Sermon/Bible study about the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is present thru out the whole Bible. From Genesis 1 to Revelation. Genesis 1:2 says “darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.”
Revelation 22:17 says: “The spirit and the bride say, ‘Come!’”. In that text you can feel that the Spirit long for Christ to return in all His glory.
It is evident that the Holy Spirit is present through out the whole Bible, but his function is a bit different in the Old Testament and in the New Testament.
The Holy Spirits function in the Old Testament.
In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit dwells upon certain people in certain times.
The presence of the Spirit were rare and limited.
The great prophet Moses, and received the holy Spirit from God as a Helper in his giant mission to lead the people of God out of Egypt. And when Moses felt that this burden fell too hard on his shoulders, God let the Spirit also come upon 70 other men. They too got the power to be leaders of the people.
You can read about this event in Numbers 11.
Later in the story, in Deuteronomy 34, shortly before the death of Moses, he put his hands on a younger man, but with our perspective a rather old man. Joshua must have been at least 60 years old. When Moses prayed for Joshua He too received the Holy Spirit. The Spirit gave Joshua wisdom to be a good leader for the people after the death of Moses.
If we proceed to the first book of Samuel we will notice that the Holy Spirit is associated with the kings, Saul and David. When Saul in 1 Samuel 10 is anointed king of Israel, the Spirit of God falls upon him and changed his heart and mind and he would himself prophecy when he met God’s prophets.
Later, when Saul turns away from the Lord and God reject him as king of His people we can read in 1 Samuel 16:13-14 what happened. (Tolken läser stycket)
In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon certain people at certain times. A humble attitude and obedience to God is closely associated with the Holy Spirit. That is why King David pray like he does in the well known psalm nr, 51, vv 8-13.
David had committed adultery and slept with Batsheba, someone elses wife. Afterwards he tried to cover it up by having Batsheba’s husband killed in the war.
The Prophet Natan had confronted David with his sin, and it is when he repent from his wrongdoings, he pray with the words of psalm 51. He ask God to let him keep the holy Spirit he received when he was anointed King of Israel.
2. Where the Holy Spirit is, remarkable things happen.
In the book of Judges we can read the fascinating story about Simpson and his enormous strength. It was a supernatural strength given to him by the Holy Spirit. He needed that strength to fulfil his mission for the Lord.
In 1:st Kings 18:45-46 we can read about how the old prophet Elijah is filled with the Holy Spirit. When that happened he got the ability to run in front of King Ahab’s carriage on his way back from the battle with the prophets of Baal.
And in 2 Kings 2:13-15
The companions of Elisha understand that the Spirit of the Lord is now upon Elisha since he now can divide the water with his cloak. The Spirit that had dwelled on Elijah, now was upon Elisha.
3. The Spirit is at work in building the Tabarnacle
The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament is often associated with prophets and a few kings. But he is not only given to them. When the people of God under the leadership of Moses were to build the Tabernacle, God’s special tent, the craftsmen who were going to work on the Tabernacle got the holy Spirit. The Spirit made them extra good in their professions and they made the Tabernacle extra beautiful. In that Tabernacle I think we had the most beautiful and perfect artworks in the history of man. The Spirit of God made that possible.
4. God made a promise. He promised that He would pour out the Spirit on all people.
Even though the Holy Spirit were present in Kings and prophets and craftsmen, He is mostly a promise. A promise God gives that he in the future will pour out the Spirit on all people. The most famous text talking about this is taken from Joel 2:28-32 This famous prophecy was spoken some 800 years before the fulfilment! The time of God is amazing!
This promise was fulfilled at the first Pentecost in Jerusalem. That promise keep getting fulfilled every time someone come to faith in Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit in the New Testament.
It is not as hard to get a picture of the Spirit in the New Testament as it was in the Old Testament. The character of the presence of the Spirit has also changed. The Spirit is no longer a powerful force coming upon certain people at certain times. He is now poured out on all believers.
What comes to you mind, when I say “The Holy Spirit”? How do you picture Him? Do you know Him? Do you live with Him every day?
In Europe, most secular people think about the Holy Spirit as some kind of unknown, impersonal force. A neutral force that can be put to work both for the good and for the evil.
1. The Holy Spirit is God.
This belief that the Holy Spirit is some kind of impersonal force is so wrong. It is heresy! Such a belief has nothing in common with the Scripture’s description of the Holy Spirit.
Firstly, The Holy Spirit is God!
