The Gift of the Spirit

This morning we continue our series on “God’s Greatest Gift’s”. Last week we looked at the “Gift of Scripture.” We learned that because of the wonderful gift of Scripture we know things about God that general revelation could not reveal.

We know He is a God who saves sinners.

He is a God who gives wisdom to the foolish.

He is a God who gives joy to the believer.

He is a God who transforms the saint.

He is a God who does not change.

He is a God who is completely righteous.

We ended the message by discussing how valuable and rewarding Scripture is. I shared a story about a Bible that was given to my mother and father when they were married that lay in a box for decades. After I was saved, I discovered that gift to be the most valuable thing in my home.

This morning we will look at the “Gift of the Spirit”. It’s common during this season to hear people use the phrase “Christmas Spirit”. What does that mean?

To some it means a spirit of generosity.

To some it means to be happy.

To some it means to be with family and friends.

The true Christmas Spirit is the Holy Spirit and that is our subject this morning.

1. The Holy Spirit was active in the incarnation.

A. He was busy in the lives of John the Baptist parents.

They were old. We don’t know how old, but old enough that they had given up on having children. His father was a priest. The angel Gabriel told him he would have a child and the child would be:

Great in the sight of the Lord

Never drink alcohol

Turn many people to the Lord

Preach in great power like the Old Testament prophet Elijah

Make ready a people for the Lord

Be filled with the Holy Spirit from the womb.

His mother was a relative of Mary, the mother of Jesus. Mary came to visit John’s mother, Elisabeth, and tell her about her pregnancy. Elisabeth was already six months pregnant with John. When Mary told Elisabeth she was pregnant with the Son of God John leaped in his mother’s womb. The Bible says that Elisabeth was filled with the Holy Spirit (Luke 2:41).

When John was born his father was filled with the Holy Spirit and prophesied of the coming salvation Jesus was bringing and the wonderful role John would play in preparing the way of the Lord (Luke 1:67-80).

B. He was busy in the life of Mary.

Gabriel told Mary that she would have a child. This child would:

Be great

Be called the Son of the Highest

Sit on the throne of David

Reign over an eternal kingdom

Mary was a virgin and asked how could this happen. The angel said

“The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee, THEREFORE, also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.”

Mary would conceive a child by a special work of the Holy Spirit. Some people say Jesus didn’t have to be born of a virgin. They contend the Lord could have come into the world in a natural way if He had wanted. But listen to what the text says. It says “The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee….therefore…the child shall be called the Son of God.”

The Holy Spirit of God caused Mary to conceive this child without the aid of a man.

C. He was busy in the life of Simeon (Luke 2:22-35).

Simeon was an old man. He was godly and he had been waiting on the Messiah. The Holy Spirit had told this man he would see the Savior before he died. When Mary and Joseph brought Jesus to the temple to be circumcised Simeone saw the child and immediately knew He was the Messiah. He took the child in his arms and began to praise God. He said:

My eyes have seen salvation!

The Gentiles will be saved!

I’ve seen the glory of Israel!

This child will cause some to rise and others to fall!

This child will reveal the hearts of many!

The heart of Mary will be pierced!

I am ready to die!

When we look at the Christmas story, we see the Holy Spirit involved. He plays an important role in the announcement of the Christ and in the conception of the Christ.

2. The Holy Spirit’s Role in Our Salvation (7-11).

A. He shows us our sin (8-9).

What sin? Look at verse 9. The sin of not trusting Christ for salvation. All sin we commit is linked to a lack of faith in Christ. The Holy Spirit tells us to turn from sin and to Christ.

Notice the word “world” in verse 8. I like that.

He didn’t come to convict the Jews.

He didn’t come to convict the people in church.

He came to convict the entire world.

Listen to me folks, if there is no conviction there will be no conversion. If the Spirit of God does not show you your sin you will never forsake it.

What if you woke up tomorrow and you could feel no pain?

You stepped on a nail, and you felt nothing.

You had an abscess tooth, but it never ached.

You had a tumor on your brain but had no headache.

Without pain you would continue your life until suddenly you collapsed.

If you could feel no physical pain, you would not go to the doctor when you needed help.

There are many who are walking through this world with no spiritual conviction at all. They are in trouble. If they are not careful soon, they will collapse and realize how sick they were.

Thank God for the Holy Spirit!

He showed me how sick I was!

He still shows me my need. Every day I have some spiritual ache or pain the Lord points out to me. Every day I have to repent about something!

When I was lost, I could argue with the anyone. I could justify any sin I committed. But when the Holy Spirit came. I couldn’t argue with Him! The Lord has given us a wonderful gift in the Holy Spirit. He brings conviction which leads to conversion!

B. He shows us the righteousness of Christ (8 & 9).

The Holy Spirit convicts us of righteousness. What does that mean? Well, look at verse 10. Jesus said He convicts the world of righteousness because He is going to the Father and will no longer be walking on earth.

When Jesus walked the earth, He was the walking example of perfect righteousness. He was without sin. To be in the presence of Jesus was to be in the presence of perfect righteousness.

No one could convict Him of a single sin. After He left there was no example of perfection on earth anymore. It is our tendency to compare ourselves with pother people. We say:

I’m not that bad of a person.

I’m better than that fellow.

I’m not as bad as she is.

When determining if we are righteous or not, we compare ourselves to other people. The Holy Spirit comes to compare us to Jesus. He doesn’t show us how good or bad someone else is. He shows us how righteous Jesus is.

Illustration: I remember witnessing to a man when I worked at Piggly Wiggly. I was freshly saved and trying to win everyone to Jesus. This guy was just an old redneck like me. We hit it off pretty good. We became pretty good friends and I was always trying to lead him to the Lord.

