who is the holy spirit?

We often hear messages and series about the Holy Spirit. He can seem like a mysterious force that we only talk about from time to time. There is much more to the Holy Spirit than what we may hear about Him.

The sad truth is that He is not welcomed everywhere. Churches have kicked Him out in exchange for larger crowds and shorter church services. Many have decided to open the church building without inviting the one who gave their life for the Church! What this has created is a social club instead of a world-changing movement. My fear is that some may walk into the Church looking for the Lord, but all they find is men without power. Remember, the power to save is not from the Church; it is from the Lord!

I believe what we can do is minimize who the Holy Spirit is, which leads to the mistake of not understanding how VITAL He is in the Church. The Holy Spirit is not "baby God" He is God! He was there in the beginning of time (Genesis1:1-2), He was the one who spoke to the prophets (2 Peter 1:21), He was there at the baptism of Jesus (Mark 1:10-11), and He was the POWER that brought Him out of the grave (Romans 8:11). Do not overlook the privilege that it is to KNOW HIM. We often wish we could've walked the streets with Jesus, and although I understand the intentions behind that, I am afraid we are misled. Even Jesus said that it was to our advantage that HE goes SO THAT He could send us the Holy Spirit (John 16:7-9). The works that we wish we could've seen Jesus do can now be done THROUGH US because of the Holy Spirit. Do not make Him familiar; He is GOD!

He is a person.

He can be known just like any other person. We can have a personal relationship with Him! Knowing that He is a person, the question can arise: How do we treat Him? It's easy to sin against a mysterious force; it's much more difficult to sin against a person. He can be grieved; He can be dishonored; He can be disrespected; he can be mistreated. I don't want to be the one who does that to Him. I want to be the one who loves Him, who obeys Him and one who WELCOMES HIM into my life.

We have the privilege of knowing Him. He is not welcomed everywhere; will He be accepted in your heart? In your life? And in your Church?