Acts 19:1-7
01/12/03
The Holy Spirit. Who, or what is the Holy Spirit? That’s not an easy thing to define, is it. In the scripture passage I just read, these new Christians said they “had never even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. Today, I think most people are familiar with the term, but maybe we are uncomfortable talking about it because the word, “Spirit,” implies the reality of an unseen, spiritual aspect of life.
The Holy Spirit was first translated by King James as the Holy Ghost. When we picture the images that the word “ghost” conjures up in our minds, we see that Holy Ghost is not that far off from Holy Spirit. I think we shy away from talking about the Holy Spirit, that third part of the Father and the Son, the part of God who lives inside each of us to guide us. Admit it, when you hear someone say, “God guided me through the Holy Spirit to quit my job, pack up my family and move to Kansas,” you are going to question that guy’s sanity. You are going to say, “This guy is a little weird!”
And of course, most of us don’t talk about the Holy Spirit, its presence in our own lives, or its guidance, because we don’t want to seem “too” religious, or weird. As a result, most people - including followers of Christ - have virtually no knowledge of who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. A lot of us are like the Ephesian Christians Paul writes about in today’s scripture.
There was an entire dimension of God (one third to be exact) which these disciples knew nothing about. As a result, they were missing out on all that God had to offer them. I think that describes a lot of us, too. Our picture of the Holy Spirit is a little fuzzy and we're missing out on all that God has to offer us.
So, my goal today is to paint a clear portrait of the Holy Spirit. We’re going to do that by looking at three questions: who is the Holy Spirit? What does He do? How can we use His power? And I hope as a result that you will begin to experience more of what God has to offer in our lives. So, "Who is the Holy Spirit?"
As opposition from the religious leaders reached fever pitch, Jesus knew his days were numbered. So he sat down with his disciples and told them He was going to die and then rise again and return to his Father in Heaven.
Well, the guys didn't take it very well. They had spent three years with him and they had become convinced that He was God. They didn't want to lose that closeness they had with him. And so Jesus said to them (John 14:16-17, 26:
"I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Advocate to be with you forever. This is the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, because he abides with you, and he will be in you…The Advocate, the Holy Spirit…will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you.” "Don't worry," Jesus was saying, "I'm leaving, but the Holy Spirit – an Advocate - is coming." An Advocate. That’s who the Holy Spirit is according to Jesus. When you think of an advocate, you think of someone who listens to your problems, offers advice on how to solve them, and stands up for you. And Jesus said he abides –lives, stays—with you and in you. And also, Jesus said the Spirit “will teach you everything” and “remind you of all that (Jesus) has said to you.”
I love that! I love that I have a little piece of God, abiding, living inside me who listens, gives me advice if I listen, teaches me, and reminds me of all that Jesus has ever said. What power we can have if we only acknowledge this Advocate who is with us always!
So, the Holy Spirit is God, just like Jesus was God. Here’s where you just have to believe, and not try to figure it out scientifically. The Holy Spirit is God, Jesus is God. So here we have God, living with and in us, guiding us and encouraging us, intervening for us as an Advocate and advising us as a Counselor.
"I'm temporarily here on this earth," Jesus said, "but one is coming who won't leave, who will always be with you, who will call out to you." But not calling out to us with just ordinary words. Words of power, like those that created the world. Words that said to the darkness, "let there be light" and there was light. Words that took nothing and made it into something. Words that can take the nothingness of sin that you and I bring to God and make us into something. Wow.
I think that kind of communication is exactly what many people are searching for. Do you ever wonder why those Psychic networks are so popular? Because people want someone who can give them an inside scoop, an authoritative word, that gives them encouragement and hope. People yearn to know about spiritual things. But Jesus is saying that someone is already available to help us see the “other side.”
When Jesus said that the Spirit would be with those who believe in him, he was talking about a spiritual transaction that takes place whenever someone accepts Christ. The Bible teaches that when we admit we're sinners, ask for forgiveness for those sins, turn to God and begin practicing faith in Christ, the Holy Spirit comes and joins with our spirit. In fact, the Bible teaches that our own spirit is dead in sin without Christ. It only comes alive through the presence and the power of the Holy Spirit.
I know that sounds a little mystical, but actually it's very, very practical. Here's why: when your spirit is dead, or you haven’t really accepted that Jesus died to pay for your sins, you can't do what God wants you to do. You don't have the power to live the way he wants you to.
