In Relationship With God...the Holy Spirit

This week we are continuing on our worship series being in relationship with the Triune God…. Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Part of this series is about helping us grow closer in our relationship with all sides or faces of God and seeing how God the Father, Son and Holy Spirit work together.

Our focus this week is being in relationship with God the Holy Spirit.

Having a relationship with God the Holy Spirit is an important and essential part of being a Christian…

Unfortunately though in some circles the Holy Spirit is seen as something or someone to be weary of and even avoid

In other circles the Holy Spirit has become the only focus, where Jesus and the Father are almost forgotten.

Near the end of his time on earth Jesus not only encouraged us to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, he highlighted that it is essential that we have a relationship with the Holy Spirit, otherwise our lives as Christians would not be complete and we would be unable to continue the mission and ministry God is calling us to live out.

I invite you to reflect on the following quotes from Jesus and how important it is for you and me to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit

From Luke chapter 12 verses 10 to 12

Jesus says: ”And everyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven. When you are brought before synagogues, rulers and authorities, do not worry about how you will defend yourselves or what you will say, for the Holy Spirit will teach you at that time what you should say.”

From John chapter 14 verse 26

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you

From Acts chapter 1 verses 4 to 5

On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

And from Acts chapter 2 we know that it is the Holy Spirit that creates the church, giving power and gifts to people so they can be the people of God.

Jesus was very clear for you and me that to know God, for God’s mission to be fulfilled and lived out by humans, that includes me and you, who follow God, we need to have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.

We need to rely on the Holy Spirit.

This means we need to live in a relationship with the Holy Spirit

So how is your relationship with the Holy Spirit?

And what does having a relationship with the Holy Spirit mean for us today?

How does having a relationship with the Holy Spirit look?

One of the ancient statements of faith of the church,

the Nicene Creed

that we state regularly says

We believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,

who proceeds from the Father and the Son.

With the Father and the Son he is worshiped and glorified.

He has spoken through the prophets.

Take a breath for a moment….

Breathe deeply in….then exhale

Breath is the sign of life…

If you are breathing you have life

and that life is something the Holy Spirit gives to us…

But there is more

When we plough through the New Testament

we see that God not only gives us this human life to everybody who breathes

He also gives us a new life…a spiritual life…but unfortunately not everyone is willing to receive this from God

This new life is a life that helps us take on what is important from God’s perspective

It helps us know very clearly we are loved and forgiven by God

and this new life helps us live in ways that are more consistent with God’s ways

As Jesus says in John chapter 3 verse 5 to 6

“Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit.

Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.”

Also consider the following verses

2 Corinthians chapter 5 verse 5 says

Now the one who has fashioned us for this very purpose is God, who has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come

John chapter 3 verse 8 says

Only God’s Spirit gives new life. The Spirit is like the wind that blows wherever it wants to. You can hear the wind, but you don’t know where it comes from or where it is going.