Holy Spirit #2 - Why is the Holy Spirit Important?

Intro:

Last week, we answered the question, "Who is the Holy Spirit?"

The answer: The Holy Spirit is God - the Third Person of the Trinity

And we looked at how the Holy Spirit is a person, that is, the Holy Spirit has a personality

We saw that the Holy Spirit has been given to us as a gift …

That he is the Helper given to help us follow Jesus in our daily lives

But there was a question that was unanswered last week… "Why do I need the Holy Spirit?"

I know Jesus … I've been saved … I have the Bible … why would I need the Holy Spirit?

Again, that is not a question we can answer completely in one study …

But we will be answering that question as we continue through the series

This morning, we're going to begin answering the question of "why?"

This morning's theme is: "Why is the Holy Spirit Important?"

And we are going to begin answering this question as we look at John 7:37-39

I. John 7:37-39 - The Promise of the Holy Spirit

It was the last day of the Feast of Tabernacles … and Jesus was in Jerusalem for the celebration …

But this time, the religious leaders were trying to figure out a way to arrest Jesus …

Even searching for him among the people

Not only that, but the people were divided on what they thought about Jesus …

Some said he was a prophet …

Others said he was the Christ …

Others said he was a deceiver …

And so the atmosphere was very heavy during this celebration … the air was tense during this festival

And on the last day of the feast, Jesus stood up in front of everyone

And he cried out, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink!"

Then he said, "Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.' "

In other words, "Come to me, believe in me, and you will be filled with true life."

Think of a refreshing glass of water … [show picture] …

Can you imagine going out to a bucket that has been collecting rainwater … dipping your cup into that water … And taking a big gulp …

Doesn't sound refreshing to me … sounds pretty dangerous … stagnant water is the breeding ground for mosquitoes … and bacteria love it … [show picture]

When you want a fresh refreshing glass of water, you want water that is clean … water that isn't stagnant … water that is flowing …

There's a beach nearby called Senaha-hama [show picture] …

The beach is surrounded by cliffs … and coming out from under one of those cliffs is a small stream of water … [show picture]

That water is pure … It's drinkable … It's water that flows in from a spring …

But there's a problem …

You can only get that water when it is low tide … because when it is high tide, the mouth of the spring is underwater …

So you only have a short window of time to get the water coming out from under that cliff …

But this flowing stream of water is very important to the people of Senaha …

Why? because Okinawa was ravaged by the WWII … and after the war, simple necessities of life were scarce

This little stream of water became a source of life for those living in Senaha

When Jesus speaks of Living Water …

He's speaking of water that flows like a spring … fresh water flowing like a river …

And he says that those who believe in him will have rivers of living water flowing out of their hearts …

Not only will we have our spiritual thirst quenched by the living water … but we ourselves will become springs of this living water

But what does Jesus mean?

It tells us in verse 39 that Jesus is here speaking about the Holy Spirit that would be given after he was glorified

Jesus wants you to be overflowing with living water … overflowing with the life of the Holy Spirit

Just as the people of Senaha received physical life from the flowing water that comes out from under the cliff ...

Jesus desires for you to receive spiritual life from the living water of the Holy Spirit

He desires for you to be so full of spiritual life that you overflow into the lives of others

The Holy Spirit important to you and me because …

… The Holy Spirit is the source of true, abundant life

II. The Holy Spirit is Everything God is - He is the Source of Life

Do you think that God is important to your life?

In Okinawa, it seems like everything has a god … the entryway god … the kitchen god … the bathroom god … and the struggle is to try to keep all these different gods happy

If you are here this morning, I have a feeling you think that God, the true God, is important to your life …

And that is true … God is important to your life …

And so is the Holy Spirit … because the Holy Spirit is everything God is

On your handout, there are four characteristics of God listed

God is eternal - that means that God has no beginning and no end

God is omniscient - that means that God knows all things

God is omnipresent - that means that God is everywhere

God is omnipotent - that means that God is all-powerful

If the Holy Spirit is God, and if the Holy Spirit is everything God is …

Then the Holy Spirit should also have these same four characteristics

Hebrews 9:13-14 - the author here is speaking about how Jesus fulfills the Old Testament sacrificial system … [read passage]

Hebrews 9:13–14 (ESV)

For if the blood of goats and bulls, and the sprinkling of defiled persons with the ashes of a heifer, sanctify for the purification of the flesh, how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

Hebrews 9:13–14 (新改訳2017)

