The Holy Spirit: The Most Important Person on Earth
We are in the series POWER FROM ABOVE. Today I want to speak about the most important Person who is at work on Earth right now: the Holy Spirit.
If you want to have a deep relationship with the Holy Spirit, you must begin by knowing who He is. No one loves what they do not know, and no one develops intimacy with someone they ignore.
The more you learn about the Holy Spirit, the more sensitive you become to His voice, His presence and His guidance. The Holy Spirit is not a force, an energy or an influence. He is God. He is a Person. He thinks, speaks, loves, teaches, comforts, guides and desires to have fellowship with us.
Today, God the Father is seated on His throne, and Jesus is at the Father’s right hand interceding for us. But the Holy Spirit was sent to be with us and to dwell in us. (Acts 2:33, Romans 8:34, Hebrews 12:2, 1 Peter 3:22)
Jesus said: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to help you and be with you forever.” John 14:16 NIV
Never forget this truth:
Everything God will do in your life will be through the Holy Spirit. And only through an intimate relationship with Him will you be able to fulfil God’s purpose for your life.
The Holy Spirit is not a detail of the Christian life. He is the Christian life itself.
Last week we saw that the Holy Spirit is not a power or an energy. He is a Person. He has a mind, emotions and a will. And only through an intimate relationship with Him will you be able to fulfil God’s purpose for your life.
When we read the Bible, we discover something astonishing.
The disciples were with Jesus for three and a half years. They were taught by the greatest Teacher of all time. They saw Jesus walk on water, multiply bread, heal the blind, raise the dead and even speak with Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration.
They saw everything. But when the most difficult moment came, they all ran away.
“Then all the disciples deserted him and fled.”
Matthew 26:56 NIV
Peter denied Jesus. Thomas doubted the resurrection. They knew the teachings of Jesus, but they still needed the power of the Holy Spirit.
That is why Jesus made this astonishing statement:
“But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”
John 16:7 NIV
The word Advocate comes from the Greek word Parakletos, which means: helper, counsellor, intercessor, advocate, the One who walks alongside us.
Jesus was saying:
“You have walked with Me outwardly, but now the Holy Spirit will live within you.”
And when the Holy Spirit dwells in us, He transforms us from the inside out.
He gives us power to live for Christ, courage to be His witnesses and strength to fulfil God’s purpose.
It is not by our strength. It is not by our power. It is by the Holy Spirit!
The Power of the Holy Spirit: From Monuments to Movements
When Jesus was physically with His disciples, they all fled in fear. However, an extraordinary transformation occurred after they were filled with the Holy Spirit. Peter, who had once denied Jesus, became a bold preacher. Fearful men were made courageous, and ordinary people changed the world.
Jesus declared: “It is for your good that I am going away” (John 16:7, NIV).
The disciples experienced two distinct phases: walking beside Jesus and having the Holy Spirit dwelling within them. Although they walked with Jesus, they only truly changed the world after being filled with the Spirit.
Today, we share this same privilege. The Holy Spirit is a Person; we must know Him, walk with Him, and listen to His voice.
We are living in the last days—a period that began with Christ’s first coming and will reach its climax at His return. God promised:
“‘In the last days,’ God says, ‘I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy’” (Acts 2:17-18, NIV).
God continues to pour out His Spirit today. Even amidst global crises and darkness, the true Church will be awakened and sent with passion and power.
The Church will shine and fulfil the Great Commission, welcoming King Jesus!
Yet, before God sends revival to a church, He sends it to individuals. Revival begins with a personal relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Without Him, Christianity is merely a lifeless structure, for “as the body without the spirit is dead” (James 2:26, NIV).
A church may have correct theology and grand buildings, but without the Spirit’s presence, it lacks the life of God. When the Holy Spirit finds someone hungry for His presence, revival begins.
Now I want to show you something extraordinary: the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of Jesus. Because if the Holy Spirit was so important to Jesus, how much more should He be important to us?
1 – THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS THE ARCHITECT OF THE INCARNATION
The coming of Jesus into the world was not merely a human event. It was a supernatural work of the Holy Spirit.
“This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.”
Matthew 1:18 NIV
The Holy Spirit prepared the stage for redemption.
The first great miracle of the New Testament was not the healing of a blind man. It was not the multiplication of the loaves. It was not the turning of water into wine.
The first miracle was God becoming man in the womb of a virgin through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit.
If the Holy Spirit brought Jesus into the world, He is also the only One capable of forming the nature of Christ within you.
2 – JESUS WAS FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT
“As soon as Jesus was baptised, he went up out of the water. At that moment heaven was opened, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting on him.”
Matthew 3:16 NIV
Before beginning His ministry, Jesus was filled with the Holy Spirit.
If Jesus, the Son of God, chose to live filled with the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need Him!
