He Has Given Us His Spirit
Notes
Transcript
Opening Illustration
Opening Illustration
As I was putting this message together...
I came across tale that really hit close to home...
And I would like to share it with you this morning.
In the book “Flying Closer to the Flame” by Charles Swindoll, he writes:
“Some years ago my phone rang in the middle of the day on a Friday.
It was someone from our older daughter’s school telling me that Charissa had been in an accident.
She had been practicing a pyramid formation with her cheerleading squad when someone at the bottom slipped, causing the whole human pyramid to collapse.
Charissa had been at the top and, consequently, fell the farthest, hitting the back of her head with a sharp jolt.
Her legs and arms had gone numb, and she was unable to move even her fingers.
After notifying the paramedics, the school official had called me.
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My wife, Cynthia, was away at the time, so I raced to the school alone, not knowing what I’d find or how serious our daughter had been injured.
En route, I prayed aloud.
I called out to the Lord like a child trapped in an empty well.
I told Him I would need Him for several things:
To touch my daughter, ...
To give me strength, ...
To provide skill and wisdom to the paramedics.
Tears were near the surface, so I asked Him to calm me, to restrain the growing sense of panic within me.
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As I drove and prayed, I sensed the most incredible realization of God’s presence.
It was almost eerie.
The pulse that had been thumping in my throat returned to normal.
When I reached the school parking lot, even the swirling red and blue lights atop the emergency vehicle didn’t faze my sense of calm.
I ran to where the crowd had gathered.
By that time the paramedics had Charissa wrapped tightly on a stretcher, her neck in a brace.
I knelt beside her, kissed her on the forehead, and heard her say, ‘I can’t feel anything below my shoulders.
Something snapped in my back, just below my neck.’
She was blinking through tears.
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Normally, I would have been borderline out of control.
I wasn’t.
Normally, I would have been shouting for the crowd to back away or for the ambulance driver to get her to the hospital immediately!
I didn’t.
With remarkable ease, I stroked the hair away from her eyes and whispered,
‘I’m here with you, sweetheart.
So is our Lord.
No matter what happens, we’ll make it through this together.
I love you, Charissa.’
Tears ran down the side of her face as she closed her eyes.
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Calmly, I stood and spoke with the emergency medical personnel.
We agreed on which hospital she should go to and what route we would take.
I followed in my car, again sensing the Spirit’s profound and sovereign presence.
Cynthia joined me at the hospital, where we waited for the x-rays and the radiologist’s report.
We prayed, and I told her of my encounter with the Spirit’s wonderful presence.
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In a few hours we learned that a vertebrae in Charissa’s back had been fractured.
The doctors did not know how much damage had been done to the nerves as a result of the fall and fracture.
Neither did they know how long it would take for the numbness to subside or if, in fact, it would.
The physicians were careful with their words, and I can still remember how grim both of them seemed.
We had nothing tangible to rely on, nothing medical to count on, and nothing emotional to lean on ...
Except the Spirit of God, who had stayed with us through the entire ordeal.
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Sunday was just around the corner (it always is).
I was exhausted by Saturday night, but again God’s Spirit remained my stability.
In human weakness and with enormous dependence, I preached on Sunday morning.
The Lord gave me the words, and He proved His strength in my weakness.
(I am told by our audio tape department that that particular message remains one of the most requested sermons on tape of all the messages I’ve delivered since I first became pastor of the church back in 1971.)
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Amazing!
God the Holy Spirit filled me, took full control, gave great grace, calmed fears, and ultimately brought wonderful healing to Charissa’s back.
Today she is a healthy, happy wife and mother of two, and the only time her upper back hurts is when she sneezes!
When that happens and I’m with her, I usually look at her and ask,
‘Did that hurt?’
Invariably, she nods and says,
‘Yeah, it did.’
I smile, she smiles back, and for a moment we mentally return to that original scene where she and I felt a very real awareness of the Spirit’s presence.”
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So, please turn your Bibles to 1 John.
We will be conducting our study in Chapter 4 and focusing on verses 13 through 16.
Our message this morning is called, “He Has Given Us His Spirit.”
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As you are finding your place in God’s Word, I want to share that we will be focusing on the one who lives in all believers...
Today we will be focusing on the Holy Spirit...
