Tag: Holy Spirit

Acts Articles – Spirit 01

On By BrianIn Book of Acts

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.
– Acts 1:8

In the last Acts Articles, we discussed Jesus’ call to be his witnesses.  But we can’t be his witnesses on our own.  Nor are we meant to be.  The disciples were to wait for the coming of the Spirit who would empower them to be witnesses for Jesus.  As the Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism to empower him for ministry, so the Spirit came upon the disciples to empower them for ministry.  And still today, the Spirit dwells in his people to empower them for ministry – to be witnesses of Jesus, to be Jesus’ hands and tongue.

When your employer gives you a task, he or she enables you to do the task.  Your employer gives you the necessary materials to do the job.  In the same way, Jesus has given us a task to be his witnesses, and he has given us what we need to accomplish it – the Holy Spirit.

The Spirit empowers us to be the witnesses Jesus called us to be.  The Spirit empowers us to serve and speak as witnesses.  The Spirit leads and guides us as Jesus’ witnesses.  The Spirit helps us to use even our trials as opportunities to be witnesses.  The Spirit strengthens us in persecution that comes from being witnesses.  And it is the Spirit who enables people to believe in response to our witness.  It is the Spirit who changes people’s lives. 

May we have a growing awareness of the Spirit in our lives.  May we live in the power of the Spirit to be witnesses for Jesus Christ.

Passion Points

On By BrianIn PASSION Points

Let’s do numbers this weekend:

7 Motives in Our Work – We spend a lot of our lives working, but too many people live for the weekends when they can escape work.  Here are seven motives to spur us on in our work.

36 Purposes of God in Our Suffering – Your suffering has a purpose!  Read through this list, and be encouraged at what God is doing in you.

10 Marks of the Holy Spirit in a Believer – Do you see the Holy Spirit working in your life?

7 Questions to Ask As You Prepare for the Lord’s Supper – These are great questions to use to examine your life.  I suspect the answers will not only spur you forward, but also make you incredibly grateful for the forgiveness that is ours in Christ.  I just made a copy for my own personal use.

Hope you have a great Lord’s Day worshipping the Lord with your local church!

 

Amazing Love

On By BrianIn Sermon Songs1 Comment

I wrote the following (adapted from Charles Wesley) for a closing hymn after preaching about Prayer and the Holy Spirit (see last post).

And can it be that I should gain
An interest in the Savior’s blood
Applied to me by God’s Spirit
Who makes me now a child of God
Bold I approach the Father’s throne
For he, in love, made me, his own
Amazing love, Bless’d Trinity
For my great God adopted me

And in my prayers, I am so weak
But the Spirit helps me endure
Adds fervency, conforms my prayers
To his great will forever sure
So for his help, I’ll ever seek
And pray, though I, hardly, can speak
Amazing love, Spirit Holy
Now groans and intercedes for me

The Spirit guides, he gives us strength
In love and joy he helps us grow
Empowers us for ministry
And grants boldness for us to go
We’ll plead with him now to shower
His great goodness, his strong power
Amazing love, his blessings free
Now we’ll give thanks eternally

Some lines in the first verse adapted from the hymn And Can It Be That I Should Gain? by Charles Wesley.  To the same tune by Thomas Campbell, Public Domain.  Adaptations and new words by Brian Mikul, © Copyright 2011.

 

Prayer and the Holy Spirit

On By BrianIn Habit of Prayer2 Comments

We have been considering the place of prayer in our lives.  Today I want to sketch how the Holy Spirit is directly related to prayer in at least four ways.

Prayer through the Spirit

For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”  – Romans 8:15

Before we were God’s children, we were alienated from God and unable to approach him.  But through the Spirit’s work in our lives we become God’s children so we can cry out to God as our Father.  Our prayer is possible through the Spirit.

Prayer in the Spirit

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.  – Romans 8:26-27

The Spirit can help us overcome our weaknesses in prayer – whether it be a wandering mind, temptation to give up, or any other weakness we might struggle with.  He helps us overcome a lack of passion by adding his groanings to our groaning, adding his own fervency to our prayers.  He helps us overcome our ignorance of God’s will.  This may be by helping us to know God’s will better. Or it may be as I pray the best I can for God’s will, that the Spirit comes alongside conforming my prayers to God’s will.  The Spirit helps us to pray.  We pray in the Spirit.

