There is no debate among evangelical biblical scholars that when one receives Jesus Christ as Saviour, the Holy Spirit takes up residence in that person’s life. John 14:16-17 declares, “And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counsellor to be with you forever – the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept Him, because it neither sees nor know Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you.” (NIV)

The context of this statement of Jesus in John 14 is this: He was actually preparing His disciples for His own departure and then the coming of the Holy Spirit. He had gathered His followers to give them His final instructions. He knew they were troubled when He told them He’d soon be leaving them. He’d given them all the precise directions about how to live their lives, as witnesses of His, but all of His instructions were overwhelming to them. So He assured them that a “Helper” would come to them following His absence. That “Helper” of course is the third Person of the Trinity, the blessed Holy Spirit. True spirituality is possible only because God’s Spirit actually indwells our bodies and goes through to the vital centres of the soul and spirit. Paul said, “It is God Who works in you both to will and to do His good pleasure.” (Philippians 2:13). One power of the Holy Spirit is His ability to penetrate and permeate our spirits, minds and personalities. And we must never forget that the Holy Spirit is a Person and He possesses will and intelligence and feeling and knowledge and the ability to love and desire and speak the same as any person has. His work in our lives is big, it is deep and there is no substitute for His work.

First: The Holy Spirit is the Christ-exalting Presence in us.

Paul prayed for the Ephesians that they might “be strengthened with might through His Spirit in the inner man, that Christ might dwell in their hearts through faith.” (Ephesians 2:16-17) But how does Christ live in us? There’s a clear answer given in 1 John 3:24: “And by this we know that Christ abides in us, by the Spirit Whom He has given us.” The
Holy Spirit actualizes the presence of Jesus in us and makes Him big and beautiful in our lives. The Spirit makes the believer conscious of Christ. Jesus Himself said, “He (the Spirit) shall glorify Me.”

Second: The Holy Spirit is the energizing Presence in us.

Awareness of our own weakness should make us remember the promise of Jesus. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to the end of the earth.” (Acts 1:8) The Holy Spirit’s action in us is like a fountain from which streams of intercession, praise and witness will flow. He will urge us to share the Good News and push past our fear and timidity. He fills us with zeal, fervour and courage to share.

Third: The Holy Spirit is God’s guiding Presence in us.

God has all the answers! He is omniscient, i.e. all- knowing. The Holy Spirit will function with wisdom and knowledge. For example, wisdom will be given to all who ask. (James 1:5) When the Spirit is in our lives there is light within. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is our Counsellor, our Instructor in truth. (John 16:13). He illuminates our eyes and opens our ears to both see and hear God speak to us at the very depth of our being. One author said it so clearly, “He is
the Educator of our soul.” (Rev Michael Horban).

Fourth: The Holy Spirit is God’s moral Presence in us.

It is His unique ministry of the Holy Spirit to be occupied with personal holiness in Christians. He cleanses our hearts from the burdensome drag of sin. He frees us from the bondage of sin and enables us to live in victory. He exercises His holy presence in our lives and guides us, even sometimes “pressures us” to live clean lives for the glory of
God. Again, Paul informs us that when we do sin, we grieve the Holy Spirit Who lives within us.
(Ephesians 4:30).

Fifth: This relationship with the Holy Spirit needs to be nourished!

But how? Here are some suggestions – really a checklist for daily use.

Ask yourself these questions.

Have I opened the Bible today and let it speak to me? It is nourishment for the soul.
Have I prayed meaningfully today? For family, friends, neighbours, my pastor, my church, Global Workers?
Are sin and the bitterness of unforgiveness a part of my life? Daily spiritual cleansing is necessary.
Am I sensitive to how God may want to guide or use me today? (See Acts 10:9). When I know what He wants, I must obey.
Have I tried to help or encourage someone today – especially those whose need is greater than mine?
Do I live, as Jesus taught, one day at a time? (Matthew 6:11,25-34).
Have I surrendered myself to His full control today? (Romans 8).

Let me conclude by sharing a couple of instances of the leading of the Holy Spirit in my life. After all these years in the ministry there are far too many to fully list, but here are two.

Back in the late 60’s my wife and I were pastoring in my home church. We were both feeling that our time there was coming to a close. We were young in life and “young” in the ministry, but we just knew that our time there was coming to a conclusion. The church was doing well by all of the metrics. One weekend I attended a Men’s Retreat. While there, I heard that one of our PAOC churches further west and south, near Windsor, ON, was coming open. I’d never been there in my life! But that night I could not sleep. The name of this community raced through my head all night. I knew no one there. So, it was not a case of going to be with friends or to be closer to family. Our District Superintendent was also in attendance at the Retreat. So, the next morning I approached him to seek his advice. To my amazement he told me that he felt led to put my name in to the Board of that church. He encouraged me to call the pastor. By the time I got home from the Retreat I was so excited to tell my wife what was happening. I said, “I’m going to call that pastor right now!” By now it was midnight. She thought I was crazy and urged me to wait until the morning. I didn’t; I called and the phone didn’t complete one ring when the pastor picked it up. I identified myself and he said, “This is unbelievable! I just, seconds ago, hung up from talking with our District Superintendent and he told me that our Board should contact you to come for an interview.”

Well, in about two weeks we went for the interview and two weeks after that I “preached for the call” and one of our most fruitful seasons of ministry occurred in that church. This had all been orchestrated by none other than the Holy Spirit!

The other experience of the Spirit’s prompting was during the time of my father’s terminal illness. It was January, 1972. Dad, who was almost never sick, came down with what we thought was going around in SW Ontario at the time – flu. He was so sick. The Health Department was calling it an epidemic. It should be over in about a week. But Dad kept getting progressively worse and after 3 weeks mother took him to the doctor. The doctor ordered surgery as the diagnosis was an abscess on the bowel. It should only require routine treatment and all would be well. The day of the surgery I was with mother as we prayed with Dad and off he went to the OR. The doctor, a friend we knew well, encouraged us, and said he’d be talking with us in about two hours. To put in time, I went to the foyer of the hospital and picked up an old, worn copy of The Reader’s Digest. It fell open to an article by Rev Billy Graham. The essence of the article was this: “You’re not prepared to live until you’re prepared to die.” While Dad was an ardent Christian, my mind (the Holy Spirit) began to wonder if this was a preparatory message to get me ready to receive bad news. Sure enough. After only about 30 minutes from saying goodbye to dad I saw the surgeon in the hall. I asked him how dad was doing. His answer was a blunt one; “He’s a ‘goner’” he said. He told me my Dad was full of cancer and would be dead in a month! As it turned out Dad lived for 8 months, and in that time he influenced friends who came to see him and the medical  staff who cared for him. The Holy Spirit used Dr Graham’s article to prepare me; then the same Holy Spirit used my Dad to be a vibrant witness to all who came to see him. God used Dad in those 8 months in powerful conversations more than I’d ever seen in his life over many, many years.

Yes, the power of the Holy Spirit in the Christian Life is undeniable! Let Him lead and guide you! You’ll be amazed at how wonderful and adept He is at doing just that in your life!