The Spirit who is not a ghost:
Reading: chapter
Ill:
• In the first column rank each person in order of importance to society.
• In the second column rank each person in order of their importance to God.
• One, two, three etc.
• Doctor
• Soldier
• Criminal
• Policeman
• Tramp
• Waitress
• Teacher
• Bank Manager
• Nurse
• Engineer
• We will come back to this diagram in a bit!
• In some Churches the Holy Spirit is never mentioned.
• Ill: Trinity of Father, Son and Holy Bible!
• In other churches he is made the centre of attention.
• Ill: You can be made to feel second class Christian if you don't conform.
• Both extremes in my view are wrong
• As Christians we need a balanced understanding of the Holy Spirit.
Ill:
Pendulum.
(A). Quick overview of the Holy Sprit:
(1). The Holy Spirit is a person.
Quote:
• Life has been described as the seven ages of man:
• They are ‘Spills, drills, thrills, bills, ills, pills, wills’.
Remember the Holy Spirit is not human!
• But he is a person!
• He is not to be talked about or understood to be just a force or influence?
• As we scan through the Bible;
• We can see at least three proofs that the Holy Spirit a person:
(1). THE HOLY SPIRIT IS REFERRED TO AS A PERSON.
• He is always called a HE and never an IT!
• Quite deliberately Jesus described him to the disciples as a person (“He” & “Him”).
• And Jesus explained in John chapters 14 to 16;
• That he would do things that only a human could do.
e.g.
• Comfort them.
(2). THE HOLY SPIRIT HAS THE CHARACTERISTICS OF A PERSON.
• He has qualities that a force or an influence can never have.
• I have chosen just twelve examples.
Ill:
• He has a mind (Romans 8:27),
• He has a will (1 Corinthians 12:11),
• He speaks (Acts 8:29),
• He teaches (John 14:26),
• He convicts (John 16:8),
• He encourages (Acts 9:31),
• He guides (John 16:13),
• He has power (Romans 15:13),
• He creates and gives life (Job 33:4),
• He sanctifies (Romans 15:16),
• He indwells Christians (1 Corinthians 6:19),
• He can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30).
• Can yow show me a force that can be grieved?
• Can you show me as force that can speak?
• Can you show me a force that has a mind and a will of its own!
• Of course not! These are characteristics of a person!
(3). THE HOLY SPIRIT WOULD REPLACE JESUS TO THE DISCIPLES.
• i.e. The Holy Spirit would do for the disciples;
• What Jesus a real person, made of flesh & blood had been doing for them!
Ill:
Human body.
• Replace my arm for a metal artificial substitute.
• You could do the same with my leg or even my eyes!
• But you could not replace my brain!
• Because that is the key to my very life source!
In a similar way:
• When Jesus left his disciples on earth;
• They had lost their very source of life (there was no point anymore in carrying on).
• Jesus did not promise the disciples great leaders to follow him;
• He did not promise the disciples great experiences.
What he did promise was another helper (person) like himself:
• This one who replaced Jesus on planet earth (Holy Spirit);
• Was so real that these 11 men had never been as effective or as powerful for God!
(2). The Holy Spirit is God.
As Christians we believe in the doctrine of the ‘Trinity’.
• The word trinity is not mentioned in the Bible, but it is a very good descriptive word.
• The word is a Latin word meaning ‘three’:
Quote: Athanasian Creed:
“So the Father is God; the Son is God; and the Holy Spirit is God.
And yet there are not three Gods, but one God…….”
Ill:
• 1+1+1=3
• Or 1x1x1=1
• An Egg is made up of three separate parts, shell, white & yoke;
• Three distinct elements that put together form one egg.
• Water can be in three different forms, liquid, ice (solid), steam (gas);
• Three forms yet they are one substance H20.
• Space is composed of length, breadth and height.
• Time consists of past, present, future.
• Matter is energy, motion and phenomenon.
• Human being: body, spirit & soul.
From cover to cover:
• Both God the Holy Spirit & God the Son:
• Are said to do exactly what only God the Father can or has done!
• Which if the trinity is not true will leave you with a Bible full of contradictions.
• For example (list of references afterwards if you want it.
• The Holy Spirit is omnipresent;
• Psalm 139:7 “Where can I go from your Spirit?”
• The Holy Spirit is omniscient (know everything):
• 1 Corinthians 2:10 “The Spirit searches all things”.
• The Holy Spirit is eternal:
• Hebrews 9:14 “Who through the eternal Spirit”.
• The Holy Spirit created us:
• Job 33:4 “The Spirit of God has made me”.
• The Holy Spirit raised Christ from the dead:
• 1 Peter 3:18 “Jesus was put to death in the body but made alive by the Spirit”.
• The Holy Spirit gives eternal life:
• The Holy Spirit – Galatians 6:8 “From the Spirit will reap eternal life”.
