INTRODUCTION:
1. A sundial was given to a group of people who lived in a jungle. To them it was a fetish. They built a house over it to keep it safe and holy. This kept the sun away from it and made it useless. They beautified it but made it without purpose. It reminds us of a powerless Christianity. The Holy Spirit, if He is treated at all, is treated as an emotional high or a theological concept, rather than the supernatural person He really is. He is forgotten in everyday life.
2. There is a mild southerly wind in Europe called the foehn. It blows up from the Mediterranean Sea bringing spring-like weather right in the midst of winter. So, too, even in the dark winters of the soul, it is possible to feel the gentle warmth of the presence of God and the blessed influence of the Holy Spirit. -- Robert C. Shannon, 1000 Windows, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing Company, 1997).
3. God the Holy Spirit was sent by the Father and the Son as the comforter of Christ’s followers. He undeniably has personality since He can be obeyed, grieved, reverenced, blasphemed, and lied to. He is undeniably God since He is omniscient, omnipresent, omnipotent, holy, and all-wise. He relates to the Christian by regenerating him, baptizing him, indwelling him, sealing him, filling him, endowing him with spiritual gifts, and aiding him in victory over sin.
4. The Holy Spirit came on the Day of Pentecost in a sound to awaken them, in a wind to move them, in fire to enlighten and warm them, in tongues to make them speak. This is a very fine statement of the case. Out of this grows this query: Are we awake today? Are we on the move for Christ? Are we enlightened and on fire for God? Are we using our tongues for Him? -- Hugh Sensibaugh -- Glen V. Wheeler, 1010 Illustrations, Poems and Quotes, (Cincinnati, Ohio: Standard Publishing, 1967), p. 90.
PROPOSITION: THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT SUSTAINS THE BELIEVER IN HIS SPIRITUAL JOURNEY.
TRANSITION: Just as we cannot fly a kite without the wind, our lives cannot be truly spiritual without the Holy Spirit. It makes sense therefore that we apply the following four directives to our lives.
I. DON’T QUENCH THE HOLY SPIRIT (I Thessalonians 5:19).
A. The Holy Spirit is conforming us to the image of Christ (II Corinthians 3:18).
B. To quench the Holy Spirit is to extinguish the progress of the Holy Spirit’s ministry.
C. "On a winter’s day I noticed a row of cottages with a deep load of snow on their roofs. As the day wore on, large fragments began to tumble from the eaves of this one and that other till, by and by, there was a simultaneous avalanche, and the whole heap slid over in powdery ruin on the pavement. Before the sun went down you could see each roof as clear and dry as on a summer evening. But here and there was a roof with its snow-mantle unbroken, and a ruff of stiff icicles around it. What made the difference? The difference was to be found within. Some of these cottages were empty, or the lonely inhabitant cowered over a scanty fire. In the peopled homes, the high-blazing kindling created such an inward warmth that grim winter melted and relaxed his grip, and the loosened mass folded off and tumbled over on the trampled street. It is possible by some outside process to push the main volume of snow from the frosty roof, or chip off the icicles one by one. But they will form again, and it needs an inward heat to create a total thaw. And so, by sundry processes, you may clear from a man’s conduct the dead weight of conspicuous sins, but it needs a hidden heat, a vital warmth within, to produce such a separation between the soul and its besetting iniquities, that the whole wintry incubus, the entire body of sin, will come spontaneously away. That vital warmth is the love of God abundantly shed abroad--the kindly glow which the Comforter diffuses in the soul which he makes his home. His genial inhabitation thaws that soul and its favorite sins asunder, and makes the indolence and self-indulgence and in devotion fall off from their old resting-place on that dissolving heart. The easiest form of self-mortification is a fervent spirit." -- James Hamilton, D.D. -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
D. A friend of Vance Havner coined a word by combining the words squelch and quench. He used to say, "Don’t ’squench’ the Spirit." Havner though it was so descriptive that he often used it in his preaching. Havner said, "We ’squench’ the Spirit in more ways than we suspect. We do so when we stifle the desire to speak or act for the Lord. When we criticize or discourage others by an unspiritual attitude, we ’throw cold water’ on their inner fire. We have the Holy Spirit as an honored Guest in every Christian gathering, and He can be grieved very easily. A frivolous attitude, a rebellious frame of mind, or a fed-up complacency will do it." In a cold and dark world we need the light and warmth of the Holy Spirit. Why would we want to squelch it?
