Born and raised in the concrete jungle of the Northeast, I was clueless about the nature of fruit-bearing trees. One day, my BFF visited and informed me that the large shade tree was a pecan tree in our yard. I started laughing as I relayed that the tree was well past her reproductive stage in life. She stepped off of the porch, walked around the yard for a couple of minutes, returning with a shelled pecan nut in her hands. “Who’s laughing now?” I had a mature tree that produced pecans, my favorite nut, and was totally unaware for five years. The squirrels who were always on the branches enjoyed the tree’s fruit of which I knew nothing about.
Many of us accept Jesus as our personal Savior, understanding that He is the only way to God. Yet, we fail to embrace our Helper, the Holy Spirit, the Third Person of the Trinity Godhead. We have access to the power of the Holy Spirit that would make our spiritual journey bearable even through severe trials. If God sent the Holy Spirit in the form of a dove [Matthew 3:16-17] to Jesus following His baptism, then as humans without Divinity status, we desperately need the Holy Spirit.
And I will pray for the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. John 14:16-18 NKJV
Jesus defines the line of separation–the world cannot receive the Spirit of Truth. If we reject the Holy Spirit through unbelief, then we are part of the world. There is a way that seems right to a man, But its end is the way of death. Proverbs 14:12
The Work of the Holy Spirit
“Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: of sin, because they do not believe in Me; of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged.” John 16:7-11
“However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.” John 16:13-15
“Why do believer’s reject the Holy Spirit?”
John 3:8-9 tells us of the conversation between Jesus and Nicodemus regarding the Holy Spirit. To which. “Nicodemus answered and said to Him, How can these things be?” The nature of the Holy Spirit is a mystery to humanity. Jesus told His disciples, I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.” John 16:12. We can thank Jesus for recognizing our limitations.
Truthfully, we struggle every day just to maintain our faith in God. We are often plagued with discouragement and disbelief in the power of the Almighty when facing lengthy trials and sorrows. “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NLT. Our loving Jesus is full of compassion. He knows that we are easily overwhelmed with our daily struggle to love God with all of our hearts, souls, and minds. Still, the human effort of confession, repentance, praying, studying the Bible, and living faithful, and purpose-driven lives, while trusting and serving God with obedience is a requisite to receive eternal life. Help! Holy Spirit to the rescue!
We cannot afford to reject the Spirit of Truth. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot discern truth from false teachings. Nor can we fully understand the scriptures when studying the Bible. Believe it or not, false teachers read the Bible and may have more biblical knowledge than we possess. Their problem–a corrupt heart. They begin to analyze the scriptures and search for logical, rational explanations. When none can be found, they begin to develop their own theories.
The victims are the spiritually malnourished who feel they are fully capable of taking care of themselves without embracing and accepting The Trinity-God, the Father, Jesus, His Son, and the Holy Spirit. Living as the redeemed requires spiritual reinforcement only available through our willingness to obey God with a spirit of humility. To bear fruit, we have no other choice than to feed ourselves with the scriptures, which are the Voice of God. Communication with God–through prayer invites the Holy Spirit in to strengthen us, to correct us, and to guide us through our life-long journey of sanctification. Without the Holy Spirit, we are fruitless trees.
Without the Holy Spirit, we will never have the faith that Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego possessed when facing the fiery furnace [Daniel 3:16-28]. Nor can we fight spiritual warfare [Ephesians 6:12] alone. Christian believers, we watched our brothers and sisters suffering in Afghanistan, but our time of persecution will come. We cannot afford to be like the five foolish virgins who were not spiritually prepared [Matthew 25:1-13]. The oil that they lacked represents the Holy Spirit. Jesus is on the way. We have but a short time on this present earth. The Holy Spirit is available for all who just ask and believe. Thank you, Jesus.
Without the Holy Spirit, we will not have the fruit that is described in Galatians 5:22-23, But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law. Our character must align with God’s requirements to receive the reward of eternal life.
And not only that but we also glory in tribulations, knowing that tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit who was given to us. Romans 5:3-5
Prayer: God, we thank you for your love and for giving us access to the supernatural power of the Holy Spirit. We pray for an outpouring and anointing, wisdom, and discernment from the Holy Spirit. Thank you for hearing and answering our prayer that we ask in Jesus’ Name. Amen. © 2021 Sonya Johnson, Faithful Fishers Ministry
Steps 2 Success with Spiritual Solutions 