The Holy Spirit's Favorite Subject

There is not enough room in the universe to list all that the Holy Spirit does. He is the power that keeps what we know as life intact. He is the air we breathe and the literal energy of the Godhead. I believe that we will have a glimpse into His amazing role and power when we are in Heaven. The appreciation for the Holy Spirit will continue to unfold in hearts for thousands upon thousands of years. On top of this, He is a real person with feelings and desires.However, God’s will is that we see His greatness while we are here on earth. As great and awesome as the Holy Spirit is, He does have a passion that is above any other. He may communicate on many levels and in different ways. He whispers to some and shakes others. To some He speaks through an ocean and to others through the beauty of a desert sunrise. Some enjoy a prayer closet while others see Him on every tree and in every breeze. One thing is certain, my friend: within the various methods, tones, and scenes through which the Holy Spirit speaks, He really only says one thing…JESUS.The Holy Spirit is absolutely consumed with the beauty of Jesus. He thinks Jesus is just amazing. Now, this does not mean that He is less in nature or deity than Jesus. Absolutely not! Rather, the Holy Spirit’s focus on Jesus lets us into the very heartbeat of the Holy Spirit and, for that matter, the nature of the entire Trinity. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are always pointing us to another member of the Godhead. This quality is so beautiful and highlights an aspect of God that I believe is far too often overlooked in the Church today— the humility of God. When is the last time you heard a teaching on humility in a Sunday morning church service, on television, or on social media? Humility is not just something humans (should) have. It is perfectly portrayed and seen in the character of God. It looks like this: the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus. Jesus points us to and perfectly represents the Father. The Father, in turn, says, “This is My beloved Son” (see Matt. 3:17; 17:5; Mark 9:7; Luke 9:35). The Holy Spirit is the One who makes it possible to hear the Father and see the Son. And the beautiful cycle continues forever and forever. Yes, my friend, the Trinity is beautifully captured by one another. As I say around the world to thousands and thousands of people, “The Trinity is not a board of directors in Heaven, trying their best to fix the world’s problems. No! They love one another deeply and are in covenant with themselves. It is their deepest joy to reveal each member of the Trinity to us.”

Now, let’s get back to the Holy Spirit. It’s so important for us to remember that there is only one member of the Trinity on earth. His name is the Holy Spirit. As I said earlier, He has one job: to reveal Jesus to us. Jesus said, “He will testify of Me” (John 15:26). That means the Holy Spirit wants to have a conversation with you and you can bet that it’s going to be about Jesus! I’m often asked, “Michael, what’s your fixation with Jesus all about? Don’t you think you talk about Him too much? Maybe you should change the subject, man. There is more to the Christian life than Jesus.” My response as to why I am so into Jesus is simple: it’s because I’ve been touched by the Holy Spirit. You see, Jesus said, “…out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matt. 12:34). In a nutshell, that verse means that whatever is in your heart will eventually come out of your mouth. You will speak what’s on the inside of you. Some talk about money non-stop, and others about politics, because politics and love of money flow through their hearts. Some talk about church all the time because the desire to have a big church fills the corridors of their hearts. Well, the Holy Spirit speaks of Jesus because Jesus is on His heart. And when the Holy Spirit comes to live in my heart and I yield to His passion and voice, His passion becomes my passion. His voice marries my voice. What He says, I say. Or should I say, Who He says is Who I say.

So, if you’re wondering whether or not you have been rocked by the Holy Spirit, the barometer is very simple: Are you crazy about Jesus? I’ll never forget the tender whisper of the Spirit in 2009 at our little apartment in Orlando, Florida. At the time, Jesus Image was a small, unknown ministry. I was preaching in home churches, storefront churches, Bible studies, prisons, women’s meetings…you name it, and I was preaching there. To be honest, I still preach in small settings that most of the world has never heard of or acknowledges, and I love it. Back to the story. There I was, waiting on the Lord, and the Holy Spirit spoke these words to me: He said, “Michael, if the people in your meetings leave with a greater understanding of your ministry than they do of Jesus, it’s proof that I have not led the meeting.” WOW! What a statement. I began to connect with and understand the passion of the Holy Spirit and His feelings. He is passionate about Jesus. He is doing His job, which is to point our hearts to the beautiful face of the Son of God, gladly on the earth.

