The Helper

Intro: being in Pentecost all of my life, I am amazed at the misconceptions about the Holy Spirit within the church. For some it simply means they speak in tongues, for others it is a tingling feeling that they get when they say someone has the anointing. I have seen people holler, run, jump, dance, spin, fall out and several other things that are all attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives. I am not discounting any emotional response to the moving of the Spirit of God, but surely Jesus gave us the promise of the Father to be more than some emotional high that usually doesn’t even make it to the parking lot, let alone throughout someone’s life. What is the purpose for us possessing the Spirit of God in our lives?

The Helper

Romans 8:26

Likewise the Spirit helps in our infirmities.

The Spirit helps us in our weaknesses.

The Spirit helps us through difficult situations in life.

This is so wonderful, God sent His Spirit to help us. Help us in the time of trouble, to help us in the time of need. Tonight, let’s look at the verses in scripture that give us the purpose of the Holy Spirit working in our lives.

· When under personal attack—Mark 13:11-here is one way the Holy Spirit works in our lives. When we are being attacked for our faith in Jesus Christ, when we fall under persecution for sharing the gospel, we don’t have to rely on human intellect, but the very words we need to speak will be given to us by the Holy Spirit.

· Comfort—John 14:26—another important aspect of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that He will comfort us. As Christians we are not immune from the trials of life. We will face troubles that will cause grief and sorrow in our lives. But the good news is this: we don’t face tragedy the same way the world does, because of the indwelling of the Spirit in our lives we have a comfort. The Word teaches us this: we are comforted so that we can comfort others.

· Power to Witness—Acts 1:8—the Holy Spirit in our lives gives us the power for witness. We have a boldness given to us that is supernatural in origin. The Scribes and Pharisees marveled when they saw the boldness of Peter and the disciples.

· Direction—Acts 15:28—it seemed good to the Holy Ghost and to us. We have here another way in which the Holy Spirit helps us, He gives us direction. In life we all face many decisions and must choose direction for our lives. The Holy Spirit can give us direction in every area of life. Marriage, Career, Ministry, and every aspect of our lives can be directed by the Helper.

· Peace and Joy—Romans 14:17—if you study scripture you realize that the fruit of the Spirit is love, peace and joy. This is of supernatural origin. There are times when we struggle in the natural realm to keep joyful and to stay at peace with others and ourselves. But this is where the Holy Spirit helps us.

· Confirmation—Romans 8:16—another great work of the Holy Spirit in our lives is that of confirmation. The Spirit of God bears witness with our spirit that we are God’s children. This is a supernatural knowing that we are right with God. No man calls Jesus Lord except by the Spirit—1Cor 12:3—this is the confidence we have in Christ. We are sealed with that Holy Spirit of promise—Ephesians 1:13

· Finally---praying---Jude 1:20—the Holy Spirit has one other important role in every believers life, it is to help in praying. The Spirit helps us in intercessory prayer. We are built up in the faith by praying in the Holy Spirit. When words cannot even be uttered, Romans 8:26—our main verse tonight—the Spirit of God prays through us, from within flows rivers of living water.

Close: if you want to fully realize the significance of the working of the Holy Spirit in our lives think of this. Jesus reveals himself according to 1Corinthians 15:6 to five hundred people. Can you imagine what 500 excited people who had just seen the risen Savior of the world could do for Christ. But He commanded them to tarry and wait for the promise of the Father. Jesus knew enthusiasm could die, faith could grow cold, doubt could creep in, but with the power of the Holy Spirit to help them, they could take this gospel into all the world