-so yesterday we took a little while talking about dirt. Today we’re going to talk about air.
-now, since you can’t see or touch air like you can dirt, I’m going to use this [LIGHT SCENTED CANDLE]. You’ll see why soon.
-but for air we’ve decided to talk about the Someone in particular. The Greek word for wind is pneuma, which is also the word they use to translate spirit. Many times when you read about the Holy Spirit in the New Testament the Greek word used there is pneuma. So for air we’re going to discuss the Holy Spirit.
-I’ll say it right now, I don’t have all the answers on describing God, so I’m going to do the best I can and show you where I got what I’m saying from. After that, all I can do is let you make up your own mind, hopefully being informed a little.
-but I think part of the reason we feel like that is we don’t have the distinctiveness like with Jesus and God. Jesus was a Person at a place. God did this. The Holy Spirit we see a lot as Something floating. He’s not as physical as the other two.
-and we’re Methodists. Methodists in general do not talk a lot about the Holy Spirit. We like God best, look to Jesus now and again but rarely ever talk about the Holy Spirit. Liz had someone in her Sunday School class who had a page in their Bible in which they put a check every time the pastors or class mentioned God, Jesus or The Holy Spirit. God won, Jesus close second, Holy Spirit was something like twice.
-which was kind of a shock for me because the church I grew up in everything was the Holy Spirit. If it rained it was the Holy Spirit, if you said something inspiring to me it was because the Holy Spirit inspired you to. You didn’t breathe unless the Holy Spirit allowed you to.
-so let’s talk about:
1. HIS BIG ARRIVAL
-the Holy Spirit is evident throughout the Bible, all the time we hear about Him. He was there at the beginning:
**Gen. 1:1-2 -> 1In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2The earth was formless and empty, and darkness covered the deep waters. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the surface of the waters. (NLT)
-so God’s Holy Spirit has always been there. Always been here. But I want us to skip ahead a little. Jesus promises the Holy Spirit a the Last Supper and in the garden. Then, Jesus dies and has been resurrected, He has spent the last few days teaching before He goes up to heaven. Right before He ascends, the last thing Jesus says, He tells the disciples this:
**Luke 24:49 -> 49 “And now I will send the Holy Spirit, just as my Father promised. But stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” (NLT)
-so Jesus says the Holy Spirit is coming and the disciple must wait in Jerusalem until He shows up.
**Acts 2:1-4 -> 1Seven weeks had gone by since Jesus’ death and resurrection, and the Day of Pentecost had now arrived. As the believers met together that day, 2suddenly there was a sound like the roaring of a mighty windstorm in the skies above them and it filled the house where they were meeting. 3Then, what looked like flames or tongues of fire appeared and settled on their heads. 4And everyone present was filled with the Holy Spirit and began speaking in languages they didn’t know, for the Holy Spirit gave them this ability. (LB)
-at this point al sorts of people walk by and hear the disciples and others speaking in their own native language even though they have never been there. They ask what’s going on and Peter, the guy who denied Jesus three times, walks them through all of Jewish history, from Moses to Jesus and explains to them how Jesus was the Son of God and died and rose for their sins.
**Acts. 2:37-41 -> 37These words of Peter’s moved them deeply, and they said to him and to the other apostles, “Brothers, what should we do?” 38And Peter replied, “Each one of you must turn from sin, return to God, and be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; then you also shall receive this gift, the Holy Spirit. 39For Christ promised Him to each one of you who has been called by the Lord our God, and to your children and even to those in distant lands!” 40Then Peter preached a long sermon, telling about Jesus and strongly urging all his listeners to save themselves from the evils of their nation. 41And those who believed Peter were baptized—about three thousand in all! (LB)
-and for the next two thousand years from that point the Holy Spirit has been at work in the lives of every believer and follower of Christ. But who is He? What’s He like? What does He do?
2. WHO HE IS
-so let’s see what we know about the Holy Spirit.
HE IS GOD
-time to get a little confusing. The Holy Spirit is a part of the Trinity, the Three that are One God. God the Father, God the Son and God the Spirit all One.
-although the word Trinity is not in the Bible, we do have verses that point to that.
**II Cor. 13:14 -> 14May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. (NLT)
-in this prayer Paul refers to all the members of the Trinity. But we know they all work together, as Jesus said when He told us to go out and make disciples, doing what?
**Matt. 28:19 -> 19Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit. (NLT)
-Paul emphasizes all Three, all Three are One God. The Holy Spirit is God just as the Father is and just as the Son is.
HE HAS EMOTION
-just like God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit is emotional. He is happy when you do great things for God, He is hurt when you hurt yourself or others.
**Eph. 4:30-32 -> 30And do not make the Holy Spirit sad. The Spirit is God’s proof that you belong to him. God gave you the Spirit to show that God will make you free when the final day comes. 31Do not be bitter or angry or mad. Never shout angrily or say things to hurt others. Never do anything evil. 32Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ. (NCV)
-we make the Holy Spirit sad by the way that we live as another translation puts it. That means He has emotion, which to me is great because that means he cares. He’s not some emotionless floating spirit, He actually cares about us and loves us. The only reason our actions can sadden the Spirit is if He cares. So then, likewise, we must be able to make Him happy too! I like the idea of making God happy.
