LEARNING MORE ABOUT THE HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)

HOLY SPIRIT (Part 3)

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S PRESENT WORK IN THE WORLD
– (John 16:7-11)
The Spirit has come to reprove (blame) the world
for being wrong about sin, righteousness, and judgment
     – (Romans 3:23) All have sinned
       Note:
            “Sin” is the “root”; “sins” are the “fruit”.
            A person may not be consciously aware that his
            deepest problem is sin, or that sin has separated
            him or her from their fellowship with God.
            Note:
                The work of the Holy Spirit
                is to “disturb” and convict man of his sin.

    – The Holy Spirit convinces people
       that Jesus is the ‘righteousness of God’.
       He shows sinners that Jesus is the way, the truth, and the life;
       and He tells us that no one comes to the Father but by Jesus.

    – The Holy Spirit convicts the world of judgment;
       the prince of the world is judged, and all will be
       judged if they refuse God’s offer of everlasting life.
      Note:
          Satan (the prince of the world) still wages warfare.
          As his total destruction and removal from Earth gets closer,
          we will see his efforts intensify as perversions, permissiveness,
          tolerance, violence, and other sinful actions increase.
          The Holy Spirit has come to make us aware of these things,
          because He is deeply involved in biblical prophecy.

– (2 Thessalonians 2:7)
   One of the works of the Holy Spirit in the world
   is to hinder the growth of lawlessness.
    – The Scriptures make it clear that Earth would be
       a literal hell, if not for the presence of the Holy Spirit
       (the unbelieving world probably doesn’t realize what
       it owes to the restraining power of the Holy Spirit).
       Note:
           Some theologians believe the Holy Spirit
           is being gradually withdrawn.
           When He is totally withdrawn, the Anti-Christ will reign
           supreme (for a short time) and all hell will break loose.
               Question:
                If this gradual withdrawal is true, what percentage
                do you think has been withdrawn as of today?

– (Matthew 5:13-14)
   The Holy Spirit also acts through the people of God
   (who Jesus referred to as salt and light in His sermon on the Mount).
   Note:
       We, as believers, sometimes find it difficult
       to understand the amount of influence we can have
       (especially since we are such a minority, are too often
       divided, and are disobedient from time to time).
       However, through the power of the Holy Spirit,
       we have the ability to restrain evil and do good.
       Christians “at work” in the world represent
       the only real spiritual light in a rapidly darkening world;
       and act as salt to hinder the process of decline in the world.
       Note:
           This places a tremendous responsibility on all of us.
           Only as the world sees our good works
           do they know a light is shining (Matthew 5:14-16).
           Our moral presence shows the existence of salt in the world.

THE HOLY SPIRIT’S WORK IN THE CHURCH
– The ‘church’ is the body of believers.

– (1 Corinthians 12:12-14)
   The ‘church’ was brought into being by the Holy Spirit.

– (Ephesians 2:19-22)
   By the Spirit, God lives in the ‘church’.
   (we are the church so the Spirit lives in us)
   Note:
       If we realize that when we meet together
       as a church, God is really in our midst,
       then it should deepen our personal worship.

– (Romans 8:8-11, Galatians 2:20)
   These verses imply that if the Spirit is in us, then Christ is in us.
   Christ dwells in our hearts by faith, but the Holy Spirit is a person
   of the Trinity who actually dwells in us as well (promised by the Son).
   Note:
       Although believers are the dwelling place of the Spirit,
       many are often lacking the fruit of the Spirit.
       That means that we need to make the Spirit an active
       part of our life (influencing our thoughts, actions, attitudes, etc.)

– (Ephesians 4:11-12)
   The Holy Spirit gives gifts to specific people in the church.
   Every Christian receives some gift the moment he receives Christ.
   No Christian can say he has no gift, but many fail to discover,
   cultivate, and fully use the gift (or gifts) God has given them.

   We need to realize the pastor cannot do all the work of the church,
   so the Lord equips us (through His Spirit) to assist our pastors.
   Unless we discover, nurture, and actively use our spiritual gift,
   then we offer very little help to our pastor, our church, and our God.