In fully understanding the personality of the Holy Spirit, our hearts ought to be sensitive. I like to define the word “sensitive” before delving into how we can develop sensitive hearts towards the Holy Spirit. Sensitive is when one treats a person delicately. When travelling, sometimes the stewards depending on the class of travel; ask if you have anything in your suitcase which should be handled with care. Likewise, we are to handle the Holy Spirit with care.
Let us look at it this way, our dealings or interactions with the Holy Spirit should be from a place of perception and delicacy. We cannot afford to be insensitive or indifferent towards the Holy Spirit. Scripture exhorts us to refrain from hardness of heart, likening it to blindness. “So I tell you this, and insist on it in the Lord, that you must no longer live as the Gentiles do, in the futility of their thinking. They are darkened in their understanding and separated from the life of God because of the ignorance that is in them due to the hardening of their hearts.” Read Ephesians 4:17-18. In other words, a hardened heart towards the Holy Spirit can cause an alienation from the life of God, and that can be most harmful because it opens one up to the harsh elements of humanity.
How then do we develop our hearts to be sensitive?
- We have to make a decision to walk in love. 1 Corinthians 13: 1 – 13 (please research the meaning of each 15 qualities, and ask the Holy Spirit to help you live it out)
- We have to give priority to the Word of God. John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word…” The word of God is supreme and is the final authority. Oh, how I wish we would accept this truth in its simplicity; and not try to over complicate the text. It is really simple. Words started the entire creation, hence the “words of His power holds the universe together.”
- We need to put our flesh under. “I don’t know about you, but I am running hard for the finish line. I am giving it everything I have got. No sloppy living for me! I am staying alert and in top condition. I am not going to get caught napping, telling everyone else all about it and then missing out myself.” Read 1 Corinthians 9:26-27 (msg). The writer here is saying, push beyond the threshold, do not let your flesh dictate to you what you should or should not do, hence Galatians 5:16 “So I say, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”
- The sin nature is no longer an issue for the believer, why? Because when we accepted Jesus Christ as our personal Lord and Saviour, we inherited His divine nature attitude (DNA); a nature strange to sin.
- The role of prayer cannot be over emphasized. Let us hear what the scripture says about this “And He was speaking to them a parable about the way it behooves them always to pray and not to lose heart.” Read Luke 18:1. Tune in to the Spirit frequency – SF 101 FM, and hook up to presenters God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit. All three presenters would be available to take your calls and to respond to any questions or concerns. Keep listening to SF 101 FM, the station open 24 hours, offering live praise and worship and sound and biblical counsel. Stay tuned.
We write You read Be encouraged.
Kolumns 