An Introduction To The Holy Spirit, And How He Works In And Through Us.

“Please join me in my prayer.” Let the words of my mouth, and the meditation of our hearts, be acceptable in your sight, O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen. (Ps. 19:14).

Introduction:

You will have notice that I finished that prayer with the words, “O Lord, our strength, and our redeemer. Amen” … because it is a pretty standard ending … but I could have finished the prayer with the more common ending, “in nominee patris, et filii et spiritus sancti“ … “In the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit” because we are all familiar with that ending and those relationships … one God, three in one …

• God the Father, to whom Jesus constantly referred),

• God the Son, (our Lord Jesus Christ), and

• God the Holy Spirit … (well that last relationship is confusing).

We all know Jesus, or we try our best to know him, after all, the Christian religion is all about the living resurrected Jesus Christ, who once walked amongst us.

And God the father, is also quite well understood. He is studied and worshipped all throughout the Old Testament; and we have all studied God the father at some point.

But God the Holy Spirit, well that’s a different story, as “he” is more difficult to conceptualize and relate … as the bible tells us that he, (or maybe “she”), is a person … in fact, many people refer to the Holy Spirit simply as “it”, and not a gendered entity which is even more difficult to relate, however I will use the term ”he” for this sermon … for simplicities sake, as in the bible … but we simply don’t know for sure … and so straight away, we are in confusion.

And then we then ask, how can a spirit be a person? … Some people think of the Holy Spirit as a force, or as an energy, and we all have your own definition which we try to relate … but again, it is difficult.

Does the bible then help us to define him more clearly? Well not really, the bible refers to him at times as the Holy Ghost, where the word “Ghost”, (as in scary woo), adds another level of confusion; and that’s not to mention the impersonal symbols … such as the wind, and fire, and oil, and of course, the dove. … We all therefore struggle, and so we have not come very far in this exposition of the Holy Spirit, and we are at loggerheads with each other.

The Holy Spirit, the “Comforter” or “Advocate” or “Councillor”.

Now, in our Gospel reading this morning, Jesus knew that his disciples, were about to feel lost and abandoned … and so he says or introduces something very strange to re-assured them … that they would continue to experience the presence of the divine; … a presence not with Him … but with (or through), the presence of the “Comforter” or “Advocate” or “Councillor”, the Holy Spirit, depending on which interpretation of the bible you are reading, but basically Jesus is saying that this comforter, this Holy Spirit, is his replacement; … a replacement that can only work through him, (or though those who have accepted Jesus as their lord).

And so, the subject of the Holy Spirit is very difficult concept to understand and teach, even to fellow Christians; … not to mention the rest of the world and its many faiths. … And I will give you an example of that. … How many songs do you know about the Holy Spirit? … I will make it easier; how many times have you heard the Holy Spirit mentioned in a song? … There are some, but not many, … ok, I will try something else … how many times have you heard the Lord’s name taken in vain … I mean, how many times have you heard, “God this, and God that”, and that is before we get home from a church service … and equally, how many times have you heard the name of Jesus taken in vain? … A lot I am sure, in fact we are almost immune to it, (I didn’t say that we liked it), but in today’s modern society, we try our best to switch off from it … but tell me … … how many times, have you heard the Holy Spirits name taken in vain?

Taking the Holy Spirits name in vain is a completely different proposition, we just don’t … not by us, and not by non-Christians alike … because we know instinctively, something deep down tells us that we won’t get very far with that one. … I am saying this to prove the power and awe … associate with the Holy Spirit, and the respect we show him. … In fact, I am preaching a sermon today on the Holy Spirit and I am worried about what I say here; I am not comfortable with this topic, and neither are most preachers … because there is a respect and majesty and reverence and an unknown given to the Holy Spirit that we do not question … nor do we cross, and we certainly don’t challenge or upset or provoke him. … He is so powerful, and we somehow know that.