The Holy Spirit 2

so I want to pick up this morning then
where we left off last week and we were
looking last week at the person of the
Holy Spirit and saw that he is the agent
of the Godhead through whom the plan and
purposes of the father and the son are
carried out and so if the father is the
generator and the Sun is the wires and
we are the light bulb then the Holy
Spirit is the electrical power who
lights up all of creation both in the
original creation story and in the
redemption story or to use another
analogy if God the Father is the
architect and the Son and remember Jesus
was God before he ever came into the
world as a baby the Sun is the general
contractor the Holy Spirit represents
the trades who makes it happen and we
saw last week that in the story of
creation all three persons of the
Godhead are involved it's God the Father
who decides that he wants children in
His image and in his likeness with whom
he can share his love it is the son who
takes that desire of the Father and who
brings about the creation of the
universe including the human race the
Bible says all things were made through
him that is through Jesus the Holy
Spirit then is the agent who hovered
over the waters who breathed into Adam
the Adams nostrils the breath of life
the Holy Spirit is the one who actually
makes it happen and if you want to see
what that looks like then all you have
to do
read the first two chapters of the book
of Genesis and you see Adam and Eve in
perfect relationship with God perfect
relationship with each other and perfect
relationship with all of creation that's
why we say they lived in paradise God
finished creating what did he say it was
very good and he rested not because he
was tired but because it was as good as
he could make it now we know from
Scripture that that goodness of creation
that representation of the heart of God
in all of the universe and in the human
race didn't last very long the serpent
came along deceived Adam and Eve they
opted for independence and the world
plunged into seein and you and I today
live with the consequences of that and
if you want to see the full force of
that look at nation rising against
nation we talked earlier about the
horrors of Aleppo that little boy pulled
out of the rubble absolutely dazed hate
to think of what's going to happen to
him when he grows up that's the world we
live in God could have left us there
I've said this many times but he chose
not to why because he wanted to
demonstrate his love in our Redemption
and that's why the Bible says in Romans
5 verse 8 God demonstrates his love for
us in this while we were still sinners
Christ died for us salvation was not an
afterthought on the part of God we
cannot make him responsible for our fall
into sin but God chose to allow sin so
that it could reveal the side of his
character that simply creating us could
never show God could never show his
mercy without her sin could never show
his patients without our rebellion could
never show the greatness of his love
without having to sacrifice his son and
so after the fall as you know the rest
of the Bible from Genesis 3 on till we
get to the closing chapters of the book
of Revelation is the story of redemption
it's the story of restoration it's the
story of how God comes to a rebellious
universe loaded down under the curse of
sin and aims to fully restore it and
bring it back to himself and just as in
the story of creation Father Son and
Holy Spirit all played their role
together so in the story of redemption
the father and the Son and the Holy
Spirit all play a role so in the story
of redemption then what is the father's
role well the father's role is to
restore all creation to himself when he
sees the mess that sin has brought about
rather than turning his back on it and
saying well you made your bed lie in it
he said I've got an idea I want to bring
this universe and the people in it back
to myself and in that plan I'm going to
show the greatness of my love by sending
my son into the world so that this
alienated human race at least some of
them will be restored to fellowship with
me so that one day they will again
inherit a new heaven and a new earth so
the father so loved the world that He
sent His Son that's the role of the
father he's the architect of redemption
what's the role of the Sun well the role
of the Sun is to carry out the father's
playin the Father's plan is to restore
humanity to God because you've got to
remember the big issue for gone is how
can he be a God of love and a God of
justice at the same time salvation is a
thing the Bible says into which angels
long to look why because nobody can
figure out in heaven before the cross
how in the world God was going to hold
on to his sense of justice which demands
sin be punished and his sense of love
that says I want to bring people back to
myself so God's plan was the gift of his
son the son says I'll carry it out how
does he carry it out well he comes into
the world is a baby theologically this
is known as the Cano says the
self-emptying of God here is the second
person of the Holy Trinity through whom
this whole vast universe was created by
the word of his mouth and now he steps
into the world the helpless little baby
whose life is in danger because of the
political and the religious powers of
his day talk about a step down we do not
say but that was necessary for our
salvation so he comes into the world as
