John 14:16-17
The Holy Spirit is a personal God that is present within us and works in our
lives.
When Paul first went to Ephesus, he asked the believers there: have you received the Holy Spirit?" If we were asked this same question, how would we answer it? Some will ask what is the Holy Spirit? Does he dance? Does he make one fall on the floor? Does he cure all our sicknesses so we don? need health insurance anymore? A new Christian was studying the Gospel of Mark with someone. When they came to the passage about Jesus being baptized and the Spirit descending upon him in a dove, this person asked, "I can understand the father, the son, but who is this holy bird?"
There are sincere Christians who claim that if you have the Holy Spirit in you, you'll speak in a language that no one would understand, experiencing uncontrolled laughter, rolling on the floor, barking like a dog or roaring like lion. Many would travel from all over the world to a church near the Toronto airport, to have a taste of such experiences. In one person's words, "to be recharged".
Several years ago I met a dear brother who had a special and unique experience. Since that special encounter, he developed a tendency of saying, "this morning the Spirit said to me, the Spirit wants me to talk to you," No one doubted his sincerity, but secretly wondered if he still had a mind of his own. It certainly scared a lot of people away from him. I decided to talk to him about this matter. To be honest with you, I was quite nervous when we met in a tiny room at a retreat. Did he know something about me that I didn't know or I was ashamed of? Did the Holy Spirit tell him some of my hidden embarrassing secrets?
Some of the above issues make us feel confused about the Holy Spirit, causing us to avoid this subject.
This confusion also has something to do with the nature of the Holy Spirit. In 1 Corinthians 12:3, "Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, Jesus be cursed,' and no one can say, Jesus is Lord,' except by the Holy Spirit." Paul says the Holy Spirit points us to Jesus, causing us to confess that Jesus is the Lord. John the Baptist's work was to point people to Jesus, the Messiah. Jesus himself claimed in John 12:32,"But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." But not so with the Holy Spirit. He never calls attention to himself but always points men to Jesus. J.I.Packer writes that the Holy Spirit is like a floodlight aimed at Jesus Christ. If we try to focus on the Holy Spirit, his light would be too dazzling. When we try to make the Spirit into something he is not meant to be, it could be very confusing.
Today and the next few Sundays, in our continual study of the Apostles' Creed, we?l be looking at the statement: I believe in the Holy Spirit. I'd like to share with you some very basic truths about the Holy Spirit. We want to look at the nature of the Holy Spirit, and his relationship with us. How does he work in our lives? We'll also look at the spiritual gifts and what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
First we want to take a look at the biblical teaching on who the Holy Spirit is. Let's look at some selected OT passages. Ex.31:3,"I have filled this person with the Spirit of God, with skill, with ability and knowledge in all kinds of crafts." 1Sam 16:13,"The Spirit of God came upon David." Job 33:4,"the Spirit of God had made me." Ps 51:11, David said, ,"Do not cast me from you, nor take your Holy Spirit from me." Isa 61:1,"Spirit of the sovereign Lord is on me." Joel 2:28,"I will pour my Spirit on my people." Zach 4:6,"...not by might...but by my Spirit."
And then in the NT, in John 15:26, Jesus taught that the "Spirit is from God." In Matt 28:19, he commissioned his disciples to baptize the new believers in the name of the father, son and Spirit. Paul's greeting in 2Cor 13:14,"May the grace of our lord Jesus Christ, the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you always." These O and N T passages clearly tell us that on the one hand the Holy Spirit is distinct from God the father and God the son, but on the other is equally God.
In another early Christian creed, The Athanasian creed, we have these words, "Spirit is equally God, no lesser, no greater."
When we think of the spirit in general, its rather inanimate and scary. Spirits are not like us, totally different from men. We can't see or touch them. That's why we don't want to get too close. But what is the Holy Spirit like? Let's first take a look at how Jesus refers to the Spirit.
John 14:26,"But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, (he) will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you," John 15:26,"When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me." In these and other verses, Jesus referred to the Spirit as 'He'. The Spirit is not inanimate, but is like a person.
Ephesians 4:30," And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption." The word grief is a feeling, an emotion. It? used 42 times in the NT, referring to persons who feel sad. Here Paul tells us that the Holy Spirit can also grieve. He feels sad when we sin, gone astray from God's standards. It? like parents experiencing grief when their children put aside principles and values that mean much to them.
And then in 1 Corinthians 12:11,"All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines." Here Paul writes that the Spirit decides what Spiritual gifts to be given to whom. The Spirit has a will; he makes decision.
From these passages, we learn that the Spirit grieves and makes decision. He is God but is also like a person.