雄やぎと雄牛の血や、若い雌牛の灰を汚れた人々に振りかけると、それが聖なるものとする働きをして、からだをきよいものにするのなら、 まして、キリストが傷のないご自分を、とこしえの御霊によって神にお献げになったその血は、どれだけ私たちの良心をきよめて死んだ行いから離れさせ、生ける神に仕える者にすることでしょうか。

Notice how the Holy Spirit is called the eternal spirit …

The Holy Spirit is also eternal … No beginning and no end

1 Cor. 2:10-11 - here, Paul is speaking about how wisdom comes from the Holy Spirit … [read passage]

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV)

these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (新改訳2017)

それを、神は私たちに御霊によって啓示してくださいました。御霊はすべてのことを、神の深みさえも探られるからです。 人間のことは、その人のうちにある人間の霊のほかに、いったいだれが知っているでしょう。同じように、神のことは、神の霊のほかにはだれも知りません。

The Holy Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God …

In fact, the Holy Spirit comprehends the thoughts of God …

God is omniscient, all-knowing …

the Holy Spirit understands the things of God … he searches the depths of God … He comprehends God's thoughts …

What that tells us is that the Holy Spirit knows all things

Psalm 139:7-10 - Psalm 139 is a Psalm of King David … [read passage]

Psalm 139:7–10 (ESV)

Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.

Psalm 139:7–10 (新改訳2017)

私はどこへ行けるでしょう。 あなたの御霊から離れて。 どこへ逃れられるでしょう。 あなたの御前を離れて。 たとえ　私が天に上っても そこにあなたはおられ 私がよみに床を設けても そこにあなたはおられます。 私が暁の翼を駆って 海の果てに住んでも そこでも　あなたの御手が私を導き あなたの右の手が私を捕らえます。

"Where can I flee from your Spirit?" "you're in heaven … you're in Sheol - the grave … no matter where I run your right there with me …"

The Holy Spirit is omnipresent … the Holy Spirit is everywhere

Luke 1:35 - in this passage, the angel Gabriel is speaking to the virgin Mary … he's telling her that she is going to bear a son that she will name Jesus … when Mary asks, "How is this possible, since I am a virgin?" … the angel says this … [read passage]

Luke 1:35 (ESV)

And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

Luke 1:35 (新改訳2017)

御使いは彼女に答えた。「聖霊があなたの上に臨み、いと高き方の力があなたをおおいます。それゆえ、生まれる子は聖なる者、神の子と呼ばれます。

Here, the Holy Spirit is spoken of as the power of the Most High … the power of God

The Holy Spirit is omnipotent … the Holy Spirit is all-powerful

Again, the Holy Spirit is eternal … he knows all things … he is everywhere … he is all-powerful

If God is important to our lives, the Holy Spirit is also important to our lives … because the Holy Spirit is everything God is

III. The Holy Spirit is Active in God's Work - He is the Source of Life

If the Holy Spirit is everything God is, then the Holy Spirit should be doing what God is doing …

And it is true … the Holy Spirit is active in God's work

On your handout ...

Genesis 1:2 - The Holy Spirit was active in creation

2 Peter 1:21 - The Holy Spirit inspired the scriptures

Romans 8:9-11- Paul is speaking to the Roman church … [read passage]

Romans 8:9–11 (ESV)

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.

Romans 8:9–11 (新改訳2017)

しかし、もし神の御霊があなたがたのうちに住んでおられるなら、あなたがたは肉のうちにではなく、御霊のうちにいるのです。もし、キリストの御霊を持っていない人がいれば、その人はキリストのものではありません。 キリストがあなたがたのうちにおられるなら、からだは罪のゆえに死んでいても、御霊が義のゆえにいのちとなっています。 イエスを死者の中からよみがえらせた方の御霊が、あなたがたのうちに住んでおられるなら、キリストを死者の中からよみがえらせた方は、あなたがたのうちに住んでおられるご自分の御霊によって、あなたがたの死ぬべきからだも生かしてくださいます。

There's a battle going on inside of us … the battle of the flesh in the Spirit …

This battle is the reason why you and I stumble into sin even when our hearts aren’t seeking to dive into sin

There is a battle going on inside you … your sin nature is trying to attack against your renewed spirit

In the spirit, you long to do the things that please God … but your flesh pulls you to the things that God hates … seeking to bring death into your life

Just before this passage (vs. 8), Paul said these words: "Those who are in the flesh cannot please God."

But if Christ is in us, the Holy Spirit also dwells in us …

And even though our bodies are mortal and dying because of sin, the Spirit gives us life … because the Spirit is life …

And we receive his life because he dwells within us (if you faith is in Jesus)

John 6:63 - Jesus says,

John 6:63 (ESV)

It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all. The words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.

