November 16, 2025 - Help of the Spirit
Notes
Transcript
So last week Paul was helping to build up our perseverance of faith...
And he did that, because the week prior he had told us that suffering with Jesus (Gospel Suffering), in this life, is not optional.
...That only those who suffer with Christ will receive the inheritance of all things from God.
And so he explains that suffering is not optional, and then proceeds to help us build up our perseverance...
And he does this by discussing the - - Glory of God
What ABOUT it?
WEIGHT of glory.… It’s POWER to SUSTAIN US....
WAIT of glory.… It’s REALITY OUT in front of us - STILL TO COME.
He made it clear to us that the sufferings of this world do not even compare to the glory that is to be revealed to us...
...that:
tribulation
suffering
Trials
Heartache
Loss
Cancer
Disease
Death
That the downside of these things are not even worth comparing to the upside of the glory to come...
And the way that Paul helps to build up our perseverance is to point to creation.
He says:
the whole creation is involved in this suffering (Romans 8:20 - subjected to futility)
the whole of human history, from the Fall to the coming of Christ, is involved in this suffering (that our suffering is not always about us alone)
by God's decree, He will set His own people free from the bondage to corruption
That in hope we might WAIT with eager longing, like creation, for the day we see Christ glorified, and experience our glorification...
Paul was trying to tell us that Future Glory helps us persevere...helps us at our weakest times...
...that understanding what is coming should help us to endure...
And as we'll see today, Paul's now going to take that Future Glory that's out before us...
...and he's going to solidify why WE as Christians...can REST in, and be assured of this glory to come!
He's going to give us a reason why we can be rock-solid confident that we will partake in the glory to come.
The Help of the Holy Spirit
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
As you all know, the world will do whatever it takes to draw you to itself.
And listen, it's not always hiding around the corner ready to launch a sin grenade on your head.
Often times, it will seduce us with morally neutral things...
to get us to trade:
passion for Christ - for - apathy to Christ.
service for Christ - for - comfort for ourselves.
And it's usually so very subtle is it not...?
Like the song says:
It's a slow fade when you give yourself away
It's a slow fade when black and white have turned to gray
Thoughts invade, choices are made, a price will be paid
When you give yourself away
People never crumble in a day
It's a slow fade, it's a slow fade
One day we're on fire for Christ in service to Him...
....and then, the next day we're caught up in pursuing other things...
NOW, we all know what THAT struggle's like on a typical day...
BUT now consider that you're facing a difficult trial for the sake of the gospel...(You're suffering for Jesus!)
You know that when we're in the midst of suffering, compromise will always be just a moment away...
We know how this works right?
When you only have 10 minutes left to complete the final exam, and you still need to answer 100 questions....
Compromise says - just copy your friends answers...
When you're late doing your taxes, and you're just trying to get them done...
Compromise says - Just breeze through it...what the government doesn't know won't hurt them
When you're faced with a tough decision at work in choosing holiness or fitting in (idolatry)
Compromise says - just do what everyone else is doing...it's easier...
Compromise will always promote itself more loudly when the trial comes...
AND SO BECAUSE we know this...
AND because we know that suffering is not optional in the Christian life...
We know that compromise will always be knocking on our door!!
What Paul is trying to get us to see, is that we don't have to compromise when the going gets tough.
WHY?
Because we have the Holy Spirit dwelling inside of us - as Christians.
And the picture that Paul paints here...is NOT one where the Holy Spirit lies dormant.
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
the Spirit helps...
...helps US...
Who is the "us" in this verse?
If we go back to verse 24, we see Paul say:
24 For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?
The Spirit helps us...helps those who are saved.
Those who are saved have been given the Holy Spirit, and the Spirit helps us...
HOW HAS THE HOLY SPIRIT HELPED YOU THIS PAST WEEK?
You might say - "Well I don't know"....
Well...it's important for us to be aware of this...why?
Well...it's important for us to be aware of this...why?
SLIDE:
KNOWING DIVINE GUIDANCE IS ASSOCIATED WITH THE PRESENCE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
Let's look at Isaiah 63:11-14
11 Then he remembered the days of old, of Moses and his people. Where is he who brought them up out of the sea with the shepherds of his flock? Where is he who put in the midst of them his Holy Spirit,
12 who caused his glorious arm to go at the right hand of Moses, who divided the waters before them to make for himself an everlasting name,
13 who led them through the depths? Like a horse in the desert, they did not stumble.
