THE HOLY SPIRIT

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I will be making an explicit study on the HolySpirit and his gifts
Memory verse: i will pray the Father, and he shall give you anotherComforter, that he may abide with you forever. {John 14:16 KJV }0ther Ref: John 14:26, John 16:13 ' '

INTRODUCTION:

The Holy Spirit is a gift of God unto humanity (Act 10:45, Lit 11:13). But beyond thatfact, the Holy Spirit isJesus Christ unlimited, he 's the one thatshows the world what Sin is, how to live a righteous life and share knowledge about the judgment of God. Without the Holy Spirit, people won't see a need to repent.

However, contrary to many people’s opinions, He's not just some strange WlND, not a Cloven ofTongues, not even a FiRE or a DOVE; He's the COMFORTER (Jh 15:26) and likewisetheSpiritofTRUTH (Jh 16: 13).

The Holy Spirit is like a person who has a will, an intellect and emotions.The Holy Spirit is GOD and He's coequal with both God the Father and God the Son. He's not in any way less to the GODHEAD. He can be worshiped, yet He's gentle, quietand invisible figurewho doesn'tdraw much attentionto himself.

Holy Spirit is the greatest promise that New Testament has for you. You are living in gross darkness ifyou don 't have fellowship with Him. The Holy Spirit unlocks the Bible for you; He shows you the will of God for your life and helps you understand how much the LordJesus has done foryou.
WHY DO I NEED THE HOLY SPIRIT?

MEMORY VERSE: But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost. whom the Fatherwill send in my name. he shall teach you all things, and bring all thingsto your remembrance whatsoeverl havesaid unto you.{lohn 14:28 KJV}0therRef;John 14:16, llohn 2:27

INTRODUCTION:

The primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to reveal Jesus to you; He gives you power and boldness to spread the GOOD NEWS. You are no longer ashamed to share God with others. There are otheruniqueways in which he helps you which are left to youto discover.

He bring God's presence to you, your relationship with God get really deep and soon becomesthe best part aboutyour life.

He teaches you God's word (THE BIBLE): you begin to understand things like never before, and you also begin to hungerfor more.

Your prayer life is transformed; you pray much better and using the gift of tongues and your prayers are guaranteed to be effective. The quality of your prayerswill amazeanyone listening, even yourselfattimes.

Anotherthing is that He can reveal your future to you, if you are matured and know how to handle what he tells you. He will show you things before they happen.

He restores and renews you. he pick you up when you sin. He refreshesyou when you aretired and weary.

He increases yourfaith. You begin to expect and see a lot more miracles in your life.

He also brings about excellence in your life, when the Holy Spirit is in control of your life; there's no room for mediocrity, hetakes great pleasure in bringing out the best inside of you.

It isthe HolySpiritthat helps you when you decide on tough situationsinyourlife such as; who has God chosen to be yourfuture partner in this life. You can choose yourown but it will nevermatch up to whatGod has in store foryou.
RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT

MEMORY VERSE: Ask. and itshall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and itshall beopened unto you. [Luke 11:8 KJWOther Ref: L.k 11:11-13,John 20-22

INTRODUCTION:

Thewayto receivethe Holy Spirit is simple, you need to ask God. Ask and hewill pourouthisSpiritonyou,you will need to drink. Nobodycanforceyou drink(Eph 5:18)out ofyourown free will you have to pray and drink and invite him into your life. Keep in mind thatthis isyoursecond baptism;throughthis you receive the gift of life and from this point on, God lives insideyou.

You also must trust that God loves you and will not harm you ifyou ask him for something good. He most certainly will not give you anything evil or let the devil put anything inside you. (L.k 11:11-13.) You need to ask God sincerely, you need to believe that it's His will to give you this blessing divine. You need to believe that Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to you before he left and will honor his word. God looks at your heart, he sees ifyoutrust him and you are willingto surrenderto him (Lk 11:9)

The Apostles taught that one needs to be baptized before he can receive the Holy Spirit, although in some, God has blessed people with the Spirit even otherwise. If you have receive the Holy Spirit before baptism. thank God and get baptized as soon as you can. Here are few points that will help you and bring you closer to your desire of receivingthe HolySpirit;

1. Don't be drunkard orsmokeroran addictto anythingworldly.

2. God will hearyou ifyou pray accordingto Hiswill. .

3. You mustthirst for him, and be humbled. God resistthe proud. Fasting is a God appointed way ofgetting rid ofpride.

4. You must treasure and value Him. God won't give you something so precious if youwon'tappreciateit.

5. Don'tbematerialisticbuttransforrnyourmindanddesirespiritualthings.

6 Confess your sins to God and repent. Ideally there should be no un-confessed sin in your life; the Holy Spirit doesn‘t fill an unclean vessel. You don't need a priest,you canjusttalkto God directly, and he hears and sees everything.

