THE HOLY SPIRIT
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1 CORINTHIANS 12:1
1 CORINTHIANS 12:1
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
We have spent the year seeking to know the Lord and who He is. We have looked at scripture and asked Him to break down barriers and false images in our minds about Him.
We have studied the Father and who He says that He is according to the Word and Exodus.
We have talked about Jesus and who He said that He is.
We looked at the a few aspects of Christ that have been view altering for me and for some of you.
We have talked about doing everything that you can to set your mind on Christ and apply faith to how He leads you.
We have talked about living a life worthy of the gospel and how our confidence cannot be in the things of this world.
Last week, we talked about the topic that I feel like the Lord has been leading us towards the whole year.
The more we fix our eyes on Him and who He really is, it will help us see ourselves properly compared to Him.
We can not truly know ourselves until we know the One who created us.
We talked about the phrase that is found all over the Bible “Fear of the Lord”.
How the Lord taught the Israelites to properly fear Him. To tremble and yet rejoice in Him. To tremble at what we deserve and yet rejoice in the wonderful and beautiful gift of Jesus Christ our Savior.
We have studied deeply into the Father and Son and yet, I feel like we have barely scratched the surface.
However, we have not discussed the third person of the trinity, the Holy Spirit.
I hope to spend the next few weeks or more diving into the Holy Spirit. Who He is. (Yes, He is a He). What are His roles. What does He do for believers.
The Holy Spirit can be divisive conversation. We all have a past. We all come from different backgrounds. We have each either seen the Holy Spirit either pushed away, exaggerated or even faked. We all have feelings come up with the topic of the Holy Spirit is brought up.
So, I’m going to make this commitment to you. I will do my best to teach what God’s Word teaches. Nothing more and nothing less.
And you have to make one back to me. If you have questions or disagree with me, you will ask to meet me and sit down and let’s talk about it! Don’t sit on it and let it fester. Let’s talk about it.
Can we fight for unity in this commitment to each other?
Paul starts 1 Corinthians 12:1
Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed.
Now, as your pastor, I echo Paul. I do not want you uninformed about spiritual gifts or things. I believe there are a lot of things to talk about and cover and hopefully apply to our lives!
So, let’s start with the simple things.
Parts of this mornings message are going to feel a little informational but I believe that the Bible tells us to search for knowledge. To seek understanding. And it helpful to our faith if we know why we believe what we believe instead of just taking my word for it. So, this is going to feel a little more informational but trust me, there is practical to follow.
So, let’s start with a statement about the Holy Spirit and we will prove it through scripture.
The Holy Spirit is God and is equal to the Father and the Son.
I’m putting on the board a list of some of the verses that are the reason we believe that the Holy Spirit is God and equal to the Father and the Son. Write these down. God look them up. I know some of you love this kind of thing.
On this list are a few OT references and some NT references.
Let me read a few of them for us so that you can see why we believe this.
Isaiah 48:16 is believed to be Jesus speaking.
Isaiah 48:16 (ESV)
And now the Lord God has sent me, and his Spirit.
So, Jesus says, the Lord God, the Father, has sent me, Jesus the Son and His Spirit. The Holy Spirit.
This is an interesting passage because its the entire trinity in one passage, spoken by one of the members of the trinity.
The other two Isaiah passages are more specific to the Holy Spirit being equal to the Father.
Now, in the NT, the baptism of Jesus in Matthew 3:16-17 is one of the most clear and visual examples of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit at one moment, witnessed by other people.
And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
So, we have the Son being baptized, the Father speaking from Heaven calling Him His Son, and the Spirit of God descending on Jesus. All three members of the trinity seen clearly.
One, more to show the divinity of the HS.
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.
This is important that the Spirit is given the attribute of being eternal. Because no one else in scripture is given the attribute of being eternal other that God. God having no beginning and no end is the only eternal being. So, calling the HS eternal is ascribing God’s divinity upon the HS.
Its important to know this. Its vital to our walk and our discussions going forward that you understand and believe that the Holy Spirit is fully God and equal to the Father and the Son. Because as we wrap our minds around that fact, it should absolutely blow your mind that God, Himself, has come down and dwells INSIDE OF YOU AS A BELIEVER!!
That should shock you! That should blow you away! That should sit you on the ground in awe that the same God that we talked about last week set fire to a mountain, split a sea, dropped bread from the sky, has also decided to set up residence inside of you!
It makes verses like Ephesians 3:19 that says that we can be filled with the fullness of God, make sense!