One passage in Scripture that makes this very clear is Acts 5:3-4. (Tolken läser stycket)
Here Peter equals the Spirit with God himself. To him, God and the Holy Spirit are equals. Peter consider rightly the Holy Spirit as God.
Paul share that view when he writes his letter to the church in Corinth. In 2 Corinthian 3:17 he says: “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom.”
2. The Holy Spirit is a Person
As a consequence of being God, The Holy Spirit is also a Person and no impersonal force. He has a mind, will and feelings. Paul says in Romans 8:27 “He who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will.”
The holy Spirit has his own mind, and he has strong and deep feelings. He can feel both grief and love. Paul says in Ephesians 4:30”Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”
He can feel grief when he is rejected, but His heart can also be touched and he can feel love. Romans 15:30 says “I urge you, brothers, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit”
The Holy Spirit can make His own decisions like a Person can, even though His decision always is in full harmony with the will of the Fader and the Son. This is evident especially when it regards the gifts He give all believers. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:11 “All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” It is the Holy Spirit who decides!
3. The work of the Spirit.
What then is the Spirit “good” for? Why have He been poured out on us?
Jesus himself gives the answer in John 14: 16-17 and 25-26. (Tolken läser dessa stycken) And Jesus says in John 16:5-8 (Tolken läser stycket)
The Fader is in heaven. His Son, Jesus is no longer present on earth. But Jesus never intended to leave his disciples alone. It is not by our own strength and power we can glorify Jesus. It is only by the power of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit, is God on earth. He is send by Jesus and the Father to help you and me to a better and deeper understanding about who Jesus is and what he has done for us. The Spirit is also send here to help us love Jesus more. It is thru Him our hearts get filled with song and it is only in Him you can say, “Jesus, thank you for everything”.
It is the Holy Spirit who shows people their sin and. It is the Holy Spirit that lead people to faith in Jesus Christ. The Spirit paints Jesus to us, we respond with repentance and faith.
At that moment the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in the believer. He is present in our lives from the very minute we ask Jesus to forgive our sin ad be our Lord and Master. The Spirit wants to be to us what He was sent here to be, our Helper and Counselor. He is very gentle. He doesn’t force himself upon us. All he wants is to be close to us, teach us in the Word of God, teach us how to pray, give us gifts and teach us how to use them. He wants to renew our hearts and train us for ministry. All he does has one goal. To make us more like Jesus. This is what the Holy Spirit wants to do, but we must invite him to do so. Even though he dwells in the hearts of all believers, he doesn’t have the freedom to act in all believers lives.
Paul knew this. That’s why he writes like this, in Ephesians 5:17-20
“..be filled with the Spirit.”
What does it mean to be filled with the Spirit? Some people I’ve talked with think it is similar to take you car to the gas station and fill up. But it is nothing like that!
When Paul talks about “be filled” it has nothing to do with filling something empty. He is talking about constantly letting the Holy Spirit control your everyday life. He is talking about living in a close relationship with the Holy Spirit so that you get to know His tender voice. This doesn’t happen with one occasion and the no more. This is something that should happen always, every day.
When you become more filled with the Spirit, things start to happen in your life! The fruits of the Spirit, which Paul lists in Galatians 5:22 start to grow in your life. (Tolken läser stycket)
Anyone who let himself be filled with Holy Spirit can also taste the power of God.
The disciples must have been surprised when they heard Jesus say in John 14:12”I tell you the truth, anyone who has faith in me will do what I have been doing. He will do even greater things that these, because I am going to the Father..”
These even greater act were dependent on Jesus’ leaving them for heaven. It was from heaven he send the Holy Spirit with power do to those promised acts.
When the disciples were mourning his coming ascension to heaven he told them in John 16:7
This must have been hard to understand for the disciples. They were very much aware of their own weakness and shortcomings. They must have had a hard time understanding and believing that they, soon would do greater deeds than Jesus had done!
And yet, on the first day of Pentecost, Peter preach and 3000 people come to faith in Jesus Christ. Jesus himself never got that kind of response from one single sermon as far as we know. Perhaps Jesus didn’t even have that many followers in all his public three year period as He did after Peter’s sermon.
The key to Peter’s success was not that he was a better preacher than Jesus. The key was the Holy Spirit who now had come as Jesus had promised. The Holy Spirit put the words in Peter’s mouth, and blessed them in the hearts of the listeners. The holy Spirit is exactly as available for us, as He was to the Apostles. All we have to do is to invite him back into our lives, invite him to be what he was send from Heaven to be, our Counsellor and Friend.
