From: Beverly French [frenchb@vcss.k12.ca.us]
Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2004 6:17 AM
To: Heritage
Subject: June 27th Greetings

"And it will come about after this
 That I will pour out My Spirit on all mankind..."  Joel 2:28

On that day of Pentecost the Holy Spirit filled that small band of Believers and the men of Judea mocked them saying, "They are filled with sweet wine."  But Peter, in the power of the Holy Spirit, took his stand with the eleven and repeated the words of Joel.  Then he went on to preach Jesus Christ Risen and three thousand souls were added to the Church that day.  Read the whole glorious account in Acts 2: 1-42

The hearers, after asking what they must do;
"And Peter said to them, 'Repent, and let each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.'"  Verse 38

How well we know the promise of Jesus concerning the Holy Spirit, "And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever; that is the Spirit of truth..."  John 14:16

Since He dwells in each Believer we need to be very sensitive to Him. Let's look at some of Scripture that tells of the ministry and work of the Holy Spirit:

He teaches and calls to remembrance:
John 14:26  "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.'"

He testifies:
"When the Helper comes...He will bear witness of Me."  John 15:26

He convicts:
"And He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin, and righteousness, and judgment."  John 16:8  (Read Verses 8-11)

He guides:
"But when He...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."  John 16:13

He glorifies Jesus:
"He shall glorify Me; for He shall take of Mine, and disclose it to you." John 16:14

He is the power:
"But you shall 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."  Acts 1:8

He is the witness of our sonship:
"The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God."  Romans 8:16

He is our intercessor:
"And 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...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."  Romans 8:26-27 Read all of Romans Chapter 8 for it reveals life through the Spirit, assures of future glory and final victory.

Of the Holy Spirit then we see that He is a permanent resident, He teaches, He testifies, He convicts, He guides, He glorifies Jesus, He empowers, He bears witness to our sonship and He is our intercessor.  He never testifies of Himself, but remember He is God the Holy Spirit!  How then can we not desire to know Him more intimately?

Together let us thank our Holy Father for the awesome gift of His Holy Spirit who is transforming us into the image of our glorious Savior Christ Jesus the Lord. All praise and glory to Almighty God; Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Amen