Creflo Dollar - Five Attributes Of The Holy Spirit - Part 2
The Holy Spirit is a corrector. What do I mean by that? He corrects us when we need improvement. He corrects us when we need refinement, and he will rebuke us. I love it. The Holy Spirit corrects us when we need improvement. So, when the Holy Spirit corrects you, it's because you need some improvement. You need some refinement. You need some rebuking. He keeps us in love. Most of the corrections that come from the Holy Spirit will be corrections about how we're treating one another. He will correct you to keep you in love and out of self-centeredness.
Oh, my goodness. He corrects you to keep you in love and out of self-centeredness. This is like gigantic in the life of a Christian, but sometimes I don't think we recognize that because... I don't know. We just think the Holy Spirit is like a genie in a lamp, and we're just supposed to rub on it to fulfill our selfish desires. And I told you for the last few weeks, you've got to decide, "Am I in this as a Christian to please myself, to bring pleasure to me, or am I in this, as a Christian, to please God"? That's the basis of really where you're gonna end up. And the Holy Spirit will correct us and he will keep us in love and keep us out of selfishness. I depend on that. I depend on that. I'm not relying on my own self effort for that. I depend on the Holy Spirit. Keep me in love, keep me out of self-centeredness. Let me know when I'm being selfish. Help me to hear you. God will do that.
I'm telling you, man, he's real. He's real, and the Holy Spirit will do this. Now, let me show you this. This is so important. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6 and verse 10, let's read that. Hebrews chapter 12, verse 6 and verse 10. Now, here's the word the Bible uses, "chastening," the chastening of the Lord. It's not God beating you down, punishing you, and abusing you. God is not an abuser. The word "chasten" just simply means to direct through correction. It's the directing of the Lord and the correcting of the Lord, and they go together. He says, "For whom the Lord loveth".
Now notice God is chastening who he loves. So, you don't want to be without chastisement, because God will chastise who he loves. He says, "For whom the Lord loveth he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth". That sounds like abuse. That sounds like God's beating people. That's not what's happening at all. Look at verse 10. Verse 10 says, "For they verily for a few days chastened us after their own pleasure; but he for our profit". God's chastisement and correction is for our profit. It is for our profit, that we might be partakers of his holiness. God says, "I'm going to correct you, so you can be a partaker of holiness".
Now, please, let's not get all spiritually deep on holiness. What is holiness? I'm just gonna use one word to describe it. Holiness is wholeness. Holiness is wholeness. And the Bible says here that God will correct us for the profit of us being whole. See, wherever you're broken, God wants to correct you, so you can be whole. Whatever is missing in your life, God wants to correct you so that doesn't have to continue to be missing. Are you ignoring the corrections of God? There's certain things God has just... it's that conviction on the inside, that when you're doing something, the Holy Spirit is like, "No, don't do that, man". By doing this, you've maintained your brokenness. By doing this, you maintain your wholeness.
And so what happens is while he's trying to correct us, we're like, "I don't want to hear that," and we go on, and then we bump into the consequences of not being led by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's trying to show you by correcting you. "Don't do that no more. Don't go there anymore. Don't look at that anymore. Don't say that anymore". What's his objective? He wants you to profit in wholeness or holiness. Wholeness is holiness. You know the Bible says, "Be ye holy as I am holy". Well, see, that holiness is all about wholeness. It's all about wholeness. God is whole, and he wants you to be whole. And so, you know, this is the correction. I need the Holy Spirit to correct me. I don't want to be without correction. I don't want to be. It's not like you can fool the Holy Ghost. He knows the areas where you need to be corrected. I don't want to be without correction, and I need the Holy Spirit to correct me.
That ought to be a prayer: "Holy Spirit, correct me. Help me not to hurt myself. Holy Spirit, correct me. Allow me to walk in wholeness and allow me to not continue to do things to add to the brokenness in my life". And he'll do it. He'll do it, but you've got to have faith and trust that that can come to pass. Come on, let's look at the third attribute of the Holy Spirit. Director. And I told you correction and direction goes together. The Holy Spirit is a director. Look at Psalms 23:1-6 real quick. I want to share probably the biggest part of my scriptures right here. The Lord knows the best thoughts, ideas, attitudes, and actions we need to take in order to complete the best of the will of God. So, his job, the Holy Spirit's job is to guide us into the will of God for our lives, and he knows the right directions to arrive at that particular destiny. He knows the right directions to give for us to arrive at that particular destiny.
