Foundational Truths: Striving for Unity in a Divided Culture

Joseph Penner

Foundational Truths: Striving for Unity in a Divided Culture • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago

Holy Spirit

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INTRODUCTION (4.5 min)

(Welcome)

Good morning!

My name is Joseph Penner, I am the Associate Pastor here at LEMC.

If you are a guest with us this morning, I want to welcome you here!

We have been going through a sermon series on the Apostles’ Creed called…

Foundational Truths: Striving for Unity in A Divided Culture

(Set the Stage for the Series)

We live in a world that loves to be divided.

And sadly, division finds it’s way into the church.

How are we supposed to be unified when we don’t agree on everything?

This is the main reason the Apostles’ Creed was written.

When the teaching of the early church was being attacked,

The early church leaders saw the wisdom in formulating a creed…

a series of statements that summarize and protect core Christian doctrine.

In essence… the purpose of a creed is to tell us:

what MUST be believed to be a Christian.

So as believers, this is how we strive for unity:

by acknowledging and focussing on the most central issues to the gospel.

Of course, there will be disagreement between us on other, less crucial matters…

but the “Foundational Truths” in the Apostles’ Creed make up the essence of our faith.

These are the core beliefs that we cannot disagree on.

(The Apostles’ Creed)

As we begin our time together, let’s read the Apostles’ Creed together

I believe in God, the Father Almighty,

Creator of heaven and earth.

I believe in Jesus Christ, his only Son, our Lord.

He was conceived by the power of the Holy Spirit

and born of the Virgin Mary.

He suffered under Pontius Pilate,

was crucified, died, and was buried.

He descended to the dead.

On the third day he rose again.

He ascended into heaven,

and is seated at the right hand of the Father.

He will come again to judge the living and the dead.

I believe in the Holy Spirit,

the holy catholic* Church,

the communion of saints,

the forgiveness of sins,

the resurrection of the body,

and the life everlasting. Amen.

PRAYER FOR ILLUMINATION

Lord…

Our Ever-Present Help

Our Faithful Teacher

Our Christ Compass

Our Truthteller

This morning we are going to be looking at the phrase…

“I Believe in the Holy Spirit”

Who is the mysterious third person of the Trinity?

Over the last 2 weeks…

Pastor Jake has taught us about God the Father, and God the Son…

We tend to be pretty comfortable in our understanding of who they are, and what they do.

But we are far less comfortable talking about the Holy Spirit!

Maybe that’s because of something we have seen or heard.

We tend to think of the Spirit as some sort of force…

we have to catch it…

or invite Him into our homes or churches…

or we have to be in the right place at the right time…

so that we can FEEL His presence.

The Holy Spirit is not a force!

He is a person… the third person of the Trinity.

He is… God!

Transition

As Jesus shared a final meal with His disciples in the upper room…

He told them that He would soon leave them,

But then, Jesus said something shocking…

John 16:7 (ESV)

it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.

Jesus is actually said that it is better for us to have the Holy Spirit than Jesus’ physical presence…

If this is true then we must seek to understand:

who The Spirit is, what He does, and how He helps us.

SERMON BODY

This morning we are going to learn more about the Holy Spirit…

who has been given to all believers by Jesus.

As we look at what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit…

We will see that the Spirit is:

Our Ever-Present Help

Our Faithful Teacher

Our Christ Compass

Our Truthteller

First…

The Spirit: Our Ever-Present Help

(7 Minutes)

When Jesus told His disciples that He was going to be leaving them soon,

He also comforted them by telling them He was not going to leave them alone.

EXPLANATION

John 14:16–17 ESV

And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

Having now been with Jesus for 3 years,

the disciples had grown very close with Him.

Jesus:

walked with them…

slept under the stars with them…

taught and trained them in God’s Word…

Jesus modeled for us what discipleship is supposed to look like.

If you’ve been coming to LEMC for a little while, you’ve probably heard us talk about discipleship.

When we look at how Jesus walked with His disciples, this is what we mean.

He intentionally poured into those few men, teaching them how to faithfully walk with and serve God…

and then those men went and

spread the gospel,

pouring into others,

teaching them how to faithfully walk with and serve God.

That is true Christ-like discipleship…

The passing on of our faith to those who will then pass it on to others.

But now, after having been with the disciples for 3 years, Jesus was going to leave them.

The thought of losing Jesus must have terrified them!

