What You Need to Know about the Holy Spirit
Chuck Sligh
Parts 2
TEXT: Acts 1:8 - “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”
INTRODUCTION
Illus. - An American was showing an English gentleman the Niagara Falls one day. The American said to his English friend, “Come over here and I’ll show you the greatest unused power in the world!” Taking him to the foot of the Niagara Falls he said, “There it is—the greatest unused power in the world.” The English gentleman watched in awe the mighty, thunderous falls for a few seconds, and then replied, “Ah, no my brother, not so! The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God.”
Last Sunday we began studying about the Holy Spirit.
1. We began by examining WHO the Holy Spirit is. We saw two things about who he is:
First, that He is a PERSON—not some impersonal force or entity.
Second, we saw that the Holy Spirit is DIVINE—that is, He is just as much God as God the Father and God the Son.
2. Then we examined WHEN the Holy Spirit came, which is found in verses 4-5 of Acts 1.
In these verses Jesus promised a “baptism with the Holy Spirit”, something that is greatly misunderstood in our day. We discovered that the baptism with the Holy Spirit is not an individual experience that a person has after his salvation, but a collective event that occurred once in history—on the day of Pentecost—when Jesus baptized ALL believers of EVERY age with the Holy Spirit at the same time. Since that day the Holy Spirit has indwelt every believer the moment he puts his faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.
Now let’s think about the WHAT the Holy Spirit DOES in our lives. The Holy Spirit is a person, but what does this person DO? Jesus promised that when He left, He would send another comforter. But why?...
What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and even non-believers?
What are His activities that affect our lives personally?
The activities of the Holy Spirit on earth can be broken down into two categories:
His activities in your life as a believer
His activities in the lives of non-believers
Let’s begin with…
I. THE ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE AS A BELIEVER - If you are a Christian, there are a number of activities of the Holy Spirit in your life.
1. The first is TO KEEP YOU ETERNALLY SAVED - Ephesians 1:13 - “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”
What does Paul mean when he says that believers were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”? A seal in New Testament times signified a finished transaction. In those days, when a business deal was completed, instead of signing their signatures, as we do today, they used a seal. A seal was a signet or a ring that made a distinctive impression in soft clay. It was applied to the clay and attached to the contract, signifying that the parties to the contract would fulfill the terms of the contract. Though they’re no longer made of clay, even today, when important legal documents are processed, they are stamped with an official seal to signify the completion of the transactions.
1.
So what Paul was saying when he said you were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise” is that when you trusted in Christ and were saved, that “closed the deal” between you and God and you entered into a permanent partnership with God that cannot be dissolved. In other words, the deal is “DONE”! The matter of your eternal salvation is finished—settled— IMPOSSIBLE to undo or reverse. God will not go back on the terms of His contract.
What was that contract? Jesus said in John 3:15 - “That whosoever believeth in him [i.e., Christ] should not perish, but have eternal life.” The contract is this—If you trust in Christ who died for your sins as your Savior, He promises He will save you for all eternity.
And God doesn’t go back on His Word! “Let God be true and every man a liar,” says Romans 3:4. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. God never changes His mind and will never cancel the contract of eternal salvation.
What this means, practically speaking, is that you can never be lost again once you have been saved! You can never “lose” your salvation. It’s settled--the transaction is done! It’s SEALED! Hallelujah! Paul put it this way, “Being CONFIDENT of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you WILL perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:” (Philippians 1:6) What a promise!—I am sealed for eternity with the Holy Spirit!
(APPLICATION TO THE LOST IF PRESENT)
But wait a minute—before you can be SEALED, you must first be SAVED. It takes two people to make a business deal. God is willing to save you if you’re willing to place your trust in Jesus Christ.
Do you realize how precarious your situation is? If you are not saved today and you lay your head down on your pillow tonight and die in your sleep, your eternal destiny is hell. There’s no security in that! But Jesus said in John 6:37 - “…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Jesus said if you come to Him, He’ll save you from sin and when He does, it will be a finished transaction that cannot be undone for all eternity.—“…him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.” Come to Him today so you NEVER have to fear God’s judgment again.
2. The second work, or ministry, of the Holy Spirit in your life if you are believer is TO TEACH AND GUIDE YOU INTO TRUTH - John 16:13 - “Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth.”
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2:14 that the Bible is “spiritually discerned,” meaning it cannot be understood without the aid of the Holy Spirit.
When a lost person reads the Bible, it’s almost meaningless to him. He can’t make heads nor tails out of it. But when you’re saved and the Holy Spirit comes to indwell you, the Bible begins to COME ALIVE for you! You begin to understand more and more of it as the Holy Spirit teaches you and guides your understanding.
