The Forever Spirit
Sermon • Submitted
0 ratings
· 6 viewsNotes
Transcript
“If you love Me, you will keep My commands. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever. He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.
Question: Is the promise of the Holy Spirit only received if you keep Jesus’ commands?
‘AND’
Truths of the Text:
The Spirit is present because Jesus prayed to the Father
The Spirit is a Counselor or the Counselor. What is a Counselor? What are the implications of this fact?
Who was the first Counselor since Jesus says, “Another”?
The Spirit is the Spirit of Truth. What are the implications of this fact? What is truth?
The world cannot receive the Spirit. What does it mean to receive the Spirit? How do I receive the Spirit? How do I know that I have received the Spirit? What is the benefit of receiving the Spirit? Why should I want to receive the Spirit? Why can the world not receive the Spirit?
What does it mean to see or know the Spirit?
How does the Spirit remain? Remain in you? And be in you?
Jesus will not leave us as orphans. What is an orphan? Why does Jesus say this? Does this imply that the world leaves us as orphans? What was the future of an orphan back in Jesus’ time? Israel? The Roman world?
Jesus will come to you. What does this mean? What is the implication?
What is the relationship between the Spirit and keeping Jesus’ commands? Can we keep Jesus’ commands on our own? Is it possible?
The Comforter is here today! Just as He was yesterday, He will be today and tomorrow. What benefit is the Holy Spirit to me during this time and the time to come?
We are not to be afraid, the Comforter is with us today!
Uzzah and the Ark (2 Samuel 6)
When they came to Nacon’s threshing floor, Uzzah reached out to the ark of God and took hold of it because the oxen had stumbled. Then the Lord’s anger burned against Uzzah, and God struck him dead on the spot for his irreverence, and he died there next to the ark of God.
David was angry because of the Lord’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place an Outburst Against Uzzah, as it is today. David feared the Lord that day and said, “How can the ark of the Lord ever come to me?”
So he was not willing to move the ark of the Lord to the city of David; instead, he took it to the house of Obed-edom the Gittite. The ark of the Lord remained in his house three months, and the Lord blessed Obed-edom and his whole family.
Does it not seem rather severe that God would strike Uzzah dead because he touched the ark of the Lord? We are told that Uzzah was struck dead because of his irreverence. What is irreverence? Simply, a sin, an error is the Hebrew meaning of ‘sal’. From the context of the story, it was a great sin or error deserving of death. From King David’s reaction, it seems David disagreed with God’s judgment and action “David was angry because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah, so he named that place an Perez-uzzah (Outburst Against Uzzah), as it is today” (v.8). David was angry with God. The Hebrew term is ‘harah’ a verb meaning to burn, to be kindled, to glow, to grow warm. David was burning because of the LORD’s outburst against Uzzah. Uzzah simply reached out to stop the ark of God from falling off the cart because the oxen had stumbled, which were pulling the cart.
Would you not attempt to catch something, especially something of great value, to keep it from falling and possibly breaking into a million smithereans? Obviously, we all would. How would we feel if someone gave us static, or punished you for doing so? You would be incredulous, beside yourself. You tried to do something good, to save something and now you are chastized for trying to do something right. It would not make sense. We would probably feel the same way King David did, anger, amazement, incredulous and confusion. I try to do something good and I receive punishment for my efforts? If this is the kind of God this God is, I am out of hear.
The LORD’s outburst makes no sense. Especially so, when you put it into the context of the whole story. The spot from where King David is transporting the ark was called Baal-perazim, or ‘Lord Bursts Out’ (2 Sam. 5:20). This is the place where King David defeats the Philistines to recapture the ark of God. The LORD fights for Israel and defeats the Philistines in such a decisive fasion that King David describes it as “a bursting flood, the LORD has burst out against my enemies before me” (v.20). So God considered Uzzah an enemy, because he burst out against Uzzah in the same fashion that He did with the Philistines?