Now, everybody's got a particular destiny to arrive at. The Holy Spirit has the directions. He knows how to get you there. My God, I don't see how any Christian can plan on living a successful life without the Holy Spirit. He has the directions for your destination. He has the directions for your destination. Look at what he says here in Psalms 23. I don't know if you've ever looked at it like this. But in light of this attribute of the Holy Spirit, look at it this way. Verse 1 says, "The Lord is my shepherd". What's a shepherd? He's one that's going to provide directions. And notice what happens. He says, "When you make the Lord your shepherd, and you're following his direction", he says, "You shall not want".
So, if you find yourself always in want, maybe you're not following his directions. You know, even Proverbs talks about that, you know, if you acknowledge him in all of your ways, he'll do what? Direct your path, direct your path. Are you taking time to acknowledge the Holy Spirit? Holy Spirit, I need you to show me how to do this and where to go. Holy Spirit, show me how to get from here to here. Holy Ghost, show me how to get from there. Show me how to get out of this pit. Show me how to get out of this lasciviousness. Show me how to get out of this situation. And a lot of times, when people are convinced that this is just what they want to do, they're not paying attention to the Holy Spirit. They are lots of people who won't pay a... the Holy Spirit's made it clear. This is not my will for your life.
And you say, "Yeah, but it is my pleasure". He says, "It's not my will". "Yeah, but it is my pleasure". And what happens is you harden your ears, and you don't hear from the Holy Spirit, but he won't ever give up. He'll never give up. Now, your heart might become hardened to the point where you're not hearing him, but he's always gonna be speaking. He's always gonna... and so what happens is, be careful that he doesn't step back and allow the consequences of your decision to try to get your attention. Beware. Sometimes that has to happen with a lot of people. There has to be some stupid stuff to happen before you say, "Whoa"! And then you hear. The transmission comes in real clear. He keeps talking to you.
How many times do you want to go through that? How many times do you want to allow something like that to happen? You end up dead somewhere 'cause you're just kind of ignoring the Holy Spirit, because you're like, "Right now it's my pleasure to do this". "Do you want God to deliver you"? Yes, but not right now. And you know what he told you. And the thing about it, you keep making excuses to other people about why you're doing what you're doing and trying to get God involved in your little pitiful excuses. You know. The Holy Ghost makes it very plain to you. "This is not my will for your life"! And you're saying, "Yeah, but it is my pleasure". The Bible says the Lord is your shepherd. And if you will allow him to shepherd you, to direct you, you won't be in want.
See, you think what you're doing right now is what you need and what you really want. But if you allow him to come into your life, he'll take you, he'll illuminate the path in "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want". Look at verse 2. Look at what he does, man. When he's my shepherd, verse 2, when he's my shepherd, he makes me to lie down in what kind of pastures? When he's my shepherd, look at the directions he'll take me. He'll take me to green pastures. Notice where he's... look at the directions. "He'll lead me beside still water" and peace. This is what happens when you let the Holy Spirit become your director. "He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, leadeth me beside still water". Verse 3, he says, "He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake".
He will direct you in the path of righteousness. When you allow him to be your shepherd, he directs you in the path that leads to righteousness. Verse 4, he says, "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death," he says, "I'm not going to fear any evil". Why? "Because you're with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me". Isn't it cool to know that when you're walking through a rough period in your life that the Holy Spirit is your director? And he knows how to direct you out of that rough period. Some of you have been through a rough period in this pandemic, and God knows how to direct you out of this. God knows how to get you to that place of restoration in your life.
Next verse. He says, "Thou preparest a table before me," look at this, "in the presence of my enemies". God is not talking about preparing a table before, you know, in heaven. He's saying right where you are, in the presence of your enemy, in the presence of all the mess he says, "I've got a table prepared for you. I've got a table prepared for you". And what he is saying is, "Would you please eat from the table that I've prepared for you"? But you know what a lot of Christians do? We go prepare our own table. I don't like what he prepared. You really do like it. You really don't know what he's prepared for you. And then you go and prepare your own table. He says, "I've got a table prepared for you in the presence of your enemy". He says, "I've anointed your head with oil". He says, "My cup, my cup runneth over, my cup"...
So, he says, if, you know, "If you'll follow my directions, I'll get you to a place where your cup is running over". And what do you do with the stuff running out of your cup? You've got enough to share it with somebody else. He said, "Right now, you're just barely getting along. Your cup ain't been full in a long time. You ain't got enough to help nobody else 'cause you ain't got enough to help yourself". He said, "But when I become the director in your life, I'm going to bring you to a place where your cup is running over, and you'll have more than enough for you and a whole lot running over to share with somebody else. But you can't get there because you want to direct your own life". Look at the next verse. He says, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever".
