The Abiding Presence of the Holy Spirit

Speaker: Archbishop Loren Thomas Hines

June 05, 2022

in Spritual Growth

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June 5, 2022
Feast of Pentecost
Readings: Acts 2: 1-11
1 Corinthians 12:4-13
John 14: 8-17

The work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that He has been given to us to teach us. Christ knew that we needed the Holy Spirit. The disciples during His time were confused and anxious, knowing that Christ would leave them soon. Christ made sure He would send them a Helper. Today, many people believe that as long as we look good and acceptable on the outside, it’s ok. But life comes from our inner being, not on the outside. God gave us the Holy Spirit to strengthen us. The gospel in John 14 tells us that Philip was skeptical and asked Jesus, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works.”

When Jesus was baptized, the heavens were opened and the Holy Spirit shaped as a dove descended upon Him to strengthen Him. That same gift has been given to us so that we should not think of ourselves as weak. We need to realize how much we have been given. If the Father and Son are with us, then the Holy Spirit is also with us and will not leave us. We walk in the strength of God. Man had been deceived by the enemy to think that we do not have hope. But God wasn’t going to let us face the pain and struggles alone. He will never desert us. He will not leave us. Jesus said the words He speaks are from the Father. We’ve been taught things in the world that truth comes from different sources. But the truth comes from God. The world cannot receive it but we have the provisions of God to receive it.

The Holy Spirit is also called the Paraclete, the Lawyer. He defends us. “I will send another Helper.” So aside from the Holy Spirit, Christ is also our Helper. In the world we will walk through the fiery furnace but we will not be burned. Greater is He in us than he who is in the world. We will come out of the fire unscathed. Christ came to save us, to lead us out of bondage. When we face unfavorable circumstances in the midst of trials, we may feel a temporary setback, but the Holy Spirit our Lawyer comes to our rescue. If we put our confidence in Him, there’s no way we can fail. It is necessary to be obedient. Sometimes we wonder why the world is in the condition that it is in today. Why? Because of disobedience. The Holy Spirit came to dwell within us. He abides in us and will never leave us. His presence in our lives gives us strength. He will not turn His back on us. Matthew 10:19-20 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” The Holy Spirit speaks through us. When He speaks, the opposition melts like wax. 2 Corinthians 1:22 “who also sealed us and gave us the Spirit in our hearts as a pledge.” The flesh may pass away, but the spirit lives on. It is the internal of the person that matters. The Spirit will bring forth the life in us. 1 John 2:4 “He that saith, I know him, and keepeth not his commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” We need not follow the 600 commandments made by man. We only need to follow two simple and vital commandments- love God and love your neighbor as yourselves. While it may not be easy to be spat upon by the enemy, we should still continue to obey God. Psalm 28 “The Lord is my strength and my shield.” Psalm 59 “The Lord is my stronghold.” Psalm 62 “My rock and my salvation.” God brings victory to us and lets us overcome obstacles.

In Pentecost, people were speaking in tongues and all the different languages of different people were understood. The Holy Spirit will abide in us. God gives us the Holy Spirit so that we can communicate with Him. This is the beauty of God. So when we come to church, we do not come to talk to each other but to listen and talk to God.