Tapin To The Holy Spirit # 2 Series

Tap Inn to the Holy Spirit by Gerald Van Horn

# 2 of 5

Tap In #2.

Introduction: We now continue our series on the Holy Spirit.

We call to remembrance in part # 1 facts about the Holy Spirit.

* How he chooses people for ministry assignments.

* How he is the communicator and reveals the deep things of God to us.

* How he is co-equal to God the Father and God the Son.

It is the Holy Spirit that brings a fresh touch in our lives daily. We must be filled daily. Otherwise, our lives become stale, stagnant and sluggish.

When God’s Spirit Moves :

1. The Word comes alive. It is fun to look through grandfathers Bible and see the passages he marked.

Spiritual illumination often happens when we read the Bible. How does this happen? It is the teaching ministry of the Holy Spirit. Believers should have a hunger to hear, read, study and understand more of God’s Word. When a person has little interest in the Word, or when Scripture seems dull and tedious that is a sure sign that there is something seriously out of sync.

I know it’s possible to gather large numbers of people together on Sunday without a strong emphasis on the Word of God. In fact, many people are content without hearing Bible preaching and exposition. But when we wonder away from the Word thinking we can live without it hour after hour, day after day, week after week, we cease to grow spiritually and open ourselves to spiritual deception.

“Like newborn babies, crave pure spiritual milk, so that by it you may grow up in your salvation.” 1 Peter 2:2.

Remember what it was like when you first got saved? All you wanted to do

was read the Bible. There was a huge hunger for it.

This is where the Holy Spirit comes in. When we have a fresh touch from Him daily, He continues to give us the hunger we need to stay close to the

Word.

How the Holy Spirit is a Divine Teacher for a Divine Book. Who better to

teach God’s Word than the person who wrote the book? The Holy Spirit

is the teacher.

I remember when I was in college and taking the course, “Person & Work of

The Holy Spirit”. It was the most difficult class I had ever taken. I would

record the lecturers. I would take massive notes. I would study every evening. When it came time for the final exam, I would stay up all night

studying for the exam. I would listen to the tapes. I would go over my notes. To my surprise, none of the questions on the test were from the notes.

This was just how the teacher did things. Then, the next semester, I learned. I would ask the Holy Spirit to give me insight to the questions on the test. It was only then that I made a “C” on the test. What?

There are countless examples of Jesus saying something and the disciples

completely missing the point. They just didn’t get it. In fact, one of them

argued saying, “No, you won’t go to the cross”. But Jesus promised that when He died, another teacher would come and help them to properly digest spiritual truth.

“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” John 16:12-14 When God’s Spirit moves, the Word comes alive.

2. There are signs and symbols of renewal.

Have you ever felt dried and run down from your Christian life? When this happens a lot of us just keep plugging away to the point of spiritual exhaustion. Some folks give up and play the hypocrite, pretending to be something they aren’t. But there is a remedy to dry periods of our life. Peter called it “refreshing times”. Part of understanding how to have a “refreshing time” is to understand how the Bible uses a number of symbols to make the work of the Holy Spirit understandable to us. They are water,

wind, dove, oil and fire.

I love water. Where there is no water, there is no life. People die during droughts. In the same manner, we also die, spiritually, during droughts. Have you ever been in a desert? There is nothing there. No trees. No plants. No flowers. No life! Why? Because there is no water. In fact, if you ever get lost in a desert, you simply need to scan the horizon for something that looks green. Then begin to walk towards the green. It always means one thing, there is water!