Holy Spirit in the Major Prophets
Holy Spirit in the Old Testament • Sermon • Submitted • Presented
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· 7 viewsIn today’s message, we will read about the places the Holy Spirit was mentioned in the major prophets of the Old Testament.
Notes
Transcript
Handout
August 24th 2025
Series: Holy Spirit in the Old Testament
Sermon Title: Holy Spirit in the Major Prophets
Topic: How the Holy Spirit speaks through different kinds of people in the OT.
Key Passages:
Topic: Holy Spirit, Isaiah
Sermon Blurb: In today’s message, we will read about the places the Holy Spirit was mentioned in the major prophets of the Old Testament.
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Sermon:
Hello, Family Church!
Welcome, whether you are here in person or online.
Family Moment –
Start with something personal from your family life recently to help people get to know you.
Celebrate salvation / rededications / baptisms last week.
Celebrate new disciples and disciple-makers.
PAUSE
Today, we continue our series by exploring the Old Testament and all the places where the Holy Spirit appears.
We have been looking at all the places in the Old Testament where the Holy Spirit is directly referenced and what he does in people's lives.
Last week, we walked through the book of Psalms & Proverbs.
If you missed that message, go to our website, app, or your favorite podcast location to hear it.
PAUSE
Today, we will look at a few books again.
Today, we are going to talk about the places the Holy Spirit was mentioned throughout the Major Prophets of the Old Testament.
We will start out in the book of Isaiah.
If you have your Bible with you, and I hope you do, would you open it with me today to the Isaiah.
Isaiah
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PAUSE
Now, as you are getting to the book of Isaiah, let me give everyone a little background because we do not like anyone at Family Church feeling like they are lost or an outsider.
And again, in your Study Bible, there are several pages of introduction you can read later today before the book of Isaiah…
PAUSE
The Book of Isaiah is one of the most profound and theologically rich books in the Old Testament.
It is often called “The Gospel of the Old Testament” because it contains more Messianic prophecies than any other part of the Old Testament.
Isaiah 53 offers one of the clearest Old Testament prophecies of Jesus’ suffering and atoning death.
The prophet foretells His virgin birth (Isaiah 7:14),
Hi divine identity (9:6),
His humble service (42:1–4),
His sacrificial death (53),
And His future reign (11:1–10).
Isaiah powerfully reveals God's holiness, mankind’s sinfulness, and the certain hope of redemption through the coming Messiah.
Isaiah calls God’s people to repentance while warning of judgment, yet never without the promise of restoration and salvation.
PAUSE
Isiah is not unlike our world today.
He was speaking into a world filled with political upheaval and moral compromise…anyone want to amen it sounds like today?
Isaiah urges believers to trust not in worldly powers but in the Lord alone.
The book challenges us to live holy lives,
to proclaim the gospel boldly,
to look forward with hope to the return of Christ and the restoration of all things.
Isaiah’s message remains timeless: judgment is real, but so is the mercy and saving power of our Redeemer.
Which, to be honest….
We still need to know to this day!!!!!
So I am excited for today’s message!
PAUSE
In your sermon notes, you will see all the places the Holy Spirit is mentioned.
We will not cover all of them today, but we will dive into the most common thing the Holy Spirit did in this book, and then I will group up the other stuff for you to dive into later.
Look in your sermon notes….
Holy Spirit Empowerment: Isaiah 11:2, 30:1, 42:1, 44:3, 48:16, 59:21, 61:1, 63:10-11,14. End-Time Restoration: Isaiah 32:15, 34:16. Agent of Wisdom in Creation: Isaiah 40:13.
Let’s look at Isaiah 11 and let me show you how…write this down…
The Holy Spirit empowers us.
(Repeat)
And let me encourage you…
As we walk through these verses to write next to that point all the different ways the Holy Spirit can empower you.
Isaiah 11: 1-2 A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.
Anyone know who that stump is they are talking about?
Yes, Jesus!
Now, get ready to write down some ways the Holy Spirit empowers us.