• The Holy Spirit gave the Law:
• 2 Peter 1:21 “…but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit”.
• The Holy Spirit lives in the Christian:
• John 14:16-17 “Another counsellor to be with you forever- the Spirit of truth”.
• The Holy Spirit is truth:
• John 14:17 “The Spirit of truth”.
• The Holy Spirit strengthens, comforts and sanctifies us:
• Ephesians 3:16, John 14:26, Romans 15:16.
(3). The Holy Spirit is described using symbolism:
• The Bible pictures the Holy Spirit in at least 6 different ways;
• He is described in symbolic terms to help us understand specific truth.
• Water (John chapter 4 verse 14)
• Oil (Hebrews chapter 1 verse 9).
• Wind (John chapter 3 verse 1-9).
• Fire (Acts chapter 2 & Isaiah chapter 4 verse 4).
• Dove (Matthew chapter 3 verse 22).
• Seal (Ephesians chapter 1 verse 14).
Each word picture portrays an aspect of the work or character of the Holy Spirit.
Ill:
Body Needs Water
• The body needs about three quarts of water a day to operate efficiently.
• It helps break up and soften food.
• The blood, which is 90 percent H2O carries nutrients to the cells.
• As a cooling agent, water regulates our temperature through perspiration.
• And without its lubricating properties,
• Our joints and muscles would grind and creak like unused parts of some old rusty machinery.
What H20 (water) does for us physically; the Holy Spirit can do for us spiritually.
• We need him daily to operate efficiently.
• He helps break up and soften our spiritual food (Bible).
• Like a cooling agent, he regulates our temperature;
• Keeping us holy as he works in us and through us!
• And without his lubricating properties,
• Our lives and our Church participation would grind to a halt..
• Each of the six word pictures;
• Portrays an aspect of the work or character of the Holy Spirit.
(4). The Holy Spirit has descriptive names:
ill:
• Names are so revealing.
• ‘Jesus – saviour!’
• ‘Ichobod – Glory of the Lord has departed’
• ‘Maher-shalal-hash-baz – Quick to the spoil, swift to the plunder’
The names of the Holy Spirit are also insightful:
• 13 mentioned in the New Testament;
• The Spirit of God (1 Corinthians chapter 3 verse 16).
• The Spirit of Christ (Romans chapter 8 verse 9).
• The eternal Spirit (Hebrews chapter 9 verse 14).
• The Spirit of truth (John chapter 16 verse 13).
• The Spirit of grace (Hebrews chapter 10 verse 29).
• The Spirit of glory (1 Peter chapter 4 verse 14).
• The Spirit of life (Romans chapter 8 verse 2).
• The Spirit of wisdom and revelation (Ephesians chapter 1 verse 17).
• The comforter (John 14 verse 26).
• The Spirit of promise (Acts chapter 1 verse 4-5).
• The Spirit of adoption (Romans chapter 8 verse 15).
• The Spirit of holiness (Romans chapter 1 verse 4).
• The Spirit of faith (2 Corinthians chapter 4 verse 13).
As with the symbolic pictures:
• Each of the 13 names mentioned;
• Portrays an aspect of the work or character of the Holy Spirit.
Ill:
Now the word translated in our English Bibles as 'Comforter' or 'Counsellor':
• Is the Greek word 'Paraclete' not Parakete (that's a bird!).
• It is a word made up of two Greek terms:
(1). FIRST GREEK TERM USED IS THE TERM 'PARA', WHICH MEANS 'ALONGSIDE'.
• ill: If I stand by this OHP, I am 'Para' the OHP.
• ill: Para-chute or Parallel lines or parallel bars.
(2). 2ND GREEK TERM USED IS 'KALEO', WHICH MEANS 'TO CALL'.
• ill: Call you out the front.
• I would have 'Kaleo' you, I would have called you out.
Combined those two terms make up the word:
• 'Par-a-kle-tos' and mean, to call alongside'
• And called alongside for a definite purpose.
The 'Called alongside one' in John 14 is the Holy Spirit:
• Who lives within every Christian,
• He is the one given to helps us,
ill:
As when you take food into your body.
• You don't feel it working, you may feel indigestion, but that's different!
• You don't feel it working, being turned into energy,
• Making you stronger,
• But regardless of feelings, it is!!!
When (or if) you asked Jesus Christ into your life:
• You might not have felt or noticed any different,
• But he is there, in the person of the Holy Spirit.
• And he's there to strengthen you,
• And make you spiritually stronger.
Now every Christian has the Holy Spirit!
• When you became a Christian, As Jesus into your life etc,
• Weather you realised it or not, the Holy Spirit took up residence in your life.
Ill:
The word Ghost is the Anglo Saxon word for Guest.
• In fact the Bible says in Romans chapter 8 verse 9, talking about the Holy Spirit:
• "If anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ".
• Again in places like: 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verses 12-13, Chapter 6 verse 19.
