Supernatural 101 Pt2

Cultivating the Presence of the Holy Spirit

Opening : If you’ve ever wished you could immediately understand God’s will when going through a difficult situation, you’re in good company. We’ve all faced challenging circumstances that have confounded us—we’ve had no idea about how to proceed, and we’ve longed for the Lord’s guidance, help, and provision. However, as believers, we must understand that the Holy Spirit indwells us the moment we accept.

Although you may be facing a situation that makes you feel isolated, helpless, or directionless, understand that you’re never alone. The Holy Spirit is with you, to live the life of Christ through you—helping you face every challenge in a godly, victorious manner. John 16:13, 14 promises, “He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.”

1. Introduction

· John 16:7 “Nevertheless, I tell you a truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for it I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

· The greatest gift that God gives to each of us – the indwelling person of the Holy Spirit.

· Helper = NT 3875 One called alongside to help us – role description – life coach.

· Notice vs 13 – 15

· “Guide you into all truth.”

· “Speak what he hears.”

· “Tell you things to come.”

· Reveal Jesus to us.

The Personhood of the Holy Spirit

The Scriptures teach clearly that the Holy Spirit is a personal being. Yet some Christians misunderstand this, referring to the Spirit as “It,” rather than “He.”

IT IS IMPORTANT THAT WE KNOW WE CAN DO NOTHING IN OURSELVES. HOWEVER, WE MAY KNOW THAT WE ARE CLOTHED WITH THE POWER OF GOD SO THAT, IN A SENSE, WE ARE NOT IN THE NATURAL MAN. AS WE GO FORTH IN THIS POWER, THINGS WILL TAKE PLACE AS THEY TOOK PLACE IN THE DAYS OF THE DISCIPLES.”

—SMITH WIGGLESWORTH

2. Holy Spirit can be experienced (felt)

Rom.14:7 “Kingdom of (heaven – God) is not eating and drinking (rule keeping) but is righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.”

· Righteousness            right standing as a son in the presence of God.

· Peace                          can be experienced, felt, is an internal referee. (Col. 3:15)

· Joy                              can be experienced, felt, characteristic of the Holy Spirit.

(Gal. 5:22, Rom. 15:13)

· The life of the Spirit is an energising force that you can experience. (Phil 2:13)

· God is everywhere – the problem we have is experiencing Him, feeling His presence.

· We need to train our spirit and soul to become conscious of the Holy Spirit, aware of Him.

When the Holy Spirit gets possession of a person, he is a new man entirely—his whole being becomes saturated with divine power. We become a habitation of Him who is all light, all revelation, all power, and all love. Yes, God the Holy Spirit is manifested within us in such a way that it is glorious.

Deuteronomy 5:33 “You shall walk in all the way that the Lord your God has commanded you, that you may live, and that it may go well with you, and that you may live long in the land that you shall possess.”

3. Every Person can ‘Enter’ the Presence of God

· Enter       = to experience the reality of the Holy Spirit; not mean to go somewhere.

= to become aware, conscious of what is true – God is with me.

· Heb. 10:19 “Having boldness to enter the holiest of holies by the blood of Jesus.”

· “Draw near” =NT4334= to approach, come near to someone.

· You can train yourself to become aware of the Holy Spirit – hear, see, feel.

· E.g. Worship Service – people tend to think:

(1) Trying to bring God down

(2) Trying to get into some place

These are wrong concepts that produce striving.

Worship Service = becoming aware of what is always true – God is with us.

AFTER THE HOLY SPIRIT COMES UPON YOU, YOU WILL HAVE POWER. GOD WILL MIGHTILY MOVE WITHIN YOUR LIFE; THE POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL OVERSHADOW YOU, INWARDLY MOVING YOU UNTIL YOU KNOW THERE IS A DIVINE PLAN DIFFERENT FROM ANYTHING THAT YOU HAVE HAD IN YOUR LIFE BEFORE.”

—SMITH WIGGLESWORTH

4. Practical Ways to “Enter” (experience) the Presence of the Holy Spirit

“You can trust Him to lead you wisely—even when the way is unclear. Have faith in His ability to teach you.” ― Charles F. Stanley, Every Day in His Presence

I. Gratitude

Expressing thanks and appreciation for who He is and what He has done.

