P.M. Sermon
Spring Hill, TN
1/14/07 p.m.
Series: “Discovering the Holy Spirit” (Pt. 1)
Text: Various texts
Summary: In PART 1 of this series, we are introduced to the importance of topic of the Holy Spirit and many common conceptions about the Holy Spirit within the religious world.
“Introducing the Holy Spirit”
Introduction:
A. Have you ever been introduced to a close relative that you have never met?
B. Sometimes we might feel embarrassed that we do not know someone that is so close to our family tree.
C. In our spiritual family, we are all well acquainted with our Heavenly Father.
D. Likewise, we are intimately associated with Jesus, our Lord.
E. Yet, there is a third portion of God’s existence that for many of us may be the “black sheep of the trinity” or the “cousin that we never speak of.”
F. In this series, together we are going to “Discover the Holy Spirit.” In PART 1, we will be introduced to the Holy Spirit.
I. Why Is the Holy Spirit Important?
A. Salvation and the Holy Spirit
1. The Bible constantly stresses the importance of the Holy Spirit’s role in our salvation.
2. Jesus makes clear that “…unless one is born of water and the Spirit he cannot enter the kingdom of God” (John 3:5).
3. We have rightly stressed the importance of being born of “water” (baptism) in the Lord’s church, but perhaps we have neglected the second but equally essential portion of this text, we must be born of the “Spirit.”
4. Paul makes clear that if we are to be one of God’s children we must have God’s Spirit residing within us; “However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him” (Rom. 8:9).
5. These passages seem clear that salvation is made possible only by the presence of God’s Spirit within the Christian’s life.
6. Later in this series we will have an entire lesson devoted to “Being Born of the Spirit.”
B. Blessings and the Holy Spirit
1. The Holy Spirit is presented in Scripture as being a “gift” that is given to Christians at the point of their obedience to the gospel; “Repent and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off, as many as the Lord our God will call to Himself” (Acts 2:38-39).
2. Many Christians of the first century were blessed with miraculous abilities by the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives (cf. Acts 19:6).
3. But there are many other blessings that accompany the Holy Spirit’s presence in the Christians life besides the miraculous.
4. The Holy Spirit assists the Christian’s prayers in times of tremendous spiritual strain (Romans 8:26-27).
5. Also, the Holy Spirit assists the Christian in the fight against temptation and in the struggle to live a sanctified life (Romans 8:10-11).
6. Again, we will further explore the blessings that the Holy Spirit provides in the life of the Christian today in a further lesson.
C. Bible Teaching and the Holy Spirit
1. A study of the Holy Spirit is important, thirdly, because of the tremendous time that the Bible gives to this topic.
2. God only has to say something once for it to be important, but when he continually stresses a concept it demands our careful attention.
3. By my count, the words “Holy Spirit” are used at least 94 times in New American Standard translation of the New Testament.
4. These are the clear references to the Holy Spirit; there are many other references in addition to these that likely also make reference to the Holy Spirit.
5. The Holy Spirit is mentioned in the in the second verse of the Bible—“and the Spirit of God was moving over the surface of the waters” (Gen. 1:2) and is continually mentioned throughout the Old and New Testaments and is found in the final five verses of Scripture, “The Spirit and the Bride say come” (Rev. 22:17).
6. Because of the continued importance of the Holy Spirit by Scripture, it is important that we have a proper understanding of this portion of God.
D. Inspiration and the Holy Spirit
1. The Bible presents the Holy Spirit’s work primarily being to provide and confirm God’s message to mankind.
2. Prophets throughout the Old Testament described their work of communicating God’s message in terms of the Holy Spirit being upon them—“And the Spirit rested upon them, and they prophesied” (Num. 11:25); “So the Spirit of the Lord came upon Gideon…” (Judges 6:34); “Then the Spirit of the Lord came upon Saul mightily when he heard those words…” (1 Sam. 11:6); “The Spirit of the LORD spoke to me, and His word was on my tongue” (2 Sam. 23:2); et. al.
3. In the Christian age, the apostles were guided into all truth by the Holy Spirit (John 16:13), and that message of the Spirit was recorded in written form in the pages of Scripture (2 Peter 1:20-21).
4. It is the words of the Spirit that provide eternal life (John 6:63).
E. Confusion and the Holy Spirit
1. Although there is much space given in Scripture to the Holy Spirit, it seems to be a doctrine that we have often avoided within the Lord’s church.
