Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit?
Experiencing God’s Presence
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
The title of our current message series is: Who’s Afraid of the Holy Spirit? Some people are afraid of the Holy Spirit because a spirit is invisible and mysterious. We are afraid of what we cannot control. We may be afraid because we know very little about the Holy Spirit.
Francis Chan calls the Holy Spirit the Forgotten God. Others have pointed out that the Holy Spirit is the substituted member of the 3-Person God: Father, Son and Holy Bible. Many rather read a book than relate to a Spirit.
Some people are afraid of the Holy Spirit because of what they know about the Holy Spirit. In Matthew 3 we read that Jesus was baptized and filled with the Holy Spirit. And then we read in Matthew 4:1, “Then Jesus was led by the Spirit [of God] into the desert to be tempted by the devil.”
Is that a good reason to be afraid? That’s good reason to be afraid.
I remember being led by the Holy Spirit to pray with a stranger in a hospital. Her husband was in a coma. Half an hour after we prayed, her husband awoke from his coma.
The Holy Bible didn’t tell me to pray with the stranger in the hospital. I didn't have a Bible with me. I wasn't reading the Bible. It was the Holy Spirit.
Let me say that there were times when the Holy Spirit led me, and I didn’t follow. I missed out on the blessings. And there were times when the Holy Spirit gave me a way out of a temptation, but I didn’t take it. I gave into the temptations.
There were also times when I wasn’t sure if it was the Holy Spirit leading me or if it were my own thinking. But the more I follow the Holy Spirit’s leading, the more confidently I can discern His leading. Jesus said in John 10:27, “My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.”
Some people settle for relating to God through His written Word, the Bible. Others have read the Bible and learned that we can experience God more fully through
the Holy Spirit. Let me share with us three reasons why we can experience God more fully through the Holy Spirit.
First, the Holy Spirit is the God we worship.
Most Christians hear this will think, “Of course.” You’ve been taught about the Trinity in Sunday school and Sunday sermons. But the word Trinity is not found in the Bible. Trinity is a term given to capture the Bible’s description of the one true God who exists in three Persons: Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is mentioned three times in the Old Testament, in Psalm 51:11, Isaiah 63:10 and 11. But the Spirit of God is mentioned as early as the first book of the Old Testament, in Genesis 1:2.
John F. Walvoord, the past president of Dallas Theological Seminary, summarized it this way: “The Spirit of God was the source of wisdom, special skills, unusual strength, of miracles, and of divine revelation in the Old Testament.”
In the New Testament, in Romans 8:1-17, the Holy Spirit is described in a number of ways: The Spirit of life. The Spirit of Christ. The Spirit of God. The Spirit of sonship.
Acts 5:3-4 records: Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? 4 Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.”
The Bible reveals that the Holy Spirit is God, Himself. He is the God we worship. And the worship center or sanctuary of the Holy Spirit is you and me.
1 Corinthians 6:19-20 reads, “Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.”
The God we worship, the Creator of you, me and the universe has chosen to live in our bodies. This is not metaphorical but supernatural. Take a moment to wrap your mind
around this reality.
How many of us clean up our house when important guests visit? God’s Holy Spirit has come not to visit but to stay. What then do we need to do or to stop doing with our bodies in order to honor God? (Pause, pray and listen to the Holy Spirit. He will answer and assist you in living to honor Him with your body.)
To experience God more fully, we first need to recognize, the Holy Spirit is the God we worship.
Second, the Holy Spirit is the Gift we welcome.
When Jesus was born, he was Emmanuel, which means “God with us.” When Jesus ascended back into Heaven, He gave us the Holy Spirit to be “God in us.” John 20:22 records Jesus giving the Holy Spirit to His disciples: Jesus said, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
I love YAM leaders meetings for a different reason than that of my kids. I enjoy being with the YAM leaders because they are caring and capable servant leaders. My kids enjoy the baked goods that Jeff and Christine bakes for the meetings. I get welcomed home from the YAM leaders meetings for the baked goods I bring back.
Many Christians limit their experience of God to the gifts of the Holy Spirit. The gifts of the Holy Spirit in the broader sense include creation (seen and unseen, Genesis 1), salvation (new life in God’s family, John 3), sanctification (new likeness to Jesus Christ, Romans 8:1-17) and manifestations (new abilities to build up the Body of Christ, 1 Corinthians 12). We can appreciate or desire these gifts or presents of the Holy Spirit. But the Bible calls us to welcome most of all the Person of the Holy Spirit.
We welcome the Holy Spirit as an ongoing attitude, but receive the Holy Spirit only once, when we put our trust in Jesus Christ’s death on the cross as payment for our sins. Ephesians 1:13-14 tells us: “ And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed [the Good News of Jesus Christ], you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.”
Many stores today charge for a shopping bag. If you forget to bring a bag and don’t want to pay for one but have already paid for your purchase, the store puts a sticker on your purchase. This sticker or seal marks the item as purchased and belonging to you. The Holy Spirit in us is the seal that marks us as God’s possession paid by the blood of Jesus Christ.
(Take a moment to welcome the Holy Spirit in you. Don’t let Him be the Forgotten God or the Forgotten Guest in your life. “Holy Spirit, thank You for your indwelling presence.”)
To experience God more fully, we first need to recognize, the Holy Spirit is the God we worship. Second, the Holy Spirit is the Gift we welcome.
Third, the Holy Spirit is the Guide we walk with.
God gave us His Spirit to guide us through life. But the guidance of the Holy Spirit is not like that of a GPS, where you can take it or leave it and it wouldn’t bother the GPS. The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is like a concerned Parent who can be grieved by our disobedience: “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption (Ephesians 4:30).”
The guidance of the Holy Spirit is also not like that of conscience. Conscience is formed by the surrounding values during our growing up. I grew up seeing my immigrant father work three jobs, seven days a week. My conscience says, "If I'm not working seven days a week, I'm being lazy." But the Holy Spirit says, "I made you to work six days and rest one day."
There are two keys to following the leading of the Holy Spirit. Key one is sort out the Holy Spirit's voice. Weed out all the other voices: Media, parents, friends, past, pain, and other spirits.
The Holy Spirit's voice sounds like the Bible. Because He is the Author of the Bible. 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us, “Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit is the Mastermind behind the
men who penned the Bible.
Here’s what else. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would apply Jesus’ teachings to our lives: “[The Holy Spirit] will glorify me (Jesus) because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you (John 16:14).” So if you know Jesus and you know the Bible, you'll recognize the voice of the Holy Spirit.
Key one to following the leading of the Holy Spirit is sort out the Holy Spirit's voice. Key two is surrender to the Holy Spirit's voice. 1 Corinthians 1:25 reminds us, "For the foolishness of God is wiser than human wisdom, and the weakness of God is stronger than human strength." I want to be led by One with this kind of wisdom and power.
Let me close with Ephesians 5:18. It is a command to be continually filled with the Spirit. This filling is a word picture to make room for the Holy Spirit's leading. This may sound scary to some but adventurous to others. But we are made for relationship with God through the Holy Spirit.
(If you feel this sermon is helpful, you are welcome to visit www.danachau.com for a free online course.)
