Showing posts with label advocate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label advocate. Show all posts

Monday, January 25, 2016

How the Holy Spirit Helps You Defeat Your Goliaths - JOYCE MEYER CHARISMA NEWS

The Holy Spirit is with you at all times to help you slay the Goliaths in your life.

The Holy Spirit is with you at all times to help you slay the Goliaths in your life. (Wikimedia Commons)


How the Holy Spirit Helps You Defeat Your Goliaths

JOYCE MEYER  charisma news


If you've ever heard me share my testimony of how I was abused by my father throughout my childhood, you know I've gone through some really difficult times. In fact, there were some things that were so painful, I wondered if I would survive them. But I did, and now one of my greatest desires is to help others know how to trust God and lean on Him so they can overcome their struggles too.
There's a huge difference between a Christian who just tries to make it on their own and one who really relies on the Holy Spirit to enable them to do whatever they need to do. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit to take His place here in the earth. He can be everywhere, all the time, and because He lives in us as born-again believers, Jesus will never leave us or forsake us.
In John 15:26 (AMPC), Jesus told His disciples, "When the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) comes...the Spirit of Truth Who comes (proceeds) from the Father, He [Himself] will testify regarding Me." It's so amazing to realize that the Holy Spirit is always with us and He's the Strengthener we need to get through every problem we have to face. 
Victors or Grasshoppers?
In Numbers 13, the Israelites were facing a big problem. They were just outside the land of Canaan, which is the promised land God led them to after they wandered for 40 years in the wilderness. Moses sent 12 spies to scout out the land, and when they returned, 10 of them had a bad report, and two had a good report.
The spies told Moses, "We came to the land to which you sent us; surely it flows with milk and honey.... But the people who dwell there are strong, and the cities are fortified and very large; moreover, there we saw the sons of Anak [of great stature and courage]" (vv. 27-28 AMPC). But Caleb said, "Let us go up at once and possess it; we are well able to conquer it" (v. 30). In verses 32 and 33, the 10 spies "brought the Israelites an evil report of the land which they had scouted out, saying, The land...is a land that devours its inhabitants.... There we saw the Nephilim [or giants], the sons of Anak, who come from the giants; and we were in our own sight as grasshoppers, and so we were in their sight."
For the Israelites to possess their promised land, they were going to have to dispossess the current occupants—the giants. God had not cleared out all of the problems because He wanted to teach them how to trust Him, to lean on Him for the strength they needed to overcome their enemies. Caleb acted in faith because he had his eyes on God, but the spies who brought the "evil report" couldn't see themselves as anything but grasshoppers facing giants because they weren't trusting God.
You Can Face Your Giants
We all have giants—problems in life that we have to overcome. I don't like them any more than anybody else does, but I've discovered that we learn more about how to trust God when we go through difficulties than we do in other seasons of our lives. The truth is when we don't have anyone but God to get us through something, He can use it to make us stronger in Him, and then He can use us to do greater things than we ever imagined we could do.
God doesn't want us to live weak, wimpy, helpless, pathetic, barely-get-by lives. That's why He sent the Holy Spirit to be our "Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby)." Acts 1:8 says, "But you shall receive power (ability, efficiency, and might) when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be My witnesses in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria and to the ends (the very bounds) of the earth."
The Holy Spirit is with you all the time, and His power gives you "ability, efficiency, and might" to be a witness for Christ. This means that in Christ, you have the power to be the kind of person in this world who represents Him as a light in a dark place...who has peace in the midst of the storm...who has the power not to worry when you have a huge problem and hope even when it looks like there is no hope at all.
I want to encourage you to take time to get to know God for yourself. Spend time with Him in prayer and through studying His Word. Wait on the Lord and receive the strength He has for you today (Isaiah 40:31). Put your focus on Him and pray, "God, I trust You. Please strengthen me today to do whatever I need to do, through Christ. I give you my will and want to know what Your will is for me. I need Your strength, wisdom and guidance in every area of my life. I believe You will work out all things for my good (Romans 8:28). You are my strength and I won't give up!"
For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!
NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here

Monday, January 11, 2016

How to Develop Your Relationship with the Holy Spirit - JOYCE MEYER CHARISMA MAGAZINE

Have you developed a relationship with the Holy Spirit?
Have you developed a relationship with the Holy Spirit? (Lightstock )

