The Work of the Holy Spirit
Sunday Evening Bible Study
November 21, 1999
Introduction
We’ve talked about the Holy Spirit as a person. He’s not some impersonal force, He’s a real person. We have a relationship with real people. And we’ve talked about the deity of the Holy Spirit. He isn’t just any old person, He’s God. Sometimes we have a problem identifying just who a person actually is.
The Bible says that as Christians, the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us. Do we recognize who it is that lives in us? If we really had a clue who the Holy Spirit is, would it change how we relate to Him?
The Work of the Holy Spirit in the Believer
We’ve seen so far:
1. He dwells in us
2. He assures us of our Salvation
3. He seals us
4. He is the Comforter
5. He works truth in us
6. He teaches us
7. He guides us
8. He testifies about Jesus
Jesus had told His disciples that He had chosen them to bear fruit for Him. Part of that meant that they would be telling people about Jesus. But then He had some distressing news to give to His disciples:
(John 15:19-20 KJV) If ye were of the world, the world would love his own: but because ye are not of the world, but I have chosen you out of the world, therefore the world hateth you. {20} Remember the word that I said unto you, The servant is not greater than his lord. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they have kept my saying, they will keep yours also.
It’s not fun to tell someone something when you think they might hate you for it. It kinds of makes you want to keep silent.
Illustration:
The story goes that there was a WIDE MOUTHED FROG that was going to have babies.
She decided she would talk to the other mothers to find out what to feed her children.
She went to the cow and said, "Mrs. Cow, what do you feed your babies?"
"I feed my babies milk" mooed Mrs. Cow.
Then the WIDE MOUTHED FROG went to Mrs. Horse and asked, "Mrs. Horse, what do you feed your babies?"
"I feed my babies hay" neighed Mrs. Horse.
Next, the WIDE MOUTHED FROG talked to Mrs. Snake.
"Mrs. Snake, what do you feed your babies?"
"Well" hissed the snake, "I feed my babies wide mouthed frogs!"
"
It’s the same with us.
When we hear about how much people don’t like Christians, it’s real hard to speak up at times.
But then Jesus went on to say that they’d have help:
(John 15:26-27 KJV) But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me: {27} And ye also shall bear witness, because ye have been with me from the beginning.
:26 he shall testify of me:
testify
- marturew - to be a witness; i.e. to affirm that one has seen or heard or experienced something.His job is not to draw attention to Himself, as if to say,
"But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall hold Holy Spirit meetings and show everybody how great the Holy Spirit is."
His job is to be a witness about Jesus.
John 16:14
He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall show it unto you.Lesson
A test of the Spirit's presence is to see Who's in the spotlight.
How do we know when the Holy Spirit has been really at work during church?
Is it by the amount of teary eyes we see?
Is it when everybody starts swaying to the music, or lifting their hands during worship?
Is it when people are "slain in the Spirit"?
Is it by the number of "hallelujahs" shouted out during the service?
Is it when everybody begins to speak in tongues?
Some of these things may indeed be a work of the Holy Spirit, but the main test of whether the Holy Spirit has been allowed to do His job, is whether or not people are talking about JESUS!
(Acts 1:4-8 KJV) And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me. {5} For John truly baptized with water; but ye shall be baptized with the Holy Ghost not many days hence. {6} When they therefore were come together, they asked of him, saying, Lord, wilt thou at this time restore again the kingdom to Israel? {7} And he said unto them, It is not for you to know the times or the seasons, which the Father hath put in his own power. {8} But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.
When we are empowered by the Holy Spirit, He helps us to be witnesses.
Some have suggested that the true test of whether you’ve been baptized in the Holy Spirit is whether or not you speak in tongues. But Jesus didn’t say that. He said the result of the baptism of the Spirit would be power. Power to be witnesses.
9. He helps us pray
(Rom 8:26-27 KJV) Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. {27} And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
We have a hard time knowing how to pray. Why?
1. We ask with the wrong motives.
(James 4:1-3 KJV) From whence come wars and fightings among you? come they not hence, even of your lusts that war in your members? {2} Ye lust, and have not: ye kill, and desire to have, and cannot obtain: ye fight and war, yet ye have not, because ye ask not. {3} Ye ask, and receive not, because ye ask amiss, that ye may consume it upon your lusts.
