The Presence of the Holy Spirit
Pastor Glenn Newton June 13, 2004
GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
RO 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind of sinful man is death, but the mind controlled by the Spirit is life and peace; 7 the sinful mind is hostile to God. It does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. 8 Those controlled by the sinful nature cannot please God.
RO 8:9 You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ. 10 But if Christ is in you, your body is dead because of sin, yet your spirit is alive because of righteousness. 11 And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit, who lives in you.
This morning I need 10 volunteers, you won’t have to come up front, and you won’t have to say anything….. any takers? (pass out the rocks)
I want you to take your rock, I want you to examine that rock closely, squeeze the rock, feel the shape, and notice the variety of colors in the rock.… you can even taste the rock if you so desire.
Now, I need you to remove your right shoe, place the rock in the shoe, and put your shoe back on your foot. (give them a minute) Come on now, I need you to try this…
When you tried to put your foot into your shoe, did you notice the rock? Suppose for some reason you decided to keep the rock in your shoe, do you ever think you would reach a point where you wouldn’t notice it anymore? Could you ever get used to it in your shoe?
If we could never get used to walking around with a rock in our shoe, How in the world would we ever get used to having the Holy Spirit Living in our Life, Living in our Hearts?
This morning I want you to know that the Presence of the Holy Spirit in One’s Life Changes Everything. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit, and you do as our scripture instructs… 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
When we keep in step with the Spirit, When we are in tune with what the Holy Spirit wants to do, with what He wants to accomplish in our lives, let me tell you, your life will be impacted, your life will be different than before you had the Holy Spirit.
I want to share with 3 areas that will be changed by the Presence of the Holy Spirit…. These are not the only ways we are changed obviously, because I believe God radically transforms us in every area, more that what we could cover this morning, but let me share 3 areas that I believe will help you understand how the Presence of the Holy Spirit will impact your life.
Christian, I want you to ask yourself this morning, Have I been affected in these three areas? Have I allowed the Holy Spirit access in these three areas of my life …. If not, why not?
First, The Presence of the Holy Spirit “Changes our Heart.”
RO 8:5 Those who live according to the sinful nature have their minds set on what that nature desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires.
Last week we talked about what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, and when we are filled, our hearts are changed…. Our will moves from being “self” centered to “God” centered.
This morning when I talk about how God changes our Heart, I am also talking about our Mind… does anyone know where all sin starts? It always starts in our minds, sin takes root in our mind and then the actions, the fruit of that sin comes in our actions. So God, knowing this… has given us the Holy Spirit, to fill our Hearts, or our Minds with His Spirit, so that we can kill this sin nature at it’s very root….. Instead of being mindful of sin, now as we walk in step with the Holy Spirit, we are mindful of God and what He wants for us, and He wants to do with us… Does this make sense?
Do you know that your Heart has been changed by the infilling of the Holy Spirit? The Good News that God has for all of us is that our minds can be set free by the Holy Spirit, Free to serve God, Free to think about God and His plan for your life.. Free from the bondage of sin…. Do you have this freedom? God’s plan for you is to have this freedom, to be changed by the Presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart.
Jim Cymbala, Pastor and author, says in his book, “Fresh Wind Fresh Fire” “I discovered an astonishing truth: God is attracted to weakness. He can’t resist those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need him.”
God, through the power of the Holy Spirit can change your heart, if we humbly come to Him and tell Him how desperately we need Him in our heart and life…
Not only does God change our Hearts through the Presence of the Holy Spirit
God Changes our Focus through the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives
At District Assembly this week we heard some wonderful stories from our Missionary, Rev. Harmon S. and our General Superintendent, Rev. Cunningham spoke to us and shared How God has always been faithful to Him during his ministry, and still is today.
But we also heard from some of our pastor’s, they gave their reports each one having a different theme, one was about the God of deliverance, as a Pastor’s son was wonderfully saved and delivered from alcohol and drug abuse, after 20+ years of struggle… and now this little church is experiencing great revival.
