainly the Spirit of prophecy (Isaiah 11:1 – 16; Isaiah 40:13 -14; John 14:26; John 15: 26;). The Holy Spirit is omnipresent, because He is God (Psalm 138: 7-10). The Holy Spirit is the one who makes us sure that we belong to God as adopted children. When a person repents of his/her sins and comes to God through Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit impresses in our spirit, as a rubber stamp of ownership and intimate relationship with God, that confident assurance of belonging. Later on He impacts our minds and our physical bodies, including the totality of our lives, the truth that we are children of God! Through him, therefore, we have boldness to call God our Father, saying, Abba, Father!

The Holy Spirit has come on a new assignment since over two thousand years ago, during the celebration of the feast of Pentecost that closely followed the ascension of Jesus Christ into Heaven (Acts 2: 1-4). He came not just to be upon the people of God occasionally, as in the days of old, but to live inside us and help us all the way in this 21st Century. Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit since you believed? Meet you next week, by the grace of God. Grace be with you.