Core pt 3 the Spirit

[Francis Chan- Forgotten God]

When we start talking about the Holy Spirit people generally have one of two reactions. Either being extremely uncomfortable with the idea of the Holy Spirit because of what they have seen or heard, or being dismissive of something that seems so “other” so “supernatural” as to have any affect on their day to day lives.

When we see ourselves going one of those two ways, we need to immediately perk up and not give in to either urge. The Holy Spirit is the third member of the Trinity. He is as much God as the Father or the Son. He is the ongoing fulfiller of the promises of Jesus to us to be with us always and to be our Counselor and Comforter. He is the reason there is no longer a need for a temple or an intermediary between us and God. In short, to dismiss the Spirit as either a carnival side show or a bunch of hooey is wrong. He is, to be honest, the missing piece for a lot of our faith.

Debunking some rumors:

“slain in the spirit”

“drunk in the spirit”

“ecstatic utterances”

One of the main reasons so many of us are skittish about the Holy Spirit and thus ignorant is because we have let the exaggerations of a few color our view.

The Arrival- why hasn’t the Holy Spirit always been here?-

The Holy Spirit has always been. We will talk more about that in a bit, when we talk about the Holy Spirit in the context of the Trinity, but when we speak about the Holy Spirit we need to talk about WHERE the Holy Spirit is, and how He makes Himself known.

Jesus promises the Spirit to His disciples because He must go away. (John 16:7 “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.” ) When Jesus was here He was limited by His flesh, (and He did that of His own accord according to Philippians 2) but His departure unleashes the HS on the world.

The Holy Spirit shows up and makes His home in the disciples. This happens because of what Jesus has done in the disciples. He has made them Holy and an appropriate dwelling place for God. (Ezekiel 36:22-30- this is not a NEW promise, it is he fulfillment of an old promise)

Act 2:1-14

1. the arrival of the Holy Spirit TRANSFORMS the disciples. They go from timid to aggressive.

They go from hiding to proclaiming. They go from afraid to unashamed. The first thing you need to know about the HS is that He leaves nothing untouched. When He arrives you know it.

2. The Holy Spirit is a PERSON. (John 14:15-17 ““If you love me, you will keep my commandments. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” ) Not a ghost and not an It. He is not only a person but He is the third member of the Godhead. He is not weaker. Or lesser. He is just as much God as God or Jesus. In that way, He is omniscient, omnipotent, and omnipresent. In addition He is eternal and holy. He keeps with the character and nature of God.

3. The Holy Spirit has His own mind and one of His key roles is He prays for us. (Romans 8:27)

This passage in Romans is often used to illustrate that we struggle to pray, but when we make it about us, we miss what the HS is doing. He is standing in for us. He is saying things we do not even know how to say. Do you realize how huge that is??? God is speaking for you. He is not leaving you guessing or out of luck because you don’t know how to pray about a situation. How huge is that!!!

4. The Holy Spirit has emotions. (Ephesians 4:30) Now we hear that and some of us recoil. We may think that is a sign of weakness or even sacreligious to think of God like that. But God has emotions. He rejoices. He becomes angry. He grieves. So does Jesus. So does the HS. The word “grieve” in this passage refers to causing grief or pain. The Holy Spirit is as fully capable of experiencing the full pantheon of emotions as God is.

5. The Holy Spirit empowers us. (1 Corinthians 12:11 ) He tells us what to do. He equips is to do amazing things. More than that, He places us under His control. (Ephesians 5:18) The comparison between the overindulgence in alcohol and the filling of the Spirit is not accidental.

We do things differently when under the influence of both. But one seeks to destroy us, and the other seeks to make us useful to a Holy God.

In all of this, I want you to catch one more thing. The Holy Spirit calls us to salvation. (John 16:8-11) He is the prime mover. Without Him, you have no chance to know Jesus. The Spirit calls us. Convicts us. Sanctifies us. His presence is what helps us to know the depth of our sin and the grace of Jesus.

So some of you may be saying today, how do I know if I have the Holy Spirit? Here are the questions I would like you to examine yourself with today:

1. Has there been a time in your life where you surrendered your life to Jesus? Then you have the Spirit in your life!

2. Do you find yourself wanting to react one way and then acting in a way totally contrary to your natural, sinful tendencies? Then you have the Spirit in your life!

3. When faced with trials and difficulties- even those that are crushing- do you find yourself filled with an unreasonable peace and hope? Then you have the Holy Spirit in your life!

4. When you have an opportunity to do something you know is wrong, do you find yourself choosing to do the righteous thing rather than the easy thing? Then you have the Spirit in your life!

5. When you choose to sin against God, do you find yourself convicted and broken by your sin during you back to God and seeking His face? Then you have the Spirit in your life!

If these things do not describe your life, then you don’t need to ask any more questions. You are not saved. You do not have the Spirit. You need Jesus! And here is the good news, He is right here waiting for you today. He has not turned His back on you. He wants to save you and give you His Spirit! He wants to change your life today. Do you want Him?