And it is John’s purpose to show how evidence of having the Holy Spirit in your life...
Acts as evidence that you are truly born again.
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Opening Prayer
Opening Prayer
Before we consider our text, please join me in prayer...
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Let’s turn to our text for today:
Reading of the Text
Reading of the Text
13 By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
14 And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
15 Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
16 So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
So, let’s look at our first point...
1) We Know
1) We Know
Verse 13: By this we know that we abide in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit.
John is here giving yet another indicator of what a born-again believer looks like.
If you want to know if you are a follower of Christ...
Ask yourself...
“Does the Holy Spirit live in me?”
“Does the evidence of my life reveal that God is in me and that I am in Him?”
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In order to faithfully answer those questions we need to do a deep dive into into...
When the Holy Spirit enters a person...
And what changes does the Holy Spirit bring into a person’s life?
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Many people make false claims about the Holy Spirit...
Especially, false claims about when and why someone gets Him.
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Some say it is at the moment of water baptism...
Some say it is after you are anointed with oil...
Still some other says you receive the Holy Spirit when you speak in tongues...
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Many man-made claims but Scripture is clear on the matter...
And Scripture is the only claim that matters as it is the only one with the final authority.
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So, look with me at Acts 10:44-45.
This is picking up after Peter has be preaching the Gospel message.
And the passage says:
44 While Peter was still saying these things, the Holy Spirit fell on all who heard the word.
45 And the believers from among the circumcised who had come with Peter were amazed, because the gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out even on the Gentiles.
The Holy Spirit came to those that believed.
This was before they were baptised in water as Peter clarifies this a few verses down in Acts 10:47:
47 “Can anyone withhold water for baptizing these people, who have received the Holy Spirit just as we have?”
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This lines up with what Scripture teaches about justification.
Recall with me what Romans 10:11-17:
11 For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.”
12 For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.
13 For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”
14 How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?
15 And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!”
16 But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed what he has heard from us?”
17 So faith comes from hearing, and hearing through the word of Christ.
And it is at that moment that one is regenerated and believes that the Holy Spirit enters someone...
For God knows the hearts of men and women as it says in Acts 15:8:
8 And God, who knows the heart, bore witness to them, by giving them the Holy Spirit just as he did to us,
The Holy Spirit living in us is what makes us sons and daughters of God.
It is the reason we can even call Yahweh; God almighty, our Father...
And it is the Holy Spirit that bears witness to the fact that we truly are children of God...
For if you are led by the Spirit then it is because He is in you.
Just look at Romans 8:14-16 for assurance of that amazing fact:
14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
15 For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption as sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!”
16 The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God,
Although one can’t visibly see the Holy Spirit...
We can see the results of a life filled with the Holy Spirit.
For example, without the Holy Spirit God’s truth seems like foolishness.
Without the Holy Ghost we make the Bible about ourselves.
Without the third person of the Trinity we worship a “god” of our own image.
Without the Spirit of God we are often lost and confused for we have no guide or helper.
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But John 15:26 paints a very different picture for those that have the the same power that raised Christ from the dead living in them.
The verse says:
26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.
The Holy Spirit is the Helper we all need.
He’s a better Helper than your parents.
He’s a better Helper than your spouse.
He’s a better Helper than your pastor.
He’s a better Helper than the greatest theologians and scholars this world has to offer.
Simply put He’s the best Helper in leading you to all truth.
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He always points you right back to Christ bearing witness to Him...
And He does not speak on His own accord but speaks according to the will of the Father...
And while He is doing this He is interceding for you on your behalf at all times as it says in Romans 8:27:
27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
As amazing as that sounds that does not cover all that the Holy Spirit does.
His ministry is greater still.
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The Holy Spirit also acts as a seal and a guarantee.
One you have the Holy Spirit in you He acts like a seal and preserves you until you are in the state of glory.
He actually prevents you from doing the things that would damn you.
Scripture makes it clear that is you make a practice of sinning and that habit defines you...
You will not enter the Kingdom of Heaven.
However, if you have the Holy Spirit in you He will protect you from that slavery to sin.
Everyone sins...
That is true and John himself said that in this epistle...
But a life of wickedness will not be a part of your future if you are a new creation.
So, the Holy Spirit is a 100% guarantee that you are going to eternal life.
For we are now in right standing with the Father.
