Chpt I - THE HOLY SPIRIT: THE FATHER OF HOPE AND OUR LORD JESUS CHRIST

Can He be defined by Gender?

Some say God is a woman. If they had this understanding from personal encounters, then they must have unmistakably made reference to the Holy Spirit.

He is that Being who supervises everything. He is the mother of Creation. He doesn't have a gender. He is everything.

The Holy Spirit is that Being who has tasted every emotion, yet remained undefiled.

I would talk about Him according to the way He revealed Himself to me.

The Discovery 

I was once a girl with wild urges. I wanted to be a model. I wanted to be an actress. I wanted to be a stripper. I wanted to be the life of the party. I wanted freedom. I wanted the finest things in life.

I feared neither anyone nor anything. I had no interest in anything. At some point, I did say there's no God. I loved science, and I believed creation created itself.

The Lord never rebuked me for dismissing His existence. He never condemned my passion or vision.

I was just waiting to get away from under my parents' roof. I was counting the days until I'd no longer be under their surveillance. University felt like my salvation.

When I graduated from secondary school, I was so happy. Unfortunately, my parents were two steps ahead of me and made me sit at home for one year because they were frightened at the thought of me being all by myself.

I knew the Lord was interested in me, but I said no. I never gave Him any attention. I said, "Lord, You have my dad; he's a pastor. Use him as You want. I'm off-limits."

The Lord Jesus came to me several times, but my heart was hardened towards him.

He used to come to me almost everyday, but I'd pretend like I wasn't aware. 

There was this one time I gave the Lord a chance, but I felt He embarrassed me.

While I was in the boarding house, the power of God came upon me, and I preached. From preaching, I casted out devils. Those who were scared would run to my bunk to sleep at night. A child walking with the power of the Holy Ghost.

 Then one evening, we were having devotion, so I moved, and I laid my hands on some of the girls. I wasn't in control of myself. It was like I was watching myself from inside myself.

When the power wore off, and I was back to myself. I asked, 'My God, what did I just do?' while I was sulking, two girls approached me and said "Senior Pearl, why did you lay your hands on me? My mother said no one should touch my head anyhow." I was so embarrassed as they kept tugging at me.

Then I said Lord, you knew this would happen. If you'd put me in embarrassing situations like this, please avoid me.

And then I tried as much as possible to be normal. But one thing was certain, with all the wild urges I had, I couldn't bring myself to do anything evil. Not that I didn't have the intentions, there was a restraint.

So I got out of secondary school hoping I'd finally have the platform to be the baddie. I thought of all the parties I would attend on campus. I thought of all the beauty pageant.

Then, someone won my affection. I had a crush, and whenever my father sent me on errands, he'd join me. He got into school and I was told he had another lady, while leading me on. That would be the first time I would experience real emotional pain. 

Even my father could tell something was terribly wrong. I locked myself in my room for three days. I refused to eat or drink.

It was in the midst of that storm, heartache, and pain it happened. The Lord sent me the Arch Angel Raphael. He slowly descended and sat on the edge of my bed, like the very end. I was startled and thought I was hallucinating. I asked.

 "Who are you?"

He said, "I am angel Raphael. One of the seven angels who stands before the presence of the living God. And the Lord of Hosts has sent me to heal your heart."

I said "Who is angel Raphael? I know Angel Gabriel and Angel Michael. But there is no mention of you in the Bible."

He extended his hand, and healed my pain. He extended his hand with the open jar, and something left my chest and went into the jar. Suddenly, a peace I couldn't explain, and a joy I couldn't contain filled my heart. 

And with that, he ascended and passed through the roof.

I was speechless and perplexed. What just happened? He was so beautiful, and he had green eyes, with a beautiful hair. He held this jar shaped like a large canine, but it was a jar. He was as the sun, and he wore a plain white robe that was just as the sun, the jar hanging loosely.

I finally came out of the room, and I ate. I said to myself, "Pearl be careful, you know the devil disguises himself as an angel of light."

My curiosity filleted me. So I said "Lord, please, reveal to me who this being is." And I was led to the Goodnews Bible in my father's library. The very first page that opened was the deuterocanicals. I read about a man named Tobias, and then I saw it right there. Angel Raphael.

I fell to the floor and began to worship God.

