Growing Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit

What is your relationship with the Holy Spirit like? What do you know about the person of the Holy Spirit? Do you know…

• His purpose in your life?
• His promise to you?
• The process in which you grow in Him?
• What He prepares you for?
• The power He releases in your life?

The Holy Spirit releases wisdom and understanding into a Believer’s mind, will, and emotions. Understanding His purpose, promise, and process prepares you to receive the power that comes with wisdom. Discover how humbly surrendering your will to His instruction leads to the transformation you need in this new era. 

The Foundation of Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit

As with any relationship, you must spend time with the person for it to grow. The same goes for your relationship with the Holy Spirit. 

The more time you spend in His Word and prayer, the more intimately you will know Him, be able to discern His voice, and start to reflect His character to others. Jesus told His disciples that when He left this earth, He would give them a Helper, Advocate, and Guide who would empower them for their call—this was the Holy Spirit. 

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit | The Purpose

You need the anointing of the Holy Spirit to fulfill your purpose. When Jesus went to the Jordan River and was baptized by John, Yochanan the Immerser, the Holy Spirit came upon Him like a dove. The dove is a symbol of peace, of supernatural love. If you are going to fulfill your Kingdom calling, you need supernatural love and peace. 

“Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you.”

—John 16:7

“Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father… And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever—the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.”

—John 14:12, 16-18

Jesus needed the Holy Spirit to empower Him for His earthly ministry and purpose, and so do you. The Holy Spirit comes with an eternal purpose for your life. He is never going to leave you. He is there every step of the way. You have a Kingdom purpose, and so does the Holy Spirit. 

• Takeaway: The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to empower you for your Kingdom purpose. He is an ongoing witness to your spirit that you are a child of God. 

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit | The Promise

You need to know the Promise of the Holy Spirit so you are confident in your purpose. In Acts, chapter 1, we read of Jesus telling His disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the Promise of the Father. Wait—that’s a heavy word! But it also builds anticipation for what is to come. 

The disciples must have thought “waiting for the Promise” sounded odd. They might have said to themselves, “Wait for the Promise? Aren’t You the Messiah? Aren’t You the Promised and Anointed One?” Their attention had been completely on Yeshua, and the miracles He performed. 

They did not know that the same power that came upon the Messiah would also soon come to dwell within them. They didn’t know more was to come! But Yeshua said they were not ready to receive it quite yet. He had to leave first. 

“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come.”

—John 16:12-13

“In Him you also trusted, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation; in whom also, having believed, you were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, to the praise of His glory.”

—Ephesians 1:13-14

The disciples did not know the Promise of the power they would receive. They didn’t know how the Promise would work through them to fulfill their Kingdom purpose, legally sealing them to the guarantee of their inheritance in the Courts of Heaven. 

• Takeaway: The Promise of the Holy Spirit is that He will guide you into all truth, bringing to remembrance God’s Word. He promises to witness of God’s love to you as His child. He is the promised, ongoing voice testifying of the covenant relationship you have with the Father, sent by the Son. 

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit | The Process

There is a process in growing your relationship with the Holy Spirit. The purpose of the process is so that He can build His house, the Church, through you. 

Yeshua told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would be coming and that they needed to receive the Promise. He was explaining that, through the work of the Holy Spirit, the world would come to know the Father. 

“And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, ‘which,’ He said, ‘you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’”

—Acts 1:4-5

“Then Paul said, ‘John indeed baptized with a baptism of repentance, saying to the people that they should believe on Him who would come after him, that is, on Christ Jesus.’ When they heard this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. And when Paul had laid hands on them, the Holy Spirit came upon them, and they spoke with tongues and prophesied.”

—Acts 19:4-6

In other words, Yeshua is saying, “Listen, you have been baptized—immersed—in water; you understand that you are a sinner who needs redemption. Now I want to get you ready for the Kingdom of God, ready to be a witness to the world. You are going to be immersed into the One I am sending who will guide you and help you discover more of who God really is. Grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit because He will show you the Father and equip you for your purpose.”

• The Takeaway: The Holy Spirit wants to fill you up with the knowledge of who God is and the purpose He has for you. He does not want you to stop at the cross, just thinking you are a sinner in need of a Savior. There is more after that. He wants to grow you and reveal to you your eternal purpose. 

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit | The Preparation

As you grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit, He will prepare you for what is to come. As the disciples walked with Yeshua for three and a half years, He was witnessing of who God was, but He was also preparing them for what was to come—the indwelling Spirit of God. 

The disciples asked, “Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom of Israel?” (Acts 1:6). But they were not in the correct timing of the Lord. They were asking the wrong question. 

For the Church today, we can see chaos and brokenness in our world. We are ready for the rapture—but this is in the Lord’s timing. If we are concerned about and desire His return to be sooner than later, then how should we respond to this? We need to show others the Kingdom of God! 

“And He said to them, ‘It is not for you to know times or seasons which the Father has put in His own authority.’”

—Acts 1:7

“For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain.”

—Philippians 1:21

We need to be thinking about the questions we are asking. Not so much, “When is He coming?” but rather, “Lord, what do You want me to do before Your return?”

• The Takeaway: As you grow in your relationship with the Holy Spirit, start asking Him what the Lord wants you to do with your position and the time and resources you have. He is preparing you for a purpose. If you aren’t asking Him to reveal the preparation, you will miss the opportunity to receive the power. 

Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit | Do You Want His Power?

Do you want the power of the Holy Spirit? Pause and think about that question for a moment. Yeshua paid a very high price for you to have the power of the Holy Spirit. 

In Acts, when Yeshua was telling the disciples about the coming Promise, they were in hiding, terrified for their lives. 

But Yeshua said they would receive power… Power to do what? 

There is a power-grab in the world right now. The enemy is overplaying his hand. But the real power is within the Body of Christ… it is with you as a born-again Believer! 

What is the purpose of the power?

“But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

—Acts 1:8

The Holy Spirit comes so that you can testify of what God has done for and through you. 

• The Takeaway: Your relationship with the Holy Spirit equips you to be bold for God’s Kingdom. The enemy is overplaying His hand. YOU are the one with the real power, Christ in You is the hope of glory (see Colossians 1:27)! And if God is for you, who can be against you (see Romans 8:31)?! 

Know This…

Your relationship with the Holy Spirit will grow, your vision and desires will change in the process of getting to know Him more. His instruction is critical for you to walk in a life full of peace and Kingdom prosperity. He will change your expectation of what is possible.

His voice is what will guide you along your path, lighting the way with each step. You might not be able to see the end, but His instruction is what gets you there—with His power and authority, you will experience victory. 

This is God’s purpose for sending His Spirit to you—to work through you so that His glory is known throughout all the nations. 

This is your inheritance… Hold fast to it…

“But hold fast what you have till I come. And he who overcomes, and keeps My works until the end, to him I will give power over the nations.”

—Revelation 2:25-26

Isn’t this exactly what you need in this new era? Humbly lay down your will for His, and He will not disappoint. He has only good plans and a blessed inheritance for you.