One night as we were standing on the grocery aisle I thought I just about had him. He was very humble and he said to me “You know Kyle, I’ve been thinking a lot about what you been saying. I’ve come to this conclusion, if anybody gets into heaven it ought to be you.”

He completely missed it. I tried to explain to him that wasn’t how it worked. But when it came to righteousness all he could do was look at human works. He needed the Holy Spirit to show him it wasn’t about comparing people to other people.

When the Holy Spirit is working on you, you will not compare yourself to others. You will see Jesus in all His righteousness and you will see your need of a righteousness that cannot be earned by human works.

C. He shows us the judgment of God (8 & 11).

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will show us that Satan himself will be judged. If the most powerful of all the evil in this world will be judged, then certainly it will not be difficult for the Lord to judge the rest of the wicked. Satan and all who follow him will be destroyed.

There are some people who don’t believe in hell. If the Holy Spirit gets a hold of them, they will! You may not find a preacher who is willing to preach about hell, but the Holy Spirit has no problem preaching that sermon to you.

If you are saved today, it is because the Holy Spirit:

Showed you your sin!

Showed you the righteousness of Jesus!

Showed you the danger of hell!

Without the Holy Spirit where would we be?

In our sin.

Clinging to our own works.

On our way to hell.

Thank God for the Holy Spirit!

3. The Holy Spirit’s Role in our Sanctification (12-14).

A. He gave us the Bible (12).

The Disciples were not ready for all Jesus had to teach them. He has given us everything we need now, and it’s found in the Bible.

The Bible is the breath of God (2 Tim. 3:16-17).

Holy Men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1:21).

This book is not a regular book. Its words are the words of God. Jesus said, “The words I speak unto you they are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63).

The Bible is not a self-help book.

It’s not a novel.

It’s not fiction.

Man has written many books about God.

God has written only one book for man.

I’ve read a lot of books. None compare to the Bible.

Spurgeon said:

“The Bible must have been written by our Creator, for nobody but the Lord who created men could know so much about them. This volume reveals the secrets of all hearts. It unveils our private thoughts.”

I know that to be true. Books written by people put me to sleep at night. The Bible keeps me awake at night.

Seldom will I read a book written by man more than once. I have read the Bible countless times and plan to continue.

Book written by people have a flap that tells me about the author. The entire Bible tells me about the Author.

Thank God that the Spirit moved through men to give us this Book.

B. He is our resident teacher (13).

Jesus says He will guide us into all truth. We need the Holy Spirit to guide us into truth.

No one knows the Bible better than the Holy Spirit does.

No one knows me better than the Holy Spirit does.

No one knows God better than the Holy Spirit does.

I’m not a smart person. Maybe some of you are like me. You need a tutor. You need more than the average student needs. You need someone to come to your house. You need someone who will break it down for you. When it comes to the things of God I need a full time tutor. I need someone who will move in with me. That’s what the Holy Spirit does when we get saved.

Do you know what a transformer does? There is a lot of electricity running through the power lines. It’s more than you need for your home. The transformer converts large voltages to smaller voltages so you can benefit from it. If it were not for the transformer your toaster and your microwave would be fired when you turned them on.

The Holy Spirit is like a transformer. We cannot handle all the knowledge God has for us at one time. We would be overwhelmed. The Holy Spirit converts God’s truth to us in a way we can understand it and put it into practice.

Because God has given us the Holy Spirit we can understand and put into practice the wisdom of God.

Now listen, I’m not talking about great mysteries and Bible codes or knowing future events before they occur. I’m talking about ordinary events of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit, through the Word of God, shows us how to live.

Should I post this on social media or not?

Should I participate in this behavior.

Should I be watching, listening, or looking at this.

Should I be consuming this?

Should I be saying this?

Should I believe this?

He will guide us into all truth. You have to know the Truth first. You have to be saved or the Bible won’t make much sense to you. But when you are saved and you study the Bible the Spirit will show you the truth.

C. He will put the spotlight on Jesus (14).

Jesus says the Holy Spirit will glorify Him. Do you know who I think of every morning when I wake up? I think of Jesus. Why do I do that?

Is it because I’m disciplined?

Is it because I’m American?

Is it because of some genetic predisposition?

No. I think of Jesus because the Holy Spirit is in my life. He is constantly pointing me to Jesus. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. He is always pointing us to Jesus.

If it were not for the Holy Spirit, we would forget about Jesus. He would not be our priority. We glorify Jesus because the Holy Spirit is continually shining the spotlight on Him in our lives.

I know many people. I do not think of them each day. That would be difficult to do. There are people I love in this world that I do not think of every single day. That isn’t the case with Christ.

Isn’t that true with many of you as well. Every day you think of the Lord. No one has to remind you. You don’t have to write it down on your “To do” list. It seems like it’s almost involuntary. Everyday you think of Jesus, and you probably think of Him all throughout the day.

How is that possible?

We’re such a forgetful people.

We can be a very self-centered people.

We think of the Lord because the Holy Spirit is in our life. He is pointing us to Jesus.

There is so much more I could say about the gift of the Holy Spirit.

He regenerates us (John 3:5).

He fills us with the power of God (Acts 1:8).

He comforts us (2 Cor. 13:14).

He produces the fruit of the Spirit in us (Gal. 5:22-23)

He gives us Spiritual gifts (1 Corinthians 12).

He prays for us when we don’t know how (Romans 8:26-27).

Have you received the gift of the Holy Spirit? The Bible says if we don’t have the Spirit we don’t belong to God (Romans 8:9). The Spirit comes to us when we are saved. You receive this gift by giving your life to Christ. I pray if you have not done that, you will.