Sermon Series: ¡§God, The Holy Spirit¡¨
Sermon #2 ¡§Ministries of the Holy Spirit
Text: I Corinthians 2:10-13
OPENING JOKE: ¡§The Holy Spirit is Better¡¨ A nice elderly woman was leaving church after the Sunday services. As she was in the back she shook the hand of the pastor and said, ¡§That was a good sermon¡¨. The pastor replied, ¡§Oh, it wasn¡¦t me, it was the Holy Spirit¡¨ to which she replied, ¡§Oh, no, the Holy Spirit would have done much better than that!
INTRODUCTION: Welcome to our continuing study on the Holy Spirit
Last week we began our discussion outlining the person of the Spirit and the revelation of His indwelling the believers at Pentecost. You will remember how we pointed out that:
ľ In the Old Testament, God the Father (Yahweh) is revealed
ľ In the Gospels, God the Son (Jesus) is revealed
ľ In Acts, at Pentecost, God the Holy Spirit is revealed
All three being eternally existent in the Godhead, but making Their purposes in the plan of redemption known through individual revelations
***Today we are going to continue our study by looking at the various ministries of the Holy Spirit
Like I said last week, to go over the complete ministry of the Holy Spirit is almost impossible, as His role is so comprehensive ¡V so I have chosen a few powerful points within His ministry to be our focal point in this study.
Let¡¦s first look at His Ministry of:
I. Illumination
a. Let me begin by giving two definitions:
i. Revelation ¡V God revealing Himself through inspiriting men to write down His Word; This is how the Bible came about
ii. Illumination ¡V God making clear through His Spirit that which has already been revealed
b. Now, I said that to say this: The Holy Spirit is no longer giving ¡¥Revelation¡¦ but He now gives us ¡¥illumination¡¦
i. God¡¦s revelation of Himself is complete
ii. We have His perfect Word, written by men who were inspired to write its contents
iii. We no longer need any revelation, because the revelation is complete
c. This is why in the last book of the NT we have such a stern warning against addition and changes to the Biblical text
i. Revelation 22:18 ¡§For I testify to everyone who hears the words of the prophecy of this book: If anyone adds to these things, God will add to him the plagues that are written in this book; and if anyone takes away from the words of the book of this prophecy, God shall take away his part from the Book of Life, from the holy city, and from the things which are written in this book.¡¨
ii. These warnings represent the close of the New Testament Canon
iii. Anyone who tampers with it, adds to it, or alters it are in danger of the judgment described in these verses
d. I often here people say, ¡§God gave me a ¡¥revelation¡¦¡¨ ¡V but this really is not the case
i. If God has opened your eyes to a truth contained in His Word, this is not ¡¥revelation¡¦ but ¡¥illumination¡¦
ii. He has simply illuminated their heart to something that is already revealed about Him
1. I realize this is an argument in semantics
2. ¡§You say tomato, I say tomato¡¨ or ¡§You say illumination, I say revelation¡¨
3. But this is more than just semantics, it goes to the heart of what is meant
e. Because many have said God has given them ¡¥revelation¡¦ that totally contradicts His Word
i. There have been entire books written in addition to the Bible by men who claim ¡¥Divine Revelation¡¦
1. These books contain non-Biblical revelations of God
2. They more often than not contradict His Word
3. Proverbs 30:5-6 says, ¡§Every word of God is pure; He is a shield to those who put their trust in Him. Do not add to His words, Lest He rebuke you, and you be found a liar.¡¨
ii. But this idea of extra-Biblical revelation is not just found in the extreme sects, but also in many Christian Churches
1. One prominent televangelist said that God revealed to Him that He could have died for the sins of men instead of Jesus
2. Another claimed God spoke audibly to him and said He would take his life if he didn¡¦t raise 8 million dollars
3. I listen to different Christian radio stations. On one the other day I heard a woman who said that if you came to her all day seminar, by the end of the day your would be receiving revelation from God
iii. Stories of God speaking to people, contrary to His Word, run rampant through circles where the Scripture is not seen as God¡¦s final revelation
f. THE BIG QUESTION: Do we believe that the Bible is the complete, final and authoritative Word of God, given under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit?
i. If so, then we have no further need of ¡§revelation¡¨
ii. We now need the Holy Spirit to illuminate us to what has already been revealed
iii. And that is His ministry in the life of the believer today
iv. John 14:26 ¡§But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.¡¨
g. ¡¥Bring to remembrance¡¦ is an important phrase in this passage
i. The Spirit doesn¡¦t reveal more to us, He simply reminds us of what has already been said
ii. This is His act of illumination ¡V reminding us of what He has inspired men to write
iii. Illustration: ¡§Remembrance in Witnessing¡¨ Have you ever been talking to someone about God¡¦s Word and you started telling them things from the Bible that you haven¡¦t heard or read for along time?