Goodness and mercy follows, when you make Jesus the Lord and you trust in the Holy Spirit, the goodness of God and the mercy of God will follow you all the days of your life. Now, you may end up going some crazy places or getting off path, but that's why God's goodness and mercy is there. His goodness is designed to bring you to repentance or a change of mind about something. This is so important that we accept this attribute of the Holy Spirit, that he will direct our lives. He has the direction for us to arrive at the perfect destination for our lives. Look at Acts 13:2, Acts 13:2, and then Acts 8:29. Just share these things with you, he says, "As they ministered to the Lord". As they began to minister to God in worship and praise and serve the Lord with that, "and they fasted". He said, the Holy Ghost said, "Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them".
Here's the direction, here's the directions. They were ministering to God and direction showed up. They were ministering to God, and direction showed up. I tell you, if you need directions in your life, don't sit there and get depressed, and moan, and groan, and get in selfishness. Minister to the Lord and watch direction show up for your life. The greatest thing you can do in the middle of trouble, where you're stuck, and you don't know where to go and what to do, is start ministering to the Lord. Start taking that praise music, man, and worship God, and sing your song, and just minister to him thanksgiving and praise. And if your mind won't line up with it, go on a fast until your mind get with it, unto your mind starts lining up with the Word, praise God, and he will provide necessary directions for your life 'cause he's a director.
Look at this, Acts 8:29. He says, "Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot". That's the Spirit of God giving directions. God will give you the same kind of directions. He's just telling him, he's giving him direction. "Go over there, go and join thyself to this chariot, go over there". Oh, my gosh. And if you read that story, you see some supernatural things happening where they were overcoming natural laws. I'm telling you God will give you directions to get you to your perfect destination. Look at Acts 20:22-24, Acts 20:22-24 in the Amplified, if you have it. Acts 20:22-24, these are just examples of directions being provided.
Now, you read in the Bible, these guys were not smart without God giving them directions, while the Holy Spirit providing directions from them. Verse 22 says, "And now, you see, I am going to Jerusalem, bound by the (Holy) Ghost". I tell you, you ought not go nowhere without unless you're bound by the Holy Ghost. "And obligated and compelled by the [convictions of my own] spirit, not knowing what will befall me there". Go on. He says, "Except that the Holy Spirit clearly and emphatically affirms to me in city after city that imprisonment and suffering await me". Remember when he says the Holy Ghost will show you about your future? And notice Paul kept talking about, "Look at what the Holy Spirit has been saying".
So, it wasn't a surprise. It wasn't something that's gonna knock him silly. He's preparing him and directing him to a place. He says, "But none of these things move me," Paul said. That's 'cause he's got his friend. "Neither do I esteem my life dear to myself. If only I may finish my course with joy and the ministry which I have obtained from [which was entrusted to me by] the Lord Jesus Christ, faithfully to attest to the good news of the (Gospel) of God's grace (His unmerited favor, spiritual blessings, and mercy)". So Paul was like, "Dude, he's preparing me. He gave me an assignment, told me what to do". I mean, listen, Paul was on the road of Damascus. He's not planning on Jesus showing up and directing his life. And there was never a time where the Spirit of God was there directing him to do something.
Now, there were certain times when he did some stuff and the Spirit of God didn't direct him to do it, and there were consequences for it. But the Holy Ghost got him back on the right road, doing what needs to be done. And you would think, well, if that was the Holy Ghost, why did he end up in prison? See, you've got to understand that God knows your path, and he knows your destiny. He knows things you've got to do and where you've got to do it. He knows the situation you have. Why did he lead Jesus into a wilderness? You would think, "Well, why didn't you lead Jesus into another Garden of Eden"?
See, God knows, God knows better than you. He knows the path you've got to go down in order to arrive at the destination of your life. You were born for a reason. You were born for a purpose, but you can't let the fame of the world become your director. You've got to trust the Holy Ghost. And a lot of times you get to a place, and you know it was God told you to do this. And you've just got to say, "Listen, God, I trust you. God, I trust you, praise God. I trust if you led me here, there's a reason for it".
My grandmama used to say that all the time. "If we're here, there must be a reason for it, so let's just start praying that we can get the wisdom for this place that I am in right now, praise God". And trust that the Holy Ghost knows how to get you where you need to be and do some of the things you need to do. And then Matthew 4:1, Matthew chapter 4 and verse 1, he's the director. The Holy Spirit, this attribute, he said, "Then when Jesus," watch this, "led up of the Spirit," directed of the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil. I'm sure some people think, "Well, I don't get that".