HE HAS INTELLECT
-the Holy Spirit is Someone intelligent, He thinks. He knows what God is thinking.
**I Cor. 2:10-11 -> 10But God has shown us these things through the Spirit. The Spirit searches out all things, even the deep secrets of God. 11Who knows the thoughts that another person has? Only a person’s spirit that lives within him knows his thoughts. It is the same with God. No one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. (NCV)
-part of the mystery of the Trinity, thinking that the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God.
-but again that helps us view Him more as a Person than a floating thing. He is someone who thinks. And He knows the thoughts of God for a reason.
**I Cor. 2:12-13 -> 12Now we did not receive the spirit of the world, but we received the Spirit that is from God so that we can know all that God has given us. 13And we speak about these things, not with words taught us by human wisdom but with words taught us by the Spirit. And so we explain spiritual truths to spiritual people. (NCV)
-the Holy Spirit knows the thoughts of God so he can pass that knowledge on to us and we can in turn pass it on to others.
-but the Holy Spirit is in us to teach us.
**I John 2:27 -> 27But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (NLT)
-the Holy Spirit uses His knowledge and thinking to teach us so we can remain in Christ and live for Jesus. I like that idea, that there is Someone helping me so when we’re in a situation like this and we’re talking about something that really is hard to understand, God Himself is inside helping me understand. I really like that!
HE HAS A WILL
-the Holy Spirit is not some blind follower of God. He is One with God. He has a will and hopes and dreams for us just like God, just like Jesus.
-when talking about the gifts God gives us, which we’ll get to, the Holy Spirit decides who gets what.
**I Cor. 12:11 -> 11All these gifts have a common origin, but are handed out one by one by the one Spirit of God. He decides who gets what, and when. (MSG)
-the Holy Spirit is a part of the decision-making process of your life, did you ever think about that?
-so we know that the Holy Spirit is God, He is a Person just like you or I, just like God and Jesus. He thinks, he feels, He is.
3. WHAT HE DOES
-but more than just who He is, He does things as well.
-remember, we know a lot about people by what they do. We all have jobs and tasks. The Holy Spirit is no different. He has things to do.
HE BRINGS NEW LIFE
-we all know the verse we are a new creation in Christ. Well, how does that happen? How are we made new?
**Tit. 3:5 -> 5He saved us, not because of the righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He washed away our sins, giving us a new birth and new life through the Holy Spirit. (NLT)
-the Holy Spirit is a part of that action of making us new, a part of the forgiveness of our sins.
-we are made new by the work of the Holy Spirit.
HE BAPTIZES US TOGETHER
-not in the way that He physically pours water on us. But He is a part of the baptism process. He puts us together as many different people into the one body of Christ.
**I Cor. 12:13 -> 13Each of us is a part of the one body of Christ. Some of us are Jews, some are Gentiles, some are slaves, and some are free. But the Holy Spirit has fitted us all together into one body. We have been baptized into Christ’s body by the one Spirit, and have all been given that same Holy Spirit. (LB)
-I know you guys have heard that section from me a few times, usually before mission trips, we are all one body in Christ. Well, how are we put together as one body? Christ is the head, the Holy Spirit is the glue.
-the reason we are able to work together to do God’s Holy will is through the Holy Spirit.
HE LIVES IN US
-I know if you’ve been in Church any length of time you’ve heard the phrase that Jesus lives in our hearts. I remember being little and wondering what that means? Does Jesus have a little chair there He likes to chill in, He hit the wall whenever we get our of line?
-here’s where that comes from:
**Gal. 4:6a -> 6And because we are His children, God has sent the Spirit of His Son into our hearts. (NLT)
-this Spirit of Jesus would be the Holy Spirit (again, that whole Trinity thing).
-Jesus explained this at the Last Supper when He said if anyone loves Him, they will keep His words and then God will loves us, then Jesus says “we” will make our home with them.
-that’s part of how we show we belong to Christ, His Holy Spirit living in us.
**Ro. 8:9 -> 9But you are not controlled by your sinful nature. You are controlled by the Spirit if you have the Spirit of God living in you. (And remember that those who do not have the Spirit of Christ living in them do not belong to Him at all.) (NLT)
-if we belong to Christ, then we have the Holy Spirit living in us, His Spirit is with our spirit inside this meat box.
-which leads to:
HE SHOWS WE BELONG TO CHRIST
-the best way I can think to explain this is a holy cattle drive. For many years, and sometimes still now, there was only one way to prove that an animal belonged to you. Let’s take sheep, since the Lord is our shepherd. If you had a sheep that belonged to you, you marked it. You branded it. There was something on that sheep to identify it as yours.
-likewise, although we can’t see it, we are spiritually branded for Christ. There is something in and on our spirits that identify us as His, and that mark is the Holy Spirit.
