Pentecost Sunday...

Holy Spirit: Our Advocate...

Text: John 15:26-27

Acts 2:1–4 NIV

1 When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. 2 Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. 3 They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. 4 All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Today is Pentecost Sunday.Jesus promised that if He went into Heaven, He would send the Holy Spirit. This made no sense to the disciples as they already had Jesus, but they didn’t understand what the implications would be for Christians when the Holy Spirit would come.

We need the Holy Spirit in our lives today. We need Holy Spirit in our church.

Peter made the declaration about this promise.

Acts 2:38–39 NIV

38 Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. 39 The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off—for all whom the Lord our God will call.”

Steve Gulbronson said, “It’s not about how much of the Holy Spirit we have. It’s about how much the Holy Spirit has us.”

Have you ever asked yourself “What difference does the Holy Spirit make in my life? Does it really matter if we are empowered by the Holy Spirit or not?

This morning, I’d like for us to look at how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament, and then take a look at Jesus’ promise that He would send the Holy Spirit.

Let’s start by reading

John 15:26–27 NLT

26 “But I will send you the Advocate—the Spirit of truth. He will come to you from the Father and will testify all about me. 27 And you must also testify about me because you have been with me from the beginning of my ministry.

The Holy Spirit in the Old Testament...

a. In Creation

Genesis 1:1–2 NIV

1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Over the course of the history of the church, there has been much effort and much debate as to what we believe. Much of this was hammered out at councils of the early church. At one such council a man named Athanasius made this claim. Here is what he said, “…For there is one Person of the Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. But the godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, is all one, the glory equal, the majesty co-eternal…The Father eternal, the Son eternal, and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet they are not three eternals, but one Eternal…” (Athanasian Creed)

The early church waged war against heresies in the church that tried to remove the deity of Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit.

In the beginning God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit created the heavens and the earth. The Spirit of God hovered over the surface of the deep. And God said, “Let there be light…”

b. God’s presence

When God led the people of Israel out of Egypt, He showed His presence in the form of a cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night.

Exodus 13:21–22 NIV

21 By day the Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud to guide them on their way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them light, so that they could travel by day or night. 22 Neither the pillar of cloud by day nor the pillar of fire by night left its place in front of the people.

While the children of Israel were in the wilderness for 40 years, God’s presence rested upon the tabernacle. Whenever it was time for the people to leave, the cloud would start to move and the people would pack up and leave. Exodus 40:36-38

Exodus 40:36–38 NIV

36 In all the travels of the Israelites, whenever the cloud lifted from above the tabernacle, they would set out; 37 but if the cloud did not lift, they did not set out—until the day it lifted. 38 So the cloud of the Lord was over the tabernacle by day, and fire was in the cloud by night, in the sight of all the Israelites during all their travels.

c. The Holy Spirit’s empowerment

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit would come and empower prophets, priests, kings, and judges. He didn’t dwell in or rest upon all the people. In 1 Samuel 16, Samuel who was the last judge, anointed David by pouring oil on his head as a symbol of the Holy Spirit.

Samson was a prime example of how the Holy Spirit worked in the Old Testament. I’m not speaking to his character or his actions, but just about how the Holy Spirit moved upon him.

Judges 13:24–25 NIV

24 The woman gave birth to a boy and named him Samson. He grew and the Lord blessed him, 25 and the Spirit of the Lord began to stir him while he was in Mahaneh Dan, between Zorah and Eshtaol.

God had called Samson from his birth to free Israel from their oppression. Judges 14:6

Judges 14:6 NIV

6 The Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him so that he tore the lion apart with his bare hands as he might have torn a young goat. But he told neither his father nor his mother what he had done.

Judges 14:19 NIV

19 Then the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon him. He went down to Ashkelon, struck down thirty of their men, stripped them of everything and gave their clothes to those who had explained the riddle. Burning with anger, he returned to his father’s home.

Here are some of the things that Samson did when the God’s Spirit came on him: He tore a young lion apart. He carried the gates of a city up on a hill. He killed a thousand men with the jaw bone of a donkey, and finally at the end of his life, he pushed the pillars of a temple apart so that 6000 people died.

In Samson’s case, the Spirit of God would come and go, but in David’s case, it seemed to rest upon him. After he had sinned against God by committing adultery with Bathsheba and having her husband, Uriah killed, David pleaded with God in Psalm 51:7-11

Psalm 51:7–11 NIV

7 Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow. 8 Let me hear joy and gladness; let the bones you have crushed rejoice. 9 Hide your face from my sins and blot out all my iniquity. 10 Create in me a pure heart, O God, and renew a steadfast spirit within me. 11 Do not cast me from your presence or take your Holy Spirit from me.

In Psalm 139:7-12 David says this,

Psalm 139:7–12 NIV

7 Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. 9 If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea, 10 even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast. 11 If I say, “Surely the darkness will hide me and the light become night around me,” 12 even the darkness will not be dark to you; the night will shine like the day, for darkness is as light to you.

