o Good morning. For those who are new here welcome to Calvary
o o The church is not a place to come to but a place to belong to
o Were in a series called what we believe
o What it is Christians believe about God the Father, Jesus the Son, and the Holy Spirit
o Over the next several weeks were going to look at the Holy Spirit
o o A few years ago I had the privilege to speak to my extended family at my dad’s funeral
o At the time I had not lived in Windsor for thirty years
o I had not given much thought to how big the extended family was
o I really had almost forgot that I have 35 first cousins
o At the funeral message there were about 100 people in the room
o It was a serious message
o My nephew said why does Uncle Randy always go for the jugular
o But I believe it was suitable for the occasion
o More importantly I sensed the Holy Spirit calling me to give a straight forward salvation message
o Just a story about why I believed my dad was now in heaven
o Now I had never given a message to my entire family
o When you give the family that type of message your attacked
o I was attacked by a tremendous darkness (forces of wickedness)
o I felt incompetent and fearful to deliver such a message
o It would have been easier to give a message on love and kindness
o That message would not have been a lie because my dad was a kind and loving man
o What if I had not correctly heard the Holy Spirit that night?
o I started out by telling them about the late faith of my dad who at 72 turned his heart to Christ
o Once I started speaking the fear was lifted, words flowed off the page, and hearts were changed that evening for all eternity
o I felt unusual liberty
o At the conclusion I clearly showed them from Romans how believing in Jesus would give eternal life
o As the message’s conclusion my cousin beckoned me to come to the glass door and have a look outside
o Peggy pointed to the most spectacular double rainbow I have ever seen
o It was a sign and confirmation of God speaking through his word and nature
o That night my niece and her husband Sheri and Dennis gave their hearts to Jesus
o What if I had not been led by the Holy Spirit to deliver that message?
o I may have never known the joy of seeing their lives transformed and hearing their testimonies
o Sheri and Dennis had lost it all
o This was their second marriage
o Their children, 12 and 10, were in foster care
o The bank had repossessed their home
o They were alcoholics
o They were cocaine drug addicts
o They were gamblers
o Their marriage was finished
o Recently I sent an email to Sheri asking her how they were doing spiritually
o Here is how she responded
o It only gets better. 2007 was a very blessed year for my family and I.
o We continue to grow stronger and stronger in our faith.
o We don’t worry too much about what will happen next, we know it’s in God’s loving hands.
o We know he will provide. We know because he promised. He always comes through, gets us through. He has a plan, we just follow.
o We just had dinner with Pastor Glenn and Wendy and asked them if we could start another Bible Study
o God is very addictive once you get to know him, and we’re just not getting enough.
o The kids are doing wonderful. Michelle graduated college with honors and is working as a medical office assistant for Dr. Yee on Walker Rd. Not yet a Christian, but loves that I am and Jacob, her son, and I pray to Jesus every night he’s here.
o My grandson spends a lot of time here and our favorite time is when he goes to bed and we pray. He’s so awesome. He’s 3.75 years old and loves Jesus!
o Sami is growing up! She’s 15 going on 35. She was smoking, but through prayer, has not smoked now for 30 days. Praise God! Her faith gets stronger all the time. It’s so wonderful.
o Denis and I are more in love than ever. He’s my best friend and I his. It just gets better and better. Sometimes he needs a tune up, but, for the most part, he’s pretty darn awesome.
o God bless and keep you. Sheri.
o I believe in the Holy Spirit
o I have no doubt that the Holy Spirit was moving that day and specifically directed me to that message
o My purpose this morning is to begin to address the question ‘Who is the Holy Spirit?’
1. First the Holy Spirit is God
a) The Holy Spirit was active at creation. We read in Genesis 1:2 “that the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.
o The Holy Spirit was active at creation. The Holy Spirit was concerned with the chaos, and by co-partnering with the Father and Son brought the world and cosmos into place
b) The Holy Spirit was active in creating mankind. We read in Genesis 1:26 “Then God said ‘Let us make man in our image, in our likeness, and let them rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air, over the livestock, over all the earth, and over all the creatures that move along the ground."
o When the Bible says ‘let us make man’ theologians say that the divine council of God the Father, God the Son, and the Holy Spirit together decided to make man in the image of God
c) The Bible itself calls the Holy Spirit God
o Among the other things that Jesus told the disciples to do just before his ascension was “Therefore go and make disciples in all the nations, baptizing them into the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:19).”
o There are two things we can glean from that verse
o First Jesus sets the Holy Spirit at the same position as God the Father and Son
o Secondly Jesus says the Holy Spirit has the same authority and glory as God the Father
o Another example of the Bible’s confirmation is the book of Acts
o There we have the story of Ananias and Saphira
o They were Jews in the early Jerusalem church
o They sold property and brought a tithe to the Apostles for the work of the ministry
o But they lied to them
o They told them they were giving 100% where by inference they were giving 10%
o The percentage was not the issue; the issue was the lie
o The Apostle Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, rebuked them
o He said ‘why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit, and to keep back part of the price. You have not lied to men but to God (Acts 5:4).’
