Holy Spirit-Emotional Support

 Holy Spirit

Emotional Support

John 14:15-30

Question: Who/what is your emotional support when you need comfort and advocacy?

Intro: If you walk into a public place it is not uncommon to see someone with a dog of some sort. Sadly, many of these people have dogs because they are dealing with some sort of emotional, physical, or mental issue. These support animals are there to provide help or assistance whenever the individual may need it. This support can lead to life saving action by the animals to find aid for their human. The Holy Spirit is our support system, our emotional and spiritual advocate to continue to push us towards the aid that God desires for our lives.

Read John 14:15-30 (For sake of space, I encourage you to use a physical copy of your Bible, online source, or application on your phone to aid your reading today.)

An Advocate

Each one of us desires to have an advocate, a person that is in your corner. As an educator I have found myself a witness to some pretty bizarre situations in which I have noticed a parent being an advocate for their child despite their child’s pretty poor behavior. These parents have been adamant that their child was the victim or in the right to act as they did in a particular situation. It honestly has been astonishing to see parents essentially condone terrible behavior and decision making for their child.

While Jesus is our stopgap, it is not so that we can continue to live and act in poor behavior. Jesus advocates for us through the Holy Spirit to press us towards living as a reflection of Himself. My wife and I are licensed foster care workers. In this we have found that we are advocates for the children that come into our home because they enter from a position of vulnerability into our care. We see them in ways that really no one else really does. The Holy Spirit is the one that continues to advocate for us due to His presence always being with us and pointing us towards the standards that God desires from us.

This advocacy is to ensure that we see ourselves as Jesus does, children that need the restoration and redemption of God. Though our sin separates from God, Jesus is always advocating for us through the Holy Spirit to stay in the atonement of His blood. Furthermore, Jesus acts as the advocate for us to remind God that His blood is the atonement of our sins.

A Gift

The Holy Spirit is a gift for us to utilize as a tool to strengthen our relationship with God. Everything that the Holy Spirit provides to us is meant to aid us in some capacity of our spiritual journey. In this portion of Scripture, Jesus is teaching us that the Holy Spirit is a gift that points to the love of God, His standards, peace of mind, and comfort of heart. If we utilize the Holy Spirit correctly in our individual lives, we will see that the Holy Spirit is always helping us to sustain a position of connectivity to God and the standards He has for us individually. 

Another essential of the Holy Spirit is that He provides us comfort in this life. There are many different things in this life that may cause us to feel stress and anxiety. The Holy Spirit is meant to comfort us and lead us in the wisdom and discernment of the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, the Holy Spirit gives us peace of mind that though this world has various burdens and difficulties we can always find peace and rest in God. The Gift of the Holy Spirit is a reminder that God is working all things together for our good despite the trials and struggles we face in life. 

 

A Reminder

I do not know about you, but it would have been nice to have an expert whispering in my ear during a test to provide the correct answers. Now, I am grateful that God has blessed myself with a fairly strong memory so tests were not always that stressful. However, there are times it would be nice to not have to stress about anything on the test that we call this life. The Holy Spirit works as a reminder of all the things that we have been taught about the goodness and grace of God.

Growing up, I remember many times it was as if my father or mother was right there whispering to me a lesson that they had taught. It was in those moments that I was thankful for the memory that God has blessed me with because it definitely kept me out of more trouble than I could have easily gotten myself into growing up. I believe that the Holy Spirit is like my parents’ voices in my head, always pointing to do the right thing. Or in this case, always pointing to follow the standards that God has established. It is not about following the rules, but living by the fruit of the Spirit. In doing so, we are able to showcase that God is empowering us to live through the reflection of Christ.

The Holy Spirit led life is about living as a complete reflection of Christ. While doing so can be difficult, the more we remove the flesh and let the Holy Spirit live through us, the more we can live up to the standards God has for us. The standard that we are living up to is Jesus, and thankfully, Jesus has given us the gift of atonement and the empowerment of the Holy Spirit.

Blessing,

Nick Engleman

If you have any questions about starting a relationship with Jesus, or about this devotional, please feel free to reach out to me at 417-808-1049, or at nengleman902@gmail.com.

Holy Spirit-My Superpower

 Holy Spirit

My Super Power

1 Corinthians 12:4-11

Question: Have you ever desired to have a superpower?

Intro: Unless you are born Superman, it’s more than likely that you have not been born with supernatural abilities. While you may have talents, I don’t think you can fly, run at supersonic speed, or lift and throw large objects. (If you can, please reach out because I am taking applications for a new best friend). While I have been born with talents, as well as you, I am not able to perform in ways that have supernatural influence. My talents will only be enhanced by any supernatural intervention that I, and others, experience through God’s anointing of the Holy Spirit. I gain supernatural abilities and influence the more I let the Holy Spirit impact my life and calling. The Holy Spirit is my superpower.

