The Holy Spirit should be our best friend, but the modern church has done him a disservice. Many want him to be present in their service, but just sit there and be quiet. In John 16:5-7, Jesus tells the disciples He is leaving and it is best for them or the Holy Spirit will not come. Jesus tells us in John 14:12 that we will do even greater works than He. This is because of our numbers - we can multiply what He did all over the world. He promises that the Holy Spirit is in us and will fill us even more. When Jesus talked about commands, we think about things we are not supposed to do, but He also commanded us to ask! Ask for the Holy Spirit! There is no way we can read scripture and come to the conclusion that the gifts have ceased. If we are not seeing God move in our church, there are two things we can do - 1. Get on our knees and ask God for forgiveness for not being in alignment with where He wants us to be or 2. Come up with theology that protects our position and say He just doesn't perform miracles anymore. We are scared of the Holy Spirit, so we push him away. He is not an "it", He is a real person who comes alongside us to guide us. When we don't know what to say, we should wait to speak and pray and ask the Holy Spirit to give us the words. The Holy Spirit destroyed the works of Satan, healed the sick, and raised Jesus from the dead. If the Holy Spirit isn't moving in our church, let's be honest about it and fast, pray, and ask him to come! The Holy Spirit coming in Acts was the kingdom being restored and this is still going on today. If we, as a church, just give people bread, but don't see them set free with the gospel, then we are just a glorified outreach shelter. The answer is the Holy Spirit! Jesus's gift as He left the Earth was the Holy Spirit. We have to know He exists and something should shift in our lives when we receive him. We need to look for ourselves to learn about Him and not just listen to what others say. Some signs of receiving the Holy Spirit are speaking in tongues or prophesying. Some people don't want these gifts because they have been abused. If we say we love Jesus and would die for Him, but we resist His gifts, then we don't trust Him. In Acts 1:8, Jesus's final words as He left Earth were about receiving the Holy Spirit. We don't have freedom and we can't shine without the Holy Spirit!

Amen!