The Holy Spirit Promise Part 1

March 6, 2022

The Holy Spirit

(Part 1)

Good Morning: Welcome to Jesus Church here & online

This morning we start a new series on the Holy Spirit

  • Growing up I remember my Grandpa would say the Holy Ghost
      • He was with even when you were asleep
      • He knew everything you did
      • Always watching you… it scared me senseless
  • Who wants a Ghost watching ur every move – Don’t care how good
    1. I’m a kid – All I know is Ghostbusters and Casper
      • But at least it made me a good kid
      • Lucky I didn’t need therapy from it

The main verse for this series comes from John 20

Jn 20:21-22 (Quote from Jesus) – NIV

Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you. And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit”.

  • Pay attention to the line in the middle
  1. “As the Father has sent me, I am sending you”
  2. Ground zero for Theology of Mission (why we do what we do)
    • It’s the idea that we are sent out by God into our community
    • And everywhere we place our feet
    • That is where Jesus is literally cl
    1. This is the idea: Jesus was sent by Father – We are sent by Jesus
      • Problem is we become obsessed w/ “GO” (nothing wrong)
      • But we ignore the rest of what Jesus says here
  • Ignore what comes before it (Peace be with you)
    1. Word Jesus would have used: Shalom (flourishing, life, joy)
  1. This is what God has for us as follower of Jesus
      • Jesus has given us the gift of peace
      • But we still only focus on the “GO”
  • Ignore what comes after it (Be filled with the Holy Spirit)
    • This idea of presence and power of God deep inside us
    • And the confidence and power that comes with that

But we forget/ignore the totality of what Jesus said

  • Burn out trying to be sent
    • Because we haven’t learned to receive peace
    • And we have no clue about the Holy Spirit
  • There are too many Christians who will never hear a sermon on H.S.
    • I believe with what God wants to do through His church
    • We are going to need everything that we can get
  • So we need to understand who the Holy Spirit is
    • What the Holy Spirit’s role is in our life
    • How to walk in the power of the Spirit
      • Because Jesus calls the Holy Spirit the “Helper”
      • We are definitely gonna need help

[Pray]

Turn in Bibles to Genesis 1

Gen. 1:1

In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. Now the Earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters.

Spirit in Hebrew is “Ruach”

  • It can be translated: Spirit, Breath, Wind
    1. In this story the “Ruach” of God is hovering over the waters
    2. This is a WORD PICTURE in original language
      • Idea is imagery of a bird flapping its wings over waters
  • This is a mixed metaphor with wings/water – interesting because…
    1. Water is one of most common metaphors for Ruach in scripture

I want to follow this imagery of Holy Spirit as water through OT into NT

  • Lets go to book of Isaiah (first prophet)
  1. Honestly there’s a lot of history b/w Genesis and Isaiah
    1. We don’t read very much about the Ruach in the OT
      • He is there – Second sentence / from very beginning
  • But its kinda like He is in the shadows
    1. Every once in awhile he steps out and does crazy awesome
    2. Usually at a key turning point in God’s story
      • Not through just anyone – usually on a Prophet/Priest/King
      • But then usually he’s gone as quickly as he showed up
  • Prophets start speaking of future day that Spirit dynamic changes
    1. Holy Spirit would come out on main stage once and for all
  • And in doing so would usher in whole new reality
  • Not only for Israel but for the entire Earth

Is. 44:1-5

But now listen, Jacob, my servant, Israel, whom I have chosen (God’s people). This is what the LORD says – he who made you, who formed you in the womb, and who will help you: Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant, Jeshurun (another name for Israel), whom I have chosen. For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground.

  • Keep in mind this is written to people living in the desert

I will pour out (says what the water is and dry ground is) my Spirit on your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants (so this is talking of future). They will spring up like grass in a meadow, like poplar trees by flowing streams.

  • Again this is the desert so this doesn’t happen naturally
  1. Imagery of rushing water – Like turning Arizona into Seattle

Some will say, ‘I belong to the LORD, others will call themselves by the name of Jacob; still others will write on their hand, ‘The Lord’s’ and will take the name Israel.

