Now the Holy Spirit is part of the Trinity of God which is made up of three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the third PERSON in the Trinity. He's a spirit- being but He's also a person because: He has a soul (Jeremiah 12:7 and 32:41); He has a mind (Romans 8:27); He has emotions (Judges 10:16, Isaiah 63:10, Ezekiel 6:9, and Ephesians 4:30); He can be insulted (Hebrews 10:29); and He can be quenched (1 Thessalonians 5:19). You are also yourself a spirit-person and you have a soul (mind, will, emotions and conscience) but you are different in that you are temporarily living in a physical body.

Indeed, the Holy Spirit is a person but He is a DIVINE person because He is God. Scripture confirms that He possesses all the essential characteristics of God:

1. He is eternal (Hebrews 9:14). The Holy Spirit is present in both the Old and New Covenants (Testaments). He has performed the same way in both Covenants except that in the New Covenant He dwells IN Believers instead of ON them and He manifests in the speaking and interpretation of tongues.

2. He is omniscient (John 14:26 and 1 Corinthians 2:10). The word omniscient means to know all things. The Holy Spirit knows everything there is to know about everything and anything. If you need to know something, you can ask the Holy Spirit because He has all the answers and wants to give them to you.

3. He is omnipotent (Romans 8:11). The word omnipotent means to have unlimited power and authority. The absolute power and authority of the Holy Spirit were demonstrated when Jesus was raised from the dead, not only for the physical act of raising Him but also because of the complete redemption for Believers and the total defeat of the enemy that were all included in the one act. It was an awesome display of power!

4. He is omnipresent. The word omnipresent means that the Holy Spirit is everywhere (Psalm 139:1-16). Wherever you go He is already there. He knows your thoughts and your dreams and your plans. He knows exactly where you are at all times and He'll never leave or forsake you (Deuteronomy 31:6, 8 and Hebrews 13:5).

Some folks have difficulty understanding the triune or three- person nature of God. He's only ONE God but He manifests as three persons. Some non-believers say that Christians are worshipping three gods but that's a totally wrong concept. The Old Testament uses the uni-plural Hebrew word "Elohim" to confirm that the Lord has more than one expression but this is lost in the translation to the English word "God" (e.g. Genesis 1:26). Accordingly, the three persons of the Trinity are united into one Godhead and can be looked upon as different expressions or manifestations of the ONE God. The Holy Spirit is the expression that has been sent to dwell in, minister to and be united with the spirits of Believers under the New Covenant. In any event, most Believers frankly just need to accept by faith that our one Creator God has a complex and unique ability for multiple expressions of Himself.

The Holy Spirit of the New Covenant was sent by the Father to Believers at the request of Jesus (John 14:26) to be a Comforter or Helper. He is known as the Second Comforter: Jesus is the First Comforter. The Greek equivalent of the English word Comforter is "Paraclete" which means to come along side of. By coming along side of believers the Holy Spirit acts as our Comforter, Helper and Teacher. He comes along side to comfort, to help and to lead us to and through the plans and purposes of God for our lives.

The Book of Acts shows us that the early Christians were very close to the Holy Spirit, not only the Apostles but also Evangelists, Pastors, Deacons and other ministers as well. In fact, there are many examples there that show how He routinely interacted with their lives. He told them where to go or not go, what to do or not do and even when they should do the things He wanted done. Here are some of those references: Acts 8:26, 8:29, 10:10, 11:12, 13:2, 15:28, 16:6-7 and 21:4. These scriptures show that the Holy Spirit was very real to the early Church and was a vital and indispensable part of what they were doing. We encourage you to look up these scriptures and be reminded of how the Holy Spirit operated during those first years of the Church.

The logical question that comes next is: why doesn't the Holy Spirit work with Believers today as closely as He did in the first century? Traditional teaching says the Holy Spirit has changed the way He operates and that He is less active in the lives of Believers now despite the fact there are no scriptures to support it. That point of view also fails to consider that change contradicts the very nature of God; as already noted, He's the same yesterday, today and forever.

Should we not consider then that it's we Believers who have changed over the years and that WE now are far less likely than in the early Church to acknowledge, reverence and open up to the ministry of the Holy Spirit? If so, then we should seek to correct that and make whatever changes are necessary to return the relationship to what it once was so we can be led by Him as they were. The sons of God should STILL expect to be actively led by the Holy Spirit because the Word of God says for us to do so.