a baby he lives our life as you know he
teaches the way back to God dies on the
cross gets raised from the dead because
death cannot hold him ascends into
heaven sits down at the right hand of
God the Father and today has the name
that is above every name and what Jesus
does is the author of the pioneer of our
salvation he has walked that journey so
that by faith in him you and I can be
delivered from the power of sin
delivered from hell delivered from Satan
and be restored one day to our position
of glory sharing with cry
in authority over God's new heaven and
new earth whatever that will look like
because it's beyond our present
comprehension so the father plans
Redemption the Sun paves the way by
doing the work that is necessary for
salvation to be a possibility and what
does the Holy Spirit do then well he
makes happen in actuality in the world
and in our lives the purposes of God the
Father and the purposes of God the Son
it's the Holy Spirit who comes along and
who applies the benefits of Jesus's
death and resurrection to our lives he's
the one who in real time delivers us
from sin and death breathes life into
these dead bones empowers us to become
the children of God and makes us worthy
to inherit God's eternal Kingdom now get
this the same power that was manifest in
the creation of the universe and we
talked a little bit last week about how
big that University is and the sum total
of the energy in it that energy which is
the energy of God through Jesus Christ
by the power of the Holy Spirit the same
power that breathe life into atoms
lifeless body made of the dust of the
ground that same power that raised Jesus
from the dead exalted him in heaven at
the right hand of God the Father that's
the power that God has unleashed through
the Holy Spirit on the church to bring
us from darkness to light if we can put
that slide back up for just a moment
that power of the holy spirit takes us
out of this situation under Satan's
bondage alienated
from God bow down under the curse of sin
and selfishness and conflict and he
restores us to Paradise Regained and how
successful you and I are in living the
Christian life is largely a function of
the degree to which we have received
revelation of that reality here's how
Paul puts it interestingly enough in his
prayer for the ephesian church later on
listen to these words he says I pray
also that the eyes of your heart may be
enlightened in order that you may know
the hope to which he has called you what
is the hope the hope is eternal glory in
a new creation the riches of his
glorious inheritance in the Saints and
his incomparably great power for us who
believe that power is like the working
of his mighty strength which he exerted
in Christ when he raised him from the
dead and seated him at his right hand in
the heavenly realms far above all rule
and authority power and Dominion and
every title that can be given not only
in the present age but also in the age
that is to come what's the answer to the
struggles that we experience in our
lives in our journey with God what's the
answer when we feel dusty and dry in
dead bones on the inside what's the
answer when we feel the darkness deepens
and the world is going to hell in a
handbasket well it's the reality in the
experience of the Holy Spirit who lets a
share in the benefits of
Christ in the time that remains this
morning I want to give you the first of
three ways in which the Holy Spirit
works that out in the life of the
believer and the place to start is with
the realization that what the Holy
Spirit does for us is he points us first
and foremost to Jesus he points us first
and foremost to Jesus now without
bullying the obvious let's think about
that for a moment because who's Jesus
well he is the long promised Messiah
he's God's answer to everything that
ails the human race he's the one
anointed by God on ordained by God to
solve all the world's problems he is the
offspring of the woman who crushes the
head of the serpent he is the son of
Abraham who inherits Abraham's covenant
blessings which is to inherit all the
earth he is the son of David who's going
to acquire the kingdom over the nations
of the world and he is God's solution to
everything that ails you and me he is
the one who has the power to deliver us
from Satan's power he is the one who has
the power to restore us to God he is the
one who one day is going to come back to
judge the heavens and the earth he is
the name that is above every name that
at the mention of his name every knee
should bow he is the stone rejected by
builders a cuss word for most people but
in God's sight extremely precious and
chosen
because he's the first fruits of a whole
brand-new harvest do you get it that's
Jesus you know reminded of that video
don't how does that go I wish I could
describe him to you I wish I could
describe him to him now that's Jesus and
if that's who Jesus is then what is the
most important thing in all the world
for any given individual it's to know
Jesus and have a relationship with Jesus
because no one can come to the Father
except through Jesus that is the
teaching of scripture to be saved you
must know Jesus but there's two things
that get in the way of that number one
Jesus is not physically present in the
world so you have to receive him by
faith not only that but remember we're
spiritually we're dead in the trespasses
