TONGUES SERIES

The Holy Spirit makes us
Children of the Kingdom

SHORTLY BEFORE THE LORD JESUS WENT BACK TO THE FATHER, He laid out some powerful things about the work of the Holy Spirit. Learning from what He said, we invite His Spirit to fashion us for usefulness in His Kingdom.

IN JOHN 14 THROUGH 16 THERE ARE NINE POWERFUL STATEMENTS FROM THE LORD JESUS ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT. As we hold ourselves before what He said, we can discover the light and life to which He directs us.

DAY 1—The Holy Spirit is the Comforter who abides with us.

Jn 14:16,l7 And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever: even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him; for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
LORD, it is my instability and inability to remain faithful that makes me so needy. Oh, thank You for sending Your Spirit to abide with us! I want to know Him intimately, like my very own breath. I want Him to feel at home in me. I want Him to purge me of every offensive thing so I can be useful for You.
This precious promise of our Savior can be ours because He went back to His Father
—John 14:1-14

(Comforter, from Gr. parákletos. One called alongside to be an encourager, helper, and advocate, thus the Paraclete, whose influence and operation were to compensate for the departure of the Lord Jesus Himself.)

DAY 2—The Holy Spirit is our Teacher regarding all things.

Jn 14:26a But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, Whom the Father will send in My Name He shall teach you all things... I Cor 2:13 Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Spirit teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual.
· LORD, my mind is too weak to understand Kingdom matters. I will be of little use unless Your Spirit teaches me where Your Kingdom is. Let Him show me how its power and authority will work in me— and through me. Make me a child of Your Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit will reveal to us the things freely given us by God—I Cor 2:6-12

DAY 3—The Holy Spirit is a Reminder to us of what the Lord Jesus said.

Jn 14:26b (He shall) bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Jn 2:22 When therefore He was risen from the dead. His disciples remembered that He had said this unto them: and they believed the Scripture, and the Word which Jesus had said.
· DEAR LORD, I’m prone to forget the Word of Your instruction. Oh, may Your Spirit move in me today reminding me what You’ve taught me! Teach me more! Help me remember it and live by it.
The Holy Spirit caused the disciples to remember the Word of the Lord Jesus. He will do the same for us—Jn 12:16; Ac 11:16; Ac 20:35

DAY 4—The Holy Spirit is our Witness regarding the Lord Jesus.

Jn 15:26,27 But when the Comforter is come Whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of Me: and ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with Me from the beginning. Ac 5:32 And we are His witnesses of these things: and so is also the Holy Spirit. Whom God hath given to them that obey Him.
· LORD, let me have the witness of Your Spirit in my inner man. Let Him work in my heart today so I can know, beyond any doubt, Who You are and Where You are with me. Please help me become a witness to those around me, even the unfriendly ones, that You are living and powerful and present with us.
Even in tribulation the Holy Spirit will make us witnesses unto the Lord Jesus—Ac 1:8; Ac 8:1-4

DAY 5—The Holy Spirit is the One Who Brings Conviction in the world regarding sin, righteousness and judgment.

Jn 16:7,8 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send Him unto you. And when He is come. He will reprove ("convict") the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment.
· DEAR LORD, I need for Your Spirit to convict me. Let Him show me where I have been wrong. I hold myself before You with the realization that there are still things in me grievous to You and Your Kingdom. Search them out. Reach through all my darkness with Your Light. Then, make me a light.
Great and awesome conviction is coming on the world at the end of this age—Jude 14-21

DAY 6—The Holy Spirit is our Guide to bring us into all truth, even the deep things of God.

Jn 16:12,13a I have yet many things to say unto you, but ye cannot bear them now. Howbeit when He, the Spirit of truth, is come, He will guide you into all truth... Ps 32:7,8 Thou art my hiding place; Thou shalt preserve me from trouble; Thou shalt compass me about with songs of deliverance, Selah. I will instruct thee and teach thee in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with Mine eye...
· O LORD, show me any way I’ve gone astray and help me find my way back to what is right in Your eyes, and for Your Kingdom…Deliver me from false ideas and understanding. Set me free from wrong perceptions. Guide me lest I come into more error.

The Lord Jesus and the Apostles warned against deception
—Mt 24:4; Eph 5:6:11 Pet 2:1; II Jn 7

DAY 7—The Holy Spirit is One Who Speaks What He Has Heard from God.

Jn 16:13b ... for He shall not speak of Himself (of from Gr. ápo, meaning "forth from"); but whatsoever He shall hear, that shall He speak... (The same was true of Jesus) Jn 14:24b …and the Word which ye hear is not Mine, but the Father’s which sent Me.
· FATHER, fine tune my life by Your Spirit so I can be a Spirit-led son (or daughter) in Your Kingdom. If neither Your Spirit nor the Lord Jesus will speak or move apart from You, what You say, and what You do, then won’t You bring me to that same place?
We lift up our soul unto the Lord for Him to lead us in His truth—Ps 25:1-10

DAY 8—The Holy Spirit is the True One Who Will Reveal Things to Come.

