Experiencing The Holy Spirit

I invite you to turn to Acts 2 as we return back to our study in Acts after some time away. This morning, I want to speak to you about “Experiencing on the Holy Spirit.” To begin 2018, we are going to focus on the Holy Spirit.

Yet, many of us think of God the Father and we speak of Jesus Christ but little is said of the Holy Spirit. One pastor referred to this as thinking of our gall bladder. I am really now sure what my gall bladder does, but I am so glad it working properly. Or, think of your pituitary gland. Most of us are not sure what this glad does and we do not stop to think if our pituitary gland is working properly, but we know it is essential. Just as we neglect to think about our pituitary glands so we think of the Holy Spirit.

Life demands an energy from you that is not IN you. We call this “burn out.” In order to truly navigate all that life throws at you, you need a power not from within you but from the outside. This is why you need the outside power of the Holy Spirit.

1. He’s Better than Jesus

The Spirit promises to do so much in the lives of the believer. Let me show you something of the magnitude of this gift: “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you” (John 16:7). “The Helper” is another name for the Holy Spirit. Circle the word “advantage” here in your Bibles. It was to the Disciples “advantage” that Jesus go away. Did you hear what Jesus said? Pause and consider this for a moment. How many believers would like to be alive when Jesus was walking on water, healing the sick, and raising the dead? Have you ever been tempted to think, “My faith would be so much stronger if I only I were there to see Jesus in person.” When Jesus is around, the Disciples had His power near them to raise the dead, heal the sick, and walk on water. Yet, Jesus tells the Twelve Disciples it was to their “advantage” that He go away because the Helper will come. Given the immense power and abilities of Jesus, the Helper must be a substantial gift to Jesus’ followers. Can you imagine how unbelievable this sounded to the Twelve?

Having the Holy Spirit is better than if Jesus were alive and walking the earth today. In athletic competition, we often talk about “home field” advantage. But, the Holy Spirit is better than the “home field” advantage. Again, He is the outside power you need. We could say it this way: Having the Spirit in you is better than having Jesus beside you.

The Father loved you so much that He gave you two great gifts: the Son for you and the Spirit to you.

2. He’s as Real as Jesus

Keep your bookmark in Acts 2 and we’ll be there in just a moment.

2.1 The Holy Spirit is not a Force

The Holy Spirit is not a force or a thing. Many of you know this but I need to remind all of us. The Holy Spirit is a Person with all the characteristics of God the Father and God the Son. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit has intelligence (1 Corinthians 2:10-11), He has feelings (Ephesians 4:30), and a will (1 Corinthians 12:11). Intelligence, feelings, and a will are qualities you see in a person, not in a force. So we should never refer to the Holy Spirit as a force. We should never refer to the Spirit as “it,” we should follow the Bible’s lead by speaking of the Holy Spirit using personal pronouns such as “He” just as Jesus does (John 14:26). An example of this in India might be equating the Spirit with Shakti, or what is the Divine Energy of Hinduism. Or even the Force in the popular movies of the Star Wars series. This is a mistake for the Spirit of God is much more than a force.

Jesus tells us something encouraging about the Spirit when He says: “And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever…” (John 14:16). Here the word is Paraclete which means Comforter, Counselor, Helper, Supporter, Adviser, Ally, and Advocate. Listen again to Jesus speak of the Paraclete: “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me” (John 15:26).