17_01 Who is the Holy Spirit?

Tim Moroz
Walk by the Spirit  •  Sermon  •  Submitted
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Transitioning to “Walk by the Spirit” series. Next 8 weeks.
Teaching Rhythm of: Luke > Mini-series > Luke. Jesus, Family, Mission.
As we go through year we make adjustments based on needs, promptings from the HS, issues in our world/country/church, etc.
A few months back, as Eric & I were praying over our church needs we got the sense that we needed to spend some time talking about the HS as a church.
Depending on your background, might be feeling uncomfortable, or excited, or both!
that’s bc depending on your background, you probably grew up with churches that
Abused the HS or Abstained from the HS,
we want to be a church that sees the HS as A Blessing. (ha - linguistic trick)
Over the course of this next weeks we want to ask a few questions:
Who is the HS and why does He matter? (today)
His Identity, Role, Gifts, etc.
How do I “Walk by the Spirit”?
Abide in, hear His voice, be filled with Him, etc.
What if I _________ the Spirit?
Resist, Grieve, Blaspheme, Quench.
How do I grow in the Spirit?
Hear His voice? Sense His leading?
Spiritual Disciplines
July House Church Month
Collectively go through 4 Spiritual Rhythms (Disciplines)
Tension
The problem is despite most of us having grown up in Christian environments, we often know very little about the HS or His work in our lives.
Some talk about Him like He’s some kind of “force” or “energy”
Or we know a lot theologically but don’t really experience His presence experientially.
We’ve seen Churches & Christians that just get a bit “Kooky” in the HS.
Just seem a little weird
Say and do things that are uncomfortable at best, unbiblical at worst.
Televangelists that seemingly manufacture HS “work”
We’ve also seen Churches & Christians that just seem spiritually dead.
Feels like there is NO life there
No passion or excitement
No “breath of God” in them.
No manifestation of the Spirit’s work
Our hope with this series is to...
(1) learn what the Bible has to say about the HS,
(2) grow in our awareness and sensitivity to His work,
(3) understand the pitfalls that prevent us from walking by the Spirit, and
(4) put some rhythms into practice to help us to tune our ears to Him.
**TRANS - So let’s Pray and let’s spend a few minutes examining what the Scriptures have to say about who the HS is.
Teach

The first time we see the HS mentioned in the Bible is in Genesis 1:2

Genesis 1:2 ESV
2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
The Heb. word used is “Ruakh”
Can be used to refer to “wind” or “breath”
Put your hand in front of your mouth and breathe out - that’s Ruakh
It’s used throughout Bible to describe God’s presence & sustaining power.
Used as the name for God the Spirit.
It’s clear from the first few pages that the HS is not an energy force but a person.
Co-equal with God the Father and God the Son
Eternally existing in perfect community with the Father & Son.
Working alongside them in the creation narrative.

As we move along through the OT, the next time we see the Spirit mentioned is with the story of Joseph

Favored son of Jacob
Sold into slavery by brothers
Experiences God’s favor, rises in the ranks
Standing before Pharoah one day he interprets a dream by the power of God
And Pharoah says...
Genesis 41:38 ESV
38 And Pharaoh said to his servants, “Can we find a man like this, in whom is the Spirit of God?”
There is a recognition that it is the Ruakh of God within him that enabled him to accurately interpret the dream.

Jumping ahead to Exodus we see an incredible description of the Spirit of God coming upon a man named Bazalel

The people of Israel have been freed from Slavery
They are establishing their own identity as God’s people
Moses constructs the Tabernacle where God’s presence will be among them on earth.
As they are building the Tabernacle, we are told...
Exodus 35:31 ESV
31 and he has filled him with the Spirit of God, with skill, with intelligence, with knowledge, and with all craftsmanship,
Literally, the “Ruakh of God” came upon this man to enable him to build the tabernacle with skill, intelligence, knowledge, and all craftsmanship.
I love the implications here!!!!
You don’t have to be a missionary or pastor to be filled with the HS!
You can be a baker who has been filled with the “Ruakh of God” to bake the best bread to the Glory of God and the Joy of the People!
And all God’s people said, AMEN!
You don’t have to quit your day-job, you can do it to the Glory of God, with the filling of the Holy Spirit within you!
What would it look like to have a Holy Spirit powered version of you working at your office?

All throughout the rest of the OT we see the “Ruakh of God” coming upon select people called “Prophets”

These people had a unique connection with God
Saw humanity & history through His eyes
Spoke & wrote on His behalf to lead humanity back to God when they strayed.
Think… Ezekiel, Jeremiah, Isaiah, Amos, Micah, etc.

Then it seems like God goes silent for 500 years until an angel appears to a nobody from nowhere called Mary to tell her that the “Ruakh of God” would come upon her and she would give birth to the Promised, Long-Awaited Messiah.

Luke 1:35 ESV
35 And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you; therefore the child to be born will be called holy—the Son of God.

