During WWII, when Italy invaded Ethiopia, all Protestant missionaries were forced to leave the country. In one district there was a church of about 70. Some 5 years later when the missionaries returned, they found 60,000 Christians organized into fully indigenous churches. It was nothing more-nothing less than the ever at work agency we refer to as the Holy Spirit!

Let me ask you a question.... do you want the Holy Spirit of God to be at work in your life? You can know that God is at work in your life this very moment and in every moment to come from this day forward! I want to explore with you at least three areas that the Holy Spirit has interest in.

The Holy Spirit has several offices or roles that He plays in the lives of those who allow the Holy Spirit to work. Before we get started...(Ellie, Jake and Jessica and I went on a bike ride Thursday evening…I told Ellie to be the leader, then Jake said “I’ll follow Ellie, then I said “I’ll follow Jake” then Jessica, as if she had a choice, she said, "I fo-ll-ow da-ddy!"

She happened to be in the bike seat that was attached to my bike....she had no choice. You know,....as Christians it would be in our best interest to moment by moment follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit in our lives!

What do we get in return if follow the leadership of the Holy Spirit. Let’s go to Romans 8:15

I. We have acceptance-because of the Holy Spirit! Romans 8:15 "For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit (Holy Spirit) of adoption-acceptance by whom we cry out, "Abba, Father."

We have acceptance because of the blessed presence of the Holy Spirit. Paul further explains in verse 16 why the Holy Spirit is such a necessary addition to our lives. “The Spirit (Holy Spirit) himself bears witness that we are children of God.” This verse is a verse that theologians and scholars point to that represents initial holiness-sanctification in the life of the believer. Without the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives at the point of conversion we would experience all kinds of problems.

1. We would be given over to a spirit of fear because we would not know that we had been accepted by God in this process of becoming a Christian. That would be a real problem! The Holy Spirit is very important in the life of the believer so as to shield us from the spirit of fear!

2. We would not know that we had been adopted-accepted! So, if you need to, go ahead and remind yourself today "I received the Holy Spirit when I was saved!" The Holy Spirit when we were converted bore witness to our hearts that we were adopted into the family of God. Acceptance is important! (Acceptance---AKC) E-mail----

"I'm so glad I’m a part of the family of God!"

II. We have an associate-because of the Holy Spirit John 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever."

We have an associate-a helper who will abide with us forever!

You may be interested in knowing that I like to find out the meaning of words so a few months back I subscribed to an e-mail letter that is put out by Webster’s dictionary. (You do know that a dictionary is a wireless Thesaurus) This week, the word of the week was of all things...white elephant

*1 : a property requiring much care and expense and yields little profit

*2 : an object that no longer of value to its owner

*3 : something of little or no value

The town's white elephant is the closed theater, which earns no money but costs thousands of dollars to maintain.

The real "white elephant" (the kind with a trunk) is a pale monstrosity that has long been an object of veneration in India, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and Myanmar. Too revered to be a beast of burden, the white elephant earned a reputation as a burdensome beast, one that required constant care and feeding but never brought a single cent to its owner. One story has it that the kings of Siam (the old name for Thailand) gave white elephants as gifts to those they wished to ruin, hoping that the cost of maintaining the voracious (gross) but sacred mammal would drive its new owner to the poorhouse.

Now....you are probably wondering how in the world I am going to tie this info about a white elephant into our second point...you are not alone...I am wondering the same thing! (Ha)

Will you let me try? Here we go...

When we described the white elephant we said...

*1 : a property requiring much care and expense and yields little profit...Let me tell you about the Holy Spirit. When we are saved we automatically receive the Holy Spirit. He comes in to stay! He does not require any extra expense He only asks that we find and do God’s will! My friends the Holy Spirit is property that we cannot get along without!

When we described the white elephant we said...

*2 : an object that no longer has value to its owner... I would suggest to you that this is not the case concerning the work of the Holy Spirit. Because of the Holy Spirit residing within us we now experience what a true Spirit led life is all about. The Holy Spirit brings with it a sense of belonging and belonging has its advantages. “I belong to the King...I'm a child of his love!

*3 : something of little or no value

Now concerning the Holy Spirit we cannot underestimate the importance of the Holy Spirit in our lives. My friends, the Holy Spirit brings value to our lives because of the fact that we have acceptance and because of the fact that He is our helper...our associate!

Webster gave a sample sentence concerning the white elephant!

Let me give you a sample sentence out of John 14:16 Jesus is speaking..."And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Helper (The Holy Spirit), that He may abide with you forever."

My friends...

Ephesians 2:18 'For through Him we both have access by one Spirit to the Father"

One commentator that I read after did not help much because he did not have much to say....but then I started to think a little bit about what he had to say and that is when I realized that he had a whole lot to say. Do you want to know what he said? Here we go... “This verse is exceptional in that Christ, the Holy Spirit and God are all named in it.”

Our topic today is just about the Holy Spirit. But let me tell you something that you may already know but you may well need to be reminded. When you get saved you not only get the witness of the Holy Spirit bearing witness to your heart that you are a child of God but you get Jesus and whoever has the Son has the Father as well. This Triune God, made up of God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit is still available to all who will receive Him today! It is through Jesus, and by the Holy Spirit, that we gain access to the Father!

That is, both Jews and Gentiles; the Arabic version reads, "we both factions": being made one, and reconciled unto God, and having the Gospel of peace preached to both, we have through Christ and by the Holy Spirit freedom of access and boldness in the very throne room of God!

I don’t know what that does for you but I know what it means to me! The Holy Spirit is much needed in the life of the believer.

Because of the Holy Spirit we have:

Gordon Brownville's Symbols of the Holy Spirit tells about the great Norwegian explorer Roald Amundsen, the first to discover the magnetic meridian of the North Pole and to discover the South Pole. On one of his trips, Amundsen took a homing pigeon with him. When he had finally reached the top of the world, he opened the bird's cage and set it free. Imagine the delight of Amundsen's wife, back in Norway, when she looked up from the doorway of her home and saw the pigeon circling in the sky above. No doubt she exclaimed, "He's alive! My husband is still alive!"

So it was when Jesus ascended. He was gone, but the disciples clung to his promise to send them the Holy Spirit. What joy, then, when the dovelike Holy Spirit descended at Pentecost. The disciples had with them the continual reminder that Jesus was alive and victorious at the right of the Father. This continues to be the Spirit's message. Thomas Lindberg.

The Holy Spirit is alive and well today and He is offering to us:

So there you have it, The Holy Spirit is the answer!