14 Like livestock that go down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord gave them rest. So you led your people, to make for yourself a glorious name.
7 Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?
8 If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!
9 If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,
10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me.
We see here that where the Holy Spirit dwells, an awareness of that Holy Spirit's presence is present.
There is an awareness of the Holy Spirit's presence, wherever the Holy Spirit dwells.
And this makes sense based on what we read back in verse 15 of this same chapter 8 of Romans.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
The Christian life is a life spent crying out to God, by the power of the Holy Spirit - ABBA Father!
And this crying out to God - manifests itself in a million different ways...in our lives.
As we just saw in verses 26 and 27...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: HE GUIDES US IN PRAYER
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.
How many times have you come to a crossroad in your life, and you just absolutely do NOT know what to do...?
You don't know what God wants you to do
You don't know what you want to do
You just don't know....
and so you don't even know what to pray....how to pray...
Maybe there's a situation that arises where you can actually see multiple options being Christ-like responses to that situation....
And you're just lost as to what to do...
What we need to remember is this - The Holy Spirit intercedes for us
..That as we press into the Lord, and seek His guidance, the Holy Spirit will Himself intercede for us...
**Think of this - HOW OFTEN throughout your day - do you honestly believe - that you are NOT in TUNE to - God...
Not CONSIDERING God...you’re simply living life and accomplishing the tasks before you?
Think of HOW OFTEN we REALLY AREN’T - considering God!
NOW - Do you think the Spirit of God - INSIDE of YOU - KNOWS how little we CONSIDER God?
YES??
Ok - well doesn’t it then make sense - that the Holy Spirit PRAYS on our BEHALF...?
INTERCEDES FOR us - as we just FLOAT through our days...?
Of course!!
And this ISN’T about speaking in tongues - BY ANY MEANS -
It’s the Spirit of God - praying FOR US - FOR our good.
**You guys ever find yourself in a situation with your kids - where you just KNOW how they’re going to LOVE this activity - if they would just CHOOSE to do it....
but you don’t think they’ll choose to do it?
You KNOW they’d LOVE IT...and find JOY in it...
And so - MAYBE you make the decision for them.
The Holy Spirit can operate in the same way - SOMETIMES even changing our desires - to ALIGN with God’s desires.
**Lavi Kuzman
Not only does the Holy Spirit guide us in prayer, but...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: HE GUIDES US THROUGH SPIRITUAL GIFTS
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
7 To each is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
8 For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance of wisdom, and to another the utterance of knowledge according to the same Spirit,
9 to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by the one Spirit,
10 to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another the ability to distinguish between spirits, to another various kinds of tongues, to another the interpretation of tongues.
11 All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.
Here we really see the manifestation of Romans 8:26 where it says that the Spirit helps US...
'US' being saved people...the body of Christ...
MADE UP of individual believers....
Each member called and equipped for a purpose.
The Body of Christ functions as it should....
...when each member is active in prayer, AWARE of the Spirit's presence in their lives...
NOT RESTING in what they THINK they’re good at...
But RESTING in God - Trusting in HIM - knowing HE can DO ANYTHING through us!
**Charley
And so - the Spiritual Gifts are GIVEN to us - in order to PROCLAIM Jesus and all of His attributes!
Administration
Leadership
Discernment
Evangelism
Exhortation
Faith
Giving
Healing
Helps
Hospitality
Knowledge
Mercy
Prophecy
Serving
Wisdom
Teaching
All of these things - dispersed by the Spirit of God - to display Jesus to the world.
The Spirit also...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: HE GUIDES OUR CHRISTIAN LIVING
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
SLIDE:
“We never grow closer to God when we just live life. It takes deliberate pursuit and attentiveness.”
― Francis Chan, Crazy Love: Overwhelmed by a Relentless God
The bible says that WE are to make every effort to add to our faith:
virtue
knowledge
perseverance
and so on....
This takes deliberate effort.
As you know...we plan a lot of things in our lives...
We are planners!
We plan vacations months or maybe even years in advance...
We plan what school we're going to attend...
...and then what degree we're going to pursue...
We’ll plan parties, graduations, anniversaries.
We'll even change long held plans IF SOMETHING BETTER comes along...
...OR if we deem the situation IMPORTANT enough for us to change our plans...
And so the question is:
When was the last time you made plans to PURSUE Jesus Christ (however that played itself out)?
