Giving
Welcome to Refinery Life Australia.
This week we are continuing our series titled Questions People Ask About The Holy Spirit.
Today we are talking about Why Study The Holy Spirit?
Text
John 14:26 (AMP)
26 But the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby), the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name [in My place, to represent Me and act on My behalf], He will teach you all things. And He will help you remember everything that I have told you.
Scripture Reading
Prayer
In Jesus name we pray.
Amen.
Introduction
In our sophisticated age of scientific investigation and factual reporting, why should we take time to study the Holy Spirit?
When Christ has commanded us to look on the fields that are white unto harvest, how can we justify spending time in study?
When there are so many souls to be saved, so many lives to be salvaged, and so much work to be done, why should we take time to study the Holy Spirit?
Perhaps the attitude these questions express explains many of the meaningless activities and unproductive efforts of our lives and churches.
We have the sails, but we lack the wind.
We have the desire, but we lack the drive.
When we take an honest look at ourselves, our church, and our world, we will see why we should take time to study the Holy Spirit.
- Because we are totally dependant on Him.
Some people think like this, when there are so many kilometres to be travelled, when there is so much to be done when we get there, and when we have gotten such a late start, why should we take time to stop for fuel?
Yet the answer is quite obvious, isn’t it?
We are totally dependant on the fuel.
Without fuel, the kilometres won’t be travelled, the work will not be done, and the destination will not be reached!
That is exactly the meaning of Zechariah 4:6 in regard to the Holy Spirit, Zechariah 4:6 (AMP)
6 Then he said to me, “This [continuous supply of oil] is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel [prince of Judah], saying, ‘Not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit [of whom the oil is a symbol],’ says the Lord of hosts.
- We are dependant on the Holy Spirit for the salvation of ourselves and others.
Jesus said in John 3:6 (AMP)
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh [the physical is merely physical], and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Then He said that we should not be shocked by the fact that we must be born again.
Our need for forgiveness and God’s power to forgive are brought together by faith.
This concept can be illustrated like this, a lightbulb may have all the ability to burn, but it cannot burn, though electricity runs to the switch, until that switch has be thrown.
In this analogy, faith is symbolised by the switch.
When the faith switch is thrown, our need for forgiveness and God’s power to forgive are brought together.
And the power that brings them together is the Holy Spirit.
Or, in the words of Jesus, we are “born” of the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus said, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh,” He was simply saying that we are flesh and that our power is limited to what flesh can do.
By ourselves we cannot be other than defeated and frustrated.
This we know all too well.
But when the Holy Spirit is allowed entrance into our lives the moment we accept Jesus, the Holy Spirit can do for a defeated life what we could never do.
To be born again is to be changed in a way that can only be described as rebirth.
The change comes when we allow Jesus into our hearts.
Then we are forgiven of our past and armed by the Spirit for the future.
We become citizens of heaven of the kingdom and children of God, and we enter into eternal life because we have been “born of the Spirit.”
B. We are dependant on the Holy Spirit for our growth as Christians.
Paul encourages us to be confident that the Holy Spirit who started the work of salvation in us will keep on performing it until the day Jesus returns (Philippians 1:6).
In other words, our growth, or sanctification, is simply the continuation of what the Holy Spirit did for us at the moment of salvation.
It is the result of allowing the Holy Spirit freedom to appropriate salvation in all areas of our lives.
Such sanctification becomes both an act and a process.
It is an act in that at the moment of salvation we enter the kingdom of God.
It is a process in that as we grow spiritually, areas of our lives become increasingly committed to God’s will.
C. We are dependant on the Holy Spirit for our understanding of the Bible’s message.
In John 16:13 Christ assures us that the Holy Spirit will guide us into all truth.
The Bible is not just another book and therefore cannot be approached or understood as any other book.
It is more than words printed on a page.
It is the Word of God, therefore, to be understood, it requires the Spirit of God.
That is why every time we read the Bible we should pray, Psalm 119:18 (AMP)
18 Open my eyes [to spiritual truth] so that I may behold
Wonderful things from Your law.
