There seems to be a lot of misunderstanding about the Holy Spirit, who He is, and what his role is. We have a rather clear understanding of God, the Heavenly Father and Jesus, our Savoir. However the Holy Spirit can become controversial in his role.
First of all the Holy Spirit is a real person. Therefore the Holy Spirit is not an it but rather a He. He came to reside within the followers of Jesus after Jesus rose from the dead and ascended to heaven. Jesus told His apostles...And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate, who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit, who leads into all truth. The world cannot receive him, because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him. But you know him, because he lives with you now and later will be in you. No, I will not abandon you as orphans—I will come to you. (John 14:16-18)
The Holy Spirit is a person equal in every way with God the Father and God the Son. He is the third member of the Trinity. Jesus said to His apostles...“I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth. Therefore, go and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.” (Matt. 28:18-19)
God is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And all the divine attributes ascribed to the Father and the Son are equally ascribed to the Holy Spirit. When a person becomes born again by believing and receiving Jesus Christ, God lives in that person through the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has intelligence, emotions, and a will.
The Holy Spirit bears "witness" of Jesus Christ. He tells people's hearts about the truth of Jesus Christ. The Holy Spirit also acts as a Christian's teacher. He reveals God's will and God's truth to a Christian. Jesus told His disciples…“But when the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.”(John 14:26)
The Holy Spirit was given to live inside those who believe in Jesus, in order to produce God's character in the life of a believer. The Holy Spirit will build into our lives love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. He convicts people's hearts of God's truth concerning how sinful we are -- needing God's forgiveness; how righteous Jesus is -- He died in our place, for our sins; and God's eventual judgment of the world and those who do not know Him. The Holy Spirit tugs on our hearts and minds, asking us to repent and turn to God for forgiveness and a new life.
I believe that the Holy Spirit knew people would have a difficult time grasping who He is and what his ministry is. So He defines himself in the word that is designed to assist us in grasping the reality of the Holy Spirit and how He works in our lives.
He identifies himself as living waters.
“On the last day, the climax of the festival, Jesus stood and shouted to the crowds, “Anyone who is thirsty may come to me! Anyone who believes in me may come and drink! For the Scriptures declare, ‘Rivers of living water will flow from his heart.’” (When he said “living water,” he was speaking of the Spirit, who would be given to everyone believing in him. But the Spirit had not yet been given, because Jesus had not yet entered into his glory.)” (John 7:37-39)
For rivers to survive they must have two elements working for them. They must be filled with water. And they must flow.
To be filled with water they need streams and creeks constantly flowing into them. When a drought takes place streams and creeks begin to dry up. Soon the river will follow suit.
Also in order for a river to flow there must be an outlet. If there is no outlet the water becomes stagnate. The Jordan River in Israel is highly celebrated. Joshua led the children of Israel across the Jordan River. Naaman washed in the Jordan River and was healed. Jesus was baptized in the Jordan River. And yet the Jordan River ends at the Dead Sea. The Dead Sea has no tributaries; therefore the water stands and becomes unable to sustain life.
The Holy Spirit presents himself to us as a river of living water. He is constantly pouring himself into us so that He may flow from us due to our love for him. That flowing from us will result in our doing good works for him; love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
However, if we get into a spiritual drought that prohibits his flow then we may sense the feeling of being dried up, barren, and hardened. This draught may come from unconfused sin or absence of time spent with him through prayer and daily teaching.
Or we may choose to inhibit the outward flow of the Holy Spirit within us by refusing to do good works. Then we can become stagnant and unproductive for the Kingdom. We can become legalistic and cold toward the plight of others. We can lose our compassion and become stiff-necked people. We can seem spiritually dead.
He identifies himself as wind.
John 3:8 “The wind blows wherever it wants. Just as you can hear the wind but can’t tell where it comes from or where it is going, so you can’t explain how people are born of the Spirit.”
As I read this scripture my first thought was “Where does wind come from?” I began reading all the scientific jargon about wind and was overwhelmed. But basically wind is caused by differences in atmospheric pressure. When a difference in atmospheric pressure exists, air moves from the higher to the lower pressure area, resulting in winds of various speeds. We cannot control its speed or its directions.
