The Game Changer

John 14:16-17a – And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. (NIV 2011)

If someone deposited a large amount of money in your account but didn't tell you, would it be of any use to you? Only when we know that the money is there does it become a game changer: it changes our life.

Every new mother says that she didn't truly believe that she was pregnant until she felt that tiny flutter within, the first indication of life. Then the game changed. Similarly, when we accept Jesus as our Saviour, deep inside us, the Holy Spirit brings us spiritually alive. Jesus promised that He would send us a Helper, but do we realize that? If not, then just like being unaware of money in the bank or a child within, we carry on living as usual.

Some think that the Holy Spirit is a ghost or a force, an "it". But He is a person. The third person of the Trinity lives in those who receive Jesus, and He has a job to do. He makes Jesus real to us, because He reveals truth. If we don't recognize the Spirit within us and never call on Him for help, then we don't allow Him to work in us. Our life doesn't change. We will never grow as Christians. We won't produce any fruit. Something is missing: the love, the peace, and the fire that results from a personal relationship with Jesus. Those who enjoy that relationship recognize those who don't, because they have the Spirit of truth living and active within them.

When we're born again, we're adopted into God's family. Jesus becomes our Brother, as well as our Lord. The Holy Spirit gives us the desire to proclaim Jesus. We can't help it; it's natural to talk about family. We want to share good news. We want our loved ones to go to heaven. But this can get us into trouble, so we may stop. We might unknowingly clamp down on the Holy Spirit. But if we allow Him, the Holy Spirit will guide us and show us what's best. He opens our eyes and ears. We see things that we didn't see before, because now we're looking from God's perspective — spiritually.

The Holy Spirit gives us the power to identify others' situations. He gives us words to pray and words to help change lives. He opens our mind so that we understand things that we didn't understand before — but didn't know that we didn't understand! The Holy Spirit sets our antennae so that we can receive messages from God. Hearing God's Word properly allows us to obey. The Holy Spirit helps us live the way God wants us to. That's the game changer!

Prayer: Heavenly Father, on this day of Pentecost, anoint us with Your Holy Spirit within us so that we can see Your love and beauty and truth, and proclaim that Jesus is Lord. We ask this in our dear Saviour's name. Amen.

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