We see the “Ruakh of God” come upon Jesus at his Baptism

Work through Jesus during his life and ministry
Perform miracles and signs
Open the eyes of many people to see his true identity as the Messiah
Ultimately, raise Jesus from the dead after his crucifixion, by the Spirit of God.
The presence of the HS is evident all over the Scriptures.
If God is at work, the HS is present in that work.
All throughout the Book of Acts, the HS is at work building the Church through the disciples.
Whatever background you may have come from, I can guarantee you, that if you’ve experienced...
(1) A growing love and affection for Jesus & others
(2) Conviction of sin and/or apathy
(3) A greater understanding of God’s Word
(4) A closeness to God the Father
(5) Growth in Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfulness, Gentleness, Self-Control
(6) If you’re sitting here calling yourself a follower of the Way of Jesus in a culture that wants nothing to do with Him.....
Then you’ve encountered the HS and have experienced His work in your life.
**TRANS - It is with this 50,000 foot view in mind that I want to spend the rest of our time this morning looking at the Gospel of John.

Background

Jesus is preparing his disciples for his departure - gives them a NEW commandment to “Love One Another”
“I am the Way the Truth and the Life. No one comes to the Father but by me.”
“I am the true vine, abide in me, and you will bear fruit.”
“Take heart, I have overcome the world.”
In the midst of these statements, Jesus takes some time to reintroduce the “Ruack of God.”
Ch 14 - Jesus calls him “the Helper” - Gk. Parakletos
“Para” = alongside of
“Kaleo” = to call
To call and speak along side of
**Illus - Running a marathon. About to quit.
You hear someone whisper, “You can do it. Don’t quit. Keep going. You’re going to make it!”
In these chapters Jesus tells us that the HS will:
(1) Will stay with us forever. (OT, HS would come upon people for short periods).
Dwell within us
(2) Will teach us all things (Called the Spirit of Truth)
Will bring to our remembrance the things Jesus said.
(3) Will bear witness about Jesus (c15v26)
And enable us to bear witness
(4) Will convict the world concerning sin (c16v8)
And righteousness and judgement.
Interestingly, that’s part of the HS’s job description, not ours.
(5) Will glorify Jesus. (c16v14)
And This is key - The primary role of the HS is to bring glory to Jesus.
There’s a reason why the NT predominantly talks about the Father & the Son and only barely discusses the HS.
That’s because the HS works in the background to point us to Jesus!
Just like Jesus points us to the Father.
**TRANS - I want to camp in these last few minutes in chapter 16 because Jesus says something about the HS that is absolutely bonkers...
John 16:5–6 ESV
5 But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
In other words, “I’m preparing to leave you, and I know it terrifies you”
John 16:7 ESV
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
Did you catch that?!?
It is TO YOUR ADVANTAGE that I go away!
It’s BETTER for them that Jesus goes away!
If this isn’t a plot twist, IDK what is!
Does that make any sense to you?
How many would rather have Jesus near by to tell you what to do?!?
...Should I tailgate the guy who just cut me off? - Jesus: “c’mon man...”
...Taking a break at work and a co-worker asks you why you’re different - Jesus just gives you a pat on the back and says, “this is it, let’s go!”
Asking yourself “What Would Jesus Do?” - Just ask him!
And yet Jesus believed it was BETTER for you and me that he no longer be physically present.
We’re less likely to take the back seat and hope Jesus fixes everything.
Jesus, being in human form, would be limited to being in one place at one time - HS is not.
2 Cor. tells us we walk by “faith and not by sight.”
At the end of the day, the only thing better than God residing beside you is God residing within you.
Ezekiel spoke of this very moment in Ezek. 36.
Ezekiel 36:26–27 ESV
26 And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.
It is to our advantage because the HS will :
Indwell us forever.
Teach us all things.
Bear witness about Jesus (to us and through us)
Convict us of sin & righteousness.
Bring glory to Jesus
Apply
I grew up in a tradition that taught that the HS was alive and well but that he ceased to work in our world like he did in the OT & NT.
Went to a Bible college that taught the same.
“God no longer speaks through prophets - only through the scriptures.”
“God doesn’t perform sign miracles today - he expects us to walk by faith.”
But my background created a proclivity in my heart to NOT expect God to work in inexplicable ways in my life.
At best, hope for it, just don’t expect it.
To not expect miracles around me.
To not expect to hear from God in personal ways.
Inspire
Over the past couple of years I have been reassessing my own thinking & beliefs about the Holy Spirit.
I’ve come to the realization that I love control so much that I struggle with the idea that God might want to do something around me that is completely out of my control.
That He might want to lead me in a way that makes me uncomfortable.
That He might lead me to DO something that makes me uncomfortable.
But that he will also enable and empower me to do what He calls me to do.
Don’t get me wrong - I still fully believe that the Scriptures are sufficient and complete.
I believe we need to be very, very, very careful using the words, “God told me...”
I believe we need to “test the spirits” (as 1 John tells us) and beware of “false prophets”
Theologically, I believe that, experientially, I struggle with that!
So I’d like to invite you (1) to come on a journey WITH me as we Re-examine what the Bible has to say about the Holy Spirit.
(2) To believe in faith that what Jesus said is true: It’s better for us to have the HS than even his physical presence.
(3) To open our hearts and minds to the possibility that the HS may be working among us in ways that make us uncomfortable, that are out of our control.
(4) And to learn to “tune our hearts” to His voice and guidance in our lives.
All the while holding the tension that the HS will never contradict the Scriptures or work to bring glory to anyone but Jesus.
Action

This week take some time to reflect on:

(1) Your own theological beliefs about the HS, how your background may have informed that, and how you might need to grow in this area.
(2) Examine your own heart, where is there fear, desire for control, sinful habits, or just a closed-heart that’s preventing you from sensing and hearing the HS?
(3) Ask the HS to “open the eyes of your heart” to see who He is and how He wants to work in you.
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