Do not merely listen to the word, and so deceive yourselves.
Do what it says.
James 1:22
Sermon Archives
February 6, 2022 The Holy Spirit
Intro: The Holy Spirit is the Life of the church. Without the moving of the Holy Spirit, we cannot and should not exist as a body. Just as a body cannot exist without a spirit neither can the church exist without the Holy Spirit.
You cannot come to Christ and truly repent of your sins if the Holy Spirit hasn’t called you.
Neither can you come to Christ and truly live for him unless the Holy Spirit is leading you.
Jesus describes it well as unto a wind that goes here and there, and nobody knows where.
The Holy Spirit!
The Pnuema
The breath of God!
I believe in the Holy Spirit, the Lord, the giver of life,
who proceeds from the Father and the Son,
who with the Father and the Son is adored and glorified,
who has spoken through the prophets.
T/S: Can we be more open to the gifts of the Spirit in our church?
1. The Role of the Holy Spirit
“I did not say these things to you from the beginning, because I was with you. 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. 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.
John 16:5-15
Jesus kept dropping these incredible hints about the coming of the Holy Spirit. Almost like another John the Baptist, Jesus tells his disciples on the night before the crucifixion, that he is going away but he is going to send the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is the very presence of God.
The Paraclete the very helper of God. That same spirit that dwelt in the life of Jesus, dwells in us.
Remember back in the first of this sermon series.
God loved the world and desired it to be redeemed to himself
Jesus gave his life for our sins and rose again for us to be in right relationship with God
The Holy Spirit is the last piece of the puzzle, he draws us to himself. He desires us to be near him. His spirit, his breath, his life is the drawing out of that which makes us desire God in the first place.
Without the Holy Spirit calling no one would heed the words of Christ. (We are too depraved)
There are simply speaking two ways of going about this sermon.
One is to take the deep theological and philosophical approach and demonstrate the role of the Spirit in the Old Testament and contrast it to the role of the Spirit in the New Testament.
To take a look at the Pnuemetology of the Bible and find out more about the Paraclete. It is a worthy thing to do this.
We are not Binitarianist we affirm with mainstream Christianity the belief that the Holy Spirit is the 3rd member of the Trinity. He is God! He is eternal, unchanging, and never ending.
Binitarianism – Adherents include those people through history who believed that God is only two co-equal and co-eternal persons, the Father and the Word, not three. They taught that the Holy Spirit is not a distinct person, but is the power or divine influence of the Father and Son, emanating out to the universe, in creation, and to believers;
1In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2The 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.
Gen 1:1-2
Even in the very first chapter of the very first book in the Bible we see the Holy Spirit active in creation.
The Second approach is to take the more ecclesiological approach and talk about the role in the spirit of the church. Specifically diving into 1st Corinthians 14 where Paul gives instructions about how the spirit interacts and moves with his people and how we are to conduct ourselves in light of all of this.
Also, a worthy endeavor.
The power of the Holy Spirit is not to be taken lightly nor is it to be brushed aside.
It is conviction
It is power not in oneself but in God and his Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not some secondary energy, it's not the force or something like out of Star Wars. The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of a Holy God, who made Heaven and Hell and everything you love.
The Holy Spirit is a consuming fire! He is the Lord of all Lords; he is the Paraclete, and he will pursue you heart.
What a perilous and dangerous thought….. A Spirit pursuing you! Even more so if that Spirit is Holy beyond description. His Love, that love of God, that dwells within the trinity, is fantastic beyond all description.
It is not to be taken lightly!
Nor are his gifts to the church.
Exp: Paul makes a couple of things clear in 1st Corinthians 14. Number one, we should be seeking to speak in tongues and even more so to seek to speak prophecy.
4394 prophēteía (from 4396 /prophḗtēs, "prophet," which is derived from 4253 /pró, "before" and 5346 /phēmí, "make clear, assert as a priority") – properly, what is clarified beforehand; prophecy which involves divinely-empowered forthtelling (asserting the mind of God) or foretelling (prediction).
2 usages
- Forthtelling
- Foretelling
In shorts revealing the heart and intention of God to his people.
There are a couple of uses for this prophecy gifts
- Upbuilding
- Encouragement
- Consolation
He makes some distinctions here between personal edification and speaking in tongues in private, but he also makes it clear that prophecy and interpretation are more important in the body.
Tongues and Interpretation are co-equal with Prophecy in this definition.
All must strive to excel in the building up of the church
Ill: Good intentions
Why is it that we are sometimes so eager to seek our own good and forget to seek the good of others? Great love has God for his people and for his church. Do you come to church seeking to prophecy over someone?
Perhaps fear comes in here.
Have you ever done something with good intentions, but it totally blew up in your face?
