“HOLY SPIRIT” John 14:15-31
INTRO – During school year, CR, JW, & I have a kids’ church w/ the WEE Care kids. Really special time for us to bond w/ the kids. Share Bible stories w/ them. Share CR’s suckers w/ them. Took CR’s sucker jar in there a few weeks ago when CR was out. One of little kids, “That’s Mrs. Charlotte’s.” “Yes, I got it out of her office.” “That’s stealing. We’re not supposed to steal.”
Most of time, when we share stories w/ them, they sit and listen intently. They are hearing these stories for the first time and are amazed at the incredible stories that they hear from the Bible, or other Biblically-based stories we tell. Their eyes are wide w/ wonder as they listen.
Most people are like this when it comes to the Holy Spirit – wide-eyed amazement as they hear about the HS. It may be that they are just ignorant of the HS and His work. Or maybe there is a sense of disbelief. Or maybe they are just misguided about the work of the Spirit. This can happen very easily these days as those who are supposed to be spiritual leaders give the HS credit for things that the Spirit would never do. USA Today article this past week.
This is a prime example of the confusion surrounding the HS. It is totally absurd and totally blasphemous for this man to blame the HS for the sin of homosexuality. There is no way that the HS led him or anyone else into that lifestyle.
So important that we understand who the HS is and how the HS works in our lives and in our world.
First, need to understand that the HS is a Person.
The HS is a Person, not an “it.” He is a Person, not a power or an experience. Many people confuse some of the manifestations of the HS as the Spirit Himself. Read in Acts 2 about the rushing windlike sound from heaven, the tongues of fire that touched person, & the people speaking in different languages. Assume that these things are the HS, when they are, in fact, manifestations of the Spirit and NOT the HS Himself.
We know that the HS is a Person b/c a person has:
- Knowledge – the ability to know, understand, recognize, & have meaning – “No one can know what anyone else is really thinking except that person alone, & no one can know G’s thoughts except G’s own Spirit.” (1 Cor. 2:11 NLT)
- Will – an ability to make choices & decisions on the basis of what one chooses to do – “It is the one & only HS who distributes these gifts. He alone decides which gift each person should have.” (1 Cor. 12:11 NLT)
- Emotion – an ability to feel, both to have & express feelings & to be aware of them – Rom. 15:30 tells us about the “love of the Spirit” & Eph. 4:30 tells us not to “grieve the Spirit.”
Just as we would never refer to God the Father or to Jesus Christ as an “it,” we should never refer to the HS as an “it.” He is a Person, the third Person of the Trinity.
Second, we need to understand what this Person does.
HE COUNSELS & COMFORTS – v. 16
KJV – “And I will pray the Father, & He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide w/ you forever.”
MSG – “I will talk to the Father, & He’ll provide you another Friend so that you will always have someone w/ you.”
NAS – “And I will ask the Father, & He will give you another Helper, that He may be w/ you forever.”
Other translations – Encourager, Advocate, Teacher, Guide, Companion.
Why these different words? Gk. word – parakletos – Literal meaning – “one called alongside.” The HS comes alongside us to bring the counsel of God into our lives. He comes alongside us to help us in every situation we encounter. Simply put, the HS is there 24/7 365 for the child of God.