It is invisible. No one has ever seen the wind. We see the results of the wind. We watch dirt devils dance around, tree branches swaying in the wind, or a flag flapping in the wind. But you do not see the wind.
So it is with the Holy Spirit. Like the wind He will not be controlled. He decides how much of himself you will receive. There are people who are more Spirit filled than others. Jesus said “So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him.” (Luke 11:13)
He is invisible. But if we watch with spiritual eyes we will see the results of his presence. When we witness people showing love, patience, kindness, and gentleness toward someone, that is the result of the Holy Spirit. When we witness people having joy, peace, and self-control in stressful situations, that is the result of the Holy Spirit. When we witness people living lives filled with goodness and faithfulness, that is the result of the Holy Spirit.
Often we don’t know where He’s coming from or where He’s leading us, but like a leaf in the wind we must learn to surrender and allow him to carry us to the place of his choosing.
He identifies himself as rain.
Joel 2: 23 “Rejoice, you people of Jerusalem!
Rejoice in the Lord your God!
For the rain he sends demonstrates his faithfulness.
Once more the autumn rains will come,
as well as the rains of spring.”
When I first read this scripture it was a bit puzzling. To have a good crop you need the spring rains. (April showers bring May flowers) And the autumn rain just knocks the leaves off of the trees.
Then I learned a little bit about farming in Old Testament times. In Palestine the rainy season is from autumn to spring. The summer sun has baked the ground so the autumn rain is needed to moisten it. This allows for plowing and planting. There rainy season is in the winter months. Then the spring rain matures the grain just before harvest. So the autumn rain is called the early rain and the spring rain is called the latter rain.
A draught has hit Jerusalem. Plus swarms of locust has stripped what plants that still exist and cut the stalks so that there will be no re-growth. The people are hungry. They have been disgraced because their God has abandoned them.
However God promises to give them back what they have lost to the locust. God promises that they will have all the food they want. God promises miracles will take place. God promises the people will never be disgraced again. God promises the coming of the Holy Spirit.
Joel 2:28-29 “Then, after doing all those things,
I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your old men will dream dreams,
and your young men will see visions.
In those days I will pour out my Spirit
even on servants—men and women alike.”
God promises a day when the Holy Spirit would be offered to all people of all nations regardless of their age, status, or sex.
Then about 900 years later we read in the Book of Acts about a supernatural occurrence. A large number of believers in Jerusalem began speaking in an unknown language. There were people understanding what was being said because they were hearing them in their own language. And those who were not blessed with this gift of interpretation thought the messengers were drunk. But Peter set them straight. “No, what you see was predicted long ago by the prophet Joel:
‘In the last days,’ God says,
‘I will pour out my Spirit upon all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy.
Your young men will see visions,
and your old men will dream dreams.” (Acts 2:16-17)
This was the arrival of the Holy Spirit. He is offered to all people as is evident in his ability to speak to all in their own language at the same time. He is offered to us also.
When He came to me my heart was hardened like summer baked soil. He began a gentle rain into my heart that made it more pliable. He was able to till my heart and plant God’s word within me. His steady rain created growth that others may harvest because He led me into ministry to share the Gospel. And He is doing the same in every heart here.
He identifies himself as oil.
2 Corinthians 1:21-22 “It is God who enables us, along with you, to stand firm for Christ. He has commissioned us, and he has identified us as his own by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised us.”
The word for “commissioned” meant to anoint with oil. Saul was anointed with oil to proclaim his ascension to the throne. Aaron’s sons were anointed with oil to be priests. Elisha was anointed with oil to be the prophet of Israel. David was but a boy when he was anointed to be king of Israel. It would be years before he would ascend to the throne.
We have been anointed with the Holy Spirit as the first installment that guarantees all of the other promise. This anointing enables us to stand firm. This anointing identifies us as being a child of God. As David went back to being a shepherd, you have to wonder were there times of doubt. Did he ever feel that God had forgotten his promise?
Perhaps you have some doubts this morning. Remember we clarified that doubts and unbelief were not the same. Remember our little catch phrase; “Let doubt be an exercise to strengthen your faith and not an excuse to lose it.” Well, the Holy Spirit comes to assist you in your doubts by revealing to you the truth.