Illus. - The great 19th century British preacher, Charles Spurgeon, made a wonderful analogy about the Holy Spirit’s role in leading us into God’s truth. - Listen to this…
Truth may be compared to a cave or grotto, with wondrous stalactites reaching from the roof, and others reaching from the floor, a cavern glittering with spar and abounding in marvels. Before entering the cavern you enquire for a guide, who comes with his lighted torch. He conducts you down to a considerable depth, and you find yourself in the midst of the cave. He leads you through different chambers. Here he points you to a little stream rushing from amid the rocks and indicates its rise and progress. There he points to some peculiar rock and tells you its name, then takes you into a large natural hall, tells you how many persons once feasted in it, and so on.
Truth is a grand series of caverns, it is our glory to have so great and wise a conductor as the Holy Spirit. Imagine that we are coming to the darkness of it. He is a light shining in the midst of us to guide us. And by the light he shows us wonderful things. He teaches us by suggestion, direction, and illumination. (Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
I’m glad the Holy Spirit teaches me and guides me through the wonderful labyrinths of His marvelous truth! But you know what?---No matter how much the Bible comes alive to you as a believer, no matter how much the Bible can speak to you as a Christian, and no matter how much it can help you, it is absolutely a DEAD BOOK unless you take the time to USE IT! If you are a believer here this morning, the Bible is of NO VALUE to you unless you read it and study it and memorize it and apply it in your life.
Illus. - Once a preacher was talking to a little girl…
“Do you attend Sunday School regularly?” he asked the little girl.
“Oh, yes sir.” she replied.
“And do you know your Bible?”
“Oh, yes sir.”
“Could you perhaps tell me something that is in it?”
“I can tell you EVERYTHING that is in it,” she said.
“Oh, you can?” smiled the preacher. “Well, tell me then.”
“Well, my sister’s boyfriend’s picture is in it, and one of my mom’s recipes, and a lock of my hair cut off when I was a baby is in it, and the receipt for Daddy’s watch is in it.”
Does your use of the Bible resemble that? Instead of being the source of strength and guidance for your life it ought to be, has it become a repository of odds and ends and bits and pieces of life? God help you to take advantage of one of the most important works of the Holy Spirit in your life—the ministry of teaching and guiding you into truth.
But remember—it’s GOD’S WORD the Holy Spirit will use to lead you into His truth.
So you must spend time in the Word Do you find time for God’s Word each day? If not, may I suggest that you schedule a quiet time each day, away from the hustle and bustle of life—and spend some time in God’s Word, listening as the Holy Spirit leads you into His truth.
3. A third ministry of the Holy Spirit in your life as a believer is TO DEVELOP IN YOU GODLY CHARACTER - Galatians 5:22-23 - “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance [which means “self-control”]: against such there is no law.”
These character traits found in these two verses are called in verse 22 the “fruit of the Spirit.” Fruit is the result of being attached to the root. It is what grows out of a living process. When you get saved, the Holy Spirit comes into your life and He begins a process that the theologians call “progressive sanctification.” This is just a fancy name for this ministry of the Holy Spirit—to work in your life to produce godly character in you.
Each day, unless you allow sin to frustrate this process, the Holy Spirit is seeking to make you more and more like His Son, who showed the fruit of the Spirit in His life better than anyone ever did.
And as you submit to the Holy Spirit and as He changes you and make you more like Christ, YOU begin to show in your life the fruit of the Spirit—love and joy and peace and longsuffering and gentleness and goodness and faith and meekness and self-control.
Christian, are you growing in the Lord? Are you evidencing more of the fruit of the Spirit today than you were a year ago? Are you more like Jesus today than last month? When people see you, do they see love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, self-control? If not, then you have let sin get a foothold in your life.
Illus. - Donald Grey Barnhouse tells of once having a small flowering tree in his garden. A price tag was attached to one of its branches by a tiny wire and he never bothered to take it off. As the branch grew, the wire began to cut into it. He saw that the leaves were not flourishing like those on other branches, so he removed the wire. In only a matter of days it was growing again to such an extent that the branch began flowering.
Christian, sin is like that wire. It will constrict the working of the Holy Spirit in your life. It will cause you to spiritually wither so that you cannot bear the fruit of the Spirit in your life. Don’t let sin cause you to wither on the vine spiritually. Obey God, and continue to grow more like Christ every single day!
