The Holy Spirit Part 1
The Holy Spirit:
One goal every Christian should have is to be Spirit led:
The goal of this church is to be a Spirit led church.
For instance, we want to have Spirit led leaders,
Spirit led worship, Spirit led giving, Spirit led ministry teams, and Spirit led members.
Over the next few weeks I will be discussing what it means to be Spirit led, we will look at our leaders, our worship, and our giving.
But what does this mean? What Spirit am I talking about?
It is important for us to understand Which Spirit I am talking about.
Explain the Godhead or fullness of Deity as seen in Colossians 2:9
Explain to better understand the Godhead we must understand the roles of the Godhead!
God the Father, gave God the Son to die for our sins, is everyone ok with this so far?
God the Son, gave God the Holy Spirit to us after He ascended to heaven.
Look at Acts 1:4, 8
Jesus did not leave us lonely He gave us His Spirit
This is where most Christians lose it, they drop the ball
The Holy Spirit is the one who is the most abused, underused and flat out ignored by most Christians.
I believe many Christians are uncomfortable with this fact.
I want you to understand this:
The purpose of the Holy Spirit is to give you the power to do what God wants you to do!
Matthew 21:21-22
The Bible tells us if we have enough faith, we can say to this mountain move in this sea, and it will. Do you believe it?
If so why don’t we see mountains move
Why are we bogged down with little mole hills if we have the power to move mountains. Why don’t we say, mountain, move…
Is it a lack of faith…perhaps
Is it a lack of belief in what we are asking? Perhaps
Is it a lack of understanding of the power of the Holy Spirit…perhaps
…our faith is too small, our relationship with God’s Holy Spirit is inadequate.
So many Christians do not accept or understand the power of the Holy Spirit and so they are ineffective.
Why is it that so many molehills or mountains remain in our lives?
I think we handcuff the Holy Spirit or put Him in a box. We do not tap into His power, We don’t understand His purpose, and we don’t bask into His presence.
I think that is why many Christians struggle so much.
They do not tap into His power.
I have found every time I put God in a box, He outgrows that box. Every time I put limitations on God, He exceeds those limitations.
I am not comfortable putting God in a box.
Many have put the Holy Spirit in a box and have put limitations on Him.
But the Holy Spirit is full of power and will not fit in a box!
This morning I want to look at the Holy Spirit’s Power, His Purpose, and How to bask in His Presence.
I. The power of service:
When Jesus ascended the greatest most unused gift He gave to the church was the Holy Spirit.
Acts 1:8
This is the greatest promise to the church. We have the power, we just need to learn to tap into it.
Some say this is for the early church only and as Christians we do not have the same power. This is called putting God in a Box!
Look at John 14:12
The Holy Spirit will also act as our witness!
Mark 13:11
The Holy Spirit allows us to go, teach, baptize, and teach. If you are relying on self…why?
II. The power of Spiritual Warfare:
One of the greatest accomplishments Satan has accomplished was convincing people he is not real…evil is not real
The second greatest is to convince the church he is not that bad, he is not the enemy, Keith is the enemy, change is the enemy…
We need power to combat our enemy due to the nature of our work
We are up against a very powerful being…Satan
We would not be able to stand against him on our own…
Eph 6:12
This is not make believe and this is not a game.
If Satan can get you to write this off he wins.
You need power to fight him…
If our fight is not conventional then neither is our weapons
II. Cor. 10:3-5
There is no greater power than the power of God! Amen!
I John 4:4
However let me caution you there are many spirits to choose from that are opposing God
This is why it is important to test the spirits to see if they are from God.
I John 4:1
Cf. the spirit of rebellion, the spirit of disunity the spirit of pride,
The Spirit and flesh are always in opposition to one another.
They will never see eye to eye, never compromise,
YOU are either Spirit led or flesh led. Every decision you make and every choice will please one of the two…you choose/
III. Power for overflow:
John 7:37-39
What this is referring to is that not only does the Lord have the power, but the worker has it too.
An outflow is an overflow the Lord’s vessels are not empty but full of power.
We can bless others with our overflow of our own experience with God.
God is looking for those who He can bless with His presence and power and they will flow over to others.
This is for those who are not playing church but are ready to unleash God’s power in their life.
Have you ever seen someone who you think man there is not something right about that boy…
For instance, I am not the judge, but when I look at Charles Manson, I see evil.
This is an overflow or out flow of evil.
If this is true with evil it can be true with the Holy Spirit as well
There is something right about that boy! The Holy Spirit is coming from you…
When we start thinking like this, then and only then can we be in position to move mountains and walk on water.
Eph 3:16-21
It is up to us to use this power
When I was in the army I was trained on some high speed weapons. M-16, M-60 SAW fired 600 or 900 rounds per minute.
We had 80 mm mortars, 60 mm hand held mortars these weapons were the best of the day… but you had to use them. You had to know how to use them.
They would do no good if we gave them to a group of untrained girl scouts, in fact they may do harm.
They do not understand His purpose.
I. The Believer is sanctified by the Holy Spirit
Sanctified means to be made holy….well that is good for today but tomorrow I sin and I am unholy…The Holy Spirit’s sanctification is a continual work…
II Thess. 2:13
I Peter 1:2
Just like a person cannot save themselves, a saved person cannot keep themselves holy without the constant work of the Holy Spirit
II. The Holy Spirit allows one to die to self
Romans 8:5-13
III. The Holy Spirit transforms the believer into the image of Christ.
II Cor. 3:2-3; 17-18
IV. The Holy Spirit strengthens the believer for a greater understanding of Christ.
Jn. 16:13-15
Eph. 3:16-19
As He reveals them, we desire them, and then we reach out for them.
Think of it like this If I study American History for one semester in High School compared to someone who studied American History for 8 yrs. Of college…who would have a better understanding of American History?
V. The Holy Spirit leads the children of God
John 16:13
Rom. 8:14, Gal 5:18
VI. The Holy Spirit acts as our counselor
John 14:16–18, 16:7
VII. The Holy Spirit helps us to pray:
Rom. 8:26-27, Eph 6:18
Jude 18-20
VIII. The Holy Spirit helps to produce fruit
Gal 5:22
If we are to understand the Holy Spirit we must understand His purpose
They do not bask in His presence.
The final step is to bask in His presence.
I. By making an effort to understand and obey Him