Series: Holy Spirit Rises
Opening video illustration: Jim Cymbala Session 4 intro – The Holy Spirit as Water, Wind and Fire. The clip talks about the Brooklyn Bridge and what it symbolizes to New York.
Sermon: Symbols of the Holy Spirit – fire, wind and water
Visuals on table: Grill, candle, matches, and torch for fire, fan for wind and pitcher of water with glass.
Thesis: We need the Holy Spirit within us today so that we can be powerful witnesses for the Kingdom of Heaven. To understand more of who the Holy Spirit is today we will look at three biblical symbols of the Holy Spirit --- fire, water and wind.
Introduction:
Francis Chan stated, “You might think that calling the Holy Spirit the “forgotten God” is a bit extreme. Maybe you agree that the church has focused too much attention elsewhere but feel it is an exaggeration to say we have forgotten about the Spirit. I don’t think so. From my perspective, the Holy Spirit is tragically neglected and, for all practical purposes, forgotten. While no evangelical would deny His existence, I’m willing to bet there are millions of churchgoers across America who cannot confidently say they have experienced His presence or action in their lives over the past year. And many of them do not believe they can. The benchmark of success in church services has become more about attendance than the movement of the Holy Spirit. The “entertainment” model of church was largely adopted in the 1980s and ’90s, and while it alleviated some of our boredom for a couple of hours a week, it filled our churches with self-focused consumers rather than self-sacrificing servants attuned to the Holy Spirit. Perhaps we’re too familiar and comfortable with the current state of the church to feel the weight of the problem. But what if you grew up on a desert island with nothing but the Bible to read? Imagine being rescued after twenty years and then attending a typical evangelical church. Chances are you’d be shocked (for a whole lot of reasons, but that is another story). Having read the Scriptures outside the context of contemporary church culture, you would be convinced that the Holy Spirit is as essential to a believer’s existence as air is to staying alive. You would know that the Spirit led the first Christians to do unexplainable things, to live lives that didn’t make sense to the culture around them, and ultimately to spread the story of God’s grace around the world “ Chan, Francis (2009-09-01). Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 142-148). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
To help us understand more of who the Holy Spirit is we will be looking at some symbols of the Holy Spirit and learn what they mean in regards to the Holy Spirit and to us today in 2012.
Jack Hayford states the following about the symbolism of the Holy Spirit from http://www.jackhayford.org/articles1-412/SymbolsoftheHolySpirit: The Holy Spirit doesn’t seek to be mysterious, but He is the most mysterious of the Godhead. We can read in the Word about the Father, and we can read about the Son who came and walked among us. But Jesus tells us that when the Spirit comes, He will not speak of Himself; that “whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come” (John 16:13 KJV). The workings of the Holy Spirit are invisible, glorious, and gentle, and within them, He never tells us about Himself. He comes to glorify Jesus—helping us to see Jesus more, to understand Jesus better, to respond to Jesus more obediently, and to love Jesus with a deeper heart of commitment. So the symbols of the Holy Spirit become essential to our gaining an understanding of what He’s like, not only in an objective way of analyzing truth, but also in the subjective way that He comes to penetrate our lives—ways in which the reality of the invisible penetrate the visible. When we talk about the Holy Spirit as rain, for example, the purpose isn’t to think, “Oh, the Holy Spirit is like rain.” The purpose is to get wet.
From http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symbolism: Symbolism is the practice of representing things by symbols, or of investing things with a symbolic meaning or character. A symbol is an object, action, or idea that represents something other than itself, often of a more abstract nature.
T.S. - So today we are going to look at 3 symbols of the Holy Spirit to help us get a better understanding of who He is and what He does.
Main Scripture Texts:
Matthew 3:11: The promise
11“I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. 12His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”
Acts 2:1-4: The fulfillment of the promise
1When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.
2Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.
T.S. - Let’s look at one of the main symbols of the Holy Spirit – a symbol of fire:
I. Symbol of fire
a. Visual illustration: Have torch, candle on table to light it and set the stuff on fire in the grill.
i. Talk about the properties of fire.
b. Reference Matthew 3:11-12
i. Jesus will baptize with fire and the Spirit said John who baptized with water to repentance.
