Strong Reasons We Need the Holy Spirit for LIFE

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Martin Luther wrote the following explanation for why we need the Holy Spirit…

“I believe that I cannot by my own reason or strength believe in Jesus Christ, my Lord, or come to Him; but the Holy Spirit has called me by the Gospel, enlightened me with His gifts, sanctified and kept me in the true faith.”

And it’s true. You and I cannot nor will we follow Jesus on our own. We need God’s grace poured out through the guidance and help of the Holy Spirit.

Paul wrote…

For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast.

Ephesians 2:8–9 (ESV)

And…

[God] wants everyone to be saved and to understand the truth.

1 Timothy 2:4

Sadly, our sinfulness often shows itself in prideful self-sufficiency from an inborn inclination to believe we “do it” ourselves.

An example of this is what happened next in our journey through the Book of John.

Jesus said…

“The Spirit alone gives eternal life. Human effort accomplishes nothing. And the very words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But some of you do not believe me.” (For Jesus knew from the beginning which ones didn’t believe, and He knew who would betray Him.) Then He said, “That is why I said that people can’t come to me unless the Father gives them to me.”

At this point many of His disciples turned away and deserted Him.

John 6:63–66

And the Life Application Bible Notes give the following four reasons that they may have left:

1. They realized He wasn’t going to be the conquering Messiah-King they expected.
2. He refused to give in to the self-centered requests.
3. He emphasized faith, not works.
4. His teachings were difficult to understand.

We need the Holy Spirit…

♥ We need the Holy Spirit to help us so we won’t try to mold and make Jesus into the “god” we want Him to be but SEEK the truth of who He says He is.

♥ We need the Holy Spirit to give us what we need to 1) Love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and 2) Love our neighbor as we love ourselves. (Luke 10:27)

♥ We need the Holy Spirit to surrender our lives to God through faith alone trusting that we obey because we love Him not because we are trying to save ourselves.

♥ We need the Holy Spirit to teach, remind, and help us understand everything Jesus taught us about life and God.

So today, we let’s humbly surrender and say, “I can’t but by God’s grace, the Holy Spirit can work within me and help me KNOW, LOVE, and TRUST Jesus.

Let’s pray…

A Prayer of Faith Because We
Need the Holy Spirit for LIFE

Father God, You are the Creator, Savior, and Spirit of Life and we need You. You are the Creator of everything (John 1:3), who came to earth to save us (John 1:14) and lives with and within us (Romans 8:11).

Jesus said that no human effort can save us. Yet, we foolishly try to live by a list of rules we believe will make us good enough to go to heaven. Please forgive us for believing the enemy’s lies. Please forgive our stubborn pride. Please forgive me.

I humbly come to You asking for Your help. I need the Holy Spirit to guide me and give me the strength I need to LOVE and TRUST You completely. I need wisdom that comes from above. Wisdom James said is,”pure, peace-loving, gentle at all times, and willing to yield to others. It is full of mercy and the fruit of good deeds. It shows no favoritism and is always sincere.” (James 3:17)

I ask that Your Spirit will work in me to make me more like Jesus and give me a SEEKer’s heart to grow in faith. I ask that by Your grace the Spirit will help me love as You desire and give me a heart full of wisdom and understanding.

I give myself to You. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

I was encouraged by this quote from A. W. Tozer…

“I don’t want the world to define God for me. I want the Holy Spirit to reveal God to me.”

And these words from Kay Arthur…

“God knows what each one of us is dealing with. He knows our pressures. He knows our conflicts. And He has made a provision for each and every one of them. That provision is Himself in the person of the Holy Spirit, indwelling us and empowering us to respond rightly.”

The enemy of our souls wants us to focus on ourselves believing that we can earn our way to eternal life with God. But Jesus taught that it is through faith alone that we are saved and that only by the Holy Spirit can we “believe in Jesus and come to Him for life that lasts forever.

May we surrender our hearts today and every day admitting we need the Holy Spirit for LIFE … a life full of faith, hope, and love through Jesus, our Savior.

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