Essential Truths: The Triune God - The Holy Spirit: Sanctifier & Giver of Fruit and Gifts – March 24, 2019
I really wish it weren’t true, but I’m pourous. I’m made of clay. I’m breakable, leaky and I fade. I get depleted.
Can you relate? I don’t mean relate to ME being these, things. I mean all of us. Me and you included. It’s a thing that goes along with being human.
2 Cor 4:16 says: “Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all”.
It’s easy to lose heart, especially if you focus on the first true statement only. “Outwardly we are wasting away”.
That is our natural state. We’re born, we grow up. As soon as we’re fully grown up we start to fade. The evidence for this accumulates slowly but steadily.
Before I hit a quarter century I could literally eat any amount of food, and I would not gain weight.
All of the sudden, I turn 25, get married, and my toes start to disappear in the shower.
My son Jared is 27. He’s feeling the effects of no longer being 18.
Sooner than we’d like to admit, outwardly there is this thing that happens to our body called decay. We age.
It’s easy to lose heart, if all we have is the first statement: “We are wasting away”.
That’s all you have if you have no faith. You have this material world.
You have this material body. And you have your internet memes to help you remember: “Life is hard. Then you die. Then they throw dirt in your face. Then the worms eat you. Be grateful it happens in that order”
It’s easy to lose heart without faith. But in God’s economy, in this Scripture, there’s a part 2: “Inwardly we are being renewed day by day”.
If you’re being renewed every day, what does that imply. There’s a need for renewal.
Hope fades, your bucket leaks, encouragement goes flat.
John Piper says: “You wouldn’t need to be renewed day by day, if you could run your car on yesterday’s gas, if your metabolism could function on yesterday’s meal, or if the pain in your head can be relieved on yesterday’s dosage. You can’t run today’s life on yesterday’s newness”.
So we are being renewed. And in that day-by-day renewal we are also being sanctified.
And even as that renewal happens slowly but consistently because God is faithful, we are also being made holy, We are being made pure on the inside. We are being made to be like Jesus.
This is what the Bible means when it talks about a word we hardly otherwise ever hear in life: Sanctification.
I love blueletterbible.org because you can easily find out the meaning of any given passage of Scripture in the original language,
whether it’s the Old Testament in Hebrew or the New Testament in Ancient or Koine Greek.
The orignal word in the Greek there for ‘renew’ Ä-nä-ki-no'-o (a-nie-ka-na-o) means “to be changed into a new kind of life as opposed to the former corrupt state”.
This is a good way of describing the way that the Holy Spirit transforms our lives after we receive Jesus Christ as our Lord and Saviour.
Peter, in his opening paragraph in 1 Peter 1 says this: To God’s elect...who have been chosen according to the foreknowledge of God the Father, through the sanctifying work of the Spirit, to be obedient to Jesus Christ and sprinkled with his blood: Grace and peace be yours in abundance.
Peter is writing to “God’s elect”, who are those of us who have been called to believe in Jesus through the foreknowledge of God.
So God knew we would respond favourably to the gospel and that the gospel would take deep root in us and produce fruit.
How would the gospel do that? Through the Holy Spirit’s sanctifying work in our lives. Through the life of Jesus manifesting itself in our lives, by the grace of God.
What does that look like? What does the Holy Spirit’s work of transforming us to be more like Jesus look like
Galatians 5: 9 talks about the Fruit of the Spirit. 1st Corinthians, Romans and Ephesians all speak about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. Today we are going to look at both.
We are going to look at both, because they cannot be separated. If we do separate them, we run into trouble.
if we focus only on the fruit of the Holy Spirit, which is to do with the development of Christ-like
character,
we can actually become overly focussed on our character, how it may reflect or not reflect the character of Jesus.
Over the years, when doing this, Christians have become dogmatic. Some have become judgey. Some have become strangely lifeless, in this pursuit of moral perfection.
On the flip side, if we become focused only on the gifts of the Holy Spirit, what tends to happen is that people focus on the supernatural gifts: speaking in tongues, prophecy, healings etc.
It can become too focused on the fantastic, too obsessed with the supernatural.
It can become a bit of a gong show, and theological error can and has crept in in places where there has been an overemphasis on the gifts of the Spirit,
as opposed to holding a balance of the fruit of the Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit, the kind of balance we find in the Bible.
So, again, today we are going to look at the Fruit of the Spirit and the Gifts of the Spirit. I hope you will follow along with me.
First of all, what are the fruit of the Spirit?
They are [Show PPT] Love (seeks the highest good of others); joy (gladness that is not based on circumstances); Peace (Deep contentment, shalom, unity between people); Patience or Forbearance (Slow to speak, slow to anger); Kindness (showing mercy, a sweet tenderness); Goodness (generous and open-hearted); Faithfulness (dependable, loyal and full of trust); Gentleness, calm, non-threatening); Self-control (Behaving well and in a way that honours God).