II. DON’T GRIEVE THE HOLY SPIRIT (Ephesians 4:30).
A. The Holy Spirit is our lifelong guarantee that we will make it to the day of redemption.
B. Because He is our constant companion He is deeply afflicted with sorrow when we yield to transgression (see Ephesians 4:25-32).
C. When Christian musician Michael Card got married in 1982, he and Susan expected smooth sailing. But it wasn’t long before they started running into selfishness and communication problems.
"I was shocked to realize there were some things we couldn’t talk through," Susan tells Marriage Partnership magazine’s Louise Ferrebee.
Their struggles intensified as Michael began to spend more time on the road, doing up to 150 concerts a year.
The Cards’ pastor suggested they get some counseling before small problems turned into large ones. They say it took humility to admit they were as needy as everyone else. But through the counseling sessions, the Cards built some communication skills they use to this day.
"I still can get quiet and distant, hoping Susan will read my mind," Michael says. "After all, it’s a lot easier to hope your spouse is a psychic than to work through how you feel about an issue and then present your feelings in a graceful, Christlike manner. A creeping separateness comes between Susan and me when we don’t rely on God’s tools to keep our marriage solid." -- Louise Ferrebee in Marriage Partnership. Men of Integrity, Vol. 1, no. 1.
D. "Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God" commands Paul. Now, only a dear friend can be grieved. Not a stranger: he might be annoyed. Not a chance acquaintance: he might be perplexed. Not a business partner: he might be offended. Only a loved one can be grieved. -- Milton S. Agnew in The Holy Spirit--Friend and Counselor. Christianity Today, Vol. 36, no. 8.
E. Parents want the best for their children and are saddened when they do wrong--so it is with our heavenly Parent when we sin.
III. BE FILLED WITH THE HOLY SPIRIT (Ephesians 5:18).
A. When a person is under the control of wine, he does unnatural thins which are often embarrassing.
B. When a person is under the control of the Holy Spirit, he does unnatural things which are pleasing to God.
C. A man who drank heavily was converted to Christ and lived victoriously for several weeks. One day as he passed the open door of a tavern, the pungent odor drifting out aroused his old appetite for liquor. Just then he saw this sign in the window of a nearby cafe: "All the buttermilk you can drink -- 25 cents!" Dashing inside, he ordered one glass, then another, and still another. After finishing the third he walked past the saloon and was no longer tempted. He was so full of buttermilk that he had no room for that which would be injurious to him. The lesson is clear: to be victorious over our evil desires, we must leave no opportunity for them to repossess us.
Dwight L. Moody once demonstrated the principle like this: "Tell me," he said to his audience, "how can I get the air out of the tumbler I have in my hand?" One man said, "Suck it out with a pump." But the evangelist replied, "That would create a vacuum and shatter it." Finally after many suggestions, moody picked up a pitcher and quietly filled the glass with water. "There," he said, "all the air is now removed." He then explained that victory for the child of God does not come by working hard to eliminate sinful habits, but rather by allowing the Holy Spirit to take full possession. The more full our souls, the more we can preach without running dry. -- Haddon Robinson, Leadership, Vol. 14, no. 4.
D. As winter approaches we read all kinds of suggestions of utilizing fuel and making our dwelling places warm. Here are a few pointers for keeping warm in church:
* Rush to the front of the church to avoid the draft in the rear.
* Invite your neighbors and friends and sit 10 persons to the pew.
* Seat yourself near the pulpit; much hot air is emitted from that area.
* Fuss and fume when you don’t like what the preacher says.
* Wear thermal underwear (in the appropriate liturgical colors).
* Wait for an unfamiliar hymn - then watch the sparks fly!
* Let the Holy Spirit fill you, it will warm your heart and body.
