Christianity is hopeless without the Holy Spirit. He is God’s agent on earth today.
• Without Him, there is a disconnection with God; the line is cut off. We won’t fully understand God’s will.
• The Holy Spirit reveals the will of God. He reminds us of the words of Jesus; he guides us into all truth; he enlightens and he convicts.
Jesus said to His disciples: “it is for your good that I am going away.” It is not for MY good but for YOUR good! How could that be?
• He says, “Unless I go away, the Counsellor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:7)
• Someone would take his place – the Holy Spirit. And Jesus knew how desperately in need of the Holy Spirit we are. He asked them to WAIT for Him to come.
This came as a shock to the disciples, who had given up everything to follow Jesus.
• They had spent 3 years staying with Him, travelling with Him, listening and learning from Him, and relying on Him for almost everything. And now He is leaving.
• It would be almost impossible for them to understand any benefit that would come out from His leaving.
Yet Jesus knew IT WAS GOOD. He knew the Holy Spirit and what the Spirit can do in their lives. Jesus can only dwell WITH them, but the Holy Spirit will dwell IN them.
• We saw the result of this in the Acts of the Apostles. The disciples experienced the presence and the power of God when the Holy Spirit came upon them.
• His arrival is GOOD in at least TWO WAYS:
(i) The Holy Spirit can be with them wherever they are, because He dwells IN them. Jesus can only be physically present WITH them (and with only some at any point of time), but the Holy Spirit dwells in our heart today. Wherever we are, He is present to help us.
(ii) Jesus says the Holy Spirit will GUIDE us into all truth. He CONVICTS us (16:8), He ENLIGHTENS us (16:4 ‘making it known to us’), and “will TEACH you all things and will REMIND you of everything I have said to you.” (14:26)
Without Him, we cannot know God, understand His Word or experience His power.
(1) It’s more than EDUCATION we need, but the ILLUMINATION of the Holy Spirit
Jesus: “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear” (16:12) without the aid of the Holy Spirit.
• You look at the disciples – they spent 3 years with Jesus, listening and learning from Him, every day! And they participated in His ministry and saw the miracles.
• And at the end of this full-time, on-the-job, intensive course, the result was: one betrayed him, one denied knowing him 3 times; all of them fled into hiding in fear at his arrest; only one standing at the foot of the cross, and one doubted He rose from the death.
• How’s that for a class of 12 students who have undergone a 3-year immersion course!
• And this was the result! They still did not fully understand Jesus and the salvation plan of God!
In fact, for most part of their schooling days, they did not understand what the teacher was saying (sound familiar?).
• They misread Jesus’ intentions, said the wrong words, did the foolish things, and were more concerned about themselves than God.
Let me show you one interesting incident in Mark 8.
• At one point in the ministry, they had forgotten to bring bread on board the ship and were discussing about the problem (Mark 8).
• In Mark 6 - Jesus just did the miracle of feeding 5000 people. In Mark 8A another miracle of feeding 4000.
• Mark 8:17-21 “Aware of their discussion, Jesus asked them: "Why are you talking about having no bread? Do you still not see or understand? Are your hearts hardened? 18Do you have eyes but fail to see, and ears but fail to hear? And don’t you remember? 19When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" "Twelve," they replied. 20 "And when I broke the seven loaves for the four thousand, how many basketfuls of pieces did you pick up?" They answered, "Seven." 21He said to them, "Do you still not understand?"
The problem does not lie with the Teacher, but with the students.
• Without the aid of the Holy Spirit, we do have a problem understanding spiritual truths.
• The disciples had 3 years of daily conversations with Jesus. That’s 1,095 schooling days. If we meet only once a week to learn the Word, that’s 21 years!
• And yet they were struggling to understand God’s will. You see, there is that much education can do, there is that much schooling can do.
We need the help of the Holy Spirit. Praise God! He is with us today. He dwells in us.
• Don’t live as if He is not around. Open your heart to Him. Acknowledge our need of Him.
• He will enlighten you, teach and remind you of God’s Word. He convicts you of the truth of God’s Word.
(2) It’s more than PLANNING we need, but the LEADING of the Holy Spirit
When the disciples were filled with the Spirit (in the book of Acts), their lives took on a 180-degree change. What they did not understand over 3 years, they did now.
• They began to proclaim the Gospel, with passion, courage, wisdom, faith and power.
• This group of mostly unlearned and ordinary people began to turn their world upside down. God’s Name is proclaimed and God’s power manifested.
