A. Welcome to Friends and Family Day!
1. We are excited to have special guests with us today and we hope you will be encouraged and inspired by this time of worship.
2. Today’s sermon is the beginning of a new sermon series that I am calling “The Holy Spirit, Our Helper.”
3. I decided to start the series on Friends and Family Day in hopes that the topic might spark the interest of some of our visitors and prompt you to return to hear more about this subject.
4. I will be drawing from a number of resources for this series and one of them is Max Lucado’s book about the Holy Spirit called “Help is Here.”
5. Let’s start with a very helpful illustration from Max Lucado’s book.
B. Let’s imagine that you’re on vacation.
1. You’ve booked a week at a mountain village hotel and you’re going to do something you’ve always wanted to do: hike the mountain trails.
a. Clear air and splendid vistas – it’s going to be great!
2. On the first morning, you’re the first person out the door – no sleeping in for you, no sirree!
a. You hit the trail with your enthusiasm level on high, your pack on your back, and the trail map in one hand and your walking stick in the other – what fun!!
3. But the fun is short lived.
a. The trail is steep and your new hiking boots are stiff.
b. A few minutes up the trail and you’re wondering if someone stuffed your backpack with sandbags.
4. You step to the side of the trail to catch your breath and that’s when you hear the trail guide and his happy followers come walking along.
a. He wears a wide-brimmed hat and speaks with a confident tone as he identifies the names of flowers and trees and describes the history of the mountains.
b. You notice that his followers aren’t carrying any gear which allows them to walk at a fast clip.
c. Within minutes the group is way ahead and you lag behind with your increasingly uncomfortable load.
5. After a few miles, you catch up to the group and you notice they are sitting in a meadow.
a. They are enjoying lunch as the guide describes the vast mountain range.
b. Their lunch consists of sandwiches, chips, sodas and homemade chocolate chip cookies.
6. You sigh and wonder if the PB&J sandwich you brought is going to be soggy – no matter, you’ve lost your appetite.
a. You turn and head back the way you came – enough misery for one day.
7. The next morning your muscles ache and your feet are swollen.
a. It takes the better part of an hour and a box of Band-Aids to cover your blisters, but off you go to try a different trail.
b. Day two is a mirror image of day one.
c. The trail is steep too soon, your legs are tired too fast, and your backpack feels like it is full of concrete blocks.
8. And guess who you hear coming up the trail behind you? Yup, the same cheerful guide and his gaggle of fortunate followers.
a. You step to the side and allow them to pass – some are chatting, one is whistling, the guide makes a joke and there is laughter.
b. And you? You feel like an arthritic pack mule.
c. A few miles later you come upon the group and they are enjoying another picnic lunch.
d. The guide announces to his group, “We have homemade ice cream. Let’s eat it up!”
e. You grumble to yourself something about the inequities of life and turn around and head back to the hotel.
9. Days three and four are carbon copies of days one and two.
a. On day five you don’t even leave the hotel lobby.
b. You are sitting there minding your own business when you hear someone call your name.
c. You look up and see it is the hiking guide.
d. He says, “I’ve been looking for you. Where have you been?”
e. Confused, you utter, “What?”
f. He says, “I’ve been hoping you would be a part of our daily hikes. They are included in your hotel package. The hikes, lectures and food are all part of the deal. Maybe you didn’t read the brochure we sent.”
g. All you can say is, “I guess I didn’t.”
h. The guides continues, “Yeah, we take care of everything. We have a team that prepares gourmet picnic lunches and we carry your pack up the trail so you don’t have to. And, on top of that, you get me. I know these trails better than anyone. My job is to lead you into the high country.”
i. You think to yourself, “Really? How did I miss that?!”
C. There is a weariness among us.
1. We are weary from the loads we carry and the challenges we face.
2. We have questions we cannot answer and problems we cannot solve.
3. We had hoped that life would be an invigorating pilgrimage, a high-country adventure.
4. We never expected to grow so tired so soon.
D. But what if there is help for us?
1. What if there was someone to walk with us and guide us and help shoulder our load?
2. And what if this help was heaven-sent?
3. Not another person like us who is prone to blisters and leg cramps and fatigue, but someone who is ever strong, never tires, is always near and is never hindered by what hinders us.
4. If you would be interested in a person like that, then I’ve got great news for you!
5. There is a heaven-sent person who is our helper and His name is the Holy Spirit.
E. If you’re asking, the “Holy Who?”, then you’re not alone.
1. If I were to ask you, “Who is God the Father?”, then you could probably give me an answer.
2. If I were to ask you, “Who is God the Son?”, then you probably wouldn’t hesitate to answer.
3. But if I were to ask you, “Who is the Holy Spirit?”, then you would probably struggle to give an answer.
4. Part of the challenge is found in the terms.
5. We can relate to the idea of God as Father and God as Son, but it is much harder for us to relate to the idea of God as Spirit.
