The Spirit-filled Life (2)
Scott Bayles, pastor
Blooming Grove Christian Church: 5/28/2017
If you’re like me, you may have grown up in a church that rarely if ever talked about the Holy Spirit. I don’t recall my pastor ever explaining who the Holy Spirit is or preaching sermons about Him. We baptize people in the name of the Father, the Son and… the Holy Spirit, but most Christians only live with an awareness of the first two. This problem is so widespread that author and pastor Francis Chan titled his book about the Holy Spirit Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit.
Last week we began a series that I hope will help all of us remember our crucial need for the Holy Spirit and begin living the Spirit-filled life! Last Sunday I highlighted three key concepts that we, as believers, need to understand and embrace about the Holy Spirit.
First, we talked about the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit isn’t a mysterious force or energy; rather, He’s a personal being—God the Holy Spirit. Furthermore, we talked about the Presence of the Holy Spirit. When you receive Jesus as your Savior, you receive the Holy Spirit into your heart and life. He lives within us as we invite Him to invade every area of our lives. Finally, we explored the Power of the Holy Spirit. When learn live in the power of the Spirit, He helps us in our weakness and enables us to do more than we imagined.
Today I want to explore one of the Spirit’s most important roles in our lives, which is that of a guide. In a conversation with his disciples, Jesus said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard.” (John 16:13 NLT).
Now, we have to keep in mind that Jesus was speaking here not to a general audience of believers, but to the Twelve—the apostles hand-picked by Jesus to take the Gospel into the world and become the authors of Scripture. There’s no doubt these men had a special connection to the Holy Spirit; however, the same Spirit that indwelt the Apostles indwells every believer. Just as they needed divine direction at critical times in their lives, we need it today. So, I’m convinced the Spirit continues to guide believers into all truth even today.
The emphasis is on the word guide, however. Jesus doesn’t promise that the Holy Spirit will control us. He doesn’t promise that the Spirit will drive us. He doesn’t say the Spirit will force us to do anything. He says he will guide us.
He also assures us the Spirit is a trustworthy guide. Jesus calls Him the Spirit of Truth because He helps believers discern between what is true and what’s not; what’s wise and what’s foolish; what’s best and what’s simply okay. Each day is full of decisions—where to attend school, whether to hire a particular applicant, how much to budget for vacation, which car insurance to buy, and the list goes on. But if we’ll listen for His voice, the Holy Spirit will give you the extra on-the-spot sense of discernment you need to make both big and small decisions.
Lastly, Jesus notes that the Holy Spirit is God’s mouthpiece to believers. The Spirit speaks to us on behalf of God the Father. When God chooses to speak directly to you, it will be through the Holy Spirit. His voice longs to be heard. God may not speak to you through a burning burn like he with Moses or through a vision like he did Jacob—but God still speaks! The problem is—we’re not very good listeners.
We get so caught up in ourselves—our problems, our worries, our busy schedules—that we can’t hear the Holy Spirit’s voice in our lives. But the Bible says, “The true children of God are those who let God’s Spirit lead them” (Romans 8:14 NCV). If we are truly God’s children, then we must let the Holy Spirit lead us. So question today is—how? How do we let the Holy Spirit lead us and how does He speak to us today?
When I search the Scriptures, I find a plethora of ways in which the Holy Spirit speaks to us, but I want to bring to light three of them that recur over and over.
First, the Spirit speaks through his whispers.
• HIS WHISPERS
I think part of the reason we don’t recognize it when God speaks is that He’s often much more subtle than we expect. We expect a neon sign. We expect the earth to move. We expect thunder and lightning. We expect a booming voice from heaven.
That’s what Elijah expected.
In 1 Kings 19, Elijah needed to hear from God. So God lead Elijah up into the mountains. And there, the Bible says:
As Elijah stood there the Lord passed by, and a mighty windstorm hit the mountain; it was such a terrible blast that the rocks were torn loose, but the Lord was not in the wind. After the wind, there was an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake, there was a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire, there was the sound of a gentle whisper. (1 Kings 19:11-12 NLT)
“A still small voice,” the KJV says. God’s Spirit spoke to Elijah in a gentle whisper. I think the Spirit still speaks in gentle whispers. Now these whispers aren’t audible. But the shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. The Holy Spirit dwells within us. So he doesn’t need our ear; rather, he needs a listening heart and mind.
