In I Chronicles 13 David is moving the Ark of the Covenant from a place called Kiriath Jearim to Jerusalem. Obed-Edom is a man who comes up in this passage in whose home the Ark has to be temporarily stored. Even though this is the Old Testament and the Holy Spirit per se has not been introduced as He is in the New Testament after the resurrection of Christ, we have to understand that the Trinity still existed because the Ark of the Covenant represented the presence of God. The Ark had to be handled with extreme care and certain strict care instructions had to be followed. I digress, Obed-Edom had the Ark in his home for 3 months during those months the scripture says that he was blessed. “The Chest of God was in storage in the house of Obed-Edom for three months. God blessed the family of Obed-Edom and everything around him” (I Chronicles 13:14). Since the presence or “spirit” of God was present in his home and he was obedient in caring for the Ark of the Covenant Obed-Edom was blessed. This is an example of the effect that the presence of God has on person’s life. Obed-Edom made a decision to follow and be in service to God and he and his entire family was blessed as a result. If we are obedient nowadays and follow the spirit of God we will be blessed also.
In this blog post I wanted to share with you a few things about the Holy Spirit and how to know He is present. The Holy Spirit is part of God. God the Father communicates through His Holy Spirit to us. God uses the Holy Spirit to pour His goodness into our lives. “…We cannot round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit” (Romans 5:3). God provides His relationship through His Holy Spirit, “The amazing grace of the Master, Jesus Christ, the extravagant love of God, the intimate friendship of the Holy Spirit, be with all of you” (2 Corinthians 13:14) God works your life out through the Holy Spirit, helping you to maneuver through successfully, “Answer the question: Does the God who lavishly provides you with his own presence, his Holy Spirit, working things in your lives you could never do for yourselves, does he do these things because of your strenuous moral striving or because you trust him to do them in you? Don’t these things happen among you just as they happened with Abraham? He believed God, and that act of belief was turned into a life that was right with God” (Galations 3:5). God provides joy through the Holy Spirit in trying times, “…Although great trouble accompanied the Word, you were able to take great joy from the Holy Spirit” (1 Thessalonians1:5). He is always working in us as believers (Titus 3:3). He confirms a message from God (Hebrews 10:11) He gives us gifts to bring glory to God (Hebrews 2:1) The Holy Spirit reminds us, reveals to us and comforts us (John 1:32). He will give you the right words at the right time when you don’t know what to say (Luke 12:11). I could keep going, the Holy Spirit is vital, He is God in spirit form, we cannot do without that part of God.
The Word says that the Holy Spirit is given to those who obey Him (Acts 5:29). God desires your obedience so that He can have a close and intimate relationship. You may be missing some of these things that the Holy Spirit offers and you feel empty or lacking in some way, ask the Lord to show you how you have been disobedient to Him and repent, turning away from it, denouncing those things, asking God to forgive you in Jesus’ name, then ask God for a fresh pouring of His Holy Spirit in your life so that you can live in abundance and wholeness in Him. Jesus says in John 10:6-10, “…I’ll be explicit, then. I am the Gate for the sheep. All those others are up to no good–sheep stealers, every one of them. But the sheep didn’t listen to them. I am the Gate. Anyone who goes through me will be cared for-will freely go in and out, and find pasture. A thief [Satan-the enemy of mankind and anything good that comes from God] is only there to steal and kill and destroy. I [Jesus] came so they can have real and eternal life, more and better life than they ever dreamed of.