(APPLICATION TO THE LOST IF PRESENT)
Again, you may be here as an unbeliever listening to these words. Did you know you can try to build these character traits of the fruit of the Spirit into your life---and it would be an exercise in futility? Here’s why: because no one can develop all these traits in his own strength. The HOLY SPIRIT must be present to do the changing in your life, and the Holy Spirit does not come into your life until you are saved. You see, it’s not we who change ourselves on the outside, but the Holy Spirit who changes us from the inside.
Have you ever wanted to change, but found yourself failing time after time? Have you ever determined to “turn over a new leaf” or to “reform”, but in only a matter of time found yourself back into the things you tried to turn away from?
The only way to God and victory is NOT through reformation, but through transformation—as the Holy Spirit comes into your life and changes you. 2 Corinthians 5:17 says, “Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become NEW.” Isn’t it time to stop trying to change yourself through your own vain efforts? It’s time to give your life to God—to be SAVED by Jesus Christ so that the Holy Spirit can take up residence in your life and clean you up on the inside.
4. The fourth important activity of the Holy Spirit in your life as a believer is TO COMFORT IN TIMES OF TROUBLE - John 14:16-17 - “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”
In telling His disciples about the Holy Spirit whom He would give them, notice that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as the “Comforter”. One of the most wonderful ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives as believers is His comforting ministry in our lives! How many times have I been distraught, and I went to the Lord in prayer—and the blessed Holy Spirit comforted my troubled soul! How many times have a faced difficult decision, and feeling fear and confusion, I turned to God—and the Holy Spirit calmed my fears
Illus. - I remember when I had my cancer surgery in 1979. Susan and I had a pact that when I came out from the anesthesia, no matter how bad the news, she would tell me the truth about my prognosis. When I woke up from the anesthesia, I turned to her from my bed and whispered hoarsely, “What did the doctor say?” She began to cry and told me, “It is cancer and Dr. Kumar says you have about six weeks to live.” What happened next I cannot explain. When the news hit me, I felt a sudden, tangible sense of peace go over me I could literally FEEL that bathed me from head to toe.
What happened? The Holy Spirit gave me His special comfort in my time of need and it gave me such a tangible sense of peace that it is inexplicable except that the Holy Spirit gave me that peace.
But that shouldn’t have been surprising.
That’s one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in our lives—to bring us comfort in catastrophe, solace in the storm, help during hopelessness.
You know, it’s sad to think that the lost have no Comforter in time of need. What a tragedy to not have the Lord to give peace and comfort and encouragement in the times of trouble and despair. How sad to not have the Holy Spirit to turn to in times of sorrow, grief, disappointment, betrayal, and trial. If do not know Christ is your Savior, dear friend, let me invite you to come to Jesus today. And when you do, the wonderful Holy Spirit will come into your life and become your Comforter!
Now it’s sad not to have a Comforter—but it’s almost as tragic is to HAVE the Comforter, but NOT GO TO HIM FOR COMFORT! All too often, when we as Christians experience a trouble or a trial, the LAST person we go to for comfort is the Lord. Christian, one of the ministries of the Holy Spirit in your life is to comfort and encourage you! Go to HIM for solace and consolation and care—“Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” (1 Peter 5:7)
CONCLUSION:
Illus. - You know, the human body is a most remarkable machine. It can maintain a constant temperature of about 98.6 degrees no matter what the weather is outside. Whether a person is at the Arctic Circle or the equator, his body temperature is about the same. There is an inner mechanism that makes the difference.
In the same way, the Holy Spirit dwells you as a Christian to achieve this kind of stabilization in terms of spiritual health. Whether you face good times or bad, whether you are tempted or receiving spiritual nourishment, the Holy Spirit keeps you stable within.
How?—By His various ministries and workings in your life.
1. By keeping you eternally saved. - Be sure to thank the Lord for that blessed fact this morning!
2. By teaching you and guiding you into His truth. But remember—the Holy Spirit teaches us through God’s Word. So…are you reading and learning from and memorizing God’s Word so that He can teach and guide you in it?
3. The Holy Spirit is developing godly character—the character of Jesus Christ—in your life. But is it possible you have let sin choke out the Holy Spirit’s power to change you into the image of God’s holy Son? Do you need to confess and forsake that sin to the Lord this morning?
4. Finally, the Holy Spirit comforts you in times of suffering, struggle and trial.
Praise God for the blessed Holy Spirit!
Believer, let Him have full sway in your life. Obey His voice. Keep sin out of your life.
And if you are not a believer, let me invite you to meet the Holy Spirit by being saved today.