1. Trust in Jesus when you ask him for the gift. Faith is the key here; you must believethatyou will receivewhen you ask.
   BARRIERS TO RECEIVING THE HOLY SPIRIT

MEMORY VERSE: And as they went on theirway, they came unto a certain water, and the eunuch said, see, here is water, what doth hinder me to be baptized? {Act

8:36}

INTRODUCTION:

The Holy Spirit is an all powerful being and an extension of God himself, all things are possible to him. Barriers like addictions, attitudes, lusts, homosexuality, pervasions, lies, obsessions, physical and mental illness can be easily defeated when you have the Holy Spiriton your side.The only condition isthat;you mustwantto be setfree. Afew common barriers are discussed here;

1. No trust in God.

2. Apathy to God's word. Psalm 119:105

Involvement in the occult(Deut 18:10-12)

Unforgiveness (Mt6:15)

Pride (James 4:6, Proverb 16:18, Eze 28:17, isaiah 14:13)

Fear(Prv29:25, Deut31:6,

Unbelief(Heb 11:6) .

Materialism(lJohn2:15,James4:4)

The single greatest barrier is sin, it separates us from God. Sin which has not been
confessed and repented of is the greatest barrier between God and YOU.
MEMORY VERSE: Yet when i am among mature Christians l do speakWith words of greatwisdom, but not the kind thatcome from here on earth, and notthe kind that appeals to the great men of this world, who are doomed to fall. (1 Cor 216-7 TLB PARAPHRASE]

INTRODUC‘I'ION:

Wisdom accordingto dictionary means the accumulated knowledge or enlightenment. it's also the ability to apply relevant knowledge in an insightful manner, especially to different situations from that in which the knowledge was gained.

However, the Word of Wisdom we are considering in this study is the revealingof propheticfuture, it is speaking hidden tmth of what is not known. ltis also a supematural perspective to ascertain the divine means forawomplishing God's will in a given situation. Word of Wisdom is a divinely given power to appropriatespiritual intuition orinsightin problem solving.

One must carefully note that there is a kind of Wisdom that comes from the word. (1 Cor 2:6b) This kind of wisdom cannot be gained through study or experience and should by no means try to replace them. The gift of Word of Wisdom is seeing life from God's perspective and this gift of wisdom involves havinga sense ofdivine direction, beingled by the Holy Spiritto act appropriately in a given set ofcircumstance.
WORD OF KNOWLEDGE

MEMORY VERSE: But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back ofthe price of the Land. (Act 5:3 KJV). Other Ref: John 4:16-18

INTRODUCTION:

Knowledge is refers to as the ability to know. Therefore, the word of knowledge is the ability of one person to know what God is currently doing or intends to do in the life of another person. It can also be regarded as knowingthe secret of another person's heart. It's a supernatural revelation of information receivedthrough the HolySpirit.

The word of knowledge is a speaking gift which involves understanding spiritual truths with an insight that only comes by revelation from God. It's also worthy of note that this gift is similar in operation to the gift of prophecy because of its revelatory nature.

OPERATIONS: There are diverse ways God gives the word of knowledge to different people.

1. You mayfeel it.

You may see it. (open vision)

You may read it. (like a scroll is set before you)

God can sometimes drop it into yourhearth. (By perception) You can dream it or even experience it. Act8:26-31
DISCERNING 0F SPIRITS

MEMORY VERSE: Beloved, believe not every spirit. but try the spirits whetherthey are of God: because many false prophets are gone out into the world. {1 John 4:1)0ther Ref; Matt 16:22-23,Act 16: 16-18,1Thes 5:21-22,1John 4:1-4
INTRODUCTION: Discernment is the ability to distinguish clearly between the truth and error, right or wrong. ln other way, to discern means to perceive, recognize, or comprehend with the mind; to detect with the senses. especially with the eyes. But Discerning of Spirit is the ability to know or identify which is which from the spirit of God and the spirits of Satan. It identifies the fake trom the original. This gift of discernment helps you identify the root cause behind many ofthe problems and situationsyou encounterin people and situations. it's through this gift someone can bring to light if the person giving the word of prophecy. word of knowledge. working of miracles or healing is from the Lord or not. This gift helps the church or believer from deception, or being fooled around by fake doctrine, heresies or false manifestation that are coming from the pit of hell (Eph 4:14)Disceming of spirit is a unique and valuable gift of the spirit, which helps the Christians not to stumble in this perverse generation. The gift also unveils every tactics of the devil from any angle of other gifts of the spirit.i.e prophecy,word of knowledge etc.Thls gift helps us identiiy the following

