Core Beliefs - The Holy Spirit - Mark Ralf
Core Beliefs - The Holy Spirit
We are continuing our series looking at our core beliefs as a church.
What are the things that we believe about these things?
God, Jesus Christ, The Holy Spirit
The Bible, People, Salvation, The Church, The Future
In our belonging service,
God
There is one loving and true God.
He exists eternally in three distinct but equal persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.
He is the almighty creator, saviour and judge who sustains and governs all things according to his will.
Last week, Tony explained our core beliefs about Jesus Christ:
Jesus Christ
The Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is fully God and fully human.
He was born of a virgin and lived a sinless life.
He died on a cross, was raised bodily from death and is now reigning over heaven and earth.
So this week, we are going to look at our core belief about the holy spirit:
The Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit enables people to turn to God and trust in Jesus Christ.
He lives in all who trust in Christ and produces in them increasingly Christ-like character and behaviour.
He empowers them to live for him, serve him and make him known.
THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON, NOT AN IT
The Holy Spirit is not an IT, an impersonal power, he is a divine person.
The Greek NT always calls the Holy Spirit “he” never “it”
John 16:13
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come.
This is a person being described – a person who comes to guide us
In John 14:16
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counsellor to be with you for ever— 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.
This is a person being described – it’s all about accepting a person and being indwelt by a person
In Ephesians 4:30
30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
This is a person being described – you can’t grieve an object
SO WHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?
I’m going to start with an overview of the whole of the bible in relation to the holy spirit.
Before some of you commit suicide or dash home to turn off the Sunday lunch, I’m going to do this in 3 minutes – so apologies if I have missed out any key moments…
| THE HOLY SPIRIT in 3 minutes When God created the heavens and the earth, the spirit of God was moving in the beginning (Gen 1:2) Later Joseph ruled God’s spirit gave him power to interpret dreams (Gen 41:38) Moses the reluctant leader’s face literally lit up as the spirit of the Lord remained in him after his meeting with God Joshua was given the Spirit of wisdom (the double portion he asked for) to carry on as Gideon The spirit of the Lord came upon the reluctant Gideon to lead The Spirit of the Lord worked in Samson – he was given physical strength against God’s enemies. When he disobeyed “he wished that the spirit of the Lord had not departed from him” Samuel anointed Saul the first King of Israel who started well and ended badly The spirit of the Lord came upon him with power and he prophesied and made wise decisions to lead David – a man after God’s heart had great power as King of Israel - The spirit of the Lord came upon David in power – throughout his life of sin and obedience (1 Sam 16:13) The Prophets from A to Z warned God’s people Azariah – Preached God’s warning against Zechariah – Pronounced God’s judgement against sinful Jesus was born by the Holy Spirit The Holy Spirit came upon him at his baptism by John (Matt 3:16) He performed miracles and healings by the power of the holy spirit He cast out demons by the holy spirit He promised that the disciples would be empowered by the holy spirit – so they could carry on the awesome ministry of spreading the gospel of Christ to the whole world The Holy Spirit was with the disciples before Pentecost enabling them to preach and heal all manner of diseases (Matt 10) At pentecost the holy spirit fully empowered the disciples to demonstrate god’s power and spread the gospel fearlessly The spoke with the spirit’s inspiration and comforted others by the holy spirit. They dreamed dreams, saw visions and prophesied by the power of the holy spirit. The Holy spirit guided them in the leadership of the church – whether it was dealing with dishonesty or selecting suitable people to serve. That same holy spirit inspired individuals throughout the ages to write down in stories, histories, poems, songs and that come together as one Bible inspired by the holy spirit And the holy spirit works in us today To convict us of our sins To convince us of God’s word To show that Jesus is the saviour To live in us when we accept Christ as that saviour To empower us to tell others about Jesus and his offer to save us To show us how to pray To dwell in us and produce the fruit of the spirit – so we can be more like Christ |
The Holy Spirit enables people to turn to God and trust in Jesus Christ.
It is the holy spirit not us who convicts of sin
Therefore we need to pray that the holy spirit will be working in the lives of others
So how does someone become a christian?
They become convinced of their sin and turn to Jesus Christ – John 16:8
8 When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt a in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment:
I THESS 1:4-10
4 For we know, brothers loved by God, that he has chosen you, 5 because our gospel came to you not simply with words, but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction. You know how we lived among you for your sake. 6 You became imitators of us and of the Lord; in spite of severe suffering, you welcomed the message with the joy given by the Holy Spirit. 7 And so you became a model to all the believers in
V4-5 preaching the gospel alone is not enough – hearing+POWER (POWER=Holy Spirit + Deep conviction)
How we know people have become Christians?
V6-10
Imitators v6
Models v7
Messengers through their lives v8
Other people notice and comment on it (recognisable difference) v9
HE LIVES IN ALL WHO TRUST IN CHRIST AND PRODUCES IN THEM INCREASINGLY CHRIST-LIKE CHARACTER AND BEHAVIOUR.
What happens when the Holy Spirit lives in us?
2 Corinthians 3:18 – We are being transformed into his likeness
18 And we, who with unveiled faces all reflect a the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his likeness with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit.
Prayer
Film clip: The end ( Burt Reynolds film)
Swimming and Praying
Clearly, Burt Reynolds isn’t praying – he’s negotiating. He is behaving just as his character in the film lives his life. It’s a sham.
The Holy Spirit is the key to our prayers
He brings our prayers before God
He prompts us what to pray – opens our eyes
He gives us confidence & faith that God hears our prayers
Prays for us when we don’t know what to pray for
He helps shape our prayers until we pray for the will of God
Galatians 5:16-26
16 So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. 17 For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
19 The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; 20 idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions 21 and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
Christians should not be like other people – but too often we are.
Why? v16-18
HE EMPOWERS THEM TO LIVE FOR HIM, SERVE HIM AND MAKE HIM KNOWN.
How do you recognise a fan?
Where your treasure is, your heart will follow.
Character of the spirit-led Christian.
Why use the word FRUIT (singular) and not FRUITS (plural)?
V22-23. We are expected to grow in all of them. Not just the ones we want or like or come naturally.
They are the acid test because they come from within. We expect to see the external work and internal work of the holy spirit together in the believer.
So we would expect someone who has words of knowledge, prophesy or speaks in tongues to also be demonstrating the inner work of the holy spirit – otherwise we should be cautious of these people.
If we are meant to exhibit all this character in our life, but sadly we don’t always do so, how much are we resisting the spirit’s influence in our life?
When we exhibit this character in our life we will be different to our friends. This can provide us with opportunities to witness for Jesus
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5 Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. 6 Let your conversation be always full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone.
Are we willing to take these opportunities and explain to others why we are different in the way that we behave and speak?
How do recognise a fan?
Who are these people?
God wants us to grow more and more like Christ. Inside not just outside.
This is what people will notice.
We need to grow – one way is to join us in the Christianity explored course that starts soon
So, what are our core beliefs about the holy spirit?
The Holy Spirit enables people to turn to God and trust in Jesus Christ.
He lives in all who trust in Christ and produces in them increasingly Christ-like character and behaviour.
He empowers them to live for him, serve him and make him known.
Let’s pray.
posted by Mark Ralf @ Sunday, January 23, 2005
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