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The Amish Voice 7
commands us to listen to His voice, as He
is constantly speaking to those who are
willing to listen.
Consider the following instances in scripture
when the Holy Spirit shows up and speaks:
Then the
Spirit said unto Philip
, Go near,
and join thyself to this chariot (Acts
8:29).
As they (the church) ministered to the
Lord, and fasted,
the Holy Spirit said
,
Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the
work whereunto I have called them. And
when they had fasted and prayed, and
laid their hands on them, they sent them
away. So they,
being sent forth by the
Holy Spirit
. . . (Acts 13:2-4).
...take no thought beforehand what ye
shall speak, neither do ye premeditate:
but whatsoever shall be given you in that
hour, that speak ye:
for it is not ye that
speak, but the Holy Spirit
(Mark 13:11).
5. The Holy Spirit took over where Jesus
left off.
Two thousand years ago, God the Father sent
His only Son into the world. He came to our
planet and put on flesh and human form, and
for thirty-three years, God’s Son, Jesus,
walked and talked as a human. He
experienced hurt and even hungered as a
human. At age thirty, He went into full-time
ministry. People began to follow Him and
listen to His teachings. Many of His
followers thought Jesus was the one who
would deliver them from the Roman
government and be their next king. What a
surprise, when Jesus said in John 14:28:
“Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go
away. . . because I said, I go unto the
Father. . . .” (John 14:28).
Jesus’
disciples
were
absolutely
dumbfounded. In a moment, their whole
world turned upside down. They had given
up everything and followed Jesus. He had
taught them for three years. They knew no
other master. They struggled so much that
Peter said he would give his life for Him.
Thomas asked Jesus to let them go with Him.
I share all this to bring you to John 16, verses
6 and 7. Here Jesus makes a powerful
statement. The first time I understood these
verses, it caused me to sit straight up in my
chair and read it over and over. Jesus said:
“Because I have said these things unto
you, sorrow hath filled your heart.
Nevertheless, I tell you the truth;
it is
expedient for you (meaning: to your
advantage or own gain) that I go away
:
for if I go not away,
the Comforter (Holy
Spirit) will not come unto you
; but if I
depart, I will send Him unto you.
Jesus is telling these men: “Hey, it is highly
important that I leave, because as soon as I
leave, I’ll send you another person to walk
with you just like I did—the Holy Spirit; He
will move inside of you and live there.”
Jesus was human and could only be at one
place at a time; however, the Spirit could be
everywhere at the same time. The truth of the
matter is, as long as Jesus was on earth, the
Spirit was blocked from coming. As we will
see further into our study, when the Spirit
finally did arrive on earth, more happened in
a few hours than happened in all of Jesus’
three years of ministry. Yes! It was to our
advantage and gain that Jesus would leave,
so the Holy Spirit could come and take over
where Jesus left off.
Today, the Son sits on the right hand of the
Father in heaven, but the Holy Spirit lives in
the heart of God’s children here on earth.
THE HOLY SPIRIT AND THE NEW
BIRTH
The Holy Spirit moves into a person’s body
the moment he experiences the new birth.
That’s really what the new birth is all about.
When the Apostle Paul was writing to the
church at Rome, he said:
But ye are not in the flesh, but in the
Spirit,
if so be that the Spirit of God
dwell in you
. Now if any man have not
the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his
(Romans 8:9).
What is meant by the new birth, and at what
stage is it experienced?
1. First, there has to be conviction.
What is conviction, and what is the role of
the Holy Spirit in this process? Conviction is
what happens when a person begins to
realize that he is guilty of sin and is in need
of salvation. Consider what happened in the
early church when Peter told the people that
what they had done to Jesus was against the
heart of God.
“Now when they heard this,
they were
pricked (convicted) in their heart
, and
said unto Peter and to the rest of the
apostles, Men and brethren, what shall
we do (Acts 2:37)?”
Being convicted of our sin against God is the
first step toward experiencing the new birth
and receiving the Holy Spirit.
2
.
Born of the Spirit
The new birth is a hundred percent spiritual
experience; it is the Spirit of God
regenerating (restoring) the spirit of man to
perfection. When the inner spirit of man is
born, his sin-stained, lifeless, hell-bound, and
fallen nature is transformed and is covered
with God’s righteousness.
Jesus answered and said unto him,
Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a
man be born again, he cannot see the
kingdom of God
. Nicodemus saith unto
him, How can a man be born when he is
old? can he enter the second time into his
mother's womb, and be born? Jesus
answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee,
Except a man be
born of water
(first
birth—flesh) and
of the Spirit
(second
birth—spiritual), he cannot enter into the
kingdom of God. That which is born of
the flesh is flesh; and that which is born
of the Spirit is spirit (John 3:3-6).
Being born again
, not of corruptible seed
(man-made laws), but of incorruptible,
by the word of God, which liveth and
abideth for ever (1 Peter 1:23).
Just as we can’t give physical birth to
ourselves, we cannot give spiritual birth to
ourselves or others. The second birth is fully
a work and gift from God.
“Which were born,
not
of blood,
nor
of
Holy Spirit, continued from back cover
Continued—next page
Illustration by Lydia