  • Isaiah speaking of a day God will pour water on a thirsty land
      • And this is just one example – It is all over the prophets

Joel 2:28-29

And afterwards (once again in the future) I will pour out (water imagery) my Spirit on ALL people (so not just a select few anymore). Your sons and daughters will prophecy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days.

  • Prophets keep coming back to idea
  1. One day in future God will pour out His Spirit
  2. It will be like water in the desert

All of this will lead us to Jesus

Jn. 1:32 (ESV)

Then John the Baptizer bore witness: “I saw the Spirit descend from heaven like a dove and it remain on him (Jesus)

  • This is John retelling the story of Jesus’ baptism
    1. When Jesus comes out of the water of Jordan river
    2. Holy Spirit comes down on Jesus like a dove
      • Have you ever thought… what’s up with the DOVE
      • Now dove all over the place (logo – church/tattoo – hipster)
  • Ever thought why is the Holy Spirit a bird… it says “Like a dove”
    1. Not Jesus was Human / Holy Spirit is a bird
        • It’s based on a Hebrew to Aramaic translation of Bible
    • Most popular translations around Jesus time of Gen. 1:2

Gen. 1:2

The Spirit flapped its wings over the waters like a dove

  • This is Johns way of telling us
  1. In the same way the Spirit was over the waters at creation o He is now over Jesus
    • Means Jesus is nothing short of new creation of world itself
    • That is what God is doing – Gen. 1 all over again
    • And John continues on…

Jn. 1:33 (ESV)

I myself did not know him, but he who sent me to baptize with water said to me, ‘He on whom you see the Spirit descend and remain, this is he who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.

  • Baptize is the word – Baptizo
    1. Means to emerse all the way under the waters
    2. To cover or saturate
  • If been in church there is all sorts of controversy over this Baptism
    1. We will get into that soon
  1. But know this – John says that when Jesus comes
    • He will emerse all his followers in waters of Holy Spirit

And then this idea of water/Holy Spirit all over John’s gospel

Jn 4:7-11 – Jesus comes to Samaritan city & finds himself at a well

When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, “Will you give me a drink?” (His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “You are a Jew and I am a Samaritan woman. How can you ask me for a drink?” (For Jews do not associate with Samaritans.)

Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God and who it is that asks you for a drink, you would have asked him and he would have given you living water.” Sir, the woman said, “You have nothing to draw with and the well is deep. Where can you get this living water?

Jn 4:13-14

Jesus answered, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

  • This is great imagery again of “LIVING WATER”
  1. But John doesn’t tell us what this living water is o To find out you have to keep reading
  2. Turn to John Chapter 7

Context – Jesus is at a festival in Jerusalem called Feast of Tabernacles

  • This one of 3 famous Jewish feasts (Passover)
  1. Time Jews looked back to Exodus when everyone lived in tents
    • For this feast 100’s of years later
    • Everyone would go camping for a week in a tent
    1. And this was not only a time to look back to Exodus
      • Also look forward to something new/fresh God would do
      • Jews believed God would bring them on a 2nd Exodus
  • Last day of feast – High priest start at bottom of city at Pool of Salom
    1. He would carry a bucket of gold up dipped in Salom to temple
    2. Singing Is. 12:7 With joy will u draw waters from well of salvation
      • Priest would get to temple and pour out water/gold on altar
      • Symbolic to new age where what Isaiah/Joel said would pass
  • This is a nation desperate for the Holy Spirit to come
    1. Last day of festival was symbolic that they believed it’d happen
    2. That the Holy Spirit would pour out like water

Jn. 7:37-39

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, (Isaiah/Joel) rivers of living water will flow from within them.

  • Jesus stand up in middle of all this imagery and longing
  1. He says “LISTEN” I’m here – The one you’ve been waiting for

By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified. (More on that in coming weeks)

  • Point is that here is Jesus saying – Spirit is finally here o What is the Spirit like… He is like “Living Water” o This is in the desert – Being thirsty a way of life
    • Jesus says come to me and you will never thirst again
    • All you have to do is ask for the water

Begs the Question – ARE YOU THIRSTY???

