Powerful Presence- God the Spirit
John 14:15-26
For the past three weeks, we’ve been looking at the doctrine of the Trinity, one the beliefs which makes Christianity unique from every other religion in the world. First, we looked at the unity of the Trinity. There is one God consisting of three distinct persons, not one person wearing three different hats. These three persons are all equally God. We focused on God the Father who gives tough, covenantal love, providing rules and laws to follow and thus boundaries for our lives. Then, we focused on the grace of Jesus Christ in whom God’s love was made manifest as he died on the cross for our sins so that we might be re-united in relationship to God. Today, we’re going to look at the third part of the Trinity which is often the most overlooked and least understood part, the Holy Spirit. Most of us when we focus on God do so through either through God, the Father or Jesus. Very few of us focus on the Holy Spirit. Who is the Holy Spirit and what does the Spirit do?
The Holy Spirit is God’s presence with us. The Spirit has always been present. We see the Spirit of God active in creation. In Genesis 1:2 “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.” The Old Testament uses the word “ruah” which means wind or breath. We again see the breath of God active in Genesis 2:7 when the Lord God formed the man from the dust of the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living being. The Spirit is that which gave us life but after Jesus’ resurrection gives us life in Jesus Christ. The purpose of the Holy Spirit is connecting us to experience the fullness of a relationship with God. How?
The Holy Spirit calls us to relationship with God. Jesus said, "No man can come to me, except the father which has sent me draw him:..." John 6:44 In Wesleyan terms, we call this prevenient grace. Prevenient Grace is the moving of the Holy Spirit in a person’s life before he/she accepts Christ as their Savior. It is the Spirit helping us see and claim our sinfulness, and showing us our need of Christ. The Spirit is not coercive but rather woos and persuades us of our need for salvation. When a person gives their life to Christ, it is due to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. John Wesley says of this verse, "No man can believe in Christ, unless God….draws us first by good desires, not by compulsion, not by laying the will under any necessity; but by the strong and sweet, yet still resistible, motions of His Heavenly grace.” Thus, salvation is that experience in which we are brought back into a relationship with God. Our sins are forgiven and we are reconciled to God. We see prevenient grace in action at the beginning of the church on the day of Pentecost when 1000’s of people were gathered as the disciples began to preach. Each of them heard the Good News of Jesus, and “were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, "Brothers, what shall we do?" Acts 2:37 And they repented, were baptized and received the forgiveness and salvation that their hearts were longing for.
Second, the Holy Spirit transforms us. When a person gives their life to Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit comes to dwell within them to transform and grow them in Jesus. In Wesleyan terms, we call this sanctification which is the lifelong process of growing to be like Jesus, to live for Him and do His will in every aspect of your life. This is manifested in several ways in our lives. First is by helping our new nature in Christ win the victory over the old nature which still resides within us. (1 Cor. 1:30, 1 Thess. 4:3-4 and 2 Thess. 2:13, 1 Peter 1:2) Second is by growing our faith. Third is by giving us spiritual gifts through which we serve Him, build the kingdom of God and accomplish His will (1 Cor. 12:7). As we use these gifts and dedicate them to the Lord, our lives and our activities are become more like Jesus and are empowered by the Spirit. Fourth is by producing certain fruit within us of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). When these become real in our lives, our attitudes and behavior become more like Jesus. When we allow the Holy Spirit to fill, and guide our life, we will continue to become more like Jesus in every way. Eph. 1:13-14
Third, the Holy Spirit teaches us. In John 14:18 Jesus promised the disciples, “I will not leave you as orphans.” The Greek word (orphanous) translated “orphans” was often used to speak of students or disciples who were deprived of the presence and teaching of their beloved master or rabbi. The promise, then, is that we will never be without our divine teacher. John 14:26, “But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.” And in John 16:13 ”But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth….and he will tell you what is yet to come.” Jesus told His disciples that there were many things they could not yet understand (v. 12). The Holy Spirit, however, would reveal those things to them and guide them into all truth. The Holy Spirit guides and directs our minds to discern the deep things of God. Jesus will always be with us teaching.
Fourth, the Holy Spirit encourages us. The word paraclete which Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit is translated “Comforter”. The Greek word parakletos literally means “one called alongside to help.” That’s why other translations use the word helper. One Greek writer used the word to speak of a general putting fire and courage into dejected troops before they faced a difficult battle. It means to encourage. Life gets tough sometimes. All of us experience difficulties, temptations, crisis or tragedy. The promise of Jesus is that whenever these set in, the Holy Spirit is not just with us but is within us to console, to fill us with courage, to cheer us on, and to keep us going.
Fifth, the Holy Spirit empowers us. The Holy Spirit is power! “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." Acts 1:8 First, He empowers us to share our testimony. (V1-5) Paul experienced this in his own life. “When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God. For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling. My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power.” 1 Cor. 2:1-4 Unlikely as it may seem the apostle Paul experienced all of the same difficulties we face when it comes to sharing our faith but the Spirt empowered him to share in his faith and the Good News of Jesus Christ.
But it’s not limited to that. In speaking about his miracles from the giving of sight to the blind to the healing of the sick and lame, Jesus said, “anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things than these…” John 14:12 That very power given to Jesus by God to heal and do miracles is available to us through the Holy Spirit and the power of Jesus name.