2 The Spirit of the Lord will rest on him— the Spirit of wisdom and of understanding, the Spirit of counsel and of might, the Spirit of the knowledge and fear of the Lord—
I mean, who would not like some extra wisdom, understanding, good counsel when needed, some might, and knowledge?
Just like we have learned about throughout this series…
The Holy Spirit can help us in so many ways!
And the question is NOT if the Holy Spirit will help us…
The question is will we trust the Holy Spirit and lean into Him and trust His timing and help.
I mean take this example….
This promise about Jesse to Jesus.
Jesse lived around 1000 BC…
So around 1,000 YEARS between this promise and it coming true!
It came true!
But probably not as soon as many hoped…
Will you lean into the Holy Spirit and trust HIS timing and help??
PAUSE
Isaiah 30 talks about how those who plan WITHOUT the Holy Spirit fail.
Which would mean the inverse is true…
Planning with the Holy Spirit leads to success…you might want to add that to your list of ways He empowers us.
Empowers us to succeed in planning.
In Isaiah 42, the Holy Spirit helps the servant of the Lord bring Justice to the nations.
You might want to add that to your list of ways He empowers us.
Empowers us to bring justice.
In Isaiah 44, we see the Holy Spirit being poured on us to multiply!
So, if you want some babies…well, lean into the Holy Spirit…
You might want to add that to your list of ways He empowers us.
Empowers us to multiply.
In Isaiah 48, the Spirit endows him to speak on behalf of God.
You might want to add that to your list of ways He empowers us.
Empowers us to hear God and speak for Him.
And these last few I want to read…because they are pretty amazing!
Isaiah 59: 20-21“The Redeemer will come to Zion, to those in Jacob who repent of their sins,” declares the Lord.
Who is the Redeember church?
Yes, Jesus!
And check out this promise…
21 “As for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord. “My Spirit, who is on you, will not depart from you,
That is a great promise!
God’s Spirit will NOT depart from us!
But check out what comes next!
and my words that I have put in your mouth will always be on your lips, on the lips of your children and on the lips of their descendants—from this time on and forever,” says the Lord.
Do you see another way the Spirit empowers us???
The Holy Spirit empowers us to speak…
And NOT just us…but our kids as well!
And look at it…not just our kids but future generations as well!
That is amazing!
That when we DON’T know what to say…
We can lean into the Holy Spirit to speak through us!
And so can our kids!
And that theme continues in chapter 61…and gets EVEN better!!!!
You will have a TON here to write down or circle in your Bible!
Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Sovereign Lord is on me, because the Lord has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor.
What church?
The Holy Spirit will help you and me speak about Jesus to those who do NOT know him.
You and I just need to step out in faith and trust him to speak.
And I won’t stop for all the other things because there are so many…but circle all these other things…
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim freedom for the captives and release from darkness for the prisoners,
2 to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor and the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn,
3 and provide for those who grievein Zion— to bestow on them a crown of beauty instead of ashes,
the oil of joy instead of mourning, and a garment of praise instead of a spirit of despair.
They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor.
4 They will rebuild the ancient ruins and restore the places long devastated;
they will renew the ruined cities that have been devastated for generations.
5 Strangers will shepherd your flocks; foreigners will work your fields and vineyards.
6 And you will be called priestsof the Lord, you will be named ministers of our God.
YA!!!!
You can all be like me!!!
You will feed on the wealth of nations, and in their riches you will boast.
7 Instead of your shame you will receive a double portion, and instead of disgrace you will rejoice in your inheritance.
And so you will inherit a double portion in your land, and everlasting joy will be yours.
WOW!!!!
So many more things!!!!
Ending with EVERYLASTING joy!!!
Who doesn’t want all these blessings????
There are so many blessings to choosing to give your life to Jesus and being filled with the Holy Spirit, church!!!!
But it is your choice…
Your choice to submit yourself to Jesus.
Will you?
Will you truly submit to Jesus?
Will you truly follow the Holy Spirit?
PAUSE
Church…I ask that because all this has been so amazing…
But look at it it ends…
I find it so interesting the ending references to the Holy Spirit in Isaiah are not good…
And they are NOT good because people choose a different path.
