Ignorant Of The Holy Spirit

Christians today operate very little in the Holy Spirit because of their ignorance concerning the Holy Spirit Himself.

Katherine Kuhlman, God’s Generals

The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.”

John 14:17

Apostle Paul famously went to a church and asked if they had received the baptism of the Holy Spirit and they replied that they had not so much as heard there was a Holy Spirit. And they were ‘Christians’. I believe there are four ways Christians can relate to the Holy Spirit.

The Foggy Way

The foggy way is when Christians have a foggy or vague idea about the Holy Spirit like He is an object or a thing. They understand Jesus, the Messiah, and the Heavenly Father. However, they see the Holy Spirit as just an atmosphere, power, and different kinds of manifestations.

The Holy Spirit is wild, not weird. Share on X

People the Holy Spirit uses can be weird. The Holy Spirit is not weird; He is powerful and God does not want us to be unclear about Him.

The Familiar Way

This is the second way some people relate to the Holy Spirit. This means perhaps the person grew up in church, heard regular teachings on the Holy Spirit, and know the doctrine. They are familiar with the Holy Spirit as a concept but see Him as a force, feeling, experience, or speaking in tongues but they do not have fellowship. This is where I was for a long period of time. Then, something happened in my life and the Holy Spirit went from someone I was familiar with to a person.

Pastor Vlad’s Personal Experience

How did that happen? I went to the Ukraine with my wife. We had decided to give our savings away so God could give us a breakthrough in ministry. I wasn’t trying to buy a blessing. I went to the pastor, who was seeing over 600 people being saved every Sunday and asked for prayer, saying I needed power, miracles, and a big church. He said I didn’t need any of that. What I needed was to know the Holy Spirit. I told him yes, I speak in tongues and I have a sermon series on the Holy Spirit. I have read all the books and I know Him.

The pastor insisted, I didn’t understand and I did not know the Holy Spirit; I only knew about Him. I was pretty offended because I had emptied my savings account only to be told what I already know. He prayed for me that God would release miracles but he said his biggest prayer was for me to know the Holy Spirit.

The Change

I started praying this prayer when I came home: Lord, I want to know the Holy Spirit personally. So He can change me and the ministry. I noticed that He truly made me a better person, a better husband to my wife and I enjoyed fellowship with Him.

After this, I started to pray for the sick every single service. At the beginning, nothing seemed to happen. Then, one service, there was a lady who was scheduled for surgery the next day. She received her healing while I prayed a general prayer for healing and no longer needed surgery. The day she told me, my faith grew because it was the first time I heard someone say something happened when I prayed. That night, I had a meeting in Portland and there were seven healings.

Since that day, I haven’t seen one time when I pray for healing, that someone does not get healed. We also started to see the youth ministry expanding. Definitely, this was not all about me and what I did that brought these results but I am sharing my journey with the Holy Spirit.

The Fellowship Of The Holy Spirit

In this way of relating with the Holy Spirit, you talk to Him, you recognize He is a person, and you hear from Him. Fellowship is when you have a communion with the Holy Spirit. But friendship with the Holy Spirit is different.

The Friendship With The Holy Spirit

Friendship with the Holy Spirit is when you obey Him. The friendship of the Holy Spirit is slightly different from usual friendship. In John 14:15, Jesus explained to His disciples why they were His friends. Ordinarily, you would think it was because they hung out and spent time together. Jesus said what we should never say to our friends and that is that we are His friends because we do what He says. Jesus’ definition of friendship is not you are My friend because we hang out; Jesus’ definition of friendship is you are My friend because you do what I say.

Jesus' definition of friendship is not you are My friend because we hang out; Jesus' definition of friendship is you are My friend because you do what I say. Share on X

Fellowship with the Holy Spirit will never grow into friendship until there is obedience. It is possible to have communion with the Holy Spirit and live in sin. It is possible to have communion with the Holy Spirit and never pray, read the Bible, evangelize or forgive; you can even practice homosexual tendencies. You are in disobedience.

Intimacy With The Holy Spirit

Your intimacy with the Holy Spirit is contingent not just on learning more about Him but obeying what He asks. Sometimes, it is simple things like releasing forgiveness to people, cleaning up our lives, or praying more. What I personally found out is what the Lord asks us to do in our hearts that is consistent with the scripture, is often so hard we try and trade with Him. For example, we say, Lord, I don’t want to do that but I will double my prayer time.

We love to overcompensate with sacrifice where we lack in obedience. Share on X

Your intimacy with the Holy Spirit depends upon this one thing: obedience. When you see people who are friends of the Holy Spirit, you would think they probably talk to God for five hours a day. It is not always about that; it is about obedience. We all have to pray, read the Bible and fast, but ultimately, we have to obey what the Holy Spirit tells us.

