The Spirit As A Dove Series

A. It’s been about a month since we had a sermon in our Holy Spirit sermon series, so I’m thankful to be able to return to our series today.

1. So far in our series, we have learned that the Holy Spirit isn’t an it or an impersonal force, but is the third person of the Godhead – the trinity – Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

2. We have learned that the Holy Spirit is our teacher and guide.

3. We have learned that the Holy Spirit is like the wind and that the Christian life should be more like sailing a boat than rowing a boat.

a. Ultimately, we cannot be who we should be or do what we should do without the help of the Holy Spirit empowering us and carrying us along.

4. We’ve learned that the Holy Spirit is our intercessor.

a. We learned the amazing truth that the Holy Spirit prays for us and does so especially when we don’t know what to pray for.

5. In our last sermon in the series, we learned that the Holy Spirit is our seal.

a. The sealing of the Spirit is the mark of permanent ownership that gets put on us and in us when we become a child of God – when we believe and are baptized.

b. The Holy Spirit is the down payment on our heavenly inheritance and is our guarantee from God - it is like the initial installment.

c. We can have assurance and confidence in our salvation because of God’s promised Holy Spirit who is our seal and guarantee.

d. The fact and assurance of our salvation should not give us reason to neglect righteous living and loving service but should be the very thing that motivates us towards faithfulness and cooperation with the Spirit.

B. Today, we want to learn what it means for us that the Holy Spirit is represented as a dove.

1. If you ever have the chance to visit the catacombs in Rome, Italy, then you will see the tunnels under the ancient city where many of the early Christians were buried.

2. On the tombs of those Christians, you will see three common Christian symbols: the fish, the anchor, and the dove.

3. A popular early Christian symbol is the picture of a fish – probably because Jesus makes us fishers of men.

a. Along with the image of a fish the early Christians used the letters of the Greek word for fish to stand for Jesus Christ, Son of God, Savior.

4. The anchor came from the idea that as Christians were going through difficult and insecure times, their hope in Christ anchored their souls.

5. The dove symbolizes the Holy Spirit, because of the way the Holy Spirit descended on Jesus at His baptism in the form of a dove and because of other times the Bible uses the dove as an illustration.

6. I want us to explore how the Holy Spirit, like a dove, is the symbol of peace, gentleness, and security.

C. Svalbard, Norway is considered one of the safest places on the earth.

1. At least that’s what those in charge of the Global Seed Vault determined.

2. The Global Seed Vault is an ultrahigh security and ultralow temperature vault that has the capacity to house seeds of every plant we eat, more than 4.5 million of them.

3. Even if Svalbard isn’t the safest place on earth, it’s certainly one of the coldest places and very few people live there – polar bears outnumber humans!

4. The underground concrete bunkers that house the seed vault are built to withstand floods, fires, and nuclear attacks.

5. In the event of global warming or worldwide disaster, the seeds are safe.

D. Many of us might wish we could live life in a safe bunker like that.

1. So many things in our world present themselves as serious threats to our safety and wellbeing.

a. If global temperatures rise just a few more degrees…

b. If classified information falls into sinister hands…

c. If the wrong person ends up with the nuclear codes, or gains access to the red button…

d. If another pandemic strikes…

2. All of this is enough to make a person want to purchase a flight to Svalbard.

3. And if the worldwide perils weren’t enough to create anxiety, then the personal ones we face certainly can well.

a. Blood cell counts go up and savings accounts go down.

b. Marriages go south and kids get lost in drugs or social media.

c. Work goes off the rails and stress goes off the charts.

4. The result of all this can lead to fear and anxiety that takes our sleep, numbs our minds, and fills our hearts with dread.