Helps In Times Of Weakness!

SERMON OUTLINE:

(1). The Involvement of the Spirit. (vs 26a)

(2). The Intercession of the Spirit (vs 26b).

(3). The Intelligence of the Spirit (vs 27a)

SERMON BODY:

The Holy Spirit is the Spirit who is not a ghost:

• Old translations of the Bible call him the Holy Ghost rather than the Holy Spirit.

• That is because the word ghost is an old Anglo-Saxon word for guest.

• And the Holy Spirit is the invited guest into the life of the believer.

• i.e. He is not a lodger with his own key who let’s himself in and out,

• He is a permanent guest who indwells every believer,

• He comes to enlighten to strengthen and to empower us.

Ill:

• A four-year-old boy and his mum went to visit a friend.

• The friend was pregnant with her first child,

• And she allowed the little boy to place his hand on her belly and feel the baby kick.

• His little face scrunched, and he said, “How does the baby get out of there?”

• Well, she wanted to keep it simple so she said, “The doctor will help.”

• The little boys’ eyes widened in amazement as he replied,

• “What! You’ve got a doctor in there, too?”

• TRANSITION:

• Every true believer at the moment of conversion receives the Holy Spirit.

• So important is that truth, that the apostle Paul put it this way.

• In the same chapter (Romans chapter 8 verse 9):

• "Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him."

• So, if you are a Christian, then you have the Holy Spirit.

With that in mind remember this,

• No-one gets more of the Holy Spirit than anyone else.

• e.g. Billy Graham, Rick Warren, John Piper, Matt Redman, Keith Getty.

• e.g. John Newton, Amy Carmichael, Gladys Ayleward. David Livingstone.

• No-one gets more of the Holy Spirit than anyone else.

• He is a person not a force or an influence, therefore we get all of him or none of him,

• Question: Does he get all of us?

• Answer: by way of an illustration.

Ill:

• We have some visitors from Czechoslovakia coming to our home for a meal.

• When they arrive, we will say something like,

“Come in and make yourself at home.

Take a seat, if you need the bathroom, it is there, what would you like to drink etc.”

• Now although we said, Come in and make yourself at home.”

• We all know that we did not mean that.

• If they were to say, “Great, do you mind if I see the garden?”

• We would say, “Of course.”

• There are certain parts of the house they are welcome to explore,

• But there are certain parts of the house they are not,

• i.e. Our bedroom or our daughter’s bedroom – that is out of bounds!

• TRANSITION: Every Christian gets all of the Holy Spirit.

• Because he is a person not a force.

• But if we are honest the Holy Spirit doesn’t get all of us.

• We keep him out of rooms/areas of our lives and therefore limit his influence,

• Maybe some of these /great’ Christians allowed him a greater freedom in their lives.

Note: In our reading and in the chapter, the word ‘groaning’ comes up.

• Pause to ask the question: What do we mean by the word, ‘groaning’?

• Answer: We use the word, ‘groaning’ in a variety of ways.

• e.g. #1: In daily life,

• Every morning, I groan when I wake up and pull the blanket over my head.

• (old joke, every day I wake up grumpy – then once SHE is awake, we go downstairs).

• e.g. #2: Groaning is linked to the word moaning,

• "The congregation were moaning and groaning about the preacher."

• (Joke: but of course, not this morning!)

• e.g. #3: We have friends called Phil & Jane, when you go to their house for a meal,

• The table groans with the amount of food they place upon it.

• Or we might say, "families are groaning under mortgage increases."

• In these cases, groaning signifies a weight, or a pressure.

• TRANSTION: Groaning can be…

• A sound we make conveying pain, despair, pleasure, etc.

• A feeling or experience in life when we are under pressures/or weighed down.

Ill:

• Did you know that Jesus “groaned in his spirit”?

• The Greek word for “groaned in the spirit” (embrimaomai),

• Is used three times in connection with Jesus.

• (Matthew 9:30; Mark 1:43; 14:5; & John 11:38).

• John chapter 11 verse 38 is when Jesus stood at the tomb of his close friend Lazarus.