Obedience Unlocks Friendship

Fellowship is when I hear the Holy Spirit but friendship is when He speaks to me and I do what He says. I was willing but at first, I only said it; I didn’t mean it. With time, I meant it that I was willing to give my whole life so that I can know this person, the Holy Spirit. I wanted to know Him, not just about Him. You can know Him too.

It starts with being more familiar. Then, you get to fellowship but I have to warn you, to go deeper and further to friendship, there is a cost. It might not be anything to do with cars or money like mine was. My heart was so attached to that. I believe that was why it was part of my test. For you, it could be fasting, prayer, or even just serving God with your time and commitment. It will be in line with God’s Word and out of line with your flesh. It will be something where more of you will die, more of Him will live and the very areas where you are tested the most are the areas you will get the most breakthrough.

“Now Abraham was old, well advanced in age; and the Lord had blessed Abraham in all things. So Abraham said to the oldest servant of his house, who ruled over all that he had, “Please, put your hand under my thigh. And I will make you swear by the Lord, the God of heaven and the God of the earth, that you will not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites, among whom I dwell.” 

Genesis 24:1-3

Five Things About Cultivating Friendship With The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit Is Like A Ruler

The Holy Spirit is the Ruler of all of Heaven's wealth. Share on X

What is interesting about this point is that the servant is unnamed. There is debate that it could be Eleazar but I believe it is deliberately left like this because it is a type of how the Holy Spirit operates. The Holy Spirit wants to remain anonymous. He never promotes Himself; He always promotes Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is like Abraham’s servant who managed all of his wealth, in that He manages all the resources of Heaven. Miracles and signs are His activity on the earth. Instead of seeking power, develop a relationship with Him who has the power. Instead of chasing after miracles, why don’t you develop a relationship with the manager that has all the miracles?

Jesus said in Acts 1:8, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.” It wasn’t the power that was the focus but the Spirit of God.

The Holy Spirit Is Sent To Bring Jesus A Bride

Just in the same way that Abraham’s servant was sent to find a bride for Isaac, the Holy Spirit was sent to bring the bride of Christ. Jesus said unless He was exalted, the Holy Spirit would not be given. But when Jesus was exalted, the Spirit was poured out. We have to be very careful to understand that the Holy Spirit’s work is not to glorify Himself but to glorify Christ. The Holy Spirit is God and we can worship Him; He is part of the Holy Trinity. But on earth, as He lives in us, the work of the Holy Spirit is to point to Jesus. Therefore, we don’t focus on the Spirit if we want more of the Spirit; we focus on Christ.

The Holy Spirit's purpose on earth is to bring Jesus a bride. Share on X

The Gentleness Of The Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit loves it when we glorify and praise Jesus. However, both the Father and the Son are very protective of the Holy Spirit. They fight for Him but He does not fight for Himself.

If you grieve the Holy Spirit, He won’t punish you, He will just walk away. He always comes in loudly but leaves quietly. Samson did not know the Spirit of God had left him because when He exits, He doesn’t announce it. The Holy Spirit is very gentle and sensitive – not like some people you might know but sensitive in the sense that you can harm Him and cause Him pain.

One of the greatest joys of the Holy Spirit is not only when you fellowship with Him but when you worship Jesus, honor Jesus, and trust Jesus. Many of us know about Jesus from reading the history but when you come in contact with the Holy Spirit, He makes Jesus precious and real. The closer I get to the Holy Spirit, the more fascinated and in love I become with Jesus.

Will You Give Him A Drink?

The unnamed servant arrives at the well, sees Rebecca and asks her to please let him drink a little water from her pitcher. Let me ask you this question: Could he not get the water he needed for himself? Of course he could! He could have gotten it himself or even asked one of his servants to get it for him, but he went deliberately to this woman whose help he did not need, in order to start something. I believe his thirst was her test. Do you remember how Jesus did the same thing with the Samaritan woman He met by the well in John 4?

In this story, Rebecca represent all of us, and Abraham’s servant represents the Holy Spirit. In the same way, the Holy Spirit comes to us and asks, will you give Me a drink? The use of the word ‘please’ indicates that this was a petition, not a command. The words ‘let me’, reveals that the Holy Spirit is God, who could easily force or command it but it also shows He is a Person who has feelings. The phrase from her pitcher, I believe symbolizes our schedule, attention, and affection. The Holy Spirit wants to fellowship with us. He is asking for a little bit of water out of our pitchers.