Sixth, the Holy Spirit guides us. The Book of the Acts is often called the Book of the Holy Spirit because it is the principle actor or catalyst. It is the Spirit which guides and directs the actions of the apostles. “The Spirit said to (Peter), ’Simon, three men are looking for you so get up and go downstairs, do not hesitate to go with them for I have sent them.” Acts 10:19 Paul and Barnabas were “sent on their way by the Holy Spirit.” Acts 13:4 “When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.” Acts 16:7
And the Spirit is still guiding and directing the actions of believers today. Ian Buss tells the story of Sam who left his bible study group where his pastor was teaching on listening to God, convinced that he would listen when he felt God was speaking to him. It was at that very moment that Sam felt the compulsion to buy a gallon of milk. So he pulled over at the nearest shopette and bought a gallon of milk— though he had no need for it because he is lactose intolerant and won’t drink the milk. Perhaps God is talking to him, he thought. As he got into his car and began his trip home, Sam found himself turning onto a road that doesn’t lead to his door, in fact he was allowing himself to drive into the worst neighborhood in town, and after another turn he felt led to stop the car, right in front of a little house at the end of the street. Sam began to wonder if he was going crazy when a voice seemed to come out of thin air and said,"Sam, take the milk up to that house, and give it to the family inside, my people have need of it." Sam thought,"This is crazy! I’m going out of my mind!" Yet the urge to do as the voice requested was very strong, so up to the door Sam went. Just as Sam was about to knock, the door to the house opened to reveal a startled young man. Who are you? He asked. "Hi, I know this is going to sound ridiculous, but I think God wanted me to give you this milk." Sam hesitantly said. To which the young man replied," That is not at all ridiculous, my wife and I were just praying for food for our baby, we ran out of milk two days ago, and God said he would provide." Sam gave the milk to the young man and drove away praising God for the direction of the Holy Spirit and for listening to God’s prompting.
Have any of you ever had that intuitive feeling that you were supposed to do something? That’s the Spirit and you need to begin to listen to that voice. There are people all around you that God wants to work through you to accomplish his purpose and be the answer to someone’s prayer around you. Learn to listen to the promptings of the Spirit and trust them because God has something for you to do right now. The Holy Spirit is God’s personal guide in your life.
The Spirit is the presence of God for us to transform us, teach us, encourage us, empower us and guide us in following Jesus so that we become like Jesus in every aspect of our lives. This is the abundant life God wants for us. I am so tired of seeing Christian people live like spiritual paupers. Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and have it abundantly.” You know how many Christians I see, living lives of mediocrity? Through the Spirit, all of the resources of God are available to you. All of the abundance of God is available to you through the Spirit who lives in you. This is not only God’s desire but it was also Paul’s prayer for us. Listen: “I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses know-ledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” Eph. 3:16-19
How do we get the Spirit? There’s a lot of confusion out there in the Christian world. Some people believe when you accept Jesus, you experience power in your life. Others believe you are baptized in the faith but then you have to be baptized in the Holy Spirit. But in reality, you receive Jesus, you have the Spirit. 1 Corinthians says, “For by one Spirit we were ALL baptized into one body.” Jesus gives the Spirit. Every person who asks Jesus to enter their life in any way, it doesn’t matter what words you use, has the Holy Spirit. But having the Holy Spirit is not the same as being guided and empowered by the Holy Spirit. The book of Acts uses the word “filled”. Throughout, you’ll read, “Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit” What is the difference in just having the Spirit and being filled with the Spirit?
Every one of us battles two natures. It’s called the flesh and the spirit. Jesus said, “What is born of the flesh is flesh and what is born of the Spirit is Spirit.” Whatever part of you you feed, will be the strongest. So many of us, every week have the Spirit, but we are not feeding the spirit, we are feeding the flesh. How do you do that? Read the Bible. Pray to God. Service others sacrificially. Tithe. Share your faith. In other words do the things of Jesus. That’s how you to feed your spirit so you can experience the abundance of God. If you are not doing these things this each week then you’ll be feeding the body not the spirit. You’ll be serving your mission and not God’s mission! You’ll be feeding the flesh and not the Spirit. You’ll never know the abundance of God and live in spiritual poverty. Whatever nature you feed becomes the strongest.
We are not going to leave here without making sure people have the opportunity to be filled with the Spirit. First, I want to invite you to come to the altar and pray with me. There are two reasons you need to come. One is that you have never accepted Jesus into you life or you are not sure if you have. That’s how you receive the Spirit. Simply by saying, “Jesus here I am. I don’t understand everything, but I understand who I am and what you offer me. Today, I gibe you all of me. I want all of You.” That’s all you need to do. You don’t have to understand it, you only have to submit to it.
Second, for those of us who have the Spirit, but right now aren’t being controlled and empowered by the Spirit - we are being empowered and controlled by the flesh. We want to, again, say Spirit of the living Lord, fall afresh on me. I want you all to stand pray with me, “Jesus, I thank You for dying for my sins, for forgiving me. I need You and I invite You to invade my life, to take the place of absolute authority. From this day on, regardless of my faithfulness or failure, I am Yours.” And for all of us, “Spirit of the living God, fall afresh on me. Melt me, mold me, fill me, use me.” Amen.
