“But when He, the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-Giving Spirit) comes, He will guide you into all the Truth (the whole, full Truth). For He will not speak His own message [on His own authority]; but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father; He will give the message that has been given to Him], and He will announce and declare to you the things that are to come [that will happen in the future]. He will honor and glorify me, because He will take of (receive, draw upon) what is Mine and will reveal (declare, disclose, transmit) it to you.” John 16:13-14 AMP

Book excerpt:
“Christians who have developed a steady and growing prayer life, and who communicate and fellowship with the Spirit, are those who know Jesus Christ the best.” Page 7

As I thought on the above, I was reminded of John’s encounter in the book of Revelation, where the Lord Jesus personally spoke with him about the spiritual state of Seven Churches, yet the concluding remark to each Church had the words “hear what the Spirit saith unto the Churches” (Revelation 1:17-20; 2:1,7,8,11,12,17,18,29; 3:1,6,7,13,14,22).
Such harmony within the Godhead – Father, Son and Holy Spirit! (Col 2:9; John 14:26; 1 John 5:7)

Wondering how you can develop communion and fellowship with the Holy Spirit? The author’s personal testimony would give you a tip:

One day the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart: “If you want your church to grow, you must develop a greater communion and fellowship with Me. Don’t preach about the Holy Spirit as an experience only. He is an awesome person! Preach about the person. Develop a communion and fellowship by waiting in My Presence after prayer”. Page 10

Oh, how our lives could be so programmed that when we pray, it’s like we tick off a task on our daily to-do list and just move on to the next. God desires our fellowship; let’s give Him room to talk! (Acts 13:2; 2 Cor 13:14)

The Holy Spirit is the custodian of God’s agenda on the earth for now because HE is God at work in the earth today; it is worthwhile for us to learn to depend upon Him so God can be glorified in everything that we do (John 1:12; Romans 8:14; Gal 4:1-6; 1 Cor 2:10-16). As I read the book, I was convicted of my arrogance, of relying so much on my ability whilst under-utilising the Helper – the Holy Spirit, dwelling within me to help me accomplish the purposes of God for my life.

In the physical world, as we grow into adults, we become independent. The converse is however true in the spiritual world. A dependence upon God is a sign of our growth and maturity. A paradox right? Yet so true! The Lord Jesus whilst on earth expressed and exemplified absolute dependency upon God, providing a model for us to follow (John 5:19-20; 8:28-29; 14:10).

I have read the following scripture several times, but really got a deeper understanding as I read the book. I had to re-read the relevant chapter and still plan on re-reading the whole book:

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me; Of righteousness, because I go to my Father, and ye see me no more; Of judgment, because the prince of this world is judged.” John 16:8-11 KJV

I thoroughly enjoyed the author’s explanations of the parallels between the symbols used to depict the Holy Spirit (dove, wind, fire etc.) and His work in the believer. They opened up the Holy Spirit in a whole new light unto me.

If in your opinion, you have received the Holy Spirit but what you’ve observed in your life seems to be contrary, the following excerpt offers some explanation that could be handy for you:

“Though you may believe that you have received the Holy Spirit, if you are in continual agony, fear and trouble, if you always feel pressed down by a big burden, this is the sign that you are oppressed by evil spirits.” Page 132

“But the fruit of the [Holy] Spirit [the work which His presence within accomplishes] is love, joy (gladness), peace, patience (an even temper, forbearance), kindness, goodness (benevolence), faithfulness, gentleness (meekness, humility) self-control (self-restraint, continence). Against such things there is no law (that can bring a charge).” Galatians 5:22-23 AMP

The following excerpt is not for the faint-hearted; it’s a bit ‘meaty’ (Heb 5:12-14):

“The Holy Spirit magnifies God (see Act 10:46) and reveals the glory of Christ through us by filling us and showing us what He received of Christ (see John 16:1-14). Whether talking privately or speaking publicly, if a person, even a servant of the Lord, shows off his own greatness, not Christ’s, he is already taken by the spirit of antichrist.” Page 135

This above is not an excuse to go on a ‘mouth rampage/gossip campaign’ saying all manner of things against the Lord’s servants that you may think have drifted off! Rather, its a call to discernment and prayer I believe, for every believer to commit God’s servants (believers too) to the Lord in prayer, that Christ be glorified in every bit of their lives. Remember, they would be judged more severely (James 3:1-2). If we have especially benefited from their ministry in any form, we should continue to uphold them before God in prayer. Even if we haven’t, the many times the Holy Spirit inspired Paul in His letters to several Churches to pray for him should be taken as a requirement of God to every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ to intercede for those in the ministry (Rom 15:30-32; Eph 6:19-20; Col 4:3-4; 1 Thess 5:25; 2 Thess 3:1-2; Heb 13:18).

Author’s conclusion:
“When the great work of the Holy Spirit begins to take over, established churches often persecute the work of the Holy Spirit. But Christians must stand firm against wrong doctrines or heresies that arise against or imitate the work of the Holy Spirit. For the Holy spirit to be free to be manifested more, we must maintain a healthy, strong faith based on the Word of God. And for this a basic understanding of the Holy Spirit is indispensable. For this purpose, this book was written to enlighten, teach and encourage believers as they prepare their hearts in prayer for the greatest move of the Holy Spirit – yet to come!” Page 182

A highly recommended read!

God bless you 🙂
© Lydia for PneumaWord

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