What does the Bible mean when it refers to these things as fruit of the Spirit?
Well, they are qualities of Jesus’ own character that emerge and continually increase in the life of a person whose heart is submitted to Christ. They are qualities that reflect what Jesus is like.
The Apostle Paul wrote this because in the life of a Christ-follower, we understand through our baptismal vows that as Christians we died with Christ and rose again to life.
A life new and clean, in which the evil things of the old self are gone and the lovely things of the Spirit come to fruition. In real time, this takes time.
God pronounces us clean, holy, saved when we come to believe that Jesus Christ died for our sins and when we receive Him as our Lord and Saviour.
Then He works in us so as to make what He has pronounced so.
So we have the promise of sanctification, of being made holy.
Ephesians 1 says: 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession - to the praise of his glory.
So as believers, we have the Holy Spirit indwelling us, working in us to be more and more like Jesus. Our hope is in God IN us, Christ in us, working out His perfect will over time.
[PPT - Picture of stagnant water].
What is this? It’s water that is not fresh. It’s stagnant. Would you want to swim in it? Would you want to drink it? Not likely.
At my parent’s cottage on Lake Wagner up near Uxbridge, sometimes the water would be clear and lovely.
Sometimes you would need to take a shower after swimming to clear away the slime.
Jesus said something quite beautiful, but a bit cryptic or hard to understand in John chapter 7.
He spoke of what happens when a person comes to place their faith in Him.
He said: [PPT] “Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By 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”. John 7:38-39
So in poetic language, Jesus is telling us that what happens when we place our faith in Him is that evidence, something real, tangible and beautiful will flow out of us.
Then the Scripture tells us that this ‘living water’ is the Spirit, the Spirit which at the time Jesus spoke those words was not yet given, but Who would be given on what we call Pentecost, as recorded in Acts 2..
So we’ve looked briefly at the fruit of the Holy Spirit. Note that it is ‘fruit’ and not ‘fruits’ of the Holy Spirit.
The word ‘fruit’ refers both to a single fruit and more than one at the same time. Bit of an ESL nightmare, but that’s English for you.
There’s the Fruit of the Spirit, and there are also Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
These are gifts given sovereignly by God to the church to bring glory and honour to God, and to uplift the body of Christ, the church, so that it can function as the body of Christ.
Now, the gifts of Holy Spirit are HOW we accomplish the will of God, in our lives individually and collectively as His people.
The gifts of the Spirit answer the HOW question. How am I to serve? How do I make my contribution to the life of the church.
How should I get involved and what should I put my time and energy toward. How do I serve?
The answer to that is twofold: each of us can serve in a general sense for the general needs of the church.
For the first number of years that I attended church, I couldn’t figure out how to get more involved. I wanted to make a contribution.
So eventually I learned that if I asked how I could help, I would be asked to help. Sometimes I would clean the church. Shovel the snow in front of the church.
Greet people, pray for people. Help out in Sunday School. Set up chairs. Put things away afterward.
Eventually, because I had gifts in music I started to help out musically in the church.
If you’re like I was and wondering how to get involved, for sure don’t just spin your wheels and keep wondering.
Ask how you can help, and keep asking. If you do, you’ll be one of the few, and as you serve you will be and you will feel more connected to the body.
So we each serve in a general way as we can to help with the running of the church, of the service.
But like I said this is not just about Sundays. We’re open for ministry 4 days a week.
It’s really about every day, in our everyday lives. At Church at the Mission there is an awful lot going on during the week as well.
Some of you are involved in our mid-week events - the Bridges Program on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays.
There are so many ways to get involved and start serving. Sometimes it seems like we never close.
And when you start serving you will start growing in new ways as well.
There’s that general way we serve, and we all need to be doing this.
And then there’s the service we give because of the gifts that God gives us by the Holy Spirit. What are those gifts?
This list we’re going to look at isn’t all the gifts, but just a sampling. There are 3 broad categories of spiritual gifts: Gifts of Knowing, Gifts of Doing and Gifts of Speaking.
Again, there are many more gifts, which in a few minutes we’ll discuss how you can learn more.
Romans refers to the gift of serving, encouragement, giving, leadership, mercy. 1 Corinthians refers to the spiritual gift of helps and guidance.
1 Corinthians also refers to the message of wisdom, the message of knowledge, distinguishing of spirits, faith, healings, miraculous powers, prophecy, tongues, the interpretation of tongues.
You may wonder, if you’re the skeptical type, about these gifts. This may be new to you.
You might be thinking: well, that was a lot of information.
How does this relate to me? Do I have spiritual gifts? Is there evidence of the fruit of the Spirit in my life?