Jn 16:13c ... and He will show you things to come. Mt 24:36 But of that day and hour knoweth no man, no, not the angels of heaven, but My Father only. Mt 25:13 Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh.
· FATHER, deliver me from any fascination with the occult. I do not want to be taken up with the future from a wrong perspective, especially that of the enemy. Give me a pure heart toward You so I can listen and hear whatever Your Spirit will say.
The coming of the Holy Spirit was according to a Prophet’s Word—Joel 3:28; Ac 2:17

DAY 9—The Holy Spirit is One Who Will Glorify the Lord Jesus.

Jn 16:14 He shall glorify Me: for He shall receive of Mine, and shall show it unto you. Jn 17:1 These words spake Jesus, and lifted up His eyes to heaven, and said, Father, the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son also may glorify Thee.
· FATHER, as Your Spirit dwells in me, help me to glorify Your Son. Please bring my life to the place where everything I do and say exalts Him. Let Him be exalted, even if over my own humiliation.
Other spirits will not exalt the Lord Jesus. The Holy Spirit will exalt Him—I Jn 4:1-3; I Jn 4:13,14

IN ROMANS 8 THERE ARE NINE POWERFUL STATEMENTS FROM PAUL ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT. As we hold ourselves before them, the Holy Spirit Himself will help us discover the light and life to which they direct us.

DAY 10—The Holy Spirit empowers us to walk in the righteousness of God’s Law.

Rom 8:3,4 For what the Law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending His Own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: that the righteousness of the Law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.
· FATHER, thank You for sending Your Spirit to work Your righteousness in me. Today I yield all I am to Him. Let Him bring me in perfect righteousness through every situation I face. Let Him bring righteousness in my thoughts as well.
The Holy Spirit will wash us, sanctify us and make us right for God’s Kingdom—I Cor 6:11; Gal 5:19-24

DAY 11—The Holy Spirit gives us life and peace.

Rom 8:5,6 For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh: but they that are after the Spirit the things of the Spirit. For to be carnally minded is death; but to be spiritually minded (having a mind under control of the Spirit) is life and peace.
· DEAR LORD, I would know the life and the peace Your Spirit brings. Like a fire in me, let Him consume my carnal ways of thinking and acting that only bring death. Work in my mind so I can think in line with Your Word, Your Kingdom, and Your righteousness.
Being justified by faith, we have peace with God Through our Lord Jesus Christ—Rom 5:1,10; Jn 14:27

DAY 12—The Holy Spirit brings life to our bodies that tend toward dying.

Rom 8:11 But if the Spirit of Him that raised up Jesus from the dead dwell in you, He that raised up Christ from the dead shall also quicken ("bring life to") your mortal bodies by His Spirit that dwelleth in you. Eph 2:4,5 But God, Who is rich in mercy, for His great love wherewith He loved us, even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us ("made us alive") together with Christ (by grace ye are saved).
· FATHER, my physical being grows weary these days. Weakness comes over my mind and my emotions. Even my will becomes weak. But now, I hold myself in Your presence awaiting Your life-giving power. Quicken me. Strengthen me. Enable me.
His incorruption shall overcome our corruption—I Cor 6:14; I Cor 15:53; II Cor 4:11

DAY 13—The Holy Spirit enables us to put to death the wrong doings of our flesh.

Rom 8:13 For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live. Col 3:5 Mortify therefore your members which are upon the earth; fornication, uncleanness, inordinate affection, evil concupiscence, and covetousness, which is idolatry.
· FATHER, through the power of the Cross to which I went with the Lord Jesus, and through the power of Your Spirit Who has come to abide with me, I yield up my carnality. Oh, sweet peace!
Through Christ’s death we put to death our own carnality—Gal 2:20; Col 3:1-3

DAY 14—The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit whether we be born again.

Rom 8:16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God (that is, born into God’s family). I Jn 3:19 And hereby we know that we are of the truth, and shall assure our hearts before Him.
· GRACIOUS LORD, thank You for giving me the witness in my own heart that I have been born into Your family. Oh, let this inward witness become stronger and stronger as each day goes by. Let it become so settled in me that no demon from hell can even try to convince me I’m not Your child.
The Lord Jesus is our Advocate, pleading our cause before God—Mt 10:32; I Jn 2:1-5

DAY 15—The Holy Spirit delights to strengthen us in all our points of weakness.

Rom 8:26a Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought... Mk 9:24 And straightway the father of the child cried out, and said with tears, Lord. I believe: help Thou mine unbelief.
· LORD, I have many weaknesses. To be very truthful, I am morally weak. I am emotionally weak. I am weak when it comes to making a firm decision. I am weak when it comes to being a witness to Your grace and power. I am weak when it comes to placing my utter faith in You. Today, I see each point of my weakness as a point where Your Spirit will work.
His power is brought to its fullness in our weakness—II Sam 22:33; Ps 18:32; II Cor 12:9

DAY 17—God’s Spirit will take our prayer weakness and make the intercession for us.

