In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
- Genesis 1:1-2
“If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. …
“All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
- John 14:15-17, 25-27
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
- Acts 1:8
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
- Romans 8:26-27
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
- Galatians 5:22-23
Romans 8:26-27 ”The Spirit helps believers know how to pray (v. 26). Paul prayed for the removal of a hindrance in his life, but God did not take away that burden (2Co 12:7–10). The Spirit articulates those prayer burdens that God’s people cannot even express. The Spirit’s intercession can be trusted because he intercedes according to God’s will (Ro 8:27).”
- Dorothy Kelley Patterson, General Editor, NIV Woman’s Study Bible (Patty Comber, Pauline Epistles contributor)
I believe in God, the Father almighty,
creator of heaven and earth.
I believe in Jesus Christ, God’s only Son, our Lord,
who was conceived by the Holy Spirit,
born of the Virgin Mary,
suffered under Pontius Pilate,
was crucified, died, and was buried;
he descended to the dead.
On the third day he rose again;
he ascended into heaven,
he is seated at the right hand of the Father,
and he will come to judge the living and the dead.
I believe in the Holy Spirit,
the holy catholic Church,
the communion of saints,
the forgiveness of sins,
the resurrection of the body,
and the life everlasting. Amen.
- Apostle’s Creed
The Message
I once was the leader of a promise keeper group. They were all retired. I was the only one taking my lunch break from work to talk to them, but I enjoyed it.
One week, it was a burden on my heart to bring up the Holy Spirit. I started off by asking how comfortable they were in talking about the Holy Spirit.
There was a lot of clearing of the throat noises. A lot of people looking to see if their shoes were tied, or worse, looking to try to find a clock on the wall so they could come up with an excuse to leave.
The point was, they hardly knew anything about the Holy Spirit, and it scared them.
But Jesus says that the Holy Spirit is better than He is. They are all three parts of the Trinity. No part can be better than another. They are all Holy. But while Jesus was on earth, Jesus was trapped in time and space. The Holy Spirit is everywhere, and no matter how much we spread the Holy Spirit thin, He is all powerful everywhere. And Jesus calls Him our Advocate.
We should not be scared of someone who is all powerful and on our side. But there is a trick there. The Holy Spirit groans, making our prayers align with God’s will. The prayer came from us, but all worldly trappings and unholy desires are filtered out. You might not be getting that Mercedes-Benz after all.
Were my friends in the promise keeper group blaspheming the Holy Spirit? I don’t think so, but they may have grieved the Holy Spirit from time to time.
We should have a healthy fear of the Lord. He is LORD, after all. He is all mighty and His majesty will make everyone, and even everything, bow down before Him.
But the Holy Spirit is the one who makes us willing to accept Jesus as our Savior. With our sin nature, we don’t want God, but once the Holy Spirit has convicted us of our sins, we see no other choice making sense.
This is why I gave Jemima Yeggs the codename “Stinker” in my fictional big city of Tracy. You and your sin nature go right along with no worries. You may have a hole in your soul, but your sin nature encourages you to fill that with adventure, substances that are not good for you, romances that go nowhere… Whatever is available to fill the void. And you think you are having the time of your life, and then this little “stinker” starts loving you in a way you have never been loved before. She starts showing you that there is a better way. And before you know it, you want that better way. On one hand, you are grateful that someone brought you to Jesus, but when you think back to the old life, you think that this little “stinker” tricked you.
But that was all the work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit convicts you of your sin. You become aware that you need help. Then, the Holy Spirit points out that “stinker” in your midst has it together and you don’t. Does Stinker have the right words to say? If not, the Holy Spirit provides that too. Then, Jesus comes to knock on the door of your heart, and you fall over yourself trying to get the door open – where just a few weeks before, you would have ignored the knocking.
Once we have accepted Jesus, the Holy Spirit guides our Bible study to illumine our minds to the wonders of God.
And Jesus promised that when we are placed in a position where we must defend our faith, the Holy Spirit will give us the words to say. I have had that happen to me and my wife had it happen to her also. It is amazing, when others pat you on the back and say how wonderful those words were, but you do not remember saying anything at all. Yes, the Holy Spirit is that powerful.
The Trinity is not whole without the Holy Spirit. Let us not belief in a two-person God. We rely on the Holy Spirit every day. Let us believe in one God in three persons.
We need our Advocate.
And now let us sing.
Here is Sweet, Sweet Spirit sung by the Gaither Vocal Band and Gene McDonald. I know that I used this song and video only a few weeks ago on Pentecost Sunday (in the Stinker Sunday school class).
Closing Prayer
Dear Lord,
We believe in You. We trust You. And we need the Holy Spirit in every fiber of our being. We need the Holy Spirit to show us where we have not dealt with sin in our lives. We need the Holy Spirit to guide our tongue and our actions. We need the Holy Spirit to light that fire within us that causes our love to spill out in all directions. Come, Holy Spirit, Come. Sweet Holy Spirit. Sweet Heavenly Dove. Stay right here with us, filling us with Your love.
In Thy name we pray,
Amen
Soli Deo Gloria. Only to God be the Glory.
Thoughts from Mark "Hat" Rackley 
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