As it happens, we are running a course on Wednesdays from 2-4 pm. Class # 1 is being reviewed today after the service at 4:45 pm by Pastor Arleen, who is teaching the course at the Davis Centre at 270 Gerrard Street East. Christian Community Centre.
During that course, if you decide to join us, you will discover what your spiritual gift is, what your personal style is and what is your God-given ministry passion.
This will also help to unpack the fruit of the Spirit that is evident in your life.
I encourage you to speak with Pastor Arleen after the service and check out the class today, if you are also able to join us mid-week on Wednesdays from 2-4 pm for the remainder of the classes.
The Stradivari Society of Chicago performs an important role in the music world.
The society entrusts expensive violins into the hands of world-class violin players who could never afford them on their own.
Stradivarius violins produce an incomparably rich sound and sell for millions of dollars and are highly sought after by investors.
"But great violins are not like works of art", writes music critic John von Rhein.
"They were never meant to be hung on a wall or locked up under glass.
Any instrument will lose its tone if it isn't played regularly; conversely, an instrument gains its value the more it us used."
And so it is that those who own the world's greatest violins are looking for first-rate violin players to use them.
The Stradivari Society brings them together, making sure the instruments are preserved and cared for.
One further requirement made by these investors is that the musician will give the owner at least two command performances a year.
Like the Stradivari Society, God entrusts exquisite "violins" into the care of others.
He gives us spiritual gifts of great value, which remain his property. He wants them to be used. They're doing no good if they're hanging on a wall somewhere.
God delights to hear beautiful music coming from them. He wants us to play for him. So we need to start by learning what spiritual gifts He has given us.
And the final thing is this. “When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory”. Ephesians 1:13-14
The Holy Spirit in you marked you when you believed. The Holy Spirit in you is a deposit, a reminder, a portion of the amazing inheritance that you have as a child of God, a son of God, a daughter of the Most High.
When we repent and turn from ways that do not please God, when we believe in Jesus, that He is the living Son of God who died for our sins, we are filled with the very presence of God Himself.
Isn’t that mind-blowing. The problem with good news, really, really good news, is that it takes time to makes it’s way into us.
It has to get past all the negativity, all the downer messages we are burdened with, it has to get past and ultimately DESTROY every dark and hopeless thought in every hidden corner of our hearts and minds.
But when God by His grace breaks through and achieves the miracle, the absolute miracle of our salvation, of one soul turning to Him, He DEPOSITS Himself into us.
Romans 5 says: “God shows his love for us in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Since, therefore, we have now been justified by his blood, much more shall we be saved by him from of the wrath of God”.
So, I don’t know about you, but I want to let Him in. I want His power to fill my life. I want His Lordship to be manifest, evident, abundantly obvious in every last little tiny or big area of my life. I want His joy. Do you know His love today?
Do you know the joy that can only come through understanding yourself to be a redeemed child of the Most High God - beloved by Him, set apart for His service; filled with purpose - the purpose of worshipping and loving Him all of your days?
Perhaps there is one here today who doesn’t know this joy. Perhaps we could take a minute to make space for that one who is ready to cross into the Kingdom, ready to say ‘yes’ to Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. Ready to have their sins FORGIVEN, utterly. Ready to be embraced by Jesus.
If that is you, we’re going to bow our heads now. We’re going to pray. We’re going to ask Jesus Christ into our lives. We’re going to repent of our sins. We’re going to confess that Jesus Christ died for our sins; that He did in our place.
If this is you, then why don’t we pray together:
“Lord Jesus, thank you that you love me. Thank you that you gave your life for me, that you laid down your life and took my sins upon you. For this great sacrifice on my behalf, I thank you and I praise you.
I acknowledge my sinfulness before you. I confess that I have sinned and done those things that I ought not to have done. I now turn from my sins, from my ways that do not please you.
I receive you, Jesus Christ, as my Lord and Saviour. I accept you into my life as the God of my life.
By Your power and grace I will seek to serve you all of my days. Thank you for the gift of my salvation.
Thank you for the gift of your Holy Spirit who now fills me as I confess Jesus Christ as my Saviour and Lord. In His perfect name I pray. Amen.
We’re going to spend some more time singing songs of praise and adoration to God.
If you have just prayed that prayer along with me, I encourage you to tell someone this week what you have done.
I am happy to meet with you as soon as possible to support you in your new walk of faith. God bless you and God fill you with His abundant joy. Amen.
So we are called to live the way of Jesus. Put simply, that means to live as new creations in Him.
As He did in my life, He works in the life of every person who puts their trust in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour.
There is no greater joy that to be free in Christ.
There is no greater joy than to love God by serving Him, and to love our neighbour - to love each other, by serving each other according to the power of the Holy Spirit at work in us.
May we resolve, each of us in our own hearts, to honour Jesus with our whole lives, and to follow the way of Jesus as the Spirit of God gives us power.