Don’t Make Excuses In Your Test

You might be overwhelmed, your spouse might be irritating you but what if you just paused for a few seconds to say “Holy Spirit, help please!” Then just wait for Him to give you help to respond differently? The Holy Spirit wants us to invite Him into our circumstances and involve Him in our situations.

“The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.”

2 Corinthians 13:14

This means the communion of the Holy Spirit is not just something you have with Him, it is also something He has with you. When it comes to the love of God or the grace of Jesus, most of us do not disqualify ourselves from it but when it comes to the communion with the Holy Spirit, we start telling ourselves how undeserving we are and impossible it is for us.

The Holy Spirit does convict us but He doesn’t condemn us. The voice of condemnation is saying you are wrong; conviction says your attitude was wrong but let Me help you with that. Condemnation brings hopelessness, conviction brings hope. Condemnation is from the devil, while conviction is from the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit knows your deepest secrets and weaknesses yet still chooses to extend relationship to you. The only hope of your ever being holy is not you but it is the Holy Spirit being inside you. The communion of the Holy Spirit is for all – everyone is included. In the same way that grace and love are for everybody, so is the communion of the Holy Spirit. Through the Holy Spirit, you become a different and better person, not because you tried harder but because of the fruit of the Spirit.

Volunteer To Water The Camels

Rebecca not only gave Abraham’s servant water to drink from her pitcher, she also volunteered to water his camels. It is one thing to give water from your pitcher but it is quite another thing to water camels. Camels drink 8-12 gallons of water daily and a thirsty camel can drink up to 30 gallons in one sitting. She had no hose or other equipment to make this easier. Rebecca had to draw water from the well again and again to water the camels. What she did not know was that the camels she was watering had gifts and jewelry for her.

If you want to get closer to the Holy Spirit, learn to water camels. What I mean by that is volunteer at your local church. Don’t wait until you are asked; volunteer. She was not asked; she volunteered. Of course, we are not talking about being abused or neglected in your service. However, I believe the Holy Spirit wants to develop the culture in us where we do not look for the place where we get to be known but a place we can serve.

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Serving Develops Humility And Character

There is someone you can help somewhere today without a greater measure of the supernatural power of God. You can volunteer to help in kids ministry. You can help with your hands and smile today. What are the gifts that have been activated in you already being used for? You never know where watering camels faithfully can lead. It develops the heart of humility, maturity, and character within you. The gifts of the Holy Spirit are not there to make us powerful or famous; they are there to make us effective and useful.

Jesus died for the local church, He is building it, and He loves it. The church will never be perfect but it will be perfected. The church of Christ is not based on the gifts of few but the sacrifices of many. I want to invite you into a deeper relationship with the Holy Spirit by watering the camels. Serve in your area. Yes, it takes time. It might not feel like you are being rewarded appropriately. But if your focus is on God, you can have joy knowing your life is invested into the Kingdom of God.

Leave Laban!

After Rebecca watered the camels, she took them to her guardian’s house and everyone received the precious jewels. Then, the servant of Abraham told them he needed to take Rebecca away to her future husband. Put yourself in Rebecca’s shoes for a moment. She hasn’t even seen the guy! It is totally unknown territory. Laban, her brother is what she knows.

The servant asked her to leave what she knew and go into the unknown. I believe the next level in the Holy Spirit comes with leaving Laban. Most of us know what it is like to leave bad things that hurt us. Real sacrifice is not when you give up what hurts you. Real sacrifice is when you give up what comforts you and giving it up hurts you. That is a sacrifice. Laban is comfort, familiar, routine, and the known. I want to encourage you today. Do not hesitate to follow the Spirit not only out of the things that hurt you but out of the things that comfort you and leaving them brings you some hurt.

Faith Requires Boldness

Be bold and walk out of the familiar, predictable, mediocrity, routine, and step into the unknown. You might not know what awaits you there but you can follow the Holy Ghost. In the unknown is where the miracles are. Fresh fire is found outside of the borders of what you are familiar with. Sometimes, we develop our routines and they become a religion without spiritual life.

Jesus is worthy of everything you are afraid of losing. Your future deserves everything you are afraid of losing. A lot of your fears are nothing but fears. Once you encounter the new season, grace, and realm, you will look back and say you are so glad you left the old. The Holy Spirit wants you to dream again and to bring His power into your life. It might seem scary but staying the same is even scarier.

Revival Is Now

It is about you being alive and loving Jesus today more than you loved Him yesterday. Revival is about winning souls, making disciples, and seeing people’s lives changed because you are involved in them, not being perfect but being perfected.

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