Should that not affect how we live? Should that not affect how we see ourselves? Should that not affect the decisions that we make? Should that not bring us comfort and peace? Should that not be one of the greatest facts that we know?
I mean, we don’t have to wait until we get to heaven to be with God. He is here with you. In you. Knowing you. Who can discern the thoughts and hearts of man? Only He can!
If you are a believer, you have received the deposit of the Holy Spirit in you and He knows everything about you. He knows how you feel. He knows your fears. He knows your doubts and insecurities. He is involved in the battle for your mind and your soul over the flesh. You are not alone fighting this fight. You have God with you.
My good friend AW Tozer, says this.
“Ah, there is an unseen Deity present, a knowing, feeling Personality, and He is so indivisible from the Father and the Son, so that if you were to be suddenly transferred to heaven itself you wouldn’t be any closer to God than you are now, for God is already here. Changing your geographical location would not bring you nearer to God nor God nearer to you, because the indivisible Trinity is present, and all that the Son is the Holy Spirit is and all that the Father is the Holy Spirit is, and the Holy Spirit is in the church.”
I couldn’t have said it any better myself, so I let him say it.
We do not understand what we have available to us or each and everyone of us would look different, act different, and go through life different. Our church would look different.
I believe that each and every one of us have more available inside of you that you are accessing. You have closer intimacy with God. You have access to fruit that will change your life. You have access to gifts that could change the world. Inside each of you is the Spirit of the Living God and He wants you and the world to know that.
We should be able to look at the book of Acts, even just the first two chapters and see that there is a difference between what they did and what we have.
Seriously, read the first two chapters of Acts and read them like you are 10 years old and its the first time reading them. Read them and think about what you should be able to assume is available to you. Can we do that? Can we look at God’s Word when Jesus says, John 14:12-14
John 14:12–14 (ESV)
“Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whatever you ask in my name, this I will do, that the Father may be glorified in the Son. If you ask me anything in my name, I will do it.
And He immediately starts teaching about sending the Holy Spirit.
We should be able to read that and see that something is missing.
We should be able to read Galatians 5:22
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.
And go, ahhhh, I have those....
There is a serious breakdown between what the Word says that we as believers should have and what we see believers have, experience and live out.
Again with my buddy, AW
“The simple fact is that we believers are not up to what He gave us reason to expect. The only honest thing to do is admit this and do something about it. There certainly has been a vast breakdown somewhere between promise and fulfillment. That breakdown is NOT with our heavenly Father, for He always gives more than He promises.”
The breakdown obviously is on our end. And I believe the Lord desires us to cross that bridge.
In our marriage book this week, Francis Chan talks about our part in His story. He talks about how throughout history, God has had a primary mean for Him to show Himself to the world. At creation and the garden, it was Himself, speaking in power and walking with Adam. In the OT, the Father was making Himself known through leaders and prophets. In the gospels, Jesus came to Earth and became the physical representation of the Father to the world. Now, Jesus ascended to the Father and sent us His Spirit.
The primary method of God making Himself known to the world today is through His people being filled with the power of the Holy Spirit. Us! We are supposed to be the representation of God making Himself known on the Earth now. The fruit of the Spirit in our lives and the gifts of the Spirit coming out of our lives are God’s chosen path to show the world His power and goodness.
We, CCR, have been chosen and placed by God to show His power, goodness and love to this community. And He has chosen to do that through the power, fruit and gifts of the Holy Spirit in His people.
It is time for us to learn how to do that and then go and do it. It is time for us to lead lives filled with the Holy Spirit, filled with the fruit of the Spirit and walking in the gifts that He has given each of us.
Over the coming weeks, hold on to your socks! We are going to get into all of this and I’m praying and I’m hopeful to see each of you change. Not because of good messages or powerful worship, but because you are walking in step with the Holy Spirit.
Anyone else up for that? Anyone else a little nervous about that? haha! Its okay! I just want us to walk in what He has promised us, so that the world may know.
So, remember our commitment to each other. I’m going to do my best to stick to the Word of God and you are going to ask to talk to me about things you struggle to understand or want some clarification on.
My challenge to us this week is simple. A simple prayer.
Lord, help me to be open to what your Word says. And help me be open to your Holy Spirit.
A simple prayer but I pray that each of us would pray it together.
I would also challenge you to read the first 2 chapters of Acts and try to read it like its the first time and you are 10 years old and open to God being able to do anything. Stand in awe of the power of the Holy Spirit.