The Reality Of The Ministry Of The Holy Spirit
Foundation Statement: The Holy Spirit is a real
person, who has a real ministry, and He will really lead you, guide you, and
help succeed in any situation and in every area of life.
I.
Four reasons why it’s important to be led by the Spirit; 1) The more free u’ll be 2) The more effective
u’ll be (profit) 3) The less destruction you’ll see (results)
4) You’ll have supernatural knowledge 2 do supernatural things (power)
II.
The greatness of the Holy Spirit-Jesus says we are not going to
lose anything when He goes to the Father in gaining the Holy Spirit. When he
talks about leaving and the HS coming he describes it as profitable, reflecting
that we are gaining something-John 16:5-7
A.
The Holy
Spirit in me is just as profitable & advantageous as Jesus being next to me
1.
“Never the
less, I tell you the truth.” – I’m not just
saying this to make you feel good
a.
They are dealing with sorrow b/c Jesus is
leaving
2.
We’re just
as well off now with the Holy Spirit in us as we would be if Jesus was
manifested in the flesh standing next to us
a.
Do u think
u could get some things done w/ Jesus standing right next to you? According to
Jesus you’ve got something as profitable & advantageous as that
3.
Jesus
describes the situation of him going to the Father and the Holy Spirit coming
to us as being to our advantage
a.
If it
would have been better for us, for Jesus to stay on the Earth then God would
have had him stay, but He didn’t have him stay b/c God knew that it would be
better for us if Jesus left & the Holy Spirit came (Swish that around in
your thinking)
B.
How can
Jesus leaving be an advantage?-That’s how marvelous
the Holy Spirit is
1.
(AMP)-Advantageous-The
Holy Spirit is our advantage in life
2.
He is the
most valuable asset to Christian living
3.
What would
be more valuable to a believer than to have Jesus walk around with you all the
days of your life? That’s a pretty valuable and profitable thing to have; Jesus
said that the Holy Spirit is just as good and even better than that
C.
To have the Holy Spirit in you is better than
Jesus being manifested in the flesh
1.
It’s not better to be them who walked and
lived with Jesus in the flesh than it is to have the Holy Spirit like we have
him now
a.
The Holy Spirit with us is better and more
advantageous than Jesus with them
b.
We have it better than them-We’ve got the spirit
of the Master inside us personally
2.
We are not to look back at them like they had
it better; It’s irreverent to the HS
D.
Have you been taking advantage of the
advantage or do you just try to get along the best you can and never
acknowledge the one who’s there to help you
1.
There is
great benefit & profit in having the Holy Spirit, that we’ve yet to plug
into
III.
People who don’t look to the ministry of the Holy Spirit will not
receive of it-John 14:16
A.
The ministry of Jesus in the life of the
disciples while he walked the Earth is very similar to the ministry of the Holy
Spirit in the life of the NT believer
1.
He was leading, guiding, and teaching; the HS
lead, guides, and teaches
B.
Jesus was their comforter & he said he’s
going to send another one --- Comforter
1.
Someone who has come closely alongside of
another person for the sake of speaking to him, consoling him, comforting him,
or assisting him with instruction, counsel, or advice
2.
Summoned, called to one's side to help
a.
The Holy Spirit’s assignment is to come to
Earth and help me
b.
The Holy Spirit’s faithfulness is unmatched; He’ll
do his job-Jn14:16-He’s w/ us 4ever
3.
Counsel, One who pleads another's cause with one, an intercessor, A helper, Leads into a deeper knowledge of the
gospel truth; Give divine
strength
C.
People are receiving of this ministry b/c
they don’t recognize the reality of it-Prov 3:5
1.
We would think it to be foolish of the disciples
to not look to Jesus for instruction, wisdom, & guidance if they were need;
believers commit the same act everyday
2.
What would you think one of the disciples who
had a financial problem and was under pressure and he walked around thinking to
himself what am I going to do, then he started asking people what should I do,
and then they prayed, and then he read the law, and then he confessed the law
and never went to Jesus for leading of any kind? --- That man is a fool
IV.
The first key in being led by the spirit is recognizing that He
is a real knowable person
A.
The Holy Spirit is a “He” person; He is not
an “it”
1.
John 14:16-17-There is s real knowable person
living on the inside of you
2.
John 16:7-8,13-14-Jesus refers to the Holy
Spirit as a “He” not an “It”
B.
We are supposed to commune/fellowship with
the Holy Spirit-2 Corinthians 13:14
1.
You can’t fellowship, commune, or communicate
with an “it”
a.
You can’t receive direction or leading from
an “IT”
b.
“ITS” won’t talk to you and respond back to
you
c.
The Holy Spirit will respond to you, teach
you, and guide you; He is a divine person
2.
Co-Together, jointly; Partner or associate in an
activity, with
a.
It takes two to commune or fellowship
3.
Commune-To
converse; to talk together; to impart sentiments mutually, in private or
familiar discourse; followed by with before the person. (Exodus 25:22)
a.
There has to be a “who” that you are communing with
4.
Communicate-To impart; to give to another, as
a partaker; To impart, as knowledge; to reveal; to give, as information, either
by words, signs or signals; as, to communicate
intelligence, news, opinions, or facts.
a.
U can’t communicate with an it; u can talk to that chair &
it’ll never talk back to u
C.
When you refer to the Holy Spirit refer to
Him as a He, but more importantly recognize that there is a He walking around
with you everyday
1.
Romans 8:26-The Spirit ITSEL, The exact same
word is translated HIM and HIMSELF
a.
1 Peter 2:24-This is the same word HIMSELF
2.
It’s in appropriate to refer to the Holy
Spirit as an it because he is a person
a.
If you walked in the door and I said its
here; that’s disrespectful
D.
You can hear from him & receive direction
& counsel from Him just like a human being
1.
Get up in the morning checking with Him in
everything that I do
2.
Acknowledge that you aren’t smart enough to
run your life; you’ve he’s got to have help and you have help in the Holy
Spirit
3.
If you’ll set your heart to it you’ll learn
how to live like this
4.
You might make some mistakes in hearing
during the process, but be humbled enough to admit that you missed it
E.
John 14:17-The world and carnal Christians
aren’t aware of him, they don’t know him, they don’t acknowledge him and that’s
why they are not led by Him