12 Things The Holy Spirit Does For You
The Christian Life is lived in the Spirit. He is the GAS to our engines. If you were driving in a car, you could get through life without running an engine (well… you’d have to get outside and push 2000 lbs of dead weight), but wouldn’t it be a lot more intelligent to use the power of the internal combustion engine?
That’s a dramatic but fitting picture of what the Holy Spirit does for you after salvation. When you first receive Christ and ask forgiveness for your sins, you receive the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you. He lives inside of you and guides you into a better life if you choose it. The choice is yours…
In our lives, we can either walk as Christians or be just like the world. When you live apart from the Spirit, not only does it make your day-to-day life more difficult, it also makes you more distant from God.
Are you walking in the spirit?
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. Galatians 5:16
or grieving the spirit?
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Ephesians 4:30
We are going to talk a little about why life is better when you walk in the Spirit.
Walking in the Spirit is God’s plan for your life. It means that you will be in tune with God the Father… that you will be going through life with both eyes open to what God wants you to do in your life and how to please Him the most.
The Trinity- Who is the Holy Spirit, and why does it matter what He says?
Most of the interactions in the Old Testament are with God the Father (although there were some Christophanies- Genesis 18, 2 Kings 19) but the New Testament is a little more evenly split. God the Father sends God the Son to live among us for 33-ish years and the Holy Spirit to live in us. Jesus even says at one point that it’s BETTER if he goes because then we will have the Holy Spirit.
What’s unique about the Holy Spirit is that if you’ve asked for forgiveness of your sins and have made Jesus the leader of your life, the Holy Spirit lives inside of you.
WOW.
Did you hear that?
God lives inside of you if you are saved.
Here’s what I’m proposing to you. Do you know what the Holy Spirit does for you? I bet you don’t… and I bet you are PUSHING your (metaphorical) car throughout life instead of doing it the easier way. Using the Engine. I bet you are going through life frustrated and lonely… and feeling distant from God.
Can you imagine what would happen to this world if Christians stopped pushing their dead car and started listening to the Holy Spirit and started walking in the spirit?
The Power at work within us is greater than the power that all of the world’s Christians combined could possibly muster through their own strength apart from the Holy Spirit.
Action Verbs- The Holy Spirit is the Person of the Trinity who is active in our everyday lives
Teach.
Intercede.
Sanctify.
In almost every instance that the Holy Spirit is mentioned, He is doing. He is present in the Genesis story in creating both humanity and the world around us.
And He continues to intervene in our lives and change our courses. He is a worker and a mover and He wants to do not just in creation – but also within us. The Bible contains everything that God wants us to know about Himself… so let’s dig in.
So without further ado, here are some of the Scripture verses that show what the Holy Spirit does for you.
1. The Holy Spirit gives us power
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Here’s the car analogy. The Holy Spirit fuels you to do the work that God wants you to do… no matter your profession.
2. The Holy Spirit is how God gives His love to us
Romans 5:5 “Hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.”
Do you feel distant from God? Maybe you need to be more in tune with the Holy Spirit. Keep reading!
3. The Holy Spirit helps us pray
Romans 8:26-27- “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.”
Have you ever been deep in prayer and have been silent but still feel like you are communicating with God?
Or maybe you start out consciously saying each word, but as you go along, more and more of your heart is poured out to God, almost unconsciously?
That’s the Holy Spirit, helping you pray. (Totally amazing.)
4. The Holy Spirit reminds Christians of what Christ said
John 14:26- “But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.”
This might be one of my favorites. Have you ever been going throughout your day and suddenly are reminded of some of those famous red letter words? Like “Love your neighbor as yourself” or “Do unto others as yourself” or “Love your enemies” or maybe a reminder to yourself to “Go and sin no more”? (Among many others.)
That’s the Holy Spirit, reminding you of things that Christ said and are recorded in the Bible.
5. The Holy Spirit helps Christians to obey God’s Word
Ezekiel 36:26-27 (NLT)- “And I will give you a new heart, and I will put a new spirit in you. I will take out your stony, stubborn heart and give you a tender, responsive heart. And I will put my Spirit in you so that you will follow my decrees and be careful to obey my regulations.”
Wow! This promise was given several hundred years before Christ. The prophets didn’t have the Holy Spirit living in them, but we Christians do.
Have you ever gone through your day trying in your own power to not sin, only getting deeper and deeper into trouble? Are you sure you are relying on the Holy Spirit? You might be pleasantly surprised to learn that Christianity gets easier with time, as you grow closer and closer to God.
6. The Holy Spirit helps Christians kill sin
Romans 8:12-13 NLT- Therefore, dear brothers and sisters, you have no obligation to do what your sinful nature urges you to do. For if you live by its dictates, you will die. But if through the power of the Spirit you put to death the deeds of your sinful nature, you will live.
Memorizing Scripture, studying the Bible and replacing your negative thoughts with positive, Godly thoughts is one great way to kill sin. The Holy Spirit wants you to kill sin and can help you to do it!
The devil, on the other hand, prowls around like a lion, waiting for someone to devour.
7. The Holy Spirit sanctifies us
2 Thessalonians 2:13 – As for us, we can’t help but thank God for you, dear brothers and sisters loved by the Lord. We are always thankful that God chose you to be among the first to experience salvation—a salvation that came through the Spirit who makes you holy and through your belief in the truth. (Emphasis mine)
The Spirit sanctifies us- makes us holy.
8. The Holy Spirit changes us into a person that is more like Christ
2 Corinthians 3:18- So all of us who have had that veil removed can see and reflect the glory of the Lord. And the Lord–who is the Spirit–makes us more and more like Him as we are changed into His glorious image.
Once we have the Holy Spirit in is, we can see Christ more clearly and can make choices that make us more like Him. Amen!
9. The Holy Spirit helps you feel the glory of the Lord.
John 7:37- “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.”
It’s my opinion that Jesus was doing two things here: 1. fulfilling an Old Testament prophecy (Jeremiah 2:13) and 2. making a prophecy about the Holy Spirit. Pretty awesome.
10. The Holy Spirit gives you self-control
Galatians 5:22- “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
When you have the Holy Spirit, you will, with time and submission, become more loving, joyful, peaceful, patient, kind, good, faithful, gentle, and self-controlled.
Just like Christ.
11. The Holy Spirit fills you with hope until you overflow!
Romans 15:13- “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”
Feeling a little down? No hope? Spend some time in the Word of God and you will start walking in the Spirit instantly. The Spirit will guide you through and teach you. Your spirit will be refreshed!
12. The Holy Spirit gives us spiritual gifts
“It is the one and only Spirit who distributes all these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” 1 Corinthians 12:11
Have you heard of the gifts of the Holy Spirit? Some of them are: serving, mercy, teaching, encouraging, giving, word of wisdom, prophecy, healing, interpreting spirits, and hospitality. The Holy Spirit determines who gets which gift. For more on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, check out this link from GotQuestions.org.
THIS IS A PROMISE
This isn’t a full list of what the Holy Spirit does in our lives, but it’s a glimpse into His blessings. I’ll leave you with this quote from Jesus (John 16:12-15).
“There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what He has heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever He receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me.’”
What do you think?
Do you know the Holy Spirit? Can you tell a difference in your life, before and after the Holy Spirit? In what ways has He encouraged you recently? Please share!