1. The prompting and guidance of the Holy Spintit helps you identify if something is from the HolySpirit orlrom yourown mind.
2. The Angels of God- lt helpsyou discem between angels and evil spirit that appear as angels.
3. Demonic or evil Spirit It can tell you the exact name and the function of demons affecting the lives of people.This is very useful it you want to drive out demons.
4. The spirit of manit can also tell you if the problems is spiritual in nature or it the Person themselves are responsible for issue.

OPERATIONS:The operation of this gift wiIl/is depend on the way God has chosen to deal with yOU;

1. You can see it.
2. You can comprehend with the mind etc.
3. Through the word of God.
   FAITH

MEMORY VERSE: And Stephen, full of faith and power. did great wonders and miracles amongthe people. {Acts 6.8}0ther Ref: Number 13:30, Dan 3:16-18. Hebrews 11:32-34

INTRODUCTION:

Faith in this context is the ability to do; to perform or to create, to bring into existence through the conviction of the Holy Spirit. The gift of Faith triggers one in the means of impossibility to do the unbelievable. When you are having this type of gift you see possibility from impossibility.

Another definition here is that: the gift of Faith is a strong conviction that comes into the heart of man which quenches fear, doubt and overcome the power of impossibility. One importantthingaboutthis giftisthat. you cannotoperate atalltimesin this gift It is given for a reason and fora season. (Lk 17:6) When this gift is activates, you are a different person. You are very sure of what you are saying, although it sounds impossible in natural world, you know exactly what you say and do and it comes. It's therefore imperative to note thatthere arethree dimensions to Faith generally;

1. Faith is a Gift(Eph 2:8.1Cor13:2)

2. Faith isa Fruit ofthe Spirit. (Gal 5:22)

3. Faith is aSpirit. (2 Cor4:13)

OPERATIONS: When this gift is in operation, there usually comes a sudden or strange confidence,‘ boldness which you cannot help; it is an impartation of the Holy Spiritand also activated through earnest prayer. This gift also comes with a powerful anointing, when its active youfeeland actlikeacompletelydifferentperson.
THE GIFT OF HEALINGS

MEMORY VERSE: And it came to pass, that after the father of Publius lay sick of a fever and of a bloody flux: to whom Paul entered In, and prayed, and laid hands on him, and healed him. (Act28:8-9 KJV) OtherRef: Mf8:14-15, Lk911, Mt 9:35.

INTRODUCTION:

The Greek word for healing is translatedtherapeuo which is pronounced as the-ap-yoo-o, which means to relieve of a disease, to cure or make whole of all infirmity. The gift of HeaIing is the ability ofthe spirit through the power of the Holy Spirit to restore, flx and to make whole victims perhaps any ls found in the Body of Christ God himself is the author of the gift of healing as established in Deut32:39,Jer30:17a.

The gift of healing releasesthe restorative power of God through the HolySpirit into the world. There are many types of healings; these are “gifts” and not a single gift. Believers enjoy different rates of success with specific problems. For example one believer may be gifted when praying for people with back pains, a high percentage of people with back pains he prays for may get healed while another may be gifted when it comes to curing the blind or people suffering from arthritis.

OPERATIONS:

The gift of healings is often ca rry-out by laying on of hands (Acts 28:8) and prayer of faith (James 5:13-15). It can also be carried out by anointing the fellow with the anointing oil. (Isaiah 10:27). ltcan also be receivethrough a revelation in the word of God. (P.S 107:20)
WORD OF PROPHECY

MEMORY VERSE: But if all prophesy, and there come in one that believeth not, or one unleamed, he is convinced ofall, he is judged ofall: And thus are the secretof his heart made manifest... {1 Cor 14:24~25)0ther Ref: 1 Thes 5:20‘21, 1sam 10-5~6, Num 11:25-29, Joel 2:28, 1John 4:1-3, Act21:9-11, 1Kings 22:5-8, Deut18:18-22.

INTRODUCTION:

The Greekword forthe gift of prophecy is 'Propheteia' which is the ability to receive a divinely inspired message and deliver it to others in Church. (2Kings 7:1,18, 18am 7:14, 9:6-7, Mt 1:21-23). These messages can take the form of exhortation, correction, disclosure from sin, prediction of the‘future events, comfort, inspiration or other revelation given to equip and edify the church of Christ (ICor 1413-4, 2425).