I think a number of us – If honest – Would say I followed Jesusj

  • But in all honesty: I’m steill thirst… and I know there has to be more
    • I go to church on Sunday’s
    • I read my Bible every dayish…
    • I pray/generous/nice
    • I help people when I can
  • Still there’s a sense that something is missing
    • Read language of Jesus – If you come to me and drink
    • You will never be thirsty again
    • Many say: How does this work – I’m still thirsty 4 more
  • What I mean is we all see there is a gap
    • B/W the church that grew up around Jesus death/resurrection
    • And the church we are a part of today (Not a criticism – reality
  • Do you ever read about NT church/scripture as a whole
  • There are signs/wonders/miracles/dying for faith

o Ever read that and think – Man… I want that for me/church/world

Billy Graham had this to say

Everywhere I go I find that God’s people lack something. They are hungry for something (thirsty). Their Christian experience is not all that they expected, and they often have reoccurring defeat in their lives. Christians today are hungry today for spiritual fulfillment. The desperate need of our nation today is that men and women who profess Jesus be filled with the Holy Spirit.

  • So after a lifetime of going to churches around the US & World o Billy says the common thing that’s missing: Holy Spirit

o This has to change… churches have to start preaching on this

  • And we want so badly to close the gap here at Jesus Church
  1. Between what we thirst because we know there’s more
  2. And what we know in our Christian experience

Hard in culture of today: In US polarization b/w Bible/Spirit Churches

  • In Bible Church – Focus is on the Bible

o Joke that in these churches Trinity: Father, Son & Holy Bible

o Focusing on Bible is great – We focus immensely on Bible here

  • In Holy Spirit Church – Focus is on the Holy Spirit
  1. Bible often gets turned into a go to for pep talks
  2. It’s a story out of context here/a line from a verse there
    • Theology gets off and Bible takes a back seat

  • Good and bad in each church
  1. But must understand these were never supposed to be separated o These were always supposed to walk hand in hand
    • The Bible and the Holy Spirit
    • Thinking and Feeling
    • Teaching and Preaching
    • Context and Miraculous
      • And this is so badly the church we want to become

So we come into this series all over the map

  • Some of us hear H.S – Break into hives
  1. This is maybe based on your background/upbringing
    1. Maybe you saw the abuse – look at me – crazy – unbiblical
  • You want nothing to do with it
      • Give me something to learn and study… and that’s it
  • Others hear H.S. and think finally!!!
    • I’m bringing my shofar and flags next week
    • Bust out the Holy Oil
  • A ton of us have little or no background with Holy Spirit
  • So we think… sure it’s in the Bible
    • Don’t really know what that means
  • Regardless of where you are – For/Against/Switzerland
    1. Common denominator: We are thirsty for more of what God has
    2. I can’t tell you how much I want to see us grow into this
      • Balanced church full of Holy Spirit & doctrinal teaching
        • I love teaching the Bible – That will never change
        • I believe God has more than just coming on Sunday
  1. Hear message/Singing songs – Repeat next week
  2. That is great and Important… But there is more

Its time for us to EXPERIECNE all God has for us

At some point experience & feelings got a bad name

  • How many times have we heard – Not about feelings, about faith

O Well – Sure there is some truth in that

o Problem is Bible is full of stories of people experiencing God

    • This is basically the entire OT

One Theologian from Oxford said this about Holy Spirit

I purposefully emphasize the word experience and will seek to show from the scriptures that the importance of experience, a non-experiential religion is suspect because it fails to deal with the totality of our being.

  • Show me in Bible where our faith is cold/mechanical/detached thing
  • It’s not: It’s a living back and forth relationship w/ Spirit of God o This is the key – Spirit of God isn’t an abstract thing
  • Holy Spirit is a living being

Jn. 16:8-14 (Night b4 Jesus’ Death) – Jesus says H.S. will come in my place When he (Spirit) comes, HE will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment. About sin, because people do not believe in me, about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer, and about judgment because the prince of this world now stands condemned. I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when HE, the Spirit of truth comes, HE will guide you into all the truth. HE will not speak on his own, HE will speak only what he hears, and HE will tell you what is yet to come. HE will glorify me because it is from me that HE will receive what HE will make known to you.

