Today, I would like to introduce you to the Holy Spirit. Now whenever that is said, people begin to get nervous. We often times have so many different ideas about the Holy Spirit that any discussion of the Holy Spirit becomes a nerve racking ordeal. Before I begin the introduction, however, I would like to dismiss some common misunderstandings about the Holy Spirit.
1. The Holy Spirit is not an it.
Nowhere in Scripture is the Spirit of God treated as an inanimate object. He is given names. He is given a personality. He is given jobs. He is given functions. These are not qualities of an it, but of a living person of the Godhead. The Holy Spirit is not something, He is someone.
2. The Holy Spirit is not the force from Star Wars.
Many people view the Holy Spirit according to the description Obi-Wan Kenobie gives the force in the Star Wars movies. They see the Holy Spirit as “something” that controls your movements, but obeys your commands. They see the Holy Spirit as “something” that surrounds us and binds the galaxy together. Of course, Scripture says that binding creation together is Jesus’ job (Colossians 1:17).
3. The Holy Spirit does not make you act like an idiot.
Now, I don’t know everyone’s background, but I must say this: There are no cases in Scripture where the Holy Spirit comes upon a person and they begin doing things that would land them in an insane asylum. At Pentecost when people began speaking in tongues, it was for other people’s benefits. We see no case of hysterical laughter, or people needlessly running laps around a group of people. In fact, most of the time when someone was filled with the Holy Spirit, words of edification soon came from their mouth.
Now let me introduce you. It is not the easiest of introductions. God the Father we can understand better because we have seen fathers. God the Son we can better understand because we have seen sons. As soon as you say God the Holy Spirit, people begin saying, “Well, I don’t believe in ghosts or spirits.” I’ve never seen one before. So to begin the introduction I want you to begin thinking about the ministry that Jesus Christ did here on Earth. He taught the things of the Father. He explained the law. He showed people their sin. He brought comfort to those who believed.
THE HOLY SPIRIT DOES TODAY WHAT JESUS DID 2000 YEARS AGO.
(John 14:26) The role of the Holy Spirit is to remind you of the words of Jesus Christ. Have you ever been trying to decide if you could do something, and then a verse of Scripture came to mind and you knew exactly what to do or not to do? That is the Holy Spirit alive in you. In fact, the Holy Spirit has an advantage over Jesus when He was on Earth. It is better that we have the Holy Spirit today with us, than to have Jesus on earth. Now, I know that this sounds strange, but this is from Jesus’ mouth. “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. John 16:7 (ESV).” While Jesus could be with a limited number of people at a time when He was in the flesh, the Holy Spirit can be with each of us, at all times. But His work is a continuation of the work of Jesus Christ.
Now that we know the Holy Spirit has a job that He is actively doing today, we might ask ourselves, where does the Holy Spirit live or carry out this work.
THE HOLY SPIRIT INDWELLS THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER.
If you think about this for more than a few seconds, it will begin to change your life. Hear Paul’s words in 1 Corinthians 6:19: “do you not know that your body is a temple of the Holy Spirit within you, whom you have from God?” The God who created all the heavens, all the stars, all the grass, every bug, animal, bird, tree, and person lives inside of you.
--Some of you have been supportive of my weight loss and I thank you. Part of the reason I began losing weight is because of this idea. I want my body to be a place worthy of the Holy Spirit. Every time we put things that damage our bodies into our bodies, we are treating the temple of the Holy Spirit with no respect.
--Now we often call this church building “the house of God.” (grab trash can) We treat this building with respect, and decorate it with flowers…(dumb trash can). Some of you cannot believe I just did that. I have just desecrated the house of the Lord you say. Yet often times we do this to the Holy Spirit every day with what we put into our bodies and with the sins that we commit.
So let me ask you this: “How many of you like to live in a dirty house?” Notice I didn’t say who actually lives in a dirty house, I said who likes to live in a dirty house? None of us do. Neither does the Holy Spirit. That’s why our sin is such an offense. It makes the Temple of Holy Spirit a filthy place to live.
The problem is we cannot clean it on our own. We don’t have enough detergents or diets to make our bodies a fit place for the Holy Spirit to live. We don’t have the ability to do it on our own.
THE HOLY SPIRIT EMPOWERS THE LIFE OF A BELIEVER.
Acts 1:8 shows us that we receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon us. The rest of the book of Acts tells of the apostles receiving power when the Holy Spirit comes upon them.
(show that the pulpit lamp won’t come on) This lamp does not have a plug. It sits on the pulpit week after week, yet it does nothing except look beautiful. It matches the chandelier. It is shiny when light reflects off of it. But it is totally useless. A lot of us are like this lamp. We look like what we are supposed to be, but are totally disconnected from the power source of the Holy Spirit. Every time we attempt to do something on our own power, it will be as effective as this lamp. It may look like something good. People may say how much they like it. But it will have no power to shine the light of God to a world that is living in darkness. The Holy Spirit is the power that drives a believer. He brings power to each person that He fills.
Did you know that it is a command that we be filled with the Holy Spirit. It has as much force as a parent who says to their child, “Clean your room.” Ephesians 5:18 commands us to not get drunk with wine but to BE FILLED with the Holy Spirit. But how?
To be filled: ASK
“If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!" Luke 11:13 (ESV)
It is simple. Just as any parent loves to give a good gift to their child, God the Father wants to fill His children with His Spirit. As the Holy Spirit fills you, sin gets pushed farther away. As He takes control of your life, He fills you with power to do what God calls you to do. Just as a hand fills a glove, the Holy Spirit fills us. The power is not in the glove it is in the hand. The more unnecessary things that live in the glove, the less room there is for the hand. But the glove cannot pull things out, it allows the hand to remove the unnecessary parts.
Who is the Holy Spirit? He is the one continuing today what Jesus began on earth. He lives inside of you and me. He gives power to those who allow Him to fill each part of their lives. He cleanses out the unwanted parts of you and me. If you want to experience the power of the spirit in your life it is quite simple: ASK.