We heard from a Pastor talk about the God of Renewal, how God is bringing new life, a new vision to a church that was sick and dying. We heard from a Pastor that talked about God’s Power to be a Light during the darkest of times…. His wife this year has been struggling with breast cancer.. and he testifyed that how during the darkest of days… God was there bringing Light into their lives, bringing Hope through the presence of the Holy Spirit in their lives. Friends, when you serve God, your never alone.. Amen?
There were a few others and they were all good, but I was captured by one report, given by our Pastor in Cabot, who started this church 3 years ago with no building, and with no core group of people. Do you know what they reported this year? They are averaging over 200 people in church every Sunday morning, and they have baptized 34 new believers this last year. But let me share with you what really spoke to me.
Remember we are talking about how the Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives changes our Focus.
Brother David brought one of his new members with him, and this man stood on the stage with him… This man was not even a Christian a couple of years ago when this church started. Through their weekday Life Groups that meet in homes during the week, this young man after coming for a while finally accepted the Lord as His Savior. Bro. David Discipled this new Christian, taught him the Word, taught him what it means to be a Christian, and then trained Him to share His story with others…. So this new Christian, he and his wife start their own life group after being trained, and guess what happens? He starts winning his neighbors to Jesus. It’s not long before he has trained his new converts how to do the same thing, so they start their own life group, and guess what happens in that life group? Your right, they start winning their neighbors, the people that they know to Jesus.
Rev. David Smith said that 34 people were saved this year, not one at an alter, because they don’t have an alter where they worship, because they worship in a Movie Theater… everyone of their new believers were won around someone living room during the week… Guess how many of those 34 people that were saved, the Pastor led to the Lord?
Two. Instead of using addition to grow the church, this church understands how to multiply it’s growth.
What was to impressive to me was this man who two years ago, he was not saved, he was just living life like so many people are today… knowing something was missing but not knowing what…. Then Jesus came into his life, then as he grew, He was filled with the Holy Spirit, and now two years later…. The whole focus of His life has completely changed from living for himself, to living for God. His focus is the same as God’s, winning the lost.
The Presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives changes our focus. Our Focus as we walk in step with the Spirit becomes the same as Christ… Do you know what His Focus is? Saving those that are lost and on their way to an eternity separated from God.
Right before Pastor David finished his report he made a statement that really struck a nerve because it was right on target. He said during their training of their new Christians, they are not given the right to be called a disciple until they have carried out the Great Commission in their life… not only learning about the Bible and obeying it’s commands, but as the Great commission says, they must Go and make disciples, they must reproduce themselves…..
In other words, what they are saying is that the Presence of the Holy Spirit in a Believers life will involve you sharing your story, leading others to Christ, and then helping them grow and do the same thing…. That’s what disciples do, make more disciples…..
Has the Holy Spirit living in your life changed your focus so that you are seeking to lead others to Christ? Has your focus moved from just serving yourself and the things that your comfortable with, to doing what Christ has commanded all of us to do, win others?
We need to ask ourselves, Where are the Disciples that I have led to the Lord?
The Presence of the Holy Spirit in your life will make soul winning a priority in your life, if it is not a priority in your life, your not as close to God as you might think, because that is His number one priority.
Have you been filled with the Holy Spirit? Has God changed your heart, your mind, giving you freedom from your old ways of thinking?
GAL 5:22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. 24 Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. 25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
Has your focus been changed by the Presence of the Holy Spirit? Before the Holy Spirit, our focus is ourselves, we are the priority. But when the Holy Spirit fills us, God’s priority takes over, serving others.
Christians, are we passionate about letting God have His way in our lives this morning?
Are we passionate about sharing our testimony with others?
Pastor I don’t know what to say? Pray for the Holy Spirit’s help, and then just share How God has saved you from your sins…. It’s that simple… The Holy Spirit will help you.
Let’s pray this morning for God’s Presence to be a reality in our lives, We need Him. We can do nothing with out Him in our lives. Will you share your testimony with someone this week? How long has it been since you told a non believer what God has done for you?
