The Holy Spirit is for me!

^{John 7:37} On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. ³⁸ Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” ³⁹ By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.The Holy Spirit (HS) is God’s empowering PRESENCE with us and in us

The Holy Spirit is a PERSON. He is NOT a force or a power source.

Holy Spirit PROMISED and SENT by Jesus:

^{John 14:15} “If you love me, keep my commands. ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— ¹⁷ the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.”

^{John 14:26} 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.”

^{John 16:13} But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. ¹⁴ He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

The Holy Spirit is our HELPER: The HS lives in me to supply me with resources that I do not have on my own. He gives me everything I need for the situation I face. He also helps me develop godly character. (The more I fill my life with the HS then the more I take on His disposition—fruit.)

God does not leave us alone in life or ineffective in mission: “The gifts of the Spirit are divine explosions of God’s power through the life of a surrendered believer to meet human need at precisely the time it is needed” (Author Unknown).

Following Christ, God changed the paradigm with regards to how His Spirit operates:

• In Old Testament, the Spirit only for the select FEW: heroes or leaders. And the Temple was a physical structure representing God’s presence among His people.
• God promises to change things with the new covenant: ^{Joel 2:28} Then, after doing all those things, I will pour out my Spirit upon ALL people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy. Your old men will dream dreams, and your young men will see visions. ²⁹ In those days I will pour out my Spirit even on servants—men and women alike. The HS is intended for ALL believers!
• In New Testament, the Spirit for ALL: every Christ follower. And the individual is now the dwelling place of God’s Spirit. (Because I am now the “Temple”, it becomes imperative that I take responsibility for my thoughts, words, and actions.)

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