This is no boasting of one’s own merits...
For the good works that saved us is the good and perfect and complete work of Christ on the Cross.
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You see the whole Trinity at work here.
Just like you see in 2 Corinthians 1:21–22 which says:
21 And it is God who establishes us with you in Christ, and has anointed us,
22 and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee.
You see that Church...
That is the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit all working together!
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And you see that truth again in passages like Ephesians 1:13–14 that read:
13 In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,
14 who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it, to the praise of his glory.
The order that this verse presents things is on purpose...
First you hear the Word of God...
Then you believe in that salvation message...
And put your faith in Christ...
Then you are sealed with the Holy Spirit and guaranteed the He will be with you until you are in possession of glorification.
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So, look at Scripture says about the third person of the Trinity and how He changes one’s life.
Does this describe your experience?
If not you have a big problem on your hands.
For anyone who is void of the Holy Ghost doe not belong to the royal family of God.
So heed the warning of Romans 8:9–11:
9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
10 But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness.
11 If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.
And it is with that that we look to our next point.
2) We Testify
2) We Testify
Verse 14: And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.
If the Holy Spirit lives in you...
Then you will no doubt testify to the truth that God sent His Son to be the Savior of this world.
As Galatians 4:4–5 says:
4 But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law,
5 to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.
If you don’t believe that in your heart then there is no salvation for you.
This truth is essential.
This is the core of the Gospel message.
This is the Good News of Jesus Christ...
For the first time Jesus came was not to condemn the world but to be it’s Savior...
As it says in John 3:16-17:
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
17 For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but in order that the world might be saved through him.
But Christ is coming back again...
And when He return it will be as the Warrior King...
He will come to Judge!
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So, today is the day for salvation...
Today is the day to surrender...
Today is the day to renounce ungodliness...
Today is the day to forsake worldly passions...
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And today is the day to seek to live a life of self-control...
Today is the day to live an upright and godly life...
Today is the day to realize that it was the Son of Man; Jesus Christ...
Who gave Himself for your redemption...
Who gave Himself for the lawless in order to purify them.
As it says in Titus 2:11–14:
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
12 training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
13 waiting for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ,
14 who gave himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to purify for himself a people for his own possession who are zealous for good works.
Hear me...
Listen up...
There is no other “god” who can save you...
There is no other “mediator” ...
There is no saint or pastor or bishop or pope who can save you...
Simply put, there is no other options for humanity...
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That like the times you tell someone about Jesus and they answer back...
“That’s nice for you but I don’t need that.” ...
Actually, you do need Him...
For the road to Heaven is a one way road...
There are no other routes...
There are no other pathways...
There are no secret or hidden tunnels...
You can’t talk yourself in...
Nor can you earn yourself a place...
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The reason the world has always hated the Christian message is that it is an exclusive message.
All can be invited but all who enter have to go by the same narrow path.
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As Paul says in 1 Timothy 2:5–6:
5 For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus,
6 who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
And you are not saved by your works...
You are not saved by your own righteousness...
You are not saved by praying a prayer...
You are not saved by walking down an aisle...
You are not saved by practicing a religious ritual...
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Paul again shoots straight to the heart and tells us why we are saved in Titus 3:5–7:
5 he saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit,
6 whom he poured out on us richly through Jesus Christ our Savior,
7 so that being justified by his grace we might become heirs according to the hope of eternal life.
So, if is the transforming power of the Holy Spirit that renews us and leads us into confessing the only name that saves...
And this takes us to our third point.
3) We Confess
3) We Confess
Verse 15: Whoever confesses that Jesus is the Son of God, God abides in him, and he in God.
Remember, Beloved...
To confess something...
Is not just a matter of acknowledging facts...
Confessing here is a proclamation of your allegiance...
So, confessing Jesus is to proclaim you stand by the facts of the biblical Jesus and that He is personally your Lord and Savior of your life.
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With that in mind look at Romans 10:9–10 as it says:
9 because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.
10 For with the heart one believes and is justified, and with the mouth one confesses and is saved.
So, confessing Jesus involves both your head and your heart.
You can’t have faith in someone you don’t know...
And you can’t have faith in someone you don’t trust and obey.
But that is not all.
