The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit by Apostle Joshua Selman: MP3 Download & Sermon Notes

The Holy Spirit: More Than a Pentecostal Phenomenon

The Holy Spirit is the beautifier of destinies — the one given by God to help us. Without the ministry of the Holy Spirit, we are just actors on a stage, wasting our time and the time of others. 2 Corinthians 3:17 declares: Now the Lord is that Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.

The Holy Spirit was given to bring beauty and glory out of our lives. It is not a Pentecostal phenomenon. He is the extension of the presence of Jesus — what Benny Hinn calls "the unlimited presence of Jesus." Christianity becomes a religion if and when the ministry of the Holy Spirit is ignored. It is his presence and ministry that gives excitement to this adventure.

A believer is not just one who has received the life of God — a believer is one who has been mandated to reveal the glory of God. The Greek word doxa means a manifestation of that glory. Our possibilities in this kingdom are predicated upon the level of grace and the investment of the Holy Spirit that is resident upon the life of a man. When the grace of God is upon you, you may not always look like it — but your results keep confirming that you are.

Who Is the Holy Spirit?

There has been confusion in the body of Christ over the triune nature of God. The Bible says: Deuteronomy 6:4 — "Hear, O Israel: the Lord our God is one Lord." The word "one" here does not mean singular; it means unity. The Godhead is tripartite: the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

• The first dimension of the Godhead revealed in scripture was the Holy Spirit — Genesis 1:2 — "the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters."
• At the baptism of Jesus, all three persons were present simultaneously: Jesus in the water, the Holy Spirit descending as a dove, and the Father's voice from heaven — Matthew 3:16–17.
• Jesus himself confirmed the trinity in the Great Commission — Matthew 28:19 — "baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost."

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• Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked into heaven and saw the glory of God and Jesus standing at the right hand — Acts 7:55. The Spirit was in Stephen; the Father and Son were above.

The Nature of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God. In Acts 5:3–4, Peter confronts Ananias: "Why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Ghost?" — and then immediately: "Thou hast not lied to men, but to God." The Holy Spirit is not an archangel. He is not junior to God. He is God in every way.

He is also the manifestation of the presence and power of God — the revealer of that presence across the earth. Because Jesus ascended with his body and can only be in one location as a man, the Holy Spirit now multiplies his influence globally. He is the continuation of the ministry of Jesus, no longer localized to one man.

• The Spirit of Wisdom — Isaiah 11:2: "The spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him — the spirit of wisdom." Paul prays in Ephesians 1:17 that God may give us "the spirit of wisdom."
• The Author of Scripture — 2 Peter 1:21: "Holy men spoke as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." 2 Timothy 3:16: "All scripture is given by inspiration of God." Holy men only did the writing; the author was God. If you ignore the Holy Spirit in an attempt to study scripture, you will end up in error. This book is bought, closed, and sealed — you can open it, but only the Holy Spirit can unlock the seals.
• A Person — The Holy Spirit has the attributes of personhood: a will, emotions, and intellect.

  • Will — Acts 16:6–7: He forbade them and "suffered them not." 1 Corinthians 12:11: He divides to every man "as he wills."
  • Emotions — Ephesians 4:30: "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God."
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  Apostle Joshua Selman
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  • Intellect — Romans 8:27: "He that searches the hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit." 1 Corinthians 2:10–11: "The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God."

The Threefold Ministry of the Holy Spirit

Anywhere you find the Holy Spirit on earth, he is doing one of three things:

1. Conviction — bringing awareness, compelling attention to truth
2. Transformation — the process that makes you like Christ in experience
3. Empowerment — embracing you so that you produce results you ordinarily would not be able to produce

The greatest need of an unbeliever is salvation. The greatest need of a believer is transformation. The greatest need of a transformed believer is empowerment. And the greatest need of an empowered believer is character and humility. Learning this alone will make you a mature Christian — you will know how to bless people according to their category.

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The Three Principal Recipients of His Ministry

1. Creation — Job 34:14–15: "If he set his heart upon man, if he gather unto himself his spirit and his breath — all flesh shall perish together." Without the Holy Spirit, creation cannot survive. The Holy Spirit is the life-giving factor of the entire creation.
2. Unbelievers — His ministry to unbelievers is conviction. John 16:7–11: "When he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, of righteousness, and of judgment." Nobody sustains the power to save a sinner through intelligence and oratory alone — it takes the convicting power of the Holy Spirit. You can sing a song about redemption and people will run and come up, because in that song, once the message of salvation is captured, the paracletos is creating conviction. The only vaccination for sin is the gospel.
3. Believers — He has five major ministries to the believer:

   • Activating your spiritual senses — 1 Corinthians 2:14: "The natural man receives not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." Before the word of God starts entering you, your spiritual senses must be alive. A saved man who is not transformed cannot understand why Christians fast, pray in tongues, or give seeds — it is foolishness to him. The Holy Spirit quickens you, and suddenly it begins to make sense.
   • Revelation and understanding of scripture — John 14:26: "The Comforter, the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance." John 16:13: "He will guide you into all truth." Reading the bible without the Holy Spirit produces controversy, not edification. This book can be opened but only the Holy Spirit can unlock its seals. Call on him with humility: Spirit of the living God, you were sent to open scripture — open my eyes that I may behold wondrous things from your word.
   • Guidance and direction — Direction tells you where to go; guidance tells you how to get there. Isaiah 30:21: "Your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, this is the way, walk in it." Psalm 119:105: "Your word is a lamp to my feet" — that is guidance — "and a light to my path" — that is direction. You may only receive two or three instructions of direction in a whole year. What you need every day is guidance. Pray for both.
   • Renewal and transformation — Philippians 2:5: "Let this mind be in you which was also in Christ Jesus." 2 Corinthians 3:18: "We all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of God." The yesterday version of you may have been prayerless, powerless — demons could play you like a tennis ball. But when you submit to the ministry of renewal and transformation, give yourself time and watch a champion emerge. In this kingdom, we go up by revelation. The Holy Spirit and the word of God are inseparable — you need both the textbook and the lecturer.
   • Empowerment — Isaiah 61:1: "The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me." To anoint means to legitimize an operation — to ordain, to commission, to make legal. Acts 1:8: "Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you." The power of a believer is a derivative of a relationship. God gives power in exchange for a heart — not a transaction but a covenant. Acts 10:38: "God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Ghost and with power; he went about doing good and healing all that were oppressed of the devil, for God was with him." The most important line is not "power was with him" — it is God was with him.

The Holy Spirit Is the Custodian of the Anointing

It is easy to delve into spiritualism, witchcraft, and extra-biblical practices in a sincere search for power. But there is nobody who is truly empowered in this kingdom genuinely — that empowerment came from the Holy Spirit. The power a believer commands is traceable to relationship. The more we love him, the more we spend time in his presence, the more we grow.

Some of the most powerful people in the kingdom — it was not even power that gave them access to God. They simply loved God with all their hearts. And while they spent time in fellowship, in worship, in the study of scripture — soaking in that atmosphere — one day the grace was given. The secret of relevance is this: the more I stay with him, the more men need me. The secret of being visible is to be hidden with him.

He was the wisdom behind Daniel's exploits, the creativity behind Joseph, the power that strengthened Elijah, the intelligence that led Esther to the throne, the wisdom that made Ruth the wife of Boaz. The Holy Spirit is not just useful for five-fold ministry. He will bring one business idea from your spirit that will cause nations to celebrate you forever.

An Invitation to Relationship

The Holy Spirit is not looking for an affair — he is looking for a relationship. A relationship that lasts. Come after 30, 40, 50 years of your life and he is still your best friend.