2. In 1942, H. Leo Boles observed in his book The Holy Spirit: His Personality, Nature, Works that “The Bible teachings about the Holy Spirit and his works are among the most neglected phases and aspects of our teaching…No subject that is so vitally connected with man’s redemption has been neglected as the study of the Holy Spirit” (11).
3. While it seems that we have ignored the subject of the Holy Spirit, Protestantism has put considerable stress upon the importance of the topic.
4. However, there are many strange teachings that are being promoted today within denominationalism regarding the work and nature of the Holy Spirit.
5. This combination, our avoidance and others misinformation, has caused considerable confusion in the minds of many about what the Bible really teaches about the Holy Spirit.
6. Hopefully, as we examine this vital topic through the coarse of this series of lessons we will not add to the confusion but will have “the eyes of our heart” and understanding enlightened by the teaching of Scripture (cf. Eph. 1:18).
II. Modern Conceptions About the Holy Spirit
A. Baptism of the Holy Spirit?
1. One concept that is promoted in some circles today is the doctrine of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
2. The idea, as popularly taught, advances that salvation is first dependant upon a spiritual experience where the Holy Spirit touches your life in some way.
3. This spiritual experience is said to be the “baptism of the Holy Spirit.”
4. Although some denominations would teach the importance of water baptism following this experience, ultimately it is taught that this “baptism of the Spirit” is the independent action and is the actual moment of an individual’s salvation.
5. This is the teaching of many charismatic groups such as the Pentecostals and the Assemblies of God.
6. We will explore what the Bible says about the concept of the “baptism of the Holy Spirit” in a lesson in this series.
B. Feeling the Holy Spirit Within?
1. There are some Christians who reject the idea that the Holy Spirit personally dwells within the Christian today based upon the fact that they cannot “feel” the Spirit within them.
2. Conversely, some honest believers are troubled because they cannot “feel” the Spirit within them and therefore they question their salvation.
3. Does the Holy Spirit personally dwell within the Christian today? Or does the Holy Spirit only dwell in the Christian representatively through the Word? This has been a debate among our brethren for years.
4. In whatever manner the Spirit dwells within the Christian, is it something that can be “felt” or “perceived?”
5. This will be another area of the topic we will explore.
C. Inspired by the Holy Spirit?
1. The New Testament clearly states that prophets and apostles were men who were directly inspired by the Holy Spirit with direct messages from God (cf. 1 Cor. 2:13ff).
2. It is taught by some religious groups today that preachers and church leaders are directly inspired with messages from God today also.
3. We will explore the validity of this teaching through the lens of Scripture.
D. Being Led by the Holy Spirit?
1. There are others within Christendom that would not go so far as to say that people are directly inspired by the Spirit today, but would argue that Christians are “led” to certain courses of action or decisions by the influence of the Spirit.
2. Upon an initial reading it seems that Scripture confirms this: “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God” (Romans 8:14).
3. One young Christian man is said to have once believed that every profound thought he had was the “leading of the Spirit.”
4. If this is accurate, how one to determine which thoughts are his, and which thoughts are the “leadings of the Spirit?”
5. We will explore the concept of being “led by the Spirit.”
E. Illumination of the Holy Spirit?
1. It is an extremely common belief today that the Holy Spirit provides “illumination” when one reads the Bible.
2. The end result of this idea is that one cannot properly understand the Bible without direct help from the Holy Spirit.
3. Is this an accurate belief? We will explore this idea.
F. Fruit of the Spirit and the Unimmersed?
1. There has been considerable discussion lately within our brotherhood about those termed the “pious unimmersed.”
2. In other words, it has been questioned how a person, having never been immersed, could be lost if they clearly manifests the fruits of the Spirit’s presence in their lives (cf. Gal. 5:22-23).
3. We will touch on this topic in the series also.
G. Modern Miracles and the Holy Spirit?
1. In Scripture the Holy Spirit is often mentioned in relation to the working of miraculous gifts and abilities.
2. Does the Holy Spirit provide miraculous abilities to true believers today? This too, we will explore.
Conclusion:
A. It is always interesting to meet someone new, especially if it is someone that we were supposed to know, but somehow had never met.
B. Many times we have impressions of people, that turn out to be false when we really get to know them. This will no doubt be true as we get to know the Holy Spirit, as revealed in Scripture.
C. I hope that you are looking forward to being “Introduced to the Holy Spirit.”
D. In PART 2, we will ask the question “Who is the Holy Spirit?”
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