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I would like you to think about a wise, loving friend. One who has years of godly wisdom, empathy, loads of patience, and loving boldness. When you talk with them, you know that you will always get good counsel—even if you may not like exactly what they have shared with you, deep down you know it is still sound wisdom. This is what the Holy Spirit—as our Counselor—does for us.
The Holy Spirit is not merely a force, but He is a Person. Jesus Himself give the Spirit the pronouns “He / Him / His.”
Then take a look at just the beginning of the Book of Acts. The Holy Spirit does things a person does—
- He speaks God’s Word (1:16; 4:25)
- He empowers (2:4)
- He can be lied to (5:3, 9)
- He can witness events (5:32)
- He can be resisted (7:51)
- He can encourage (9:31)
- He gives wisdom (6:10)
- He gives direction (8:29, 10:19)
I especially want to key in on those last two attributes where the Holy Spirit is speaking to us.
Samuel grew up during the time of the judges, where everyone did whatever they thought best. This is a time that is described like this, “In those days the word of the Lord was rare; there were not many visions” (1 Samuel 3:1). Visions in the Hebrew language is two words: open communication. In other words, people just weren’t listening for God’s voice.
Samuel had to learn to hear God’s voice as well (see this passage and all of the other biblical references in this post by clicking here).
God doesn’t reveal His heart to those who are unwilling to obey. His persistent call is for obedience to His Word and reliance on His provision. So the word of the Lord had to be revealed to Samuel (v. 7). When Samuel said he was listening (v. 10), that was a posture of readiness to obey.
God wants to reveal His heart to His obedient people. I love how God does this later for Samuel, “Now the Lord had told Samuel in his ear the day before Saul came…” (1 Samuel 9:15).
This is how Jesus described the Holy Spirit in John 7:37-39, as streams that flow continuously out of our being. And Jesus also calls Him Counselor (John 14:16).
Isaiah described our Counselor like this, “Whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a Voice behind you, saying, ‘This is the way; walk in it’” (Isaiah 30:21).
Let’s call this GPS = God’s Personal Spirit in us!
Those who are baptized in the Holy Spirit—utterly yielded to His wisdom—will experience:
- More insight into God’s Word—Psalm 119:18
- More timely application of God’s Word—2 Timothy 3:16-17
- More boldness in prayer—2 Samuel 7:27 (same word for in his ear as Samuel experienced)
All Christians have a deposit of the Holy Spirit in their lives at the moment of salvation. The baptism in the Holy Spirit is a completed yielding to the Counselor’s influence. So don’t stop at salvation, but ask Jesus to send you what the Father has promised (Luke 24:49; Acts 2:33).
Check out all of the messages in our series leading up to Pentecost Sunday by clicking here.
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Craig T. Owens 