Elevate To The Next Level: "Living In The Holy Spirit”

 Elevate to the Next Level

“Living In the Holy Spirit”

View on our Webpage: https://www.mesquitelivingwaters.com/past-live-streams/

Or YouTube channel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lgQAdZtdY

Today, we’re beginning the last series of our vision we started out on in 2024. And in this last series we’ll be looking at the word, “Elevate.” Its main theme is to take this whole process of discipleship to the next level, or as I like to think of it as leveling up.

In our message today, we’ll be looking at how we are to live this life as a disciple in the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And I’d like to do so by looking at the last verse in Paul’s letters of the Corinthian church. It’s Paul benediction, that is, his bestowing a blessing upon them.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all.” (2 Corinthians 13:14 NKJV)

It’s this word, “communion” that I’d like to focus in on. In the Greek language this is the word “Koinonia,” which is most often translated as “fellowship.” And the fellowship we should be having is with the Holy Spirit.

And so, the question becomes, “How well to we know the Holy Spirit?”

Now, to know someone comes from having a personal relationship with them. It doesn’t come from knowing about them, it comes from knowing them personally.

The same is then true of the Holy Spirit. We talk about Him being the giver of spiritual gifts, personal talents, and the indispensable qualities known as the fruit of the Spirit. But do we really know Him?

What I’ve found is that we want the experience of the Holy Spirit, but we don’t necessarily want the relationship with Him, and the Holy Spirit is grieved when all we want is what we can get from Him, rather than wanting to get to know Him on a personal level.

So, we need to get know the Holy Spirit. But I’m not talking about just knowing about the Holy Spirit, or giving mental assent to the Holy Spirit, but rather we are to get to know the Holy Spirit in the fullest measure possible.

In the Hebrew language, the word “to know,” is “yada.” It means to know someone intimately like a husband or wife knows their spouse. So, we are to get to know the Holy Spirit intimately.

Therefore, let’s not just seek the experience; rather let’s seek the Person of the Holy Spirit. Because the rest happens, that is, the experience, through relationship. It’s through having this personal intimate relationship with the Holy Spirit that we’ll get to learn about His gifts and talents and how to effectively use them.

Now, to understand what this fellowship looks like, three major categories about our own relationships play an important part in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

Companionship

Fellowship means companionship, it means sharing life together. Companions are those who freely and willing interact with one another And so, for there to be companionship there needs to communication.

And we can see this type of relationship through the type of fellowship the Apostle Paul had with the Holy Spirit.

“And now I am going to Jerusalem, drawn there irresistibly by the Holy Spirit, not knowing what awaits me, except that the Holy Spirit has told me in city after city that jail and suffering lie ahead.” (Acts 20:22-23 NLT)

This was an ongoing conversation Paul was having with the Holy Spirit, as the Holy Spirit was telling Him what to expect, and what he was going to suffer for the sake of the gospel.

The second thing about this relationship is that it’s a partnership.

Partnership

Our relationship with the Holy Spirit is a partnership. We work with the Holy Spirit. It’s kind of like a marriage ought to be. We should be working together, not working separately. And the same goes for Christians. Let me just say that we can do a lot more together in partnership than we can do separately.

And this is true of the Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul said, “For we are God's fellow workers.” (1 Corinthians 3:9 NKJV)

I love the way the New Living Translations puts it. It says, “We work together as partners.”

And the third thing about this relationship it one built on intimacy.

Intimacy

Intimacy is a deeper form of fellowship, in that it goes to the thoughts, intentions and the desires of the heart. It’s deep friendship. It’s an intimate friendship.

The Apostle James said, “The Spirit who dwells in us yearns jealously.” (James 4:5 NKJV)

The word “yearn” means to long intensely and consistently for someone. The Holy Spirit, therefore, is always yearning intensely for us. And He’s jealous for us. He doesn’t want us to have fellowship with anyone else, that is, with the other gods of this world.