Dusty Ribble related one such whisper not long ago. Back in April, while sitting here in church he distinctly heard the Spirit whispering, “You need to prepare a communion meditation.” At first, he ignored it because he didn’t like that idea. But the very next day I texted Dusty, asking him to give a communion meditation later that month. What’s unique about the situation is—I never asked Dusty to give a communion meditation before. In fact, it never even occurred to me to ask him. But when I looked over the schedule and saw an empty slot something (or rather, Someone) whispered to me, “Ask Dusty.” And I’m pretty sure Dusty would have told me no, had the Holy Spirit not spoken to him before I did.
This sort of prompting from the Holy Spirit isn’t unusual. In his book, The Power of a Whisper, author and pastor, Bill Hybles tells of sending an e-mail out to all the members of Willow Creek Community Church, asking them to describe a time they heard a whisper from heaven. The next day his inbox was bulging with more than five hundred heartfelt replies. Some of the respondents described recent promptings they had received, and others ventured back in time, citing incidents from years or even decades ago. The topics ran the gamut—vocational, relational, spiritual, physical, medical, financial, and more. The tone of the whispers varied as well—sometimes the Spirit offered words of gentle affirmation, and other times he issued stiff challenges.
The point is: it may be subtle—a gentle whisper, a still small voice—but the Spirit still speaks to those who are willing to listen. It’s hard to hear a whisper unless you’re in a quiet place. Your own thoughts can drown out the Spirit’s whisper. The voices of other people and the media can drown out the Spirit’s whisper. That’s why it’s especially important for us to be still and listen.
CBS anchor, Dan Rather, once asked Mother Teresa what she said during her prayers. She answered, "I listen." I think David would have liked that answer. David wrote, “I listen carefully to what God the Lord is saying” (Psalm 85:8 NLT).
So the first way in which the Holy Spirit guides us is through his whispers. Furthermore, the Spirit speaks to use through his Witnesses.
• HIS WITNESSES
One Sunday after church, a pastor stood at the back of the sanctuary shaking hands (as preachers tend to do) when a silver-haired saint named Wilma shuffled over and said, “That was a pretty good sermon.” In my true Christian piety, the preacher said, “Thank you Wilma, but it wasn’t me; it was the Holy Spirit.” Wilma replied with a smirk, “Oh no, if it was the Holy Spirit it would have been a lot better!”
Wilma may have been right, but the Spirit really does speak to us through other people all the time. In Acts 1, Jesus told his disciples, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8 NIV).
Through the power of the Holy Spirit, these disciples became Jesus’ spokespeople or witnesses to the rest of the world, sharing with everyone else what the Holy Spirit revealed to them.
For example in Acts 8, Philip—a man full of the Holy Spirit—is walking along a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza when he sees a chariot heading the other way. The Bible says, “The Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go over and walk along beside the chariot’” (Acts 8:29 NLT). So Philip does just as the Spirit says, which leads to conversation with an Ethiopian official. The Ethiopian happened to be reading the prophet Isaiah, and needed help understanding the passage. He invited Philip to sit with him and Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus. So the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip through a whisper, but he spoke to the Ethiopian official through a witness—Philip.
The Spirit still speaks through witnesses all the time. I can’t tell you how many times someone has come up to me after a sermon and said, “That message really hit home. I’m going through something right now, and what you said was exactly what I needed to hear.” I’ve even had people ask me, “Did you have me in mind when you wrote that sermon?” The answer is always no. More often than not, I have no idea what someone’s personal struggles are—but the Holy Spirit does, so he can speak to you through me. Despite my bad jokes and poor delivery, the Holy Spirit often uses me as His witness.
