The majority of Christians are extremely curious in regard to the Holy Spirit. We have heard accounts of people supposedly getting the Spirit. The vast majority of us over the years have received some vague teaching in regard to Him. However, if we were really honest we would have to admit that along with the curiosity there is a sense of discomfort whenever the subject is approached. Have you ever wondered why the subject of the Holy Spirit has the ability to cause such mixed emotions? Could it be that those awkward feelings are because we just don’t really understand Him? So far in this series we have seen that the Holy Spirit can do some pretty incredible things. In fact, you are probably wondering what the Holy Spirit could do in your life. Today, we want to get past the misinformation and fear that keeps us from really getting up close and personal with the Holy Spirit. Let me assure you that if you get closer to the Spirit, you won’t all of sudden get weird and start coming to worship with slithery reptiles. But you will begin to experience your spiritual life going to levels that you never imagined possible. Today, as we continue this journey of discovery, we will make a giant step toward getting closer to the Holy Spirit.
I. Intentionally moving beyond our fears.
A. There are many fears that people experience that keep them from getting closer to the Holy Spirit.
1. There are those who fear that they will be misunderstood or even mislabeled.
2. There are those who fear they will misunderstand the Scriptures and start believing the wrong things.
3. There are those who believe that a close relationship with the Holy Spirit is only for a select few.
4. There those who believe that the Holy Spirit really takes you to the edge and so they are afraid that they may make the wrong move and plummet over the edge.
5. There are those who have heard the horror stories of those who with limited understanding ventured into this uncharted territory and became a fanatic.
B. We need to put our fears and preconceived ideas aside as we draw closer to the Holy Spirit.
1. It is a lot more comfortable just to plant ourselves where we are and not venture toward discovering deeper truths.
2. The Holy Spirit wants to take us deeper and introduce us to a new dimension of the spiritual life.
3. God has made life to be an adventure not an exercise in maintaining the status quo and never taking a risk.
4. Are you ready to go deeper than ever before?
II. A closer examination of the Holy Spirit.
A. Understanding exactly what it means to filled with the Spirit. (Ephesians 5)
1. Paul opens Ephesians 5 by encouraging His readers to live a life that glorifies God by leaving their worldly life styles behind.
2. Paul provides us with quite an extensive list of behaviors that should not exist in the life of the believer.
a. Verse 3: Sexual immorality and greed.
b. Verse 4: Indecent or obscene language.
c. Verse 11: Worldly beliefs and behaviors.
d. Verse 18: Drunkenness.
3. In contrast to these behaviors Paul shows that the believer should live filled with the Spirit.
4. Those who are filled with the Spirit will find that their life has been enhanced with power, love and self control.
5. The Spirit enables us to live with wisdom and to be able to understand God’s will which is to live in the manner Paul has described here in Ephesians 5.
B. The Holy Spirit provides us with knowledge and discernment. (Acts 6)
1. As Luke begins chapter 6 the apostles are instructing that seven men be chosen to meet a need within the church.
2. These men are to be men who are known to have wisdom and are filled with Holy Spirit.
3. Stephen was one of those men chosen and he would go on to have an amazing ministry.
4. In verse ten we see that the Spirit gave Stephen such wisdom that no one could refute any of Stephen’s arguments.
5. When they heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” (Acts 7:54-56—NIV)
C. Understanding exactly what the anointing of the Spirit is. (1 John 2)
1. In verse twenty John shows that the anointing of the Spirit enables the believer to be able to discern between what is true and what is not.
2. God gives His Spirit to each believer to enable them to know the truth about Jesus Christ and to be able to live the life to which He has called us.
3. A word of caution needs to be issued here. John is not saying that the Spirit enables us to know all the truth that there is to know. The Spirit gives us enough knowledge to be able to stand firm in our faith.
4. The act of anointing in the Bible means to apply something to something else for a particular purpose.
a. So in this case it would refer to God giving His Spirit to take up permanent residence in the life of the believer.
b. This also leads you to believe that the anointing of the Spirit only happens once and that is when someone accepts Jesus Christ as their personal Savior.
5. The Spirit provides the believer with the knowledge to live the Christian life. The word used for knowledge is ginosko which means to know by experience.
III. Clearing up some questions from the journey so far.
A. Does the Holy Spirit truly provide us with guidance?
1. As we have seen in the different texts the Holy Spirit is a constant source of empowerment and spiritual guidance.
2. This is perhaps the reason behind Paul’s words to the Thessalonians.
3. Do not put out the Spirit’s fire. (1 Thessalonians 5:19—NIV)
4. Some behaviors and attitudes hinder the activity of the Spirit and does not let the Spirit to truly guide the individual.
B. To what degree does the Holy Spirit provide us with discernment?
1. The truth is that no one can know or do God’s will without the Holy Spirit.
2. Discernment assumes two things. God reveals His will and the believer is seeking God’s will.
3. In short, discernment is calling upon the Holy Spirit to lead or to provide direction.
4. The main key to discernment is total surrender to the will of God.
5. 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 knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Ephesians 3:16-19—NIV)
C. Does the Holy Spirit provide us with insight and courage?
1. As we saw from Stephen’s example the Holy Spirit does provide us with the courage to stand firm in our faith.
2. The Spirit has the ability to give us the confidence and ability to do things we never thought possible.
3. Do not let this Book of the Law depart from your mouth; meditate on it day and night, so that you may be careful to do everything written in it. Then you will be prosperous and successful. Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be terrified; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go.” (Joshua 1:8-9—NIV)
IV. A few precautions to take as we continue to move forward in this journey.
A. Remember that balance is always preferred to extremes.
1. There is danger of taking any teaching too far; there is always a need to remain reasonable.
2. Remember God has never intended for the Holy Spirit to be a circus side show.
B. Remember that anointing means you have knowledge.
1. Remember the fact God has given us His Spirit to guide and comfort us.
2. The Spirit is not like a genie in a lamp.
3. The Holy Spirit enables us to apply Biblical teaching to our everyday lives.
C. Do not let fear keep you from getting up close and personal with the Spirit.
1. There are so many dimensions to the Spirit’s work in our lives that are still to be discovered.
2. Don’t let fear keep you from this Great Adventure.
The story is told of an elderly woman named Norena, who lived in southern Florida. When a hurricane hit that area, her home was one of many that was severely damaged. Norena received an insurance settlement, and the repair work began. However, when the money ran out, so did the contractor, leaving an unfinished home with no electricity. Norena lived in her dark, unfinished home - without power - for fifteen (15) years. The astonishing part of this story is that the hurricane was not Katrina but Andrew - a hurricane which struck in 1992. She had no heat in her home when the winter chills settled over southern Florida. She had no air conditioning when the mercury climbed into the 90’s and the humidity clung to 100 percent. She did not have one hot shower. Without money to finish the repairs, Norena just got by with a small lamp and a single burner.
Her neighbors did not seem to notice the absence of power in her home. Acting on a tip, one day, the mayor of the Miami-Dade area got involved. It only took a few hours of work by electrical contractor, Kent Crook, to return power to Norena’s house. CBS News reported that Norena planned to let the water get really hot, and then take her first "bubble bath" in a decade and a half. "It’s hard to describe having [the electricity]...to switch on," Norena told reporters, "It’s overwhelming."