How indeed, was David ever going to get the ark of the LORD to himself (v.9)? Is God indesciminate in His actions? Can God tell right from wrong? Indeed, He is omniscient, all-knowing, meaning knowing all things, including motives of the heart (Romans 11:33-34; 1 Cor. 2:16).
Jesus, however, would not entrust Himself to them, since He knew them all and because He did not need anyone to testify about man; for He Himself knew what was in man.
Our account says that Uzzah reached out “irreverantly”, in sin, in error (v.7). The Philistines took God away in error, in sin, irreverantly. In our understanding, irreverance is a lack of awe or honor. Irreverance is to treat something or someone with familiarity, when it is not right to do so, commonality. When you meet the Queen, you would not address her by her first name, Elizabeth, but instead by ‘Your majesty’. You would give and show her respect and honor. Men, if you were to take a lady out on a first date, what do you do when you pick her up from her house, her dad’s house? “Hey pops, good to meet you.” We must be so careful, that we do not treat God with commonality because commonality errors on the side of disrespect and contempt. Uzzah treated the ark of God, the presense of the LORD with commonality and disrespect; with familiarity when it was not appropriate to do so. Do we treat God the Father the same way? Jesus? The Holy Spirit? God is holy, not common.
The one thing that has always bothered me has been when people refer to Jesus as “their friend”. It strikes me as being too common and casual. Yes, the Bible records the statement that, Jesus was “a friend of tax collectors and sinners” (Mt. 11:18; Mk 2:13-17). Jesus even calls the people who love, follow and obey His commands His friends (John 15:14). But when we use the term, do we use it as Jesus did/does? Do we mean it as Jesus did/does? To be a friend was to be loved. When Jesus sat down with the drunkards, prostitutes, the destitute, the children, with tax collectors and sinners it means He is a “lover of tax collectors and sinners”. When we refer to Jesus do we mean our ‘loved’? That Jesus is my loved? My love?
When we love someone we respect them, honor them and cherish them. Men, we are instructed to do so when we choose to marry our wives (1 Peter 3:1-7). Wives, do so when they vow to submit to their husbands, to be under their protection, provision and authority (v.5). The way we interact, treat and introduce our spouse or friend, should be the same way we interact, treat and introduce Jesus, as our love. Is this what I mean when I talk about Jesus being my friend. Does He have my respect, awe and honor? If He does, then we obey His commands, for His friends, His “loves” do so, “If you love Me, you will keep My commandments” Jesus says in John 14:15. And if you do so, “I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever” (John 14:16). The Spirit comes to those who love Jesus, keeping His commmands, His Word.
How will the Spirit of the LORD ever come to me?
King David’s delimma was, “How can the ark of the LORD ever come to me?” (2 Samuel 6:9). David desired to have the presense of the LORD to be with Him. Our question may indeed be, ‘How will the Spirit of the LORD ever come to me?’ The presumption is that everyone, who is a believer in Jesus Christ as the Son of God, desires to have His presense with them. I desire to have the presense of the LORD Jesus with me, all the time. His presense is available all the time, and that is through the Holy Spirit, sent from the Father, at the request of the Son, to be ‘another’ Councelor, of the same quality and person, as Jesus (v.16).
So how do I receive the Spirit of Truth, refered to by Jesus, whom the world is unable to recieve because they do not know Him or see Him (v.17)? The same way King David ultimately was able to bring the ark of the LORD back to Jerusalem, by obey God’s commands.
It was reported to King David: “The Lord has blessed Obed-edom’s family and all that belongs to him because of the ark of God.” So David went and had the ark of God brought up from Obed-edom’s house to the city of David with rejoicing. When those carrying the ark of the Lord advanced six steps, he sacrificed an ox and a fattened calf.