**Eph. 1:13b -> 13When you heard the true teaching—the Good News about your salvation—you believed in Christ. And in Christ, God put His special mark of ownership on you by giving you the Holy Spirit that He had promised. (NCV)
-so when it finally comes down to that point where God asks who you belong to, who your lord is, the Holy Spirit will be with you saying, “Why, they’re yours, see? I’m here.”
HE GIVES GIFTS
-everyone here has something they are good at, some gift from God that you can use to make this world a better place and show God’s love to others. And as we talked about before, the Holy Spirit gives out those gifts.
**I Cor. 12:4-6 -> 4There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. 5There are different ways of serving, but the same Lord is served. 6There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to all for their particular service. (GNT)
-but He does more than just give the gifts-
HE EMPOWERS US
-it’s through the Holy Spirit’s power we can use these gifts for God’s glory.
-it is through the Holy Spirit’s power we can live for God.
-that’s how Paul lived:
**I Cor. 2:4b -> 4Rather than using clever and persuasive speeches, I relied only on the power of the Holy Spirit. (NLT)
-that’s why we don’t need to be scared or worried when we feel like we are supposed to do something for God. If God wants us to do it, the Holy Spirit will help us.
**I Pe. 1:12b -> 12Those who preached the Good News to you told you those things with the help of the Holy Spirit who was sent from heaven—things into which angels desire to look. (NCV)
-can you think about that for a minute? There are things that angels are waiting to see what you get to do empowered by the Holy Spirit. That’s awesome!
-after hearing that, the question is, what are you afraid of? If you have the Holy Spirit giving you power to do whatever it is God wants you to do, what do you have to be scared of? What on earth can stand in the way of the power of the Holy Spirit? The only thing you have to worry about is that you are doing what God wants you to do. Which is why the Holy Spirit also:
HE LEADS US INTO TRUTH
-He helps us know what God wants us to do because he helps us know more about who God is and grow closer to Him.
**I John 2:27 -> 27But you have received the Holy Spirit, and He lives within you, so you don’t need anyone to teach you what is true. For the Spirit teaches you everything you need to know, and what He teaches is true—it is not a lie. So just as He has taught you, remain in fellowship with Christ. (NLT)
-it is the Holy Spirit who teaches you who God is, not me, not Pastor Mike, all we can do is hope to that we are being used by the Holy Spirit in your growing process.
-but realistically, if you spend time with the Holy Spirit, if you spend time in prayer and reading your Bible, you’ll probably learn more than I could ever give you. This is just one of the ways God uses His Spirit to teach us.
-this is one of the roles of the Holy Spirit as described by Jesus:
**John 14:15-17a -> 15“If you love Me, obey Me; and I will ask the Father and He will give you another Comforter, and He will never leave you. 17He is the Holy Spirit, the Spirit who leads into all truth. (LB)
-another look at the Three parts of the Trinity.
-but there is one more role I want to make sure you know and remember:
HE MAKES US HOLY
-in all that is going on, there is only one way that we are allowed to stand before God, to talk with Him, to be His children. We have to be holy. We have to be sinless.
-I don’t know about you, but I am not perfect. I mess up. I sin. And two thousand years ago Jesus died on a cross and was willing to allow His death count for my sin. And I am eternally grateful for that. But at the same time, it hurts me to think that in my life I’m just going to pile up more and more hurt upon Him on the cross. I wish I could just stop sinning and be sinless. I can’t. I wish I could take some course that would allow me to be the pastor or teacher or worship leader I should be. I can’t. The only person I can rely on to make me holy and to help me ever grow more holy like God is the Holy Spirit.
**I Pe. 1:2a -> 2God the Father knew you and chose you long ago, and His Spirit has made you holy. As a result, you have obeyed Him and have been cleansed by the blood of Jesus Christ. (NLT)
-it is by God’s Holy Spirit that we are made holy. It is by this same Spirit we are being made more like God all the time.
-I don’t know you’re heart. I can’t see a holiness level hanging over your head. All I can do is give opportunities to help you be more like Christ, and I hope you are doing what you need to do for that to happen
-and I know the idea of the Holy Spirit can be confusing, especially since we don’t talk about Him and keep Him a secret almost. But it is the Holy Spirit who is living in you, who is working in you, He is vital to your spirit. Make sure you spend time with Him and listen for Him to lead you, listen for Him to comfort you when things are rough, and listen for Him to tell you what you need to do for Christ and empower you to do it.
-because the only way you are going to be able to do that is spending time with Him. I want you to take a second. Smell. You smell that candle? That is how the Holy Spirit works. You can’t see Him any more than you can see the smell in the air. But you know He’s there. And the longer you spend with Him, the more you are attentive to Him, the more you will notice Him and be able to tell more and more clearly what he wants for you, just like the longer you spend with this candle, the more it burns the more predominant the smell is. So spend time with the Holy Spirit, with God, with His Word, in prayer, serving, worshipping, doing all the things you can to know God and His Spirit better.
