Wednesday, February 6, 2013

Sermon Reconstruction The Holy Spirit - Part 2

    The Holy Spirit is in the Old Testament, but it's not very clear who He is. He is referred to as "The Spirit of God" in Genesis 1:2 and other places, but in John 14 Jesus gives us a formal introduction to Him. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would be a Comforter and a Helper, one who would come alongside us. Jesus said that the Holy Spirit is also called the Spirit of Truth and that the world cannot receive Him. This is a sad reality in that the culture has not only not received Him, it has rejected any idea of Truth. Because they have rejected Truth, they are bound in darkness by lies, and they don't want or allow the Truth to set them free.

    In 1 Corinthians 6:19-20, Paul talks about the Holy Spirit, but before we go into that, let's have a little history lesson (don't cringe, I said "little"). In ancient history, the primary religious thought was that gods dwelt in temples. Both in pagan religions and in Israel, the god of the area dwelt in a temple of some kind. In 1 Corinthians, Paul says that the Spirit of God dwells in is as Believers! Talk about rockin' the boat! That's a totally different idea. That DOES NOT MEAN that we are God or part of God, that just means that we are allowing God to be seen through us. In our actions, in our words, in everything, we become more like Him. We have to let Him mold us, transform (Romans 12:2) us into His image bearers.

    A parenthetical note: The Bible does NOT tell us all there is to know. It tells us all we NEED to know to live for God. There is more to God than what He tells us, but what we need to know in this life is contained in God's Holy Scripture.

    There is an interesting word parallel between Genesis 1:2 and Luke 1:35. In Genesis 1:2, the Spirit of God "hovered" over the face of the waters; in Luke 1:35, the Power of the Highest was to "overshadow" Mary. If you look at the original language, those two words both mean 'to envelope' or 'to cover'.

     The Bible says that the Holy Spirit:
            Baptizes us - If you have been born again, you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit.

            Indwells us

            Marks/Seals us - We're marked by the Holy Spirit as God's. When we come to Christ seeking His salvation and forgiveness, the Holy Spirit marks us as God's. He gives us a treasure -forgiveness, freedom from guilt - that nothing can take from us. (Romans 8:35, 38-39)

            Walks with us - Comes alongside us

            Convicts -  Whether we listen or not

            Fills us - We're commanded to be filled with the Spirit, this is something we must to take part in. We have to submit to God's will in order for Him to fill us. We're not to be influenced by anything but the Holy Spirit. Yield to Him in order to be filled with the Spirit.

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