Welcome to Part 4 of our Holy Spirit series discussing another attribute of The Holy Spirit, the peace He brings through hope (faith). We believe this will be an 18-Part Series in which you’ll discover who The Holy Spirit is and what He does. Many attributes are given to The Holy Spirit throughout Scripture. He is not a force. He is a person. He is a member of the Trinity, a part of YHWH. He is referred to as a “he”. In Parts 1-3 of this series, we featured His part in creating, recreating, convicting, and teaching. Now, let’s look at how He provides peace through hope.
We know from Scripture that when we Fear The Lord, repent, and receive the rebirth, that we receive wisdom, knowledge, and understanding.
Proverbs 1:7 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge
Proverbs 9:10 The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding.
Isaiah 11:2 And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord;
Along with those gifts, the Holy Spirit also generates in us righteousness and the fruits of the Spirit:
Galatians 5
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance
Ephesians 5:9 (For the fruit of the Spirit is in all goodness and righteousness and truth;)
I really want to dive into hope today. Hope is very similar to faith, which is a fruit of the Spirit. We hope for the return of Jesus and our Salvation because we have the gift of faith from The Holy Spirit.
Galatians 5:5 For we through the Spirit wait for the hope of righteousness by faith.
Because we have hope in this, we find peace. We find peace during all sorts of trials and tribulations because we have a living hope sitting at the right hand of Our Father. Let’s take a look at some verses regarding this.
1 Peter 1
3 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to his abundant mercy hath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead,
4 To an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away, reserved in heaven for you,
5 Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time.
6 Wherein ye greatly rejoice, though now for a season, if need be, ye are in heaviness through manifold temptations:
7 That the trial of your faith, being much more precious than of gold that perisheth, though it be tried with fire, might be found unto praise and honour and glory at the appearing of Jesus Christ:
8 Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joy unspeakable and full of glory:
9 Receiving the end of your faith, even the salvation of your souls.
Remarkable! Let’s put that in plain English: You, being not of this world, but of the Kingdom of God, living in a foreign hostile land surrounded by the enemy, although suffering through trials and tribulations, those will only last a short while (each one and the entirety of it because this life on earth is short and temporary), and will prove to you how genuine your faith is, and refine you be worth praise and honor when standing before Jesus Christ. Through all this, as a son and daughter of the Most High God, you have a family inheritance waiting for you, kept for you in heaven, so that you can rejoice through those trials and tribulations because you have a living hope – Jesus is not dead! He is Risen – sitting at the right hand of God the Father. It’s there because of Jesus’ sacrifice for us, laying His life down as a ransom for many, and because you have faith in what you have not even seen. So, you hope for it!
Romans 8:24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.
Through the trials and tribulations we find ourselves in on this earth, we can greatly rejoice through them because our living hope, Jesus Christ, is sitting at the right hand of God. He said he was going to prepare a place for us.
John 14
1 Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me.
2 In my Father’s house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.
This hope, this faith, is gifted to us through the Holy Spirit who brings us peace through our troubles. Let’s take a look at some verses regarding The Holy Spirit and His peace.
John 14
25 These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
26 But 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.
27 Peace 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.
28 Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.
Romans 14:17 For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Romans 15:13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that ye may abound in hope, through the power of the Holy Ghost.
Romans 5
Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ:
2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
3 And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience;
4 And patience, experience; and experience, hope:
5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.
Romans 8
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
19 For the earnest expectation of the creature waiteth for the manifestation of the sons of God.
20 For the creature was made subject to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of him who hath subjected the same in hope,
21 Because the creature itself also shall be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the glorious liberty of the children of God.
22 For we know that the whole creation groaneth and travaileth in pain together until now.
23 And not only they, but ourselves also, which have the firstfruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting for the adoption, to wit, the redemption of our body.
