The Continuing Presence of the Holy Spirit

This is the manuscript of the fourth sermon in the Recognizing and "Responding to the Indwelling Spirit" series of sermons to start the year of 2022.   Without a proper response to the Holy Spirit, our lives will be unproductive, and our service will be feeble. 

As our Lord approached the end of his ministry, his disciples were horrified at the thought of their loneliness and helplessness if he should be taken from them.  To feel separated by distance or by death from someone who is very precious is one of life’s most painful experiences. It's even possible to experience painful loneliness in the midst of a crowd. 

The disciples were no different than anyone else when it came to the fear of death. Even though they had been with Jesus, and had witnessed His power over death, the fear of death was always with them, especially when He spoke of His own death. Every time that Jesus told His disciples He was going to die, they were uneasy, and they sometimes even tried to persuade Him to give up His destiny of death.

Jesus wanted to encourage them and to equip them for future ministry by his teachings and by his promise of another comforter, another counselor, another helper.   The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in contrast to Jesus’ brief ministry of three short years, would come to as a continuing presence never to depart. This Comforter would not only be with them but would be in them.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/-hbFq6fXCR8

Scripture

John 14:15‭-‬21‭, ‬25‭-‬27 NIV “If you love me, keep my commands. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 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. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. Before long, the world will not see me anymoIIre, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.” “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

Text: (Same as last week)

John 14:16 NIV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever—

Introduction

For the first four Sundays of this year we have been talking about the Holy Spirit and how we recognize and respond to the Spirt which dwells in us. As I said at the beginning, without a proper response to the Holy Spirit, our lives will be unproductive, and our service will be feeble. 

As our Lord approached the end of his ministry, his disciples were horrified at the thought of their loneliness and helplessness if he should be taken from them.  To feel separated by distance or by death from someone who is very precious is one of life’s most painful experiences. It's even possible to experience painful loneliness in the midst of a crowd. 

The disciples were no different than anyone else when it came to the fear of death. Even though they had been with Jesus, and had witnessed His power over death, the fear of death was always with them, especially when He spoke of His own death. Every time that Jesus told His disciples He was going to die, they were uneasy, and they sometimes even tried to persuade Him to give up His destiny of death.

Listen to what Peter said;

Matthew 16:21‭-‬23 NIV From that time on Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, the chief priests and the teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life. Peter took him aside and began to rebuke him. “Never, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to you!” Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to me; you do not have in mind the concerns of God, but merely human concerns.”

Imagine for a moment how you would have felt, if you were one of the disciples, hearing from Jesus that He was about to die, and that they would not be able to come to Him to be with Him.  

Jesus wanted to encourage them and to equip them for future ministry by his teachings and by his promise of another comforter, another counselor, another helper.   The Comforter, the Holy Spirit, in contrast to Jesus’ brief ministry of three short years, would come to as a continuing presence never to depart. This Comforter would not only be with them but would be in them.

John 14:16‭-‬17 NIV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 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.

Jesus the Savior, the visible manifestation of the invisible God, was limited during his earthly ministry to being at one place at one time, that’s why He said,

John 16:7 NIV But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.

The Revised Standard Version translates this statement, “It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I go not away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.”

Jesus told them that the Father would give to them another counselor of exactly the same kind as he was, but who would be different in that he would “be with them for ever”, because He would be in them.

If Jesus had to get from point A to point B, He walked there like anyone else. Jesus got tired like we do. Jesus got sleepy like we do. And Jesus got hungry like we do.

Jesus could have done whatever He wanted, yet He put himself under the restraints of human frailty. The Bible tells us that God “sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we have. 

Romans 8:3 NLT The law of Moses was unable to save us because of the weakness of our sinful nature. So God did what the law could not do. He sent his own Son in a body like the bodies we sinners have. And in that body God declared an end to sin’s control over us by giving his Son as a sacrifice for our sins.

From our perspective who live on this side of Calvary, the Resurrection, and the day of Pentecost, we can understand better what the disciples found impossible to understand.

They didn’t understand until something remarkable happened. 

Acts 2:1‭-‬4 NIV When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them.

