GOD’S – YEHOVAH’S EMPOWERING PRESENCE

 There is a true story told about a man named Ira Yates, who owned a sheep ranch in Texas during the 1930s. It was during this decade that the United States and much of the world, was going through a great financial depression. Even though Mr. Yates owned a sheep ranch, he found it very difficult to make a living. With little money for food and clothing for his family, like a lot of other people at the time, Yates and his family survived on a government subsidy.

Day after day as Yates grazed his sheep, he worried about how to pay his bills and care for his family. But then one day, a seismographic crew from an oil company came into the area and convinced Yates that there might be oil on his land. They asked for permission to do a test drill and Ira Yates agreed. As they began to drill, at 1,115 feet they hit a huge oil reserve. That first well came in at over 80,000 barrels a day! Translated into today’s market value, that’s about three million dollars a day from that single well. That was only the beginning! More wells were found, and some were more than twice as productive as the first one.

To top it all off, after the oil had been pumped for more than forty years, a government test of just one of the wells showed it still had the potential to put out 125,000 barrels a day, and the once poor sheep rancher, Ira Yates, owned it all. Once Yates worried about how to pay for food and clothing, all the while he was sitting on a treasure he never knew was there.

Now, this story is an apt illustration of how many followers of the lord Messiah Jesus are sitting on a spiritual treasure infinitely richer than a thousand oil fields. That treasure is the gift of God’s - Yehovah’s Spirit. This gift dwells deep within the heart and soul of every child of God - Yehovah. Too many followers of the lord Messiah Jesus live frustrated and fruitless lives, simply because they do not know the vast power and resources that belong to them in the gift of God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit. Psalm 62:11 boldly declares: God - Yehovah has spoken once; twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God - Yehovah (Psalm 62:11).

The dictionary tells us that power is the ability or capacity to perform effectively to gain specific results. Psalm 62 tells us that God - Yehovah has all the power and resources necessary to carry out His will to gain specific results. Power belongs to God - Yehovah! In light of this truth, it is amazing to read what the lord Messiah Jesus said to his disciples shortly before his ascension into heaven.

But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. (Acts 1:8)

The lord Messiah Jesus promised his disciples that they would receive power, godly, divine power, through the holy Spirit. And this promise was not just for that select group of people. This promise is for everyone who believes in the lord Messiah Jesus. This is what the apostle Peter proclaimed at the feast of Pentecost, fifty days after the resurrection of Christ.

Then Peter said to them: “Repent and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Jesus the Messiah for the remission of sins, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you and to your children, and to all who are afar off, as many as the Lord our God - Yehovah will call. (Acts 2:38, 39)

Has the Lord God - Yehovah Almighty called you? Do you believe in the lord Messiah Jesus as your Lord and Savior? Then the promised gift of God’s – Yehovah’s holy Spirit is yours, and so are all the rich resources of God - Yehovah that are in this gift!

The Bible tells us that those who are led by the Spirit, are the sons of God (Romans 8:14). We are told that we are regenerated or born from above by the Spirit of God - Yehovah and made heirs of eternal life (Titus 3:4-7). The Word of God - Yehovah tells us that every follower of the lord Messiah Jesus can manifest the Spirit for the common good of the whole church (1 Corinthians 12: 7). We are also told that this promised holy Spirit seals us for the day of redemption. It is the guarantee of our future inheritance of glory (Ephesians 1:13). And it is the Spirit that provides us with godly strength in our inner man (Ephesians 3:16).

Within every follower of the lord Messiah Jesus, there is a power that will enable us to make a grand moral transformation (1 Corinthians 6:9-11; 2 Corinthians 3:17, 18). Deep within every believer, there is a rich resource from which we can produce the godly qualities of love joy, and peace (Galatians 5:22, 23). And deep within every child of God - Yehovah, there is in the gift of God’s Spirit, a unique blending of spiritual abilities making us all capable ministers of the gospel and effective witnesses for the lord Messiah Jesus (1 Corinthians 12:4- 11). If we are ever going to live lives of godly power and wisdom, we need to have a solid biblical understanding of the gift of the holy Spirit.

Unfortunately, there is almost no aspect of the followers of the lord Messiah Jesus' life that is so misunderstood! The truth about the holy Spirit has been muddied by misleading Bible translations, faulty interpretations, and man-made religious traditions. In addition, the evidence and power of the Spirit in the lives of many believers has been stunted by emotional fears, and by extremely bizarre ungodly activities wrongly attributed to God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit. In this writing, my goal is to give you as much clear truth concerning the Spirit as I can. My purpose is not to simply fill your head with theological knowledge but to set your heart on fire, and give you the confidence needed to experience this gift in your life. For as we experience the Spirit, we can appropriate the salvation gained by the lord Messiah Jesus into our lives.

What is the holy Spirit?

The holy Spirit is the very life force and power of God - Yehovah in action. In the book of Genesis, we have the first occurrence of the word “Spirit” and this will give us an indication of its usage and meaning. In Genesis, we read:

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, “Let there be light”; and there was light (Genesis 1:1-3).

In verse 2, we read that “the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” In other words, God’s Spirit was in action, moving intensely, and with purpose over the cosmos. God was about to begin the great work of bringing life order and form to His creation. The Hebrew word for “Spirit” in the Old Testament is the word ‘ruach’. In the New Testament Greek, it is ‘pneuma’. The root idea running through both of these words is the idea of an invisible but highly effective force. It is a power of force that can be exerted in varying forms and manifested in many ways. We get our English word “pneumatics” from the Greek word pneuma. Pneumatics has to do with operating something mechanically by the force and power of air. Air is invisible, but it can be a force with incredible power! The manager of a granite quarry in North Carolina was quoted as saying, “We supplied all the granite for the municipal building in New York City. We can lift an acre of solid granite, 10 feet thick, to almost any height we desire for the purpose of moving it… We can do it as easily as I can lift this piece of paper.