Well, see, you've got to understand something. God knows the different places you have to go to in order to be equipped for your destination. See, God knows exactly your destination, but then he knows all of the side roads you need to take and get equipped right there and then bring you off and then equip right there, and bring you off, and take you down the cul-de-sac, and bring you on around, and do that. And in each one of those places, there's an equipping taking place, and I believe that's what's happening in your life. God is equipping you right now. Hallelujah. God's equipping you right now. The pandemic, you've gotta understand something. He didn't cause the pandemic, but he'll sure use it for some equipping purposes.
There are a lot of marriages that have been equipped. Hallelujah. There are a lot of ministries that have been equipped right now. I told Taffi this morning, I said, "I've been humbled, praise God. I've been humbled because I recognize that you never know what might happen here or there. But when it happens, will I humble myself under the mighty hand of God, and trust his leadership, and trust his guidance, and not allow my emotions to get down, but to pull myself up, knowing that there's something awesome happening"? And instead of, you know, complaining about this, ask, you know. Don't miss the hour of wisdom. Don't miss the moment of equipping. Don't come out of this thing the same as you did at the beginning of the year. There's no member of World Changers that should return back to the building the same! The same. I'm not the same. Taffi's not the same.
You should not come back to the building the same. There should be a level of equipping that you have all experienced, praise God. Everybody ought to have a testimony of when you woke up and didn't know how you were gonna make it and God came through, and the Holy Ghost spoke, and God led, and he showed you something. And I'm telling you, man, God knows what he's doing. He knows what he's doing. He led Jesus into the wilderness to be tempted of the devil! Somebody says, "Well, couldn't he just skip that part"? No, there's certain parts I ask about a lot. Why? Couldn't you have skipped that part? I don't understand the whole thing totally, but here's what I do. I trust God. I trust this attribute of the Holy Spirit to direct my life. I trust his direction to get me to where I need to be.
Number four, here's the fourth attribute of the Holy Spirit. He's a planner, P-L-A-N-N-E-R. He's a planner. God told Jeremiah, in Jeremiah 29:11, and this is something that I realize. He told him in 29:11, "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace and not of evil, to give you an expected end". If you have that in the NLT, pull it up right quick, Jeremiah 29:11. I realize that God has a script that we are to follow, and I want my script. And in the NLT it says, "For I know the plans I have for you," says the LORD. "They are plans for good and not for disaster". That's all I need to know. It might look like a disaster. He says, "But it's for good, not for disaster, to give you a future, a plan to give you a future and a plan to give you a hope".
God has a script for your life. God has a script for your life. See, you're trying to write the script for your life, and God's got one already written. Glory to God. I felt that. He has a script for your life, and you're trying to write your own script 'cause you've been listening to the wrong advice. We should be asking the Holy Spirit, "Show us the script that God has for my life". Thank you, God. Show us the script that you have for my life. And Holy Spirit, lead and guide me to the script. I mean, a lot of you think, well, you're just where you are for no reason at all. God knows exactly where you had to be for right now. There's a script. That just blows my mind. There's a script for my life. And I want to be able to get to heaven and see that I didn't detour too far from the script.
And when I did, the Holy Spirit, who I trusted in, kept bringing me back to my script. Because everything about my whole life is gonna be judged on that script. That's why he already knows. It's his foreknowledge, hallelujah, that he has. Thank you, Jesus. God knows that when I'm in New Zealand, my script said I was supposed to be in New Zealand at that time. God knows that right here today I was supposed to be right here today, praise God, because of his foreknowledge and because he's a director in my life, preaching what I'm preaching to you right now. And you're sitting there listening to it, and you're looking at your life right now, but I believe what's happening is you're changing over right now, and you're saying, "Listen, man, I've got to have the Holy Ghost 'cause I can't do what I don't know. So, I've got to trust in someone who knows better than what I know".
You've gotta get away from this thing where you think you know more than God. You've gotta get away from this thing where you're trying to be like God without God. There's a script for your life, and God wants to direct your path, and he's a planner. He's got good plans for you, praise God. Look at John chapter 7 and verse 17. So, how do I discover that? John chapter 7, verse 17, "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine, whether it be of God or whether I speak of myself". See, the best way to discover his will is by expressing your complete willingness to do whatever he asks you to do. You want him to express the will of God for your life? Will you be willing to express your complete willingness to do whatever he asks you to do?
I can remember coming up in ministry. "Lord, whatever you want me to do. I want to do whatever you want me to do". But sometimes that's interrupted with what everybody else want you to do. God, show me what you want me to do. I remember that constant prayer. "Show me what you want me to do". 'Cause I did not know. I'm at a place where I thought I would never be. Show me what you want me to do, Lord. And when you, when you want his will to be revealed clearly to you, the best way to discover his will is by expressing, "God, I'm willing to do whatever you want me to do".