Rom 8:26b,27b .. .for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. ... He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
· FATHER, there are many things I need to bring before You, but I don’t even know how to voice the petitions. But I thank You—Oh, I thank You indeed!—That Your Spirit has come to help me pray. Open my understanding that I might know more of this wonderful work of His so I can give myself to being an intercessor in Your Kingdom.
As we grow in relationship with the Lord we learn to pray always in the Spirit—Eph 5:1 7-20; Eph 6:18

DAY 18—The Holy Spirit will search our hearts with understanding, both from God’s standpoint and from ours.

Rom 8:27a And He that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit... Ps 139:23,24 Search me, 0 God, and know my heart: try me, and know my thoughts: and see if there be any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting.
· LORD, sometimes I don’t understand You, and I think maybe You don’t understand me. But I know this isn’t so. I know You understand me and have sent Your Spirit into me to search me out with the knowledge of Your perfect will. Oh, continue this search till everything in me opposing Your will is brought to the light and dealt with before Your Throne.
Whoever receives truth and puts it into practice comes to the Light of the Lord—Jn 3:16-21

PAUL TEACHES US THERE ARE ALSO NINE GIFTS OF THE SPIRIT AND NINE PARTS TO THE FRUIT OF THE SPIRIT. In the time and space left, we consider the Fruit of the Spirit.

DAY 19—Through the power of Holy Spirit, not through our circumstances, we find the stability of love, and joy, and peace.

Gal 5:22a But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy. Rom 5:5b . . .the LOVE of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us. Ac 13:52 And the disciples were filled with JOY, and with the Holy Spirit. Jn 14:27 PEACE I leave with you, my peace I give unto you...
· LORD, my love and my joy and my peace have all been unstable. They tend to go up and down according to my circumstances of life. But Your Spirit is setting me free from this wavering condition. He is filling me with Your Love, and Your Joy, and Your Peace. Oh, I yield to this marvelous work of Your continuing grace.
The Kingdom of God pertains to these marvelous commodities of the Holy Spirit—Rom 14:17-19

DAY 20—Through the Holy Spirit we find the qualities of life that make us tender and gracious toward others.

Gal 5:22a But the fruit of the Spirit is ... longsuffering, gentleness, goodness... Col 3:12 Put on therefore, as the elect of God, holy and beloved, bowels of mercies, kindness, humbleness of mind, meekness. LONGSUFFERING: II Sam 22:36 Thou hast also given me the shield of thy salvation: and thy GENTLENESS hath made me great. Eph 5:9a For the fruit of the Spirit is in all GOODNESS...
· FATHER, these indeed are points in which I need Your help. I do not tend to be very longsuffering or gentle with people who irritate me. There seem to be many of them all around me. Take this weakness in me and make it a point of Your strength. Make me into a good person for Your Kingdom.
These qualities wrought in us by the Holy Spirit make us rich even in tribulation—Il Cor 6:1-10

DAY 21—Through the Holy Spirit we become faithful persons.

Gal 5:22a But the fruit of the Spirit is ... faith... (better "faithfulness") Ps 92:1 It is a good thing to give thanks unto the LORD, and to sing praises unto thy name, O most High: to show forth thy loving-kindness in the morning, and thy FAITHFULNESS every night. Rev 2:l0b ...Be thou faithful unto death, and I will give thee a crown of life.
· DEAR LORD, there is none faithful like You. I’ve been an unfaithful person so many times, yet You have continued loving me, with faithfulness. Won’t You please work this wonderful quality into my life. Make me a faithful person for Your Kingdom.
The Holy Spirit will work God’s quality of Faithfulness into us—I Tim 1:12-14; Eph 1:1

DAY 22—Through the Holy Spirit we receive the quality of meekness that will enable us to inherit the earth.

Gal 5:22a,23a But the fruit of the Spirit is . . .meekness. Mt 5:5 Blessed are THE MEEK: for they shall inherit the earth. Mt 11:29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn of Me: for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.

PRECIOUS LORD, I have given up that rash quality that makes me mean and ugly when others assail me or tread upon my rights. Work that quality in me that went with You to the Cross. Make me into a person who can serve with meekness in Your earthly Kingdom.

The most powerful promises are given to the meek—Ps 25:9; Ps 37:11; Ps 149:4; Mt 5:5

DAY 23—The Holy Spirit gives us self-control.

Gal 5:22a,23b But the fruit of the Spirit is temperance ("self-control")... II Pet. 1:5,6 And beside this, giving all diligence, add to your faith virtue; and to virtue knowledge; and to knowledge TEMPERANCE; and to temperance patience ("steadfast endurance"); and to patience godliness...
· LORD, I see there is no ending to what Your Spirit will work into my life—qualities for Your Kingdom! Please work these qualities into my human spirit so they will rule in my life. Thus all my being can come under the control of Your Spirit and I can function as a son (or daughter) in Your Kingdom.

God’s divine power will give us all things necessary to make us useful in His Kingdom
—II Peter 1:2-8

Berean Ministries

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