The Holy Spirit: The Breath of Life
The Holy Spirit • Sermon • Submitted
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1 In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
7 then the Lord God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.
PRAY
We’re beginning a new sermon series today on the Holy Spirit. Next week is Pentecost Sunday, the day we commemorate the event in scripture when the Holy Spirit first filled the Early Church and empowered them to take the gospel to the entire world. And for a good part of the summer we’re going to stay in this series on the Holy Spirit—looking at things like the gifts of the Holy Spirit, the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and the fruit of the Holy Spirit.
Today, though, is sort of an introductory message. Today I want to lay some groundwork and a foundation for us to build on.
And…today my goal is to raise our expectancy. To heighten our sense of urgency and dependence on the Holy Spirit.
You know, this is a Pentecostal church. And that’s not a denominational thing. And it’s not a pride thing. We don’t call ourselves that because we think we’re the only ones who have it all right and the rest have it all wrong. We simply call ourselves Pentecostal because our goal is to be JUST AS depedant upon, our goal is to be just as EXPECTANT UPON, and our goal is to be JUST AS moved upon as those earliest believers were on the day of Pentecost.
I am concerned that among churches who have a Pentecostal heritage there seems to be very little emphasis on Pentecostal practice. Let that never be said of this church. Let that never be said of your life or my life.
Let me get even clearer:
We believe in the Present ministry of the Holy Spirit in the church today and in the world today
We will seek a daily, dynamic relationship with the Holy Spirit, led by the Holy Spirit, and filled with the Holy Spirit.
We believe in the saving, regenerating power of the Holy Spirit to come in at the moment of our submission to the lordship of Jesus and give us new life.
We believe in the cleansing, sanctifying work of the Holy Spirit to give us victory over sin and deliver us from the grips of sin.
We believe in the Pentecostal experience of the Baptism in the Holy Spirit wherein we are filled with, saturated by, and infused with the POWER of the Holy Spirit—both to live a Holy Life and to Live and EMPOWERED live of service and devotion to Jesus Christ and His Kingdom
We believe that all of the charismatic gifts of the Holy Spirit are available to the church today and are needed in the church today.
We believe in the gifts of a word of wisdom or word of knowledge
We believe in the gift of faith and the gifts of divine healing.
We believe the Holy Spirit still works in signs, wonders, and miracles
We believe God still causes believers to speak with and to interpret unknown tongues
We believe in the gifts of prophecy and the discerning of spirits.
We believe in the Fruit of the Holy Spirit. LET ME CAMP OUT ON THAT ONE FOR A MINUTE. The Fruit of the Spirit are the true sign of a Spirit-filled life.
The gifts of the Spirit can be faked, manipulated, and abused.
But the fruit of the Spirit cannot be forged, they are the foolproof sign that someone is a true, Spirit-filled believer.
Let me put it to you this way. Just because you talk in tongues doesn’t automatically make you sweet. I’ve met some salty saints and some triflin’ tongue talkers in my day.
But when I meet someone and see them go through seasons of life where things aren’t quite going your way or life is difficult and you still manage to live a life characterized by love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, generosity, faithfulness, gentleness, and self control… That’s how I know for sure that you’re living a life truly given over to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.
I don’t care how much you prophesy, and I don’t care how loud you shout, or how many laps you run in church—when it comes down to it, if you ain’t loving your neighbor, living at peace with your brother, having patience with your sister, showing kindness to a stranger, giving generously to a begger… you’re not Spirit-filled, you just like to be loud and be heard.
They ain’t anointed they’re just aggravating. I’m not saying they’re demon possessed but I am saying they are a distraction. That’s why Jesus could say there would be people who at the judgment seat would be able to say, “I cast out demons and healed the sick in your name” but Jesus would say, depart from me I never knew you. Because biblically speaking, the fruit of the Spirit are more important than the gifts of the Spirit.
As a Pentecostal church we don’t just believe in the gifts of the Holy Spirit---WE BELIEVE IN THE FRUIT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT.
Now, all of that is my into…That’s an overview of what we’re going to cover over the next several weeks.
Today—I want to take you to the very first mention of the Holy Spirit in the Bible.