Later on, that same day Peter, when speaking to the crowd said,

Acts 2:14‭-‬21 NIV ... “Fellow Jews and all of you who live in Jerusalem, let me explain this to you; listen carefully to what I say. These people are not drunk, as you suppose. It’s only nine in the morning! No, this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel: “ ‘In the last days, God says, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your young men will see visions, your old men will dream dreams. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days, and they will prophesy. I will show wonders in the heavens above and signs on the earth below, blood and fire and billows of smoke. The sun will be turned to darkness and the moon to blood before the coming of the great and glorious day of the Lord. And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’

I. The Holy Spirit is God’s gift to every believer. 

In the Old Testament the Holy Spirit did not indwell people as he does on this side of Pentecost. Before Jesus' death, bural, resurrection, and return to heaven  the Holy Spirit would come on chosen individuals for a limited period of time to equip them and to empower them for some unique task. 

Exodus 31:2‭-‬6 NIV “See, I have chosen Bezalel son of Uri, the son of Hur, of the tribe of Judah, and I have filled him with the Spirit of God, with wisdom, with understanding, with knowledge and with all kinds of skills— to make artistic designs for work in gold, silver and bronze, to cut and set stones, to work in wood, and to engage in all kinds of crafts. Moreover, I have appointed Oholiab son of Ahisamak, of the tribe of Dan, to help him. Also I have given ability to all the skilled workers to make everything I have commanded you:

The indwelling in the Old Testament was selective and temporary. The Spirit “came upon” Old Testament people like Joshua

Numbers 27:18 NIV So the Lord said to Moses, “Take Joshua son of Nun, a man in whom is the spirit of leadership, and lay your hand on him.

Like David,

1 Samuel 16:12‭-‬13 NIV So he sent for him and had him brought in. He was glowing with health and had a fine appearance and handsome features. Then the Lord said, “Rise and anoint him; this is the one.” So Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the presence of his brothers, and from that day on the Spirit of the Lord came powerfully upon David. Samuel then went to Ramah.

He even came upon Saul,  the first king of Israel. 

1 Samuel 10:10 NIV When he and his servant arrived at Gibeah, a procession of prophets met him; the Spirit of God came powerfully upon him, and he joined in their prophesying.

Throughout the book of Judges, we see the Spirit “coming upon” the various judges whom God raised up to deliver Israel from their oppressors. The Holy Spirit came upon these individuals for specific tasks. 

The  coming upon of the Holy Spirit a sign of God’s favor upon that individual (in the case of David), and if God’s favor left an individual, the Spirit would depart as in Saul’s case 

1 Samuel 16:14 NIV Now the Spirit of the Lord had departed from Saul, and an evil spirit from the Lord tormented him.

In the Old Testament the Spirit “coming upon” an individual didn’t always indicate that person’s spiritual condition (e.g., Saul, Samson, and many of the judges).  After Jesus' resurrection and ascension the Spirit only indwells believers and that indwelling is permanent.There is a marked difference in the way the Spirit came on individuals before Pentecost and the manner in which he comes to indwell each believer following Pentecost.

Take a look at;

John 7:37‭-‬39 NIV On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

John 14:16‭-‬17 NIV And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 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.

 A. The gift of the Holy Spirit comes by God’s grace. 

We do not earn the privilege of having the Holy Spirit abide within us.  The gift of the Holy Spirit comes to us through faith. It's by faith we receive Christ, and by faith we receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.

Galatians 3:1‭-‬5 NIV You foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? Before your very eyes Jesus Christ was clearly portrayed as crucified. I would like to learn just one thing from you: Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law, or by believing what you heard? Are you so foolish? After beginning by means of the Spirit, are you now trying to finish by means of the flesh? Have you experienced so much in vain—if it really was in vain? So again I ask, does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you by the works of the law, or by your believing what you heard? 

II. The Holy Spirit is the continuing presence of the resurrected Christ within each believer. 

John 14:18 NIV I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

In this specific passage our Lord was not referring to his glorious return at the end of the age. He was referring to his return in the Holy Spirit on the day of Pentecost following his ascension to the Father. 

Acts of the Apostles 1:4‭-‬5 NLT Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

When Jesus gave the Great Commission He said,

Matthew 28:19‭-‬20 NIV Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”

We experience the presence of the living, triumphant Lord in and through the ministry of the Holy Spirit, who has come to abide within the heart of each believer. 

Galatians 2:20 NIV I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.

Paul, who wrote Galatians, experienced the presence of the living Christ through the abiding Spirit who had come to dwell within him and within the heart of every believer.

III. The Holy Spirit abides within us to teach us God’s truth. 

He is the Spirit of truth who came to teach us all of the things that God wants us to understand.

John 14:25‭-‬26 NIV “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you.

The Holy Spirit’s mission is to guide us into all of the truth of God.

John 16:12‭-‬15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak of his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

John 4:23‭-‬24 NIV Yet a time is coming and has now come when the true worshipers will worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth, for they are the kind of worshipers the Father seeks. God is spirit, and his worshipers must worship in the Spirit and in truth.”

The Holy Spirit uses the Scriptures to teach us God’s truth, the church to help us understand the truth, and other believers to lead us into the truth. 

IV. As I said last week The Holy Spirit creates conflict with the old nature of each believer. 

The Holy Spirit creates a civil war between himself and the flesh of each believer.

Galatians 5:16‭-‬17 NIV So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

The Holy Spirit fills us with a holy discontent until we let the living Christ reign supreme within our hearts. 

A. The Holy Spirit comes to fill us and to give us victory over evil 

Ephesians 6:10‭-‬12 NIV Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

Ephesians 5:18‭-‬20 NIV Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

B. The Holy Spirit produces within us the fruit of the Spirit

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV  But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Conclusion 

God has given us the gift of the Holy Spirit as the abiding presence of Jesus Christ. Let each of us recognize and rejoice in this precious gift of the Holy Spirit. Let us respond to the tender words, gentle impulses, and loving leadings of the Holy Spirit. Let us trust the Holy Spirit to guide us and enable us to do all that God wants us to do. 

Though we don’t experience the same phenomenal scene as the apostles did that Pentecost Day, we do receive the same power of the Holy Spirit when we confess Christ as our Savior. The power in us is greater than anything this world can throw at us. It doesn’t make us invincible, or shelter us from storms, but it does ensure we never have to lose hope. We can choose to cling to the joy and peace Christ died to grant us, and live our lives to the fullest on earth, to bring glory to God.

Prayer To Be Led By The Holy Spirit

Heavenly Father, how I thank You for salvation, which You have given to us as a free gift of grace by faith in the Lord Jesus. Thank You also, that Your Holy Spirit has made us alive in Him and placed us into the family of God and the body of Christ.

Thank You, that He has set His seal of ownership on us and taken up residence within our hearts, to empower us in our spiritual walk, as He transforms us into a likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. In Jesus name 

If you have not yet received Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit is prompting you to open the door of your life for the entrance of him who can forgive your sins and give you the gift of eternal life. Open the door today.

Romans 10:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NLT If you openly declare that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is by believing in your heart that you are made right with God, and it is by openly declaring your faith that you are saved. For “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Sermon Audio

 

The Holy Spirit and Our Great Salvation

This is the manuscript of the third sermon in the Recognizing and "Responding to the Indwelling Spirit" series of sermons to start the year of 2022.   Without a proper response to the Holy Spirit, our lives will be unproductive and our service will be feeble. We closed out 2021 with the series “Come Let Us Adore Him” and in the last message of 2021 we said the real spirit of Christmas starts when we accept the best gift of all, the gift who was born in a manger, the Son of God. When we accept Jesus Christ, we accept the gift of salvation, the gift of forgiveness. But that is not all. We also receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us and guide our steps.

Many people think of salvation only in terms of forgiveness for the guilt of sin and the removal of the penalty of sin. But this is to fall far short of the great salvation Jesus Christ came to provide. He came not only to save us from the penalty of sin but also to save us from the power and the practice of sin.

God wants us to be living, powerful demonstrations of what Jesus Christ can do in the lives of those who trust him as Savior and Lord. Remember God is interested in saving us from the power and the practices of sin. To accomplish this great purpose, he has given us the precious, personal gift of his Holy Spirit as an indwelling presence.

You can watch a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://youtu.be/QW-W0JzPQ14

Scripture

1 Corinthians 6:12‭-‬20 NIV “I have the right to do anything,” you say—but not everything is beneficial. “I have the right to do anything”—but I will not be mastered by anything. You say, “Food for the stomach and the stomach for food, and God will destroy them both.” The body, however, is not meant for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also. Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ himself? Shall I then take the members of Christ and unite them with a prostitute? Never! Do you not know that he who unites himself with a prostitute is one with her in body? For it is said, “The two will become one flesh.” But whoever is united with the Lord is one with him in spirit. Flee from sexual immorality. All other sins a person commits are outside the body, but whoever sins sexually, sins against their own body. Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Text: 

1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

Introduction 

Jesus Christ came to take away the sins of his people.

Matthew 1:21 NIV She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

John the Baptist declared that Jesus was the Lamb of God who came to take away the sin of the world.

John 1:29 NIV The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world!

Paul declared that “Christ died for our sins in accordance with the scriptures”.

1 Corinthians 15:3‭-‬8 NIV For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures, and that he appeared to Cephas, and then to the Twelve. After that, he appeared to more than five hundred of the brothers and sisters at the same time, most of whom are still living, though some have fallen asleep. Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles, and last of all he appeared to me also, as to one abnormally born.

And Peter emphasized the substitutionary nature of the death of Jesus Christ.

1 Peter 3:18 NIV For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, to bring you to God. He was put to death in the body but made alive in the Spirit.

Many people think of salvation only in terms of forgiveness for the guilt of sin and the removal of the penalty of sin.   But this is to fall far short of the great salvation Jesus Christ came to provide. He came not only to save us from the penalty of sin but also to save us from the power and the practice of sin. 

God wants us to be living, powerful demonstrations of what Jesus Christ can do in the lives of those who trust him as Savior and Lord. Remember God is interested in saving us from the power and the practices of sin. To accomplish this great purpose, he has given us the precious, personal gift of his Holy Spirit as an indwelling presence. 

In the Scripture passage for today, we have heard the instructions that God sent through the apostle Paul to the church at Corinth, which declare that we are to honor or glorify God in our bodies. 

As our text says

1 Corinthians 6:19‭-‬20 NIV Do you not know that your bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit, who is in you, whom you have received from God? You are not your own; you were bought at a price. Therefore honor God with your bodies.

What Paul was saying is that we are to reveal the graciousness of God in our bodies. He was demanding that we demonstrate the presence of God in our bodies. He was inviting us to introduce God to others by our very being, our very lives. Last week we talked about making a positive response to the gift of the Holy Spirit.   Making a positive response is part of the great salvation God wants us to experience through faith in Jesus Christ.  

The Father God, through the apostle Paul, called on the people in the church of Corinth to be the place where God dwelled so that the other people of that pagan city could be saved. To live a life of immorality was to defile and to degrade the temple—the residence, the meeting place where people could experience the very presence of God. 

Because it is through the Holy Spirit that the people of God experience the presence of God in their lives. 

I. The Holy Spirit came to continue the work of Christ. 

As a consequence the Holy Spirit never calls attention to himself.  

The Holy Spirit is always pointing to Jesus Christ.

John 16:12‭-‬15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

As Luke began writing the Acts of the Apostles, he said that he had dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach in the book of Luke which he wrote earlier. 

Acts 1:1‭-‬5 NIV In my former book, Theophilus, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven, after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After his suffering, he presented himself to them and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God. On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

The Acts of the Apostles would be more correctly thought of as “The Acts of the Holy Spirit.” The Holy Spirit continues to do today what Jesus began to do and teach.

II. The Holy Spirit convinced each of us of our need for salvation from sin.

John 16:8‭-‬11 NIV When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

III. The Holy Spirit brought about the new birth when we responded to the gospel by faith.

You’ll remember Jesus’ conversation with Nicodemus.

John 3:4‭-‬8 NIV “How can someone be born when they are old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely they cannot enter a second time into their mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “Very truly I tell you, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”

In his letter to Titus Paul wrote. 

Titus 3:5‭-‬7 NIV he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior, so that, having been justified by his grace, we might become heirs having the hope of eternal life.

This same precious Spirit—who brought about conviction of sin and conversion from sin and the miracle of the new birth—wants to lead us in a way of life that will demonstrate to the world that we are the people of God.

Titus 2:11‭-‬14 NIV For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

Because we are the people of God we are special. 

1 Peter 2:9 NIV But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light.

He has also made us ambassadors and the Holy Spirit enables us to be those ambassadors.

2 Corinthians 5:18‭-‬20 NIV All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting people’s sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. We are therefore Christ’s ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ’s behalf: Be reconciled to God.

IV. The Holy Spirit causes conflict between our old nature and our new nature.

Once we are in Christ we are a new creation. 

2 Corinthians 5:17 NIV Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here!

Yes we are a new creation but there is still some residue of the old fleshly nature there that's why Paul in his letter to the Galatians wrote;

Galatians 5:16‭-‬17 NIV So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.

And in that same letter to Titus Paul wrote 

Titus 2:11‭-‬14 NIV For the grace of God has appeared that offers salvation to all people. It teaches us to say “No” to ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright and godly lives in this present age, while we wait for the blessed hope—the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, who gave himself for us to redeem us from all wickedness and to purify for himself a people that are his very own, eager to do what is good.

New believers often experience a great deal of inner tension as they struggle with the presence of some of the old self in them. 

Some are quite disappointed to find that a life of faith is not a life of comfort and relief from tension. 

There is always going to be conflict between the flesh and the Spirit. 

Romans 8:5‭-‬8 NIV Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God.

V. The indwelling Spirit is God’s seal of ownership. 

The Holy Spirit is also God’s guarantee of our final and ultimate salvation from death and the grave. 

Ephesians 1:13‭-‬14 NIV And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Paul affirmed this divine seal of ownership in his letter to the Ephesians.

He also declared that the gift of God’s Holy Spirit is his guarantee that he will give us the ultimate and complete victory over death and the grave.

Romans 8:9‭-‬11 NIV You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.

VI. The Holy Spirit has been given to us so that with our cooperation he can produce the fruit that will indicate that we are indeed children of God.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

1. Agreement with the Holy Spirit is necessary if you want to live the life that God wants for you. 

The first step in agreeing with the Holy Spirit is receiving salvation, a born–again experience. The Lord loves you. If you confess to Him your sins—realizing that you are lost, that only Jesus can help—and invite Him into your heart He,saves you.

Romans 10:9‭-‬10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

B. Not only do we have to agree we also must have continuous cooperation with the Holy Spirit if we are to experience God’s full salvation for us. 

Ephesians 4:22‭-‬24 NIV You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness.

We must choose to let go of old ways of acting.

Here's Ephesians 4:22 from the Message Bible  “Everything — and I do mean everything — connected with that old way of life has to go. It’s rotten through and through. Get rid of it!”

Next we must change the way we think. 

Ephesians 4:23 CEV Let the Spirit change your way of thinking

The Bible says we are “transformed” by the renewing of our minds.

Romans 12:2 NIV Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

That transformation makes it possible for us to glorify God, which is, to make him known to others.

Ephesians 5:15‭-‬20 NIV Be very careful, then, how you live—not as unwise but as wise, making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the Lord’s will is. Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Living the Christian life is something much more than lifting ourselves by our own bootstraps. It is a life of joyful cooperation as the Holy Spirit works within us. When we recognize him and cooperate with him, it is possible for us to glorify God in our bodies today.

Conclusion 

Remember what I said last week.  We are always in danger of making a negative response to the Holy Spirit.  But we have the joyous privilege of making a proper response which begins by establishing a relation to Jesus Christ in salvation. Trust him as Savior. Listen to him and obey him as your Lord. Trust in the abiding presence and power of the Holy Spirit to help you become all that God wants you to be.

That is what  happens when you do what it says in 

Romans 10:9‭-‬10 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved.

I invite all of you who have not done that to do it today, right now.

Heavenly Father, we thank You for saving us through the sacrifice of Your Son, our Lord, Jesus Christ.  We thank You for sending the Holy Spirit to instruct, guide, teach and comfort us.  Thank You, H¹oly Spirit, for empowering us to be effective witnesses for Jesus Christ and being God’s guarantee for the inheritance He promised.  Because of You, this guarantee includes that we have been purchased to be His own people. 

In Jesus' name 

Responding Positively to the Indwelling Holy Spirit

 

This is the manuscript of the second sermon in the Recognizing and "Responding to the Indwelling Spirit" series of sermons to start the year of 2022.   Without a proper response to the Holy Spirit, our lives will be unproductive and our service will be feeble. We closed out 2021 with the series “Come Let Us Adore Him” and in the last message of 2021 we said the real spirit of Christmas starts when we accept the best gift of all, the gift who was born in a manger, the Son of God. When we accept Jesus Christ, we accept the gift of salvation, the gift of forgiveness. But that is not all. We also receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us and guide our steps.

How have you responded to God’s great gifts of salvation and forgiveness? How have you responded to God’s gift of his Son who came to be our Savior? If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior, how have you responded to God’s gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit

An audio recording of the sermon is at the end of the manuscript. You can also see a video recording of the entire service on the Christ Church YouTube Channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8epxyuv9_DVac8R5jR2yPQ. Please subscribe to our YouTube Channel

Scripture 

Psalms 95:1‭-‬11 NIV Come, let us sing for joy to the Lord; let us shout aloud to the Rock of our salvation. Let us come before him with thanksgiving and extol him with music and song. For the Lord is the great God, the great King above all gods. In his hand are the depths of the earth, and the mountain peaks belong to him. The sea is his, for he made it, and his hands formed the dry land. Come, let us bow down in worship, let us kneel before the Lord our Maker; for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did. For forty years I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘They are a people whose hearts go astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

Text:

Hebrews 3:7‭-‬11 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

Hebrews 3:7‭-‬9 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did.

Introduction 

Have you developed the habit of making an appropriate response to some gift or act of kindness on the part of others? Many parents put forth a consistent effort to teach an attitude of gratitude to their children by instructing them to always say “thank you” when they are given a gift or rendered some significant service. 

Some people always make an affirmative response when they receive a gift. Others never indicate an attitude of gratitude. 

So here are some questions for us today.

How have you responded to God’s great gifts of salvation and forgiveness? We should really think of life itself as a gift from God. 

How have you responded to God’s gift of his Son who came to be our Savior? 

If you have received Jesus Christ as Savior, how have you responded to God’s gift of his indwelling Holy Spirit? 

We ended last year and started this year by saying that when we accept Jesus Christ, we accept the gift of salvation, and the gift of forgiveness. But that that is not all. We also receive the precious gift of the Holy Spirit, who comes to live in us and guide our steps.

Someone has said, “He who has the Holy Spirit in his heart and the Scripture in his hands has all he needs.”

1 Corinthians 3:16 NIV Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst?

1 Corinthians 12:7‭-‬11 NIV Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he distributes them to each one, just as he determines.

However,  it is possible to receive this priceless gift of the Holy Spirit and not even recognize it.

God’s gift of his Holy Spirit is the gift of himself as an abiding presence. This divine Comforter, Counselor, Helper is present to work the work of God in our hearts. 

John 15:26 NIV “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me.

John 16:12‭-‬15 NIV “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the 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. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

It is with his guidance, energy, and assistance that we, as the disciples of Jesus, are able to become Christlike in our character and conduct. However this is only possible if we make a proper response to the Holy Spirit. 

I. We are always in danger of making a negative response to the Holy Spirit. 

A. You may grieve the Holy Spirit of God

Ephesians 4:30 NIV And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

This insight into the emotional reaction of God to our failure to respond properly should concern us. In his letter to the Ephesians, Paul detailed some of the attitudes of mind and actions of life that can bring bitter grief to the Holy Spirit. 

You grieve God’s Spirit and diminish your fellowship with him by disobedience, conflict with others, busyness, friendship with the world, and other sins.

Ephesians 4:31 NIV Get rid of all bitterness, rage and anger, brawling and slander, along with every form of malice.

The opposite side of this coin is that we can bring joy to the Holy Spirit if we cooperate with him in eliminating these bad character traits and these destructive forms of conduct toward others. 

Ephesians 4:32 NIV Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you.

Also look at.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬26 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.

B. You can grieve the Holy Spirit and you can also quench the Holy Spirit

1 Thessalonians 5:19 NIV Do not quench the Spirit.

The picture here is that of pouring water on a fire to put it out. It is a picture of quenching the flame of a candle. It refers to a response toward the Holy Spirit that refuses to cooperate with him as he seeks to do God’s good work within us. 

C. You can also insult and outrage the Holy Spirit 

Hebrews 10:26‭-‬31 NIV If we deliberately keep on sinning after we have received the knowledge of the truth, no sacrifice for sins is left, but only a fearful expectation of judgment and of raging fire that will consume the enemies of God. Anyone who rejected the law of Moses died without mercy on the testimony of two or three witnesses. How much more severely do you think someone deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God underfoot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified them, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace? For we know him who said, “It is mine to avenge; I will repay,” and again, “The Lord will judge his people.” It is a dreadful thing to fall into the hands of the living God.

This scripture contains a warning that should cause us to tremble if we are tempted to the point of yielding to the forces of evil and to the purposes of Satan.

The Scripture also teaches us that our Father God chastises his children when they live a life of disobedience growing out of little faith and a rebellious spirit.

