John 14:15-18 “If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
We have not been abandoned to deal with the struggles of life. Instead, we have a helper. Jesus assured His disciples that they would not be left as orphans, but another “Helper”—the Holy Spirit, would be there to guide them, just as Jesus had done while He was with them. The key for us is knowing the person of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the third person in the Godhead of the Trinity. At the time of creation, the Holy Spirit was the one who brought things into being. He was also the one who brought Jesus back from the dead. Therefore, there is tremendous creative and resurrection power in the Holy Spirit, and He is active in our lives. He is omnipotent, omniscient and omnipresent. He is our Comforter, Counselor, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener and Standby, and He will dwell in us forever if we acknowledge, pursue, and welcome Him. Because He resides in our hearts, we can commune with Him wherever we are.
Some of us may struggle to know the Holy Spirit because we can neither see nor touch Him, but some of us are simply uncomfortable with the idea of Him working in our lives. Nonetheless, in order to know the Holy Spirit, we must first believe that we have the ability to know Him because it is the deepest desire of God to journey with us and develop a close relationship with us.
The Holy Spirit has a mind, will, emotions, and a voice. He will not lead us to do something that is contrary to the Word of God, or make unholy, unjust and unrighteous decisions. In fact, He will warn us when He doesn’t approve of our choices.
He will also prompt us to spend time with God. To have fellowship with the Holy Spirit is to commune with Him—to be actively engaged in a relationship with Him. The best way to get to know someone is to spend quality time talking to the person—to be real in their presence. Begin each day by acknowledging and appreciating His presence, thank Him for being the partner in our lives. Also, speak to Him throughout the day and be open for Him to speak into your life.
Sermon Series: Looking Forward to 2020
欢迎圣灵
约翰福音14：15-18 “你们若爱我，就必遵守我的命令。我要求父，父就另外赐给你们一位保惠师，叫祂永远与你们同在，就是真理的圣灵，乃世人不能接受的。因为不见祂；也不认识祂；你们却认识祂，因祂常与你们同在，也要在你们里面。我不撇下你们为孤儿。我必到你们这里来。
我们并未被抛弃来自己面对生活中的挣扎，恰恰相反，我们有一位保惠师。耶稣向门徒保证：不撇下他们为孤儿，而是会给他们一位“保惠师”——就是圣灵，将在那里指引他们，就像耶稣与他们同在时所做的那样。对我们来说，关键是认识这一位圣灵。
圣灵是三位一体神格中的第三位。在创造初时，圣灵就是将事成了的那一位。祂也是使耶稣从死里复活的那一位。因此，圣灵具有巨大创造和复活的大能，祂活跃于我们生命中。祂无所不能、无所不知、无所不在。祂是我们的安慰者、策士、代祷者、中保、力量和随时的帮助，如果我们承认、追求和欢迎祂，祂就会永远住在我们中间。因为祂住在我们心中，所以无论我们身在何处，都可以与祂交流。
我们中的某些人可能难以理解圣灵，因为既看不见，也触摸不到祂；而另一些人对圣灵在我们的生活作工这样的想法感到完全不自在。尽管如此，为了认识圣灵，必须首先相信我们有认识祂的能力，因为神最渴望与我们同行并建立亲密的关系。
圣灵有心思、意念、情绪和声音。祂不会带领我们做违背 神话语的事情，也不会做出不圣洁、不公正和不公义的决定。当祂不赞成我们的选择时，祂其实会提醒我们。
圣灵还会提醒我们花时间与 神共处。与圣灵相交，就是与祂沟通—积极地与祂建立关系。认识某人最好的方法就是花高质的时间与之交谈—在他们面前坦诚。让每天从承认并喜欢祂的同在开始，感谢祂是我们生命中的伙伴；也要一天里时时和祂说话，并敞开心扉让祂对你的生命说话。
讲章系列：展望2020年