the personality of the holy spirit john 14 16 and i will ask the father and he will give you another comforter counselor helper intercessor advocate strengthener and standby that he may remain with you forever one of the greatest misconceptions people have about the holy spirit is that they think he is just a force or an object the holy spirit is not water fire wind oil a dove or air he is a person a person with feelings he is not an it or a force or wind he is a real person and when you come to
know him he will become more real to you than life itself he will become more real to you than the people you see around he will become more real to you than the very air you breathe talk to him love him embrace him grieve not the holy spirit because he is the one you need [Music] the holy spirit is the third person in the godhead god the father the son and the holy spirit he has all the attributes of god he is omnipotent which means he has unlimited power and is able to do anything he
is omnipresent which means he is present everywhere all the time his presence is not limited by time or space because god created the universe he is above all things and holds all things together he is omniscient which means he is all-knowing his knowledge is perfect and complete he knows everything that ever was is or will be it is impossible for us to understand this fully because only god knows what it is like to know everything the holy spirit speaks he moves he sees and he has emotions the holy spirit can be sorrowful when he is
grieved that means we can actually grieve the holy spirit all these attributes of his prove that he is not an object but a person the holy spirit is the promise of god to all believers in christ he is to be our comforter counselor helper intercessor advocate strengthener and stand by let us consider the various attributes of the holy spirit that qualify him as a person and not as a mere force or thing as some people would presume first the holy spirit is a comforter john 14 16 and 17 and i will ask the father and
he will give you another comforter counselor helper intercessor advocate strengthener and standby that he may remain with you forever the spirit of truth whom the world cannot receive because it seeth him not neither knoweth him but ye know him for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you the word comforter in john 14 verse 16 refers to the holy spirit and the amplified version of the bible gives us a full scope of the comforter's ministry as a comforter the holy spirit is also our counselor helper intercessor advocate strengthener and stand by we cannot have
all these things in the holy spirit and live as if we are alone have you ever wondered that the reason the early believers were tortured and imprisoned and yet they remained joyful it was because the holy spirit was their comforter there wouldn't be a need for the comfort of the holy spirit if there is no distress in the world jesus never told us that there will be no difficult times in our lives but he assures us of comfort through the holy spirit no matter what you are passing through the holy spirit is with you he
is strengthening you fortifying you he comes with strength into your life the greatest cause of tragedy for believers does not lie first of all in the fact that they are faced with challenges but in the fact that we are almost unconscious of the fact that the holy spirit is with us in our worst times he comes with strength [Music] second the holy spirit teaches jesus was preparing the heart of his disciples for the hostility they will suffer when he is gone from them he told them they would be brought before magistrates but that they should
not be anxious of what to say he added in luke 12 verse 12 saying for the holy ghost shall teach you in the same hour what ye ought to say so the holy spirit will fill their mouths and teach them the accurate way to respond when they are brought before judges this was fulfilled in the lives of the apostles paul inclusive they spoke with great wisdom each time they stood before the elders stephen had the testimony that people could not resist the wisdom by which he spoke because the holy spirit taught him what to say
in acts 6 10 but they could not stand up against the wisdom the spirit gave him as he spoke [Music] third the holy spirit convicts in john 16 verse 8 jesus said concerning the holy spirit and when he is come he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment it is the holy spirit that convicts sinners of their sins and makes them to admit their need for the lord before they can believe in the finished works of christ for their salvation it is not your amazing preaching or your persuasive speech or
charm or charisma that brings sinners to christ it is the holy spirit that convicts sinners of their sin that when they hear there is a god who is angry at them for their sin they know it is true and when they hear that jesus died for them so that they may obtain eternal life it is the holy spirit that tells them it is true again the holy spirit convicts us each time we derail from the path of righteousness thereby producing a godly sorrow that leads us to repentance the holy spirit is the one who draws
you back to christ when you steer of the right path look at your own life and examine it before the holy spirit entered your life you would live in sin and wallow in it and enjoy it and have pleasure in it no problem but ever since the holy spirit entered your life when you now sin there is a guilt that you feel there is a godly sorrow which affects you now you now struggle to live with sin why because the holy spirit convicts you don't enjoy sin the way you used to fourth the holy spirit
directs church affairs acts 13 verse 2 records the event that took place as certain prophets and teachers fasted and prayed to the lord as they ministered to the lord and fasted the holy ghost said separate me barnabas and soul for the work where unto i have called them the spirit of god moves in churches he moves the holy spirit actually confirmed the apostleship of paul and barnabas and gave instruction to the church to separate them for the assignment the holy spirit actually governed the affairs of the church and confirms the calling of men within the
local church fifth the holy spirit helps and intercedes romans 8 26 likewise the spirit also helpeth our infirmities for we know not what we should pray for as we ought but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with the groanings which cannot be uttered here the holy spirit is pictured as the helper and the intercessor of believers he helps our weaknesses and intercedes for us with groaning that words cannot express you see we do not actually know how to pray as we ought but the holy spirit searches the mind of god and helps us to
pray in alignment with god's will if you pray without the help of the holy spirit you will pray amiss but the holy spirit strengthens us and also prays through us hallelujah sixth the holy spirit inspires ii peter 1 verse 21 says for the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man but holy men of god spake as they were moved by the holy ghost the bible was written by holy men through the inspiration of the holy spirit how could a man like enoch the seventh generation for adam prophesy about the second coming
of christ if he was not inspired by the holy spirit the holy spirit breathed upon men in different generations and they saw the mind of god and wrote according to the proportion of revelation they received seventh the holy spirit sanctifies first peter 1 verse 2 says elect according to the foreknowledge of god the father through sanctification of the spirit unto obedience and sprinkling of the blood of jesus christ grace unto you and peace be multiplied the holy spirit is constantly at work in believers to see that they are daily sanctified the holy spirit continually helps
us to become holier on daily basis as we walk with christ it is important to highlight that these functions cannot be performed by a force power influence or attribute of god only a person can do these things [Music] the holy spirit is a person although he is invisible he can manifest himself through several ways and his attributes are of person the holy spirit is a person and he is sent to help us in our faith walk do not despise the ministry of the holy spirit because therein lies your comfort and consolation as a believer