24 For we are saved by hope: but hope that is seen is not hope: for what a man seeth, why doth he yet hope for?
25 But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it.
The Holy Spirit is groaning within us waiting patiently for the adoption by reason of hope. Jesus is Our Father’s only begotten son, but we are sons and daughters by adoption and co-heirs with Christ to the inheritance, the very presence of living again with Our Father! We wait to be delivered through that narrow gate into new life yet again. We came through the narrow way into this earth, born by water through the narrow canal. We are born again spiritually with the living waters of the Holy Spirit and will pass again the narrow way into new life in new bodies in New Jerusalem.
John 3:5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
Romans 8
16 The Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God:
17 And if children, then heirs; heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ; if so be that we suffer with him, that we may be also glorified together.
18 For I reckon that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
I want to touch on one more passage regarding peace and hope in times of tribulations, straight from Jesus Christ in the Old Testament. Let’s take a look at The Call of Gideon.
Judges 6
11 And there came an angel of the Lord, and sat under an oak which was in Ophrah, that pertained unto Joash the Abiezrite: and his son Gideon threshed wheat by the winepress, to hide it from the Midianites.
12 And the angel of the Lord appeared unto him, and said unto him, The Lord is with thee, thou mighty man of valour.
13 And Gideon said unto him, Oh my Lord, if the Lord be with us, why then is all this befallen us? and where be all his miracles which our fathers told us of, saying, Did not the Lord bring us up from Egypt? but now the Lord hath forsaken us, and delivered us into the hands of the Midianites.
14 And the Lord looked upon him, and said, Go in this thy might, and thou shalt save Israel from the hand of the Midianites: have not I sent thee?
15 And he said unto him, Oh my Lord, wherewith shall I save Israel? behold, my family is poor in Manasseh, and I am the least in my father’s house.
16 And the Lord said unto him, Surely I will be with thee, and thou shalt smite the Midianites as one man.
17 And he said unto him, If now I have found grace in thy sight, then shew me a sign that thou talkest with me.
18Depart not hence, I pray thee, until I come unto thee, and bring forth my present, and set it before thee. And he said, I will tarry until thou come again.
19 And Gideon went in, and made ready a kid, and unleavened cakes of an ephah of flour: the flesh he put in a basket, and he put the broth in a pot, and brought it out unto him under the oak, and presented it.
20 And the angel of God said unto him, Take the flesh and the unleavened cakes, and lay them upon this rock, and pour out the broth. And he did so.
21 Then the angel of the Lord put forth the end of the staff that was in his hand, and touched the flesh and the unleavened cakes; and there rose up fire out of the rock, and consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes. Then the angel of the Lord departed out of his sight.
22 And when Gideon perceived that he was an angel of the Lord, Gideon said, Alas, O Lord God! for because I have seen an angel of the Lord face to face.
23 And the Lord said unto him, Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die.
24 Then Gideon built an altar there unto the Lord, and called it Jehovahshalom: unto this day it is yet in Ophrah of the Abiezrites.
Just an incredible passage of Jesus appearing in the Old Testament as the Angel of The Lord. Gideon said he had seen the Lord face to face, but he did not die! That’s Jesus! He sat under a tree. He had Gideon put the offer on a rock and fire consumed the flesh and the unleavened cakes!! I love how this points to Jesus and his resurrection.
Let’s take a look at what happened here relating to our topic. During a time of trouble and tribulation, Jesus appeared to Gideon and told him “I will be with thee” and that Gideon would smite the Mideonites as one man. Then, what does the “Angel of Yahweh” say to him? “Peace be unto thee; fear not: thou shalt not die”. I love it!! “Peace be unto thee”, Gideon. Have peace during this time of great distress. Fear not – the Lord has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, and love, and of a sound mind. “Thou shalt not die” to me signifies the promise to come of everlasting life when you obey His commandments and the Holy Spirit is with you. Such an amazing passage of peace and hope during tribulation as well as underlying prophecy.
Remember, the Holy Spirit is with us always. During trials and tribulations we can find peace and joy in the hope of our inheritance waiting for us. Pray to the Father for guidance. Lean not on your own understanding, but in all thy ways He will direct your path. Wait on the Lord. He never fails us.