I Believe In The Holy Spirit Series

1 Corinthians 12:1-11 “I Believe In The Holy Spirit”

INTRODUCTION

The Holy Spirit is probably the least known and understood person of the Trinity. We know that God the Father created all things. In our creeds we say that God is all-knowing, all-powerful, and is present everywhere. We know about God the Son, Jesus the Christ, too. We know that Jesus took on our form and became one of us. We believe that he suffered, died, and rose again for our sins and for new life. We are a little fuzzy, though, on the Holy Spirit and the role that the Spirit plays in our lives.

The Holy Spirit is one of the core beliefs of the Christian faith. Just as it is important to understand the activity of God the Father and Jesus Christ the Son, so also it is important to understand what the Holy Spirit does and how the Holy Spirit moves in our lives. The Christians at Corinth were struggling to understand the gift of the Holy Spirit, too, and Paul writes his letter to them, in part, to answer some of their questions and concerns.

GOD’S PRESENCE

When Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure, he comforts them with the assurance that he will not leave them alone or destitute. He will send them the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us.

Jesus appears to his disciples after his resurrection. The disciples are overcome with grief and confusion. He breathes upon them the Holy Spirit and gives them peace—the peace that passes understanding. The Holy Spirit’s presence in the lives of the disciples enabled them to deal with their grief, comforted them in their sorrows, and convinced them that they had not been deserted, but rather that they were in God’s hands.

Realizing that we are in God’s hands and that God is in control of our lives and our world, when we face the trials and tribulations of life, is the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

The courage that we sense when we decide we will be obedient to the leading of the Holy Spirit and take the step of face that we are being encouraged to take is the work of the Holy Spirit.

We know that we have God’s Spirit and that God is with us because we have been given the Holy Spirit at our baptism, or when we came to faith in Christ.

GOD’S POWER

The Holy Spirit is not only God’s presence in our lives; the Spirit also empowers us for service. This is the point of Paul’s words in his letter to the Corinthians. The Holy Spirit empowers people to serve God by given them gifts and talents with which to serve God. The Holy Spirit then uses those gifts to touch the lives of people.

On the Day of Pentecost—the birth of the Church—the Holy Spirit moved and touched the lives of over 3,000 people.

The Holy Spirit moved in the lives of the early Christians and spread the kingdom of God to the far corners of the world.

Certainly as we look at Desert Streams we see the Holy Spirit at work. This congregation is more than a slick advertising campaigns, and fancy worship services. People’s lives have been touched and changed by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has begun to gather a body of believers together for the purpose of being a bold witness to God’s love and grace to the people of Surprise.

Each and every one of is here because of the power and work of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

GOD’S PERFECTOR

Day by day the Holy Spirit is changing us into the image of God. We are not a perfect people and we never will be until we see Jesus face to face. We will always struggle with the fact that we are both sinners and saints. Still, the Holy Spirit is moving in our lives and changing us into the image of God.

It is a commonly known truth that we become like the people with whom we associate. This is why parents are so concerned about their children’s friends. Those of us who have been married for any length of time realize that we have taken on some of the characteristics of our spouse. As we associate with God and the Spirit of God dwells within us we begin to take on the characteristics of God.

We bear the fruit of the Spirit, which can only be produced by the Spirit.

The Spirit convicts of sin, convinces us of our savior, and gives us the ability to turn away from our sin.

The Holy Spirit helps us see the lies of the world and the truth of God’s Word and to live in that reality.