As a believer, most believers are ignorant of the person and ministry of the Holy Spirit. Yet Jesus said-

<blockquote><strong>“I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever, that is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it does not see Him or know Him, but you know Him because He abides with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.”
John 14: 16-18</strong></blockquote>

Jesus explained that He is the Spirit of truth and that the world cannot receive Him. The Holy Spirit comes into the life of a believer only. The life of a believer is dependent upon the Holy Spirit. Kathryn Kuhlman said of the Holy Spirit-

“Today I would like to lift the lid of my heart to you and talk about a person, about one on whom I am completely dependent… and that person is the Holy Spirit.”

Who is the Holy Spirit to you?

He is the Helper or <strong>“parakletos</strong><em>” or to be summoned, called to one’s side, comforter, assistant, and helper. The Holy Spirit summons us or calls us to come aside, and here we must learn to know Him. We are told to look at Jesus, and therefore we must understand this-

<blockquote><strong>“Who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bondservant, and being made in the likeness of man, Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by coming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross…”
Philippians 2: 6-8</strong></blockquote>

Jesus understood it could not be achieved in the strength of the flesh but in the emptying of Himself and becoming a bondservant. To who? The Father through the Holy Spirit. Remember, the ministry of Jesus didn’t begin until He was baptized in the Holy Spirit, and the Church was not born until the Holy Spirit was poured out! Kathryn Kuhlman said-

“

<blockquote>I know so well what David meant when he cried out from the deepest recesses of his being: ‘Take not Thy Holy Spirit from me!” You may take away everything that I have, leaving me with but the clothing on my body and the shoes on my feet, but take not the Holy Spirit from me!

The Holy Spirit is a person, and He has a personality. In this final hour of these last days of the Church, we must know and understand the Holy Spirit. Kathryn said-

“As a result of what I have experienced, I believe the time has come when I should share with you what I have learned regarding the Holy Spirit. We are living in the eleventh hour of this age, we are standing on the threshold of the Catching Up.”</blockquote>

We read in the Book of Revelation-

<blockquote>“He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches…”</blockquote>

If we go back to the book of Philippians, we see this-

<blockquote>“So then, my beloved, just as you have always obeyed…”
Philippians 2: 17</blockquote>

The call of each believer is to walk in radical and full obedience to the Holy Spirit. The word obey comes from a word meaning to listen and hear. We can only accurately obey if we learn to hear Him accurately.

Kathryn explained of the Holy Spirit-

<blockquote>“Knowing the price that must be paid, Jesus offered Himself; but first of all, before He consented to come to earth in the form of human flesh, He asked the Holy Spirit to be His strengthener and His power. Jesus knew He could not pay the price- limited by human flesh- without the power and the Person of the Holy Spirit with Him.”</blockquote>

Think about that for a minute and then read-

<blockquote>“If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.”
Galatians 5: 25</blockquote>

In the Book of Romans, Paul explained to walk by the Spirit is to be led by the Spirit. Paul in the Book of Ephesians called us to pray at all times in the Spirit. In other words, our lives are to be built by leaning on the Holy Spirit. We must come to know Him, listen to His voice and surrender to Him freely. Like Jesus, there must be a place where we end, and we are emptied of ourselves. Kathryn said-

<blockquote>
“Today, I can take you down a dead-end street in a certain town in a certain state where I surrendered everything- body, soul, and spirit to Jesus. Walking there with the tears streaming down my face, for the first time in my life it was none of self and all of Him.”</blockquote>

Now, for those who don’t know Kathryn’s story, she had been a very successful evangelist for many years and had become very famous. Then she made a disastrous marriage decision and ended up in the wilderness for many years. The Holy Spirit warned her again and again not to do it, but she loved the man more than Jesus for a period of her life. But Jesus never stops His pursuit, and the call will seek us out.

The Holy Spirit will never leave us nor forsake us. He keeps calling to us to come to Him and to hear and obey His voice. It is a call to trust Him and surrender to Him. But Kathryn added-

<blockquote>“But watch it: the greater the yieldedness the greater will be the temptations. With that infilling of the Spirit comes a responsibility that is tremendous and as we continue to advance in spiritual stature, new and powerful temptations await us on the path.”</blockquote>

That sounds terrible. But let me add what Kathryn said-

<blockquote>
“There is a temptation to work for self-glory; there are temptations for personal honors and distinctions; there’s a temptation for material gain.”</blockquote>

These temptations reveal areas of unsurrendered areas in our lives. So many start the race strong but never make a full consecration to the Lord and allow Him to purge and prune them.

Kathryn explained-

<blockquote>“The secret is growth and the more you pray, the more time you spend reading God’s Word, the more effort you put forth in following the teachings of Jesus, the more sensitive you become to the Holy Spirit. As you become more sensitive and spiritual, your prayers become more powerful and effective and greater are the results of your work for God. Consequently, God will use you in a greater measure and you will advance in spiritual things.”</blockquote>

The critical key is what voice is loudest and carries the greatest authority in your life. Remember Paul’s warning-

<blockquote>“Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”
Galatians 3: 3</blockquote>

Kathryn explained-

<blockquote>
“I believe one of the most subtle temptations is spiritual bigotry or spiritual pride. Great knowledge brings great responsibility and the greater the knowledge, the greater the responsibility. Responsibility misused brings punishment.”</blockquote>

There is one verse that we don’t think much about or the depth of what the verse is saying-

<blockquote>“Although He was a Son, He learned obedience from the things which, He suffered.”
Hebrews 5: 8</blockquote>

Jesus had to walk it out on this Fallen earth as a witness and example for us, which meant He too had to learn obedience from the things He suffered. He didn’t respond or act out of the flesh when He endured things. He understood the absolute need of knowing and listening to the Holy Spirit.

Kathryn said-

<blockquote>“In the final analysis, may we never lose sight of the fact that the power manifested through the Spirit-filled life is that of the Holy Spirit, and all fruitfulness stems from this Gift from God, the mighty Third Person of the Trinity, who is faithful to lead those who are yielded to Jesus, every step of the way.”</blockquote>