Hello treasured women! Today I want to start off with a question. My question is
do you understand the role of the Holy Spirit in your daily life? I know that
might sound silly but I grew up in the church and until about 10 years ago I
would not have been able to answer that question. However now that I have more of
an understanding of God's ways I'm able to answer that question and I want to
share that answer with you because partnering with the Holy Spirit will
change everything in your life and that includes how you are leading others.
You are probably aware that the American Church is divided on their beliefs of
the Holy Spirit. Some Christians state that the gifts of the Spirit were only
for the immediate disciples of Jesus. However others can clearly testify that
the Holy Spirit is still active and working in the lives of people today. Of
course our Bible does state that God is the same yesterday and today and
tomorrow so to me it doesn't make sense that he would take away the power of his
Holy Spirit from his children. I want us to look closely at Scripture today. We're
gonna start in John 7 verses 37 through 39. Now on the last and most important
day of the feast Jesus stood and called out in a loud voice,
If anyone is thirsty let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, who
adheres to, trusts in, and relies on me, as the Scripture has said, from his
innermost being will flow continually rivers of living water. But he was
speaking of the Holy Spirit whom those believed in him as Savior were to
receive afterward. The Spirit had not yet been given because Jesus was not yet
glorified, raised to honor. Praise God. Part of the work that Jesus did on the
cross as we can see in the Scripture was so that he could give each and every one
of us the gift of the Holy Spirit. Just like his one act grants us salvation,
his one act also gave us the Holy Spirit. God doesn't give part-time gifts. Think
about it. He created the rainbow as a promise to Noah and all of us that he
would never flood the entire earth again. And today we still see rainbows. Paul was
emphatic about raising up disciples and not spreading the gospel only, but also
doing God's work. God's work includes the power of the Holy Spirit. Jesus came to
demonstrate how his followers are supposed to live. When he started doing
miracles, he wasn't making it known yet that he was the Messiah. So all of this
is to say that once you accept Jesus into your heart, you are given the Holy
Spirit as a gift. God's gifts are to equip his children to do work, every
single one of them. Flowing in God's ways means to flow with God in partnership,
and there's no other way to flow with God outside of the Holy Spirit. The Holy
Spirit gives us access to Jesus and God the Father. In the Amplified Translation,
it describes the Holy Spirit in John 14 as this, He is the helper, the comforter,
the advocate, the intercessor, the counselor, the strengthener, the standby.
Literally everything that we need is inside us because of God's Holy Spirit.
And I'm gonna say that again, everything that you need is within you because the
Holy Spirit lives inside you. And if I read this entire verse, it says, but the
helper, the comforter, the advocate, the intercessor, the counselor, the
strengthener, the standby, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my
name, in my place, to represent me and
on my behalf, he will teach you all things and he will help you remember
everything that I have told you. When we look at this scripture in context,
because we don't want to pick and choose what to believe and how to believe it
out of our Bible, we see that this is Jesus speaking to the disciples.
And in verse 15, Jesus says, if you really love me, you will keep and obey my
commandments. And then he starts to speak about the Holy Spirit. Here is additional
proof that the Holy Spirit is active for today, because Jesus is reminding his
disciples in the same sentence, in the same teaching, that in addition to the
Old Testament commandments, that they now must follow and understand what they
will have access to once Jesus is crucified. We can't separate and
compartmentalize scripture. Just as we call ourselves Christian, we know that we
still have to obey the Ten Commandments, which means that we also need to partner
with the Holy Spirit. God's ways are God's ways. It's not for man to decide
when to obey God's principles, and then at some point when enough time has passed
in history, that we no longer need to obey those rules anymore. Even as I say
that, it sounds ridiculous. And I hope it sounds ridiculous to you, because it
really is ridiculous. God is truth. God is love. God's Word endures forever and
ever. And so it's time that we take a stand together to strengthen one another
and start to partner with Holy Spirit to see a greater outpouring of God's ways
on this earth. It starts with you, and it starts with me. Once you learn to partner
with the Holy Spirit, He will start talking to you and guiding you in how to
deal with certain situations, and how to discipline others, and how to celebrate
others. And it completely takes the stress off of you, because you're just
listening and you're getting all that you need. Leadership with the Holy Spirit
is so different, because it's not about what should you do, it's all about what
does God want you to do. And that is the key to godly leadership. I want you to
take a stand with me today. I want you to make your first declaration, maybe the
first ever, in the comments right below. You don't have to fully understand how
to proceed right at this moment by partnering with the Holy Spirit, but you
can start the journey by proclaiming that you will, every single day, walk
seeking out God and all of His ways, regardless of what others may think
about it. Do that today. Take the step that will change your life.
Blessings to you. I pray that you feel a stirring inside you that is the Holy
Spirit, and I pray that you hunger and thirst for the more of Jesus. Thanks for
listening today. God bless you on your leadership journey.