How did they do it? Pneumatically, with air! If you contain air in hoses and put enough pressure behind it, it will drive a hammer through concrete, stop a train pulling over one hundred cars, or move an acre of solid granite, 10 feet thick, anywhere you want! In Genesis 1:2 the Spirit of God - Yehovah moved over the cosmos, and when God - Yehovah said, “Let there be light”, there was light. That’s powerful!

The Spirit of God - Yehovah is the very essence of God - Yehovah. It is His very life, His character and power. It is His life force in manifestation and action. Thus, from the first use of Spirit, the testimony of the Scriptures is that it is God’s invisible, divine power manifesting itself. In Genesis, it brought order and life to creation. Let’s look at two other similar sections of Scripture, one from Job and the other from the book of Psalms.

By His Spirit, He adorned the heavens… (Job 26:3)

By the word of YEHOVAH the heavens were made, And all the host of them by the breath of His mouth. (Psalm 33:6)

The word “breath” in Psalm 33, and the word “Spirit” in Job 26, are both translated from the Hebrew word ‘Ruach’. By the Spirit of God - Yehovah, by His invisible divine power, all the galaxies in the universe were set in their place! And what God - Yehovah has done in the universe, He desires to do by His Spirit for every man and woman today. God - Yehovah, by His mighty Spirit desires to bring order and life and fruitfulness to our lives.

The Spirit of God - Yehovah is the very life force of God - Yehovah. It is all that He is. And though we cannot see this Spirit, we can see its power and influence. We can see its manifestation. For example, in Genesis, we read that the Spirit of God - Yehovah made Joseph wise to discern Pharaoh’s dream.

And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find such a one as this, a man in whom is the Spirit of God - Yehovah?” Then Pharaoh said to Joseph, “Since God - Yehovah has shown you all this, there is no one as discerning and wise as you. (Genesis 41:38, 39).

In Exodus 31, God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit gave a craftsman by the name of Bezaleel great artistic skills for the building of the Tabernacle.

Then Yehovah spoke to Moses saying: “See, I have called by name Bezaleel the son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah. And filled him with the Spirit of God - Yehovah, in wisdom, in understanding, in knowledge, and in all manner of workmanship.” (Exodus 31:1-3)

In the book of Judges, God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit gave the leaders of God’s people power, strength, and wisdom.

When the children of Israel cried out to Yehovah, Yehovah raised up a deliverer for the children of Israel, who delivered them: Othniel …the Spirit of Yehovah came upon him and he judged Israel. (Judges 3:9, 10)

And the Spirit of Yehovah came mightily upon him [Samson], and he tore the lion apart… (Judges 14:6)

God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit also inspired His prophets to speak for Him.

But truly I am full of power by the Spirit of Yehovah, and of justice and might, to declare to Jacob his transgressions and to Israel his sin. (Micah 3:8)

These are just a few examples of how God’s – Yehovah’s holy Spirit was understood and how it was manifested in the Old Testament. But it is when we come to the New Testament, that we gain a clearer understanding of what the holy Spirit is. Let’s begin in Luke with a record concerning the conception of Jesus Christ.

Then the angel said to her, “Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God - Yehovah. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bring forth a Son and shall call His name Jesus - Yeshua. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Highest, and Yehovah God will give Him the throne of His father David. And He will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of His kingdom, there will be no end.” Then Mary said to the angel: “How can this be since I do not know a man?” And the angel answered and said to her: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you; therefore, also, that Holy One who is to be born, will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:30-35)

In this account the angel tells Mary that she will bear the Son of God - Yehovah. And then he tells her the means of conception: “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Highest will overshadow you.” We have here a vital piece of information about the nature of the holy Spirit. The two terms “Holy Spirit” and “power of the Highest” do not refer to two different things but to one and the same thing: God’s – Yehovah’s power in action. The phrase “power of the Highest” defines the term “Holy Spirit. Simply stated, the lord Messiah Jesus was conceived by the power of God - Yehovah and, as the Gospels show, all that he did in his ministry he also did by the power of God’s – Yehovah’s Spirit (Acts 10:38).

The truth is that in the gift of the holy Spirit, believers have power from on high. In the gift of the Spirit, God’s – Yehovah’s empowering presence is in us giving us vast resources to live all of life with godliness and spiritual victory. The holy Spirit is not simply a nice little sidelight to the followers of the lord Messiah faith. It is at the heart and soul of what it means to be born from above. This gift is what marks us off as God’s – Yehovah’s special people, distinct from the rest of humanity (Romans 8:8, 9, 15, 16).

It is through the Spirit of God - Yehovah that the love of God - Yehovah floods our hearts (Romans 5:5). The Spirit of God - Yehovah gives us new abilities (1 Corinthians 12:4-11), and a new sense of security as to our salvation (Ephesians 1:13, 14). The gift of the Spirit is our “Helper” enabling us to be all that God - Yehovah has called us to be, and to do all that he has called us to do. The holy Spirit is God – Yehovah indwelling in His people, in fulfillment of His promise:

“And I will dwell in them and walk among them. I will be their God, and they shall be my people.” (1 Corinthians 6:16 quoted from Leviticus 26:12; Ezekiel 37:27)

Written by Chuck LaMattina and edited and added on to by Bruce Lyon