It’s really hard to tell sometimes just what our motives really are. I think that often our motives are really a mixture of a lot of things. I doubt we ever have completely pure motives on anything.
I think there are even times when we want to ask for something, but we know that we have improper motives, so we don’t ask. But the thing would have been the right thing.
2. We don’t understand what really needs to be done.
When it really comes down to it, we don’t really know everything. We don’t really know the things to be asked for.
Things aren’t always what they seem. We often make our judgments on situations based on what shallow, surface things we can see. But often the truth about a matter can be far below the surface.
Illustration
A Tale of Faulty Inferences
The train rushes across the Hungarian countryside. In a compartment sit a mother with her attractive daughter, a Nazi officer, and a Hungarian official. When the train passes through a tunnel, the compartment is engulfed in darkness. Suddenly there is the sound of a loud kiss followed by a shattering slap. When the train emerges from the tunnel, no one says a word, but the Nazi officer’s face bears the unmistakable signs of having been slapped.
The mother looks at her daughter and thinks, "What a good daughter I have. She certainly showed that Nazi he can’t fool with her."
The daughter looks at her mother and thinks, "Mother sure is brave to take on a Nazi officer over one stolen kiss." The Nazi officer stares at the Hungarian official and thinks, "That Hungarian is clever. He steals a kiss and gets me slapped, and there’s nothing I can do about it." The Hungarian official stares blankly as he thinks, "Not bad. I kiss my hand and get away with slapping a Nazi."
Things aren’t always what they seem.
You can find a person obnoxious for some reason and just want them to go away. But God may want you to be a part of their life to bring healing and help to them. God may want them to be a part of your life, to teach you how to understand and be patient with others.
I find that this is part of the difficulty when it comes to counseling. When you’re counseling with an individual, it’s not uncommon for them to not quite tell you the whole story. When the counseling involves a couple, I find that you’re rarely going to hear the complete story until you’ve talked with both people. Things aren’t always what they seem.
the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us …
maketh intercession
– huperentugchano ("on behalf of" + "to intercede for") – to intercede for one (present indicative tense)groanings – stenagmos – a groaning, a sigh. to express grief by inarticulate or semi-articulate sounds.
cannot be uttered – alaletos – not to be uttered, not expressed in words
The Spirit intercedes on our behalf with unutterable groanings.
Lesson
Prayer and the Spirit.
Jude tells us that we are to be praying "in the Spirit".
(Jude 1:20-21 KJV) But ye, beloved, building up yourselves on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Ghost, {21} Keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.
Paul too …
(Eph 6:18 KJV) Praying always with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit, and watching thereunto with all perseverance and supplication for all saints;
Praying "with the Spirit" can involve the gift of tongues.
(1 Cor 14:12-17 KJV) Even so ye, forasmuch as ye are zealous of spiritual gifts, seek that ye may excel to the edifying of the church. {13} Wherefore let him that speaketh in an unknown tongue pray that he may interpret. {14} For if I pray in an unknown tongue, my spirit prayeth, but my understanding is unfruitful. {15} What is it then? I will pray with the spirit, and I will pray with the understanding also: I will sing with the spirit, and I will sing with the understanding also. {16} Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks, seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest? {17} For thou verily givest thanks well, but the other is not edified.
He uses the terms "tongues" and "in the Spirit" synonymously. They mean the same thing.
Another aspect of "praying in the Spirit" is what we see in Rom. 8:26, the Spirit doing the praying, groanings, no words.
A last aspect of "praying in the Spirit" is allowing the Holy Spirit to prompt you to be praying according to the will of God.
(Rom 8:27 KJV) And he that searcheth the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for the saints according to the will of God.
God is the One who searches the hearts. He knows what the Spirit is praying. the Spirit prays according to the will of God.
When we pray according to God’s will, we will see our prayers answered:
(1 John 5:14-15 KJV) And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us: {15} And if we know that he hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of him.
I think there are going to be times when you are praying that the Spirit puts a certain thought or idea on your heart. Pray it back to the Lord. Learn to listen to His promptings as you pray.