Holy Spirit - Helper and Friend | Pastor Raph | Oct. 20. 2024

The Holy Spirit is an advantage, helper, and guide to the truth.

God wants us back in love with him and his word. He doesn't give us a commandment. He knows the commandment of "you shall love me" will not develop love from within. He wants a genuine heart.

1 Samuel 16:7 (ESV): “For the Lord sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the heart.”

It is the Spirit that will lead the church back into love and passion. A spirit will join the church in the last days and store the crime. "come.

Revelation 22:17 (ESV): “The Spirit and the Bride say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who hears say, ‘Come.’ And let the one who is thirsty come; let the one who desires take the water of life without price.”

Usually, we do not like to be close to people who are constantly nagging voices. Those who still condemn us look to find fault no matter how hard we try to please them.

Actually, we try to avoid those types of people. Usually, we tend to fall in love with those who, despite our faults and ugliness, still can find beauty in us. Usually, we want to marry those types of people.

My wife has a saying, "If you can still love him despite everything you see now that you are engaged, move forward."

In the same way, if you still think that the work of the Holy Spirit is a nagging, condemning voice to you, you will never be open, for he's working in your life. But today, I'm here to affirm that the Holy Spirit came to our advantage. He is a helper. The Holy Spirit is a guide—the minister of the new covenant within our hearts.

John 16:7 (ESV) Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

The Holy Spirit Does Not Condemn Us

Many you confuse the devil’s condemnation with the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit does not condemn but reminds us of our righteousness in Christ.

Accuses us of leaders of depression is Satan. That's his job. And there is no other way to overcome him unless you discern the truth.

Revelation 12:10 [...] “For the accuser of our brothers has been thrown down, who accuses them day and night before our God.”

How can you overcome that continuous condemnation and push into depression? We are constantly reminded of our faults. How much like any Ministry. How distant we are from being a better husband. The appropriate mother for our kids. How can we overcome that? 

These thoughts are not from the Holy Spirit. Satan, the accuser, wants you to be held back by that lie. But today, stand on the word of God. 

The most debilitating power of the enemy is accusation. It keeps us under a slavery mentality and away from our true identity in Christ.

Revelation 12:11 (ESV) And they have conquered him by the blood of the Lamb and by the word of their testimony, for they loved not their lives even unto death.

The Holy Spirit does not remember your sins, so He cannot condemn you for what He has forgotten.

Hebrews 8:12 (ESV): “For I will be merciful toward their iniquities, and I will remember their sins no more.”

Hebrews 10:17 (ESV) “Then he adds, ‘I will remember their sins and their lawless deeds no more.’”

Jeremiah 31:34 (ESV) “And no longer shall each one teach his neighbor and each his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they shall all know me, from the least of them to the greatest, declares the Lord. For I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more.”

The Holy Spirit working now

The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin but comforts you by affirming their righteousness. He guides you into all truth, not condemnation.

(John 16:8–9) “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me.”

(John 16:13) “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

You are in Christ, and now it is time to live free from all condemnation, which marks the beginning of life in the Spirit.

There are people wanting to be filled with the Holy Spirit, trusting the old way of the law. However, the ministry of the Holy Spirit works only according to the new covenant.

(Romans 3:20) “For by works of the law no human being will be justified in his sight, since through the law comes knowledge of sin.”

The law was designed by God to bring the knowledge of sin and tutor us to God by

Galatians 3:24 (ESV): “So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”

Christ has come! He has freed us from the law.

(Romans 8:1) “There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.”

The law is called the ministry of condemnation, while the gospel is the ministry of righteousness that brings life.

Jesus empowers you to live a changed life by freeing them from condemnation.

2 Corinthians 3:7-11 (ESV) 7 Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, 8 will not the ministry of the Spirit have even more glory? 9 For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. 10 Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. 11 For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory.

The Power of Grace Over the Sin and Death

If you want to break out from the endless destructive cycles of sin, addiction, violence, and anxiety, the way to that is not by the law. The way of victory is by the grace of God. 

Jesus showed that to the woman caught in adultery.

(John 8:10-11) “Neither do I condemn you; go, and from now on sin no more.”

The cycle of obsessive destructive behavior is fueled by Satan, with temptation in the beginning and condemnation at the end. 

If you are empowered by the power of God's grace in the beginning and reminded of His complete forgiveness at the end, believe me, you will break free once and for all of these harmful practices. Therefore, before getting free from sin, you must be set free from the law.

(Romans 6:14) “For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.”

How does the law strengthen sin? 

The principle of the law that condemns so many you is its function as a revealer of God’s perfect holiness and human sinfulness. The law exposes humanity’s inability to meet God’s righteous standards, showing that no one can attain salvation through their efforts or works. It was meant for good, but now it is producing harm.

Jonas was plagued by a mysterious, invisible disease. He couldn’t see it or touch it, but he could feel it. It drained his energy, left him weak, and made even the simplest tasks seem impossible. Worse still, no one else could understand what he was going through. Every day felt like a battle, and though he appeared healthy on the outside, he felt like he was dying inside. 

Leah came to Jonas with a solution. A powerful medicine that could cure even the most mysterious diseases. “Take this,” Leah said, handing him a vial. “It will give you relief and restore your strength.”

Jonas was skeptical at first, but he was desperate. So, he took the medicine. To his amazement, the relief was immediate. The heaviness that had plagued him for years lifted. He felt full of life and energy.

He felt so good that he kept taking the medicine, even when he didn’t feel the symptoms anymore. But slowly, something began to change. The medicine, which had once brought him healing, started to affect him differently. He became jittery, his thoughts clouded, and his body felt weak again. He began to lose sleep, his mood darkened, and he started feeling more anxious with each passing day. Worse yet, he was afraid to stop. 

Leah noticed the change in Jonas and grew concerned. “You were healed. Why are you still taking the medicine?” she asked.

Jonas shrugged, “It felt so good, and I thought more would keep me better. But now I fall apart.”

Leah looked at him sadly and explained, “The medicine was meant to heal your disease, not to be part of your life. The more you take it, the more it harms you. You need to stop before it destroys you completely.”

The very thing that had saved him was now his greatest burden, pulling him down and stealing away his joy. 

Realizing the truth, Jonas made the hardest decision of his life: to stop taking the medicine. It wasn’t easy, and the withdrawal was brutal. 

Jonas began to feel free again. He realized that true healing wasn’t in relying on the medicine endlessly but in trusting that it had done its job—and letting go.

Galatians 3:24 (ESV),“So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith.”

Romans 7:10-11 (ESV): “The very commandment that promised life proved to be death to me. For sin, seizing an opportunity through the commandment, deceived me and through it killed me.”

The law, for the believer in Christ, is now an instrument of condemnation and death.

(1 Corinthians 15:56) “The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law.”

Christ’s work breaks this cycle. All emotionally depressing life, sucking feelings come from fear and condemnation. It also affects all our relationships. Remember Adam? Condemnation led him to blame and start the blaming game. He excuses himself and even dares to accuse God himself. 

(Genesis 3:12) “The woman whom you gave to be with me, she gave me fruit of the tree, and I ate.”

The Holy Spirit wants to set you free from fear

The Holy Spirit convicts you of your righteousness in Christ, not your sin. He testifies that you are children of God, freeing them from fear and condemnation.

(Romans 8:15–16) “For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, ‘Abba! Father!’ The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.”