The Role of the Holy Spirit

Author: Pastor Darren DeLoach

Isaiah 30:21—And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, “This is the way, walk in it,” when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.

Israel, the nation, enjoyed both immense favor and blessings from the Lord, as well as varied re-percussive punishments over the centuries since Moses helped deliver them from Egypt. God used a litany of prophets, kings, judges, and divine interventions to get the Israelites’ attention. Periodically, these measures worked, as the Jews frequently repented for their evils.

Time is the enemy of good intentions and the measure of truth, and we again find the nation in sin and idolatry. It is no small coincidence that Israel is in the throngs of its wrongdoing when they again make poor choices. An oppressive, violent empire to the north, Assyria, is threatening war, and the leaders of Israel realize their armies are no match for the numbers and skills of the superpower’s armed forces. In their disobedience and now under duress, they wrongly side with the Egyptians, compromising clear directives from God again.

This time God sent the Prophet Isaiah to convey His message to Israel, imploring them to turn away from their own abilities and trust the words He was speaking. Isaiah told them that despite their unfaithfulness to God, He was not like man, and He would have mercy if they simply relinquished control to Him. He again would deliver them and render them victorious if they would go into battle with the Assyrians aided only by God. Trust Him, and their ears would again open to His voice which would come from behind them, “saying, this is the way, walk you in it,” and He would guide them. But history records that Israel acted like a petulant child and tried to defeat the Assyrian army by instead opting for help from Egypt rather than placing their undivided trust in the Lord their God.

We may scoff at the Hebrews for turning to the nation that formerly enslaved them, but are we really any different? When the going gets really tough, do we not do the same? We lean on our abilities, turn to a substance to numb reality, or seek counsel from unwise places where an infidelic affair occurs. We often turn our backs on God entirely and seek wisdom through other religions, philosophies, intellectualism, or other human ideas more grounded in modern culture. Or we simply walk away, forsaking God and living life to the best of our own abilities.

Yet God is faithful.

He may not send a prophet to your home to turn you away from your sins or give you wisdom. He does something even more personal. He comes Himself.

The Holy Spirit is ever present in the life of a Christian. The Bible unequivocally states that the Holy Spirit is, in fact, God, just as Jesus Christ and the Father are God. At the moment you believed in Jesus as your Savior and Lord, Paul teaches us through his letter to the Ephesians that: “when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, you were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit does not live in your heart simply to have a place to hang out. Jesus described the Holy Spirit as a Helper or Comforter, and these words are sometimes wrongly associated with the modern idea of them. They seem “quaint” or “passive” when that was not remotely the case. The Holy Spirit lives in Christians to empower them over temptation, bestow God-given abilities to serve His Kingdom and others, provide understanding and wisdom in life matters and insight into the Scriptures, enrich and empower the believer’s prayers and intercede for them to God Himself, develops a new nature in the believer that shows we are a new creature, convicts them of their wrongdoings and moves Christians to repent, and “being sealed” in the Holy Spirit brings comfort and peace to the believer in knowing God is always with them.

The Holy Spirit is the “Voice” of God, just as Jesus was the “Word” of God.

The Holy Spirit speaks not only to believers but also to the hearts of those who are not. Just like God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit continually reaches out to the lost in compassion, love, and grace so that they may have the faith to believe.

Here is the kicker, His voice is now in YOU!!!

That very same Spirit found within Peter, John, James, and even Paul gave them peace, power, and authority. Now free, they could feel worthy to preach His message everywhere they went.

You, too, are free...He lives IN YOU!!! He has given you words of wisdom and a heart of mercy for the hopelessly lost.

So, now GO!

“Reach, preach, and teach.”

If ever a generation needed men and women that know who they are in Christ, it is now.

He is not with you; HE IS IN YOU.

Therefore, go as the Apostles did before, in grace and peace, under the power of the Holy Spirit, and with the authority of Heaven.

And a lost generation will be lost no more.