The Holy Spirit – God’s Gift, Not His Reward

In Galatians 3:14, we read about "receiving the promise of the Spirit through faith." What does this mean? It may be helpful to think, first, about what it doesn't mean. We must never think of the Holy Spirit as a reward that is given to us because we have faith - the more faith we …

When the Holy Spirit comes on you

‘When the Holy Spirit comes on you… you will be My witnesses… to the ends of the earth’(Acts 1:8). This great advance of the Gospel - Salvation reaches ‘the Gentiles’(Acts 10:45; Acts 11:1,18) - is a movement of ‘the Spirit’(Acts 11:12). The Spirit speaks through the Word (10:44; 11:15). In God’s Word, we read of …

When the enemy shall come in like a flood

1 Kings 16:29-18:16 Things were getting desperate: ‘Ahab did more to provoke the Lord, the God of Israel, to anger than all the kings of Israel who were before him’ (1 Kings 16:33). What did God do about this? How did He respond to this situation? God sent His prophet, a man who would stand …

The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ.

‘No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:3). ‘In Jerusalem’, on ‘the day of Pentecost’ there are ‘Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:1, 5). They are ‘amazed’ at what they hear – ‘we hear them telling in our own tongue the mighty works of …

“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace…” (Galatians 5:22-23).

* The love in us comes from the love of God. * The joy in us comes from the joy of God. * The peace in us comes from the peace of God. ... The God of love, the God of joy, the God of peace ... Without God, there can be no love in …

“Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me.”

Galatians 3:23-5:6 ‘God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts’(4:6). The Spirit is not a reward we earn by being good people. The Spirit is God’s gift (Titus 3:5). Paul connects the gift of the Spirit with Christ’s death for us and our faith in Christ(3:13-14). We do not come to God …

The Spirit, the Scriptures and salvation

In his post, The perspicuity of Scripture, Ben Myers quotes from Berkouwer's "fine book", Holy Scripture (Grand Rapids, Eerdmans, 1975), p. 275.He begins his post, "Reformation theologians spoke of the "clarity" or "perspicuity of Scripture ... According to Reformation theology, the message of salvation shines out clearly from Scripture through the power of the Holy …

God is holy. He calls us to be holy.

* We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit. * We need to feed on the Holy Scriptures. * We need to worship the holy God. * The holy God leads us in the way of holiness. * We walk in the way of holiness when we keep our eyes on our holy Saviour. …

A river that I could not cross

“A mighty wave, a mighty wind is coming from heaven, to raise up our nation again” (Ulf Christiansson) – As I walked along the beach, feeling the wind and watching the waves, these words of faith came into my mind. God is calling us to move - from where we are right now to where …

Pray that you will be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Luke 10:38-11:28 Mary was ‘listening to the Lord’(39). Martha was ‘distracted’(40). ‘One thing is needful’(42): Don’t let anything distract you from this - Getting alone with God. More than anything else, Jesus wants to ‘teach us to pray’(1). The greatest gift that God gives - in answer to prayer - is the Holy Spirit (13). …

“Be filled with the Spirit” and “Let the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.”

Scripture speaks with authority because it speaks as the God-breathed Word. The authority of the Word by which we are brought to faith must be seen in connection with the power of the Holy Spirit. The life of faith into which we are brought by the Word and the Spirit is both life in the …

Come, Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ. ‘No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit’ (1 Corinthians 12:3). ‘In Jerusalem’, on ‘the day of Pentecost’ there are ‘Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven’ (Acts 2:1, 5). They are ‘amazed’ at what they hear - ‘we hear them telling in our …

As the waters cover the sea

“As the waters cover the sea”: These words come from the Old Testament prophets, Isaiah and Habakkuk. Isaiah says this: “The earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea” (11:9). Habakkuk adds something else. He speaks about being “filled with the knowledge of the glory of the …

He Who Has Ears To Hear

Mark 4:1–34 God’s Word carries this message: ‘He who has ears to hear, let him hear what the Spirit says...’ (9; Revelation 2:7,11,17,29; 3:6,13,22). We must listen for the voice of the Spirit. Grace has been ‘given’ to us (11). It is God's gift. To God be the glory! Sadly, some refuse to listen. Think …

Some say, ‘I don’t need to be born again.’ Jesus disagrees.

Luke 5:33-6:16 There is such a difference between the ‘old’ legalism and the ‘new’ life in the Spirit (36-39; Romans 8:2-4). The question, asked in verse 2, springs from the dead hardness of strict legalistic religion. Christ is Lord (5) - not the ‘Pharisees’. They try to control people's lives. With their kill-joy attitude, they …

God’s Gift

Before His ascension to heaven, Jesus told His disciples that they were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit  - "wait for the gift My Father promised" (Acts 1:4). The Holy Spirit is God's gift. He is not a reward that was given to the disciples because they waited on the Lord. Waiting …

A prayer for revival

A prayer for revival: "O Holy Ghost, revival comes from Thee. Send a revival. Start the work in me."

