John 14:15-18 (KJV) says, “15If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. 18I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.”

John 14:25-27 (KJV) says, “25These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you. 26But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. 27Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.”

Many people in the body of Christ have disallowed the Holy Spirit from fulfilling His mission and purpose in their lives. In doing so, I believe that they grieve the Holy Spirit, for Ephesians 4:30 says, “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.” We must understand the purpose and character of the Holy Spirit so He can go to work in our lives as He sees fit and desires. According to the text, the Holy Spirit has a fourfold mission, which is:

(1) To Comfort
(2) To Guide
(3) To Empower
(4) To Convict

We are comforted as sons and daughters to endure through tribulations and persecution. We are guided by the Holy Spirit to equip us to make the right decision to impact others and lead by example. We are empowered by the Holy Spirit to be witnesses in other so bring heaven to earth. We walk in the conviction of the Holy Spirit so that we can walk in the holiness of God, mirror the life of Christ and live of a life that convicts others to come to encounter the love and power of Christ and be baptized in repentance.

In order for the Holy Spirit to activate His presence in our lives, we must first love Jesus, which is demonstrated through obeying His commandments. It is so hard to believe that people are persuaded that because we are under the new covenant that is founded upon the grace of our LORD and Savior Jesus Christ and faith in His Word that we do not have any commandments to live by. When the rich man asked Jesus what He must do to inherit eternal life, He began to list off the Ten Commandments, such as, “Thou shalt not commit adultery, Thou shalt not bear false witness against thy neighbor,” etc. We must obey His Word if we want to have eternal life in the presence of the LORD! James 2:17-18 says, “17Even so faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone. 18Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: show me thy faith without thy works, and I will show thee my faith by my works.” Faith all by itself is a dead faith, but a living faith comes from stepping out and obeying God in what He instructs in the prayer closet, even when you do not see how it is going to come to fruition!

It is one thing to say you love God, and it is a whole different matter to show it! We all know God loves us, for He loved the world so much that He sent His only begotten Son to die for our sins, but the real question is how much do we love God in return? If we refuse to love Jesus Christ, then we will remain comfortless, lonely and broken, but if we choose to persevere in our love and obedience towards Him, then we have positioned ourselves to have such a supernatural strength and peace that we would have never had if it had not been for the LORD!

Some have trouble seeing God as Father because of the relationship they have with their natural father, the Holy Spirit as a Comforter because of the relationship they have with their natural mother, and Jesus as a big brother who stands and defends them because of being an “only” or rather “forgotten” child. Just as a mother (from a Biblical standpoint) comforts us in anguish, guides us in decisions, empowers us to know what we can accomplish and convicts us when we are wrong, the Holy Spirit does the same! The world is left comfortless as orphans because it has not received the Holy Spirit. The world can only receive what it sees and knows, but the Holy Spirit is not learned from a textbook or an acquaintance, but in relationship with Jesus Christ!