William MacDonald rightly comments that Spirit
given, supernatural…power is the grand
indispensable of Christian witness. A man may be
highly talented, intensively trained, and widely
experienced, but without spiritual power he is
ineffective. On the other hand, a man may be
uneducated, unattractive, and unrefined, yet let
him be endued with the power of the Holy Spirit
and the world will turn out to see him burn for God.
The fearful disciples needed power for witnessing,
holy boldness for preaching the gospel.
Dwight L. Moody, a layman who never went to
seminary and yet by some accounts preached
powerfully to over 100 million people in a day time
when travel was difficult.
C H Spurgeon is another man who never went to
seminary, but whom God used mightily. They were
greatly used by God because they relied on the
Spirit’s power.
The need of the hour is power!
Over the last two weeks we have been talking about how
we can hear from God. Two weeks ago we talked about
some actions we could take to get our heart in the right
place to hear from God.
As a recap we should
Be Still
Be Present
Be Expectant
Be Obedient
Be Faithful
Last week we examined God’s calling of Moses.
We saw God speak to Moses in a personal way which
required a response. What should our response be when
God speaks to us? Yes Lord! Or even Here I am Lord,
send me!
While Jesus was on earth the apostles were able to
experience God in flesh through the person of Jesus
Christ.
They fished with Him, they ate with Him, they did
ministry with Him.
Today we are going to see what the Bible says about how
God speaks to us today through the person of the Holy
Spirit.
The very first way the Holy Spirit speaks to us in when
He speaks to us for the first time to:
Convicts of Sin
John 16:7-11 “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. And when he
comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and
righteousness and judgment: concerning sin,
because they do not believe in me; concerning
righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you
will see me no longer; concerning judgment,
because the ruler of this world is judged.”
We must not misunderstand this. The Holy Spirit doesn’t
come to the world to dwell in the lives of unbelievers to
convict them of sin. The Holy Spirit dwells in believers.
Believers who are living transformed lives are used by
God to convict the world of sin.
Remember when Jesus called the 12 apostles, He asked
them to follow Him and He would make them fishers of
men.
God had always used His children to reach the lost with
the Good News.
Have you ever had that prompting from the Holy Spirit to
share your testimony with someone or invite them to
church or share the gospel with them? This is one way we
can hear from the Lord, through the conviction of sin.
Sin isn’t a popular word these days.
People want to be able to do whatever they want and
telling them that their lifestyle is wrong is offensive to
them.
What we must keep in mind Christians is that our
purpose in telling people about their sin is so we can help
them turn from it and receive God’s grace and
forgiveness.
Conviction of sin should lead to repentance.
The next way we can hear God through the Holy Spirit is
through sanctification. Sanctification is a fancy word to
describe the process of us becoming more holy.
Sanctifies Us
I Corinthians 6:11 “And such were some of you. But
you were washed, you were sanctified, you were
justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and
by the Spirit of our God.”
We can know that God is at work in our lives when we
undergo sanctification. It’s the removal of sin from our
lives.
Galatians 5:16-23 “But I say, walk by the Spirit,
and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For
the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and
the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for
these are opposed to each other, to keep you from
doing the things you want to do. But if you are led
by the Spirit, you are not under the law. Now the
works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality,
impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity,
strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions,
divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things
like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that
those who do such things will not inherit the
kingdom of God. But the fruit of the Spirit is love,
joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness,
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such
things there is no law.”
These verses help us realize that when we are saved by
grace through faith, God sends His Holy Spirit to fill us
with the fruit of the Spirit. The Spirit enables us to be
filled with God’s love, God’s joy, God’s peace, God’s
patience, etc.
We are no longer living our old lives. The old is gone and
He has made us a new creation. He is making us more
like Him each and every day.
2 Thessalonians 2:13-14 “But we ought always to
give thanks to God for you, brothers beloved by the
Lord, because God chose you as the firstfruits to be
saved, through sanctification by the Spirit and
belief in the truth. To this he called you through our
gospel, so that you may obtain the glory of our
Lord Jesus Christ.”
After our salvation the Holy Spirit is busy working on
making us more like Christ. Our goal as Christians is to
glorify God. We do that when we bear fruit in our life. The
fruit of the Spirit helps us live like Christ lived. A humble
life of service to others.
