God the Holy Spirit - Does He Guide You?
2/28/10 | Jeff Williams | Various
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Series: Back to Basics
For the last five weeks, we have been going “Back to Basics.” The last three weeks we have been exploring the mystery of the Trinity. First we learned that God the Father loves you unconditionally and wants to adopt you into His forever family. Last week, Pastor Dick taught on God the Son, Jesus, and the fact that He understands what you are going through because He’s experienced life on earth just like you. This morning, we will explore God the Holy Spirit, or, as Francis Chan calls Him, “The Forgotten God.”
Who the Holy Spirit isn’t!
Let’s start out this morning by looking at what the Holy Spirit is not.
First of all, the Holy Spirit is not an “it.” The Holy Spirit is always portrayed as a “Person” in Scripture and assigned a masculine personal pronoun, “He.”
Second, the Holy Spirit is not a “ghost.” When the King James Version of the Bible was written, ‘ghost” and “spirit” were interchangeable. In our day of ghost hunters and ghost movies that would scare most adults, using the word “ghost” is not the best term to use, especially with children. The Holy Spirit is not Casper.
Third, my generation and the generations after me, have been effected, consciously or otherwise, by the teachings of a little green jedi.
[Show clip of Yoda teaching Luke Skywalker about the “force.”]
The Holy Spirit is not “the force.” Actually, this is very close to what Jehovah’s Witnesses teach. The Holy Spirit is not something to be controlled, “use the force, Luke” and He does not have a “dark side.”
So, if the Holy Spirit is not an “it,” a ghost, or “the force,” just who exactly is the Holy Spirit?
Who is that Masked Man?
1. He is God
Two weeks ago, as I attempted to explain the Trinity, I made the point that the Bible says clearly that the Holy Spirit is God.
We see this in Peter’s questioning of Ananias:
“Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land? Didn't it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn't the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God." (Acts 5:3-4)
The Holy Spirit is the third Person of the Trinity. Being listed third, most of the time, does not imply inferiority. The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit are equally God in power and authority. He is God’s actual presence here on earth.
2. He’s holy and eternal.
Paul writes in Romans that Jesus, through the “Spirit of Holiness,” was “declared with power to be the Son of God by His resurrection from the dead...” (Romans 1:4)
The writer of Hebrews tells us that the Holy Spirit is eternal:
“How much more, then, will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself unblemished to God, cleanse our consciences from acts that lead to death, so that we may serve the living God!” (Hebrews 9:14)
3. He has the “omni”s.
A, Omnipotent (All powerful) -
“So he said to me, "This is the word of the LORD to Zerubbabel: 'Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit,' says the LORD Almighty.” (Zechariah 4:6)
B. Omnipresent (Everywhere present).
“Where can I go from your Spirit? Where can I flee from your presence? If I go up to the heavens, you are there; if I make my bed in the depths, you are there. If I rise on the wings of the dawn, if I settle on the far side of the sea even there your hand will guide me, your right hand will hold me fast.” (Psalm 139:7-10)
C. Omniscient (All Knowing) -
“The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.” (I Cor 2:10b)
4. He’s a Person
The Holy Spirit is a Personal being. How do we know that? Because we know that He
has:
A. His own mind and prays for us.
“And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.” (Romans 8:27)
B. His own desire and will.
Speaking of the gifts the Spirit gives to believers. Paul writes:
“All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.” (I Cor 12:11)
C. Emotions.
The Holy Spirit can be obeyed (Acts 10:19-21) and resisted (Acts 7:51).
Turn with me to Ephesians 4. Paul writes to the church of Ephesus these challenging words:
“And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Ephesians 4:30)
The word “grieve” means “great sorrow.” You can only truly grieve someone who cares deeply about you.
How can we grieve the Holy Spirit? By willful disobedience, apathy toward His Word and ways, lust, bitterness, anger, lying, disunity, and gossip to start the list.
What do all of these have in common? They are sin! Sin grieves the Holy Spirit. What happens when we grieve the Holy Spirit? We lose our joy, confidence, and peace. The Holy Spirit stops His work and waits for us to repent.