F. We shouldn’t fret at the fact that the Holy Spirit is mysterious and defies our definition because it is God’s will that the Holy Spirit is this way for us.
1. To ponder the Spirit is to ponder an endless ocean of beauty or the expanse of the universe.
2. The words of Bernard Ramm ring true:
“There is a hiddenness to the Spirit that cannot be uncovered.
There is an immediacy of the Spirit that cannot be shoved into vision.
There is an invisibility of the Spirit that cannot be forced into visibility.
There is a reticence of the Spirit that cannot be converted into openness.
For these reasons one feels helpless, inadequate, and unworthy to write a line about the Spirit.”
3. The Spirit defies comprehension and yet the Spirit welcomes our attempt.
4. Did you know that the Bible makes more than a hundred references to the Holy Spirit?
a. Jesus said more about the Spirit than He did about the church, marriage, finances or the future.
5. Scripture employs more than a dozen metaphors to describe the work of the Spirit, which is a testimony to the Spirit’s grandeur that one metaphor can’t suffice.
a. The Spirit is a teacher (Jn. 14:26) and is the wind of God. (Jn. 3:8)
b. The Spirit is our intercessor (Rom. 8:26) and is our seal. (Eph. 1:13)
c. The Spirit is the dove of peace (Mt. 3:16), the giver of gifts (1 Cor. 12:1-11), and the river of living water. (Jn. 7:37-39)
d. And the list goes on…in future sermons we will explore these metaphors of the Spirit.
6. Let me share with you some important practical truths about who the Spirit is and what the Spirit does in our lives.
G. The first important thing for us to understand about the Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is a Person.
1. The Holy Spirit is not an indistinct “power” or “thing.”
2. Sometimes people refer to the Spirit as an “it,” as if the Spirit is a thing or a force that we can control or use for our purposes.
3. But to think that way about the Spirit is a very serious misunderstanding of the Spirit and His role in our lives.
4. In John 14:17, we read that the Spirit “dwells with you and will be in you.”
5. This calls us into a relationship with the Spirit, instead of allowing us to think we can treat the Spirit as a power to be harnessed and employed for our purposes.
6. The Holy Spirit is a Person who has personal relationships not only with followers of God, but also with God the Father and Son.
7. Throughout the Bible, we see the Spirit working in conjunction with the Father and Son. (Mt. 28:19; 2 Cor. 13:14)
H. A second important thing for us to understand about the Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is God.
1. The Holy Spirit is not a lesser or different kind of Being than God the Father and God the Son.
2. The Spirit is God just like the Father and Son are God.
3. The words Spirit and God are used interchangeably in the New Testament.
4. In the book of Acts we read about the time when Ananias and his wife, Saphira, tried to lie to the apostle Peter.
a. Peter admonished Ananias with these words: “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?...What made you think if doing such a thing? You have not lied just to human beings but to God.” (Acts 5:3-4)
5. In that statement we see that Peter explicitly referred to the Holy Spirit as God.
6. We also know that the Spirit is God because the Spirit has the characteristics of God.
a. The Spirit is Omniscient (all-knowing) – 1 Cor. 2:10 says: Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, since the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God.
b. The Spirit is Omnipresent (present everywhere) – Psalm 139:7-8 says: Where can I go to escape your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to heaven, you are there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there.
c. The Spirit is Omnipotent (all-powerful) – Jesus promised: “But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.” (Acts 1:8)
I. A third important thing for us to understand about the Spirit is that the Holy Spirit is eternal and holy.
1. Jesus promised His disciples that the Spirit would be with them forever. (Jn. 14:16)
2. In the book of Hebrews we read that it was through “the eternal Spirit” that Jesus “offered himself unblemished to God.” (Heb. 9:14)
3. From those verses, we conclude that the Spirit is an eternal being.
4. The fact that the Spirit is holy is somewhat obvious because He is often called “The Holy Spirit.” (Rom. 1:4; 5:5)
5. If the Spirit is holy and the Spirit dwells in us, then that makes our physical bodies holy sanctuaries from God’s vantage point.
6. Our physical bodies (our flesh) often lead us into sin, but how wonderful to realize that God the Holy Spirit chooses to dwell in us!
J. A fourth important thing for us to understand about the Spirit is that the Holy Spirit has His own mind and will, and He prays for us.
1. In Romans 8:27, the apostle Paul tells us, “And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.”
2. In 1 Corinthians 12:11, we read that the gifts of the Spirit are empowered by the Spirit and are given to each person as the Spirit wills.
3. This is an important reminder of Who is in control.
4. Using His mind and will, we are told that the Spirit prays for us.
5. I don’t know about you, but the thought of the Spirit of God praying for me according to the will of God is extremely comforting to me.
