TITLE: Agent in the Shadows MAIN SCRIPTURE: John 16:5-16 BIG IDEA: The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit as God s agent on planet earth.

Size: px

Start display at page:

Download "TITLE: Agent in the Shadows MAIN SCRIPTURE: John 16:5-16 BIG IDEA: The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit as God s agent on planet earth."

Gillian Black
5 years ago
Views:

1 WHEN GOD S SPIRIT MOVES Agent in the Shadows (1)! 1 TITLE: Agent in the Shadows MAIN SCRIPTURE: John 16:5-16 BIG IDEA: The Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit as God s agent on planet earth. BRIEF OUTLINE I.) INTRODUCTION II.) JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT A. JESUS HAD TO GO B. WHAT ONLY THE SPIRIT CAN DO III.) THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT A. THE HOLY SPIRIT WAS CENTRAL B. PETER S EXAMPLE C. THE TEMPLE OF THE SPIRIT IV.) TODAY S CHURCH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT A. DIVIDED TEACHINGS ON THE SPIRIT B. THE SPIRIT S WORK FOR TODAY AND TOMORROW V.) CONCLUSION ) INTRODUCTION Open with a story about the movement of the Holy Spirit in your own life, or a story you know of the Spirit s working in someone else s life. Consider this statement: Church is impossible without the blessing and power of the Holy Spirit. Have you thought about this before? That it is impossible to be the Church without the Holy Spirit? That s the heart of our new teaching series on the Spirit of God that it is impossible to do what we ve been called to as a church without the blessing and power of the Spirit of God. Christianity is hopeless without the Holy Spirit. While the Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit. And now the Spirit is God s agent on earth. Unfortunately, He s an agent in the shadows because of how the Church has tended to ignored Him. Have you noticed this before yourself? There seem to be almost a prejudice of sorts against the Holy Spirit that prevents us from learning more about Him.

2 WHEN GOD S SPIRIT MOVES Agent in the Shadows (1)! 2 Isn t it remarkable that there have been so few books written about the Holy Spirit, and yet He is God s only agent on planet earth? The world is full of books and small group studies about God the Father who created the universe and even more books about Jesus the Son of God. But where are the shelves and shelves of books about the Holy Spirit? The Holy Spirit is underpreached, underappreciated, and neglected by the Church in the 21st century around the world. Yet, He is God s only agent on planet earth. The Holy Spirit is the only way we understand the Bible, for instance. We cannot truly understand the meat of God s Word without the Spirit teaching us. He is also the only way that we are changed. The only way we can have the work of Jesus Christ apply to our life and understand the person of Christ is through the work of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit is God s only agent on planet earth, which is why we are going to spend the next 6 weeks getting to know the life-changing power of the Spirit. 3) JESUS AND THE HOLY SPIRIT At the beginning we said something that sits at the heart of this sermon series: While the Father sent the Son, the Son sent the Spirit. Think about that: Before the Son of God left planet earth He promised the disciples that He would send the Spirit of God. He made this promise before he was crucified, which we find in John 16. In John 16 the disciples were getting anxious. They were anxious about what was happening and what was about to happen. Here Jesus says something very interesting: Jesus said it was better for them that He went away or else the Holy Spirit wouldn t come. That was hard for the disciples to understand and rejoice over. It s better that Jesus leave? That doesn t make sense, Jesus! Why would you go away? Why would it be better that you went away? Have the congregation turn to John 16:5-16. Read this passage of Scripture. After Jesus accomplished the cross by shedding his blood something was accomplished by the Holy Spirit that Jesus could not do while he was on planet earth.

3 WHEN GOD S SPIRIT MOVES Agent in the Shadows (1)! 3 What could that be? What could only the Holy Spirit accomplish that Jesus never could? Jesus could never get inside the disciples where the problem lies. Out of the heart comes evil, and only the Spirit of God could address the heart. The Bible defines a Christian as someone who believes in Christ to the point where they are born again and the Spirit lives in them. It is an experience only the Holy Spirit can give. And what is that experience? What can only He accomplish? We just said that He births us anew He changes us. He also helps us live. He brings peace. He teaches us all things. He also gives us power. This is what the Spirit does and why the it was necessary for Jesus to go back to the Father. If Jesus didn t the Holy Spirit wouldn t have come, and the movement we find in the early church wouldn t have been the same. 4) THE EARLY CHURCH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT I m not so sure the apostles from the early church would recognize what we call Christianity today. As we study the person and work of the Holy Spirit, not only do we have to remember that He s the most neglected member of the Trinity, everything in the New Testament we read centers around His power and energy and work. The Church didn t begin when people followed Jesus, but when the Holy Spirit was sent down and the disciples were all filled with the Spirit. After that moment everything changed. Peter in the gospels is a fumbling disciple. Give examples from the life of Peter. But at the day of Pentecost he is a new Peter. He is filled with the Holy Spirit and Jesus prophecies about its power is fulfilled in Peter. We see him acting with courage and wisdom and boldness. The very thing that Jesus said was true it is better that I go so that He will come; I ve been with you, but He will be in you. In the life of Peter and the rest of the early apostles we see the truth of what Jesus said. It was better for Jesus to go so that His followers would be empowered by the Holy Spirit in order to do God s work of establishing the Kingdom. We need a new day of emphasis on teaching and study on the person and work of the Holy Spirit. We need to remember this agent that God sent into the world to empower His people to do His work.