What does that mean? What's He supposed to help us do? Well so far we've seen that according to scripture the Holy Spirit is supposed to comfort us by coming along side and helping us (John 14:26). But He's also working to help us discover and pursue God's will and plan for our lives through which we can eventually be conformed to the image of Christ. Through this process He's helping us in particular with the following areas:

• Dealing with and retraining our corrupted flesh
• Comforting us when we come under the attacks of the enemy and leading us to the related solutions
• Helping us resist the adversary
• Helping us grow in the Word and in the attributes of God
• Assisting us in the apprehension of our inheritance so we can manifest the victory of Christ

Following are some key scriptures that describe His work:

• John 16:13 = “…He will guide you into all the truth...and He will disclose to you what is to come.”
• Romans 8:14 = He is to lead the sons of God
• Acts 10:19-20 = He controls the movements of Believers
• 1 Thessalonians 4:9 = “…He teaches us to love one another…”
• John 14:26 = “…He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that (Jesus has said)...”
• Psalms 26:2 = He examines us and tests our mind and heart.
• 2 Corinthians 13:14 = He is to fellowship with Believers.

Did you know the Holy Spirit works much more closely with some Believers than He does with others? But how can that be true if He's no respecter of persons? Well, it's because many of us ignore Him. Instead of being Spirit-led; we tend to be feelings-led, need-led, problems-led and opportunities-led. The truth is the Holy Spirit works with those who're open to His ministry, who're hungry to be Spirit-led and who're willing to yield to His leading. Meanwhile, He's waiting for the others to grow tired of living by the flesh so in the meantime they don't get as much attention as the ones who're more willing and open. But friend, those who can learn to be Spirit-led will always be in the right place at the right time and will always have the right answer to any question. The Holy Spirit possesses all knowledge and all wisdom and He wants to share it with you.

So, if you want to be Spirit-led you may have to change the way you're presently operating. First, you have to acknowledge and respect and be aware of the Holy Spirit instead of ignoring Him. In other words, you have to come into fellowship together and allow Him to be involved in your life. Then second, you have to come to know who He is which has been briefly touched on already in this Newsletter. But the only way to really get to know Him is to look for Him in the Word of God and then spend quality time together: the Word, the Holy Spirit and you. Thirdly, you'll have to begin to yield to Him: go where He wants you to go, do what He tells you to do, etc. Put all that together and in a short time you can become Spirit-led.

But to do that you'll also have to be able to "hear" Him speak; God is a speaking Spirit. A mistake many Believers make is thinking that the Holy Spirit spoke to those early Christians in an audible natural voice and that He wants to speak that way today. Certainly He may at times speak audibly but generally He speaks Spirit to spirit as He also did in the Book of Acts. There're a number of scriptures that confirm this and describe the Holy Spirit bearing witness with the spirits of those He was communicating with. The truth is the things of God are spiritually discerned (1 Corinthians 2:9-13) and the Holy Spirit confirms them as a co-witness with our spirit on that level (Romans 8:16).

When you're trying to be Spirit-led, you have to get quiet and shut out the distractions so you can "hear" Him in your inner- being where He dwells. You confer with Him about your concerns and He answers with Words directly to your spirit. You don't pray TO the Holy Spirit, you CONFER with Him, you converse with Him. You ask the Holy Spirit to speak to you about particular subjects, to counsel and advise you and to comfort you in the face of difficulty. But your PRAYERS should be directed TO the Father and in the name of Jesus.

Now, there are many references in the New Testament to actions and decisions being taken because "it seemed right." Just a few of them are in Luke 1:3, Acts 15:22, 25, 28, and 34. So, when you've conferred with the Holy Spirit and something "seems right" to do, when you have a "peace" about doing it, then STEP OUT IN FAITH believing you've heard from the Lord. Sometimes you may miss it but as time goes on you'll become more expert in discerning the leading of the Holy Spirit. The important thing is to not ever take action until "it seems right," until you "sense the peace." You need to wait on God until "it seems right" and then step out in faith. God will catch you when you fall and He will honor your efforts to become one of His sons who's trying to be Spirit-led.

If you think about it, part of being Spirit-led is learning how to access and USE the attributes of God that ALREADY RESIDE WITHIN EACH AND EVERY BELIEVER. Since the Holy Spirit dwells within us, we have in relatively close proximity ALL of God's wisdom and knowledge (1 Corinthians 2:7-10 and Colossians 2:2-3), the mind of Christ (1 Corinthians 2:16), the nine fruits of the Holy Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23) including the perfect LOVE AND FAITH of Christ and the nine Gifts of the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) which contrary to traditional teaching are STILL available to Christians who desire and SEEK after them and which also by the way, we've been INSTRUCTED to pursue (1 Corinthians 14:1).

Now the accessing of these attributes and gifts for our use in the natural realm is subject to the same challenges as "hearing" the voice of the Holy Spirit. As already pointed out, the "difficulty" is that God almost always works Spirit to spirit. The spirit-man of a Believer is already perfect, without spot, blemish or wrinkle, totally redeemed from sin and set free from death. So our spirit-man has total and complete access to all of the wisdom, knowledge and ability of the Holy Spirit WITHOUT limitation. But most of us are largely dominated by our carnal-man that works only by the five physical senses so the challenge is to move the flesh out of the way so we can connect to the redeemed spirit-man within.

