Receive power:

Acts 1:8

8     but you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth.”

            The Holy Spirit didn’t come upon us just to give us goose bumps. He came to empower us to be witnesses for Jesus wherever we may go in the world. It was a statement of fact … we shall be witnesses. We shall go into the world, and we shall be witnesses for Him. We are no longer powerless wimps. We have the power that created the universe living inside of us. Just imagine what we can do to bring people to Jesus!

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "I did not choose you to be weak and ineffective. I chose you to be powerful in Me. When My Spirit comes upon you, you should walk forth in My power. You should no longer be afraid of what man can do to you for you have all My power residing within you. I gave you this power so that when others see your life, they will see what I desire for My children, and will want what you have. You will be a witness for Me wherever you go throughout the world. You shall show forth My strength in time of weakness. This is the work of My Spirit in your life. That is what He was given to you for.”

            59. The Holy Spirit has come upon me, and so I have received the power from above. This power enables me to be a witness for God wherever I go in this world.

Fruit of the Spirit:

Galatians 5:22-23

22     But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,

     23     gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

     

            Since the Holy Spirit is residing inside of us, He will bear fruit as long as we let Him. This fruit will make our lives with each other even more pleasant. If we have this love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control functioning in our lives we will have a much better relationship with each other. We will be looking out for each other and wanting what’s good for our friends and relatives. We won’t be so self-centered. It’s not that we will have a few of these things. We should be exhibiting all of them. It’s not a group of different kinds of fruit. It’s one fruit that has many different “flavors”. As we grow in the Spirit, we will see all of these manifesting themselves more and more in our lives.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "When you have My Spirit operating in your life, you will have My fruit blossoming in your life. Whatever you do will come from My Spirit and will show forth My fruit. You will have no need of anything when He is in control of your life. My love will shine forth from you to others. You will experience My joy in the midst of sorrows. You will be patient even when your very fiber wants to act. You will not simply do deeds of kindness; you will be kindness itself when it comes to others. You will be true to Me and to others. You will never turn against us. You will be gentle even when you used to be harsh. You will be in complete control of everything that you do. You will not yield to the ways of the flesh. You will be strong and show forth My fruit in your everyday life.”

            58. The Holy Spirit in me will bring forth His good fruit in my life as I allow Him free access.

With us forever:

John 14:15-17

15     “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments.

     16     “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever;

     17     that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you.

     

            The disciples were troubled because Jesus said He was going away. They would never see Him again. Also, they wouldn’t have Him to rely on to get them out of whatever situation they were in. Jesus told them not to be anxious. He was sending someone just like Himself to be their Helper. Even better, this Helper would be inside each one of them. While Jesus was on the earth, He could only be in one place at a time. This way He could be any place on earth with each one of them to help in time of need. The same is true for us. He is inside each one of us to help us whenever we need Him. The world cannot receive Him. In fact, they usually don’t even believe He exists; or else, they make Him out to be something totally different. They say He’s in everyone or in everything including the trees.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "Just like I will always be with you, so will My Spirit be with you forever. He will guide you into all truth. He doesn’t speak on His own behalf, but He speaks words from Me. He will show you what to do and what to say. He will be with you always to comfort and to guide you.”

            57. Even though I don’t have Jesus physically with me, I do have another Helper just like Him in me… the Holy Spirit. He will be with me forever.

Work of the Holy Spirit:

            Intercedes for us:

Romans 8:26-27

26     In the same way the Spirit also helps our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words;

     27     and He who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.

     

            Not only have we seen that Jesus intercedes for us, we have here that the Holy Spirit intercedes for us as well. And He does so according to the will of God. That means that we can be confident that it will come to pass. That’s because according to I John 5, if we ask anything according to God’s will, we know we have whatever we ask. That’s why when we pray in the Spirit, we can be certain we are praying the best prayer possible and that it will be answered.    

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "My Spirit speaks for Me, and He speaks for you. Whatever you have need of, He will make request for you. Even before you are aware of your need, He will make intercession for you. He will give you words to speak as you pray for yourself and for others. He will guide you in your speaking to others and to Me. I will always grant His prayers. When you pray according to what He speaks, I will always grant your requests.”

            56. Not only does Jesus intercede for me, so does the Holy Spirit in me. When He does, I need not worry …the prayer will be according to God’s will.

Reveals:

            Teaches and discloses what is to come:

1 John 2:27

27     As for you, the anointing which you received from Him abides in you, and you have no need for anyone to teach you; but as His anointing teaches you about all things, and is true and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you abide in Him.

     

John 14:26

26     “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I said to you.

     

John 16:13

13     “But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.

     

            We don’t have to feel like we’re all alone with no help in this world. The Holy Spirit will Himself teach us everything that we need to be familiar with. He uses the Word mostly to teach us, but He also will drop ideas into our minds about what we should do in certain circumstances. In a moment of trial, He can bring Scriptures we’ve memorized to mind to help in the conflict. He even brings some that we have read but never sat down and committed to memory. He is always listening to the Father, and what He hears that concerns us, He will disclose that to us.

If you could hear God speak to you, I believe this is what He would say:

            "You need not fear that you will be left stranded. I will always be with you. I will guide you into all the truth through My Spirit who indwells you. You will be led into all the truth. There is nothing that will be hidden from you. You can know My peace and joy in your life. You need not fear the future. I will bring you into all My glory as you trust in Me to disclose to you what you need to know. Ask and I will tell you great and mighty things which you do not know. You will come to know them through My Spirit. I am jealous over you with My special love. I do not want you bowing down to others. I want to be your only love.”

            55. Because of the Holy Spirit living inside of me, I know that if I let Him, He will show me exactly what I need to do in my life. He will teach me all that I need to know about God’s will in my life.