Have you ever thought: being a spiritual person is about discovering this exciting journey with the Holy Spirit - what He likes, what He doesn't like; and learning to relate to Him, and work with Him, and walk with Him?
How are we going to find out what the Holy Spirit likes, and doesn't like?
Trial and error; but a lot of it's through experience, and so you have to begin to work with Him. The Bible helps, it tells us things He likes, and things He doesn't like.
You could decide to do a search: I'm going to find what God likes, and what He doesn't like. The things He likes, I'm going to start to put them into practice in my life, more and more and more.
Things He doesn't like: I'm going to try and be aware of it. I'll ask the Holy Spirit: help me be aware every time I grieve you or hurt you, by my thoughts or attitudes or actions or words. I'll put it right real quick.
What a great thing, if we were to start doing that, and become sensitive to the Holy Spirit; because if we're not led and filled by the Holy Spirit, then you're just struggling in your own effort, and that's where the struggles of life come. That's where we lose the rest.
It doesn't matter what church you're in; personally, we've got to learn: what pleases God, what He likes and what He doesn't like.
Without faith, you cannot please Him. We have to consciously continue to exercise faith.
Ephesians 5:17 – “Don't be vague, thoughtless, or foolish; but understand and grasp what the will of the Lord is”.
Don't be a vague Christian; I don't know what God's up to. I don't know. It says: don't be vague, and don't be thoughtless; don't be foolish. What does it matter, He said, but rather understand what the will of the Lord is.
So it's a process, and we've got to walk through that process, so here's a few things that you could start.
1) Make Him Welcome. He loves to be welcomed.
Talk to the Holy Spirit: I welcome you; Thank You for Your presence; I just love You. Please come into my life today, afresh. Empower me today, afresh.
Make Him welcome, talk to Him. He's within you, and as you talk to Him, make Him welcome: I just invite You to help me. It's a simple thing to do: make Him welcome.
You know when you're made welcome, and when you're not. When you're welcome, you're very pleased; and when you're not welcome (or ignored), it's quite painful.
There's a book that Benny Hinn wrote: “Good Morning Holy Spirit”. Rise up: good morning Holy Spirit! Another great day of victory!
Rather than: oh no, it's time to get up again. That's what a lot of people do.
Holy Ghost, You're here! It's a great day! It's a great day. We're going to have a great day together, as you talk with me, and we fellowship together. Today is another great day in God! Talk to Him every day. Go: “oh Holy Ghost, come, come around my life”.
I walk down the road, and I go down the path, praying for about hour every morning, just walking there - and I met someone coming back. They said: “Whoa! Presence of God's all over you!” I said: “yeah, I'm praying, I'm carrying on...” I did carry on. I knew this person, they got quite touched.
2) Childlike trust.
You don't have to be smart to be a Christian. You can be wise; but God wants us to trust Him.
Matthew 18:3 - “If you want to enter the things of the kingdom, you have to be converted, and become as a child” (or develop child-like trust).
Hebrew’s 11:6 – “Without trust, without faith, how do you please God?”