1. Fire is often used as the power and presence of God in the Bible.
2. We learned about that last week with the reference to the Tabernacle and how fire came out of the Holy of Holies in the night time in middle of the Israelites camp.
3. Acts 2 tells us that Holy Spirit came in what seemed to be a tongue of fire and rested on each person separately.
c. Fire does the following:
i. Fire penetrates – it consumes – the object it touches!
1. Fire consumes dried up and dead stuff. It burns things up that it comes into contact with. It is a source which will consume all that it burns in and on.
a. Fire changes the composition of that which it touches and penetrates – it will consume an object totally if it is allowed to burn.
2. Preaching which is said to be on fire is influenced by the Holy Spirit has a penetrating affect to it. It will burn deep into a person’s heart.
3. Prophets were known in the OT for their messages of fire. This means they cut to the heart of the people like fire burns to the core of an object.
a. Peter’s message at Pentecost did do this to the people listening to it in Acts 2:37.
4. We hear from the Bible that God Himself is a consuming fire listen to these Scripture verses:
a. Dt . 4:23-24: 23Be careful not to forget the covenant of the LORD your God that he made with you; do not make for yourselves an idol in the form of anything the LORD your God has forbidden. 24For the LORD your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God.
b. Hebrews 12:29: 28Therefore, since we are receiving a kingdom that cannot be shaken, let us be thankful, and so worship God acceptably with reverence and awe, 29for our “God is a consuming fire.”
i. The warning in these two Scriptures tells us as followers of the Lord that we are not to have anything usurp God in our life because He is a jealous and a consuming God and there will be retribution for those who once knew Him and then disrespect Him.
ii. Fire illuminates the area around which it burns.
1. It was used to guide people for millenniums – electricity is about a 200 year old discovery and been in use publicly like it is today about 100 years.
a. The Bible is written without electricity as its main source of light and instead associates light with fire.
b. This light source of fire is usually associated with guiding people in the dark.
2. Fire keeps you from tripping in the dark, this candle represents and shows the quality of fire to illuminate dark places so people can see.
3. Fire prevents you from getting lost on a path – because it helps you to see what direction you are going in.
4. The fire of the Holy Spirit illuminates our life so we can see clearer and brighter. It when used as a light prevents me from tripping and falling on something I do not see in the dark.
iii. Fire as it burns releases heat to warm us.
1. I always loved the look and feel of a warm fire on a cold night to warm my chilled body.
2. The Fire of the Holy Spirit warms us along the way keeping us warm on those cold dark nights.
iv. Fire spreads because it is contagious it can and will set other things on fire because of its energy.
1. Fire is contagious, it sets other things on fire, it moves through consuming everything thing in its path.
2. Fire when it touches impacts everything it comes in contact with.
a. 2 Timothy 1:5-10: 5I have been reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also. 6For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. 7For God did not give us a spirit of timidity, but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline. 8So do not be ashamed to testify about our Lord, or ashamed of me his prisoner. But join with me in suffering for the gospel, by the power of God, 9who has saved us and called us to a holy life—not because of anything we have done but because of his own purpose and grace. This grace was given us in Christ Jesus before the beginning of time, 10but it has now been revealed through the appearing of our Savior, Christ Jesus, who has destroyed death and has brought life and immortality to light through the gospel.
i. Timothy caught on fire for the Lord from His grandmother and mother.
ii. Parents are you fanning into flame the Holy Spirit in your children or are you doing things which are snuffing out their fire for the Lord?
b. Cymbala’s quote: “Paul’s last letter was written to Timothy, a young minister he had ordained. In the letter, Paul said: “For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For the Spirit God gave us does not make us timid, but gives us power, love and self-discipline” (2 Tim. 1: 6– 7). We get a picture of a fire that’s almost out, embers that need to be breathed on to keep the fire alive. Paul wanted Timothy to fan the flames of the Spirit. He warned Timothy not to neglect them, but to stir up the fire and keep it going. Whatever Timothy did, he was to prevent the fire from being extinguished; he was to give attention to the Spirit’s work in him. Without that anointing, Timothy would never fulfill the purposes of God for his life.” Cymbala, Jim (2012-02-21). Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 604-605). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
v. Fire is a source of energy used to power other things.