1 John 2:20 “But you are not like that, for the Holy One has given you his Spirit, and all of you know the truth.”
I have here a bottle of colored water and oil. As you can see the dark water is at the bottom and the oil is at the top. When I shake the bottle it all becomes dark but slowly you can see the oil separating itself from the darkness. This symbolizes how the Holy Spirit separates the lies from the truth, the doubts from the facts, and the darkness from the light.
He identifies himself as wine
Ephesians 5:18 “Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit,”
I want to be very clear here. I am not promoting drinking wine. If you have a strong conviction against alcoholic beverages then stay strong to your convictions. But according to the American Heart Association 1-2 4oz glasses of wine a day promotes longevity, reduces heart attack risk, lowers risk of heart disease, reduces risk of type 2 diabetes, lowers risk of stroke, cuts risk of cataracts, cuts risk of colon cancer, and slows brain decline.
Plus you cannot get drunk off of a 4oz glass of wine.
This verse also does not encourage us to become “drunk” with the Holy Spirit where we stumble, fall, and act intoxicated. I saw a sign in front of a church that read “God is looking for spiritual fruit, not spiritual nuts.” While we can be under the power of the Holy Spirit so strong that these can happen, we must be sure that it is his work and not our own manipulation.
The Holy Spirit has come like wine to offer us spiritual health benefits that will result in a joy filled, peace filled, and prosperous life.
He identifies himself as fire.
Malachi 3:1-2 “Look! I am sending my messenger, and he will prepare the way before me. Then the Lord you are seeking will suddenly come to his Temple. The messenger of the covenant, whom you look for so eagerly, is surely coming,” says the Lord of Heaven’s Armies.
“But who will be able to endure it when he comes? Who will be able to stand and face him when he appears? For he will be like a blazing fire that refines metal, or like a strong soap that bleaches clothes.
All indications are that the Lord of Heaven’s Armies is Jesus. And the messenger He is sending is the Holy Spirit. And He comes as a refining fire to make us pure.
God’s desire is to make us like silver, pure and untarnished. But silver in its unrefined state is filled with dross which is impurities that must be removed. These things must be separated for the silver to be pure. As heat is applied to unrefined silver the dross rises to the surface. The silversmith is constantly standing over the fire scooping off the dross as it floats to the surface. He has to be attentive during the entire process and cannot walk away from the fire until it is completed.
The Holy Spirit is the refining fire in our lives. He convicts us of our wrong doings, not to make us feel guilty but rather to allow all the dross in our lives to surface and be dealt with. He promises to stay with us during this process until we are completely refined. And just to inform you, we will never be completely refined until we are no longer in these bodies of flesh. And although refinement is an on going process, we have the promise that He will never leave us.
He identifies himself as a dove.
Mark 1:9-10 “One day Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee, and John baptized him in the Jordan River. As Jesus came up out of the water, he saw the heavens splitting apart and the Holy Spirit descending on him like a dove.”
We know some things about doves. They are the symbol of peace due to their peaceful nature. But I learned this week that doves produce milk to feed to their young. It is a secretion that they belch out and into the mouths of the babies. The Holy Spirit comes to feed us the word of God.
1 Corinthians 2:14 “But people who aren’t spiritual can’t receive these truths from God’s Spirit. It all sounds foolish to them and they can’t understand it, for only those who are spiritual can understand what the Spirit means.”
Without the Holy Spirit feeding us the truth of God’s word, everything sounds foolish. When we are reading God’s word and discover some passage that is not understood, we need to seek the Holy Spirit to reveal it’s meaning to us. He may choose to do so by supernatural revelation (that moment when the light bulb comes on and we go “aha”) or He may do so by someone explaining the meaning to you.
So today we have been introduced the Holy Spirit. And now that we know him, we can talk with him. God is in heaven. There is nothing wrong with praying to him. Jesus sits at his right hand in heaven. There is nothing wrong with praying to him. But the Holy Spirit is here, present inside of us. Do we ever talk to him?
The Bible says He is the one who encourages us. Do you ever pray to him when you need encouragement? He comforts us. Do you ever pray to him when you need comfort? He guides us. Do you ever pray to him when you need guidance? He invites you too.
