The Holy Spirit is THE Counselor

Introduction:

“Counseling is the work of the Holy Spirit. Effective counseling cannot be done apart from him. He is called the counselor who in Christ’s place came to be another counselor of the same sort that Christ had been to His disciples…Counseling without the Scriptures can only be expected to be counseling without the Holy Spirit.”-Jay E. Adams (Competent to Counsel pages 20 and 24)

Main Point:

“The Holy Spirit is THE Counselor.”

(Prayer)

The Holy Spirit:

“The Holy Spirit is not a power or force but is a person.”

(Personal Example: When I would call the Holy Spirit “It”)

4 Ways the Scriptures Prove the Holy Spirit is a Person:

1.) He Grieves:

“And don’t grieve God’s Holy Spirit.”-Ephesians 4:30

2.) He Provides Gifts:

“Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit.”-1st Corinthians 12:4

3.) He Intercedes for Us:

“In the same way the Spirit also helps us in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us, with inexpressible groanings.”-Romans 8:26-27

4.) He Was Promised by Jesus:

“ Nevertheless, I am telling you the truth. It is for your benefit that I go away, because if I don’t go away the Counselor will not come to you. If I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”-John 16:7-11

THE Counselor:

1.) Teaches us all things and reminds us of everything Jesus said.

“But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and remind you of everything I have told you.”-John 14:26

(The Importance of Being in God’s Word)

Psalm 119:11 CSB

I have treasured your word in my heart so that I may not sin against you.

Colossians 3:16 CSB

Let the word of Christ dwell richly among you, in all wisdom teaching and admonishing one another through psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

2.) He Convicts the World about Sin, Righteousness, and Judgement.

When he comes, he will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: About sin, because they do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father and you will no longer see me; about judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.”-John 16:8-11

Convict- To present of expose the facts.

Convict of Sin- To expose the truth of rebellion against the Lord.

Convict of Righteousness- To expose the truth of Jesus’ life, death, resurrection, and Ascension.

Convict of Judgement- To expose the truth of judgement coming to both satan and man.

3.) He Empowers Us.

“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”-Acts 1:8

“ For by the grace given to me, I tell everyone among you not to think of himself more highly than he should think. Instead, think sensibly, as God has distributed a measure of faith to each one. Now as we have many parts in one body, and all the parts do not have the same function, in the same way we who are many are one body in Christ and individually members of one another. According to the grace given to us, we have different gifts: If prophecy, use it according to the proportion of one’s faith; if service, use it in service; if teaching, in teaching; if exhorting, in exhortation; giving, with generosity; leading, with diligence; showing mercy, with cheerfulness.”-Romans 12:3-8

“Now concerning spiritual gifts: brothers and sisters, I do not want you to be unaware. You know that when you were pagans, you used to be enticed and led astray by mute idols. Therefore I want you to know that no one speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus is cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit. Now there are different gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different ministries, but the same Lord. And there are different activities, but the same God works all of them in each person. A manifestation of the Spirit is given to each person for the common good: to one is given a message of wisdom through the Spirit, to another, a message of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another, faith by the same Spirit, to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit, 10 to another, the performing of miracles, to another, prophecy, to another, distinguishing between spirits, to another, different kinds of tongues, to another, interpretation of tongues. One and the same Spirit is active in all these, distributing to each person as he wills. -1st Corinthians 12:1-11

“And he himself gave some to be apostles, some prophets, some evangelists, some pastors and teachers, to equip the saints for the work of ministry, to build up the body of Christ, we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of God’s Son, growing into maturity with a stature measured by Christ’s fullness.”-Ephesians 4:11-13

Critics of Spiritual Gifts:

1 Corinthians 13:8–10 CSB

Love never ends. But as for prophecies, they will come to an end; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will come to an end. For we know in part, and we prophesy in part, but when the perfect comes, the partial will come to an end.

4.) He Transforms Us.

Pentecost (Acts 1 and 2)

The Apostle Paul (Acts 8-28)

Conclusion:

“Rely on the Holy Spirit” by Craig Brian Larson

“Dr. Paul Brand was speaking to a medical college in India on Matthew 5:16: “Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works and glorify your Father which is in heaven.” In front of the lectern was an oil lamp, with its cotton wick burning from the shallow dish of oil. As he preached, the lamp ran out of oil, the wick burned dry, and the smoke made him cough. He immediately used the opportunity.

“Some of us here are like this wick,” he said. “We’re trying to shine for the glory of God, but we stink. That’s what happens when we use ourselves as the fuel of our witness rather than the Holy Spirit. Wicks can last indefinitely, burning brightly and without irritating smoke, if the fuel, the Holy Spirit, is in constant supply.””

Application Questions:

1.) Am I allowing the Holy Spirit to counsel me?

2.) What gifts has the Holy Spirit empowered me with?

3.) How can I use those gifts to glorify Jesus Christ?