1. The Holy Spirit is a person – the third person of the Trinity of God and we need His energy – His source of power to be and do what God has called us to do on this earth. That is why Jesus sent Him to the church and to the Christians to empower them to go beyond themselves.
d. The Holy Spirit is said to be symbolized as a fire and there is a lot of symbolism in the Bible which associates the element of fire with the Holy Spirit.
i. Acts 2:1-4 reveals he came on them like afire on their heads. Separate on each one it touched but it changed them – it transformed this community of believers.
ii. The fire of the Holy Spirit changed the composition of this community of believers just like it does a forest that has been on fire.
T.S. – The Holy Spirit is symbolized as fire in the Bible and we have learned a little of what that symbolism implies but the Holy Spirit is also in Acts 2 and other places symbolized as wind.
II. Symbol of wind
a. Have a fan on the table to show and help them feel the wind of the Holy Spirit.
i. The truth is you can see wind move something and feel wind on your face but you really cannot see it – only what it touches and moves.
b. Reference Acts 2:1-4
i. In this section we see the Holy Spirit coming as a wind toward, onto and into the Disciples in the upper room.
ii. This wind in Greek can also mean a breath from heaven or the breath of God.
1. Holman Bible Dictionary: WIND - The natural force which represents in its extended meaning the breath of life in human beings and the creative, infilling power of God and His Spirit.
Early Concepts Two words in the Bible—the Hebrew ruah and the Greek pneuma—bear the basic meaning of wind but are often translated as spirit. Some understanding of the development of the latter word clarifies this transfer in meaning and enriches the concept. Pneuma originally represented an elemental, vital, dynamic wind or breath. It was an effective power, but it belonged wholly to the realm of nature. This force denoted any type of wind and ranged from a soft breeze to a raging storm or fatal vapor. It was the wind in persons and animals as the breath they inhaled and exhaled. It was life, since breath was the sign of life; and it was soul, since the animating force left when breathing ceased. Metaphorically speaking, pneuma could be extended to mean a kind of breath that blew from the invisible realms; thus, it could designate spirit, a sign of the influence of the gods upon persons, and the source of a relationship between humankind and the divine. In primitive mythology, this cosmic wind possessed a life-creating power, and a god could beget a son by his breath. The divine breath also inspired poets and granted ecstatic speech to prophets. In all of these reflections, wind remained an impersonal, natural force. When we come to the Judeo-Christian understanding, however, the concept and terms retain their dynamic characteristics, but rise from cosmic power to personal being.
2. Holman also notes: Psalm 51 uses ruah three times when referring to the steadfast, willing, and broken spirit of the psalmist and once when speaking of God’s Holy Spirit (verses 10-12, 17). Sometimes opinions differ whether the meaning is best served by translating the word as “wind” (breath) or “spirit” when it is specifically designated the ruah of God. Thus NRSV translates Genesis 1:2, “a wind from God,” to meaning that a wind was moving over the primordial waters; other translations speak of God’s Spirit hovering there.
c. Jesus said in John 3:5-8: 5Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. 6Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. 7You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ 8The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
i. Quote Jim Cymbala: “The Bible has other symbols for the Holy Spirit besides water. One is wind, which in the original Greek in the New Testament is the same word as breath. Wind helps us to visualize the invisible and mysterious movement of the Spirit” (John 3: 8). Cymbala, Jim (2012-02-21). Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 1065-1066). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
1. Holman Bible Dictionary notes the following about wind in the New Testament context:
a. The extended meaning, after the experience of Pentecost, has become dominant, and pneuma usually refers to a person’s inner being (in distinctions from the body) with which the personal Spirit of God communicates and blends as it generates and sanctifies Christians and forms them into the body of Christ (John 3:5-8; Rom. 8:14-16; 1 Cor. 12:7-13; Gal. 5:16-23). In each of these extended meanings, we can still detect in their foundation the image of the wind (pneuma) which blows where it wills (John 3:8).