I have a possessed pencil sharpener. It’s true. It never turns off. They only way to shut off it’s power is to unplug it. Sin inhibits the power of God working in us.
Noticed the Spirit is not “angry” but “grieved.”
It has been said that if we truly cared about grieving the Holy Spirit, there would be significantly less church splits and disunity.
There’s one more word that we need to look at before we move on.
“Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt. Test everything. Hold on to the good. Avoid every kind of evil.” (I Thes 5:19)
Your version may say, “Do not quench the Holy Spirit.”
The Holy Spirit is symbolized in Scripture many different ways:
* a dove (Matt 3:16)
* oil (Acts 10:38)
* water (John 4:14)
* wind (2 Peter 1:21)
In this verse, the Holy Spirit is likened to fire. Paul is saying that we can throw water on the fire of the Spirit and limit His power within our lives.
Again, sin is the agent by which we quench the Spirit and repentance is the way we ignite His power in our lives again.
His-Story of the Spirit
We’ve established what the Holy Spirit is not and some of who He is. Because He is eternal, we need to look at how He’s been working throughout time. Billy Graham divides the Spirit’s work into three eras:
A. From Creation to Bethlehem
We are first introduced to the Holy Spirit in the second verse of the Bible:
“And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.” (Gen 1:2)
The word “hovered over” is the same word used of a hen brooding over her eggs. The Spirit was active in creation of the earth and in the formation of man. In Genesis 2:7, we read that God “breathed the breath of life into Adam.” The word breath is the word for Spirit.
When we think of the Spirit’s activity in the Old Testament, the word we should use is “upon.”
The Holy Spirit came upon people at various times for specific purposes but it was always temporary.
It’s like in a video game when you get a special boost and you have extra power but only for a certain time.
Some examples of this are David (I Sam 16:13), Samson (Judges 13:35), Saul (I Sam 16:14). He equipped Joseph, Moses, and David for leadership. He gave Joshua and Gideon courage.
But the prophet Joel spoke of a time when the Spirit would not just be upon us:
“ And it shall come to pass afterward That I will pour out My Spirit on all flesh; Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, Your old men shall dream dreams, Your young men shall see visions. And also on My menservants and on My maidservants I will pour out My Spirit in those days.” (Joel 2:28-29)
That process began with the birth of a child in the little town of Bethlehem named Jesus.
B. From Bethlehem to the Cross
The Holy Spirit is the One who came to Mary:
“The angel answered, "The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you. So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.” (Luke 1:35)
Jesus was baptized by the Holy Spirit (John 1:32-33), led by the Spirit (Luke 4:1), anointed by the Spirit (Luke 4:18), and was empowered by the Spirit (Matt 12:27). He died for us, on the cross, for our sins by the Spirit (Heb 9:14) and was resurrected by the Spirit (Romans 8:11).
The word we could use for the Holy Spirit’s activity during this time was “with.” He was with the disciples through Jesus.
But then Jesus said something that completely tore their hearts out. He said He would be going away from them.
He then makes a remarkable statement: He says that it is actually good that He goes away because then the “Helper” will come.
" Now I am going to him who sent me, yet none of you asks me, 'Where are you going?' Because I have said these things, you are filled with grief. But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you.” (John 16:5-7)
Jesus says that it is to their advantage that He goes away because then the Holy Spirit will come and activate their faith unlike any other time in history.
After the death, burial, and resurrection of Jesus Christ, He was eating with the disciples and He gave them a 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." (Acts 1:4-5)
After Jesus was taken up into heaven, His disciples gathered in an upper room in Jerusalem and began to wait and pray.
“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.” (Acts 2:1-4)
Pentacost was the feast of the first fruits celebrated fifty days after Passover. Thousands of people would have been in Jerusalem for this festival.
They were in the upper room, all together, when something miraculous happened. The Holy Spirit was not going to come “upon” them or walk “with” them. Joel’s prophesy was coming true as the Holy Spirit invaded them! The Spirit was “in them.”
They went out into the streets and began to share the Gospel with people in languages that they had never learned to speak. It would be like walking through the Olympic village and running into the Russian ski jumping team and suddenly opening your mouth and in perfect Russian tell them about Jesus!
