MOMENT OF WORD WONDERS with Dr. Ayo Akerele (Canada)
Leonard Ravenhill once said, “In the Acts of the Apostles, it is after they have prayed that the place is shaken. In our own time, it is after we have paid that the place is taken”. The influence of the Holy Spirit in the body of Christ has continued to dwindle and dwindle and dwindle. In many of our churches, carnality has taken over our altars. Gone were the days when believers competed on the basis of the manifestations of gifts and fruits of the Spirit. Now, the basis of our competition is largely financial. Yet, without the Holy Spirit, we can do nothing.
The Holy Spirit is the seal and stamp of our salvation. To be sure that you are genuinely saved, you must be approved by the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:3, the bible says, “no one can say that Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit is not a “it”. He is an “him”. He is the third person of the trinity. In theology, the doctrine of the Holy Spirit is called, “pneumatology”.
The Holy Spirit operates in several dimensions that we can’t exhaust in this study. In the bible, here are some of the vital things that the Holy Spirit does and represents
He is our helper-John 14:26; Romans 8:26
He is the Spirit of Truth-John 16:13; John 14-16
Our bodies are his temple-1 Corinthians 6:19
He is our comforter
He bears fruit-Galatians 5:22
He is our power supplier-Acts 1:8
He always glorifies Christ-John 16:15
He is the Spirit of revelation-1 Corinthians 2:10; Isaiah 11:2
He convicts men of sin-John 16:8
He is God’s primary means of guiding believers-Romans 8:14
He supplies various gifts to men-1 Corinthians 12:8
He is the spirit of wisdom; the spirit of knowledge, the spirit of counsel; the spirit of might; the spirit of the fear of God; the spirit of understanding-Isaiah 11:1-4
We cannot exhaust the manifestations and operations of the Holy Spirit in one single session of teaching. But in this teaching, we will be looking at the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of TRUTH. Note that in John 14:6, Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth and the life”. God the father, the son and the Holy Spirit are the trinitarians and are THE TRUTH! If the Holy Spirit is THE SPIRIT OF TRUTH, the question here is: What is HIS truth? THE WORD OF GOD. In John 1:14, the bible the word is full of grace and truth. In other words, the word of God is the only basis for knowing the truth, and when the bible calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of truth, it basically means that the word of God is the truth of the Holy Spirit.
We presently leave in a generation full of many truths.
- Man to man or woman to woman marriages are truths to some people in some quarters
- The man is not the head of the home. Both man and woman must share headship. These are truths in some quarters
- A believer can never sin as he basically loses his will to sin after salvation is another truth that some people are peddling
- A believer can never lose his salvation even if he decides to do so. He basically loses his will and mind after salvation. God basically padlocks his mind after salvation
- Jesus is a way to heaven because there are so many other ways to heaven. That is also a truth some other people are peddling
- Abortion is not a sin is another truth in so many quarters
The list of truths in our falling world is endless. But the world’s truth is not the same as biblical truth. And if you must excel in your Christian journey on earth and live a life well pleasing to God, the Holy Spirit must be revealed to you as the Spirit of truth–the truth of the word of God.
Why is it important for us to understand and embrace the truth nature of the Holy Spirit?
- The bible calls, “Truth” the belt-Ephesians 6:14. What do belts do? They provide stability and unity. And that is exactly what you will get when you embrace the truth nature of the Holy Spirit and not the truth of the world. YOU WILL HAVE STABILITY, BALANCE AND UNITY with Christ and with the body of Christ.
- Truth is also a shield. In Psalms 91:4, the bible says, “His truth shall be your shield and buckler”. Note the words, “his truth”. Not Hollywood’s truth. Not my papa’s truth. But, “his truth”. When you embrace the truth of the Holy Spirit as enshrined in God’s word, you are effectively shielding yourself. God’s people, “Truth shields”. When people have been fed lies for years, they will become vulnerable to many more bigger lies.
- Truth sets free–In John 8:32, the Bible says, “and ye shall know the truth and the truth shall seou free”. Nothing delivers a man life truth. Satan never lucks around people who know the truth of God’s word. And that is why Satan keeps raising up false pastors around the globe. Why? the more lies the people are taught, the more bondage they will enter.
- Truth does not put people in bondage. God won’t ask you to give him what you can’t afford or don’t have. God won’t tell you to borrow money to pay for a sacrifice. Truth sets free. It doesn’t put in bondage.
- The truth guides–In John 16:13, the bible says, “the Holy Spirit will guide us into All truth”. Note, not some truths, but all truths. This effectively means that the guidance of the Holy Spirit always takes the believer into the direction of truth. The Holy Spirit will never guide you to divorce your wife for the head of the choir. The Holy Spirit won’t tell you to collect money from poor people in every situation. He will always guide towards the direction of truth.
In this new year, nothing will stabilize you more like truth. You have been born again for decades but still cannot different lies from truth. Why don’t you open yourself to the Spirit of truth–the Holy Spirit. He dwells in you. He wants to guide you with is truth. He wants to shield you with his truth. He wants to set you free with his truth. He wants to stabilize your life with his truth. Access to the Holy Spirit is salvation. He is the Spirit of truth. He wants you to embrace him. Run from relative truth. Run from humanism, universalism, and all forms of half-truths that this world is projecting. Their end is destruction and bondage.