and sins in which we walk and so we can
hear the stories of Jesus and we can
read the stories of Jesus and half the
time it doesn't click because it doesn't
register to us in Jesus seems irrelevant
to the real situation as I said he was
the stone by builders rejected he came
to his own home and his own people and
nobody recognized him for who he was
that's how conceited we are in our
humanity we look everywhere for
solutions except to Jesus so what's the
first job of the Holy Spirit remember he
points to Jesus for a job of the Holy
Spirit is to help us know who Jesus is
so that Jesus can transform and change
our lives how does he do that let me
backtrack and quote you two verses from
john's gospel that illustrate just how
it is that the Holy Spirit points always
to Jesus John 1526
when the counselor comes whom I will
send to you from the father remember the
counselor is the Holy Spirit it's the
Paraclete the one who comes alongside to
help us running the race when the
counselor comes whom I will send to you
from the father the Spirit of Truth who
goes out from the father what's his job
he will testify about me he will bring
glory to me by taking from what is mine
and making it known to you all that
belongs to the father is mine that is
why I said the Spirit will take from
what his mind and will make it known to
you if you're here this morning and you
know Jesus the only reason you know
Jesus is because the Holy Spirit
somewhere along the line came to you and
open your eyes to understanding that
he's not just the historical figure he's
not just a great prophet who lived many
years ago no he is the son of God come
to redeem and save the world including
you and me so how does the Holy Spirit
do that again in the time that remains
want to give you three things the Holy
Spirit does to bring us to a point of
surrendering to Jesus as Lord and Savior
the first point is this and it's sort of
counterintuitive for a lot of us and
that is the fact that he shows us our
true condition listen again to these
words from john's gospel when he comes
that is the holy spirit this is jesus
teaching his disciples before he leaves
he will convict the world of guilt in
regard to sin and righteousness and
judgment in regard to sin because men do
not believe in me in regard to
righteousness because i'm going to the
father where you can see me no longer
and in regard to judgment because the
prince of this world now stands
condemned the Holy Spirit begins by
showing us our true condition and our
true condition is that we are dead in
trespasses and sins our true condition
is that we are rebellious against God we
don't know him we don't want to know him
we just go our own way and it's very
important to understand that the Holy
Spirit begins by convicting us of sin
because sometimes we have the mistaken
notion that the first job of the Holy
Spirit is to make us feel better bring
God closer make us feel more spiritual
and yes the Holy Spirit will do that but
it usually he usually begins on the
other end he begins by opening our eyes
to our true condition I am a law breaker
I'm alienated from God I am rebellious
I'm selfish and this can run the whole
gamut from my whole life is falling
apart and I know that I i need help and
and nobody can provide this help for me
except God and so I cry out from the
depths of despair god help me it can
range all the way from there to you know
I'm sitting on top of the world but
there is this satisfaction at some level
there's got to be more to life than what
I'm experiencing am I missing something
and the Holy Spirit comes along and he
begins to demonstrate our true condition
God cannot feed us until we are hungry
first and i believe that happens not
only
in the starting point of our journey in
Christ when he brings us to faith any
time in the Christian life when the Holy
Spirit wants to reveal more to us of who
Christ is and bring us closer to the
Father he almost always begins by
showing us a new level of hunger a new
level of brokenness a new level of is
this all there is and sometimes we think
that means God has abandoned us
sometimes it makes us think as if there
must be something wrong with my
spiritual life and sometimes there may
be Hey but it's a hunger that God
creates because the promise of Scripture
is blessed are those who hunger and
thirst after righteousness and what will
happen they will be satisfied so don't
be surprised when in your Christian
journey you find yourself in a place of
dryness or in a place of spiritual
despair even and don't just think that
God has a bended you it may in fact be
the sign of his fever because he wants
to show you more of himself so the Holy
Spirit begins by showing us our true
condition before God then secondly he
helps us hear and understand the gospel
in other word gospel as I'm sure you
know means good news and the good news
is that God was in Christ not holding
our sins against us but reconciling the
world to himself you'd think the whole
world would happily embrace that kind of
good news that I came up tomorrow with a
with a solution to cancer or do some
other profoundly incurable illness the
whole world would be beating a path to
the door because that's what we're
looking for yet Jesus we avoid why well
because he makes demands
on us that we don't know how to meet not
only that but there's lots of people
that have not heard the story of Jesus
and as I said earlier there are many
