I’m amazed! I’m absolutely astounded that many Christians refer to the Holy Spirit as “it!”. When the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, the Bible is talking about a person. HE is the very third person of the Trinity, the very Spirit of the mighty living God, and not just a loose force in the world that you toss to people like a football. He is not something you blow on people and they fall, No! You don’t blow on people the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit is no other than the supernatural mighty power of God, the very breath of God himself. He is NOT given to us so that He may serve our purpose or to become our personal genie, no and a million no! He is the hurricane force that created the universe, He is the almighty wind that blew on the dust, and Adam showed up. He is the mighty wind that parted the red sea, He is the supernatural power that breathes upon our dead soul, quickens our spirit, transforms our fallen nature, seals us for God’s ownership and fills us with His presence. He is the power that guides us, leads us and empowers us to live a Holy and righteous life.

• Isaiah 34:16 tells us that the Holy Spirit of God controls the course of history.
• Nehemiah 9:30 & Zechariah 7:12 tells us that the Holy Spirit reveals God’s truth and will.
• Psalm 143:10 tells us that God’s people will know the way to faithfulness through the Holy Spirit.
• Genesis 34 & Numbers 11 tells us that the Holy Spirit of God equips individuals for leadership.

Often, it is a figure of speech when the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit. For example, on the day of Pentecost, He came into the building as tongues of fire (Acts 2:1-13). If this was a literal fire, it would probably have burnt the building down. Fire in the old testament symbolizes light, warmth, purity and the presence of God. Before the coming of the Holy Spirit of God, the world was cold, dark, unloved and impure. Then when the Holy Spirit came, He changed all that.

In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit would often come upon one of God’s people temporarily and empower them. For example, the Holy Spirit came upon Samson, Joshua, and Isaiah temporarily and empowered them. That is why David prays in the Psalms (51) saying, “Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me.” But on the day of Pentecost all that changed. For the very first time in human history, the Holy Spirit permanently came to earth to indwell in all those who put their faith in Jesus Christ.

Whenever a person receives the Lord Jesus Christ as their Saviour and Lord, the Holy Spirit immediately takes up residence by indwelling inside the person permanently. The Holy Spirit is the full representative of the Lord Jesus Christ. That is why God promises all believers that, “Never will I leave you nor forsake you.” – Hebrews 13:5-6

John 14:16 clearly tells us that the Holy is permanent, a done deal and would be with us forever. But while we are sealed with the Holy Spirit, filling of the Holy Spirit is continuous. The Bible says that “He who began a good work in you, is the very ONE who will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6)” This means that the sealing of the Holy Spirit is dependent only upon God’s gracious favour, while the filling of the Holy Spirit is dependent upon us asking Him moment of everyday to be filled with His Spirit.

To be filled with the Holy Spirit, we must be emptied of ourselves. In Isaiah 11:2, the Bible lists all the sevenfold ministry of the Holy Spirit: His Comforting presence, Wisdom, Understanding, Counsel, Might, Knowledge, and fear of the Lord. Whenever you and I yield and surrender to the Holy Spirit reigning and ruling in our lives, He produces these characteristic in us.

Just as light helps us to read in darkness, so does the Holy Spirit in lighting up the word of God for us to understand, comprehend and apply to our lives in our walk with God. Just as light warns us and reveals to us what we cannot normally see in the darkness, so does the Holy Spirit in empowering us when temptation comes at us from a blind alley.

God the Holy Spirit wants to fight for us on our behalf, He wants to shield us, defend us, empower us. What else do you think John meant in 1 John 4:4, when he said, “greater is He who is in you than he who is in the world.” He is saying the Holy Spirit of God that is indwelling the believer is far greater than Satan who is in the world. In Romans 8, Paul reveals that the Holy Spirit is a gift of God given to us to ensure our liberty and victory over sin, as a guarantee and seal that seals our adoption papers as sons and daughters of the living God, and to turn our groans into glory.

Creation groans with all the earthquake, volcano eruptions, hurricane, and the rest of it, this is nature’s way of groaning. Why because nature and planet earth came under curse after Adam’s fall, because of sin. With all the beauty that we see in nature, all the magnificent things that we see on this earth, it is still groaning. Why? Because it’s like a woman in labour delivering a baby. This earth is groaning in readiness to deliver a new earth that is coming down from Heaven.

As long as we live in this tent, we ourselves also groan, we groan because we are aliens, we are sojourners, and our citizenship is in Heaven, not here. We groan because our adopted Father is in Heaven and He is waiting for us to come home. We groan when we see what sin is doing to the human body from sicknesses and diseases to disappointment, grieve, agony and pain. We groan when we see what sin is doing to divided homes, sorry relationships, public lives, political lives, and social lives. We groan when we see drugs and violence and all the madness in this world.

Not only does creations groans, not only do we groan. In Romans 8:26-27, Paul said the Spirit of God within us groans in us, most time by inaudible words. “For we do not know how to pray as we should but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for word and He who searches our heart knows the mind of the Spirit because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.” Everything Cries Holy!

Like the Apostle Paul who lived with a thorn in the flesh (2 Corinthians 12:7-10), there are times when I groan in the spirit, and I feel the spirit groaning within me, because I’m not sure if I ought to pray for deliverance, or faith, and strength to endure. But I do take heart knowing full well that God’s Grace is more than sufficient for me.

“Tis Grace that brought me safe thus far, and Grace will lead me home.” – John Newton

There are many times the Spirit groans within me because I don’t know the mind of the Spirit and it takes my groaning to the throne of the Father and the Father send the Spirit back and with his answer wrapped perfectly in His will. The great comfort and the great joy I have is to know that the spirit of God is giving me the victory, guaranteeing and sealing my adoption and is turning my groaning into glory.

There is a story said about a famous man who was a guide in the deserts of Arabia. He was known as the dove man because he was always accompanied by a homing pigeon wherever he went. Whenever he was in doubt to which way to take while in the deserts, he would throw the pigeon up in the air, and the pigeon would immediately strain at the cord attached to one of its legs (in its bid to fly homeward), – and as a result, the guide was able to find his way home, with the homing pigeon leading the way. It is no coincidence that the Holy Spirit is symbolised as a dove. He is our homing dove, and whenever we have lost our way, the Holy Spirit of God gently leads us, tugs us and brings us home, if we stop grieving and quenching Him.

“The Holy Spirit never enters a man and then lets him live like the world. You can be sure of that.” – A.W. Tozer