d. Jack Hayford states this about the Holy Spirit as the symbol of wind:
i. “The Holy Spirit Comes as Wind: The Holy Spirit, coming as wind, depicts His power and His guidance. When Jesus tells Nicodemus about the new birth experience (John 3:8), He tells him that it is not like a tangible birth where you can see the baby is born and check the clock for its time of arrival. The work of the Spirit breathes into a life, and something transpires that people cannot recognize. There’s a dynamism but also a gentleness, like the wisp of a breeze. You can’t necessarily see where it came from or where it goes, but all of us can attest to times when God has come and dealt with us, and no human being knew how it happened. At Pentecost (Acts 2:3), it wasn’t a wind that blew in; it was the sound of a rushing wind—like a hurricane. That sound, not the sound of the people speaking in tongues, is what drew the crowd in. The Holy Spirit as sovereign God is dynamic, irresistible, and unstoppable.”
1. The Holy Spirit can be as forceful as a hurricane and as gentle as a summer breeze!
e. So we see the Holy Spirit symbolized as wind – that wind is associated with a breath which brings life. But it can manifest itself as gentle breeze on a very hot day that feels so refreshing. But it can also blow like hurricane if prompted too by God.
i. It’s gentle but yet it can be forceful!
ii. The Holy Spirit today is gently blowing around in this service today to refresh your hearts and minds. So let him blow on you, let Him refresh you.
T.S. – The Holy Spirit is symbolized as wind a force that brings life, refreshment and even force to bear on a person or an organization and yet it is also symbolized as water.
III. Symbol of water
a. On the Illustration table:
i. Have pitcher of water and glass to reference this symbolism.
ii. Pour the water into the glass, drink it expressing how refreshing it is to my thirsty body.
b. I want you to listen to David’s plea about his need for the Spirit of God from Psalms:
i. Psalm 63: 1-2: “You, God, are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and parched land where there is no water.”
1. David was pleading to God and desiring a drink of His Spirit because the land he was in was so dry and desolate.
2. Quote from Jim Cymbala: “Have you ever felt dried out and run down in your Christian life? When that happens, a lot of us just keep plugging away until the point of spiritual exhaustion. Some folks give up and play the hypocrite, pretending to be someone they aren’t. The old saying “If you run around, you run down, and then you want to run away” is true. But there is a remedy to those dry periods when we have run around too much, and it’s found in what the apostle Peter called “times of refreshing” from the presence of the Lord” (Acts 3: 19). Cymbala, Jim (2012-02-21). Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 1024-1028). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
c. If there is no water then there is no life according to scientist and conservationist in our world, it’s what sustains and grows life.
i. It is also a teaching of the OT
1. Nothing grows without water – when there is no water then there is no fruit produced or yielded. In a sense there is no harvest.
2. No water in a land leads to death.
a. Just look around and listen to what happened this year because of the drought, it impacted the corn harvest, your grass, and even some trees and bushes.
ii. Hosea 14:5: “I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon he will send down his roots…”
1. We need the Spirit’s water, or His morning dew, His refreshing source of life giving water so we can blossom and be blessed!
d. Jesus said in John 7:37-39: “37On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. 38Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him.” 39By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.”
i. Too many dam up the river of life and some only allow a trickle of water to flow into their lives. They only want so much of the Holy Spirit!
1. They actually block the flow of the River of Life!
2. They stop the source of spiritual nourishment from flowing into them.
ii. When we jump into water on a hot dry day then you are immersed in it and it is always so-refreshing.
1. Share about jumping in water after working a hard day on the mission field– it was refreshing and it brought life, energy and refreshment.
a. Quote Jim Cymbala: “When the Spirit of God comes, we have new life. Without the Spirit of God, we’re left to struggle with our self-effort, which is riddled by moral weakness and sinful tendencies. But when the Spirit comes, we have joy, hope, and power.” Cymbala, Jim (2012-02-21). Spirit Rising: Tapping into the Power of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 1039-1041). Zondervan. Kindle Edition.
iii. Water represents that life giving quality of the Spirit of God which desires to live in us.
1. 1 Corinthians 12:13: 13For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
a. We have been given the Holy Spirit to drink of – to consume to nourish our spiritual life with life giving water.
b. But we have to choose to drink the water of the Holy Spirit.
