Sermon Nuggets Fri Oct 3
The Work of the Spirit
Verses John 15:26 "When the Counselor comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
John 16:14,15 He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.
15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will take from what is mine and make it known to you.
The Focus of the Spirit
I read a book by David Howard, The Holy Spirit. In it he told of his experience as a missionary in Columbia. He told how some friends wanted to discuss the work of the Holy Spirit so he could have a deeper understanding and experience the closenss of the Spirit. The more they talked he sensed they had an interpretation of the Scriptures that was very limited and one-sided.
He visited with his pastor about his concern. His pastor said, "Dave, whenever you hear someone who talks constantly about the Holy Spirit, you have reason to doubt that he really knows the Lord the way he should."
He could hardly believe his ears? How could anyone who talks about the Spirit be deficient or in error in his knowledge of God? But his pastor had him look up the verses we are looking at today.
He pointed out the work of the Spirit is to glorify and testify of Jesus Christ, not Himself. The work of the Son is to glorify the Father and the Father glorifies the Son. He said, “I have never found in the Bible were the Father or the Son seek to glorify the person of the Holy Spirit. We have strong warning never to blasphemy the Holy Spirit. We are instructed never to quench the Holy Spirit, we are told to receive the Holy Spirit. But the work of the Spirit according to Scriptures is to glorify Jesus Christ and take what Jesus Christ taught and bring it to our awareness.”
David Howard thought back on what his friends had said. They talked much of the Spirit, but very little about Christ. They conversed much of their own experiences, but little about the objective Word of God. They departed from him convinced he was unspiritual.
I recognize the unique ministry of the Apostles to testify and share the words that Jesus passed on through them, but now that we have the word and the Holy Spirit in us, we too are to share the testimony and witness for Christ. The Bible tells us that "You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you..You shall be my witnesses."
It seems to me that the New Testament teaches us to think of the Spirit and His ministry in terms of a personal sovereignty whereby He uses us, not we Him. He changes us internally first by opening our eyes to reality-the reality of God , of Christ, of our sin and need, of the spiritual realm, of the demonic and so on; and then through uniting us to Christ. He changes us so that our desires and attitudes move to become those of Jesus. We should have an increasing drive to please and glorify Jesus and walk in His holiness.
Christ does not call us to be His servants and then utterly neglect to give us any orders as to our work. The trouble is that we have not looked to Him for our directions. Too often we have chosen to work by our own plans instead of asking Him to show us Himself. The focus of the Spirit is to help us see Jesus who helps us see the Father. When we do, and it is from the Spirit, we glorify Him and worship. From that focus He directs our paths.
Pastor Dale