• "Our bodies are a temple and that the Holy Spirit lives in us".
With that in mind remember this, NO-one gets more of the Holy Spirit than anyone else:
Ill:
Diagram from earlier on
• A doctor who becomes a Christian, gets no-more than a tramp who gets converted.
• An adult gets no-more than a child who gets converted.
• You get exactly the same amount of the Holy Spirit as....
• Billy Graham, Graham Kendrick any Christian you can think of!
• It is never a question of how much of the spirit do you have,
• But how much has he got of you (Come back to that in a minute).
Ill:
• Same amount of time each day as President George Bush or Prime Minister Tony Blair.
• It is a question of how you use it, are you wise or unwise?
Sometimes we misunderstand things:
• Quote D.L. Moody:
• "Why do I need to be filled with the Holy Spirit?" His answer: "Because I leak"
• That's a humorous quote but it is wrong;
• We are not like car tyres that get punctured, the Holy Spirit is not air.
Ill:
• Glass of water and ask the question; How full are you?
• The answer is the same for every Christian, we can all say 100%
Ill:
The truest illustration I can think of is a house:
• The Holy Spirit is living in the house,
• But we have the say where he can and cannot go.
• Are there certain rooms we will not allow him to enter, we lock the door,
• You can come into the front room and the kitchen but not the bedroom!
The reason some people are more spiritual than others:
• Is not that they have more of the Holy Spirit,
• But he has more of them, allowed to influence all over their houses.
(5). the Holy Spirits works in us:
(A). TO MAKE US HOLY.
• Today in our songs and what we hear the emphasises tends to be on power or gifts.
• But the number one job of the Holy Spirit is to make us holy!
Ill:
• Holiness preacher;
• “I don’t have to open the book, it’s there on the cover!”
Quote: Ravenhill:
"The greatest miracle that God can do today, is to take an unholy man, out of an unholy world, make him holy, then put him back in an unholy world and keep him holy".
Note:
• Ephesians chapter 5 verses 15-17:
• We are given three more things worth noting.
(1). THE PRINCIPLES OF LIFE (VS 15).
Be very careful, then, how you live--not as unwise but as wise,
• The way we live,
• Needs to be controlled b y the Holy Spirit.
• We need not just common sense,
• But spiritual common sense!
Ill:
The Holy Spirit will be like a referee at a football match:
• Blows the whistle at a foul,
• Challenge our consciences regarding sin!
(2). IN USE OF TIME (VS 16).
“Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”.
16”These are evil times, so make every minute count”.
Ill:
• Nicolo Paganini (1782-1840) the great Italian violinist,
• Willed his fine instrument to his home city of Genoa.
• His bequest carried one condition.
• The violin was never to be played; it would simply be placed on display.
• But that’s not good for a finely crafted stringed instrument.
• It needs to be used and handled regularly if its beauty and value are to be retained.
• As a result of Paganini’s request,
• His marvellous violin has become nothing more than a decaying form.
• It has wasted away as a museum piece.
• Don’t let your left waste away for God!
(3). IN KNOWING GODS WILL (VS 17).
“Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord's will is.”
• Read the whole chapter,
• Verse 10: Talks about pleasing the Lord.
• In fact in verse 17 there are two commands:
• “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Ill:
• A drunk person walking or speaking is out of control.
• They have slurred speech, cannot walk in a straight line etc.
It is a question of control:
• What is influencing us in life?
• The Christian is commanded to "Be filled with the Spirit".
Note 3 things from the Greek:
(a).
• The command is plural,
• So it applies to all Christians and not just to a select few.
(b).
• The verb is in the present tense—“keep on being filled”
• So it is an experience we should enjoy constantly and not just on special occasions.
(c).
• The verb is passive.
• We do not fill ourselves but permit the Spirit to fill us.
Notice:
• The verb “fill” has nothing to do with contents or quantity,
• We are not empty vessels that need a required amount of spiritual fuel to keep going.
• In the Bible, filled means “controlled by.”
• Ill: Luke 4:28,Acts 13:45,
• To be “filled with the Spirit”
• Means to be constantly controlled by the Spirit in our mind, emotions, and will.
Ill:
• After joining the Navy,
• The new recruit asked his officer for a pass so he could attend a wedding.
• The officer gave him the pass,
• But informed the young man he would have to be back by 7 p.m. Sunday.
• “You don’t understand, sir,” said the recruit. “I’m in the wedding.”
• “No, you don’t understand,” the officer shot back. “You’re in the Navy!”
Question: But how can a person tell whether or not he is filled with the Spirit?
Answer: There are three evidences of the fullness of the Spirit:
The Christian is joyful (verse 19),
“Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord”,
The Christian is thankful (verse 20),
“Always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”
The Christian is submissive (verses 21-33).
“Submit to one another out of reverence for Christ……….”
Quote: D.L. Moody:
“I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.”