Prayer by the Spirit

Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. – Romans 8:26-27

These verses not only tell us that the Spirit helps us to pray, but that the Spirit actually fervently prays for us according to God’s will.  When we are too weak to pray or too clueless to know how to pray for our own good, the Spirit is there interceding for us.  And note that it is by the Spirit’s intercession for us that all things work together for our eternal good.  There is prayer by the Spirit.

Prayer for the Spirit

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him! – Luke 11:13

If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him! – Matthew 7:11

We are to ask for the Holy Spirit.  In a parallel passage we are to ask for good things.  I suggest it is the same request.  Consider good things you might ask for.  You ask for guidance – you are really asking for the Holy Spirit because he is one who guides (Romans 8:14).  You ask for boldness – you are really asking for the Holy Spirit because he gives us boldness (Acts 4:23-31).  You ask for more love or joy or peace, but you are really asking for the Holy Spirit because all those things come from him (Galatians 5:22-23).  When you ask for something good, you are asking for the Spirit.  When you ask for the Spirit, you are seeking his work in your life for your eternal good.  You should pray for the Spirit.

From just this brief sketch, we can see how the Spirit is intimately involved in prayer.  Through the Spirit, may we grow in praying in the Spirit and for the Spirit, even as we appreciate prayer by the Spirit.

Prayer Quotes To Ponder

On By BrianIn Prayer Quotes

True prayer is an approach of the soul by the Spirit of God to the throne of God.
– Charles Spurgeon

Prayer is a sincere, sensible, affectionate pouring out of the heart or soul to God through Christ, in the strength and assistance of the Holy Spirit, for such things as God hath promised, or according to the Word, for the good of the church, with submission, in Faith, to the will of God
– John Bunyan

 The Spirit, as an enlightening Spirit, teaches us what to pray for, as a sanctifying Spirit works and excites praying graces, as a comforting Spirit silences our fears, and helps us over all our discouragements.  The Holy Spirit is the spring of all our desires and breathings toward God.
– Matthew Henry

My lack of fervor is no reason to rein in my prayers.  As I pray so weakly, the Holy Spirit strongly pleads for me with groans deeper than I can express to touch the heart of the Father.  And the Father, who sent his Son and his Spirit to be our advocates, loves to listen – and respond.
– Bryan Chapell

The fervor of the Holy Spirit makes my prayers dear to the Father and the power of the Holy Spirit conforms my prayers to his design.  These truths are amazing and comforting.  Because the Spirit works through my prayers to do his will, I do not have to know all the answers or emote just the right feeling for God to use me.  I do not have to say everything right or do everything right to have all things turn out right.  The Spirit takes these burdens from me.  The Holy Spirit uses fallible prayers offered in faith to accomplish God’s perfect will.
– Bryan Chapell

The Coming of the Spirit 8

On By BrianIn God & His Glory1 Comment

The Holy Spirit changes us.  At the moment of salvation, he comes into our lives and gives us a new life.  We are born again of the Spirit (John 3:3-8).  Though we were spiritually dead and unable to please God, the Spirit makes us alive in Christ unto good works (Ephesians 2:1-10).  The Spirit changes us.

Not only does the Spirit give us a new life, but he then begins a process of making us more holy, more like Christ.  He produces within us the Fruit of the Spirit – love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Galatians 5:22-23).  He changes us.

The Spirit changes us, but we must walk by the Spirit (Galatians 5:16).  We must cooperate with him.  We must follow his lead.  Suppose I see my son playing in the middle of a busy road.  I am going to go out and change his location.  He can either cooperate and walk with me off the road.  Or he can drag his feet.  Are we walking with the Spirit away from sin?  Or are we dragging our feet?

To conclude this series – the Holy Spirit comes and does amazing things in our lives:

  • He empowers us for witnessing
  • He makes us part of the church
  • He empowers us for ministry in the church
  • He dwells in his church
  • He makes us God’s children
  • He helps us in our daily lives
  • He dwells within us
  • He changes us

Let us give thanks to God for the work of the Spirit in our lives!

The Coming of the Spirit 7

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

The Spirit of God not only makes us God’s children and helps us in daily life, but he also dwells within us.  I Corinthians 6:19-20 tells us that our bodies are temples of the Holy Spirit.  God himself dwells within us.  That is an incredible thought.  Stop and ponder what it means for God to dwell within you.