Grants Us Spiritual Gifts
I Corinthians 12:4-11 “Now there are varieties of
gifts, but the same Spirit; and there are varieties of
service, but the same Lord; and there are varieties
of activities, but it is the same God who empowers
them all in everyone. To each is given the
manifestation of the Spirit for the common good.
For to one is given through the Spirit the utterance
of wisdom, and to another the utterance of
knowledge according to the same Spirit, to another
faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing
by the one Spirit, to another the working of
miracles, to another prophecy, to another the
ability to distinguish between spirits, to another
various kinds of tongues, to another the
interpretation of tongues. All these are empowered
by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each
one individually as he wills.”
Not only do we receive the fruit of the Spirit, but when
we begin to follow Christ, the Holy Spirit also equips us
with spiritual gifts. These are things that God does in us
that we wouldn’t be able to do otherwise in our own
strength.
We can’t take credit for them, so we must give glory to
God for them. Paul also makes sure to mention that the
body of Christ is made up of many members with many
different gifts. We need all of the parts of the body in
order to function properly.
No gift is more important than another. God needs all of
us to use the gifts we have been given for His glory.
Comforts Us
John 14:16 “And I will ask the Father, and he will
give you another Helper, to be with you forever,”
The word helper can also be translated: “one who is
called alongside”. One commentator says he would call
the Spirit “our Enabler, that is the One Who
supernaturally energizes us for Christ-like life and
ministry.”
When Jesus was on earth He was able to minister to His
apostles daily, but He could only be in one place at a
time. When He left, He sent the Spirit who can be in all
places at once. He lives in all believers!! We can hear
from God through the prompting of the Holy Spirit as He
comforts us daily.
Guides Us in Truth
John 16:13-15 “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. He will glorify me, for he will take
what is mine and declare it to you. All that the
Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will
take what is mine and declare it to you.”
John 15:26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I
will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth,
who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness
about me.”
The Holy Spirit helps us know the Father. He teaches us
truth.
God is truth, so the Holy Spirit guides us to know what
the Father wants from us. He wants our obedience and
love.
The world is filled with lies.
It makes sense doesn’t it since the price of the world is
satan. And he is the father of lies.
Christians have to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit so we
can stand up for the truth. He teaches us the truth about
the Father.
Intercedes for Us
Romans 8:26 “Likewise the Spirit helps us in our
weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as
we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us
with groanings too deep for words.”
Isn’t it comforting to know that when we don’t know how
we ought to pray the Holy Spirit comes to our aid?
Sometimes I get caught up praying the same prayer over
and over again and don’t receive an answer.
By the grace of God, the Holy Spirit will intercede and
guide my prayer to be in line with His will. It’s in those
times that I know I have heard from God.
Empowers Us to Proclaim Christ
Acts 1:8 “But you will receive power when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my
witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and
Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”
Acts 2:1-6 “When the day of Pentecost arrived,
they were all together in one place. And suddenly
there came from heaven a sound like a mighty
rushing wind, and it filled the entire house where
they were sitting. And divided tongues as of fire
appeared to them and rested on each one of them.
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and
began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit gave
them utterance.
Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews,
devout men from every nation under heaven. And
at this sound the multitude came together, and
they were bewildered, because each one was
hearing them speak in his own language.”
Matthew 10:18-20 “and you will be dragged before
governors and kings for my sake, to bear witness
before them and the Gentiles.
When they deliver you over, do not be anxious how
you are to speak or what you are to say, for what
you are to say will be given to you in that hour. For
it is not you who speak, but the Spirit of your
Father speaking through you.
The Holy Spirit empowers believers to share the Good
News with the world. Even if we aren’t confident in what
we will say or how it will be received, God will often fill
our mouths with the words He wants us to say.
On that first Pentecost the Holy Spirit allowed the
apostles to speak in their language and reach others who
spoke different languages. God is so creative in how He
chooses to reach the world with the truth.
APPLICATION
Be Sensitive to the Holy Spirit
Today God speaks to us through the Holy Spirit.
He speaks through the preaching of the word.
He speaks through the reading of the word.
He speaks through prayer.
He is constantly speaking, the question is
Will we respond in obedience?