The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit. # 1

THE MINISTRY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT Part 1.

John 16:7-15.

Of all the great stuff that the Bible teaches the Ministry of the Holy Spirit is the one that most people have a problem with. Let me say that I know that I am not an expert, but there are a few things that I have learnt over the years. I have seen many things happen in churches that were actually part of the ministry of the Holy Spirit and I have been in churches where what went on had nothing to do with the Ministry of Holy Spirit. As I though about the Sunday service I felt that the Lord wanted me to share with you about the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. I can truly say that though some of this message comes from research but most of this message is what I believe the Holy Spirit has brought to my mind.

In 1983 Robert Duvall wanted to make The Apostle because he felt that the motion picture industry had mostly ignored the work of the Holy Spirit. According to Duvall, filmmakers hardly ever made a movie that would actually show the truth about the Holy Spirit. If they did make a movie it is usually one that was patronizing and full of stuff that has nothing to do with the Holy Spirit or the Bible. Duvall wanted to realistically portray a preacher who was completely under the control of the Holy Spirit. Duvall wanted to understand what these preachers went through and what they believe in order to be able to portray this in an accurate way so that the audience would understand. When he first approached various studios about this movie they wouldn’t go near it because it didn’t attack the evangelical community. Duvall put off the movie for nearly 15 years, until he was able to finance it with his own money. The movie became so popular that he earned an Academy Award nomination for his portrayal of preacher Sonny Dewey. Duvall who was raised in a Christian home and though he was taught to believe in Jesus Christ he never knew much about the Holy Spirit until he made The Apostle. It was during his research for the move that he felt the touch of the Holy Spirit as he sat in a church in Harlem. In response to the popularity of movie Newsweek devoted an article to the concept that there was a resurgence of the Holy Spirit ministry in churches since the movie. According to a Newsweek survey taken after the movie was shown to the public, the survey found that 47% of people in churches claim to have an experience of the Holy Spirit ministry in their lives. What is interesting is that according to Newsweek survey they also found that a large numbers of people who didn’t even go to church say that they also had experienced the Holy Spirit ministry in their lives. I find it interesting that since the movie came out we now have people who have never went to church who have never sat under a teaching ministry and who very likely are not even saved say that they have experience the Holy Spirit ministry in their lives.

Today there is a tremendous amount of confusion and controversy that exists about the Holy Spirit. Today we can visit churches were we will see or hear thing like hysterical laughter or where people fall down and role around on the ground or where people will growl like animals and all this is being done or is being caused by the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Because some people have only read the Bible once of maybe heard someone read Acts out loud, they have the idea that the Holy Spirit is a wisp of invisible smoke which is said to be present in churches and is visible when people die. Today it is difficult to find churches that teach and believe the whole concept of the Holy Spirit ministry. There are churches that only focuses on the Power of the Holy Spirit, while other may only emphasize the Holy Spirit ministry in bring someone to Jesus and this is part of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. But that isn’t all that the Holy Spirit is about.

1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON.

One of the things about the Holy Spirit is that He isn’t a it. The Holy Spirit is a He and He is the third person of the Trinity which means that He is divine. The Bible gives us a picture of God who is our creator. The New Testament has given us a picture of Jesus who is the Son of God and our saviour. Through out the whole Bibles we can read about the ministry of the Holy Spirit. In the book of Genesis we read that the Spirit of the Lord was moving over the earth. We have seen in the Old Testament where the Holy Spirit was placed in people lives like Joseph, Moses and David so that they could achieve the requires work of the Lord. In the New Testament we are told that John the Baptist would be filled with the Spirit while still in the womb. We can also read about the Holy Spirit in Mary life and Jesus life. If we look at the book of Acts, which actually should be called The Book of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit we can see that the church is only able to achieve the Lords purpose simply because of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit. The first century Christian church was a direct result of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit.