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 Sermon > Sunday Morning Service |
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Title |
Holy Spirit |
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Speaker |
Rev. Jaerock Lee |
Bible |
Acts2:1-4 |
Date |
2008-05-11 |
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Passage
"When the day of Pentecost had come, they were all together in one place. [2] And suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. [3] And there appeared to them tongues as of fire distributing themselves, and they rested on each one of them. [4] And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."
Introduction
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Today is the Whitsunday. It's the seventh Sunday after the Easter. Before He took the cross, Jesus had already said that He would suffer and leave the disciples.
But He also promised that He wouldn't leave His disciples like orphans but send another Helper to them.
John 14:16 says, "I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may be with you forever."
Jesus took the sufferings of cross and died according to God's providence and resurrected on the third day.
He then remained on earth for about 40 days and ascended into heaven.
Before He ascended into heaven, the resurrected Lord talked about the Holy Spirit once again.
He said in Acts 1:4-5, "Gathering them together, He commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, "Which," He said, "you heard of from Me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now."
After the ascension of the Lord, the disciples held on to this word and prayed together in one heart.
And when Pentecost came, the Holy Spirit came, as described in today's passage.
Suddenly there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting.
Verse 4 of today's reading passage says "And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit was giving them utterance."
The Holy Spirit stays in the heart of each believer and works as the 'Helping Spirit'. He teaches us the truth just like a tutor.
Sometimes, he helps our weaknesses like a mother and encourages us to keep our march of faith.
Until God's children pass the gate of heaven, He is never inattentive and He never gives up on us, but stays with us all the time.
That is why Jesus said that it was better for the Holy Spirit to come than Jesus Himself staying on earth.
Because Jesus had a physical body, he was under the limits of the physical space.
For example, when Jesus was at Galilee, those believers in Jerusalem couldn't see Him.
But because the Holy Spirit is spirit, He is not controlled by the limitations of physical space.
He can be with all the people who long for Him. And I hope you will clearly understand about this Holy Spirit on this Whitsunday.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will receive more of the Holy Spirit's power to become men and women of spirit and whole spirit.
Body
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, first of all, the Holy Spirit comes to those who seek Him and yearn for Him.
Acts 2:38 says, "Peter said to them, "Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins; and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit."
Anybody who repents of his sins, accepts Jesus as the Savior and receives the forgiveness of sins can receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is the spirit of God who is holy, He cannot come into the hearts of sinners.
But those who believe in Jesus Christ are no longer sinners; all their sins are washed away by the blood of the Lord.
Those who are justified by believing in Jesus Christ will receive the Holy Spirit as Jesus promised.
Luke 11:13 says, "If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?"
God the Father wants to give the gift of the Holy Spirit to all children who are forgiven of their sins.
Also, according to the spiritual law, anybody can receive the Holy Spirit if they believe Jesus Christ and receives the forgiveness of sins.
But what does it mean by that the Holy Spirit comes to those who seek and yearn for Him?
Even if we receive the same Holy Spirit, the help that we get from Him will be different according to how much we seek Him and yearn for Him.
For example, according to how much you long to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit, the magnitude of fullness will be different from person to person.
The fullness of the Holy Spirit is when the Holy Spirit lets us feel the spiritual space through the truth that is in our heart.
It is when He lets us feel with our hearts the spiritual space where there is no flesh and no sin, but only peace, joy, and thanks.
When we all attend prayer meeting, the fullness of Spirit is different from person to person depending on each individual's yearning for the Spirit.
Some of us receive fiery works of the Holy Spirit, but some others will just stay as they are without change. The reason why the fullness of Spirit is different is because the magnitude of the yearning of each one's heart is different.
To receive the fullness of the Spirit, we first have to prepare our heart, and long for the Spirit and earnestly ask for the Spirit.
To have hearts that are prepared to receive the Spirit, we must not have a wall of sin between us and God. If the wall of sin is standing between us and God, the Holy Spirit will groan because of it.