App: Strive to be wise, strive to be piercing. Strive to build up the church and be someone who has his hand on the pulse of God. Be eager for manifestations in our midst and don’t be anxious.
T/S: God is a God of Order
2. The Manifestations of the Holy Spirit
13 Therefore, one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 14 For if I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays but my mind is unfruitful. 15 What am I to do? I will pray with my spirit, but I will pray with my mind also; I will sing praise with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also. 16 Otherwise, if you give thanks with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say “Amen” to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you are saying? 17 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being built up. 18 I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 19 Nevertheless, in church I would rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others, than ten thousand words in a tongue. 20 Brothers do not be children in your thinking. Be infants in evil, but in your thinking be mature. 21 In the Law it is written, “By people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners will I speak to this people, and even then, they will not listen to me, says the Lord.”
22 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 23 If, therefore, the whole church comes together and all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers enter, will they not say that you are out of your minds? 24 But if all prophesy, and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all, he is called to account by all, 25 the secrets of his heart are disclosed, and so, falling on his face, he will worship God and declare that God is really among you.
Exp: Did you see that? Tongues in church is normal practice and furthermore it is sign for the unbeliever. Church is supposed to be a place where God is in the midst and not just Christian social club.
Here is my favorite passage of balance because on the one hand he instructs us to seek the manifestations but on another he reminds us that we are not possessed or mindless in our gifts. We must be mindful and sing and worship not just with overdone emotions but also with our minds.
Ill: Emotions are great, but truth is better.
I don’t want to grieve the Holy Spirit. I want the real treasure the real Gold! I want the Spirit of God to be among us and for it to shock and awe people!
App: Tongues are a sign to the unbeliever however they must be interpreted, and prophecy must come forth. God is wanting to convict and lay bare the secrets of our heart.
Are you ready for that?
T/S: God is really among you!
3. The Church in Practice
26 What then, brothers? When you come together, each one has a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. Let all things be done for building up. 27 If any speak in a tongue, let there be only two or at most three, and each in turn, and let someone interpret. 28 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 29 Let two or three prophets speak, and let the others weigh what is said. 30 If a revelation is made to another sitting there, let the first be silent. 31 For you can all prophesy one by one, so that all may learn, and all be encouraged, 32 and the spirits of prophets are subject to prophets. 33 For God is not a God of confusion but of peace. As in all the churches of the saints,
34 the women should keep silent in the churches. For they are not permitted to speak, but should be in submission, as the Law also says. 35 If there is anything they desire to learn, let them ask their husbands at home. For it is shameful for a woman to speak in church. 36 Or was it from you that the word of God came? Or are you the only ones it has reached? 37 If anyone thinks that he is a prophet, or spiritual, he should acknowledge that the things I am writing to you are a command of the Lord. 38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
Exp: There is a key passage here that I think sums up the order and importance of the manifestations of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 32
And the Spirit of the prophets are subject to the prophets.
In other words, God is not a God of confusion but of peace. This church must have had a lot of weird practices going on. Corinth is near the Oracles of Delphi and likely some of the pagan false practices of prophecy had eased into the services. In Delphi the Oracles would writhe and scream and fling themselves on the floor and then speak cryptic prophetic statements.
Paul makes a major distinction here. God is a God of Order and peace. This is possession this is his love and his mercy, it is done not overriding your will, but instead in concert with your will.
The same is true with tongues.
Many think it must come as an involuntary possession or exclamation and God is certainly capable of spontaneous tongues, but he also wills that we exclaim in tongues in our own minds and in faith. Speak out in tongues even if you don’t have a clue what it means, but always with an ear for interpretation especially in a public setting.
Ill: He deals with women here specifically because they likely were taking notes from the Oracles of Delphi who were exclusively women. Paul tells them to keep silent. It is specific advice for specific women here.
Paul Commends prophetesses in Acts and other places and doesn’t make a distinction by gender in the gifts of the spirit.
App:
Finally verse 38-40
38 If anyone does not recognize this, he is not recognized. 39 So, my brothers, earnestly desire to prophesy, and do not forbid speaking in tongues. 40 But all things should be done decently and in order.
We must recognize these gifts as super important and seek them out in our Assembly.
We must desire to prophecy and must not forbid speaking in tongues.
God is a God of order, and all things are done in decency and order.
The Holy Spirit.
To clarify is not some mystic force.
Nor is he our tool for self-proclamation or adoration
The Holy Spirit is the very breath of God, the Spirit is living and Active and desires to move among us.
Conclusion:
I will leave you with the Words of Christ in John 3
5Jesus answered, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God. 6That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.c 7Do not marvel that I said to you, ‘Youd must be born again.’ 8The winde blows where it wishes, and you hear its sound, but you do not know where it comes from or where it goes. So it is with everyone who is born of the Spirit.”
John 3:5-8