March 19, 2006

“Our God Is Spirit”

The Holy Spirit: God’s Creative Agent

Various Scriptures

Prayer and Scripture reading – Emma

 

·       In many ways our world is obsessed with the supernatural, and I don’t necessarily mean that in a good way.  Demonic thriller flicks, books from authors like Stephen King, and the success of TV shows like “Medium” all show how deeply this obsession runs.  There’s even a resurgence of interest in satanic groups like Wicca because people are looking for power in their lives.  We feel more and more powerless because it seems like our world is going farther and farther out of control.  But there is only one source of true supernatural power – the Holy Spirit as He indwells those who have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ.  It’s only as we begin to understand this power and how to tap into it that our lives are truly transformed into Christlikeness.

·       This morning we’re going to spend some time looking into Scriptures that will help us understand why we need to give the Holy Spirit free reign in our hearts and lives.  Let’s start by taking a look at Genesis 1:1-2.

·       Genesis 1:1-2 from the NASB – In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.  2 The earth was formless and void, and darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters.  It’s easy for us to think that the Holy Spirit is simply a New Testament phenomenon because Jesus taught about Him and Paul wrote much about Him.  But in Genesis we see that the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of God, was in on creation from the very beginning.  The Holy Spirit has been involved in our world and in our lives from the very dawn of time.  That is very exciting truth!  Think about the incredible power and creativity the Spirit showed in the creation of the universe.  Now think about the incredible power and creativity the Spirit can show in our hearts and lives if we trust Him enough to do it.  The Holy Spirit can and will recreate us into people who are like Jesus if we trust Him enough to allow Him to do it.  That’s great news for us.  But how does He do it?

·       John 16:5-15 from the NASB – “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 But 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 He, when He comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment; 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 and concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father and you no longer see Me; 11 and concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world has been judged.  12 I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.  13 But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.  14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of Mine and will disclose it to you.  15 All things that the Father has are Mine; therefore I said that He takes of Mine and will disclose it to you.” 

·       As some of you know, the word translated Helper means “the one called alongside to help” and can also be translated comforter, advocate, and intercessor.  We feel a lot more comfortable with the Holy Spirit as comforter than we do as convicter, and yet this is how Jesus has chosen to teach us about the Spirit.  The Message translates this passage beginning in verse eight – “When he comes, he’ll expose the error of the godless world’s view of sin, righteousness, and judgment: He’ll show them that their refusal to believe in me is their basic sin; that righteousness comes from above, where I am with the Father, out of their sight and control; that judgment takes place as the ruler of this godless world is brought to trial and convicted.”  When we are convicted, the error of our ways is exposed to our hearts.  Our world reacts so strongly to the Spirit’s attempts to convict their hearts because they don’t want to know the error of their ways – they don’t want to change.  If change is scary for us as Christians who have the Holy Spirit living inside us, think about how scary it must be for non-Christians!

·       The three main issues the Spirit shows us the error of our ways, or convicts us, over are sin, righteousness and judgment.  Sin is evil because it breaks our relationship with God.  But sin also limits the creativity and power the Holy Spirit can bring into our hearts and lives.  Sin is to the Holy Spirit like kryptonite is to Superman, because sin blocks His power from working in our lives.  Think about the amount of creativity and power it must have take to create the universe in the first place.  It’s totally beyond our comprehension.  The Holy Spirit wants use His incredible power to recreate us, to make us like we were created to be, and all that’s standing in His way is sin.  That’s why He convicts us of sin – when we don’t fully trust and believe God to do His work within us, we stifle His creative power within us. 

·       Part of the Spirit’s creative work also involves convicting us of what true righteousness is.  The religious leaders of Jesus’ time thought they had a lock on righteousness – just do this, this and this, follow every interpretation of the Law of Moses, and you’re righteous.  In 1 Samuel 1:22, the prophet told Saul, “Has the Lord as much delight in burnt offerings and sacrifices as in obeying the voice of the Lord?  Behold, to obey is better than sacrifice, and to heed than the fat of rams.”  Those religious leaders must have skipped reading that part.  And the truth that they were blind to is just as true today as it was then.  Trusting in a righteousness that depends following all the rules blinds us to the true righteousness that is found in Jesus and binds His creative power from working in our hearts and lives.  True righteousness energizes the power and the creativity of the Holy Spirit to work in our hearts and lives.  True righteousness is only found in personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and the Spirit does His creative work in building that righteousness into our hearts and lives.  When we truly realize our need for God’s righteousness in every part of our hearts and lives, then we’re willing to allow the Holy Spirit to do His creative and powerful work in us. 

·       Perhaps the greatest challenge for the Spirit lies in convicting us regarding judgment.  We tend to view God as either a stern Judge ready to zap us whenever we slip up or as a kindly grandfather who indulges us.  And both of those perceptions block the Holy Spirit from helping us understand the true nature of God when it comes to judgment.   Yes, those who believe in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior are saved by grace, but they are saved to do good works.  Ephesians 2:8-10 – For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; 9 not as a result of works, so that no one may boast.  10 For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.  This middle road is where we find God.  He’s not waiting around just to zap us, but He won’t let us get away with anything either.  So why do we need the Spirit to convict us concerning the judgment of the world?

·       A huge part of the Holy Spirit’s work is to work in the hearts of those who don’t know Jesus to bring them into right relationship with Him.  When He convicts us of our sin, our need for God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment, we begin to see how great His grace really is.  The Spirit will very creatively bring circumstances into our lives to wake us up to our need for the free gift of salvation in Christ Jesus, and His power cuts through the powers of darkness trying to hang on to every lost soul.  What does that have to do with us?  God’s Spirit works through us creatively and with power to bring the lost to personal relationship with Jesus.  That’s one reason we all have different ideas on how to reach people for Him.  Each one of us is gifted and equipped to reach different kinds of people, and the Spirit moves on our hearts to use His power and creativity through our personalities and temperaments to bring people to Jesus.  It’s a very synergistic relationship – the Spirit energizes us and we become more passionate which allows the Spirit to energize us some more – you get the picture.  His conviction brings His creative power to bear and lives are transformed.

·       Even while convicting us, the Spirit guides us.  Verse 13 - But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth; for He will not speak on His own initiative, but whatever He hears, He will speak; and He will disclose to you what is to come.  We talked about God’s truth last week and how we need to build it into our hearts and lives by spending daily time in the Bible.  The Spirit uses God’s word to convict us and to guide us into allowing Him to use His creative power in us and through us to transform lives.  Maybe that’s the greatest truth we can hear this morning.  We know that the Spirit has all of God’s creativity and power at His disposal.  We know that the Spirit does the essential work of convicting us so that we will allow Him to work.  The gift of the Holy Spirit within us to guide us and to work creatively and powerfully through us is the greatest gift Christ could leave us when He left the earth.   Because of the power and the creativity of the Holy Spirit, we can become much more than we are and do much greater things than we’re capable of.  We just have to trust Him to do His work.  We just have to allow Him to do whatever He says needs to be done in us and through us. 

·       What are you doing to do about the truth you’ve heard this morning?  Are you going to allow the Holy Spirit to work His full creativity and power in your heart and life?  I know it’s a struggle because we can’t control what He’s going to do.  But will you trust Him enough to do the work He knows needs to be done within you and through you?  If you’re willing to trust Him and want to begin trusting Him today more than you ever have, come forward to the altars now.  Don’t let Satan or your pride defeat you.  Come forward now.