But then again the next day, my heart was filled with unbelief and doubt. I said, maybe it's just a coincidence. So I stepped out that evening to run an errand for Daddy. Everywhere I looked, I saw the name 'Raphael.' and then a gentleman approached me. I had earlier being sulken that I had no friends in the neighborhood. My phone was taken from me to disconnect me from the world outside, to ensure I couldn't access my old friends.

So when this young man approached me, we chatted decently. I began to feel at ease, and comfortable. As I was about to leave, he said... "You didn't even ask for my name"

I asked. "What is your name?"

He said "I am Raphael."

Still my heart was stubborn. I felt it was just a very synchronized coincidence. Until he visited again. And asked why I had so much unbelieve. The strangest unexplainable sign that cleared my doubt was when he told me the password to my father's tightly guarded laptop and showed me a folder that had a video explaining the seven angels of God. Then I believed. And the Lord had Angel Raphael train me everyday till I got into campus.

And then I was handed over to my very first Pastor in the believers loveworld campus Ministry. The Highly Esteemed Pastor Henry Akasili for training. I was getting quite stubborn and the Lord must have thought I needed a physical being who would drill me. My Pastor introduced me to the Holy Spirit who had always been with me, but I never knew. (Psalms 32:8, 10)

Then I had a vision during the service while my Pastor taught on the Holy Spirit. I saw a man, standing by the waterfall. He was so gentle, and calm. So powerful, yet steady. In all the noise, the silence of his essence was louder. The radiance of his countenance announced His majesty. While I stood looking at His back frame, my Pastor entered the time loop, and He held my hand, and walked slowly and took me to the man. The man turned fully and took me by the hand. My heart raced, because He needed no introduction.

 Everything in me bore witness that He was the Lord, the ferocious warrior, strong and mighty in battle.

And I could hear what was going on around my body. My Pastor was saying, "He is your helper, your teacher, your stand by." I wept because the love oozing from him was overwhelming.

So whenever I leave church, I'd get so busy. But whenever I came to church, I always knew exactly when the Holy Spirit walked into the hall. I can't remember what time the service started, but precisely 9:00am, a gentle breeze proceeded Him. He'd come stand right beside me. And everyone would wonder why I cried so much every Sunday. So much so I'd smug my make up. Because of the Holy Spirit, I stopped applying makeup to church. Why spend over an hour applying layers of makeup, only to have it all washed up?

Whenever He walked in, I'd cry so hard, sob like a baby. I never cared who was watching, I never tried to stop the tears. He never had to say anything. And if it were to be a Wednesday service, and the Lord Himself wasn't there, a big angel would tower above me, right beneath the roof of the building, above my head. 

Other times the Lord would hover over everyone roof level. I watched Him impart people with grace. I watched the Holy Spirit minister alongside my Pastor as He laid hands on us. I watched the Angels of God remove sicknesses from people. I watched them bind demons. 

The Promise to be faithful and dependable always

And one of those Sundays He (the Lord) said to me

"I am He who goes ahead of you, I am right here with you, i would never leave nor forsake you, I won't let you down."

I am tough on the outside, because I have surrendered my weakness to the Holy Spirit.

I have shown Him my vulnerability, told Him just how it is, exactly where it hurts, and He always wipes my tears. One day I cried and fell asleep. While I dreamt, He touched my tears and asked "Why are you crying?"

In my most broken moments, He's ever present. He gives me his shoulder to cry on, He locks me in an embrace. He listens. He's reliable and dependable. He's certain about His choice to make me great.

 He gets angry at me, but never pours his wrath on me. Now that I think about it, since I was born, and now that I'm getting older, the Lord has never punished me for anything. (Psalms 32:1-2)

He does get very quiet sometimes, and that always frightens me, but not once has He stepped back. 

All the Lord has done is love me, forgive me, provide for me, protect me, trust me, honor me, decorate me, nurture me, and inspire me. He builds me everyday, and teaches me. He makes me a better person, and He always heals my heart. He hates vehemently to see me cry. He hates to see me unhappy, so He always comes up with new ways to make me happy.

If I were to never settle down, and to devote my life to the Lord, I would be satisfied.

It's His Grace Yunno

There is no special luck, or secret. There's no formula. I am what I am because of the Holy Spirit. I have what I have because he made a way for me. I am where I am because he led me. I glow because he waters me. I am me, because he loves me. I didn't ask him to love me, I didn't beg him to love me. I didn't toil hard to make him love me. I was just a girl with a broken heart, and bad intentions. He refused to look at the negative thinking I had, but he saw me in a way no other would, and just as he painted the sky, he began painting my life.