  • This is gold and we will try to get back to it
    1. All you need to see for today is one Pronoun (HE)
    2. Holy Spirit is a (HE) not an (IT)
      • When I say “He” I don’t mean male
      • Think of Romans 8 – Imagery of mother giving birth
      • Means Holy Spirit is a person
  • Later in NT Paul says: Do not grieve the Holy Spirit
    1. So you can grieve the Holy Spirit – Means there are feelings
    2. You can actually estrange yourself from the Holy Spirit
  • Another place Paul says to keep in step (walk with) the Holy Spirit
  • So we can walk behind the Spirit… walk ahead of Spirit
  • Or we can walk in step w/ the Holy Spirit

You don’t do that with an abstract thing – But with a living being

  • Idea is that we live with the Holy Spirit 24/7
    1. But if honest this isn’t how many of us think of the Holy Spirit
    2. There was a survey done among Christians in American
      • True or False: The Holy Spirit is a force and not a person
      • 51% said true / 7% said don’t know / 42% said false
  • So over half of American Christians think of H.S. not as person
    1. But like something out of Starwars
    2. And I’m all for Starwars – But not like this
  • Think about how much it fits with perception today
    1. Some believe in the force and some don’t – Little weird/strange
    2. Glad we have Jedi b/c we need that and its cool
      • Most don’t really have anything to do with it
      • But there are a few – Force is strong with those individuals
      • And then there are a select few Jedi Knights
        • Healing, Prophecy, Signs & Wonders (Lightsaber)
  • This is so true how many think of Holy Spirit
    1. That he is a POWER THAT WE WIELD
  1. Instead of a PERSON WE ARE IN RELATIONSHIP WITH
    • And absolutely there is power in the Holy Spirit (next week)
    • But it’s the power in a living being – Not a force

Why it matters? – Talking about being thirsty for more

What we are thirsty for is more relationship

  • Not more force (powers have doubled from last time I saw you

o What we want is more relationship w/ person of H.S.

  • Many people struggle with this because
    1. If I received the Holy Spirit in salvation – How can I have more
    2. This is a great question
      • But to think of H.S. through this mindset or question
      • Is to see H.S. as a doctrine of when u are saved
        • Rather than a person you grow in relationship with
  • Imagine when I got married – My thought was I now have my wife
    1. There is no more need to pursue more of her
  1. This would not work well for one (at all)
    • But I know from 13 years of marriage
  • I learn more about how amazing she is every day
  • Our relationship grows deeper all the time

Point when u come into relationship w/ Jesus u absolutely have the Spirit

  • But that is a relationship u hopefully grow in over the years o It’s something that gets better and deeper over the years o As you grow in a relationship with the Holy Spirit

TAG: Now lets circle back to John 7 to end

Jn 7:37

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.

This is essentially an invitation to do 3 things: Believe/Come/Drink

  • 1st is toBelieve: Straight Forward – Believe in God & Spirit

o That in beginning He was over the waters

o Now He is deep inside of you o Most of us are already there

  • 2nd is to come before God in prayer & express our thirst to Him

o God I want more of you

o God I want to grow in relationship with you o God I want to keep in step/sync with you

    • I want your power and presence to flow through me
    • Living water overflowing on streets– THIS IS WHAT I WANT
  • 3rd is to drink – Far more ambiguous (what does it even mean)
  1. Because Jesus says this… but doesn’t explain – No 3 steps
  2. No book with guarantee on how to do it
  3. Jesus just says open your mind/life/spirit to trust and receive
    • Receive God’s power – presence – life

Most of us believe in the Holy Spirit – That’s awesome

  • Question is do we come to him and do we drink
    1. Over next couple months we will cover a lot of ground
      • Theology of the Holy Spirit
      • Get into prophecy/healing/deliverance/miracles
      • We will get into hearing God’s voice
  • For today the point is that: There is more than…
    1. I go to church
    2. I’m a decent person
    3. I read my Bible
  • This is all great stuff and keep doing it
    1. But there is more
  1. And it’s time to dive into those waters
  2. If up to it – Invitation of Jesus is to come/believe and drink

[PRAY] – I invite you to tell God right now that you are thirsty

  • Tell him that you believe
  1. But now you come to Him
  2. And now you desire to drink

 

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