But even then, if we repent of our sins and earnestly seek the fullness of the Spirit, we can still receive the works of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit certainly gives His grace and fullness to those who earnestly seek Him.
Have you maintained the same fullness that you received when you first received the Holy Spirit, or has the fullness increased?
Even boiling water, when removed from the fire, will cool down. To continuously keep it boiling we have to keep the fire going. Likewise, to keep the fullness of the Spirit, we constantly have to ask for the help of the Holy Spirit.
We should long to receive the fullness of the Holy Spirit through our cries in prayer, praises from the depth of our hearts, and the worship that we offer in spirit and truth.
Then, what is the reason that we lose the fullness that we had when we first received the Holy Spirit? It's because we didn't long for spirit as much.
When we first received the Holy Spirit and were filled with the fullness, we were so happy feeling the spiritual space.
This is when God let us taste the feeling of spirit.
He let us taste how good being in the 'spirit' is.
Once we have tasted this feeling of spirit, we have to long for it with more desperate hearts.
But some people just stop at this point. They don't earnestly seek the help of the Holy Spirit, and also they begin to lose the fullness of the Holy Spirit that they once received.
Then, their mind that used to seek spirit may even turn to the flesh.
If you really long for the kingdom of heaven, I hope you will always seek and ask for the help of the Holy Spirit.
Even if you are filled with the fullness of Spirit right now, you should not let yourself become lax.
I hope you will always pray with earnest yearning so that you can keep the fullness of Spirit all the time.
I hope you will attend all the meetings where you can receive God's grace.
That way I hope that you will always be filled with the fullness of Spirit.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, Second, if we receive the Holy Spirit, we can receive the power. I said earlier that to receive the Holy Spirit, we have to first earnestly seek Him and yearn for Him.
The second point is about the kind of power that the Holy Spirit helps us with.
He gives us the strength to pray. Of course, we have to try from our side.
At first, it may be difficult, but as we keep on trying, the Holy Spirit will remind us of the things to pray for in our mind.
As said in Romans 8:27, it's because the Holy Spirit is always praying for the believers according to the will of God.
He knows what we need better than we do.
And He wants our soul to prosper more than we want it to be prosperous. So, if we ask for the help of the Holy Spirit, we can surely receive the power of prayer.
Also, the Holy Spirit gives us the power to realize and understand the word of God.
The Bible was written by the people who were inspired by the Holy Spirit.
Also, the Holy Spirit Himself is the Spirit of Truth.
Thus, He knows exactly the will of God contained in the Bible.
Therefore, when we listen to a message or try to understand the spiritual meaning contained in the Bible, it is best to receive the help of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit speaks to the heart and gives inspiration to our spirit letting us realize His will and meaning of the Word.
In Acts chapter 2, Peter quoted many parts from the Old Testament in his sermon. He preached that the coming of the Holy Spirit and the promises about the resurrection of the Lord were now fulfilled.
Peter could understand that the prophecies in the Old Testament were fulfilled and preached about it by the power of the Holy Spirit.
Even after that, Peter and other apostles were filled with the Spirit and boldly preached the way of salvation of the Lord Jesus. Acts 4:13 says, "Now as they observed the confidence of Peter and John and understood that they were uneducated and untrained men, they were amazed..."
The best time for us to understand the word by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit is in the worship service.
The meaning of worshiping in spirit is to understand the word of God by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.
To receive this kind of grace, we have to attend service in truth. It means when we attend the service with all our heart, mind, and soul, God gives us spiritual grace.
The Holy Spirit gives us the power to realize the word of God and He also reminds us of the word of God that is necessary at different times. Mark 13:11 says, "When they arrest you and hand you over, do not worry beforehand about what you are to say, but say whatever is given you in that hour; for it is not you who speak, but it is the Holy Spirit."