Straight Talk, by Joyce Meyer
As born-again believers in Jesus Christ, we serve a triune God—Father, Son and Holy Spirit. In Genesis 1:26 (AMP) God says, "Let Us [Father, Son, and Holy Spirit] make mankind in Our image. ... " This verse reveals God as the Trinity, and we need to worship and have relationship with each Person of the Godhead.
It seems more common to hear people talk about God and Jesus, but the Holy Spirit does not get enough of our attention. It's important to understand that He is a person who has a personality, a will, knowledge, a mind, and He thinks and knows things. For example, 1 Corinthians 2:11 (AMP) tells us that "no one discerns (comes to know and comprehend) the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God."
In John 16:7, we learn some of the facets of His personality and how we need Him to work in our lives. In this verse Jesus says, "...If I do not go away, the Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Advocate, Intercessor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you [into close fellowship with you]; but if I go away, I will send Him to you [to be in close fellowship with you]" (AMP).
This Scripture teaches that He is our ...
  • Counselor—always go to God first for counsel and let Him speak to you His way, through the people or things He chooses.
  • Advocate—He pleads our case when we're in trouble.
  • Intercessor—He prays for us and through us when we don't know how to pray on our own.
  • Standby—He stands by us, ready to act on our behalf when we need something.
  • Strengthener—He gives us God's grace to do whatever we need to do in every situation.
He's all these things and so much more! God is literally everything we need, and as we fellowship with the Holy Spirit, we can have "the mind of Christ...and...hold the thoughts (feelings and purposes) of His heart" (1 Corinthians 2:16).
Learn the Sound of His Voice
The Holy Spirit is the only One who fully knows the mind of God, so when we pray for God to give us wisdom or the knowledge we need, it's important for us to realize the Spirit is in us (1 Corinthians 2:12; 6:19). And He communicates to us what He hears God say. John 16:13 explains that He is "the Spirit of Truth (the Truth-giving Spirit)" and He guides us into the Truth. "For He will not speak His own message ... but He will tell whatever He hears [from the Father. ...]"
One way we learn how to hear the Holy Spirit is by understanding that He has emotions and He can be grieved. Ephesians 4:30 (AMP) says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God [do not offend or vex or sadden Him]. ... " Because He lives in us, when He feels grieved, we will feel it too.
Ephesians 4:29-31 (AMP) lists some behaviors that cause Him to be grieved: foul, polluting language; evil, unwholesome, worthless talk; bitterness, indignation, wrath, rage, a bad temper, resentment, anger, quarreling, contention and slander. So when we choose to think and speak in ways that go against His nature, we will feel conviction, and the best thing we can do is confess our sin and repent immediately.
James 3 teaches that no one can "tame the tongue" and sometimes we make mistakes and say wrong things. But we can learn from our mistakes; we can pray and ask God to help us only say things that are right and pleasing to Him.
I know it's easy to be insensitive and say the wrong things sometimes. The other day I was wearing a blouse that didn't fit me right, and I said to someone, "This thing is way too big for me but it would probably fit you." Afterward, I couldn't believe I said it!
The Bible teaches us that "no one can tame the tongue" (James 3:8). We need to pray for God to help us hear His voice, giving us wisdom and direction in the thoughts we choose to think about and the words we speak.
As our Counselor, He wants to guide us in everything we do, and we can learn how to hear His voice. So listen for the still, small voice of the Holy Spirit speaking to your heart. You'll hear it as you wait quietly in His presence, while you're studying His Word, in your circumstances and even through nature. God is talking to you!
Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored nearly 100 books, including Battlefield of the Mindand The Mind Connection (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visit www.joycemeyer.org.
Joyce Meyer is a New York Times best-selling author and founder of Joyce Meyer Ministries, Inc. She has authored 100 books, including Battlefield of the Mind and Get Your Hopes Up! (Hachette). She hosts the Enjoying Everyday Life radio and TV programs, which air on hundreds of stations worldwide. For more information, visitwww.joycemeyer.org.
For a limited time, we are extending our celebration of the 40th anniversary of Charisma. As a special offer, you can get 40 issues of Charisma magazine for only $40!
NEW from CHARISMA: Do you want to encounter the Holy Spirit and hear God speak to you? Increase your faith, discover freedom, and draw near to God! Click Here