They could rely on Him when He was with them, but what would happen when He was gone?

ILLUSTRATION

I had the wonderful privilege of working with my Dad for 10 years.

Anybody who knows my Dad, knows he is incredibly smart and gifted with almost anything mechanical, engineering, woodworking, almost anything hands on.

I don’t mean to brag, but my Dad is definitely smarter than your Dad!

I often got to work with my Dad, repairing things and doing maintenance.

I learned a lot working with him… there was never a problem he couldn’t solve.

Whenever I ran into problems, I knew I could count on him to know what to do.

But then came the real test…

It didn’t happen often, but every once in a while he wouldn’t be there, or he would be busy with something else……

and I would have to do something on my own, or be the leader on a project.

Then the fear, and worry set in.

I’ve gotten so comfortable with my Dad telling me what to do…

Do I even remember how to do it?

Do I remember all the steps?

Do I remember all the tools I’m going to need?

My Dad is not going to be there…

and I don’t want to make a big mistake that will cost extra time and money to the company.

Make it relatable…

We all know the feeling…

You’re learning something new, and then the time comes for you to do it on your own.

Maybe you’re learning how to cook Mom or Dad’s famous recipe… or

Someone is teaching you how to drive… or

You’re being trained on a new job…

You get used to having someone there to guide and help you…

But then comes the moment you finally have to do it on your own…

That can be very scary!

Tie it in…

This is exactly what the disciples must have been feeling!

They had come used to being able to depend on Jesus…

but now He was going to be gone?

EXPLANATION CONT…

But Jesus calms their fears, by telling them they will not be left alone.

He is going to ask, and the Father is going to give them a Helper… His own Spirit.

The word used by Jesus here to describe the Holy Spirit is translated very generally as “Helper” because it’s meaning is so broad.

The word translated “Helper” can mean:

Comforter

Counsellor

Advocate

Strengthener

Exhorter

Your translation likely uses one of those words to describe the Holy Spirit.

These are all the roles the Holy Spirit is going to fill in Jesus’ place.

Jesus also says that this “Helper” is going to be with the disciples forever.

The way this is going to be possible is that the Holy Spirit will dwell IN the disciples.

Essentially…

The Holy Spirit is an ever-present help

Just as Jesus was always there to help,

in the same way, the Holy Spirit is going to be there to help in times of need.

APPLICATION

In the same way the Holy Spirit was an ever-present help for the disciples…

He is an ever-present help for all believers today!

This is the reason it was better for Jesus to go.

While He was on the earth in the flesh, He subjected Himself to the physical limitations of being in one place at a time.

After ascending to the Father, it was a part of the plan to then send the Holy Spirit…

Who would be with EVERY believer!

The Spirit is not for those who don’t believe…

But for those who do walk in faith in Jesus Christ!

We have the power and presence of Jesus living in us

The Holy Spirit… our ever-present help.

Since this is true, then let us call on Him in times of need.

Are you going through a difficult season of loss?

You can call on The Spirit to comfort and support you.

Are you struggling with fear, doubt, and worry?

You can call on The Spirit to counsel you and give you advice.

Are you being treated unfairly or unjustly?

You can call on The Spirit to hear and advocate for you

Do you lack the desire or will to obey God?

You can call on The Spirit to give you strength.

Have you become desensitized to sin in your life?

You can call on The Spirit to soften your heart to walk in obedience to God.

For everyone who has placed their faith in Jesus as Lord and Saviour…

Jesus has not left us without help.

He has given us The Holy Spirit in our hearts to help us…

because Jesus knew that we would need help!

And Jesus promises that we will have the Holy Spirit… FOREVER!

Albert Mohler, in his book on the Apostles’ Creed, says…

Jesus promised the Spirit as an abiding presence forever. Thus, the Spirit does not come in seasons of difficulty only. The Spirit does not flee from you when you continually struggle with sin. His presence in you does not hinge upon your obedience or effort. His presence in you rests upon the infinite grace and love of God for you.

Summary

Since God has been so gracious to give us the indwelling presence of His Spirit to help us…

Let us take advantage of this blessing, and call on the Spirit, our ever-present help in times of trouble.

Transition

Jesus also taught His disciples that The Spirit is…

The Spirit: Our Faithful Teacher

(5 Minutes)

Jesus had spend much of His time teaching the disciples…

so the thought of them not having their beloved teacher would have been a concern to them.

