The Presence of the Holy!

I'm catching up on "what I learned at church" posts today. I just finished posting one earlier too, if you want to scroll down and read it. This sermon was given by my Pastor this past Sunday. It is the first in a series about the Holy Spirit.

Genesis 1:2, the very beginning of the bible, talks about the Spirit of God hovering over the waters. Churches tend to only talk about the spirit or to not talk about it at all. In John 14:16-17, Jesus says that He will ask the Father to give us another counselor to be with us forever, the spirit of truth. "The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you." This counselor, or parakletos, is an intercessor, consoler, advocate, comforter, and helper. He is one who comes along side you to act on your behalf as all of these things.

Given the choice between having Jesus stay or having the holy spirit, we would probably want to choose Jesus. But Jesus Himself said that the holy spirit was better. "It is actually best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the Counselor won't come. If I do go away, he will come because I will send him to you." (John 16:7) Jesus had to go away in order for the spirit to come to us.

The holy spirit is the dwelling of God in man. He is the giver of your spiritual gifts and fruit. So many believer's lives look no different from those in the world. There are those gripped with fear and anxiety. They believe, but there's no power. Why? Why are many living a spirit-less life?

Some aren't aware of the spirit. But, the same power that raised Jesus from the dead exists for us. Some resist the spirit. There may be times we've felt led to do something, but we dismiss it or we do something we know we aren't supposed to do. Sometimes our heart becomes so callous and hard that we can no longer hear or sense the holy spirit; we've quenched Him. In the silence, we may hear that still small voice, so we may begin to resist the silence. The holy spirit is a gentleman. He will not force Himself on you. He is a still small voice, but we tell Him to leave us alone and eventually he will do just that.

What will the holy spirit do? He will comfort you (John 14:16). He will counsel you (John 16:13). Isaiah 30:21 says, "whether you turn to the right or to the left, your ears will hear a voice behind you, saying, 'This is the way; walk in it.'" The spirit exists to help you make the right decisions. He will also convict you (John 16:8). When you don't feel convicted, that's when something's wrong. The spirit will open your eyes to your sin and give you clarity as to what God did through Jesus. The spirit prepares the heart and makes it receptive to know that there is no hope apart from Christ.