Yielding to the Holy Spirit

Transcription

1 Yielding to the Holy Spirit Series: Revive! Text: Romans 8: Introduction Copyright 2013, Stephen G. Negus 1 Date: January 18 th, :45 am We are in the middle of our series titled Revive! In this series we have been getting to know the Holy Spirit because we believe that it is through the person, power, and presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives that God wants to revive us, both spiritually and physically. The revive means to make alive again, and that is what the Father and Jesus want to do in each of our lives today. Today, as we continue in this series, I want to begin by asking to a question: How many of you believe that the church today can and should be like the New Testament church as described in the Bible in the Book of Acts? Let me make the question a bit more personal: Do you believe that God wants to work in and through your life in the same way that He did in and through the lives of the disciples in early church? I don t know how you answered that question in your heart. But, I hope that your desire is the same as mine to see the Holy Spirit at work in and through the Church today as He was in the 1 st Century. I believe that we are standing on the threshold of the greatest move of God this world has ever seen. Why do I believe that? I believe this because of a combination of reasons a) We are closer today to the return of our King that the first disciples were almost 2000 years ago. Jesus is coming back, and I believe the signs in the earth today indicate that His return will be soon. b) The Scriptures tell us that one day the Church will not have a stain or wrinkle, or any such blemish but will be glorious holy and blameless (Ephesians 5:27). The Church is NOT currently in that state but far from it. So, when will it be like that? c) Isaiah tells us (60:1-1) that the GLORY of the Lord will arise upon His people at a time in which there is a great darkness covering the earth. A quick look at the evening news will show that darkness is indeed increasing at an unprecedented rate in our day. I believe that God is looking for those upon whom He can pour out His Holy Spirit in a way that fulfils Isaiah s prophecy. The question we all have to ask ourselves today is this: Do I want to be one of those people? If you answered Yes! to that question then today s message is for you. I believe the KEY to being a person upon whom God can pour out His Spirit in greater measure is to be a person who is led by the Holy Spirit. Think about it this way: why would God give more of His Spirit to someone who has no desire to be led by or to walk with the Holy Spirit? That does not make sense, does it? In Romans 8 Paul teaches us about how to live a life which is led by the Holy Spirit. The whole chapter is filled with spiritual gems and riches may I encourage you to read it when you get a chance. Right now we just have time to focus on a few verses in the middle of the chapter 2. Romans 羅馬書 8: Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. 12 弟兄們, 這樣看來, 我們並不是欠肉體的債, 去順從肉體活著 13 For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. 14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 13 你們若順從肉體活著, 必要死 ; 若靠著聖靈治死身體的惡行, 必要活著 14 因為凡被神的靈引導的, 都是神的兒子

2 The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, Abba, Father. 15 你們所受的不是奴僕的心, 仍舊害怕 ; 所受的乃是兒子的心, 因此我們呼叫 : 阿爸! 父! 16 The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God s children. 16 聖靈與我們的心同證我們是神的兒女 17 Now if we are children, then we are heirs heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. 17 既是兒女, 便是後嗣, 就是神的後嗣, 和基督同做後嗣 如果我們和他一同受苦, 也必和他一同得榮耀 Paul is talking to believers here brothers and sisters (vs. 12) and he says that we have an obligation notice the we ; Paul is including himself in what he says. In the first 11 verses he has been contrasting the life in the flesh and life in the spirit. Now he says we have an obligation (duty, responsibility, requirement, commitment, debt) and it IS NOT to the FLESH but to the SPIRIT. Verse 14 is the key to the passage: For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. 7. Romans 羅馬書 8:14 This verse in the original Greek literally says this: For as many as by the Spirit of God are being led, these are sons of God. Notice the following about the verb led in this verse: a) In the Greek the Holy Spirit is mentioned before the verb emphasizing the fact that He is the one doing the leading. b) The tense of the verb is present continuous this is not something we do one-time; it is a process that continues for the rest of our lives. c) The voice of the verb is passive indicating that the Holy Spirit leads and we follow. Let me see if I can give you an example of how this works: A few months ago Karen and I drove to Ikea in Shatin to look around. We like to go there on a date sometimes, not necessarily to buy anything, but just to look around and then have lunch or dinner at the Ikea restaurant. When we returned to our car it would not start so we called the AA and the sent someone out. Well, would you believe it, after about 45 minutes he arrived, looked under the hood, tried the car and it started. We drove home and continued to use the car for another week or two. We were in Shatin again a few weeks later, taking Karen to Prince of Wales hospital. I dropped her off and then spent the next 45 minutes or so trying to find parking. I had just parked at a parking lot a few blocks from the hospital and was walking to meet Karen when she called to say she was all done. So, I turned around to go back and get the care to go pick her up. I got to the car, and it would not start again. Again we called the AA and they came out. This time the technician could not get the car to start either, and he had to tow us to the mechanic to get the car fixed. This is a great picture of what it means to be led by the Spirit, with one slight difference when we are led by the Spirit our car (life) is still in running order, but we choose to let the Holy Spirit lead anyway 8. Holy Spirit is in complete control He is taking the lead Your life is moving forward under His power He is giving direction to your life, taking you where you need to go All you have to do is yield, let go and let Him take over. The believers in the early church were led by the Holy Spirit. Listen to Copyright 2013, Stephen G. Negus 2