1 Corinthians 12:4-11: ““There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all. There are different kinds of service, but we serve the same Lord. God works in different ways, but it is the same God who does the work in all of us. A spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. To one person the Spirit gives the ability to give wise advice; to another the same Spirit gives a message of special knowledge. The same Spirit gives great faith to another, and to someone else the one Spirit gives the gift of healing. He gives one person the power to perform miracles, and another the ability to prophesy. He gives someone else the ability to discern whether a message is from the Spirit of God or from another spirit. Still another person is given the ability to speak in unknown languages, while another is given the ability to interpret what is being said. It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.”

Spiritual Gifts We each have specific physical gifts that allow us to minister or work in life. Some can sing, some are great speakers, while others can teach. While physical gifts are important, God uses spiritual gifts to reveal His Power to those who do and do not believe in Him. The basic principle behind spiritual giftings and anointing is that many people need supernatural experiences to acknowledge a supernatural being. 

God uses spiritual gifts through the empowerment of the baptism of the Holy Spirit to reach the lost, heal the broken, and intervene in ways only He can in people’s lives. God intended for the giftings of the Holy Spirit to work through His followers that have been baptized in the Holy Spirit. Each one of us has the opportunity to access these Spiritual gifts to allow the voice of God to speak in our lives. Paul tells us in another chapter to earnestly seek all the gifts, because in these we see the power of God move through us to reveal His will and glory.

In doing so, God can and does provide an array of gifts to showcase His power and authority in a variety of ways. God is like the host of a great variety show that will display this array in order to awe those who do and do not believe in His presence. God uses these different gifts in his people to reach those that need to know Him and need a touch from Him.

Through these spiritual giftings, God’s power is displayed through His people to provide growth, healing, and direction. Don’t forget that these powers are for the displaying of God’s power, not our own benefit. God desires to showcase His authority through faithful servants of His kingdom. Like the example Jesus set before us, these gifts should be to display God’s desire to heal the hurt, sick, and broken, not a display of show. When Jesus was asked to display a sign or miracle, he only did so when people had faith that he could restore and heal, not use it to display his supernatural ability. God’s spiritual giftings are not to be used to showcase our abilities, self promote, or to profit. These gifts are used by God to heal, mend, and reveal His power.

For God’s Glory: When we people do great things, it is easy to take credit for it. Think about group projects in school. Of four people, one does most of the work, another helps but is mostly in the way, another does nothing but watch the first two, and the last person disappears until the end. All get the credit, but only one truly does the work. What we need to understand is that when God works through us in the gifts of the Holy Spirit, we are usually the person that helps but if we are not careful we will get in the way. We must see that we are like an instrument in that we can’t do anything unless someone plays it.

The Holy Spirit is the one that works through us. Spiritual gifts are great tools that God provides to believers that are baptized by the Holy Spirit. These gifts are meant to display the power of God through us. The Old Testament was full of great speakers of God that displayed God’s voice to His people. The Holy Spirit was active then as much as He is now, but the Holy Spirit was not actively working in “ordinary people.” The Holy Spirit now works through these gifts to be the voice of God to the current generation. If we place our hearts into a faithful position, we can become active instruments in the kingdom of God.

The active movement of the Holy Spirit is evident in those that have an active desire to see God’s presence impact the lives of others. Furthermore, we must also note that God has to reach people in different ways. God does not always work in the same manner, mostly because each person is different and will have different variants of supernatural anointing response. While some people will believe through simple means, much like a child believes in simple ideas, others will need greater convincing because of the hardness of their hearts.

If we desire to see a great move of God, we must recognize that the gifts of the Spirit will need to play a significant role in reaching the hardest of hearts. We must be willing to let the Holy Spirit work through us to accomplish the goal of reaching people for God’s Kingdom. This may mean reaching others through miracles, signs, and wonders. The gifts of the Spirit can and will honor God when our objective is to reach any and all of those who are lost,  and not just to be a dog and pony show of the faith. Remember God uses His Holy Spirit in His people to reach people that need a relationship with Him. The Gifts of the Holy Spirit are given to Christ followers to reach those that desperately need Him

The baptism of the Holy Spirit is not a requirement to reach heaven, but a way to better equip believers to proclaim the Gospel of Christ to non-believers. The Spiritual gifts we discussed are God’s way of using us in a variety of ways for those who need different and even extreme revelations of the power and authority of God. Be willing to ask God for different gifts and be ready to see Him use you in extreme ways.

Blessings,

Nick Engleman

As always, if you have any questions of Jesus Christ or this devotional, please feel free to reach out to me by email, nengleman902@gmail.com, or by phone at 417-808-1049.