Yes, you read that right! I am asking you, "Is the Holy Spirit real"?
Why would you ask such a thing? You would be surprised how many people go through their spiritual life and think of Holy Spirit as nothing more than a statue, a force or a power, but never as a "person"!
And that is what I want to talk to you about today ... Holy Spirit!
Recently, my wife and I were asked to attend a Youth Retreat, and act as the adult chaperones, for the youth. In other words, all we have to do is to go, and have fun! We are there to supervise the kids who are mostly in Jr. High and High School age, so it's an easy task! Well I thought so!
We thoroughly enjoyed being with the youth, and I got to minister to many of the people we were helping. We got to sleep in the same areas, eat in the same areas, and we were there onsite as they worked, helping alongside them.
When it came time for the teaching classroom sessions, we were even asked to join in on those, though I'm not sure why. The teachers were interns, and well-able to teach these classes. I don't think they realized the predicament they were placing me in by putting a well-seasoned pastor in with these guys. But, we joined in and shared. It was interested conversation.
After the weekend events, a few weeks later, I was approached by one of the staff at the church, telling me that they had received a complaint that I was teaching the youth that the Holy Spirit talks to me. Well, He does! So I asked why this was such a big deal to the main offices who schedules these. I was told that they complained that we were not supposed to teach the youth that the Holy Spirit talks to us. This puzzled me, and it puzzled their staff too! They'd never heard this before! Their response was rather like mine. "What do we do then with the Day of Pentecost?" "What about when Jesus told us that He would send us a teacher who would reveal all of these teachings to us?" All good questions for them to address!
Anyway, the word is still out on this, but I began to wonder ... have we gotten so busy in our affairs of "playing church" that we have forgotten that we are to build a relationship with Holy Spirit? Really? Then I began to look at things like the Apostles Creed. We quote this thing often in our Christian Businesses and in our Churches, but why in this thing does the Holy Spirit get bottom billing? It's like He's the janitor or something! Holy Spirit is right up there with God the Father, and with Jesus! They are "ONE", together! And if GOD can speak to me, and Jesus, then why not Holy Spirit?
While we wait to hear the clergical response to this issue, let's keep in mind for the coming week that Holy Spirit is a person. He has a voice, a heart, and most of all ... feelings! And in our last message, we talked about this. How would you feel if you were so in love with someone and yet they didn't even give you the time of day? Or even worse, they refused to "talk to you"! Give this some serious thought.
Make me proud!
-pastor rich-
Get ON-TRACK with HIS Plan ...
1. Be holy - the Bible calls us a "Holy Temple", where the Spirit of GOD lives. the Spirit of GOD lives in your heart! And to keep it holy, we must confess our sin when we sin (1 John 1:9). "
If we confess our sins, HE is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleans us from all unrighteousness." In order to remain holy and clean, before GOD, we must avoid sin, and when we do sin, we must confess those sins before GOD, so that we can be made clean again.
2.
Study the Word - Jesus said in John 8:31-32, "
If you continue in My word, then are you truly disciples of Mine; and you will know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Folks, rare is the time you will ever see someone skip eating for the day, let alone days upon end. But we do that all the time
spiritually. The Word of GOD is food for our spiritual bodies! We
need that spiritual food, for spiritual energy, and for the
faith that we need ... to live the life that GOD has called us to live, here in the Earth. When we study and meditate the Word of God, our spirit man grows strong, in much the same way as a battery is charged! (Romans 10:17) But when we do NOT study the Word, our spiritual
battery begins to run down, and the natural man begins to surface. We act more like our "old self" than like the renewed man that GOD created us to be. In other words, the "flesh" wins out.
3.
Pray in the Holy Spirit - Paul teaches us that we are to
pray in the Holy Spirit. "But you, beloved, build yourselves up [founded] on your most holy faith [make progress, rise like an edifice higher and higher], praying in the spirit." [Jude 1:20 - AMP] Our supernatural energy, our faith, is
charged and built up when we spend time in the presence of GOD, and when we "pray in the Holy Spirit". We are told in Ephesians 6 to "be strong in the Lord, and in the power of HIS might", putting on the whole armor of GOD. We cannot
be strong if we do not spend time in GOD's presence, and in
supernatural prayer!
ALWAYS REMEMBER THIS:
"This is YOUR day ... YOU control it, how it goes, how you deal with the obstacles that come, and how you finish it! Master it! And don't let the day, or the little bumps that come with it determine how "YOUR DAY" is going to be. This is "YOUR" day!"
Master it! Conquer it! MAKE IT ... what your Father wants it to be!
-pastor rich-
WORD CHURCH is a church, a ministry, and a fellowship, even an outreach, where like in the days of the Apostles and Acts, the people joined together! 