Opposite: Complaining, Negative, Critical, Ungrateful.

Ps. 69:30 Magnify Him with Thanksgiving.

II. Praise

Focus attention upon Him by acknowledging who He is and what He has done.

Ps 100:4 “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and into His courts with praise.”

Heb. 13:15 “Offer sacrifice of praise, fruit of lips, giving thanks …..”

III. Meditation: Fix mind upon Him

Col. 3:2 “Set your affection (mind) on things which are above …”

Ps. 16:8 “I have set the Lord before me.”

Meditation: Use imagination to fix mind on the truth.

Imagine the truth – what it looks like – what it feels like.

Where your mind goes your heart opens up to.

IV. Confidence

Heb. 4:16 “Let us come boldly to the Throne of Grace …”

Need to resist and overcome negative, condemning thoughts (Rom. 8:1)

Confidence is based on knowing and holding what the Word of God says about us.

V. Expectation

Rev.1:10 “I was in the spirit on the Lord’s Day and I heard a voice ….

Don’t be passive – expect a response, expect the Holy Spirit to respond.

Expect = to hope, anticipate, look for.

“If we walk in the Spirit daily, surrendered to His power, we have the right to expect anything we need to hear from God. The Holy Spirit living within us and speaking to us ought to be the natural, normal lifestyle of believers.”

VI. Focus

Tune into impressions – sensations – see, hear, feel.

Rev. 4:1 “I looked and I saw….”

Focus means eliminate distractions and give your attention to one thing.

VII. Waiting

Ps. 27:14 “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He shall strengthen …”

Waiting is not passive – it is resting in the Love of God in anticipation of intimacy.

VIII. Respond to Holy Spirit impressions

Mk 4:24 “To him that has ears to hear – more shall be given.”

As you sense the promptings presence of the Holy Spirit – respond

Pursue more – speak and act upon what you are receiving: Journal.

IV.       Yielding – intentionally responding to impressions and the leading of the Holy Spirit.

Mt. 8:2 “Unless you are converted and become as little children in no wise enter the Kingdom of Heaven.”

Children are trusting and responsive to adults.

V.        Sensitivity

Eph. 4:28-30 “Don’t Grieve the Holy Spirit”

Identify attitudes and actions that grieve the Holy Spirit and quickly address by repentance and confession.

VII.      Practice His Presence

Develop a lifestyle of tuning into and responding to the Holy Spirit.

1 Thess. 5:17 “Pray without ceasing.”

WHEN the Bible says, “He will guide you into all truth …” that’s a way of saying that the Holy Spirit will be the steering wheel of your life. There are two ways to get to a destination. One way is to look at the map and figure it out yourself as you drive. Another way is to have someone drive you who already knows where they are going.455 [Christian Living, New Life; Decisions; Life, Management of]

John 14:15–21; 16:7

5. Walking with Holy Spirit

To walk in the Spirit is to obey the initial promptings of the Spirit.

a. First, we must stay yielded to the Spirit. We must say yes to the Spirit when He prompts us to take a certain action or say a certain word. We must give mental assent to the Spirit’s direction, and then we must actually obey His prompting and follow through by doing or saying what He has called us to do or say.

b. The Spirit often speaks to us in the stillness of our hearts with a word of conviction or assurance. When the Holy Spirit is directing us away from something harmful, we very often have a heaviness, feeling of trouble, foreboding, or uneasiness in our spirits. When the Holy Spirit is directing us toward helpful things, we tend to feel a deep inner peace, an eagerness to see what God will do, and a feeling of joy.

C. How can you know if you are yielded to the Holy Spirit? You are yielded to Him when you can say to Him, “Here is what I desire. But if Your answer to this is ‘no,’ it’s all right. I’ll do what You say.”

-Even as today the Holy Spirit asks only for a yielded vessel, and it is His power that works through the empty, yielded vessel.

Your mind and will must be under the absolute control of the Spirit if the blessing and the experience are to abide.

Conclusion paragraph: God is still looking for yielded vessels who will allow Him to work through them. Are you willing to be that vessel? If so, what are you waiting for? Allow the Holy Spirit to fill and empower you today!