The people thought that they were drunk but Peter stood up and, filled with the Holy Spirit, shared the Gospel and three thousand people got saved right there and then!
C. From Pentacost until today
Paul states that the fact that God now indwells us, should cause us to worship Him with our bodies:
“Do you not know that your body is a temple 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 body.” (I Cor 6:19-20)
Most believers would agree with what I’ve said so far. It’s not so much who He is, or what He has done that people get confused about.
The question is what does the Holy Spirit do now?
E. Job Description
I want to take the letters in the word Spirit and explore what He does in our world today.
Slams us with the frying pan of conviction
“When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.” (John 16:5-11)
Maxine calls this “frying pan theology.” In these verses, we see three jobs of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit “convicts the world of guilt in regard to “sin, righteousness, and judgement.”
The word “convict” means to “bring to light or expose.” The Holy Spirit is Christ’s prosecuting advocate on earth.
1. It is the Holy Spirit’s job to convict people of their sinfulness, “because men do not believe in me.” There is absolutely no sense in trying to argue someone into the kingdom of God. Without the Holy Spirit moving in them, they are not going to be able to understand their need for salvation.
You can not save yourself. You can not hop high enough for God’s holiness. Jesus said we are all powerless without the Spirit:
“The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.” (John 6:63)
Remember Paul’s words from Ephesians 2:
“But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions--it is by grace you have been saved.” (Ephesians 2:4-5)
A.W. Tozer wrote, “the primary work of the Holy Spirit is to restore the lost soul to intimate fellowship with God.”
The Holy Spirit provides that “A’ha” moment when people get it - the Gospel makes sense to them and they respond and repentance.
...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...(Titus 3:5-6)
There is no conversion without conviction. That’s why we should pray twice as much as we preach!
2. The Holy Spirit is said to “convince us of righteousness.” Why? Because Jesus was going to His Father.
What proved Jesus’ claims of righteousness? His resurrection from the dead!
Our response to this righteousness is to be obedience to His Word and ways, what Paul calls “walking in the Spirit” in Galatians 5. When we get off the path, the Holy Spirit is the One who starts to whisper in our ear. If we don’t listen, He will get louder. If we ignore Him still, He will bring out the frying pan and whack us upside the head!
It’s always interesting to me when people tell me that I “looked right at them” the whole time I was preaching. I intentionally do not stare at anyone while preaching, except at my wife and that’s unavoidable because she’s so beautiful. Many times, this is a sign that the Holy Spirit was speaking through the message.
3. The Holy Spirit is said to help us understand judgement “because the prince of this world stands condemned.”
There is a heaven and there is a hell and the Holy Spirit helps us understand that everyone will live forever in one place or the other.
I have a friend who became a Christian when we were in college. She was a party girl and spent the weekends at the bars. After she was saved, she continued to go to the bars and I gently asked her if she thought that was a good idea. The bar presented her with significant temptations that she had a hard time resisting.
Her response was not so gentle. How dare I throw my legalism down her throat! Her friends at the bar needed Jesus too. I dropped it for the time being.
I talked to an older, wiser friend who asked me a simple question, “Is she a Christian?” The answer was yes. He continued, “If she’s a Christian, she has the Holy Spirit working inside of her life. Stop talking and start praying that the Holy Spirit would convict her and help her to see the danger ahead of her.”
So that’s what I did. I simply started praying. I talked to her several more times and was grieved as she admitted to getting drunk but I said nothing. I just kept praying.
She called me out of the blue one day and opened the conversation with, “I’m mad at you! You’ve been praying for me, haven’t you?!” I couldn’t contain my smile. She went on to say that she had just been thinking about it and with her family history and her own weaknesses, the bar was probably not the best place to be for her. She told me that she was going to try to invite a few of her bar friends to her Bible study!
That, my friends, is how the Holy Spirit works.
Provides comfort
In the providing comfort department, momma rules in our house. One time when Maxine was gone, Austin cut his finger. I found the peroxide and tried to put it on his cut but he howled and cried. I was amazingly sensitive and told him to suck it up.