“When Jesus promised that the Paraclete will come ‘alongside’ us, He meant that this One called alongside us will be available to help us w/ our deepest need. If we are grieving, He will be our Comforter…If we are stumbling & trying to find our way, the Paraclete will be our Guide. When we are trying to understand a passage of Scripture, the same Spirit who inspired it will come to be our Teacher & unfold its meaning for us. This is the glory of the wonderful Paraclete: He will come alongside us to help us in the way we need Him most.” (Wayne Ward, Layman’s Library of Christian Doctrine – The Holy Spirit, p. 73-74)
HE CONVICTS & CORRECTS – John 16:8
He convicts of sin – No man can do this. No minister can do this. A preacher can come to you & take the sharp blade of truth & plunge it deep into your heart, but he cannot convict you of sin; only the HS can do that. Preacher can preach until he’s blue in the face. Other Xns who love you can pray until they feel they can’t pray any more. You can read & hear Scripture after Scripture. Others can weep over your lost condition & the sin that’s in your life. But the change that you need in your life comes when you sense the convicting power of the HS in your heart & respond to Him. “When you feel that you have sinned & that you want to be a Xn – when the weight of your guilt bears down on you, the HS is then convicting you & you should not resist Him.” (W. Herschel Ford, Simple Sermons on Great Christian Doctrines, p. 35-36).
When the HS convicts of sin, He doesn’t stop there. He doesn’t just convict you & then leave you on your own. He convicts & He corrects. Eph. 5:15-18 – 15So be careful how you live, not as fools but as those who are wise. 16Make the most of every opportunity for doing good in these evil days. 17Don’t act thoughtlessly, but try to understand what the Lord wants you to do. 18Don’t be drunk with wine, because that will ruin your life. Instead, let the Holy Spirit fill and control you.
The HS convicts of sin, then gives you the help you need to correct the course & direction of your life. Take this passage apart:
- “So be careful how you live” – HS will help you do this.
- “not as fools but as those who are wise” – HS will make you wise.
- HS will give you power to do good in these evil days.
- HS will help you understand what G wants you to do.
- HS will fill & control you if you will let Him. He will correct the direction of your life if you will let Him.
Flying home from CA last week. 35,000 feet. Looked down & saw a beacon flashing at an airport. Knew that was a place that we could go if we were in trouble. HS is that beacon flashing in our lives, guiding us to a place of safety when we are in trouble. He will convict us of the sin that is causing trouble in our lives. He will correct us and set us back on course. You might be seeing that beacon flashing right now. Don’t ignore it!
HE CHALLENGES & CONQUERS – Eph. 1:15-20
15For this reason, ever since I heard about your faith in the Lord Jesus and your love for all the saints, 16I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers. 17I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit[a] of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints, 19and his incomparably great power for us who believe. That power is like the working of his mighty strength, 20which he exerted in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in the heavenly realms,
P wanted the Ephesian Xns to experience all that knowing X could mean for them. Hear the passion in his message to them! He knew that there was so much more to knowing X than just going through the motions. And He knew that the HS – “the Spirit of wisdom & revelation” – could reveal that to them & challenge them to press on to know X.
Eph. 3:16-19 – P continued to pray for these Xns to be strengthened w/ the power of the Spirit - 16I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, 17so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, 18may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, 19and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.
The HS challenges us to know more & more about X, to live more passionately for Him, & gives us the power – the power that He exerted in X when He raised Him from the dead – to conquer sin & live for Him! What incredible power!
HE CONVINCES & CONFIRMS – v. 17, 26
He is the “Spirit of truth” who will “teach you all things.” If you’ve never given your life to X, the HS will convince you about the truth of who Jesus is and about the truth that you need Jesus. He will convince you that only those who are born again will go to heaven. He will convince you that all those who call upon the name of the Lord will be saved. He will convince you that if you will confess w/ your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that G raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. He will convince you that G so loved the world…
Not only does the Spirit convince you that Jesus is who He is and that you need Him as your Savior, but He also confirms that you belong to Him if you do. Romans 8:16 – “16For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children.”
CONCLUSION – HS – the Person who comforts & counsels, convicts & corrects, challenges & conquers, & convinces & confirms. And the question for you to ask today is not: How much of the HS do I have? but How much of me does the HS have? Have you fully surrendered to Him as He convicts you of you need for X as your Savior? Have you let Him correct the wrong direction of your life? Have you yielded to His challenge to live a passionate life for the glory of G? Listen to Him now and respond now! Don’t let this moment pass you by as the HS works in your heart!