A lot of people who know there is a God and accept that God had a son, Jesus, are very perceptive of this. They say, "I want to cross the line of faith, I want to accept Christ, but I know I won't be able to live the Christian life."
I know, because I was one of those people. I remember clearly my words to God after I had committed my life to him at a church altar: “But God, I am so bad! I’ve done some pretty horrible things in my life. I don’t know if I can change those things or not. I don’t know if I can STOP sinning! I don’t know if I can be a good girl.”
A close friend once told me that her hang-up for becoming a Christian was she was “going to have to start reading the Bible and, #1, she hates to read, and #2, she tried to read the Bible once and couldn’t make heads or tails of the thing." Another person I was trying to lead to Christ grabbed onto “the church thing” as his excuse. "I'll have to become a church guy,” he said. “I don’t like getting up early and they’ll want me to get involved and besides, those people are just a bunch of hypocrites.”
Have you ever heard those excuses, or used any of them yourself? Well, guess what? They're all true. Becoming a Christian means you'll have to become a Bible gal, a good guy and a church person. But it’s not a hard thing to do because that's where the Holy Spirit comes in! He will develop you into all three of those things.
Let's look at those things one at a time.
To become a "good girl," the Holy Spirit gives us power to live God's way. Think of the ultimate good girl or guy. How do they act? They're probably loving and kind, they don’t cuss at you or lie to you, they’re usually dependable and responsible, able to control their natural urges. They're giving. They get along with people. The list could go on and on. Pretty high standards, huh? Almost unattainable. But Paul says, “... when the Holy Spirit controls our lives he will produce this kind of fruit in us: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” And God doesn’t expect it overnight. You don’t just get baptized or give your life to Christ and then—poof!—everything falls into place. But accepting the Holy Spirit means you know, you are aware of the Spirit’s presence in your life, guiding you. That day when I was telling God how bad I was, how I had too many sins to be a Christian, the Holy Spirit spoke to me in reassurance, saying, “We’ll begin one step, one sin, at a time.” Galatians 5:16-25, in part, tells it this way: “Live by the Spirit…and do not gratify the desires of the flesh. For what the flesh desires is opposed to the Spirit, and what the Spirit desires is opposed to the flesh…But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not subject to (these things). The works of the flesh are obvious: fornication, impurity, licentiousness, idolatry, sorcery, enmities, strife, jealousy, anger, quarrels, dissensions, envy, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these…those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. By contrast, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…If we live by the Spirit, let us also be guided by the Spirit.” (PAUSE) One winter day, a little boy in Alabama was standing on a grate next to a bakery trying to keep his shoeless feet warm. A woman passing by saw the frosty-toed child and her heart ached. He had on only a lightweight jacket and no shoes and the air was chill, the wind sharp.
"Where are your shoes, young man?" she asked. The boy reluctantly admitted he simply didn't have any. "Why don't you come with me and we'll see what we can do about that?" the woman said. Taking his hand, she led him into a nearby department store and bought him a new pair of shoes and a warm jacket.
When they came back out onto the street, the little boy was so excited that he immediately started to run off to show his family his gifts. Suddenly he halted, turned around and ran back to the woman. He thanked her and then hesitated, "Ma'am, could I ask you a question? Ma'am, are you God's wife?" The woman smiled and said, "Oh no, I'm not God's wife, just one of God's children." The little boy grinned and nodded enthusiastically, "I knew it! I just knew you were related!" (PAUSE) Then there’s the Bible. If we are allowing ourselves to “be guided by the Spirit,” we will yearn for the Word of God. One of the things the Holy Spirit does, once we open the cover of the Book, is to give us power to understand it. In fact, without the Holy Spirit you can't understand the Bible or hear God speaking to you personally. Paul wrote: “Those who are unspiritual do not receive the gifts of God’s Spirit, for they are foolishness to them, and they are unable to understand them…” (1 Corinthians 2:14)
Only those who have the Holy Spirit within can understand because He teaches them personally, just like Jesus promised. Now, don't get me wrong - we're not talking magic. You've still got to read the Bible and listen for God's voice. But you'll be able to do it because the Spirit is there, guiding you and teaching you. The Bible contains power. The Holy Spirit is teacher and counselor. Reading the words contained within this Great Book and allowing for some quiet, reflective time afterwards gives the Holy Spirit a way to guide you in your day-to-day life. As to becoming a “church person,” nobody knows how to do that until the Spirit gives them the supernatural ability to do something that needs to be done to make a church work. 1 Corinthians 12:4,7 is one you’ve probably heard before: “Now there are varieties of gifts, but the same Spirit…and there are varieties of activities, but it is the same God who activates all of them in everyone. To each is given the Spirit for the common good.” In this same passage Paul outlines some of the spiritual abilities that God gives people to use in the church. Some people receive the gift to teach, some the ability to lead, some the ability to pray in heavenly languages, some to be outrageously generous financial givers, some to be listening ears to the hurts of others, some to hear a specific message from God to deliver to others, some to be jacks of all trades who can jump in and do whatever needs to be done ... the list goes on and on.
