THE SPIRIT WITHIN
Romans 8:26, 27
Our text bring to life the blessed effects of the Holy Spirit. I’m sure that many of you have heard and I can truly say that I have not only heard, but I’ve also preached on the blessing of being filled with the Holy Spirit. This week I will share another one of those blessings that the Holy Spirit brings with Him. That blessing is that when we cannot find the proper words to say to the Lord, the Holy Spirit will intercede and say them for us. It is like a businessman who from time to time would have to write a report to the chairman of the board of his corporation. He would write the letter and would give it to his secretary and she would read it then type it for him on the company letterhead. To his approval she would correct grammatical mistakes and misspellings, then she would send the letter off to his superiors. After doing this many times, he received a commendation for his good and timely reports that helped improve their business. Now, he knew deep in his heart that he had commented on a few things and suggested another, but he really didn’t feel that he deserved such accolades. So he went back to the reports that he hand wrote and compared them with the ones his secretary typed and discovered that his secretary had typed not what he said but what he really meant and with the award that he received he gave it to her with and award of her own. This story shows us just what the Holy Spirit does for us. We would pray our prayers to the Lord in our hearts being not sure of what to pray for, the Holy Spirit would intercede and say it for us.
I ask, how many of you ever felt like praying, but you did not know what to pray for or how to say the proper words to the Lord for the situation? If you are here today this sermon is for you, and to the rest catalog this sermon in your heart because the day will come when you will need it.
My brothers and sisters there are many privileges that we the Christians enjoy. We enjoy the mercy and grace of our Lord which frees us from the grip of sin. We enjoy salvation which is the crest of His mercy and grace. We are filled with His Spirit that keeps us from returning to our sinful nature and in this lesson we will study another one of those privileges. The privilege or the blessing in which we will study today is the blessing of having the Holy Spirit assisting us in the things that we should pray for. Now I hear you thinking that you do not have that problem and that is good for you, but as for myself and many other Christians from time to time I just don’t know nor can I find the words to say to the Lord concerning certain situations in my life, especially those things which are close to my heart.
So, lets get into this lesson that we might be able to understand how the Holy Spirit within us works to intercede for us.
First of all we must understand that. . .
1. THE SPIRIT WILL HELP US DURING OUR WEAKEST MOMENT (v. 26a)
“Likewise, the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities;”
The N. I. V. says “In the same way the Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.”
Possibly one of the most discouraging things that the Lord hears from His people is that they did it their way. I don’t know if Frank Sinatra or Joe Frazier ever had an experience with the Lord and they can sing such a song, but as for the church we cannot sing a song like that because we really know that we are where we are not because we did it our way but because we did it God’s way.
But when the Christians start saying that they achieved certain status on their own merit, it gives reason for the Lord to be discouraged simply because it was the Spirit that made all the right decisions, the Spirit that opened the door of opportunity and most importantly it was the Spirit that touched the hearts of the people who put you there in the first place. Here in the text it is letting us know that it was and is the Spirit that helps us during our infirmities. Now to look up the word infirmities it speaks of our frailness. And the Spirit helps us during our frail, feeble and our weakest time. One of the things we do not understand is that we are weak and cannot do anything by ourselves. It is the same way with a seated president. Let me give you an example; we the American people put so much stock in the presidential elections and it is my opinion that we should. But we should put just as much energy in our state and local elections as well. The reason is that it is at the local and state elections levels were we put people in that can help us or hurt us, such as the case in California with same sex marriages. We all know that the seated president is against this kind of legislation, but he is even powerless in this case because he cannot overturn it. So the president needs senators, congresspersons, governors and city council members to all agree with him on such issues. He cannot do it without their help. Likewise on the spiritual level there is nothing that we can do without the help of the Spirit. From speaking the truth to knowing the difference we need the help of the Spirit. So the Spirit helps us through this maze called life and He even leads us through it.
Secondly, the reason He helps us is because. . .
2. AT CERTAIN TIMES WE DO NOT KNOW WHAT TO PRAY FOR (v.26)
“Likewise, the Spirit also helps our infirmity; for we know not what we should pray for as we ought; but the Spirit Himself makes intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.”
The other thing we do not know is that we do not know what to pray for because we do not know the will of God is for our lives. We have no problem knowing our own will but, when it comes to knowing the will of God we have trouble and the less we read and study God’s Word the less we know about His will. So, to know His will calls for us to have within us the Spirit of God. I told some of you about the time I was working for the Department of Commerce during the time when “downsizing” was the buzz word of the day on Capitol Hill. The powers to be decided to shut down the whole Office of the Secretary Publication Branch. While some were taking the buy out and others were not sure what they were going to do, I decided to put my destiny into the Lord’s hand. I petitioned the Lord that He would allow me to continue working without a break in service, and in saying that I went on a cruise. When I returned I didn’t find anything in the mailbox and I was concerned because I have given my problem to the Lord and a week later it appeared that nothing had happened. The weekend passed and it was now Monday, Memorial Day and I had no job and no where to go that Tuesday morning when Cheryl and other government employees were returning to work. But you do know that the Lord was on the job don’t you? Because the family and I were preparing to leave the house to go to my mother-in-law’s house for a cookout, when the telephone rang and low and behold it was the Director Personnel calling to inform me that I could report for work on the next day, but I would be making less money then I was. Now as I was looking the answer to my prayer square in the eyes, I had to determine whether I wanted to accept the job or reject it because of the salary. Now I can recall asking the Lord for a job, but it was the Spirit that made intercession for me. Back to my problem I could have rejected the offer or accept it and I chose to accept it. The reason was because I asked the Lord to keep me working and He did just that, whether it was with the same salary or not and I do believe the Spirit interceded for me. You see I knew to give it to the Lord and He would do the rest and as I think about it, I never had a hungry day, we didn’t have to move out of our home, we made every car payment, we had food on our table and most importantly we continued to give God His tithe from our salaries even when it looked like we could not afford to do so. You see the Spirit knows what we should pray for even before we know ourselves.
Finally, the Spirit in us. . .
1. PLEADS OUR CASE BEFORE THE LORD (v.27)
“And He that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because He maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.”
As we look at this text, we should note that not all the time we can put to words the things we need to say to the Lord. It might be because of the pain from surgery, the overwhelming of family situations, or the guilt of sin. Either one of these things can cause you to be speechless before God. It is when your heart is so full that you cannot fine the words to say to the Lord about your present situation or condition. But I have good news for you. The groans and the moans that we sometime do is heard by the Spirit, the Spirit then interprets these moans and groans because He understands the heart and its language and He would proceed to make intercession for us according to the Father’s will. That alone should cause you to rejoice. Because enjoying this privilege is not determined by your family name, how much money you have, nor what position you may hold in the church. It is determined by your relationship with God. It is God’s will that assures us that our needs are met. That is why we find in Philippians 4:17 that God will supply our every need, it is His promise and His will for us. Then 1 John 5:14 tells us “And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He will hear us;”
CONCLUSION
You see we must realize that the Spirit plead our case to the Lord over and over again. The more you go through troubled times the more the Spirit will intercede for you. The more He intercede for you the more your needs are met. There are time when you would know what you would like to say to the Lord, because your heart is heavy and tears stream down your face and the prayer you are praying in the midst of your tears does not make sense. But I say to you don’t worry about what you sound like, because the Spirit knows what you are saying and He is telling the Lord all about your troubles. To the Spirit you are actually saying;
Father, I stretch, my hands to thee.
No other help I know.
If thou withdraw thyself from me,
O’ whither shall I go?