When Maxine got home, Austin clung to her and told her the whole story. Maxine disappeared into the bathroom and came back out holding the peroxide. “Is this what you put on his finger?” she asked incredulously. Without giving me the opportunity to answer she said, “this is not peroxide, this is rubbing alcohol!!!”
Austin didn’t talk to me for a week!
Luckily, I’m not the Holy Spirit!
Jesus called the Holy Spirit the “Counselor.” This word is “paraclete.” It doesn’t translate well into English but it’s basic meaning “to come alongside of.” He the advisor, encourager, coach, and teacher.
“But the Counselor, 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.” (John 14:26)
That’s what the Holy Spirit is for us. We have a Counselor who is ready, willing, and able to listen to us at any time. He will remind you of Jesus words and teach you what you need to know.
One commentator wrote that “paraclete” could also mean “coach.” How many of you saw the speed skater who was disqualified because his coach told him to switch lanes at the wrong time? How devastating to spend your whole life working up to this point and then to have your coach lead you the wrong way.
The Holy Spirit would never do that. He is the perfect coach who encourages, supports, and, most of all provides comfort.
“Then the church throughout Judea, Galilee and Samaria enjoyed a time of peace. It was strengthened; and encouraged by the Holy Spirit, it grew in numbers, living in the fear of the Lord.” (Acts 9:31)
I’ve mentioned before that Maxine and I lost a student from our youth group in Mississippi to a car wreck. She was sixteen years old.
When I was at Leanne’s visitation, one of her good friends completely broke down. He just totally lost it. Several students and I surrounded him and laid hands on him and prayed over him. Something happened during that prayer that I still really do not understand. Several of the students said that they experienced what I did but also had trouble describing it. It is as if the Holy Spirit surrounded us and literally wrapped us in a bubble of peace. His presence was so real that we were all deeply moved. To this day, I’ve never experienced anything like it.
When we do not even know what to say to God, when our hearts are crushed, the Spirit prays for us:
“In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.” (Romans 8:26)
In the midst of our sorrow and pain, God is not on vacation. He is “close to the broken-hearted and to those who are crushed in spirit” (Psalm 34:18).
Illuminates Us
Peter speak of the actions of the Holy Spirit in regards to the Scriptures:
For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (2 Peter 1:21)
The Holy Spirit carried the writers of the Scriptures along so that what they wrote were the very words of God.
Without the Holy Spirit is it impossible to understand the Bible:
“The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.” (I Cor 2:14)
When I lived in North Carolina, I worked at a Christian School. One of my fellow co-workers was not a Christian and, in fact, was into all kinds of weird ideas, including smoking lots of peyote. I tried to share the Gospel with her but she said something I’ve never forgotten:
“Jeff, you could read to me out of that book for a thousand years, and I still wouldn’t understand a word of it!”
Without the work of the Holy Spirit in our hearts and minds, the truth of Scriptures are just words.
This is not meaning that you’re not a Christian if you do not understand something. This is talking about a person who hears the words of this book like Charlie Brown’s teacher.
This also does not mean that I would discourage a non-Christian from reading the Bible because of the power of God’s Word:
“So shall my word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish what I please, and it shall prosper in the thing to which I sent it.” (Isaiah 55:11)
[By the way, that is why we use so many Scriptures when we preach. There are 37 in this sermon alone! if you go to our website, you can actually run your mouse over a Scripture and that Scripture will pop up thanks to our media team!]
Again, we need to be praying that the Holy Spirit opens the eyes of the one who hears the Scriptures.
Refills Us
“Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” (Ephesians 5:18)
Maxine never lets her gas get below a quarter of a tank. I’ll drive until the light comes on. She charges her phone every night. I’m always frustrated that my phone is dying.
In our Christian life, we are going to need some recharging. And this verse shows us how it’s done.
When you become a Christian, you are baptized by the Holy Spirit.
This baptism is a one time occurrence, a universal gift to all believers. It happens at the moment of salvation and it is the placing of a believer into the body of Christ.
“For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body--whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” (i Cor 12:13)
There has been much confusion over the baptism of the Holy Spirit. This is so sad because Paul makes it clear that the baptism of the Spirit should lead to our unity! We must differentiate this baptism with the filling of the Spirit.
