| The Holy Spirit Teaches |
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The greatest promise Jesus gives to his friends …is the promise of the Holy Spirit. This incredible promise is what will empower his friends to fulfil their call and purpose … he even states later on for them to wait until they receive the HS before they do anything. But in this passage, Jesus gives the promise the HS and some insight into the role of the spirit in our lives. John 14:16-17 (ESV) And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, [17] even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. John 15:26 (ESV) "But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me. John 16:7-8 (ESV) Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. [8] And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: John 16:13-15 (ESV) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. [14] He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. [15] All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. Helper … comforter …advocate …guide … declarer … teacher ... empowerer …giver of gifts …imparter … supporter The Holy Spirit truly is a remarkable gift … who dwells with us and is also in us. A powerful and beautiful gift that we receive from God … His spirit, his presence, his power, his nature… in us for all to witness, experience and be transformed by. I believe that the primary reason we are given the HS is so we can be witnesses to our world … when you study the activity of the spirit in the lives of the early church, you see time and time again his role is about working through them to impact, influence and transform our world. There are many ways the HS helps us to do this … to be more effective in our journey of being light and salt in our world and over the next few weeks we are going to have a look at a few of them … specifically that the HS teaches and guides us, the HS comforts us and strengthens us and the HS empowers us. The HS gives wisdom … direction, understanding etc John 16:13-15 (ESV) When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, The HS gives power … gifts of the spiritActs 1:8 (ESV) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth." The HS sanctifies …the work of holiness1 Peter 1:2 (MsgB) God the Father has his eye on each of you, and has determined by the work of the Spirit to keep you obedient through the sacrifice of Jesus. May everything good from God be yours! John 16: 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: The HS gives love … enables us to loveRomans 5:5 (ESV) God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. The HS helps us to pray … gives revelation … strengthens us … heals … delivers … In all the work of the HS in our lives, the ultimate goal is transforming us to be more like Jesus so that our lives will have a greater and more effective impact on our world. Looking at the role of the HS in teaching us in all things: John 14:26 (ESV) But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. What does the HS teach us? I believe that primarily the HS teaches us in three areas. The way … the way to live … conviction of sin and righteousness … direction … obedience … His ways are not our ways and He is the way and he teaches us His ways. Teaches us how to walk in his ways. The truth … Jesus is truth … about Jesus … about His word … what we can stand on … what we should let go of … The Spirit's message to us is never, "Look at me; listen to me; come to me; get to know me", but always, "Look at him, and see his glory; listen to him and hear his word; go to him and have life; get to know him and taste his gift of joy and peace." The life … fruit of the spirit … where to go for life … the life of God through us to others … life to the full ... eternal life … John 14:6 (ESV) Jesus said to him, "I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. How does the HS teach us? 1/ Directly through His spirit to our spiritJohn 16:12-13 (ESV) I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. [13] When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 2/ Through His word …his perfect revelation2 Tim. 3:16-17 (ESV) All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, [17] that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work. 3/ Through others Ephes. 4:11-13 (ESV) And he gave the apostles, the prophets, the evangelists, the pastors and teachers, [12] to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, [13] until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God, to mature manhood, to the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ,
A.W. Tozer "Though every believer has the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit does not have every believer." D. L. Moody said, “I believe firmly that the moment our hearts are emptied of pride and selfishness and ambition and everything that is contrary to God’s law, the Holy Spirit will fill every corner of our hearts. But if we are full of pride and conceit and ambition and the world, there is no room for the Spirit of God. We must be emptied before we can be filled.” -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- God wants to teach us in all things … but there is a posture we need … a teachable mind … a repentant spirit … a humble heart … we must be emptied before we can be filled … -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
