The Holy Spirit: God's Spirit At Work

The Holy Spirit, Part 2: God’s Spirit at Work

Series: Acts, #3

Chuck Sligh

February 9, 2014

There is a PowerPoint presentation available for this sermon upon request by emailing me at chucksligh@hotmail.com.

TEXT: Acts 1:8 – “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

INTRODUCTION

Illus. – An American was showing an English gentleman the Niagara Falls one day. The American said to his English friend, “Come over here and I’ll show you the greatest unused power in the world!”

Taking him to the foot of the Niagara Falls he said, “There it is: the greatest unused power in the world.”

The Englishman watched in awe the mighty, thunderous falls for a moment, and then replied, “No my brother, not so! The greatest unused power in the world is the Holy Spirit of the living God.”

Last Sunday we launched into a study about the Holy Spirit.

• We began by examining WHO He is. – We learned two important facts:

> First, that He is a PERSON—not some impersonal force or entity.

> Second, He is DIVINE—as truly God as is God the Father and God the Son.

• Then we saw WHEN the Holy Spirit came from Acts 1:4-5.

In these verses Jesus promised a “baptism with the Holy Spirit”— which we discovered is not an individual experience after a person’s salvation, but a collective event that occurred once in history—on the day of Pentecost—when Jesus simultaneously baptized ALL believers of the church age with the Spirit into His body. Since then, the Spirit has indwelt all believers the moment they are saved.

Today, let’s think about what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. The Holy Spirit is a person, but what does this Person DO? Jesus promised that when He ascended to heaven, He would send another Comforter.

But why? What is the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers and even non-believers? What are His activities that affect our lives personally? The activities of the Holy Spirit on earth break down naturally into two categories:

• His activities in the lives as believers and…

• His activities in the lives of non-believers

Let’s begin with…

THE ACTIVITIES OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN YOUR LIFE AS A BELIEVER

• If you are a Christian, there are a number of activities of the Holy Spirit in your life.

1. The first is TO KEEP YOU ETERNALLY SAVED – Look with me at Ephesians 1:13 – “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise.”

What does Paul mean when he says that believers were “sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise”?

A seal in New Testament times signified a finished transaction. In those days, when a business deal was completed, instead of signing their signatures, as we do today, they used a seal. A seal was a signet or a ring that made a distinctive impression in soft clay. It was applied to the clay and attached to the contract and hardened, signifying that the parties to the contract would fulfill the terms of the contract. Even today, when legal documents are processed, they’re stamped with an official seal to signify the completion and finality of those transactions.

So Paul was teaching that when you trust in Christ and are saved, that transaction “closes the deal” between you and God and you enter into a permanent partnership with God that cannot be dissolved. In other words, the deal is “DONE”! The matter of your eternal salvation is finished—settled—IMPOSSIBLE to undo or reverse. God will not go back on the terms of His contract.

What were the terms of that contract? Jesus said in John 3:15 – “That whosoever believeth in him [i.e., Christ] SHOULD NOT PERISH, but have eternal life.”

The contract is this—If you place your faith in Christ who died for your sins as your Savior, He promises He will save you for all eternity.

And God doesn’t go back on His Word! “Let God be true and every man a liar,” says Romans 3:4. Titus 1:2 tells us that God cannot lie. God never changes His mind and will never cancel the contract of eternal salvation.

What this means is that you can never “lose” your salvation. It’s settled—the transaction is done!—It’s SEALED forever!

For how long?—Paul says in Ephesians 4:30 – “And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.”

The “day of redemption” refers to the day of Christ’s return. Paul’s saying that the Holy Spirit seals the believer ALL THE WAY TO THE END till Christ comes to take you home.