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Look at what Jesus says in Matthew 10:32–33:
32 So everyone who acknowledges me before men, I also will acknowledge before my Father who is in heaven,
33 but whoever denies me before men, I also will deny before my Father who is in heaven.
So, confessing Jesus is not possible to do in private.
There is no such thing as a true Christian saying, “my faith is a personal and private thing so I don’t talk about it.”
Jesus made it clear...
Confessing Him is to be public...
We are to acknowledge Him.
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As yourself...
Sure your church family knows you confess to be a Christian...
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But what about your co-workers...
Do they know you are a Christian?
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What about your neighbors...
Do they know you are a Christian?
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What about the people who follow you on social media...
Do they know you are a Christian?
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I’m going to be frank with you...
If everyone knows which political party you belong to but not that you are a follower of Christ that is a problem...
If everyone knows which sports team you root for but not that you are a follower of Christ that is a problem...
That is a big problem!
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The whole world should know without a doubt that we follow Jesus Christ!
For we are Christians first and everything else second...
And I mean a very distant second!
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For we cannot be ashamed of Christ...
We can’t be ashamed of the Bible which is the very Word of God...
As Mark 8:38 says:
38 For whoever is ashamed of me and of my words in this adulterous and sinful generation, of him will the Son of Man also be ashamed when he comes in the glory of his Father with the holy angels.”
So, stop looking toward false and inadequate saviors...
No politician is going to save you...
No sweet talking cult of personality is going to save you...
No religious leader from and denomination is going to save you...
No man can save you!
So stop looking at them an focus your eyes on Christ!
As John 6:40 says:
40 For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who looks on the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.”
And that Church, takes us to our fourth and final point of the message today.
4) We Believe
4) We Believe
Verse 16: So we have come to know and to believe the love that God has for us. God is love, and whoever abides in love abides in God, and God abides in him.
God is love!
No one else can ever be described like that except our God.
You see Church...
Love existed from an eternity past...
Because, God did not need to create something for Him to display love...
God is love because He is Trinity.
God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit have always loved each other...
And like God has no beginning or end...
So to for love.
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In fact, all love comes from God.
And the ones who practice true love...
Are only able to do that because the Holy Spirit, who is love, lives in them.
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Lamentations 3:22–24 is actually a great verse at describing what that love looks like.
The verse reads:
22 The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end;
23 they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness.
24 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.”
And it is the same love that Christ has for His sheep.
For nothing can separate us from the love of Christ as it says in Romans 8:35–39:
35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?
36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.”
37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers,
39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
So, looking at all that John is saying in this passage...
We see that he is making clear that a true born-again believer...
Displays godly love to all, ...
Confesses the biblical Jesus, ...
Testifies that the Father sent the Son to Save the world, ...
And surrenders to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
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All these things make it clear that one has the Holy Spirit living in them and is truly a child of God.
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So, please consider this note from the New American Commentary on the Epistles of John:
“When we remain in this love, we live in God because God is love.
It must be stated that the previous characteristics and qualifications are still required.
Speaking of the love of God, as many often do, is not enough.
The confession of the incarnate Christ and acknowledgment of his atonement and Lordship are necessary.
Without this combination, this mutual abiding is not possible.
The fact that the word ‘abide’ (‘menō’ in Ancient Greek) occurs three times in the Greek text underscores this point.”
Closing Illustration
Closing Illustration
As this message comes to a close, I want to share this:
During the first part of the construction of the Golden Gate Bridge in San Francisco, no safety devices were used, and 23 men fell to their deaths.
For the last part of the project, however, a large net which cost $100,000 was employed.
At least 10 men fell into it and were saved.
But an interesting sidelight is the fact that 25 percent more work was accomplished when the men were assured of their safety!
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So, Church I want to stress the point John was making here...
He wanted to give assurance to those who are genuinely followers of Christ.
Without assurance our Christian walk will be impacted negatively.
John doesn’t want to give false assurance so he is very thorough in his teaching in this letter.
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So, if the evidence points to the fact that you have the Holy Spirit living in you...
Then go boldly into the week and share the Good News with others and do what God has personally called you to do in service to Him.
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If, the evidence is lacking and you realize that the Holy Spirit is void in your life...
Then cry out to Him and surrender to the only name that can save...
Surrender to the Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
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To God be all the glory.
Amen.
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Please join us for one more song from the Praise Band.
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