The question is: how do we accomplish this? Well, what we want to do is move the attributes of God from the spirit-man within to our natural MINDS where we can use them. Keep in mind that you are a three-part being with a spirit, a soul and a body. Your mind is part of your SOUL which also contains your will, your emotions, your conscience and your personality (individualized characteristics that God has given you). Once we learn to access His attributes, once we're able to make use of them in the natural, then there's nothing in the universe that Believers would not be able to do. When Jesus said that Believers would eventually do greater works than He had done (John 14:12), He was saying that it would happen because He was soon going to be with the Father WHICH WOULD RELEASE THE PRESENCE AND MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT. In sum, learning to access the attributes of God will make it possible for those greater works to occur.

What specifically do we have to do in order to begin accessing the power of the Holy Spirit? The Bible says by walking in the Spirit we will not carry out the desire of the flesh (Galatians 5:16) and we WILL manifest the attributes of God and we submit for your consideration the following applications to make this happen:

1. Attention to and study of the Word = When you meditate on the Word you're focusing on divinely inspired words of Truth that can only be understood in the spirit. When you sense understanding in your MIND, you have just successfully moved part of the essence of God from the spirit- man to your natural MIND.

2. Acting on what we find in the Word = Faith requires that we act on the Word as we learn from it so we can continue to put aside the Flesh and confirm the validity of God's wisdom (James 1:21-22).

3. Seeing the Father do things = Jesus said He never did anything He had not seen His Father DOING (John 5:19). How does one SEE our invisible God doing anything except in the Word or by the Spirit? Ask God in faith for the ability to see Him doing things and He will grant your request because that's exactly how Jesus did it.

4. Speaking in tongues = The Bible says that when we speak in tongues our spirits speak mysteries directly to God (1 Corinthians 14:2,14). Indeed, the wisdom of God is a mystery (1 Corinthians 2:7); so when you speak in tongues, which is one of the spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12:10), ask God for the interpretation (1 Corinthians 14:13) so that the wisdom of God can be moved from your spirit-man to your natural MIND and understanding.

Friend, when we cut off the Holy Spirit in our lives, when we ignore Him like most Christians do as a matter of routine, we become complacent and spiritually dull. When we become spiritually dull to the things of God we become dull to the ministry of His Holy Spirit. There is no spot in the life of a victorious Believer for spiritual complacency because when we become spiritually complacent there is no opportunity for the Holy Spirit to carry out His ministry. And the result is carnal Christians, Believers who are limited to the five physical senses and forego the opportunity to be Spirit-led which is the very best God has for His children.

In conclusion, keep in mind that this is a series on the Laws of biblical prosperity. Therefore, the point to be made today is that being Spirit-led is an essential requirement for experiencing the fullness of biblical prosperity in the life of a Believer. We should NEVER be conclusively or exclusively led by "open doors" or by opportunities or by feelings or by money or by "natural confirmations" when we're trying to find God's will about something. Also, we should be careful NOT to overly rely on the opinions and counsel of others no matter how wise we consider them to be and even though the Old Testament says that "there is safety (victory) in the multitude of counselors." We can certainly consider all these ways of seeking God's will; but friend, WE ARE NEW TESTAMENT BELIEVERS and we have a better way which is to hear from and be led by the Holy Spirit. Many, many Christians are still trying to be led by Old Testament ways and so the conclusions they reach are at a lower level than had they heard directly from the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit wants to grow closer to you because the closer you are the more victory you will have in every area of your life: spirit, soul and body. Start working on being Spirit-led and watch your life change for the better.

Thanks for reading Prosperous Life Newsletter today and we'll be looking for you again in three weeks on November 7. In the meantime, may the Lord bless you and your family with the fullness of His spiritual blessing and favor.

If you have never invited Jesus to become the Lord of your life, you can do so today by saying the following simple prayer:

Jesus I believe in you and I receive You as my Lord and Savior. I believe You are the Son of God and that He raised You from the dead. Thank you that my sins are forgiven and that I am reborn, a new creature in You.

If you were sincere as you prayed, God has already come into your life and you are a new creation. Now ask the Lord to lead you to a good faith based bible teaching church where you can be developed to fulfill your potential in the Kingdom of God. If you're unable to find a church, give us a call and we'll help you find a good one.

Please e-mail your prayer requests to: theway@makeaway.net. We'll be honored to bring them before the Lord each Tuesday morning at 10:00 AM, Eastern Time.

If you have been blessed and edified by Prosperous Life Newsletter, please pray about making a Spirit-led love offering to support the work of the Ministry (Galatians 6:6-7). PLN is a non profit [501(c) (3)] gift to the Body of Christ so your financial gifts should be tax deductible (please consult your tax advisor). May God bless you with His abundant harvest in return for sowing your precious seed into this Ministry.

It would bless us to have an opportunity to answer your questions concerning any of the areas covered by the ministry of PLN. We would also be happy to consider your comments and suggestions. Please feel free to e-mail them to us or give us a call anytime during normal business hours at our toll free number 1-800-357-4223.