1.6 About The Holy Spirit

You know, for a lot of people, the idea or the issue of the Holy Spirit is actually one of the most confusing parts of Christianity, and I'm sad to say I think that it has divided so much of the church unnecessarily. For some Christian denominations, they don't say much about it under the—or emphasize the issue at all, and then there are some denominations that overemphasize the issue and even take it to a place that if you've ever been to maybe a Charismatic or Pentecostal church, it can get strange or a little awkward or uncomfortable. I grew up in one like that. But at Canvas, we believe the Scriptures teach that the Holy Spirit is actually not something to fear or ignore. Instead, we believe the Scriptures teach clearly that the Holy Spirit is a gift from God, meant to help people experience real relationship with Him here on earth. And first and foremost, He is not a thing, it is not an it. He is the third person of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, equal with the Son and the Father. He's not a force, He's not a feeling, He's not the goose bumps, He's not some animate energy in the room, He's a person, He's a perfect gentleman, and He's here to help us. In fact, the Bible calls Him in one place, the Greek word is paraclete. When Jesus said, I send you another comforter, the word is paraclete, it means one that comes alongside you and gives you strength and power. Second Corinthians chapter 3 verse 17 says that the Lord is a spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. This tells us that the Holy Spirit carries the presence and the authority of God Himself. John chapter 16 verses 7 through 13, Jesus explains that it is actually good for Him to leave so that the Spirit of God can then come. And He said that when the Spirit comes, He's going to guide people into truth. That's a wonderful thing. He's going to lead us to the truth, and He's going to help us understand who God is and what His will is for our life. He's our guide, He's our paraclete, He's our comforter, He's our teacher.

The Bible teaches in John 14, 16, and 17 that when someone chooses to trust in Jesus, that the Holy Spirit immediately moves into their life, that He comes into their life as that advocate that we so deeply and desperately need. From the moment of salvation, the Holy Spirit begins to churn and work in a person's life. Not to control us, not to belittle or demean us, but to lead us and to guide us into a life that is pleasing to God and brings glory and honor to God. 2 Corinthians 3, verse 16 teaches that when someone comes and turns to the Lord, that clarity comes, that we are exposed to the truth, that we become aware of the truth of God, that faith begins to make sense over time. Now, not all at once. There's going to be so much that you're going to learn through your journey of faith and through your life of faith. But step by step, as we grow in the Lord, as we grow in His Word, as we develop intimacy with the Holy Spirit, He begins to teach us over time and open up the depths of God's great and glorious plan. The guidance of the Spirit helps us make decisions, the Bible says, helps us shape our decisions by giving us discernment. He convicts us when something is off in our life, when we begin to drift away from the Lord, when we open ourselves up to things that are not of God, when we begin to slowly slide away, the Holy Spirit is that voice in our heart that says, this isn't the way. God has better for you than this. That conviction, we feel, comes from the Holy Spirit. He nudges people towards what is good, what is godly, and what is life-giving. Galatians 5, verse 25 teaches that if we live by the Spirit, that we should also keep in step with the Spirit. This means following Jesus is not about rules or regulations alone. It is about learning how to listen and respond daily to the power of God and His Spirit speaking to and through our lives. We also believe the Holy Spirit empowers believers with supernatural gifts and abilities. The Bible talks about this in 1 Corinthians chapter 12 and 11 and 14, that there are different

gifts of the Spirit, but the same Spirit that gives them. Now, you need to understand this too, that these gifts that he talks about in 1 Corinthians 11 and 12, they're not toys. They're not there to impress people with. They're not there, things just to be played with. They're not toys, they're tools. They are given for a specific reason, to serve others, to advance the kingdom of God, and to make much of Jesus. And so we leverage these gifts that he gives to every believer to do these three things. There are some people that are gifted to lead. There are some people that are gifted to encourage. There are some people that have the gift of teaching. There are some people that have the gift of teaching. People that have the gift to serve behind the scenes, they have the gift of helps and so many others that you should study and discover. But the Spirit of God works through ordinary people in extraordinary ways and empowers them to serve the kingdom of God in ways that we never could on our own. And finally, we believe the Holy Spirit helps us when we do not know what to say or even what to pray. This is in Romans 8 and 26. Bible teaches that the Spirit of God helps us in our weaknesses. This is such a beautiful verse, that he helps us in our weaknesses and he prays for us even when we don't know what to pray for. It's this beautiful moment. If you've ever been overwhelmed in life,

maybe by grief or maybe by confusion or maybe by abandonment or abuse or some type of situation that has arose in life that you were confronted with, I have been many times. And I didn't know what to do. And I didn't really know what to say. I didn't even really know how to pray. I didn't know what to pray for. It's those moments that the Holy Spirit senses our weakness and our vulnerability and he knows that we are but dust and that we are in need of our Heavenly Father. The Bible says that in that moment, he picks up our weakness and our slack and he prays for us to our Heavenly Father in ways that we can imagine because he knows what we actually need. And he comes alongside of us and he says, old father, they're hurt and they're wounded and they're vulnerable. And what they really need is this, would you bless your child with this? What a wonderful, beautiful thing that is that the Holy Spirit does for us. In conclusion, he leads us, he guides us, he convicts us, he empowers us to do the will of God here on our earth. And he is our advocate and source of strength to help us on this journey of life. And our prayer for those of you that call Canvas home

is that you would grow daily in him and that you would grow daily in learning the nuances of your new best friend.