John 6:63 (新改訳2017)

いのちを与えるのは御霊です。肉は何の益ももたらしません。わたしがあなたがたに話してきたことばは、霊であり、またいのちです。

If you want to have life, you need to look to the Holy Spirit …

Because the Holy Spirit is the one who gives life …

Romans 15:15-16 - The Holy Spirit is also active in our sanctification [read passage]

Romans 15:15–16 (ESV)

But on some points I have written to you very boldly by way of reminder, because of the grace given me by God to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles in the priestly service of the gospel of God, so that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:15–16 (新改訳2017)

ただ、あなたがたにもう一度思い起こしてもらうために、私は所々かなり大胆に書きました。私は、神が与えてくださった恵みのゆえに、 異邦人のためにキリスト・イエスに仕える者となったからです。私は神の福音をもって、祭司の務めを果たしています。それは異邦人が、聖霊によって聖なるものとされた、神に喜ばれるささげ物となるためです。

What is sanctification?

It is being made holy … being purified … becoming more and more Christ-like …

It seems like it is always the season for building new houses in Okinawa …

Maybe you’ve noticed new housing going up … or even houses that are being renovated [picture]

When a house is renovated, the insides are torn out …

The broken areas are fixed … Then the inside is remodeled … and an old house becomes a new house through renovation

The Holy Spirit is in the business of renovating us …

He takes these old houses … and he begins to tear out the things that are not of the Lord …

He fixes us of sins that need to go …

He cleans out attitudes that need to change …

He scrubs out fears and doubts that stain our characters …

And he begins mending the hurts that we have …

He heals of the areas that we need healing …

And he puts us back together …

Leading us to walk by faith more and more …

And as he does this, we become more and more like Jesus …

That's the work of sanctification

The Holy Spirit is active in this work …

Every day he is working on you and me …

Sometimes we may fight and struggle with him, but he continues to work …

Because, as it says in Romans, he desires for us to be acceptable as an offering to the Lord

The Holy Spirit is important … he's everything that God is … he's active in God's work … and he is constantly building us up in God

IV. The Holy Spirit Builds Us Up in God - He is the Source of Abundant Life

Eph. 4:10-16 [read passage]

Ephesians 4:10–16 (ESV)

He who descended is the one who also ascended far above all the heavens, that he might fill all things.) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the shepherds and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ, so that we may no longer be children, tossed to and fro by the waves and carried about by every wind of doctrine, by human cunning, by craftiness in deceitful schemes. Rather, speaking the truth in love, we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.

Ephesians 4:10–16 (新改訳2017)

この降られた方ご自身は、すべてのものを満たすために、もろもろの天よりも高く上られた方でもあります。 こうして、キリストご自身が、ある人たちを使徒、ある人たちを預言者、ある人たちを伝道者、ある人たちを牧師また教師としてお立てになりました。 それは、聖徒たちを整えて奉仕の働きをさせ、キリストのからだを建て上げるためです。 私たちはみな、神の御子に対する信仰と知識において一つとなり、一人の成熟した大人となって、キリストの満ち満ちた身丈にまで達するのです。 こうして、私たちはもはや子どもではなく、人の悪巧みや人を欺く悪賢い策略から出た、どんな教えの風にも、吹き回されたり、もてあそばれたりすることがなく、 むしろ、愛をもって真理を語り、あらゆる点において、かしらであるキリストに向かって成長するのです。 キリストによって、からだ全体は、あらゆる節々を支えとして組み合わされ、つなぎ合わされ、それぞれの部分がその分に応じて働くことにより成長して、愛のうちに建てられることになります。

Here, Paul is speaking to the Ephesian Church …

And he is telling them about the way that the Holy Spirit builds up the church …

We see gifts of ministry … apostles … prophets … evangelist … shepherds and teachers

These are gifts of the Holy Spirit … Ministries that build up the church … we will spend time talking about these gifts later in this series

To build up something is to strengthen it …

The Holy Spirit strengthens you and me in our faith … to do, it says, the work of ministry …

The aim is that each of us would "attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God" …

That we would each become mature in our faith …

That we would be able to discern truth from error …

And that we would grow more and more in our relationship with Jesus Christ …

I think you would agree with me that a life that is mature … that is discerning … that is constantly growing … that is an abundant life

That is exactly what people desire for their own lives

But you might be thinking, "But it doesn't say the Holy Spirit anywhere in this passage…"

That's very true … but look up at verse 1-3…

Ephesians 4:1–3 (ESV)

I therefore, a prisoner for the Lord, urge you to walk in a manner worthy of the calling to which you have been called, with all humility and gentleness, with patience, bearing with one another in love, eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace.