The Key phrase is “when those carrying the ark of the LORD” (v.13). The ark of the LORD was only to be carried by men, on their shoulders, by the use of poles that would slide through ringlets to transport the ark (Numbers 4:15). The ark of the LORD was also only to be carried by the descendants of Levi, because the LORD had chosen them to carry the ark of LORD and serve Him forever (1 Chr 15:2). When King David decided to follow the LORD God’s commands, the ark was successfully allowed to come to Him in Jerusalem. When we obey Jesus commands, which is to love Him and His Word, the Spirit of the LORD will remain on us and be active in us. Jesus says, we will know Him, by His Spirit, in us and we will have Jesus and God the Father come reside in us, when we love Him and keep His commands.
He is the Spirit of truth. The world is unable to receive Him because it doesn’t see Him or know Him. But you do know Him, because He remains with you and will be in you.
In that day you will know that I am in My Father, you are in Me, and I am in you. The one who has My commands and keeps them is the one who loves Me. And the one who loves Me will be loved by My Father. I also will love him and will reveal Myself to him.”
Jesus answered, “If anyone loves Me, he will keep My word. My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our home with him. The one who doesn’t love Me will not keep My words. The word that you hear is not Mine but is from the Father who sent Me.
But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit —the Father will send Him in My name—will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.
The world cannot know or see the Holy Spirit because He only resides with and on the faithful. Being faithful means those who believe upon and trust Jesus for their person and lives. It means those who keep Jesus’ Word and commandments. Dr. A.B Simpson, our founder of the Christian and Missionary Alliance, would describe this as “The Deeper Life”. The Deeper Life is a relationship of 1) Obedience to the Word (v.21) and 2) Love for the Word (v.24). The Word being Jesus and everything that Jesus has spoken and commanded us to do. This means a love and obedience for the word of God, the Bible. The Bible is the primary way that the Holy Spirit works to us and through us; communicates with the believer; bringing to rememberance everything Jesus has said and done.
The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit come to abide with the saint who loves the Word, obeys the Word and lives the Word. How is my relationship with the Word? My relationship with the Spirit is only as strong as my relationship with Jesus and His Word and my obedience to His Word. See the Holy Spirit, the Councelor, the Comforter, the Paraclete is given to stand alongside us to help us along in this world, to know and live as Jesus did, guiding us to follow and know His way. That is what the word Paraclete means “to stand alongside”. No wonder King David wanted the ark of the LORD with him, because He wanted the presense of the LORD to stand alongside Him. Is this our desire? I hope it would be in such a perilious time as we face today. What is up? What is down? The only way we can know for sure is to seek the Holy Spirit for the truth, the truth of Jesus and His promised guidance into “all truth”.
This guidance into all truth means that Jesus will not leave us as orphans (v.18). The word ‘orphans’ means ‘comfortless’. Jesus had to die and go to the Father so the Father would send the Comforter for the comfortless. Every single person on this earth is comfortless because the wrath of God is upon each person as a result of the curse of sin and death in the Garden of Eden.
Every person has a whole in their being that they are trying to fill, but can only be filled by the peace of God. Jesus knew this with His disciples as He told them He was going to die and go away to the Father. Their peace of being with their Messiah would be destroyed. Their Peace, our Peace would by eliminated. Jesus knew their thoughts, their worry, our thoughts, our worry and promised the provision of the Holy Spirit so that we would have peace!
“Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Your heart must not be troubled or fearful.
So, therefore, rejoice and dance as David did as the ark of the LORD was brought into Jerusalem. The Lord Jesus has not left us as orphans. He has given us the Comforter, the Counselor, the Great Alongside, our Guide to lead us through this life; knowing His way and His truth.
Do not be troubled, do not be fearful. For Jesus told us far beforehand what would be before his children walking in this world and the time to come. Do not be fearful, do not grieve or quench the Spirit. See where the Lord Jesus is working and come alongside and have the Spirit use you as His vessel. Only a person submitted to Jesus can be used by the Spirit. Only a person in love with Jesus will be moved by the Spirit. He who would does not love Jesus, not His Word and works should expect any experience of the Spirit.
Jesus died and went to the Father so that we might be comforted and have peace, the comfortless in a world of fear and pain.
Am I controlled by the Word? Am I directed by the Word? Then I will experience the Word through the power of the indwelling Spirit of God.
Amen.