When you preach the gospel, make a visit to a church member, or counsel somebody, the Holy Spirit can remind you of the necessary word for that particular person. If we work with this power of the Holy Spirit, we can bear good fruits.
Furthermore, the Holy Spirit's power that He can give to us is limitless.
He gives us the power to think in goodness and the power to cast away sins. If we receive the power of the Holy Spirit, our Christian life will be easy. But even if we have received the Holy Spirit, if we do not receive His power, we may feel a Christian life is difficult.
Figuratively, it's like you are trying to pull your car with your own strength after having filled up the gas tank.
How hard it will be!
But for those who receive the power of the Holy Spirit it is like when we start the engine and drive the car.
Suppose there is a high way that goes a great distance and it is very hard for a man to travel alone. But with the power of the Holy Spirit He can let us travel this road in a short time with comfort.
I don't have to mention the gifts and powerful works that take place through the Holy Spirit. The power of the Holy Spirit strengthens us so much.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will make use of the power of the Holy Spirit who is in you.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, third, because we have the Holy Spirit, we can also realize the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:10 says, "For to us God revealed them through the Spirit; for the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God."
The heart that can realize even the depths of God is the heart of spirit and heart of whole spirit.
Because God is spirit, we can understand about God as clearly as we have a spiritual heart.
But the process of changing our heart into spiritual heart can be done only by the Holy Spirit.
John 3:6 says, "That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit."
Then, how can we give birth to spirit through the Spirit? John 16:13 first part says, "But when He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth."
The Holy Spirit who dwells in our heart always teaches us the truth.
He teaches us the good will of God, through His voice or inspiration.
If we diligently obey the voice and inspiration of the Holy Spirit each time, we can have the heart of spirit.
We can depart from sins and dwell in light.
To cast off fleshly natures in our heart is also possible only by the power of the Holy Spirit.
The fleshly natures that are placed deep inside us cannot be just pulled out with human efforts alone.
Of course, from our side, we need strong will and efforts to cast off the fleshly natures, too. We need to have strong willpower and fervent prayer to cast off flesh and go into spirit.
But the power to demolish the fleshly natures belongs to the Holy Spirit. When we pray earnestly, the Holy Spirit burns our fleshly natures with His fire.
To the extent that our fleshly natures disappear, the fleshly thoughts and things of the flesh will also disappear.
For example, he who has cast off the fleshly nature called 'pride' by the power of the Holy Spirit will have peace of mind even though he is not served by others. He won't think that the others are mistreating him in any situation.
He won't have any kind of discomfort in mind, and the tone of his voice will not change, either. If we just cast off one fleshly nature called 'pride', we can have this happiness and peacefulness.
The Holy Spirit searches our heart delicately and precisely and continuously teaches us the kinds of fleshly natures that we have to remove. He constantly tells us what kinds of spiritual hearts we need in us.
He who obeys this guidance of the Holy Spirit will quickly go into spirit and whole spirit.
To the extent that he has heart of spirit, he will more deeply understand the heart of God.
And God the Father is still waiting, even today, for true children with whom He can share His deep heart.
I hope you will come forth as this kind of precious fruits of the Father God.
Conclusion
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, today being the Whitsunday, I talked to you about three aspects of the Holy Spirit.
First, the Holy Spirit comes to those who seek Him and yearn for Him. Second, when the Holy Spirit comes, we can receive His power.
Third, because we have the Holy Spirit, we can cultivate the heart of whole spirit with which we can even understand the depths of God.
How much do you long for the help of the Holy Spirit? And how much power of the Holy Spirit do you actually receive in your life?
The Holy Spirit has come to us by the great love and consideration of God the Father.
The Holy Spirit is raising and nurturing the believers in the Lord and guiding them to the heavenly kingdom since the ascension of the Lord and He will until the Lord comes back again.
I pray in the name of the Lord that you will give thanks for sending this Holy Spirit to us and come forth quickly into spirit and whole spirit.
Amen |
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