One response we must have to this incredible truth is that we must glorify God with our bodies.  This is what v20 tells us.  In the context of the chapter, to glorify God with our bodies first means that we must not commit sexual immorality.  But the application can swing much wider.

All of our actions are to glorify God.  All of our words are to glorify God.  All of our thoughts are to glorify God.  When we sin in deed, word, or thought, we desecrate God’s temple.  We bring abominations into God’s temple.  Sin is serious indeed.

What is more, if our bodies are God’s temples than we must take good care of our bodies.  How could we treat God’s temple poorly?  This includes what we eat, proper exercise, and avoiding those things that would be harmful to our bodies.  What we wear must also be considered.  Do my clothes honor God?  Modesty is important here.

The Spirit of God dwells within me.  My body is the Spirit’s temple.  I must use my body for his glory.

The Coming of the Spirit 6

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

The Holy Spirit not only makes us God’s children giving us hope, but he also helps us in our daily lives.  Jesus calls him our Helper (John 14:16, 16:7).  Various translations translate the word Helper as Comforter, Counselor, or Advocate.  And he is all three.

The Spirit is our Advocate interceding before the Father for us (Romans 8:26-27).  The Spirit is our Counselor teaching us how to live (John 14:26, 16:13, II Peter 1:21).  The Spirit is our Comforter giving us peace in the midst of trials (John 14:26-27, Galatians 5:22).

The Spirit is there to help us.  We must simply look to him.  Are we in need of comfort and peace in the midst of trials?  We can look to our Comforter.  Are we in need of direction and counsel?  We can look to our Counselor.  Are we filled with cares and concerns?  We can look to our Advocate who will intercede for us.

We need not face life alone.  The Spirit has come to help us.  Let us look to him for the help we need.

The Coming of the Spirit 5

On By BrianIn God & His Glory

In the first four posts on the coming of the Spirit, the emphasis was on the Spirit’s work in us together as the church.  In the next four, we want to see how the Spirit works in us as individuals.

First, the Spirit makes us God’s children.  Romans 8:15-17 tells us that it is through the Spirit that we are adopted, it is through the Spirit that we call God our Father.  Because we are God’s children, we are heirs.  We have an inheritance.  One day we will receive resurrected glorious bodies like Christ’s resurrected glorious body (I Corinthians 15) – we will be co-heirs with Christ.  We will dwell in a new heaven and new earth where there will be no more pain or crying or death (Revelation 21:1-4).

Our response to this should be hope.  We have a great hope of a day when we will be with the Lord, and there will be no more sin, no more suffering, no more sickness, no more pain, no more death.  In the last week, an older man in our church passed away, and a young woman in our community passed away.  In the face of death, how we need this hope!

In the midst of trials and struggles – times of loss, sickness, surgery, family problems, and so much more, we can cling to our hope of a better day that is ours through the Spirit.  In the midst of good times that God blesses us with for our enjoyment, we can cling to the hope that even better days are coming through the Spirit.  In the face of our own deaths someday, we can cling to the hope that a day is coming when even death will be defeated and we will dwell in paradise with the Lord forever – all because the Spirit has made us God’s children.

Is this hope alive in us today?  Do we live in the good times and the bad times holding on to the hope of what God has prepared for us?  Or do we get so caught up in life today, that we forget our hope?  Our hope can give us strength and courage for today.  Our hope can clarify our priorities and motivate us to live for Christ in this life.  Are we living each day in light of our glorious hope?

The Spirit makes us God’s children and heirs of a great inheritance, and so we have hope.  Let’s live like it!

The Coming of the Spirit 4

On By BrianIn Church Life, God & His Glory

The Spirit comes and not only makes us part of his church, empowering us to minister and witness, but he also dwells among us.  I Corinthians 3:16 remind us that the church is God’s temple where his Spirit dwells.  As we gather together, the Spirit of God is among us.

Do we gather ready to enter his presence?  Are we even aware as we gather that God is with us?  How often are we like a poor host who neglects his guest?

The church is God’s temple where the Spirit dwells.  Temples are places of worship.  Do we gather not only recognizing his presence, but also ready to worship?  To submit our lives to his Word?  To bring our gifts to him?  To bring our cares before his throne?  To praise and honor him with our songs and our hearts?

The Spirit has come and dwells in his church.  As we gather, let us recognize his presence, bow down, and worship.