3 9. Early Church Led by the Spirit Copyright 2013, Stephen G. Negus 3 some of the things it says about them in the Book of Acts Acts 5:32 We are witnesses to these things and so is the Holy Spirit. Acts 11:12 The Spirit told me to go with them. Acts 11:28 One of them showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine. Acts 13:4 Being sent out by the Holy Spirit Acts 15:28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us Acts 16:6 They were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. Acts 16:7 They tried to go to Bithynia, but the Spirit did not permit them. Acts 18:5 Paul was compelled by the Spirit and testified Acts 19:21 Paul felt compelled by the Spirit to go over to Macedonia. Acts 20:23 The Holy Spirit tells me in city after city Acts 20:28 Take heed to yourselves and to the flock, among which the Holy Spirit has made you overseers. If we are going to be people upon whom God pours out His Holy Spirit like He did on the early church we will need to learn how to be led by the Holy Spirit like they were. 10. Three Components of Being Led 1. Hear the VOICE of the Holy Spirit The first component and actually REQUIREMENT to being led by the Holy Spirit is being able to HEAR HIS VOICE you cannot be led by someone if you cannot hear and understand how they are leading you. This is what we learned about last week. We learned that the Holy Spirit s voice a) Is spiritual (not audible) we hear it inside us and not with our physical ears. b) Teaches us all things we do not learn spiritual truths through human wisdom and the natural learning process. Rather the Holy Spirit teaches us through spiritual wisdom. c) Brings us through the process of spiritual maturity it is only through the Spirit that we can understand spiritual things, have the mind of Christ and grow in spiritual maturity. We also learned that, in order to hear the Holy Spirit s voice more clearly, we need to a) Be quiet and listen b) Practice the presence of the Holy Spirit c) Discern and distinguish His voice from other voices that speak to us (i.e. the flesh and the devil) Next, we will jump to the third component of being led by the Spirit OBEY what the Spirit says to you This is actually the essence, or the END PRODUCT, of being led by the Holy Spirit. This is what it is all about walking in obedience to what He says. If I say I am being led by the Holy Spirit, but I am not actually doing what He tells me to do, then I am actually deceiving myself. But, I think there is actually a step in-between hearing the voice of the Spirit and obeying Him. It is a step which we may overlook, because it is not something that we necessarily think about doing. That said, I believe it is VERY IMPORTANT for us to understand what happens because this is the KEY to growing in the area of being led by the Spirit YIELD your will, desires, thoughts to the Spirit This is where we MAKE THE DECISION to obey the Holy Spirit. It is an internal process, something that happens within us. We may verbalize it, but the decision the resolve to obey is made internally. Only we can decide to do it. Nobody else can decide for us nor can we decide for anyone else.

4 This is where we pray the prayer that Jesus prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane Matthew 馬太福音 26:39 39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will. 39 他就稍往前走, 俯伏在地, 禱告說 : 我父啊! 倘若可行, 求你叫這杯離開我! 然而, 不要照我的意思, 只要照你的意思 Making the decision to yield can happen consciously as it did for Jesus did in the Garden when He verbalized what was going on inside of Him. This decision can also happen sub-consciously especially in areas (such as temptation) that we have made this same decision many times before to the point where it is now second nature or just the thing to do. Do you see how important this step is? Once we have made this decision to yield the actual doing or obeying is more-or-less just a formality, a walking out or putting into action of the decision that has already been made. So, how do we learn to yield to the Holy Spirit? As I mentioned before, it is a process and, in some ways it is a process which is unique to each of us in our own personal relationships with the Holy Spirit. However, there are a few basic and simple steps that we can all take as we learn to walk with the Holy Spirit 13. The ABC s of Yielding to the Holy Spirit 1. Acknowledge Believe This step has to do with growing in our KNOWLEDGE of what the Bible reveals to us about a) Who the Holy Spirit is, and b) What the Holy Spirit does i.e. His role in our lives These are the things we have been learning about in the past few weeks. This step also has to do with KNOWING that the Holy Spirit is WITH US always. He never leaves us, whether we feel His presence or not. The more we acknowledge Him, the more we will sense His presence with us. It is one thing to know some things about the Holy Spirit; it is a whole other thing to know Him personally and intimately. This step takes the knowledge about who the Holy Spirit is and what He does and makes it personal. Now I BELIEVE that the Holy Spirit is who the Bible says He is in my life, and He will do what the Bible says He will do for me. If I don t know what those things are, I can never make them my own. I can never apply them to my life. That s why it is so important to read and study God s Word to discover who the Holy Spirit is and what He does. But, we cannot be satisfied with just knowing some things about the Holy Spirit; we MUST make those truths ours Commune To commune means to have intimacy, communion, fellowship, communication, and friendship with another person. It is about getting to know the Holy Spirit through a growing personal relationship with Him. The more I know Him, the more I will trust Him. The more I trust Him, the more I will do what He asks. E.g. A child trusts their parent because of the relationship that they share. When the parent asks the child to do something, the child obeys without knowing all of the details or reasons why. The goal for all of us to grow in our relationship with the Holy Spirit to a point where three Copyright 2013, Stephen G. Negus 4

5 Do 17. Conclusion components of being led by Him happen instantaneously and automatically. The KEY to this is in the middle stage YIELDING If we have not trained and disciplined ourselves to yield when the Spirit speaks, it will be difficult, if not impossible, for us to actually obey what He says. If we have not learned to trust Him, we will always question what He says Was that really the Holy Spirit? Maybe it was just me. Just like undisciplined children, when we question we seldom obey. relationship. The key is growing in Doing is about action. This is where it all comes together and we OBEY what the Holy Spirit says to us. This is where we follow the leading (prompting) of the Holy Spirit and allow Him to lead us. The more we obey, the easier the whole process becomes we begin to hear His voice more clearly, we yield to Him more easily, and we obey more quickly. The more I do it, the easier it becomes! Copyright 2013, Stephen G. Negus 5