1. I have quoted complete passages before that I never tried to memorize ¡V they were just there
2. This is not extra-biblical revelation, but Holy Spirit illumination
h. NOTE: It is also important to point out that the Holy Spirit is the teacher to our hearts as to what is written in Scripture
i. ¡¥He will teach you all things¡¦
ii. Illustration ¡§The Holy Spirit Seminary Professor¡¨ When I first started seminary one of the professors told the class, ¡§I can only guide you in learning, it is the Holy Spirit who teaches about the things of God. If you learn anything in this course, it will not be because I am a good teacher, but because the Holy Spirit illuminated you to the subject¡¨
1. I can testify to what he said
2. Many times I have had people try to explain things to me and I never got it (Like I said last week about the Trinity)
3. And then, by the Holy Spirit¡¦s work in my heart and the reading of God¡¦s Word, it would become clear
i. The Holy Spirit¡¦s ministry in the time of the New Testament was giving God¡¦s revelation through the men He chose to pen down His Word
i. After the close of the New Testament Canon the Holy Spirit now no longer gives extra-biblical revelation, but Biblical illumination
ii. We should be praying, not that God reveal more to us ¡V but that we have a firm grasp of what He has revealed by the illumination of His Spirit
iii. And He will illumine us as He sees we are ready
Let¡¦s Now Look at the Holy Spirit¡¦s Ministry of:
II. Conviction
a. Jesus gives us a picture of this ministry in John¡¦s gospel:
i. John 16:8 ¡§And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:¡¨
ii. The word ¡¥convict¡¦ could actually be translated ¡¥convince¡¦
iii. The initial work of the Spirit in a person¡¦s life is that of convincing them of their need for a Savior
b. Jesus goes on to show the two-fold ministry of conviction by the Spirit
i. John 16:9 ¡§of sin, because they do not believe in Me;¡¨
1. Quote: ¡§Sin without Christ equals eternal punishment¡¨
2. Not all people believe that they need to be saved ¡V in fact most are comfortable in an unsaved condition
3. The Holy Spirit¡¦s work is to convince them otherwise by bearing witness with their conscience
4. I have seen these people in churches when the Gospel message is being given
a. They are uncomfortable, restless and unsure
b. The Holy Spirit is at work convincing them of their need to yield to the Savior
ii. John 16:10 ¡§of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;¡¨
1. Once we have come to Christ, we are still not perfect
a. The Holy Spirit must still convict us of sin
b. Illustration: ¡§Holy Spirit Oil Light¡¨ Have you ever been driving and had your oil light come on? That is an indicator that something is wrong in your car and you need to get it fixed.
c. The Holy Spirit is like that in the life of the believer ¡V He bears witness with our conscience when we sin so that we will recognize and repent
2. Not only does the Spirit lead us away from what not to do, but He also leads us into what we should do
a. Illustration: ¡§Just had to give the Gospel¡¨ An example would be an overwhelming conviction to share the Gospel with someone. Have you ever been in a situation where God impressed on your spirit to talk to someone about Christ? Or maybe to give someone food or money?
b. This is an example of you being convicted in righteousness
c. The Holy Spirit guiding us into a righteous activity
3. He also lays on convictions for ministry
a. I don¡¦t believe I am up here by accident, but because the Spirit laid it on my heart to preach and then He opened the door for it to happen
b. I don¡¦t believe you are here today by accident, but because the Holy Spirit encouraged you to be in His house this morning
c. The Holy Spirit, through His ministry of conviction, moves us in the will of God when we are sensitive to His motions
The final ministry of the Spirit I want to look at today¡K
III. Fruit Production
a. One of the great metaphors in the Bible is the analogy of Christ being the tree and His believers being branches
i. Those who are true believers are pictured as bearing fruit
ii. In Galatians we find 9 characteristics, or fruits that the believer should display
iii. Galatians 5:22 ¡§But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.¡¨
b. These are godly attitudes that should characterize the lives of those who belong to God by faith in Christ
i. These are not our natural feelings, but feelings that come from the Spirit which dwells within us
ii. The commandment of the New Testament (Love your neighbor as yourself) is found within these nine characteristics
c. NOTE: The ¡¥fruit of the Spirit¡¦ is not the same as the ¡¥gifts of the Spirit¡¦
i. Each of us receive different Spiritual gifts
ii. But all Christians should display the fruit
iii. This fruit is God¡¦s expectation in our lives
iv. They are not ¡¥multiple choice¡¦; but all together part of the ¡¥fruit¡¦
d. So many people judge their faith by what they don¡¦t do
i. Well I don¡¦t do ¡§this¡¨, and I don¡¦t do ¡§that¡¨ so I must be making God happy
ii. God is most pleased with us, not when we are absent from bad, but when we are full of good
iii. When we are allowing His Spirit to produce fruit in our lives
e. It is no accident that the Third Person of the Trinity is called The Holy Spirit
i. That is what He does: He imparts Holiness to us
ii. He does this by developing a Christ-like character within us
f. When the Spirit fills us at conversion, a seed in planted in our heart
i. That seed begins to grow as fruit in our lives
ii. We see this fruit manifest in our behavior
CONCLUSION: Quote: Billy Graham once said, ¡§It is through Christ we receive eternal life, but it is through the Holy Spirit we receive internal life¡¨
In his book, ¡§Discover the Holy Spirit¡¨ he tells this story:
Illustration: ¡§Indian with ocean in a jar¡¨ An old American Indian legend tells of an Indian who came down out of the mountains where His tribe lived and ventured to see the ocean. Awed by the scene, he took a quart jar and filled it with water. When asked why he had done this he replied, ¡§My people have never seen the great water. I will carry this jar to them to see what it is like¡¨
Attempting to write a sermon about the ministries of the Holy Spirit is a lot like trying to hold the ocean in a quart jar.
I have not even scratched the surface concerning His ministries in the world.
I do hope, however, that He has illuminated you during this message to His work and helped you better understand what it is He does
This week, as we enter the world, let us consciously seek the Holy Spirit¡¦s guidance in our lives
To illuminate our hearts to God¡¦s Word
To convict us of sin and righteousness
To produce fruit that others may see His work through us