This gift is a medium through which God reveals true picture of a man. (Jer 23:24, 1:4-5, Judges 13:3-5, Gen 25:23). But there are two categories of prophecy, which are good or bad prophecy, and it has different or many sources e.g Marine. Demon orGod etc.

OPERATIONS: The gift of prophecy can operate in three dimensions namely; the past, the present and the future. (lsa 7:14, 1Kings 17:1, 14: 16, Gen 3: 15-19) Prophetic utterancescan deal with certain group of people, individual, the Church or large people. (Gen 18: 13-14, Gen 1: 28-30)
WORKING 0F MIRACLE

MEMORY VERSE: And when the disciples saw him walking on the sea, they were troubled, saying, it's a spirit; and they cried out for fear. [Mt 14:26] Other Ref: Mt 14:13-21,Joshua 10:12-13.John 2:7-8

INTRODUCTION:

The Greek word for miracle is 'Semeion' which means wonder. Thus, a miracle is a divine operation that translates what is normally perceived as natural law, itcannot be explained upon any natural beans. it's also imperative to note that natural power of man cannot of themselves produce, and which must therefore be referred to as supernatural display of divine power. It's a notable and undeniable dealing of a super-God in a natural man‘s life. (Acts4:16, 19:11)

The gift of miracles releases the creative power of God into the world through his Holy Spirit in you.The gift of healing restores but this gift creates. Operating in this gift requires you to operate in faith and it revolves around making the impossible possible. (John 3:2) Keep lookingfor miracles, it is possible that you may be too busy to even notice them happening.

OPERATIONS:

The operation varies in the sense that, it takes a super God to perform wonders in the life of a natural man which result to supernatural. it's both carried out receive by absolute faith and a by product of fasting and prayer.
DIVERSE KIND OF TONGUES

MEMORY VERSE: For if you have the ability to speak in tongues, you will be talking only to God, since people won't be able to understand you. You will be speakingbythe powerofthe Spirit, but itwill all be mysterious. {1 Cor 14:2 NLT} Other Ref. 1 Cor 14:4

INTRODUCTION:

There are two dimensions to this gift, the first beingthe ability to pray in a new tongue. This is your personal prayer language. This is given to ALL believers, you only need to ask God and you will receive all. This gift is primarily meant to build you up. It is also referred to as praying in tongues. (1 Cor14:2).

The second dimension to this gift is the ability to speak in different languages. This is the actual Gift of tongues or Diverse tongues. The Holy Spirit blesses people with this gift. Here you are able to speak in a language that is completely unknown to you but to a person listening, it makes perfectsense. Act2:4

OPERATION:

It may seem like very stupid things to speak in tongue in front of strangers. It takes faith to do so, but be rest assured if the Holy Spirit leads you, He will deliver a very powerful message that can touch any strangers' heart through you. The only challenge here is for you to step out of your comfort zone in faith. This gift is also ‘ called diverse tongues.
lNTERPRETATION 0F TONGUES

MEMORY VERSE: Wherefore, let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he mayinterpret. {1 Cor 14:13}

INTRODUCTION:

The interpretation of tongues is a supernatural ability given by God to interpret unknown tongues into a message. It's also a special ability orGift from the Holy Spirit that communicate what has been spoken in an unknown language to the church ina languagetheywould understand.

The Greek word translated for tongue is calledglossa which is defined as “uncertain affinity, language one naturally cannot acquired.” This could be linked to the accountofDanielwhen heinterpreted thefourwords “Mene, Mene,Tekel, Parsin" into this sentenceNumber, Number, Weigh, Divided. (Dan 5:25-28) Now the King and otherpeople atthe scene could understand this strange language; the uncertain affinity, which at the same times a mystery but because of Daniel is endowed with this uncommon gift of interpretation, he was able to shed light to the dark sayings edify the King and his household.

The interpretation ofTongue brings into light the message God is trying to pass across to his people or Church. The body of Christ today must desire to interpret tongues to bring edification to the fold of God in fullness. Interpretation of tongues couldn't be done without the Spirit of God.
THE GIFT OF MERCY

MEMORY VERSE: If it (our gift) is to encourage others, we should do so. Whoever shares with others should do it generously; whoever has authority should work hard; whoevershows kindness to others should do it cheerfully. {Romans 12:8}Other Ref: Mt 5:7,Act9:36

INTRODUCTION:

The Greek word for “mercy" (eleos) means “to show compassion," or to feel sympathy of heart."This gift is characterized by the ability to suffer alongside the person in pain, in a sense to feel the pain with them and want to help them bear it. This extraordinary gift enables the believer to feel a deep compassion that transcends natural Christian caring and to minister to hurting people in a cheerful and sustained manner.

