How To Grow Your Relationship With The Holy Spirit

Recently I was asked some great questions from a friend of mine named Aaron Nelson. He is working on a book idea and I was honored to be one of his interviewees’. Here is what he asked me.

How do you grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit?

1. What is the Holy Spirit to you?

2. Do you feel the works of the Holy Spirit are effective in today’s church? Why or why not?

3. Are you actively aware of the guidance and direction of the Holy Spirit in your daily life?

4.The Bible describes the Holy Spirit as being a person complete with human traits and characteristics. Why do you feel that most people consider the Holy Spirit of Christ to be a thing of power and less a spiritual being coexisting with our physical life?

5. How would you effectively “grow” the Holy Spirit in your life so that you can enjoy the “first fruits” more deeply?

My thoughts on growing in the Holy Spirit.

1. The Holy Spirit is the 3rd person of the Godhead. Distinctly part of God, distinctly unique. Just as God the Father has a unique personality, and Jesus has a unique personality, so does the Holy Spirit. It is depicted as a dove and can be easily grieved and quenched. I believe that when God created man both male and female in His image, that the feminine characteristics of women came from the Holy Spirit. That is not to say that God is not male, or that the Holy Spirit is female, but those characteristics came from the Holy Spirit
2. I believe that the works of the Holy Spirit are effective today in the church when they are allowed to operate. The problem in my opinion is either leadership or people do not make room for the operation of the Holy Spirit, or they call things that come from the soul, i.e. emotions, the Holy Spirit. This leads to either church services and ministries that are limited in their effectiveness or it leads to a whole bunch of hype and non-sense being worked up out of the soulish part of a person and causing people to just shake their heads in disbelief at the foolishness. It is a fine line that the church needs to walk. Nobody will get saved in our services or churches without the Holy Spirit both convicting of sin and regenerating the heart. Nobody will see the miraculous without the Holy Spirit being allowed to move and operate. As much as the church needs to have reason and logic, our God supersedes reason and logic. The church, as the reflection of that God (Jesus) must also be open to allowing Him to operate in miraculous ways.
3. Aaron, I am aware of the guidance on a regular basis. Do I say God speaks to me daily or all the time, not in hugely pronounced ways. He does at times through the Holy Spirit, and it is not a rare occurrence, but in all honesty I would not say daily, but more than enough to give guidance to me all the time.
4. Aaron, I think that thought pattern started when the first English Bible translated the Greek word Pneuma as ghost. Ghost gives the idea of supernatural and powerful without giving the idea of a personality. I think most people think of the Holy Spirit as “something” to bring us power or supernatural ability. However I believe this thought pattern actually grieves the Holy Spirit and limits His working within our lives and ability to use us to work in the lives of others.
5. Aaron, I have found 3 things that have helped me grow in my relationship with the Holy Spirit. A.Prayer, (not just asking for things, but conversations with God) has helped me. Coming to the place where I allow the Holy Spirit to pray through me (Romans 8:23, Jude 1:20) B. Worship. I spend time worshiping God on a regular basis and experiencing His presence. That presence is the Holy Spirit. I get used to being in the presence of God. C. Listening to the still small voice. (1 Kings 19:12) Very rarely have I had the Holy Spirit shout to my spirit about something. Usually it is in a very quiet voice. A little nudge. We can drown out that voice very easily with our life and everyday activities but I have found that as I listen, and then obey, the ability to hear more clearly becomes developed. Your flesh doesn’t want you to pray for people, pay for someones meal, especially a strangers meal, or give somebody a word of encouragement in the grocery aisle at Walmart. However many times the Holy Spirit will and that person will be blown away and all of a sudden you will see the effectiveness of the workings of the Holy Spirit in today’s world.

I hope this helps Aaron.

Blessings to you!

Duke

I would like to open this up for more discussion so please leave your answers to those questions in the comment section below!