4 WHEN GOD S SPIRIT MOVES Agent in the Shadows (1)! 4 The Bible calls us the Temple of the Holy Spirit. The word here for temple is referring to the inner sanctum of God that the Spirit fills like the Most Holy Place in the Temple of God in Jerusalem. Like the inner sanctum of that Temple we are inhabited by the Spirit which makes us different than all everybody else. The agent of God has actually made His dwelling in us, just like God made His dwelling in the Most Holy Place. Christians have been changed because they have been invaded by the Spirit of the living God. And this has great bearing on our lives as the Church today as much as it did the early church. 5) TODAY S CHURCH AND THE HOLY SPIRIT Today there s almost a prejudice against the Holy Spirit that impedes many from learning more about him. And the Body is often divided on two sides on this subject of the Holy Spirit. One side stresses the Word of God and separates itself from the other side because they re afraid of the emotional fanaticism often linked those emphasizing the Holy Spirit. This view has oftentimes been fed by the other side of the Church with wild excess, unbiblical manifestations, things that don't edify, and ministers who abuse the Holy Spirit to make money and make much of themselves. So people are apprehensive or abusive of the Holy Spirit. But there is another problem. The other problem is that people have tried to make a Holy Spirit religion. They ve put the works of the Holy Spirit at the center, which isn t true. Jesus and His works is the center of Christianity. Jesus said that when the Spirit would come He wouldn't draw attention to himself and talk about Himself the Spirit brings the spotlight to Christ and makes Him real to us. What has happened because of these divided teachings is that for much of the Church the Spirit of God is simply absent which has resulted in weak churches and weaker Christians. For a lot of folks today Christianity is just the cross without any resurrection power of the Holy Spirit. It s no wonder that our churches are weak and why so many believers aren't walking in victory.

5 WHEN GOD S SPIRIT MOVES Agent in the Shadows (1)! 5 Yes, the past is gone because of the Son s and cross. But there s another part another crucial part we must get today, which is the present work of the Spirit. Even if you take out my past and say it s gone, I still have the problem of today and tomorrow. How am I going to reproduce the life of Christ in me. I cant! There is nothing of Christ in me! Unless Holy Spirit lives in me and produces Christlike qualities in me I will not live like Jesus. Unless we daily rely upon this agent of God we will not walk in victory today or tomorrow. He s the one who empowers us and strengthens us against temptations. He teaches us how to pray. He makes the Word of God real to us when we read it. This Holy Spirit is the one who makes the new covenant have power. The Old Covenant was God s holiness displayed in the Law. But those laws couldn t override our own will. The new covenant is a born against experience where not only are our sins forgiven but the Holy Spirit comes and indwells in us, making us a new creation. 6) CONCLUSION We need to return to preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe that the power that s in His name and the Spirit of God is stronger than any power of sin and habit. We ve lost hope in the Holy Spirit and faith and confidence in the power of God. But so many other stories are trophies of God s grace. They remind us that with God everything is possible. So many are tired of the same old same old with church going to church, meetings, discussing doctrine, tired of falling into the same sins without any victory. Churches should be holy ghost hospitals where we see the power of God operate on people so they become the new creations God promised. We want to return to the simple formula of the early church: Preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and believe in the power of the Holy Spirit. (As a way to end, download and play the song I Need You Once Again. Or play the video of the song from the DVD curriculum.)

#The Struggle Is Real I try to get my Sunday morning sermon written on Friday, at least a pretty complete version of it, but I struggled all day long

#The Struggle Is Real I try to get my Sunday morning sermon written on Friday, at least a pretty complete version of it, but I struggled all day long trying to decide what to preach. I kept asking the