The Infinite Painting 

He said " I want her confident, bold, beautiful, elegant, strong, wise, intelligent, smart, courageous, fiery, loving, kind, steadfast." The list goes on, there is no end. 

Everyday he adds a new color to the canvas of my portrait.  He'd never set my portrait aside. Even when all things fade away, and my soul is caught up, He'd keep working on me. I am that infinite painting who never gets out of His touch.

This is my experience with the Holy Spirit. Brothers and sisters He's real. And He has a ministry to fulfill in your life. You may have walked with Him before, but now you feel too busy to have that intimacy. Or... He might just be to you, a topic on your Sunday school notepad.

As He was to the Lord Jesus Christ, and to me, and to our fathers of faith, He can be to you. He might not give you the Wisdom of Pearl, or the strength of Samson, or the audience of the mighty Evangelist Billy Graham, or the power of Apostle Paul, or cause you to write so many books, but He can paint your canvas to be just as beautiful in a unique way.

 He is the giver of every good and perfect thing. Whatever He gives you, accept it with gratitude, and love Him for it. Appreciate it earnestly, and He'd give you whatsoever you desire in righteousness in accordance to His will.

 Whatever lot He gives you, thank Him in confidence, and have hope. 

The same hope we have in Christ, that He's coming, and we are going to meet Him in the place prepared for us. 

Brothers and Sisters, without the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus wouldn't be any different from the two thieves who hung beside Him. Now the same Spirit who raised Christ up from the dead abides in you, and if He who raised Christ from the dead lives in you, He is able to vitalize your mortal bodies, and make you one. You are One with the father of our Lord Jesus Christ, and you are one with the Son of God. This hope bestowed upon us, is now fulfilled. The Holy Spirit is the fulfillment of that hope. He is the promise we have received. He is the proof of Christ, and He is our legal tender. He is the evidence that the Messiah once walked the earth as a lowly man. Without status, even though He is the Prince of peace, first begotten, King of Kings, and Lord of Lords.

The same way the First begotten stripped himself of glory and walked the earth like an ordinary man, because the Lord was His hope of resurrection and restoration, the same way we lay down our lives, and cast our lots on the Lord, because He is our hope of glory, unity, divinity, and immunity. That makes Him the father of hope, because hope is certain in Him. He is able to bring all things to fulfillment.

Where is it heard that a child born in a manger is the heir of all things? How could anyone believe it? Except by hope?

The Holy Spirit is your hope. If He made the Lord Jesus so great, He can make you even greater because this is how Christ extends His great power: Through us. Christ doesn't want you to remain small. He wants you to manifest even greater works, because now He's gone to our Father and He's supplicating on our behalf, because He loves us so dearly, and we are one with him. A win for one, is a win for all of us. Every good parent wants to see their child cross their bench mark. It's their joy.

The Holy Spirit didn't say, "Since it's my power, let demons be casted in my name." No. We use the name of Jesus. That doesn't make Him any less. He's so selfless that we don't even know His real name, but I do. And if you ask Him, "Lord what is your real name?" He might wave you off, but if you persist, He just might tell you.

Having received such great compassion, and beautiful gift of the fellowship of the Holy Spirit, would I dare judge any man a sinner? Goodness no! I stand, because of the Holy Spirit. I am pure, because He preserves me. A day without Him, and I would be the filthiest dirt rag. But the Lord has always had better intentions for me.

Maybe you had Him, but somewhere along the line your heart got corrupted, and your conscience doesn't convict you anymore. You've yielded to sin, and comfortably dwell in it. I want to remind you that the life you have received is incorruptible. You can't be separated from the Lord. He is your source.

Like the prodigal Son, return to the shepherd of your soul, and He would cleanse you from all unrighteousness. So great is His mercy, unfailing is His love. The compassion of God wouldn't let Him turn you away. 

I may have given the Lord a tough time, but I did so out of ignorance. But now you are well informed from my testimony that the Holy Spirit is the greatest gift you can ever receive. Allow him fulfil his role in your life, so that you may manifest the virtues of Him who created you, and you may know who you really are.

Selah!

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