Sunday October 7th, 2007 Sermon: His personality
Series: The Holy Spirit pt 1 Scripture:2 Corinthians 13:14
Speaker: Pastor Michael West
You will not understand Him if you don’t get in a relationship with Him. The doctrine of the Holy Spirit’s personality is of the highest importance from the standpoint of worship. If all we think of Him is some personal influence or power, like many do, we rob Him of the worship, love, faith and confidence, surrender and obedience that are His due. We need to know Him as a person and treat Him as such.
He is more than an influence: Ephesians 4:30
He is a distinct person of the Godhead Trinity. He knows things, wills thing and feels things—I Corinthians 2:11
He is more than illumination, He knows the things of God, He searches our hearts, knows our minds and intercedes for us—Romans 8:27.
He is loving: Genesis 6:3
Romans 15:30. Have you ever thanked the Holy Spirit for His great love for you? And we owe our salvation to Him also, for by Him you were called, by Him, Jesus went to the cross, because of the great love He has, the same as the Father and the Son. If He had no led you to Jesus where would you be? If He does not convict you, where will you be? If you do not listen to Him, how will you know what direction to take? If you do not do as He directs, where will you end up?
He is the One who indwells you: Nehemiah 9:20
We see by intelligence and goodness being ascribed to the Holy Spirit. As you can see, He has been around a long time, not just in the New Testament. And what about Ephesians 4:30?
We find He just isn’t all brains and all knowing, but all feeling as well. More sensitive than you or I could ever be and more sensitive to sin than you and I as well. It’s in those grey areas that we need Him more, without Him we will make the wrong choices.
He is the Spirit of truth: I Corinthians 2:10
He wants to help us when we are weak, the problem we have when we find out what wa should do, we don’t. The Holy Spirit can’t do it all.
When we don’t know what to pray, He interceded—Romans 8:26—this demonstrates what any of us can do on the bottom line when we have done all we can for one another—pray.
In all things, even for today, He can remind us and show us and teach you all you need—John 14:26 / John 16:12-14
And He is so good to hold back what we can’t handle today.
Jesus is a counselor to us and so is His Spirit: John 16:7
John 14:16-17 a counselor to be with us forever. A wonderful promise that we neglect too much. We forget that He is with us…
He is the one who convict us: John 16:8
A preacher can preach the conviction but it is the Spirit that brings it home. It is He you have to answer to, not the preacher. You can’t blame the messenger for your problems in this life. In fact we tend to blame others rather than the true source of misery, that would be, uh, let me see, Satan!
One of our greatest needs today is conviction. Use the Ten Commandment principle, it works every time.
John 16:9-11
The sin the Holy Spirit convicts us of is our unbelief. Give me your excuse and I’ll show you unbelief at work. Bottom line of sin, unbelief.
Acts 2:36-37—why were 3000 converted? They realized it was the Holy Spirit of God at work and the fact was that they had rejected Jesus Christ. I wonder how many said crucify Him and now had realized that He was Jesus, the Messiah, in the flesh, for real.
The fact is, it’s not about conviction of being or doing bad, it’s the fact that, the person under conviction is faced with the reality that Jesus is real and they have been rejecting Him as the Truth and their Lord, the King of Kings.
The Spirit brings us the True knowledge of Jesus: John 15:26-27
It is the work of the Holy Spirit to bear witness to the testimony of Jesus Christ, to help us get center in a Jesus.
His work is to magnify Jesus to us, to glorify Christ by taking on the things of Jesus and declaring them to us. It’s only through direct testimony of the Holy Spirit in the individual heart that any of us can come to a true saving knowledge of Jesus. It only comes by way of the Spirit of God—the Holy Spirit given to us. If you desire that knowledge, you have to get to know Him.
When you do, be prepared for a New Life: John 3:3-5
Why are you saved anyway? Titus 3:5 tells us—we are renewed, regenerated when the Holy Spirit is welcomed into our lives. We become alive, even though we were dead—Ephesians 2:4-5.
Being born again should mean something to you than just, I got saved.
He is our desperate need: 2 Peter 1:3-4
Without Him, we are lost. Without Him, we are like a toy that needs batteries…
We were born into this world blind to the truth of God—
I Corinthians 2:14. Without Him, we would have remained full of corruption. With Him, we now know what please God and are able to live our lives pleasing to Him by way of the Holy Spirit.
That is why Spiritual rebirth is so important: II Corinthians 5:17
We have a new life now. We were transformed, but alas, so many Christians these days have forgotten that and are trying to have their cake and eat it too, so they have one foot in the world and one hand on the hope for heaven.
The fact is, there is only one way: I John 3:9
The only way an outward confession will be true and everlasting, is if there has been an true inward regeneration and an ongoing renewal, daily. It’s not what you are doing, it’s about being born again. It’s not about coming to church, doing the things God requires, it’s about being born again—radically—regenerated—new! And living life like you meant it when you said yes to Jesus!
That is what is meant by fully and forever satisfied: John 4:14
Then Jesus added the Words found in John 7:37-39
So drink up me hearty, drink up!
When you do, you find Joy in the Holy Spirit: Romans 14:17
You buy stuff you want more, get something it gets broke, land a new job with more pay, soon you need more. Friends or family let you down, you get new ones and they do the same—there isn’t a person on this planet who hasn’t let someone down—we are all guilty of that—everyone here has done it. That joy is temporary and if you are looking for happy in anything but the Holy Spirit, just know this, it won’t last.
The greatest source of joy within your heart, is that fountain of God, not in your surroundings or circumstances or possessions, it’s inside you. Husband can’t give t, wife can’t make it happen, kids won’t do it—nothing but the Spirit of God will keep it going.
He is our source.
That is why we need to be baptized by Him: Acts 1:4-5
Acts 2:4 and Acts 19:2
Have you received Him?
If you have when you believed: Acts 19:2
Then you were cleaned, sealed, baptized, set free, become alive and knowledgeable, empowered, listening and walking in the things of God.