3 – JESUS WAS LED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Then Jesus was led by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the devil.” Matthew 4:1 NIV
While He was on Earth, Jesus was led and guided by the Holy Spirit.
He did not walk according to His own will, but in complete dependence on the direction of the Spirit.
4 – JESUS WAS EMPOWERED BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
“Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit.”
Luke 4:14 NIV
Jesus, although being God before the incarnation, chose to live as a man dependent on the Holy Spirit, leaving us an example of how we should live.
He preached by the Spirit.
He healed by the Spirit.
He cast out demons by the Spirit.
He fulfilled His mission by the Spirit.
If Jesus needed the anointing and the power of the Holy Spirit, how much more do we need Him!
5 – JESUS OFFERED HIMSELF AS A SACRIFICE THROUGH THE HOLY SPIRIT
“…How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!”
Hebrews 9:14 NIV
We stand amazed at Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross.
But the Bible reveals something extraordinary to us: Christ offered Himself to God through the power of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was present throughout the entire work of redemption.
From the manger to the cross. From His birth to His sacrifice.
6 – JESUS WAS RAISED FROM THE DEAD BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
“But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.” Romans 8:11
It was the Holy Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead. And now comes the most extraordinary news:
That same Spirit lives in you!
You have not received a lesser Holy Spirit.
You have not received a weaker version of the Spirit.
You have received the very same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead!
The power that conquered death lives in you.
The Holy Spirit can awaken what is dead.
He can restore what has been destroyed.
He can reignite the passion that has faded away.
He can awaken you from spiritual sleep and bring a new revival into your life.
And I ask you:
Do you remember the first sermon Jesus preached?
7 – Jesus’ First Sermon was about the Holy Spirit
Jesus entered the synagogue, opened the scroll of the prophet Isaiah and declared:
“The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free” (Luke 4:18, NIV).
What a powerful statement! Jesus’ very first sermon began with: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me.” He was making it clear: “I preach by the Spirit. I heal by the Spirit. I deliver by the Spirit.”
8 – Jesus’ Last Words Before the Cross were about the Holy Spirit
Jesus said:
“And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you for ever” (John 14:16, NIV).
Jesus was assuring them: “I am going, but you will not be left alone.” “I will not leave you as orphans.” “I am sending the Comforter, the Holy Spirit.”
9 – THE LAST WORDS OF JESUS BEFORE ASCENDING TO HEAVEN WERE ALSO ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses…”
Acts 1:8 NIV
Notice this:
The first sermon Jesus preached was about the Holy Spirit.
His last words before the cross were about the Holy Spirit.
And His last words before ascending to heaven were also about the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit was so important to Jesus that His entire life and ministry were lived in dependence on Him.
And if Jesus valued the Holy Spirit so highly, how could we possibly live without Him?
Without a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually dead.
Without revival, we preach dead sermons to dead people.
But when we hunger and thirst for the presence of God, everything changes.
You will only have deep experiences with the Holy Spirit if you desire His presence more than anything else.
I believe that revival is never determined by the size of a church.
Revival is determined by the size of God’s movement among us and by our hunger and thirst for the Holy Spirit.
We may have a small church or a large church, a young church or an old church. But what makes a church alive is the presence of the Holy Spirit.
When a church is alive, its heart beats for the lost.
Its mouth preaches the Gospel.
Its ears hear the voice of the Spirit.
Its legs go into the world and make disciples.
That is revival.
We may not have the biggest building. We may not have the best musicians. We may not have a large car park. But we must have the Holy Spirit and a living relationship with Him.
I do not want just a big church. I do not want just large gatherings.I want to see people who are hungry for the Holy Spirit.
People who are passionate about His presence. People who bring life and stir up a move of God.
Yes, we have been praying for a new building. But the most important thing for us is not a building. It is revival. It is the movement of the Holy Spirit among us.
Because without a relationship with the Holy Spirit, we are spiritually dead.
But I believe that a new revival can begin through you, in our town and in our nation. Nothing is impossible for those who walk with the Holy Spirit.
Therefore, I challenge you:
Get to know the Holy Spirit. Study everything the Bible says about Him. Pray. Fast. Seek His presence. And pray in tongues.
The Bible says:
“For anyone who speaks in a tongue does not speak to people but to God. Indeed, no one understands them; they utter mysteries by the Spirit.”
1 Corinthians 14:2 NIV
Speaking in tongues is a supernatural language given by God, an intimate communion between your spirit and the Holy Spirit.
Invest time in the Word of God.
Invest time in prayer.
Invest time in the presence of God.
And do not neglect the gatherings of the church.
Because when the disciples were gathered together in unity, the Holy Spirit was poured out upon them.
When we seek His presence, we show the Holy Spirit that we desire to walk with Him.
And my prayer is this:
May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all!