WATCH LIVE
EVENTS
NORTHSTAR
GIVE
“Mary asked the angel, “But how can this happen? I am a virgin.”The angel replied, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the baby to be born will be holy, and he will be called the Son of God.” – Luke 1:34-35.
I can only imagine what was going through Mary’s mind when the angel Gabriel appeared to her and said,“Greetings, favored woman! The Lord is with you!” (Luke 1:28) Gabriel went on to say, “Don’t be afraid, Mary,” the angel told her, “for you have found favor with God! You will conceive and give birth to a son, and you will name him Jesus. He will be very great and will be called the Son of the Most High…” (Luke 1:30-32) She asked the obvious question: How is this possible? The answer…the Holy Spirit will come upon you.
While many people have heard a lot about God the Father and Jesus the Son, the Holy Spirit often remains an unknown “entity”, an “it”, and can often cause lots of confusion. There is a tendency to go in one of two different directions: either people have a daily relationship with the Holy Spirit, or we tend to forget about the Holy Spirit because we don’t know exactly what His role is in our lives. Francis Chan said this in his book, Forgotten God; Reversing our tragic neglect of the Holy Spirit; “I don’t want my life to be explainable without the Holy Spirit. I want people to look at my life and know that I couldn’t be doing this by my own power.” Of all the gifts given to mankind by God, there is none greater than the presence of the Holy Spirit.
John 16:7 (ESV) says “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 go, I will send him to you.” What? Jesus says it is better for them that He goes away. That is because the Holy Spirit has come to empower you to live the life that Jesus did. He came to empower you to do the things Jesus did. He wants you to love the things that Jesus loved for the same reasons Jesus loved them.
The Holy Spirit is a person who knows you and loves you. Have you ever needed direction? Have you ever wanted answers to do whatever it is that you are doing? Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would come to be a counselor, one who would come alongside, and help you navigate through the decisions you are making in your life. Scripture says He comforts the saved. He convicts the lost. He conveys the truth. He points people to Jesus.
Developing a relationship with the Holy Spirit is crucial for those who desire to discover and fulfill God’s will for their lives. A relationship with the Holy Spirit starts like any other true friendship. We must respect, love, and make time for Him. The Holy Spirit is waiting right now to guide you. He’s excited about the idea of pouring out his love and affections on you. He longs to lead you away from the sins that hurt you and grieve Him. And he longs to guide you toward a life of walking with Him in a relationship.
Discussion Questions:
- We think that it would be so great to get to be with Jesus in the flesh—to see him face-to-face, listen to His voice, and walk side-by-side with the Son of God. Every day would be a life-changing, history-making day. He’d be there to teach you, and help you live for God. But Jesus taught that we’re better off when He is absent and the Holy Spirit comes to live in us. What do you think about Jesus’ statement?
- With the Spirit in us, we can do what Jesus did and more. What do you think of Jesus’ bold statement in John 14:12? What keeps us from experiencing that?