And it’s not just preachers that the Spirit speaks through. He may speak to you through a poignant song on the Christian radio station that just happens to speak to your immediate needs or through a spiritually insightful book or article that does the same. He might speak to you through a small group discussion or a word of encouragement from a fellow believer. In fact, the people we ought to listen to most are those we live with every day. Those people who love us the most, who pray for us the most, are often the instruments through which the Holy Spirit speaks to us. I think the Spirit often speaks to me through my wife and even through my kids.
But again, the key to hearing the Spirit’s voice is listening. We have to have open hearts and open minds if we are going to hear what the Spirit has to say.
So, first, the Spirit speaks to us through whispers. Furthermore, he speaks through his witnesses. Finally, the Holy Spirit speaks through his Word.
• HIS WORD
In fact, The Holy Spirit’s primary way of speaking to us today is through His Word. Of all the ways the Holy Spirit reveals himself, this is the most objective and, therefore, the most valuable. The Bible is the unfolding truth of God by God about God. It’s the Holy Spirit’s message to every person, everywhere.
Peter describes the role of the Holy Spirit in Scripture, saying, “Above all, you must realize that no prophecy in Scripture ever came from the prophet’s own understanding, or from human initiative. No, those prophets were moved by the Holy Spirit, and they spoke from God” (1 Peter 1:20-21 NLT).
Jesus said the Holy Spirit would be God’s mouthpiece to believers. He would bring thoughts to our minds. He would remind us of truth. So it’s not surprising to find the Holy Spirit is the author behind the authors of the Bible.
If you want to know what the Holy Spirit thinks about something, read the Bible. Scripture is God’s thoughts on paper. It doesn’t get any clearer than that. You and I aren’t left to discern the mind of the Holy Spirit through whispers and witnesses alone. In fact, the whispers and witnesses of the Spirit should always be interpreted through the lens of the Word. Since the Spirit doesn’t contradict himself, we know that he won’t lead you somewhere Scripture forbids you to go. I would go so far as to say that you will never be able to accurately identify the leading of the Holy Spirit in your life without some understanding of the Word.
In Ephesians, the apostle Paul calls the Word of God “the sword of the Spirit” (Ephesians 6:17) and says “It is sharper than the sharpest two-edged sword… It exposes our innermost thoughts and desires” (Hebrews 4:12 NLT). In other word, the Holy Spirit uses the Word of God to cut right through to the heart of our issues. Whatever sins or struggles we’re facing, the Holy Spirit will expose them and help us to overcome them through Scripture.
This is what the Bible says about itself: “All Scripture is inspired by God and is useful to teach us what is true and to make us realize what is wrong in our lives. It corrects us when we are wrong and teaches us to do what is right. God uses it to prepare and equip his people to do every good work” (2 Timothy 3:16-17 NLT).
It is the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, guiding the minds of men who penned the pages that make up the Bible. When we face difficulties and heartaches, rather than seek this counsel or that counsel, we should first go to the Scriptures. The most guaranteed way we can hear from the Holy Spirit is through His Word. No matter what struggles you’re dealing with God’s Word will speak to that issue. And through his Word, the Spirit of God will guide us, teach us and lead us down the right path.
Conclusion:
So, does the Holy Spirit still speak? Absolutely. He speaks to us through his whispers, his witnesses, and his Word. And he may speak to you in other ways too, if you’re listening. I believe that one of most valuable lessons we can ever learn is how to listen to the Spirit of God. In the midst of our complex and hectic lives, nothing is more urgent, more necessary, or more rewarding than listening to what the Spirit has to say. His voice waits to be heard, and having heard it, we are launched into the greatest, most exciting adventure we could ever imagine.
The question isn’t really “does the Holy Spirit speak”? The question is—Are you listening?
Next week we’ll continue to explore the Holy Spirit and what it means to live a Spirit-filled life.
Invitation:
In the meantime, I want to encourage you to open your heart and mind, and listen for the Holy Spirit. Let the Spirit of God lead you and begin living the Spirit-filled life! Let’s stand and sing together church.