6. In the verse prior to that one, Paul says that we often don’t know what to pray, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groaning that cannot be expressed in words. (Rom. 8:26)
K. A fifth important thing for us to understand about the Spirit is that the Spirit has emotions.
1. The Bible tells us that we can grieve the Holy Spirit. (Isaiah 63:10; Eph. 4:30)
2. Does it seem sacrilegious to say that any one of us can grieve the Spirit of God? Who are we to have such a power over the Spirit?
3. Are you surprised to know that God has emotions?
4. Since God created emotions, why is it difficult for us to believe that God has emotions?
5. The Spirit is grieved when there is a breach in relationship, whether it be the relationship between us and God, or our relationships with other people.
6. When we are disunified, unloving, hateful, jealous, gossipy, or many other things, then that is when we grieve the Spirit of God.
7. And if we truly cared about the Holy Spirit’s grief, then we would be more committed to holy living and peaceful, healthy relationships.
8. Imagine growing to the point where we care more about the Spirit’s grief than our own.
L. With this better understanding of who the Holy Spirit is, let’s return to the promise Jesus made about the Spirit.
1. Jesus would not allow His followers to begin their ministries until the Holy Spirit was sent.
2. In Luke 24:49, Jesus said, “Don’t begin telling others yet – stay here in the city until the Holy Spirit comes and fills you with power from heaven.” (TLB)
3. By that point in time, the disciples had spent three years in training, but even after all that time with Jesus, they needed something more – they needed the Holy Spirit.
4. Just before Jesus left them, He said, “But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
5. The Holy Spirit comes with power – power to make good choices, power to keep promises, power to overcome the inner voices of fear and failure.
6. The Spirit gives us power to get out of bed, to get on with life, and to get busy doing the right things in the right way.
7. The Spirit gives us the power to face the unexpected and unwanted, and the courage and the strength to persevere in the midst of opposition and persecution.
8. That’s what Jesus promised and that’s what the Spirit delivered back then and what the Spirit continues to deliver now - power.
M. So, let me ask you…how is your power level?
1. Perhaps you have all the power you need.
2. Perhaps for you, life feels like a downhill stroll through a pleasant meadow.
3. Perhaps you never lack energy, enthusiasm, or strength for the path you are on.
4. If that doesn’t describe you, then consider the possibility of a life-giving, life-empowering relationship with the Holy Spirit.
5. We don’t have to walk this path alone and we don’t have to carry all the weight by ourselves.
6. God has given us the Holy Spirit as our helper and guide.
N. How many times have you tried to use an appliance or power tool that isn’t plugged in?
1. If a machine won’t turn on, then the first thing to do is make sure it is plugged in, right?
2. The Christian who neglects the Holy Spirit is like a lamp that’s not plugged in.
3. When we neglect the Holy Spirit, then there is no way to draw upon His power and assistance.
4. Jesus talked about our need to be connected to Him, because branches that aren’t connected to the vine will die.
5. If we are not connected to Jesus and plugged into the Spirit, then we can do nothing.
6. And so, the Spirit longs to give us guidance, wisdom and power.
7. If we let Him, the Spirit will shoulder the burdens we were never intended to carry alone.
8. The earthly life and the Christian life are not meant to be lived without the Spirit.
9. The Spirit is God’s gift to us and for us.
10. The Spirit is our ally, our champion, and our guide and He is here to transform us, sustain us, and deliver us to our heavenly home.
O. So, I want to invite you to join me on this journey as we seek to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit.
1. For some, this may be your first encounter with the Spirit.
2. For others, this may be a fresh encounter with the Spirit.
3. Either way, know this for sure: God the Father and God the Son want us to know and be blessed by God the Spirit.
4. And as Jesus promised in John 7, the Spirit will quench our thirst and the Spirit will be like a stream of living water flowing deep inside of us.
5. If that sounds good to you, then I hope you will continue to study with us during this sermon series.
6. If you haven’t yet decided to turn your life over to Jesus and to declare your faith in Him and be baptized into Him, then you don’t have the forgiveness of your sins and don’t have the Holy Spirit in you.
a. And these are things we would love to help you understand and prepare to do and receive.
7. But if you have come to faith, repented, confessed Jesus as Lord, and been immersed in water for the forgiveness of sins, then you have received the gift of the Holy Spirit. (Acts 2:38)
a. The task for you now is to learn to walk in the Spirit and not grieve the Spirit.
b. I hope that this sermon series will help all of us grow in our ability to let the Spirit work in us and through us to the glory of God.
Resources:
Help Is Here, Max Lucado, Thomas Nelson, 2022
Forgotten God, Francis Chan, David Cook, 2009
