How The Holy Spirit Helps You Share Jesus

How the Holy Spirit Helps You Share Jesus

Acts 11:5-18

Have you ever wanted to say something to someone, or thought that God wanted you to share something with someone, but then you changed your mind? Who do you think prompted you to share Jesus?

When the Holy Spirit speaks to you about a person, He will reveal to you the person whom you need to share Jesus. When the Holy Spirit speaks to you, He will do three specific things:

1.

The Holy Spirit will speak to you of a person who needs Jesus Christ.

While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, "Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them."

(Acts 10:19-20 NKJV)

PURPOSE OF THE VISION

The vision/dream has a purpose. The purpose is to reveal to you the person whom you need to share Jesus. In this particular case, Peter was praying. Hence the connection between the Holy Spirit and prayer. Notice how often in the New Testament that the Holy Spirit speaks in relationship to prayer. A vision is when God speaks in a time of prayer, while a dream is when God speaks in sleep. One is used in our waking hours, and one is used in our sleeping hours.

When God speaks to you in a dream, it is many times because God wants to wake you up. Many times, while we are awake physically, spiritually we are sleeping. We aren’t praying and paying attention to what God wants me to do. So God can and does speak to you through the Holy Spirit at night.

In this case, Peter was praying in his waking hours and the Spirit showed him a special vision. This vision was given three times. Jesus spoke to Peter at the end of the vision:

And I heard a voice saying to me, "Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ But I said, "Not so, Lord! For nothing common or unclean has at any time entered my mouth.’ But the voice answered me again from heaven, "What God has cleansed you must not call common.’

(Acts 11:7-9 NKJV)

Of course, Peter is dealing with having to change his attitude about some things. The vision was about changing his attitudes about food – a Jewish custom. Peter says later that God showed him the purpose of the vision. Even Peter realized that the purpose was not dietary, but divine. He was not told to change what he eats, but to whom he speaks.

God does this quite often. You will see many examples in the Bible of how He speaks through visions and dreams.

Bad examples include: Pharoah of Egypt and Pilate. Good examples include: Daniel, Nebechadnezzar, Paul, Peter, and John. So God will speak to His servants at night and in the daytime.

In my personal life, if I dream the same dream more than one night in a row, especially if it is three nights in a row, I have learned that the Holy Spirit wants me to speak to a specific person. Sometimes, it has been a specific person whom the Holy Spirit wanted me to speak to them about Jesus, even if it is to answer a question.

This is one of the ways the Holy Spirit works. He will place someone in your mind. And it may seem like a strange vision or dream. You may be seeing strange visions, but God will reveal the purpose in time. In the case of sharing Jesus, the Holy Spirit will speak to you about a specific person whom He wants you to reach for Jesus through you.

2.

The Holy Spirit will erase the fear of sharing Jesus.

Then the Spirit told me to go with them, doubting nothing. Moreover these six brethren accompanied me, and we entered the man’s house.

(Acts 11:12 NKJV)

When the Holy Spirit speaks, He will do so to erase the fear. The Holy Spirit will work to erase our fear. Our fear of obeying the Holy Spirit is a powerful weapon that is used against us. Satan uses it, and we talks ourselves into fear. When the Holy Spirit speaks, He will erase the fear. How will He do this?

The reason that the Holy Spirit speaks to us three, four, and five times about something or someone is because He is going to erase the fear. You have to obey Him and go in faith. This is why the Spirit told Peter to go without doubting. What would Peter doubt? Peter is concerned about the cultural barriers and he was afraid of many things. How will the Gentiles react? Will a Gentile listen to me, when my own people hate them?

Part of the reason that the Holy Spirit gives you a dream or vision and then speaks to you about a person is because He wants to assure you that everything will be ok.