But the point is that everyone who follows Christ is given at least one special ability by the Spirit. He will help you become a church person, if you open yourself up to the Spirit’s leading.
Power to live God's way, understand God's word, and do God's work - let me ask you ... isn't this encouraging? Don't you feel the Holy Spirit calling out to you "Yes, you can do it! Don't be afraid! I'll transform you into what you need to be!"
The Holy Spirit is just waiting for you to call on his power. I have struggled more in my spiritual life in the last two years than ever before. I'm not going to go into all of the details, but at times, temptations have been really strong and I've been pretty weak. I talked to a friend about this and she said that part of the problem is that I'm the pastor of a church that's doing damage to Satan's kingdom. Most of you are closer to Christ than you were two years ago and the devil doesn’t like that, so he's out to destroy me and he's out to destroy you.
Our power comes through the Holy Spirit! But we must be consciously aware of the Spirit’s presence within us and with us, we must consciously allow the Spirit to do His work with our lives.
I want to ask you the same question Paul asked the Ephesians in today’s scripture passage: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you became believers?” (Acts 19:2) If you answer, “No,” then I want you to come and talk to me about being baptized in the Spirit. If you answer, “Yes,” then I want to give you a couple of “Dos and Don’ts:
“Don’t quench the Spirit by doubting His power. Test everything and hang on to the good stuff. (1 Thessalonians 5:19 & 21) Sometimes the Holy Spirit does do some crazy stuff. Just read the Bible. People really do speak in tongues sometimes. People really do have a prophecy from the Lord. But sometimes people are just being weird. And it's hard to tell the difference. That's why Paul says to test everything and keep what's good - the stuff from the Lord - and throw out the rest.
But most of us don't do that. Our attitude is "let's just not get involved with that miraculous stuff. Let’s not get too emotional. We don’t want people to think we’re religious nut-cases." You know what that verse says? That attitude of doubt in God's power pours cold water on the Holy Spirit. And He's not free to do anything in your life. DON’T QUENCH THE SPIRIT! (PAUSE)
#2. Don’t grieve the Holy Spirit with squabbling and fighting. Do you remember how you felt when you first saw the scenes of the Twin Towers, or the Oklahoma City bombing, or the Columbine High School? Didn't it break your heart to see the damage that one human being could do to another? The Spirit works the same way.
Another thing Paul told the Ephesians was, “Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…Put away from you all bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling and slander, together with all malice, and be kind to one another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, as God in Christ has forgiven you.” (Ephesians 4:30-32) Bitterness and wrath and anger and wrangling trashes others. And it breaks God's heart because the person you’re doing those things to matters to God so much that Jesus died for him or her. If you want to build your relationship with the Holy Spirit, don't grieve Him by wounding another person.
#3 Do spend time reading the Bible and time listening to find out what the Lord wants you to do. Sit down and take out a piece of paper and say, "Holy Spirit, talk to me." Write down what He says. Do let the Spirit fill you up. He'll do it. Remember, he's constantly calling out encouragement to us. We just need to take the time to listen. Finally, do follow the leading of the Spirit when He speaks to you. Again, the words of Paul to the Galatians:
“Live by the Spirit, I say, and do not gratify the desires of the flesh…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.” (Galatians 5:16 & 22)
When you get instructions from the Spirit , put them into practice. If you question whether what you believe is from the Holy Spirit of God or from someone else, such as yourself, your spouse, or even the devil, test it by the end results that will happen: love, joy, peace, self-control? Or strife, jealousy, anger, and quarrels?
Don't quench, don't grieve, do spend time reading the Bible and listening, and do put into practice what the Spirit tells you. That's how you develop your relationship with the Spirit. Say "Yes" to the Spirit. Say "yes" to the one who is always with you, always calling out encouragement.
SOURCES
Surprised by the Spirit, Jack Deere, p. 215
The Greatest Counselor in the World, Lloyd John Ogilvie
John Donne, (1572-1631), Dean of St. Paul's Cathedral