o You can see that Peter uses the terms Holy Spirit and God interchangeably
o They died instantly because the Holy Spirit was grieved
o That is because dishonesty, greed, and covetousness are destructive in the church, preventing the Holy Spirit from doing His work
o From these passages I have come to understand that the Holy Spirit is part of the divine trinity, equal with God the Father and Jesus
2. Second the Holy Spirit is a person
o Now the person sitting next to you is a person
o If you perceive him or her as a force I have some news for you
o They are not a force
o They are a person
o They are a person and not an it
o They think
o They speak
o They act
o You can insult him
o You can lie to him
o You cannot insult the chair they are sitting on
o The Holy Spirit is a person
o Isaiah 63:10 is the account of the Holy Spirit grieved at the people of Israel because of their rebellious hearts “Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.”
o That is a sobering passage
o Imagine having the Holy Spirit becoming an enemy, being grieved at our lifestyle and faith community
o To quench the Spirit is to extinguish, stifle, restrain, or stop His work in our lives.”
o We have a similar situation in the New Testament. The Apostle Paul is addressing the church at Ephesus and he is very upset at their behavior. In fact I would be correct to say he thought their behavior stunk.
o What is it that bothered him so deeply? It was the immature ungodly way they treated one another. He wrote “Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.”
o Why was he so upset? Because nothing destroys the church faster than Christians who speak about one another in derogatory terms, put downs, and negative speech. But the next verse gives the point I want to make. The verse says ‘And do not grieve the Holy Spirit.” Paul was saying the Holy Spirit is grieved when we put down one another and do not build one another up in the faith
o Since the Holy Spirit grieves he is a person
o He is God within you
o He will be with you always with you to the end of the Age
o He is a person just like Jesus but never went to the cross
o He was sent by the Father to be your number one helper
o I talk to the Holy Spirit
o I thank Him often
o The Holy Spirit also groans for us when we do not know how to pray?
o What does that mean? It means when we are weak and struggling, which is most of the time for many, the Holy Spirit takes up our cause. The Holy Spirit is a person who is grieved inwardly by our struggles and takes up our cause through prayer
o Paul wrote “And in the same way --by our faith --the Holy Spirit helps us with our daily problems and in our praying. For we don’t even know what we should pray for nor how to pray as we should, but the Holy Spirit prays for us with such feeling that it cannot be expressed in words (Romans 8:26).”
o Weekly I cry out to the Holy Spirit for renewal and to take up our cause
o Every week before I preach I anoint my head with oil and ask for the Spirits power
o I stand and pray over the pulpit area
o I stand and pray over the worship leader area
o I go down every row and pray over it
o We pray down the directory by name for each person and child
o We ask the Holy Spirit and you to partner with us in our prayers
3. Jesus sent the Holy Spirit
o Jesus knew the apostles and us would need supernatural help
o That is why he said “But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you (John 16:7)
o I want you to picture yourself as one of Jesus early disciples or followers
o You saw the many miracles he did
o Now you have some hope
o Your thinking we could be free from the Roman government
o Our oppressors have taken our taxes and land for too long
o Imagine instead of multiplying fishes and bread Jesus multiplied weapons
o We could take these Romans out
o And then Jesus drops a bombshell on you
o He says ‘it will be better for you if I go away’
o And your thinking really
o Is this some kind of cruel joke
o I mean first Jesus asks me to follow him the rest of his life
o And now he says he is leaving, and its for my own good
o Now my mother was very stern
o She would give me that look
o And then she would say ‘this is going to be for your own good’
o Then she would say ‘this is going to hurt me more than it is going to hurt you’
o I had a hard time believing that one
o So you can imagine the disciples thoughts when Jesus said ‘it is for your own good that I am leaving’
o I am sure they doubted it.
o But it was true
o Jesus knew they lived in the era of the flesh
o Jesus knew when He departed they would live in the era of the Spirit
o I have often thought it would have been great to live in Jesus day
o It would be great to see all those miracles
o But Jesus would say to Calvary you have a greater advantage than the apostles
o In fact the potential is much greater
o It is the same Holy Spirit who brings life to people
o It is the same Holy Spirit that created man in the image of God
o It is the same Holy Spirit who conquers your fears
o In the last week I was physically sick and at a low point in my ministry
o I needed to hear from the Holy Spirit
o I walked down to the local Christian bookstore
o The first sentence of the book I read was ‘it is time to be strong and of great courage’
o The Holy Spirits desire is not to just fill us with oxygen
o Man is a spiritual being with spiritual life
o In John seven Jesus said “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. For the Scriptures declare that rivers of living water shall flow from the inmost being of anyone who believes in me (John 7:37-38."
o Do you want rivers of living water to flow from our church, from your life?
o We could take any example but lets take the area of being a participant on a worship team
o Is it possible to be a talented musician without being Spirit filled?
