Date of message: 07 September 2003 Issue
110
Subject: The Ministry of The Holy Spirit
Shalom, Boker-tov (good morning),
Last week we read of the unnamed servant in Genesis 24 and saw what he did for his master Abraham when he finally came home with Rebekah as wife for his young master Isaac. Although Abraham told us in Genesis 15: 2 that his oldest servant was Eliezer from Damacus, he remained unnamed in that chapter.
The Holy Spirit wanted to give us a glimpse of His own nature by giving us a parallel in the story of the unnamed servant. In real life, He is a rather unassuming Person who does not like to take the limelight away from the Father and Jesus. He loves to play second fiddle to the Master.
After putting those gold rings on Rebekah's nose and the gold bracelets on her hands and after giving her those rich and beautiful garments so that she can be dressed to be the bride of Isaac, the unnamed servant led her home. On the long journey, she must have looked at all those gifts and wondered what kind of person Isaac was, whether he would accept her and love her for who she was. Each evening as she warmed herself around the campfire, the servant would come and sit with her and talk with her about his young master Isaac and thus reassured her.
In the same manner, each of us is on our journey home to be with our Lord Jesus Christ. We have been endowed with all those wonderful gifts of the Holy Spirit and daily the Spirit continues to encourage, teach and remind us of the immeasurable love that Jesus has for each one of us.
Jesus gave us a brief job description of the Holy Spirit in John 16: 8-15: -
8. And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment;
9. of sin, because they do not believe in Me;
10. of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
11. of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
12. I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
13. 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.
14. He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you.
15. All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take what is Mine and declare it to you.
Does that not sound very similar to the task that the unnamed servant of Genesis 24? And to imagine that the story had been planted there all this time and so many of us are still asking the question, "what is the role of the Holy Spirit?"
Jesus listed three main tasks (or ministries) that the Holy Spirit is to perform in our midst and in the world.
" Task One - To convict the world of sin
The Holy Spirit was poured out by God the Father into this world after Jesus went back to be with the Father and His primary task is to convict everyone in this world of their sin. What is this sin that Jesus talked about in John 16? It is the sin of unbelief in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.
Salvation comes only on those who put their faith in Him who died on the cross bearing all their punishment which they deserve according to the requirements of God's standards in the Law. And for those who refuse Jesus, there will be no more hope since they have rejected the only way possible to go to the Father.
Whenever the good news of the death of Jesus is shared among men, the Holy Spirit bears witness with the spirit of men and convict them of their sin and when that happens, salvation has come and there will be great rejoicing in heaven when even one soul repents and receives the Lord Jesus into his/ her heart.
" Task Two - Convict Believers of their righteousness
Jesus paid the ultimate price to deliver us from eternal condemnation, from eternal separation from God the Father and because of that, believers are no longer condemned. There is an exchange of positions when we put our trust in Jesus and receive Him into our lives. He took away our sin and in exchange He covers us with His righteousness so that when God the Father looks at us, He does not see us as who we are but He sees us wrapped up in Christ and all the loveliness of Jesus are found in us.
The Holy Spirit comes upon the hearts of all Believers the moment we receive Jesus into our lives and this is one lesson He wants all of us to learn and to grow into; God is no longer mad at Believers because we bear the seal of Jesus in our hearts.
" Task Three - Convict the world of judgment
An important task the Holy Spirit is performing right now in our midst is to remind the devil that he had been judged when Jesus died on the cross and rose from the dead thereby satisfying the Father eternally. The devil knows that his time is running short and soon he will be locked away forever. That is why you will notice that the level of violence in recent days has been intensified. As the Day for Jesus' return to rule this world gets nearer, the devil will get more desperate and attempt to throw his last shot at the world.
The unnamed servant of Genesis 24 could only sit and walk beside Rebekah through the journey from Ur back to Canaan. He could only talk with her and convince her of the loveliness of the person of her future husband, Isaac.
On the contrary, we have the Holy Spirit on the inside of us. The moment we believed in Jesus and invite Him into our hearts, the Holy Spirit is poured out on the Believers and He makes His dwelling place there. That is why Paul, in 1Corinthians 6:19, wrote and reminded us that our bodies are the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in us, whom we have from God and that we are not our own. The Holy Spirit will bear witness with our spirits and give us peace in our daily living and He will prosper us on our way.
I find it very encouraging to read of the gifts that the unnamed servant brought along with him and gave to Rebekah. She not only received gold to enhance her beauty but she had new clothes to wear. She looked every part the bride for a wealthy and powerful man. And yes, as for provisions, there were ten camels and donkeys bearing all the food required for the whole entourage (not just for Rebekah alone) for the return journey. There was plenty for everyone.
When we receive Christ into our hearts, we also had a change of status. We are no longer just ordinary sinners but, in an instant, we are transformed into children of the Most High God. We now have status and as children, we too have received our provisions for our daily living. God has not made us His children only to see us poor physically; indeed, we can call upon Him and trust Him to provide for all our needs, present and future.
Have you put your faith in the One who created everything and who sustains them with His Word, even Jesus? There is only one way to the Father and Jesus is the Way, the Truth and the Life; there is no other way.
If you have not believed in Jesus yourself, then I would urge you to take that first step of faith and invite Him into your heart. He is faithful and He will definitely come and live in you. Choose Life and put your faith in our Lord and Savior, Christ Jesus and He will make you sons and daughters in His Family, special positions reserved only for those whom He loves dearly (John 1:12).
One day, after all the Christians have been taken home to be with the Lord, and should you perchance be reading this article, be assured that Jesus loves you so much that He already demonstrated His love for you on the cross and there will be no condemnation for you once you put your faith in Him but you will have eternal life (Romans 8:1). The Lord cannot lie. For Him, whatever He speaks will come to pass.
Pray this simple prayer and invite Jesus into your heart and immediately you will experience His peace coming your way.
Our heavenly Father, thank you for Your redemption plan for us that You sent Jesus Your only Beloved Son into this world to die for all our sins so that we can enjoy all Your blessings. Thank you that Jesus came and He willingly took all Your punishment upon Himself and died so that we who received Him into our hearts will not be condemned but we received Your eternal life.
Lord Jesus, thank you for coming into my heart and making my heart Your home. Thank you I am now a child of God the Father and as Your child, I can start enjoying all Your blessings for my life. Thank you that I am now eternally forgiven of all my sin, greatly blessed among all men, a highly favored child of God, deeply loved by the Father and completely protected in the Lord and in the most precious name of Jesus Christ, Yeshua Ha' Mashiah, I pray Amen.
If you have prayed this prayer for the first time, welcome to the Family of the Father (and it is a very large universal family). It is important that you are not alone facing your personal challenges but that you can obtain good help wherever you are. Why not take the time to find your own local Christian family (local church) and worship the Father together? You will be greatly encouraged when you meet together to worship the Father, for fellowship and for the study of the Word of Christ.
Start receiving the blessings of the Father as you walk with Him in faith. It is your inheritance in Christ and He wants you to start enjoying these blessings right now. You do not need to wait until you reach heaven and there is more from where they come from.
The Lord blesses you and keeps you,
The Lord makes His face shine upon you and be gracious to you and all your loved ones,
The Lord lifts up His countenance upon you and gives you His shalom peace. Numbers 6: 24 -26

Have a blessed week ahead, Shavrou-tov
Shalom,
Andrew L W Lee

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