Why such a focus on the simplicity of Jesus Christ? Why doesn’t the Holy Spirit just bypass Jesus and point us directly to the Father? Can’t He just tell us about Himself the entire time? The answer is simple: a man can only know God through the God-Man. God’s nature and ways are beyond our reach as humans unless we see Him in the Son. God basically said, “Look, I’m going to make this so simple for you now. I have been without form for thousands of years. My grace and love are causing Me to come to earth and wrap Myself in a body. I will literally be seen, heard, felt, touched, and followed. I am going to reveal myself to you as the perfect and visible will of God with a body. You will never ask this question again: ‘What is God like?’ Simply look at Jesus.” My friend, never again do we have to wonder about the ways of God. If you are confused about God’s perspective on sickness and healing, look at Jesus. If you are wondering about God’s desire to provide for you, look at Jesus. Is God merciful? Look at Jesus. Is God bold? Look at Jesus. Should we pray? Look at Jesus. The point is simple: Jesus is perfect doctrine and our literal life source and model (see John 1). On top of these amazing truths, He holds all things together, and “ in Him all things consist” (Col. 1:17). So, when the Holy Spirit points you to Jesus, He is pointing you to the Answer to your every need.

Beyond the Holy Spirit’s motive to save you with a revelation of the One He loves, Jesus, it is also for the Father’s sake that He does so. Perhaps you’ve never seen His ministry from this angle. Have you ever stopped to think about the incredible price that the Father paid as He offered up His only Son for a world that hated Him? Yes, Jesus paid the ultimate price, but so did the Father. He watched His Son get tortured and mocked. He offered Jesus to those that tied Him to a post and stripped Him naked before tearing His precious back open with the Roman whip, a whip covered in sharp bones for the tearing of flesh and lead balls for deep bruising. Imagine the heart of the Father as sinners assaulted His precious Son. A songwriter refers to Jesus as the “Darling of Heaven.” I love that because it paints a beautiful picture of Jesus’ value from Heaven’s perspective and, more importantly, from the Father’s perspective. Not to mention that it was by the Father’s design that His Son suffered. Jesus prayed, “If there is another way, let this cup pass from Me” (see Matt. 26:39). Clearly, if there was another way, the Father would have chosen it, but this was His perfect will—that Jesus die the death of the cross and be tortured brutally. Again, the Bible says, “It pleased the Lord to crush Him” (see Isa. 53:10).This is a price that we cannot imagine. The Father offered His Son to the world willingly and watched Him get tortured so that you and I would belong to Him forever. I will never forget holding my son Theo up as I played with him. He was under one year old, and he used to love it when I held him up high. There we were, in my small apartment in Orange County, California. There was a small hallway outside the guest bedroom, and that is where I was playing with Theo. As I held him up high, I had an internal vision of the crucifixion. Holding my son over my head, I clearly heard the Lord say, “I gave My Son to be lifted up on the cross and to die. Could you give yours?” My spirit responded, “No! No way! I could never do that.” The Lord said, “I gave My Son. I even gave Him for My enemies.” Wow. The revelation of love that pierced me came wrapped in a picture of the price that the Father paid. I pray the Holy Spirit will open your eyes to see that the Father paid the ultimate price when Jesus died.Well, what does that have to do with the work and heart of the Holy Spirit? What does the price the Father paid have to do with Holy Spirit’s obsession with Jesus? It’s quite simple: He is bringing the Father a reward for the price He paid when He sacrificed His beloved Son. The reward is a people who love His Son forever and who will be the eternal children of the Father. The Father sowed His Son, and the Holy Spirit is glorifying Jesus so that the Father will receive His harvest…you and me.