The Holy Spirit gives the spiritual gift of mercyto some in the church to love and assistthose who are suffering, and walk With them until The Lord allows their burden to be lifted. The gift of mercy is founded in God's mercy towards us as sinners and is consistently expressed with measurable compassion. Those with this gift are able to “weep with those who weep" (Rom 12:15) and “bear one another's burdens" (Gal 6:2). They are sensitive to the feelings and circumstances of others and can quickly discern when someone is not doing well. They are typically good listeners and feel the need to simply“bethere"forothers. See Rom 12:8, Mat 5:7, L.k 10:30-37,James3:17,Jude1:22~ 23.

The person with this gift of mercy will be drawn to exercise it amongthe needy, ill, the mentallyimpaired, the handicapped, shut-ins, imprisoned, bereaved, lonely, and others in troubled situations. It is revealed in the person's being able to serve in the presence of human misery such as is so often seen among the poor, sad, the afflicted and the abandoned.
THE GIFT OF GIVING

MEMORY VERSE: Every man awarding as he purposeth in his heart, so let him give; not grudgingly, or of necessity: for God Ioveth a cheerful giver. {2 Corinthians 9:7) Other Ret: Matt 6:2-4, Lk8:1-3, Romans 12:6-8, 1 Cor 13:3. 2 Cor8:2-4, 9:9.

INTRODUCTION: The Greekword for"giving" is metadidomi . it means “to share.” “to impart", or “to give." However, this word is accompanied in (Romans 12:8) by another descriptive word: Haplotes. This word tells us much more aboutthe kind of giving that is associated with this gift. The word Haplotes means 'sincerely, generously and without pretense or hypocrisy."

The Holy Spirit imparts this gift to some in the Church to meet the various needs of the church and its ministries, missionaries, or of people who do not have means to provide fully for themselves. The goal is to encourage and provide, giving all credit to God's love and provision. Those with this gift love to share with others the overflow of blessings God has given them. They are typically very hospitable and will seek out ways and opportunitiesto help others.

They are also excellent stewards and will often adjust their lifestyles in orderto give more to spread the Gospel and the care of the needy. They are grateful when someone sharesa need with them, and are alwaysjoyiul when they can meetthatneed.

There is a temptation to connect this gift with the wealthy, but that would be in error because even the poor can exercise this gift with the greatest of effectiveness. Jesus took special note of the poor woman who gave “all she had to live on" to the Temple Treasury. See Luke 21:1-4. Even though it was only two small coins, it became a gift that taught a lesson of great importance about sanctity of sacrificial giving,
THE GIFT OF LEADERSHIP

MEMORY VERSE: If your gift is to encourage others, be encouraging. if it is giving, give generously. If God has given you leadership ability, take the responsibility seriously. And if you have a gift for showing Kindness to others, do it gladly. {Romans 12:8)0ther Ref:John 21:18, 1Thess 5:12,

INTRODUCTION:

The spiritual Gift of Leadership is closely related to the gift of administration and interestingly, the spiritual gift of pastor/shepherd. The Greek word forthe spiritual gift of leadership is proistemi. This word means to lead, to assist, to protect and to care forothers. ‘

The spiritual gift of leadership is found in (Romans 12:8) sandwiched between the gifts of giving and mercy. It is placed there intentionally to show that it is a gift associated with caring for others. This is what connects it to the gift of pastor/shepherd, and whatdifferentiates it from the gift of administration. It is more people oriented than task oriented in its application. This is not to say those with the gift of administration do not care for people, of course they do, but those with the spiritual gift of leadershipfocus on people and relationship more directly.

The Holy Spirit givesthe Spiritual gift of leadershipto some in the church to care forGod's people and lead them into deeper relationship with Christ and each other.1hey base theirsuccess on how well they help others succeed and grow in their spiritual walk with Jesus. Theyare able accomplish many different task and objectives asthey lead, but they will always lead relationally and with a deep concern for the well-being of others. Theyare “visionaries” and will go to great lengthsto protectthose undertheircare and are Well-equipped to lead through crises situations. See also Romans 12:8, 1 Thess 5:12, 1 Tim 3:4-5, 5:17.

Thanks for reading
@mikolo