Pastor Ayo Ajani
3.06.2024
One of the biggest shifts that we must make in our minds is that the Holy Spirit is not a thing but a person. The challenge is that no other member of the Trinity has been more symbolized than the Holy Spirit – fire, wind, dove, water, oil, etc.. You never receive the fullness of what is available and possible to you through the Holy Spirit when you see him in the light of His symbols. When you receive Him as a person, then all of these things come into your life. The Holy Spirit is not goosebumps. He can make you fall under the power and can tickle you, but He’s far more than that. He is a real person that you can have a depth of fellowship and intimacy with.
The Holy Spirit brings you communion
2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Grace comes from Jesus, love comes from God the Father, and what comes from the Holy Spirit is communion – not power, anointing, or fire. In essence, when you meet the Holy Spirit, He gives you fellowship and communion. I explained yesterday that the word used for communion here is possibly the deepest word possible in human understanding and grammar for intimacy. He’s not talking about a mere acquaintance, or casual knowledge of this person. He’s talking about the deepest level of intimacy possible between two persons.
This is what the Holy Spirit presents to us – the possibility to know Him and to be known at the deepest level of intimacy possible.
Remember yesterday’s Big Bold Fact. ‘Because we’re made in the image and likeness of God – and by extension of the Holy Spirit – we can fellowship with the Holy Spirit at a deeper level than with any human person.’ This means that I can know and be more aware of the Holy Spirit than of my wife. The first time I heard this was from Brother Hagin, and it stuck with me. He said, “I’ve come to a place in my walk with God where God (Holy Spirit) is more real to me than my wife who is lying on the bed beside me.” I thought to myself as a young kid; I want to have this kind of fellowship. Well, good enough I can say that I’ve made progress with that, but there are greater depths in God.
You can know Him more than the human being standing or sitting beside you. What the Holy Spirit presents to you as a gift is a call into communion; a depth of fellowship and a depth of intimacy with Him.
Communion is our access to all that God has for us
God the Father, Jesus Christ, and the grace and love they bring into your life are only made a part of your life through the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. In essence, the Holy Spirit is the access to God and that which Jesus has for us. It is in our fellowship and communion with the Holy Spirit that all these things which have been made available to us through the cross become a part of our lives. That’s why we can’t joke with our fellowship with the Spirit.
Some Nigerians might want this to read: The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit”. Maybe my friends in Ghana wish it says, “…and the anointing of the Holy Ghost”. My friends in the United Kingdom will rather read, “…and the comfort of the Holy Spirit”. Everyone reading their mind into this. But the Bible says the communion of the Holy Spirit – that’s what He brings to us. It is in communion that the anointing, unction, power, grace, and love comes. The priority therefore is developing a fellowship with the Spirit of God.
The Holy Spirit lusts to envy
You cannot develop intimacy with a person beyond their character and attribute. To develop an intimacy with anybody, you have to understand the person. If we’re going to develop intimacy with the Spirit, we have to understand the Spirit.
Two scriptures that will help you understand the character and the person of the Spirit;
James 4:4-5 – “Ye adulterers and adulteresses, know ye not that the friendship of the world is enmity with God? Whosoever therefore will be a friend of the world is the enemy of God. Do ye think that the scripture saith in vain, The spirit that dwelleth in us lusteth to envy?”
Two negative words – lust, and envy. Reading this on the surface, you wonder, Why would he use these negative terms for the Holy Spirit?
Because the Holy Spirit has strong emotions for you
He’s trying to show you the strength of emotions that the Holy Spirit has for you. You almost would call Him an obsessive partner. That’s the character of the Spirit. He wants to be desired, loved, and honoured. The Holy Spirit cannot be second-rate. He has to be the priority at every given time in your life. That’s how you develop fellowship with the Holy Spirit. You wake up in the morning and the Holy Spirit is the first person you’re talking to. You’re driving on the road and you’re singing songs to Him. You want to make a decision and you’re seeking his counsel first. He cannot be a second fiddle. To show you the strength of this, look at this;
Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God whereby ye sealed unto the day of redemption.
There is a note I wrote on the 24th of February 2017 from my studies. That’s about seven years ago now, but it’s still a blessing. The Greek word grieve there is LUPETES, and it means to cause extreme emotional pain and devastation that can only be experienced between two people who are deeply and romantically in love. The implication of this is that you can cause deep extreme emotional pain and devastation to the Holy Spirit. And this tells you the character and persona of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a fine gentleman, and words matter to Him.
Three Principles to Build Intimacy with The Holy Spirit
1. Intimacy is built with words and attention.
You must know and study the character of the Holy Spirit. I’ve just shown you something about His person, being that He wants attention. It says in the Book of Genesis that the Spirit of God shall not always strive with man (Genesis 6:3). He’s very tender, so words, attention and worship matter. If you want to build a fellowship with the Holy Spirit, you have to use your words to build that intimacy. That’s why you can’t build a deep fellowship with the Holy Spirit without being a worshipper.
2. It takes time to build intimacy.
You don’t build intimacy on the go or in a rush. Intimacy is built over time. You have to set out time to talk to your best friend. The Holy Spirit is a person, not a tool to be used. He’s not fire to kill your enemy. He’s not oil to make you a powerful man of God. He wants to be fellowshipped with. And when you fellowship with Him, the oil will flow, the fire will fall, and the rivers will flow. You have to understand that the priority is fellowship with the Spirit of God. Give time to fellowship with the Spirit of God.
3. Intimacy is never public, it is private.
We can worship God in the public, we can hear the Word in the public, we can pray together with the saints in the public. But intimacy is built in the secret. Remember I said yesterday that the word for intimacy is akin to the word knew. The Bible never says Adam had sexual intercourse with his wife. It would say Adam knew his wife. That’s where you get the word intimate from. If you see anybody having intercourse with their spouse on the street, then you know they need some mental evaluation. Why? Because intimacy is supposed to happen behind closed doors. You might be busy publicly for God, but that’s not building intimacy. You might be in every Christian program possible, but that’s not building intimacy. Intimacy is built where you and the Holy Spirit alone are present, behind closed doors.
Bold Fact of The Day
The single most important discipline that you can develop in Christianity is daily, consistent fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
Welcome again to 30 Days of Spiritual Mastery!