others who have heard the story of Jesus
and it goes in one ear and out the other
God the Holy Spirit has to give us
understanding he has to open our eyes so
that we see Jesus for who he really is
so we can fall down at his feet and
worship Him as God's answer to
everything that ails us and everything
that ale hails humanity I was thinking
about that the other day as I was
reading up on the temple Institute I
mentioned a couple of weeks ago how out
in Israel the temple Institute is
gearing up in preparation for the
Messiah and they are ready to rebuild
the temple and just to the last two
weeks they appointed a high priest to be
able to officially to officiate at the
sacrifices that are needed to welcome
the Messiah and these people are
studying the Old Testament and they are
studying the Old Testament prophecies
and they keep talking about won't it be
great when the Messiah comes and of
course you and I from a Christian point
of view no the Messiah has already com
but they don't know it they don't see it
why because their hearts are veiled Paul
puts it this way second Corinthians
chapter 3 their minds were made dull for
to this day the same veiled remains when
the Old Covenant is read it has not been
removed because only in Christ is it
taken away even to this day when Moses
is read a veil covers
their hearts but whenever anyone turns
to the Lord the veil is taken away what
is the Holy Spirit do he helps you hear
the message of the gospel and instead of
going in one ear and out another it
connects with your condition and when
you're sick it dawns on you that maybe
Jesus can heal me when you hate your own
self because your heart is filled with
pain and with bitterness and an anchor
that you don't know how to solve the
Holy Spirit comes along and he shows you
that maybe just maybe Jesus is big
enough and he can actually transform me
from the inside out and when you are in
anguish over the bitterness and the pain
of suffering in the world the Holy
Spirit comes along and he points you to
Jesus and he says I know the pain is
great and I know the darkness seems
insurmountable but let me tell you
something somebody has already overcome
it and it's only a matter of time the
trumpet of God is going to sound the
dead in Christ will be raised in God
will usher in a new heavens and a new
earth that is faith and that is hope and
it is imparted to you by the Holy Spirit
that's his job and you can count on him
to do that and the purpose for all of
that then is of course to bring us to
faith in Christ love these words in
John's Gospel John 1 12 and 13 this is
preceded by the verses that said he came
to the world in his world didn't
recognize him he came to his own oh and
his own people didn't want him to all
who received in to those who believed in
his name he gave the right to become
children of God children born not of
natural descent nor of humans
decision are a husband's will but born
of God that's the new birth the new
birth happens when we are in touch with
our brokenness our eyes get opened to
Jesus and we say Jesus have mercy on me
a sinner and it can be as simple as the
murderer the thief on the cross who
didn't know a lot of theology who
couldn't have explained to you the way
of salvation but who understood three
things he was guilty Jesus was not and
Jesus was the one who could save him and
he cried out lord help me and that's the
third function of the Holy Spirit to
bring us to Jesus he enables us to make
that leap of faith so that we put our
hope and our trust in him so here's the
question as you look at your Christian
duty as the holy spirit shown you you're
helpless state number two has he shown
you Jesus and by God's grace have you
jumped into the wheelbarrow and trusted
him for time and eternity if you haven't
now is at the time if you have then you
can rest in the assurance that the Holy
Spirit is yours and the next thing that
he's going to do and we'll talk about
that Lord willing next week is he's
going to apply to your life into my life
the benefits of Christ's salvation and a
preparation for that if he have time
this week
read the first portion of Ephesians
chapter 1 underline the phrase in him
because Paul repeatedly in that passage
tells us what in Christ we are and then
ask yourself how does the Holy Spirit
make that real in my life and in my
experience stand with me as we pray
please father the gospel in so many ways
is so simple and yet it's it's very
simplicity that is often offensive to
our human striving and our human ideas
of how the world should work thank you
so much that when we fell into sin you
chose to redeem us thank you that you
sent your son to make that possible and
like you've given us the Holy Spirit to
apply this to our lives so then one hand
we can see how broken we are and how far
we fall short of your glory and how on
the other hand that points us to Jesus
as the answer to our seal and how then
you give us grace to climb in the
wheelbarrow and trust him for time and
for eternity lorda that's never been a
step that we've taken I pray that you
help us take that step today if that has
been a step that we've taken then lord
help us to renew that commitment and to
believe that the work that you've begun
in us you will bring to completion so
that one day we will stand before you
without wrinkle or blemish or spot in
the glory
of your new creation thank you for
you