So Jesus says in…

EXPLANATION

John 14:26 ESV

But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

If you have read through the gospels, you know the power of Jesus’ teaching ministry…

Jesus’ words had the power to:

Cast out demons…

Heal the sick…

raise the dead… and

proclaim the glories of the coming Kingdom.

Now… as the disciples began to understand that Jesus was about to leave them…

They must have wondered…

Who is going to teach us?

ILLUSTRATION

Again, we can relate to the disciples’ worry if we think about our own lives.

We can probably all think of someone who has played a big role in teaching us:

A parent or other family member…

A friend/coworker/boss…

A teacher/pastor…

If they died, they would no longer be around for us to learn from them.

Now, in another sense we cannot relate with the disciples because of the digital world we live in.

Even after someone dies, you would have access to any videos, books, audio, articles…

Anything they had recorded/written.

They would not be able to physically teach you after their death…

But you could still learn from the work they left behind.

Tie it in…

Obviously, the disciples did not have access to the digital world we live in…

They did have the written word…

but they could not have possibly documented everything Jesus said and did…

What if they missed something important?

Who was there to remind them?

The Holy Spirit!

The Spirit was going to teach the disciples… and

remind them of Jesus’ words.

And the Holy Spirit did make good on that promise!

The Spirit faithfully reminded the disciples of Jesus’ words…

and taught them how Jesus’ teaching, life, death, and resurrection

were all a fulfilment of OT prophecy…

APPLICATION

The faithful teaching of the Holy Spirit is the reason we have the Bible we have today.

After faithfully teaching the disciples…

The Holy Spirit inspired the disciples to write letters…

teaching others they were discipling.

2 Peter 1:21 ESV

For no prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

And those writings have been passed down to us, so that we might have Jesus’ words as well.

The Holy Spirit faithfully taught the disciples, and we now have the teaching of Jesus as well.

But we can only truly understand Jesus’s words through the Spirit.

So we need the continued work of the Holy Spirit as our teacher as well.

1 Corinthians 2:10–14 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. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The only way we can know the truth about God, is through His Spirit.

Many reject God’s Word, because they try to rationalize it through the wisdom of the world…

But we cannot get to the truth of God through human wisdom…

We must be taught by the Holy Spirit.

But for those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ…

You have the Spirit of God in you to teach you the things of God

This must radically transform how we read God’s Word!

We cannot come in our flesh, and try to understand it from a human perspective.

We must come to God’s Word…

prayerfully dependant on the Spirit to teach us the things of God.

We must ask the Spirit to:

Open our eyes so that we can truly see…

We must ask the Spirit to:

Give us ears so that we can truly hear…

We must ask the Spirit to:

to soften our hearts so that we can accept and obey God’s Word.

Summary

When we faithfully come to the inspired Word of God…

dependant on the Holy Spirit…

He will be our faithful teacher!

Transition

Jesus also taught His disciples that The Spirit is…

The Spirit: Our Christ Compass

(5 Minutes)

A compass is a helpful tool to help you get a sense of orientation.

If someone get’s lost in a place where they have no sense of where they are or where they are going…

A compass always shows you where true north is.

This is what the Holy Spirit does in us.

When we get lost and don’t have a sense of where we are going…

He points us back to Christ.

EXPLANATION

John 15:26 ESV

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

Jesus sent His Spirit…

to be a helper… and

a teacher…

but the Holy Spirit is not interested in pointing to Himself…

His desire is to point to Christ… God the Son.

The Spirit always seeks to exalt Jesus…

to bear witness to what Christ has done…

His teaching and miracles…

His life, death, and resurrection…

The Spirit is not seeking to glorify Himself, or get any credit for Himself…

He seeks to magnify the Son.

This helps protect us against false teaching.

Albert Mohler says…

“This truth protects us from the errors that plague so many churches that place an unbiblical emphasis on the Holy Spirit. The Spirit becomes the center of their faith. The Spirit consumes their thoughts as they try to arouse manifestations of the Spirit in their own lives and congregations.

Jesus, however, reminded his disciples what the testimony of the Spirit will bring: a testimony about Jesus, exalting Christ, and pointing us to the hope we have in union with him.”

Summary

There are many people and things in this life that Satan wants to use to draw us away from Christ…

But we have the Holy Spirit living in us…

pointing us back to the truth of what Christ has accomplished for us.

ILLUSTRATION

We see this beautifully exemplified in the life of Paul.