When was the last time you changed plans in order to pursue KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT of God?
**Rachel - Speak
As you know, we are creatures of habit...
And so, often times, we get into these habits of how we spend our time, and instead of pursuing KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT....
...we're not even open to considering what the SPIRIT might have us do.
As Francis Chan has said:
"Do you really want to know what the Spirit wants you to do after church today?"
Are we actively pursuing KEEPING IN STEP WITH THE SPIRIT?
Not only does the Spirit guide us in CHRISTIAN LIVING, but...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: He Guides Us in Witness & Evangelism
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
HE GUIDES IN WITNESS AND EVANGELISM:
11 And when they bring you to trial and deliver you over, do not be anxious beforehand what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour, for it is not you who speak, but the Holy Spirit.
How often do we forget THIS!??
When we shrink back from speaking Christ to our family, friends, neighbors, co-workers....we are lacking trust in the Holy Spirit...in God Himself.
It says it very clear in verse 26...The Holy Spirit WILL help us....when?
...in our weakness.
When we neglect speaking for Christ, we are actually relying on our own strength....
...analyzing the situation on our OWN terms...
...and saying:
"my strength is only sufficient enough for me to stay here and not go speak"
and we end up bowing down to ourselves, and we obey...ourselves.
INSTEAD we need to rely on the Spirit to HELP us - witness - evangelize...
**Colin (come up)
We MUST remember that the Spirit will guide us in witness and evangelism...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: He Guides Us Through God’s Word
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
HE GUIDES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD
21 “And as for me, this is my covenant with them,” says the Lord: “My Spirit that is upon you, and my words that I have put in your mouth, shall not depart out of your mouth, or out of the mouth of your offspring, or out of the mouth of your children’s offspring,” says the Lord, “from this time forth and forevermore.”
The Holy Spirit operates 100% of the time, in accordance with the truth of Scripture.
When the Bible says - TEST THE SPIRITS...
It's calling us to take what we've heard, and RUN TO Scripture...
Why?
Because the Holy Spirit inspired the writing of the Scripture
11 He who has an ear, let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches. The one who conquers will not be hurt by the second death.’
It's through the Word of God that the Spirit of God speaks and instructs...
And this makes sense with what we read today in Romans 8:27
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
It's through the Word of God that the Spirit of God speaks and instructs...
AND THIS IS A GOOD THING! We can trust this...
**Jon Kirlough
And so we can see the importance of each of us...on our own....getting into the Word...
SLIDE: Help of the Spirit: He Guides Us in Ministry
Help of the Spirit
Help of the Spirit
HE GUIDES IN MINISTRY:
Just think of Paul himself.
During his missionary work...he would forgo going into THIS region, and instead go into THIS region...being lead by the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit lead Paul to the areas of the world that God wanted Paul to engage.
We can take comfort in this....the Holy Spirit will guide in ministry.
22 And now, behold, I am going to Jerusalem, constrained by the Spirit, not knowing what will happen to me there,
23 except that the Holy Spirit testifies to me in every city that imprisonment and afflictions await me.
Imprisonment and Afflictions await me...
We've talked about it - Gospel Suffering ADVANCES the gospel!
When we embrace suffering (not run from it) for Christ's sake, we display Jesus to the world.
And the Holy Spirit comforts us, as we face trials...
6 And you became imitators of us and of the Lord, for you received the word in much affliction, with the joy of the Holy Spirit,
So Paul has told us that suffering is not optional in the Christian life, yet he also says that Joy Awaits us...
Suffering promised...
Joy promised...
endurance granted...
This is what Paul is doing....
Proclaiming that Gospel suffering is not optional for the Christian...
...and then pointing to future glory to build our perseverance
...and now pointing to the Holy Spirit as our comforter and guide....to build up our perseverance
And in a couple weeks (after our worship sunday next week) we'll see Paul continue to try and build up our perseverance and assurance...
...by highlighting the Sovereignty of God over all things...
The Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness:
SUMMARY
The Holy Spirit
GUIDES US IN PRAYER
GUIDES THROUGH SPIRITUAL GIFTS
GUIDES IN CHRISTIAN LIVING
GUIDES IN WITNESS AND EVANGELISM
GUIDES THROUGH THE WORD OF GOD
GUIDES IN MINISTRY
The Holy Spirit does all of this and so much more...good news?
Let's Pray...