IV. WALK IN THE HOLY SPIRIT (Galatians 5:16).
A. We depend on our legs for progress when we walk.
B. God’s desire is that we progress spiritually by depending on the Holy Spirit to take us through life’s difficulties.
C. It is said that a certain guide lived in the deserts of Arabia who never lost his way. He carried with him a homing pigeon with a very fine cord attached to one of its legs. When in doubt as to which path to take, he threw the bird into the air. The pigeon quickly strained at the cord to fly in the direction of home, and thus led the guide accurately to his goal. Because of this unique practice he was known as "the dove man." So, too, the Holy Spirit, the heavenly Dove, is willing and able to direct us in the narrow way that leads to the more abundant life if in humble self-denial we submit to His unerring supervision.
D. My wind chime is not sounding, although a fine fresh wind is blowing in at the window. Why don’t I hear its soft music strains? Because it was put away in the storage room because some of its strings were broken. There is a gracious revival in the church, and believers are greatly refreshed by the visitations of God’s Spirit, but I am in a sadly worldly unbelieving condition. May it not be because I neglect private prayer, and have not been regular at corporate prayer, because my family concerns and business cares have kept my heart in the storage room, and my soul has lost her first love? Yes, these are the reasons. Lord, tune my heart, and I will again seek the places where the heavenly wind of your Spirit blows graciously and refreshingly. How can I bear to be silent when your daily mercies are all around me singing of your love? -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon, The Quotable Spurgeon, (Wheaton: Harold Shaw Publishers, Inc, 1990)
CONCLUSION:
1. You can’t catch the wind in a net. -- Charles Haddon Spurgeon (1834-1892)
2. A picture of how the Holy Spirit gets us through difficulties is found in the following illustration. Use your sanctified imagination and find yourself no longer in an auditorium but in a baseball park. Your favorite team is at bat, behind in the bottom of the ninth, three to zero. An extremely good pitcher is on the mound. The bases are loaded and there are two outs. Up to bat is . . . Ken Alford. He hates baseball. He was third string right-fielder in little league and he usually sits on the bench when his church team plays in the Summer softball leagues. No one is sure that he has even figured out all the rules but that doesn’t matter now because everything rides on him.
All eyes focus on him as he ambles to home plate. Hardly anyone notices an obscure figure waiting in the shadows of the dugout.
Ken stands alert but trembling--his knees shake so bad they don’t knock. Instead, they miss! The audience holds its breath as the pitcher prepares for his first release. There’s the wind up, there’s the pitch . . . . “S T E E R I I I K K E” yells the umpire. Ken didn’t even see the ball.
A soft but hearty “Booo” comes from the audience. Ken swallows hard. Sweat is covering him from top to bottom. His head aches from concentration. The pitcher smells blood, winds up again and . . . “S T E E R I I I K K E!” yells the umpire. Was the ball even thrown? More boos from the audience. At this point, a time-out is called. (You can do that when you use a sanctified imagination.) Ken steps from the plate and unzips an opening that runs down his back. From the dugout comes that obscure friend. He is large and burly. His physique communicates ultimate finesse in baseball. Nothing but confidence emanates from this man. His name . . . Hank Aaron. Mr. Aaron climbs into the opening and I am zipped back up, ready to face the final pitch. “Victory is certain!” thinks the pitcher. He snarls. I brace. The audience holds its breath. I shut my eyes. There’s the release! One hundred miles an hour toward home plate. I swing -- CRACK! The bat connects and MY-OH-MY, there’s a Home Run over the center wall! It’s a grand-slam home run! Let’s hear it! We win by one!
That puts wind in my sails!
It feels great to be a hero! But who hit that home run? Me or Hank Aaron? It works this way:
It was by body but it was his brawn.
It was my experience, but it was his expertise.
It was my person, but it was his power.
It was my availability but it was his ability.
You will face difficulties in life when the count is full and it is very likely that you will fall. At that moment do not forget that one who is greater than Hank Aaron is in you! --Dave Warren, NB? p.44, Dec.7, 1983
3. Rely on Him to bring victory out of defeat, Hope out of despair, and unity out of division. That’s His job. -- p. 381 #14- (June 1979, Prairie Overcomer)
4. The presence of the Holy Spirit puts wind in your sails. Depend on Him.