Writing to the church he planted in Philippi…

he warns them of those who would turn them away from Christ.

Philippians 3:2 ESV

Look out for the dogs, look out for the evildoers, look out for those who mutilate the flesh.

He then shows them what characterizes God’s true children.

Philippians 3:3 ESV

For we are the circumcision, who worship by the Spirit of God and glory in Christ Jesus and put no confidence in the flesh—

God’s children worship Him by the Spirit who lives in them.

And what is the object of their worship?

Jesus Christ!

Paul goes on to talk about all the reasons he could have boasted in his own achievements…

But through the power of the Holy Spirit, Paul was able to say…

Philippians 3:7–11 ESV

But whatever gain I had, I counted as loss for the sake of Christ. Indeed, I count everything as loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord. For his sake I have suffered the loss of all things and count them as rubbish, in order that I may gain Christ and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which comes through faith in Christ, the righteousness from God that depends on faith— that I may know him and the power of his resurrection, and may share his sufferings, becoming like him in his death, that by any means possible I may attain the resurrection from the dead.

Summary

The Holy Spirit,

living in Paul,

was his Christ Compass…

helping him to see Christ as infinitely more valuable than the things of this world.

APPLICATION

We are so prone to getting lost… getting sidetracked…

distracted by all of the shiny things in our world…

trying to find some sense of fulfilment and satisfaction.

That is why we need the Holy Spirit…

to point us back to Christ!

What sense of fulfilment or satisfaction are you chasing?

The question is not whether or not you are, but simply a matter of WHAT it is.

Are chasing satisfaction from money?

You find your sense of worth in how much you make or have...

so you are always trying to find ways to get more.

Are you chasing after health and beauty?

You find your sense of worth in what you look like…

so you are consumed with clothes, cosmetics, gym memberships to look even better.

Maybe there’s something you’re chasing right now…

it’s been on your mind way more than you’d like to admit…

and you believe that if you get it, you will be content.

Because of the weakness of our flesh, we all chase the things of this world.

But the Holy Spirit has been given to those who are Christ’s…

to point us back to the only thing of true value that we have in this life…

Jesus Christ!

We must ask the Holy Spirit each and every day…

even throughout the day…

to be our Christ Compass…

pointing us back to the hope we have in Him.

As the Spirit is faithful to do that…

it will naturally turn our hearts to worship and praise of Jesus our Saviour.

Summary

The Holy Spirit is:

Our Ever-Present Help

Our Faithful Teacher

Our Christ Compass

Transition

Jesus also taught His disciples that The Spirit is…

The Spirit: Our Truthteller

(6.5 Minutes)

The disciples had come to trust Jesus,

since they believed that He was God, and had been sent by God.

Now Jesus gives them reason to trust the Holy Spirit He was going to send to them.

EXPLANATION

John 16:13–14 ESV

When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus says that the Spirit is the Spirit of TRUTH.

This is because He proceeds/comes from/is sent by Jesus and the Father…

The Spirit only speaks what they tell Him.

Therefore, the Spirit only speaks truth.

There is a very interesting mystery here about the order of authority in the Trinity…

During Jesus’ time on earth,

He submitted to the will of the Father…

He only said what the Father wanted Him to say…

He only did what the Father wanted Him to do…

Now we learn that the Spirit submits to the authority of the Father and the Son.

This is a very difficult concept to understand…

Whatever these things mean, it DOES NOT mean Jesus or the Holy Spirit are less than the Father.

There is not any sort of hierarchy within the Trinity.

God is three, and yet He is One!

We see this in…

Deuteronomy 6:4 (ESV)

“Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one.

Though God is One, He is also three…

and all three persons in the Trinity are God.

We see this when Jesus tells His disciples in …

Matthew 28:19 (ESV)

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

All three persons in the Trinity are:

Equally Powerful

Equally Divine

Equally God

There was never a time when only God the Father existed… or

Just the Father and the Son… or

Just the Spirit…

God eternally exists as Father, Son, AND Holy Spirit.

God is One… yet Three… and they each have distinct roles.

I was reminded of something my professor Greg Allison taught us in regard to this…

This was my summary of his teaching…

This helps us to see the distinct roles within the Trinity…

It is God the Father’s plan that is carried out, not the Son’s or the Spirit’s. It is Jesus who comes in the flesh to die as the once-for-all sacrifice, not the Father or the Spirit. It is the Spirit who abides in us to lead and guide us, not the Son or the Father.