We could talk about Moses or Gideon, Samuel or Elijah, but in each of these cases the Holy Spirit did not come to the masses, but Joel prophesied,

Joel 2:28–29 NIV

28 “And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. 29 Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

Let’s look at

Jesus’ Promise...

(Thoughts from J.I. Packer)

a. He would send the Holy Spirit

Jesus promised that He would send a Helper, One that would be our Advocate. J.I. Packer uses the words, Counsellor and Paraclete

it comes

“from the Greek word parakletos (meaning one who gives support).

The Holy Spirit

“is a helper, adviser, strengthener, encourager, ally, and advocate.”

Jesus had told His disciples that He needed to go to the Father. John 14:15-18

John 14:15–18 NIV

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

b. What role does the Spirit fulfill?

(no specific order)

1) To draw people to Jesus.

God the Father draws people by the power of the Holy Spirit to Jesus.

John 12:32 NIV

32 And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”

2) Bring glory to Jesus

John 16:14 NIV

14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you.

One of the ways that we can tell if something is of God is, it brings glory to Jesus. Salvation comes in no other name than the name of Jesus. If anyone brings another gospel, it is not from the Holy Spirit.

3) Makes us aware that we are God’s children

Romans 8:15–17 NIV

15 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

If you have given your life to Christ, you are a child of God. He gives us assurance. You have been chosen and adopted into His family.

4) He regenerates us

There is great power in praying the sinner’s prayer, but it is not a prayer that saves us, the Holy Spirit changes us and gives us a new nature.

Jesus said to Nicodemus, “You must be born again.” We understand childbirth, but each and every one of us needs to be born of the Spirit. It is at this point that we are saved. He cleanses us and washes us. He gives us a new nature. When you asked Jesus into your heart, you became a new creation.

5) He enlightens us

When you read the Bible and it comes alive to you, it is the Holy Spirit who reveals the word of God to you.

Ephesians 1:17–18 NIV

17 I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. 18 I pray that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in his holy people,

6) He leads us and transforms us

Romans 8:14 NIV

14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.

Galatians 5:16–17 NIV

16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

The Holy Spirit is God. He is not just a toy that we can play with. He has come to guide us into all truth. He has come to give us victory in our lives over the power of the devil. As our Advocate, He is there to give us wisdom and understanding.

He has come to fill us with power from on high. It was D.L. Moody that said,

“Before we pray that God would fill us, I believe we ought to pray Him to empty us.” – D.L. Moody

Do we really want to be filled with the Holy Spirit? Do we want to filled with the Holy Spirit on our own terms.

Mary E Maxwell wrote the words to a powerful hymn, Channels Only

How I praise Thee, precious Savior, That Thy love laid hold of me; Thou hast saved and cleansed and filled me That I might Thy channel be.

Refrain: Channels only, blessed Master, But with all Thy wondrous pow’r Flowing through us, Thou canst use us Every day and every hour.

Just a channel full of blessing, To the thirsty hearts around, To tell out Thy full salvation, All Thy loving message sound.

Emptied that Thou shouldest fill me, A clean vessel in Thy hand; With no pow’r but as Thou givest Graciously with each command.

Witnessing Thy pow’r to save me, Setting free from self and sin; Thou who bought me to possess me, In Thy fullness, Lord, come in.

Jesus, fill now with Thy Spirit Hearts that full surrender know, That the streams of living water From our inner man may flow.

Jesus wants to fill us and refill us with the Holy Spirit to transform us into His image.

2 Corinthians 3:18 NIV

18 And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.

7) He empowers for service

Acts 1:8 NIV

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.”

The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to do the will of God, and that is to bring people to Christ. Jesus said in

John 16:7–13 NIV

7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. 12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.

Jesus said that it was good that He has gone to heaven so that He could send the Holy Spirit.

Today is the day that we celebrate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit and the birth of the early church.

This event changed the course of history. and I believe that the Holy Spirit is still moving in our world today and longs to move in our lives today.

As humans, we like to be in control. We like to be in charge. Here’s the problem, when we are in control, we aren’t submitted to God. If we aren’t submitted to God’s authority, we open ourselves us to earthly mindsets, which is sinful and can lead to pride.

Today, my prayer is that we would ask God to take away our wordly desires and that He would fill us with the Holy Spirit. Only Jesus can immerse you with the Holy Spirit.

Pastor, I received the Holy Spirit when I was saved. That’s true! Because if the Holy Spirit doesn’t dwell in us, we aren’t children of God.

I’m not asking you to open up to some eastern mysticism where you empty your mind. That would be dangerous.

What I am asking is that we would give God His rightful place as our Lord and Master. He has promised us that He would fill us.

Luke 11:11–13 NIV

11 “Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? 12 Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

We need to keep on being filled with the Holy Spirit. Would you ask Jesus to fill you once again with His Spirit? Let’s not settle for anything less than what God has for us.

Let’s pray!

[12]Packer, J. I. (1993). Concise theology: a guide to historic Christian beliefs (p. 143). Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House.