The Mormons believe that Holy Spirit is not God. It is a fluid-like substance through which God exercise his influence. The Jehovah Witnesses believe that the Holy Spirit is not God, it's an impersonal, active force sent from God. But the bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is equally God. And at the same time he is also personal. You see, because the Holy Spirit is personal, therefore we can explore his relationship with us. We can find out and experience what he can do in our lives.
John 14:17,"the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." Here, Jesus teaches that the Holy Spirit is not just something out there, or an external force, mysterious and untouchable, but he is always with us and lives within us.
Because he lives inside of us, we can experience and feel his presence. Because he lives inside of us, we can experience his gentle or strong promptings, urging us what to do and what to say. Because he lives inside of us, he works in our inner being to change and enable us.
When we study the NT, we'll identify at least 6 ways the Holy Spirit works in our lives: our conviction of sins, assurance, holiness, understanding, fellowship and mission. This morning we want to focus on:
1. Our acknowledgement of sins.
John 16:8-10, "When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer;" One of the Spirit's main work is to convict us of our sins.
Several years ago, Newsweek had a very unusual cover story. How do we bring back a sense of right and wrong. It reports that over 57% of the people polled think its ok to cheat the IRS. 64% of the public think that criminals have no sense of shame. People feel a need to impose a sense of right and wrong. A 16-year-old boy was serving in a detention center for having sexually molested his 9-year-old sister. To be released, the judge demanded that he must prove that he felt a sense of shame. Just saying sorry was not enough. The article writes that in today's society we use the same words-'I am sorry'- to apologize for raping your daughter as we do for spilling milk. There has to be more than just saying sorry. The judge demanded that this 16-year-old boy kneel on both knees to apologize. He refused and was sent back to the detention center. One week later, he changed his mind. He knelt before his sister, confessed and apologized for all the wrong he did to her.
Yes, as a nation, we need to bring back that sense of shame. We need to feel it's wrong and shameful regarding teenage pregnancies, drug and alcohol abuse, disrespect of life, leading to killings and abortions, the break down of families, cheating and dishonesty, and sexual immorality . Without this sense of shame, the sense of right and wrong, the society will disintegrate from within.
However, even more important is for each individual to have the sense of shame, sense of right and wrong before the holy God. We can spend all of our time and energy mourning over how corrupt the society has become. But it has to start with us personally. This is the work of the Holy Spirit.
In recent days as China celebrated her 50th anniversary, we keep hearing the phrase "transcend into the new millennium". We often feel the same. That we want to move into the future. Especially after we become a Christian, we want to move ahead, not wanting to think or bring out the past again.
However, when the holy spirit comes into our heart, the first thing he does is to convict us of our sins. Before this holy God, the spirit reminds us of how some of our words have hurt another person. Our refusal to obey God in our personal, family and professional lives. We have lied and been dishonest to those who have trusted us. We harbored hatred and bitterness towards those close to us. We have failed to obey the laws of our land. We have committed sins of sexual activity outside and before marriage. The spirit is constantly and quietly revealing these sins within us.
Each person has to decide what to do with this conviction. We can choose to ignore it. And the more we ignore it, the more our hearts will be hardened and become cold towards him. On the other hand, we can choose to respond to the holy spirit by telling him how sorry we are and ask for his forgiveness.
Conclusion:
The Holy Spirit is distinct from God the father and God the son, but he is equally God. He is also like man. He feels and makes decision.
John Stott wrote that the Holy Spirit is by nature rather shy. He stays away from the center stage, because that is reserved for Jesus Christ. Instead he is that floodlight, aimed at Jesus Christ.
The Holy Spirit is not inanimate or unapproachable. He lives inside of us, quietly and consistently working in our lives, convicting us of our sins and bringing us to God.
To us Christians, we are thankful for the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. Its his prompting and convicting that brought us to Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. If you are not a Christian yet, when you feel that gentle yet firm nudge, prompting you to come to God, may I encourage you to respond to Him, telling God how sorry you are for the sins you have committed against Him and ask Him to forgive you.
I also feel strongly that I need to speak to those of us who have lost the freshness and excitement of our faith.
In recent months and years, our hearts have grown cold to God. We have lost our first love for Him. We have become unresponsive to the Holy Spirit? prompting within us. Our hearts are callus towards God and spiritual things. It could be due to sins in our lives, sins that we refuse to give up. Or we may be distracted by busy work schedule, study and our hobbies. We have misplaced our priorities.
If this describes you, together shall we ask the Holy Spirit to fall afresh on us.
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me,
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me,
Melt me (i.e. melt my hardened and callus heart),
mold me (into Jesus' likeness), fill me, use me,
Spirit of the living God, fall fresh on me.
Sunday October 10th, 1999, Rev. William Hsueh, Houston Chinese Church, Houston, Texas.