The Holy Spirit
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
Passage: John 14:15-31, John 15:26-27 and John 16:5-16
- We can absentmindedly live our lives
- We can live without realising what we have
- We can really miss what we take for granted
Do we do this with the Holy Spirit?
We will speak about the Holy Spirit often over the next weeks and months as we consider serving, using our spiritual gifts and as we think about how the habits will help us to display the fruit of the spirit in our lives.
And we have mentioned the Holy Spirit several time so far in our service.
Yet the problem for many of us may not be so much with the doctrine and the Holy Spirit as with our attitude towards him. Theoretically Many of us do believe that the Holy Spirit is a person, the third person of the Godhead, But do we actually think about him in this way? Do we think about him at all. (James Montgomery Boice)
You’re probably familiar with God’s command in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, “Do not quench the Spirit.” Are you concerned about breaking this command? Do you know what it means to quench the Spirit? For years I never gave it much thought. I didn’t take the time to explore what this meant and how I could be guilty of this sin. Like most people, I just assumed I wasn’t quenching the Spirit, and I moved on. (Francis Chan)
As we practice the habits they will help us to connect with God, to listen to the Holy Spirit and to experience the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. They help us to see how we quench the leading of the Holy Spirit.
As a church and as Christians we need to gain a greater understanding of the Holy Spirit, so that we can experience the power and work of the Spirit in our live and the church of Jesus Christ.
Who is the Holy Spirit?
The conception of the Holy Spirit as a divine influence or power that we are somehow to get hold of and use, leads to self-exaltation and self-sufficiency. One who so thinks of the Holy Spirit and who at the same time imagines that he has received the Holy Spirit will almost inevitably be full of spiritual pride and strut about as if he belonged to some superior order of Christians. …. But if we once grasp the thought that the Holy Spirit is a divine person of infinite majesty and glory and holiness and power, who in marvellous condescension has come into our hearts to make his abode there and take possession of our lives and make use of them, it will put us in the dust and keep us in the dust. I can think of no thought more humbling or more overwhelming than the thought that a person of divine majesty and glory dwells in my heart and is ready to use even me. (R. A. Torrey)
In Romans Paul tells us the extent of the power of the Holy Spirit within us.
Romans 8:11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you,
It really is an astounding truth that the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead lives in you. He lives in me. I do not know what the Spirit will do or where He’ll lead me each time I invite Him to guide me. But I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me. (Francis Chan in “the Forgotten God”)
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
What does the Holy Spirit do?
The Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus by reproducing his character in the believers. He does this in three ways: first, by leading Christians to greater victory over themselves and over sin; second, by interceding for them in prayer and by teaching them to pray; and third, by revealing God’s will for their lives and enabling them to walk in it. These ministries combine to produce the “fruit of the Spirit,” which is the life of Christ within us. (James Montgomery Boice)
The Holy Spirit communicates Christ to believers and convicts the world.
The relationship of the Holy Spirit to Disciples
The Holy Spirit is within and continues to remain with disciples (14:16-17)
The Holy Spirit is easily recognised by disciples (14:17)
The Holy Spirit teaches and reminds the disciples of all the Jesus said (14:26)(16:13)
The Holy Spirit announces to disciples things that are to happen in the future (16:13)
The Holy Spirit declares what belongs to Christ and what doesn’t (16:14).
The Holy Spirit witnesses to Christ (15:26). And therefore we are to witness (15:27)
The Holy Spirit Glorifies Christ (16:14).
The Holy Spirit speaks only what is Heard (16:13). God’s word.
The relationship of the Holy Spirit to the world.
Cannot accept the Holy Spirit (14:17).
Cannot see or recognise the Holy Spirit (14:17).
Rejects the Holy Spirit (15:26).
Does not prevent the Holy Spirits witness to Christ by its rejection (15:26).
The Holy Spirit convicts the world of its need for Jesus (16:8-11)
Let us live with a greater awareness and and desire for the Holy Spirit
We would expect our new life with the Holy Spirit to look radically different from our old life without Him. Yet this is not the way it is for most people….. But I am tired of living in a way that looks exactly like people who do not have the Holy Spirit of God living in them. I want to consistently live with an awareness of His strength. I want to be different today from what I was yesterday as the fruit of the Spirit becomes more manifest in me. (Francis Chan)
Apply
What have I found interesting?
What has challenged my life, attitudes and actions?
How would this habit help me to become more like Jesus?
How would this habit help me to introduce others to Jesus?
What practical steps do I need to take to incorporate this habit into my life?
Is there there anything I need to pray about, explore further or extra help I need?
Is there someone I should to share with, pray with or encourage
Trinity Deeper 