20
Let us never forget that, however poor our praying may be, the Holy Spirit is always interceding for us
`according to the will of God' (Rom. 8:26,27) and on top of this, the Lord Jesus constantly intercedes for us too
(Rom. 8:34). In what a strong position we are then, not that this should make us careless and indifferent in our
prayer life; rather it should stimulate us to `pray always with all prayer and supplication in the spirit' (Eph. 6:18) and
so `continue in prayer, and watch in the same with thanksgiving' (Col. 4:2).
(9)
The Holy Spirit can quicken the memory (John 14:26). How often we fail because we forget! There is not
one of us that does not need reminding from time to time of the exceeding grace of God that has chosen, saved us
and called us to a heavenly calling and destiny that is beyond our dreams and desserts.
(10) The Holy Spirit works in the believer to produce His fruit. This fruit of the Spirit is described in Galatians
5:22:
`But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance
(self-control)'.
This nine-fold fruit is Christ-likeness in practice that brings glory to God in our daily witness. Fruit bearing or truth
in practice is the subject of the Lord's teaching in John 15:1-8 and He sums it up by saying:
`Herein is My Father glorified, that ye bear much fruit; so shall ye be My disciples' (verse 8).
May we not disappoint Him!
(11)
The Holy Spirit abides in the believer for always:
`And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever ... for
He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you' (John 14:16,17).
Earlier we noted that in Old Testament times the Holy Spirit only came upon men to achieve some special object
or mission. He was not an abiding possession at that time.
(12)
The supreme work of the Holy Spirit is to uplift and glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.
`... He shall not speak of Himself ...
HE SHALL GLORIFY ME:
for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto
you' (John 16:13,14).
Wherever the Lord Jesus is given His rightful place as First and Last, so that in `all things He has the pre-eminence
(first place)' (Col 1:18), the Holy Spirit is there whether consciously felt or not. Let us cast from our minds the idea
that the power of the Spirit of God must be felt as an irresistible force. There is far too much religion of feeling
today instead of walking by faith and not by sight or sense of any kind. The Lord wants us to trust Him fully apart
from feelings and so few apparently can do that.
At the present time when at last there is so much focus upon the Holy Spirit in religious circles and also
unscriptural and undispensational views concerning His work and witness in this dispensation of grace, we need, as
never before, to have a sound basis upon a rightly-divided Word (2 Tim. 2:15). These are days of great deception as
the Lord forewarned (Matt. 24:4,5,11,24; 2 Thess. 2:7-10), and to deceive, Satan makes the lie look Scriptural and
true. He quotes Scripture and knows the Bible a good deal better than many Christians. As Shakespeare says `He
lies like the truth' and to deceive, his fabrication must look very much like truth or it would mislead no one. Those
with a superficial or no knowledge of the Scriptures are in great danger whether they know it or not. Let us
constantly `prove all things' by the Word of God (1 Thess. 5:21) and so order our lives that we `grieve not the Holy
Spirit of God' (Eph. 4:30) and the Saviour and Lord Whom He exalts. He has done so much for us by giving no less
than Himself (Eph. 5:2) to redeem us and to present us one day in glory `not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such
thing' (Eph. 5:25-27). May this always be first and foremost in our minds and actions.