Each member of the Trinity has a unique role… and yet…

are equally members of the God-Head.

Summary

This is not something we are going to be able to grasp in just one sermon…

but our takeaway for this morning is…

Since all three members of the Trinity are One and equally God…

the disciples can trust that the Holy Spirit who will abide in them…

He is going to speak the truth that He hears from the Son and the Father.

Now, this raises an interesting question:

If we all have the same Spirit, and the Spirit teaches what is true: why do we have differing beliefs?

We don’t have the time to get into all the nuances of this question…

but we have to understand that the Holy Spirit doesn’t just download all truth into our hearts.

He slowly transforms our hearts as we seek God in His Word by the power of the Spirit.

The reason we have different beliefs may be because of:

Different or maybe wrong beliefs we bring from our upbringing…

It may be because…

We don’t ask the Spirit to lead us as we read leading to fleshly interpretation…

We have different interpretations because…

We are at different levels of sanctification… different levels of maturity and faith…

Summary

We do not all have the same interpretation,

but we need to understand the problem is not with the Holy Spirit…

IT’S US!

ILLUSTRATION

A way to help us understand this a bit better is to think about what it’s like teaching children.

Whether or not you have children, we’ve probably all tried to explain something to a child before.

Because of their limited understanding, they don’t always have the ability to grasp an idea.

So we have to water things down, and explain it in language they can understand…

but even then, we have to leave out the more complex information till they can understand.

And if you explain the same thing to 5 different children…

they may have 5 different understandings of what you meant by what you said.

This does not mean you’re a bad teacher… (although it could)

all children are at different levels of understanding, and will not comprehend things the same.

As they grow… mature…

So does their ability to understand.

Summary

So it is with believers.

We are all at different levels of understanding…

but so long as we are united in the Spirit, striving for unity…

the Spirit will help us grow in the truth together.

APPLICATION

And we need to be united in the truth, so that we can discern error.

We live in a day and age that denies the existence of absolute truth.

Even though it is easy for us to see and acknowledge this…

it is much harder for us to admit that lies and half-truths in our culture are shaping our minds.

Every day our minds are consuming information from all kinds of different sources…

and we are subtly being shaped by those messages whether we know it or not.

This is why it is so important for us to be in God’s Word on a daily basis.

This is how the Holy Spirit speaks truth into our lives.

The Spirit teaches us the truth, as He shapes us through His Word.

Through God’s Word, the Spirit transforms us, by teaching us the truth about Christ.

The Spirit wants to transform us, but we don’t just sit idly by while He does all the work.

God’s does not want to manipulate and control us like robots who do His will.

We must be actively at work, pursuing godliness in the power of the Spirit.

As we do, He changes our hearts…

giving us an internal desire to walk in obedience to Christ.

Summary

As we regularly come to God’s Word, depending on the Holy Spirit, our truthteller…

He will reveal to us the right path,

and give us the strength to walk in it.

FINAL APPLICATION

The Spirit is Jesus’ gift to all who love Him…

Jesus said this in…

John 14:23 (ESV)

“If anyone loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.

The ultimate purpose of the Holy Spirit in our lives is to accomplish two basic things:

The first thing the Holy Spirit helps us accomplish…

is to help us to be actively…

Putting to Death the Deeds of the Body

(Don’t include slides for verses???)

Romans 8:12–13 ESV

So then, brothers, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live.

Christ’s blood had to be shed in order to purchase our redemption…

How can we who died to sin still live in it?

We have raised to new life in Christ…

We have been given this new life by the power of His Spirit…

and it is only through the power of the Spirit that we can hope to have victory over sin.

Al Mohler says…

“We cannot hope to put sin to death if we do not depend upon the power of the Spirit. We will fail every test, give way to every temptation, and falter before our ancient foe unless we cry out for the Spirit to empower us, guide us, and fill us with his strength to help us endure.”

Since our only hope of victory is in the power and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives…

We must desperately seek and call on Him each and every day!

Transition

As we put to death the deeds of the body…

this leads to the second thing the Holy Spirit helps us to accomplish…

that we are actively…

Bearing the Fruit of the Holy Spirit

(Don’t include slides for verses???)

Galatians 5:16 ESV

But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.

Galatians 5:22–23 ESV

But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

As we walk by the Spirit…

We will begin to bear the fruit of the Spirit.

A life once filled with hatred and complaining…