They had no formal seminary training; no copies of the NT, no commentary, no bible study material, no tract; no church building, no sound system, no slideshow, no guidebook on how to run a church, no manual on starting a ministry, no precedent to rely on.
• What they had was the Holy Spirit. And that was enough. They experienced His presence and His power.
• The Holy Spirit guided them, in almost everything. We saw how the Spirit led Philip into the wilderness to meet the Ethiopian eunuch, led Ananias to Straight Street to look for Saul, and led Peter to Cornelius house.
• When Paul was on his missionary journey, the Spirit prevented from going to some places, and directed him to places he did not plan for – like Macedonia.
Jesus said to them earlier, in Mark 13:11 that the Spirit will help them even with impromptu speech - “Whenever you are arrested and brought to trial, do not worry beforehand about what to say. Just say whatever is given you at the time, for it is not you speaking, but the Holy Spirit.”
They had nothing but the Holy Spirit to rely upon. Today we have so many good resources that we neglect the Holy Spirit.
• Let us put our faith in the Spirit of God. We do not want to lean on these human crutches, and forget our need of the Holy Spirit.
• God will surely use all the resources He has blessed us with, but our trust is in the power of the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit is God’s agent on earth today. Christianity is hopeless without the Holy Spirit.
(3) It’s more than PRAYING we need, but LISTENING to the Holy Spirit
Jesus says the Holy Spirit “will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you” (14:26); He “will take from what is mine and make it known to you” (16:15).
• The Holy Spirit is preoccupied by this one thing – impressing upon you the truth of God’s Word. He wants us to know the truth, because the truth will set us free. (John 8:32)
• He wants to drill it into you, to make sure you get it, believe it, obey it and be blessed by it.
• In other words, He is speaking to you, and therefore we need to LISTEN!
I was reading Jim Cymbala’s book SPIRIT RISING and he has a chapter on fellowship with God. And it reminded me that for the many characters in the Bible who spent time with God – Abraham, Moses, David, the prophets - they were actually extensive time of LISTENING to God.
• Moses: The Lord spoke to him and gave him the Ten Commandments (on Mount Sinai, 40 days), with all the laws and the commands for the people (Leviticus was God’s instructions given to Moses); and the building plans for the Tabernacle (dimensions and the material to use). Who do you think did most of the talking?
• It was the same with the prophets. Their times with God were spent listening to God more than speaking to Him.
• Jesus: “These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me.” (John 14:24); “By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear…” (John 5:30)
Their “prayer time” with God was more than just TALKING but LISTENING to God. It was more than just giving God a list of requests (which is fine).
• What is more important? Us telling God our requests (which He already knows before we tell him), or us listening for His voice, to hear what is on His heart?
• We need to spend time LISTENING to God. Or rather, we need to make time for LISTENING.
Set aside time for silence and solitude, and allow the Holy Spirit to speak.
• Jesus needs that. Moses needs that. The prophets need that. And we need that.
• Find time when we can stay still and be quiet. And let God speak and we LISTEN.
Cultivate a hearing heart.
• Each time you are reminded of God’s Word, it’s Him. Each time you’re moved in worship, it’s Him. Each time you convicted of a wrong, it’s Him. Don’t ignore Him!
• Be humble and teachable. “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God.” (Eph 4:30) “Do not quench the Spirit.” (1 Thess 5:19 KJV)
Don’t fear Him, welcome Him. You cannot be close to someone you fear. And you won’t trust a stranger. He is our good God – the Father, Jesus, and Holy Spirit.
• Welcome Him with your mind and your heart. Welcome Him as a dear Friend.
• One way to welcome Him is to just pray and ask the Lord to fill you with His Spirit.
• Eph 5:18 “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.”
Let’s do that with this SONG. Sing it once and there will time for us to pray.
PRAYER: Empower us, dear Lord. Fill us with the Holy Spirit. We welcome You, Lord. Teach us the Word of God and lead us into all truth. We pray for the fullness and power of your Holy Spirit to come upon us. We will listen to Him and not grieve Him. Enable us to experience your presence and power each day. Use us for your purposes and your glory. Thank you, dear Lord. In Jesus’ name, we pray, AMEN.
If you have not accepted Jesus as your Saviour: “Dear Lord Jesus, I know I am a sinner. Thank you for dying on the cross for me. I repent of my sins. Come into my life, Jesus. I receive you as my Saviour and Lord. Thank you for forgiving my sins and giving me eternal life. In Jesus’ Name, I pray. AMEN.