Isaiah 63: 10 Yet they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit. So he turned and became their enemy and he himself fought against them.
People chose…
And note…if you have your Bibles, look up at verses 7 &8…
It is CLEAR Isaiah is talking about God’s people here.
He is talking about Israel turning their backs on God.
And if God’s people thousands of years ago could turn their backs on him.
Rebel against him.
Grieve him.
Anyone want to guess who else can????
Yes…you and me…
PAUSE
Can I implore you….please don’t.
Please choose to submit to Jesus.
Please choose to follow the Holy Spirit…
I can promise you it is worth it!
It is NOT worth having God be your enemy!!!
PAUSE
So there is our overview of Isaiah…you can read the other parts later today.
PAUSE
The next major prophet is Jeremiah.
Interestingly, there is not a single specific place the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the book.
18 times the Hebrew word “ruach” (Rooo-Ahhh) is used which is translated as spirit, wind, or breath.
But this book does not discuss the Spirit of God but the spirit in a natural sense.
PAUSE
Then we have the Prophet Ezekiel.
This book was written during the Babylonian exile as you can see in your Study Bible intro.
There is an INTENSE spiritual crisis going on during this time.
Which, again, I would say mirrors our time.
Now, Ezekiel also uses the Hebrew word “ruach” (Rooo-Ahhh) a lot, but unlike Jeremiah, he is focused on it as God’s Spirit.
PAUSE
Move to the first place where the Holy Spirit is mentioned. Ezekiel 36.
And here I can show you what I was talking about with Jeremiah.
Ezekiel 36: 26-27 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit in you;
Stop there…
Do you notice in your Bible that the “s” in spirit is not capitalized?
It is not capital because here is talk about our natural spirit.
Us…
Jeremiah is like this…where it could be about God’s Spirit…but if you dig deep, you find it is not.
It is more about us…or spirit in a general term.
Let’s keep reading…he says…
I will remove from you your heart of stone and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit
Stop there…
Do you notice now the capital “S?”
Capital because here he is talking about God’s Spirit…
The Holy Spirit coming to dwell within us…
And when that happens he says:
7 And I will put my Spirit in you and move you to follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws.
Here we see another empowerment thing….
Write this one down on your list…
The Holy Spirit empowers us to follow God’s decrees and laws…
AKA the Holy Spirit helps us live a Godly life!
PAUSE
Now flip over to chapter 37 and let’s see the next place.
This is in the most famous passage, probably in the whole book.
The valley of dry bones.
And that part of the passage in verses 6,7,9, and 10, you can see it talking about the breath of God…but just like above…it is NOT talking about the Holy Spirit there…
But if you drop down to verse 14 you will see where it is.
Ezekiel 37:14 I will put my Spirit in you and you will live...’”
And I could preach a whole sermon on this passage because I LOVE IT…
But well…we don’t have time for that…
And that is not the point…
We are just looking at what the Holy Spirit does…
And this passage makes it clear…
Write this down.
The Holy Spirit gives me true life.
(Repeat)
And I say true life… because the reality is there are a LOT of people living lives…
But they are like this passage about dead bones who have flesh and can breathe…but they are NOT alive…
There are a LOT of people who live life.
Who go to work.
Who go to school.
Who go through life….dead…
Because the Bible teaches us that we are all dead until we accept Jesus…and then Jesus gives us a whole new life!
The Holy Spirit leads into a WHOLE NEW life!!!
And if you have not accepted Jesus yet…
Well, you will have an opportunity in just a minute…
There is one more place the Holy Spirit shows up in this book, you will see that in your notes and you can read it later.
Ezekiel 39:29
, but there the Spirit is poured out on people.
Let me give you your life application today.
If you are new, or newer, to Family Church, we LOVE to end our messages with something for you to talk about with someone else.
Something to help you apply the message to your life.
So here is this week’s Life Application…
Life Application: The Holy Spirit wants to empower you to live the life you were created for. How could you lean more into His empowerment over your preferences?
As a result of today’s message, I will _________________________.
Prayer:
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