Paul reminds us in 1 Corinthians 2:14 (AMP)
14 But the natural [unbelieving] man does not accept the things [the teachings and revelations] of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness [absurd and illogical] to him; and he is incapable of understanding them, because they are spiritually discerned and appreciated, [and he is unqualified to judge spiritual matters].
Think of a plane lost in a storm seeking to find its location.
It has a good receiver, and the control tower is transmitting a strong signal.
But only when the pilot turns to the right frequency will he pick up the signal and get back on course.
We are lost and cannot find our way.
We have a good mind and a keen ability to decipher God’s truths, and God is transmitting His truths day after day.
The Holy Spirit tunes us into the right frequency so that we can hear the message and stay on course.
Without the work of the Holy Spirit, we become like those who Jesus described as having ears and still not hearing.
D. We are dependant on the Holy Spirit for the ability to lead others to Christ.
Perhaps nowhere is this truth spelled out more clearly than in Acts 1:8, where Jesus said that we receive power only after the Holy Spirit comes upon us.
Then and only then, He said, will we be witnesses to Him wherever we go.
Nothing will ever happen apart from the Holy Spirit’s working on us as His witnesses and in those who we witness to.
We will be nothing more than “religion salespeople”
But as we allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to the right person and give us the right words to say, we will return as did the Spirit empowered disciples, with joy, saying as they did in Luke 10:17 (AMP)
The Joyous Results
17 The seventy returned with joy, saying, “Lord, even the demons are subject to us in Your name.”
E. We are dependant on the Holy Spirit for effective prayer.
Romans 8:26 informs us that the Holy Spirit will help us with our inability to know how to pray.
When we really don’t know what to pray for, or even how we should pray, the Holy Spirit will intercede on our behalf.
Often our desires are not what they ought to be.
Or may be we don’t express them in the right way, or they are misdirected.
As we wait on the Lord, the Holy Spirit can come and take our desires that are too deep or too intense for us to express.
He can express them in the language of God.
2. We should study the Holy Spirit because God has said so much about Him.
The second verse in the Bible speaks of the Holy Spirit as the one who “moved upon the face of the waters.”
The closing section of the Bible, revelation 22:17, speaks of the Holy Spirit as the one who invites us to come and drink the water of life freely.
Everything that falls between Genesis 1:2 and Revelation 22:17, whether it be the creation story, God’s working through Israel, the birth of Christ, the establishment of the church, or the glorious revelation of Christ at the end time, all is the work of the Holy Spirit.
God has a lot to say about the Holy Spirit in the Old Testament.
In fact, the Holy Spirit is mentioned 378 times in the Old Testament.
In the New Testament He is mentioned 335 times.
Certainly a total of 713 references to the Holy Spirit in God’s Word will convince us of the worthiness of our study.
3. We should study the Holy Spirit because today’s problems cannot be solved without Him.
It is humanly impossible to convict people of sin so that they will turn to Christ.
Jesus recognised this and told us in John 16:8 that the Holy Spirit would convict the world of sin.
When God’s Holy Spirit convicts a person of sin, that sin may be hidden to the eyes of others, but the Holy Spirit is sounding the alarm within that person.
If the Holy Spirit were taken out of the world, there would be no sense of right and wrong, no conscience, no sorrow for evil done, and no force to hold back satan’s power.
Without the Holy Spirit we could not say to a Christian, “He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.”
We must never forget that we do not wrestle against mere human beings, flesh and blood, but rather against supernatural powers of darkness and all kinds of wicked forces in high places (Ephesians 6:12)
Apart from the presence of the Holy Spirit, these forces could not be restrained.
There would be no hope for the world.
Conclusion.
Let us all start studying the Holy Spirit and understanding who He is.
Until next time
Stay in the Blessings
Giving
I really want to encourage you to be diligent with your Bible study time, because God has so much more for us than we can get from just going to church once or twice a week and hearing someone else talk about the Word.
When you spend time with God, your life will change in amazing ways, because God is a Redeemer.
Theres nothing thats too hard for Him, and He can make you whole, spirit, soul and body!
You’re important to God, and you’re important to us at www.refinerylife.org
When it comes to prayer, we believe that God wants to meet your needs and reveal His promises to you.
So whatever you’re concerned about and need prayer for we want to be here for you! Or even if you just want to say Hi, you can contact us
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