Hebrews 12:5‭-‬11 NIV And have you completely forgotten this word of encouragement that addresses you as a father addresses his son? It says, “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, because the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and he chastens everyone he accepts as his son.” Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as his children. For what children are not disciplined by their father? If you are not disciplined—and everyone undergoes discipline—then you are not legitimate, not true sons and daughters at all. Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of spirits and live! They disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, in order that we may share in his holiness. No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.

II. Those are negative responses; grieving,  quenching,  or insulting the Holy Spirit but He gives us the invitation to respond positively. 

1. Respond “Today.” 

Hebrews 3:7‭-‬8 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,

Some people have a tendency to confine God to the past. They think of him as living in the ancient long ago when the Bible was being written. This is a sad mistake to think of God as some kind of an antique that must be relegated to history. Others make the mistake of confining God to the future. They think of him as being concerned only about the soul and its safety in heaven. The God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ is the God of the living. He is the God of the now. God is the God of current events. He is living today just as we are living today. He speaks to us today through his Holy Spirit. 

2. Respond today “When you hear his voice.” 

Hebrews 3:7‭-‬8 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness,

It is rather shocking to read through the Scripture and discover both in the Old Testament and the New Testament the recurring comment “You would not listen” or “They would not listen.” 

Jeremiah 17:22‭-‬23 NIV Do not bring a load out of your houses or do any work on the Sabbath, but keep the Sabbath day holy, as I commanded your ancestors. Yet they did not listen or pay attention; they were stiff-necked and would not listen or respond to discipline.

Isaiah 30:8‭-‬9 NIV Go now, write it on a tablet for them, inscribe it on a scroll, that for the days to come it may be an everlasting witness. For these are rebellious people, deceitful children, children unwilling to listen to the Lord’s instruction.

That's the Old Testament now let's go to the new.

Acts 7:54‭-‬58 NIV When the members of the Sanhedrin heard this, they were furious and gnashed their teeth at him. But Stephen, full of the Holy Spirit, looked up to heaven and saw the glory of God, and Jesus standing at the right hand of God. “Look,” he said, “I see heaven open and the Son of Man standing at the right hand of God.” At this they covered their ears and, yelling at the top of their voices, they all rushed at him, dragged him out of the city and began to stone him. Meanwhile, the witnesses laid their coats at the feet of a young man named Saul.

2 Timothy 4:2‭-‬5 NIV Preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season; correct, rebuke and encourage—with great patience and careful instruction. For the time will come when people will not put up with sound doctrine. Instead, to suit their own desires, they will gather around them a great number of teachers to say what their itching ears want to hear. They will turn their ears away from the truth and turn aside to myths. But you, keep your head in all situations, endure hardship, do the work of an evangelist, discharge all the duties of your ministry.

Some people refuse to listen because they are preoccupied with their own pursuits. Others refuse to listen because they disagree, and disagreement often hinders a person from really hearing. 

1. The Holy Spirit speaks to us today through the Scriptures. 

2. The Holy Spirit can speak to us today through spiritual songs. 

3. The Holy Spirit speaks today through pastors, teachers, parents, Christian literature, and other good books. 

4. The Holy Spirit speaks today through the church. 

5. The Holy Spirit speaks today through the events of life the things we call circumstances.  

1 Thessalonians 5:17‭-‬18 NIV pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus.

God still speaks today through circumstances.  He will use conditions and situations from our everyday life to place us in a position to hear His voice.

Does God create circumstances to make us do His will?  No, but God will allow circumstances to flow into our life to accomplish His glory and our good.

Romans 8:28‭-‬30 NIV And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.

Are you listening to the invitation to respond positively? Are you tuned in to hear what God is saying to you with the still, small voice of his indwelling Spirit? 

C. There is a warning for not accepting the invitation. Notice the warning, 

Hebrews 3:7‭-‬11 NIV So, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as you did in the rebellion, during the time of testing in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested and tried me, though for forty years they saw what I did. That is why I was angry with that generation; I said, ‘Their hearts are always going astray, and they have not known my ways.’ So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’ ”

Let’s take a quick look at what the writer is referring to as the rebellion.  It is mentioned in Psalm 95 which Jean read this  morning.  I'm going to read just 2 verses.   

Psalms 95:7‭-‬9 NIV for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture, the flock under his care. Today, if only you would hear his voice, “Do not harden your hearts as you did at Meribah, as you did that day at Massah in the wilderness, where your ancestors tested me; they tried me, though they had seen what I did.