Paul likens the filling of the Holy Spirit to the intoxicating effects of alcohol. R.C. Sproul writes that this filling refers to “being equipped or empowered by God’s Spirit to carry out the task that Jesus has given the church.”
The Greek word can mean “wind filling a sail and carrying a ship along,” or “salt permeating meat in order to preserve it.”
1. It is a command. Be filled. In fact, it means “keep being filled.” Unlike the baptism of the Spirit, It is a continual, repeated action.
2. It’s plural. Paul is speaking to the whole church not just some special group of super saints.
3. It’s in the passive voice. This means that it is something you allow - “let the Spirit fill you.”
4. It’s in the present tense. Continually asking.
The filling of the Spirit is you and I saying we want to be under the control of the Spirit of God. Ah, but herein lies the rub. We don’t like surrendering control, do we?
Our need for control, our accommodating sin in our lives, or our satisfaction with less, keeps us from recharging.
When we are recharged and filled up, we face our problems with hope, our temptations with resolve, and our sin with disgust.
D.L. Moody was to do a crusade in London and many of the pastors were upset. One spoke for the group and said, “Does he have a monopoly on the Holy Spirit?” To which one of Moody’s supporters said, “No, the Holy Spirit has a monopoly on him!”
Initiates Transformation
The Christian life is one of transformation. As I said I couple of weeks ago, it is as radical as a caterpillar turning into a butterfly. That transformation is the work of the Holy Spirit.
“But we ought always to thank God for you, brothers loved by the Lord, because from the beginning God chose you to be saved through the sanctifying work of the Spirit and through belief in the truth.” (2 Thes 2:13)
After our conversion, the Holy Spirit then embarks on an extreme soul makeover that is a process we call sanctification. His job is to make us look more and more like Jesus.
If you are trying to change yourself, give up. You can’t do it on your own. Stop trying and start trusting the Holy Spirit to work in and through you.
If you are struggling, it is the Spirit that leads us to freedom:
“...because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit of life set me free from the law of sin and death.” (Romans 8:2)
It is the Holy Spirit that produces fruit in our lives.
“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.” (Galatians 5:22-23)
An apple tree does not “try” to make apples. As it stays connected to the roots and the nutrients, it naturally produces apples.
As we surrender to the Spirit’s control, we will start to see changes in our lives that we never could have produced in our own energy.
I have a friend, who will remain nameless, who is not exactly known for his compassion. He recently told me a story about a very unusual experience he had.
He was driving and saw a man with a sign that read, “Hungry...will work for food.” It was a brutally cold day outside. Marty had been working outside all morning. He said that his automatic thought when confronted with a person like this was usually, “Get a job!”
But not this day. Marty said that his first reaction was, “Man it’s cold outside. Too cold for that guy to be standing there.” He said these thoughts stopped him dead in his tracks. He couldn’t believe it. It was so... kind! He said that it kind of scared him but he liked it. It meant that God was growing fruit of kindness and love in him!
Francis Chan asks this haunting question, “Has anyone ever been amazed at your peace? love? joy? Have they envied your self control? Have you ever prayed that God would so fill you with the Spirit that people would know the change could only be empowered by the Holy Spirit?
Turns on the power
On Valentines Day, I got up really early because I was preaching and found this [singing stuffed bee] waiting for me on the couch. I pushed the button a couple of times and nothing happened and I started getting ready. When Maxine got up she asked if I liked it and I said yes, but it doesn’t do anything. She pushed it’s hand and...
[starts singing Be My Little Baby]
The Holy Spirit empowers us to know God, know His purposes, and do the supernatural:
“For God did not give us a spirit of timidity (or fear), but a spirit of power, of love and of self-discipline.” (2 Tim 1:7)
The Holy Spirit is said to empowers us to be His witnesses:
“But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth." (Acts 1:8)
He empowers us to serve through our gifts. Every believer is given at least one spiritual gift by the Spirit. We don’t get to choose our gift and we did nothing to earn it. Our gifts are given to us in order to build up the church.
“A spiritual gift is given to each of us as a means of helping the entire church.” (I Cor 12:7, NLT)
How do you discover your spiritual gift? Just jump in and serve and God will direct you to a place of ministry where your passion and his purposes collide in a power way.