Ephesians 4:1–3 (新改訳2017)

さて、主にある囚人の私はあなたがたに勧めます。あなたがたは、召されたその召しにふさわしく歩みなさい。 謙遜と柔和の限りを尽くし、寛容を示し、愛をもって互いに耐え忍び、 平和の絆で結ばれて、御霊による一致を熱心に保ちなさい。

Paul is speaking about us maintaining the unity of the Holy Spirit …

So all that we read about concerning the church being built up is done by the Holy Spirit …

And the gifts of ministries we see here are given by him

Romans 5:3-5 - Paul is speaking to the church in Rome [read passage]

Romans 5:3–5 (ESV)

Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.

Romans 5:3–5 (新改訳2017)

それだけではなく、苦難さえも喜んでいます。それは、苦難が忍耐を生み出し、 忍耐が練られた品性を生み出し、練られた品性が希望を生み出すと、私たちは知っているからです。 この希望は失望に終わることがありません。なぜなら、私たちに与えられた聖霊によって、神の愛が私たちの心に注がれているからです。

Notice how it says that "God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us."

The Holy Spirit pours God's love into our hearts …

Isn’t that an abundance the world (and us) are seeking after? A life that experiences abundant love

Have you ever met someone who likes to fill their coffee mug right up to the brim?

What usually happens while they are walking back to their table, seat or desk?

The coffee ends up dripping onto the floor … it’s hard to walk with a cup of coffee filled to the brim without spilling some (or half!) of it

God pours his love into you through the Holy Spirit

He pours his love into you until is at the brim … and then he pours a bit more in so that it will overflow from you … not onto the floor … but into the lives others

His love poured in our lives fills us with hope … hope even in times of suffering

No one wants to be hopeless … a hopeless life is a meaningless life …

But an abundant life is a life full of hope … which is given to us through the love of God poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit

Are you lacking in love? Go to the Spirit … "ask to be filled with God's love" …

Romans 15:13 - In the same letter, Paul speaks again about hope… [read passage]

Romans 15:13 (ESV)

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.

Romans 15:13 (新改訳2017)

どうか、希望の神が、信仰によるすべての喜びと平安であなたがたを満たし、聖霊の力によって希望にあふれさせてくださいますように。

Without hope, there's not much we can do in this life …

Everything seems meaningless … all the achievements that we may be able to reach lose their meaning …

Hope gives us the motivation to keep moving forward

Where does hope come from? Well, true hope comes from God … he is the "God of hope"

And Paul says that we are able to abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit gives us abundant hope …

the hope that we need to live abundant lives …

the hope that is only found in Jesus Christ

And it is given to us through the work of the Holy Spirit

So if you are in need of hope …

All you need to do is simply ask … because the Holy Spirit desires to fill you with abundant hope …

Conclusion:

So why is the Holy Spirit important to you and me?

Because he is the source of true, abundant life

He is everything God is

He is actively doing God’s work in our lives

He is building us up in God

John 7:38 (ESV)

Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’ ”

John 7:38 (新改訳2017)

わたしを信じる者は、聖書が言っているとおり、その人の心の奥底から、生ける水の川が流れ出るようになります。」

Do you believe this promise?

This is not a promise about life in heaven … it is a promise about life on earth

If you faith is in Jesus, he has promised to overflow your heart with living water … with the Holy Spirit

He has promised you true, abundant life … something the world cannot give you or me

If you feel like to are missing out on that abundant life … if you want to know how to receive that abundant life … I have two answers for you

1. If you have not yet accepted Jesus as your Lord and Savior, put your faith in him today … he will fill you with living water … he will overflow in your heart by the Holy Spirit

2. If you are a believer … ask that the Holy Spirit would fill you afresh … abundant life is received by faith … simply ask and receive

Luke 11:9–13 (ESV)

And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

Luke 11:9–13 (新改訳2017)

ですから、あなたがたに言います。求めなさい。そうすれば与えられます。探しなさい。そうすれば見出します。たたきなさい。そうすれば開かれます。 だれでも、求める者は手に入れ、探す者は見出し、たたく者には開かれます。 あなたがたの中で、子どもが魚を求めているのに、魚の代わりに蛇を与えるような父親がいるでしょうか。 卵を求めているのに、サソリを与えるような父親がいるでしょうか。 ですから、あなたがたは悪い者であっても、自分の子どもたちには良いものを与えることを知っています。それならなおのこと、天の父はご自分に求める者たちに聖霊を与えてくださいます。」