Here's what the psalmist is talking about. 

Exodus 17:1‭-‬7 NIV The whole Israelite community set out from the Desert of Sin, traveling from place to place as the Lord commanded. They camped at Rephidim, but there was no water for the people to drink. So they quarreled with Moses and said, “Give us water to drink.” Moses replied, “Why do you quarrel with me? Why do you put the Lord to the test?” But the people were thirsty for water there, and they grumbled against Moses. They said, “Why did you bring us up out of Egypt to make us and our children and livestock die of thirst?” Then Moses cried out to the Lord, “What am I to do with these people? They are almost ready to stone me.” The Lord answered Moses, “Go out in front of the people. Take with you some of the elders of Israel and take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you by the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it for the people to drink.” So Moses did this in the sight of the elders of Israel. And he called the place Massah and Meribah because the Israelites quarreled and because they tested the Lord saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

The Lord through the writer of Hebrews is warning of the consequences of hardening your heart. If you harden you heart you will not enter God’s rest.  I don't have time today but I want to briefly describe the rest you will miss out on if you harden your heart.

Using the Israelites as an example of those who were not resting in God’s promises, the writer of Hebrews goes on in chapter 4 to make the application personal, both to the Hebrew Christians and to us:

Hebrews 4:1 NIV Therefore, since the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us be careful that none of you be found to have fallen short of it.

The promise that still stands is the promise of salvation through God’s provision—Jesus Christ. He alone can provide the eternal rest of salvation through His blood shed on the cross for the remission of sins. God’s rest, then, is in the spiritual realm, the rest of salvation. Faith, is the key to entering God’s rest. 

Hebrews 4:2 NIV For we also have had the good news proclaimed to us, just as they did; but the message they heard was of no value to them, because they did not share the faith of those who obeyed.

Here's how you can harden your heart. 

1. You can harden your heart by ignoring God’s voice. Have you ever turned off an alarm on your alarm clock morning after morning until finally you could turn it off without being aware that it had sounded? 

2. You can harden your heart by disobedience to God’s will. 

3. You can harden your heart by refusing to listen when God seeks to speak to you. 

4. You can harden your heart by making excuses for yourself and by blaming other people. 

Conclusion

So today rather than harden our hearts let's bow down in worship before the presence of the Holy Spirit of God who has come to dwell within each of us individually and all of us collectively. 

Let us rejoice in the creative and benevolent purpose of this indwelling presence of God. He has come to enable us to be all that God wants us to be. 

Ephesians 2:8‭-‬10 NIV For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God’s handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

He is present to reproduce within us the character of Jesus Christ which is reflected in the fruit of the Spirit.

Galatians 5:22‭-‬23 NIV But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

Heavenly Father, how I thank You that by faith in the Lord Jesus, Your Holy Spirit has made us alive in Him and placed us into the family of God and the Body of Christ.

Thank You, that He has set His seal of ownership upon us and taken up residence within our hearts, so as to empower us in our spiritual walk, as He gradually transforms is in to the likeness of the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. I pray that the Holy Spirit would lead and guide us in all things, and that we would learn to listen to the gentle promptings of His voice, as we read Your Word or commune with You in prayer. Give us grace to recognise His still small voice as we search through the scriptures each day and the wisdom to discern Your spiritual nudges, when godly Christians are prompted to offer direction and give us advice.

May we keep our hearts open  and develop teachable spirits.  I pray that we walk in Your ways and live a life that is well pleasing to You, and glorify our Father in heaven. I ask this in Jesus' name, Amen

Invitation 

If you have not yet come to know Jesus as Savior, the Holy Spirit calls you to him.  Don't ignore the invitation.  Don't harden your heart. He invites you to Jesus by virtue of your need for forgiveness. He calls you to Christ by your potential for blessing others. He calls you by virtue of the fact that you are on the way toward eternity either without Him where there will be eternal torment or toward eternity where we will be with Him in eternal rest and peace. God wants to forgive your sin and give you the gift of eternal life if today you will receive Jesus Christ.

How do you do that?

Romans 10:9‭-‬10‭, ‬13 NIV If you declare with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. For it is with your heart that you believe and are justified, and it is with your mouth that you profess your faith and are saved. for, “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

Benediction 

(May) Christ dwell in your hearts through faith—that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

“The Lord  bless you and keep you; The Lord  make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” ’

 Bible Study Audio