o Yes, but when the Spirit fills and leads a person the work takes on a whole new dimension
o now in the Old Testament the Holy Spirit came to selected individuals, usually the leader, for a selected period of time
o but Moses said ‘I wish that God’s spirit would be poured out on all people’
o The prophet Joel prophesied the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people without regard to race or gender
o That happened at the beginning of the church
o In Acts 2 we read they were ‘all filled with the Spirit’
o They cried out ‘what must we do to be saved?
o The Bible says they went from a few to 3,000 in one day
o Now that is church growth
o Now when Jesus was with the disciples he was physically with them but outside them
o While on earth Jesus was limited – only one place at one time
o But when the Holy Spirit came on the people we have a different model
o The Holy Spirit is present and active all over the world (Psalm 139:7-10)
o When we are Holy Spirit led and Holy Spirit filled we become a new community, Christ’s community
o That is the power of the Holy Spirit
o That is the power we need in our church
o Now I will be the first one to admit there are some whacky things going on in the name of the Holy Spirit
o But Christianity and this church is going nowhere without the filling and direction of the Holy Spirit
4. The Holy Spirit performs divine activities
o It is the Holy Spirit who regenerates us and renews a persons heart
o It is the Holy Spirit that draws us away from Satan and towards God
o I was talking to Sam this week and I said to him a common question pastors get asked when they candidate at a church is ‘how many people did you lead to the Lord?’
o How many were saved through your ministry
o I always feel awkward when that question gets asked, even though the people do not mean harm by it
o But the correct answer is none
o Becoming a Christian is a work of the Holy Spirit
o Listen to Jesus words (John 3:6-8 TLB). “
o I recall my good friend Dr. Gary Inrig, a 1960 graduate of Dallas Theological seminary
o While a Dallas student the professor gave them this assignment
o He said grab a partner and go to the streets of Dallas and share the four spiritual laws with a complete stranger
o For those of you who are new the four laws are four truths needed to get to heaven, written out on a tract
o They are: 1. God loves you. 2. Man is sinful and separated from God. 3. Jesus Christ is the only provision for mans sins 4. We must individually receive Jesus as savior and Lord
o One person was to pray while the other shared with a complete stranger
o As Gary’s partner Bill started to share with the stranger Gary began to grit his teeth in embarrassment
o Bill couldn’t get the 4 laws straight
o He had the order wrong
o Then Bill said to the stranger, ‘would you like to receive Jesus as your personal savior?
o The stranger said I sure would
o Gary said my eyes almost popped out of my head
o Only the Holy Spirit can regenerate a person
5. The Holy Spirit is in you
o Have you ever wondered if Christ is in us or the Holy Spirit
o The Apostle Paul uses the term ‘Christ in you Col 1:27’
o When the Holy Spirit enters our lives He lives the life of Christ in and through us
o His role is to lead us to us to Christ and for us to become like Christ
o He role and desire is for us to exalt Christ
o His desire is for us to live a Christ centred life not a Spirit centred life
o Jesus Christ voluntarily embraced the cross
o The Son therefore leads us to the Father
o In a similar vein the Holy Spirit leads us to the Son
o Every person of the godhead serves each other
o So the Holy Spirit is within us the moment we are born again
o But we need his empowerment in our lives
o We need to ask Him to do what we cannot do
o His desire is to strengthen us
o He wants us to come to Him often
o The Bible says the early church were filled with the Spirit
o They became irrevocably committed to God, living a Christ centred life
o The same Holy Spirit wants to see this happen again
o Yes in your life, in your home, in this church, in this area, in this day
o His desire is to transform our hearts into hearts that he can use to change hearts one life at a time
o In Ezekiel 18:30-31 God calls the nation of Israel to turn from their ways and live
o The Spirit work is to call us to replace our prideful and hard hearts
o It will mean all of us on our knees
o Praying Lord please soften my heart, change my attitudes
o Lord make my heart break for the things of God
o Saying Holy Spirit lead us
o I don’t know about you
o But I am really not interested in going through the motions and being a Sunday Christian, a Sunday pastor
o Oh God please clothe me and empower this church with your Spirit
o Empower us from on high
o Other people is all I can take with me to heaven
o Oh Holy Spirit I want to know You more
o I believe these next weeks are going to be defining moments for us
o Because our church and lives will never be the same if we yield our lives totally to the Holy Spirit
Conclusion
David Yonggi Cho, founder and senior pastor of Yoido Full Gospel Church in Seoul, South Korea with over 600,000 members said ‘God allowed some suffering in his life, which he described as a thorn in the flesh. It was so that Paul might sense his weakness and depend wholly upon the Lord. From this we can learn that we should always seek first the guidance of the Holy Spirit and have an obedient and broken spirit that can be led by Him as easily as sheep are led by a shepherd. Only then can the gospel be preached – in partnership with the Holy Spirit. If we try to do so without Him, we will sadden the heart of God, and oppose His plan and providence to save the world. This partnership with the Holy Spirit is indispensable to the church.