The Holy Spirit’s power is available to all believers. The Clampetts lived on that land a long time before “up from the ground came a bubbling crude...oil, that is.” It was all right there below them, they possessed it, but never took advantage of that power.
F. The Unforgivable Sin?
Before I conclude this morning, I wanted to take a few minutes and answer a question that I was asked this week and one that I have been asked multiple times over the years. What is the “blasphemy of the Holy Spirit?” or “the unforgivable sin?”
Anyone in here ever heard that term? Anyone interested in what it is?
It’s important that we look at this in it’s context. Turn with me to Matthew 3:22-30.
“And the teachers of the law who came down from Jerusalem said, "He is possessed by Beelzebub ! By the prince of demons he is driving out demons." So Jesus called them and spoke to them in parables: "How can Satan drive out Satan? If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. If a house is divided against itself, that house cannot stand. And if Satan opposes himself and is divided, he cannot stand; his end has come. In fact, no one can enter a strong man's house and carry off his possessions unless he first ties up the strong man. Then he can rob his house. I tell you the truth, all the sins and blasphemies of men will be forgiven them. But whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin." He said this because they were saying, "He has an evil spirit." (Matthew 3:22-30)
The Pharisees had watched Jesus perform amazing miracles. They could not catch him in a sin. They knew the people claimed He was the Messiah. But their hearts were so firmly against Him that they actually attributed the miracles He did to satan. They equated the Holy Spirit with satanic influences. They charged that Jesus actually got his power from satan.
This was crazy and also illogical. He tells a parable about a kingdom divided against itself. Even Satan knows that if he fights against himself, his kingdom will not stand.
Jesus goes on to say, “but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit will never be forgiven; he is guilty of an eternal sin. He said this because they were saying, “He has an evil spirit.”
What is the unforgivable sin? It is permanent, wholesale rejection of Jesus. It is saying that Jesus was actually not Divine, not God, and that He was in league with satan.
Keener states, “Jesus thus regarded blasphemy against the Spirit - permanently rejecting his identity as attested by the Spirit’s works (see Matthew 12) - as the worst of all sins.
Many people have told me they were worried they might have committed this sin. If you are worried you have committed it, you haven’t committed it! Those who commit this sin will not worry about it. They don’t care that they have committed it. They will revel in it. They will commit it again. They will be forever unrepentant. It isn’t that God couldn’t save them, He could. They don’t want it.
G. Conclusion - Dare 2 Share Video
* Have you been convicted of your sins and need for forgiveness through Jesus Christ?
We need to be pray that the Holy Spirit invades our children. Just because you are a Christian doesn’t mean they will be.
* Do you know that there is a Counselor that wants to help you through your tough times?
We need to teach our children that there is a Counselor that they can talk to any time.
* Do you ask the Spirit to help you understand what you read every day?
We need to pray that our children’s eyes are opened to the truth of God’s Word.
* Are you feeling depleted spiritually? Ask the Holy Spirit to recharge and refill you.
We need to teach our children how to recharge spiritually.
* Ask the Holy Spirit to change you from the inside out.
We need to be praying that Holy Spirit would change our children from the inside out, starting now.
* Do you need power to face the challenges of life? Ask Him for His power!
We need to help our children understand, no matter how old they are, that God wants to empower them to live the great adventure of faith!
* Do you need Someone to guide you through the jungle of this crazy life?
We are going to end this morning by watching a video that puts this all together. In three weeks we will be taking our students to a conference in Chicago called “Dare 2 Share. This is the story of a young lady who went to one of these conferences and has never been the same. As you watch the video, watch for the working of the Spirit in the process.
Benediction
I pray that out of his glorious riches he may strengthen you with power through his Spirit in your inner being, so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and established in love, may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge--that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God. (Eph 3:16-19)
***Obviously, I could answer every question about the Holy Spirit in one sermon. If you would like to read and learn more about the Holy Spirit, I would recommend two books:
“The Holy Spirit: Her is the Power to Change Your Life” by Billy Graham
and
“Forgotten God: Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit” by Francis Chan