2. Ephesians 5:18: 18Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
a. Paul compares this to those who drink so much wine they get drunk and he says drink like this but drink of the Holy Spirit not wine.
b. Do you thirst for the Holy Spirits water of life like some who thirst and crave alcohol?
i. Are you addicted to the Holy Spirit?
iv. When you look at the properties of water it’s rather amazing. We cannot produce water in this world it was given to this world by God at Creation.
1. It is here to sustain life, create life and cleanse things which are dirty.
2. It’s an amazing natural ingredient we take for granted everyday in America.
a. But for many in the world it’s very precious, it’s what keeps them alive, it’s what helps to produce their crops for harvest which feeds their families.
i. Share about India.
b. It’s there to wash in, and to cleanse us from the filth of the world.
i. It is always refreshing to get a shower or bath after becoming so dirty. You just feel refreshed!
ii. It brings refreshment and strength to a weary body.
c. Water can take a desert and bring all kinds of life back to it if you allow it to flow there – it’s really amazing.
i. Look at Las Vegas!
3. Water has been here since creation – there is no new water being made today – it’s the same as it was 1,000 of years ago, same amount of water back then that we have today. There is not one drop of difference.
a. It may flow in different ways, and in different places but it’s still the same amount of water.
4. Water can be refreshing, it can be soothing but it can also rage and destroy everything in its path like in times of flooding.
a. Northern Minnesota has experienced that this year.
v. The Holy Spirit has all these same qualities as water and that is why He is associated with water.
1. So let me come back to a question:
a. Are you coming to an understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, was and will be?
b. Do you want the third party of the Trinity of God the Holy Spirit to immerse you in His presence and power?
c. Do you want to be a Temple of the Holy Spirit?
d. Do you want to drink of His life giving water of life?
e. Do you want His fire to empower you and consume you?
f. Do you want His breath of life to revive you and move you?
Conclusion:
Francis Chan stated, “For some reason, we don’t think we need the Holy Spirit. We don’t expect the Holy Spirit to act. Or if we do, our expectations are often misguided or self-serving. Given our talent set, experience, and education, many of us are fairly capable of living rather successfully (according to the world’s standards) without any strength from the Holy Spirit. Even our church growth can happen without Him. Let’s be honest: If you combine a charismatic speaker, a talented worship band, and some hip, creative events, people will attend your church. Yet this does not mean that the Holy Spirit of God is actively working and moving in the lives of the people who are coming. It simply means that you have created a space that is appealing enough to draw people in for an hour or two on Sunday” Chan, Francis (2009-09-01). Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit (Kindle Locations 333-339). David C Cook. Kindle Edition.
In Summary:
1. We can be set on fire by the Holy Spirit and become a fuel source for others spiritually. We can burn brightly for the Jesus and make a difference in this dark world.
2. We can be filled with the breath of God and blow where He wants us to go so that our lives bring the breath of life to bear on other lives. In essence the Spirit within us can blow into another person’s dead lungs and bring them back to life just like a person doing CPR on another person in crisis. Would you like to see the dead raised to life?
3. We can be filled with the Holy Spirit to bring life giving water to a dry and parched land or life and see this source of life produce new crops and new fruit of the Spirit. We could see a great harvest come in through our Spirit filled lives if we allow Him to immerse us in His presence and power.
Quote on making a choice: Jim Cymbala: “When we refuse to yield to the Spirit, we miss out on the holy excitement of living beyond ourselves” (Page 42, Spirit Rising).
I close today with a word from the Bible in regards to the Holy Spirit:
I Thess. 5:19: The warning from Paul
“Do not put out the Spirit’s fire…”
Symbol of Fire: The warning here from Paul is to make sure you do not smother or choke out the Holy Spirit from your life, or another person’s life or out of a churches life.
Symbol of Water: The warning here is for those who want to dam up the river of life from flowing in their lives, or another’s life or even a churches life. This dam is created with apathy toward the Holy Spirit, with legalism, with manmade traditions and with sin.
Symbol of Wind: The warning here is to tell mankind not to erect high walls which keep out the wind of the Holy Spirit from reaching others or even reaching into the church.
So my challenge to you today is do you want to be baptized, immersed in the Holy Spirit? Then ask Him to come fill you and empower you so you can be unleashed to be all that God intends you to be!