The Holy Spirit Is Our ‘Guarantee Of Heavenly And Eternal Glory.’

2 Corinthians 4:1-5:10 God has called us to salvation - ‘God has shone in our hearts…’ (2 Corinthians 4:6). He has called us to service, ‘having this ministry by the mercy of God’ (2 Corinthians 4:1). We receive salvation through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ: ‘Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be …

The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit

The Ministry of the Holy Spirit (John 14-16) John 14:21 - A vicious circle can become a victorious circle! We are not victims. We are victors through our victorious Saviour. This victory is brought to us by the Spirit - the Comforter, the Encourager, the Helper. He helps us to love Jesus and keep His …

Centred on the Saviour, Empowered by the Spirit, Grounded in the Scriptures

Centred on the Saviour, Empowered by the Spirit, Grounded in the Scriptures – These are the lessons that we must keep on learning if we are to bring glory to God and receive blessing from Him. * Centred on the Saviour Being a Christian isn’t something that we do for ourselves. It’s not something that …

The Holy Spirit In The Life Of Faith (with links to audio version)

Here are two links to an audio version of a lecture given in January 1987: The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part One The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two _________________________________ The Holy Spirit is the Breath of God. All Scripture is God-breathed. We experience the Breath of God upon …

The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith (links to an audio version)

Links to a lecture given, in two parts, in 1987. The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part One The Holy Spirit in the Life of Faith, Part Two

Berkouwer on the Spirit and the Scriptures

Berkouwer emphasizes the present activity of the Spirit in pointing men to Christ through the words of the Bible - "Scripture is the Word of God because the Holy Spirit witnesses in it of Christ” (Holy Scripture, p. 162, emphasis mine); “the purpose of the God-breathed Scripture is … to witness of the salvation of …

The Holy Spirit And The Holy Scriptures

We begin with a simple and yet profoundly helpful illustration from James Philip."The black plastic disc (for those who are more familiar with compact disc, he's speaking about the vinyl record - you can replace 'black plastic disc' with 'compact disc'!) that is put on the gramophone turntable has a voice within it, and when we put it on …

Let us pray that God will pour out His Spirit upon us.

Zechariah 1:1-2:13 God promises to bless His faithful people: ‘I will return to Jerusalem with mercy, and there My House will be rebuilt’(16). God looks upon His House, and He sees His glory - ‘I will be the glory within it’(2:5). He sees the glory of His presence - ‘I will live among you’(2:10). We …

Empowered by the Holy Spirit, let us follow the Lord.

Paul's life was not easy. His life story was not always a glowing success story. He suffered persecution because of his faithfulness to Christ and the Gospel. He spent time in prison because he refused to compromise his commitment to Christ. How was he able to remain faithful to Christ in such difficult circumstances? The …

God has given us His Spirit of power and love and self-control.

Luke 4:1-30 Jesus was ‘tempted by the devil’(2). He was rejected by His enemies (28-29). When we look around us, we see nothing but temptations and rejection - What a negative way of looking at things! There is something more positive here - the presence of the Holy Spirit (1,14,18). Do not be afraid. There …

Learning from Stephen – a man, filled with the Holy Spirit

Immediately before he was stoned, Stephen preached the Gospel of Christ. After he had finished speaking, we see Stephen - about to be stoned - facing death as a man, full of the Holy Spirit, a man looking to Jesus Christ - "Now when they heard these things they were enraged and they ground their …

Come, Holy Spirit. Make Us New.

"We know ... " (John 3:2). Nicodemus claimed to know a great deal about Jesus. Jesus had done great miracles. These miracles signified that God was with Jesus. Jesus was a teacher, sent by God. He acknowledged that Jesus was a teacher, sent by God, but did he receive Jesus' teaching? This is an important …

Take your sin to Christ. He has made atonement for sin.

Leviticus 1:1-2:16 Jesus Christ, ‘the Lamb without blemish’, has ‘made atonement’ for sin through the shedding of His ‘precious blood’(1:3-5; 1 Peter 1:18-19). This offering of Christ - He ‘loved us and gave Himself up for us’- is ‘a pleasing odour to the Lord’, ‘a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God’(1:9,13,17; Ephesians 5:2). Read of …

The Holy Spirit comes from God. The Holy Spirit changes us.

(i) The Holy Spirit comes from God. - The new birth (John 3:3, 7). - “He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire” (Luke 3:16). (ii) The Holy Spirit changes us. - “Through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death” …