Exploring the Role of the Holy Spirit in Our Lives Today: A Sermon on Pentecost
Delve into the significance of the Holy Spirit in our lives today through a thought-provoking sermon delivered on the Day of Pentecost. Discover the essence of yielding, yearning, and decision-making in inviting the Holy Spirit to guide us, as illustrated through key biblical teachings and reflections.
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Sermon: What is the role of the Sermon: What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our Lives Today? Holy Spirit in our Lives Today? The Day of Pentecost Message (Sunday, 5/23/21). Preacher: The Ven. Prof. Ben Nworie, Ph.D., M.Div.
Opening Prayer: Opening Prayer: (Daniel Iverson, 1929) Spirit of the living God, Fall afresh on me. Opening Thanks: Opening Thanks: Thanks to God for the Holy Spirit; for His free gifts, and free services! Story: Story: Delivery fees for an expectant mother who didn t quite make it to the delivery room. Delivery Room fee: $1,200 Corrected Bill; (Greens Greens fee): $500
Sermon Outline: What is the role of the Sermon Outline: What is the role of the Holy Spirit in our Lives Today? Holy Spirit in our Lives Today? Introduction: Introduction: Key words (a) Yielding and (b) Yearning. Descending of the Holy Spirit Descending of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:1-41) - setting, sound, sight, speech, and spirit of the Day of Pentecost. Delighting in the Holy Spirit Delighting in the Holy Spirit (John 16:1-15) - seeing how the Spirit saves, serves, solicits, and sanctifies. Doing without the Holy Spirit Doing without the Holy Spirit (Gen. 11:1-9) - sinning, and scattering instead of shining! Decision Decision & Prayer Prayer- What s the role of the Holy Spirit in your Life Today?
Introduction: Introduction: What is the one thing we should never leave home without? How does the empowering and guiding by the Holy Spirit happen? Through: (a) Yielding, (Repentance and Faith) (b) Yearning (longing, desire, hunger, and thirst). Yield Yearn
1. . Descending of the Holy Spirit Descending of the Holy Spirit (a) The Setting (a) The Setting of The Day of Pentecost? (Acts 2:1)- Big day, big gathering (b) The Sound b) The Sound of the Day of Pentecost (2:2)- Wind of God (c) The Sight (c) The Sight of the Day of Pentecost (2:3) Fire of God (d) The Speech (d) The Speech of the Day of Pentecost (2:4-13) Gospel preached with boldness and authority. (e) The Spirit (e) The Spirit of the Day of Pentecost (2:4). Luke uses Baptized (Acts 1:5), and Filled (Acts 2:4) in reference to the Holy Spirit.
(a) The Setting (a) The Setting of The Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1)- Big day, big gathering What Does the Day of Pentecost mean? Pentecost is called: The Feast of Shavuot or the Feast of Weeks, (happens 7 weeks after Passover), The Feast of ingathering, or The Feast of Wheats (Exodus 34:22).
(a) (a) The setting of the Day of Pentecost The setting of the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1) (Cont d) Learn who the people visiting Jerusalem on the day of Pentecost mentioned in Acts 2 were and why all these people gathered in Jerusalem on that particular day with the help of our Nations in Jerusalem at Pentecost Map. People visiting Jerusalem on Pentecost Day Estimates put the numbers at between 250,000 to over 2 million (according to Josephus). Devout Jewish men came from all over the world where they were living (2: 9-11), such as: Modern day Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Western Syria around the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. Present day Israel and Palestine (Judea). All over the old Roman provinces at that time including modern day Turkey, Pontus in the northeast on the Black Sea, and Asia. Modern day Egypt and Libya. Present day Saudi Arabia, and perhaps other countries in that region (Arabs).
(b) The Sound b) The Sound of the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:2)- Wind of God In the Bible, the Wind (Ruah) represents the Spirit of God. It is the Breath or Wind of God that makes human beings to live. In Ezekiel s vision of the dry bones (Ezek. 37: 9-14), the wind represents God s presence. Also in Jesus s conversation with Nicodemus, the Lord shows the connection between wind and Spirit (John 3:3-8).
(c) The Sight (c) The Sight of the Day of Pentecost (2:3) Fire of God 3They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. Fire also symbolized the presence of God as during Moses s call, And during the Israelites wilderness march.
(d) The Speech (d) The Speech of the Day of Pentecost (2:4-13, 32-41) The Gospel preached with boldness and authority. 36 Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Messiah. 37When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, Brothers, what shall we do? 38Peter replied, Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.39The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off for all whom the Lord our God will call. 40 he warned them; and he pleaded with them, Save yourselves from this corrupt generation. The speech was given with boldness and authority.
(d) The Speech (d) The Speech of the Day of Pentecost (2:4-13, 32-41) Gospel preached with boldness and authority. (Cont d). The Holy Spirit used the speech to bring conviction, convincing and conversion. That is the pattern we must follow.
(e) The Spirit (e) The Spirit of the Day of Pentecost (2:4). Luke uses Baptized (Acts 1:5), and Filled (Acts 2:4) in reference to the Holy Spirit. 4All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them . The different tongues at Babel (Gen. 11:1-9) confused their language. They did not understand one another s speech. They scattered! The tongues on the Day of Pentecost in contrast caused all the people present from all over the world to hear the gospel in their own mother tongues. On that single day of Pentecost, over 3,000 people were added to the church. Pentecost was God s answer to Babel.
(e) The Spirit (e) The Spirit of the Day of Pentecost (2:4). (Cont d) The Baptism of the Holy Spirit means that I belong to His body; the fullness of the Spirit means that my body belongs to Him (Wiersbe). The Holy Spirit is a Promised Gift to all. Again, Peter says: "Repent, and be baptized and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit. For the promise is to you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call (Acts 2:38, 39). The Gift is for everyone. So we are to ask for the gift!(Acts 10 & 11). The Holy Spirit is also God s Seal on each believer. The Spirit seals us, thus confirming, certifying, and assuring that we are God s children eternally.
(e) The Spirit (e) The Spirit of the Day of Pentecost (2:4). (Cont d) Every time we open ourselves more to the control of the Holy Spirit and the purpose of God, the filling of the Holy Spirit happens. Be filled (Greek: plerousthe),is a Command (Eph. 5:18)! It is a present tense verb which refers to enduring, continuous action. The literal translation of that verb is: Be ye being continuously filled with the Holy Spirit ! The word Plerousthe is also a command in plural number, meaning that Be filled is a command addressed to every Christian and to every church member.
2. Delighting in the Holy Spirit 2. Delighting in the Holy Spirit (Jn. 16:1 (Jn. 16:1- -15) 15) (i). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Saves (John 16:1). (ii). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves (John 16:7). (iii). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Solicits (John 16:8). (iv). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Sanctifies (John 16:13).
( (i i). ). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Saves Delight in How the Holy Spirit Saves (John 16:1 John 16:1). Only Jesus Christ saves from sin. But He works together with the Holy Spirit! The Holy Spirit prevents us from stumbling or from falling away. The Holy Spirit prevents us from being taken by surprise or being caught unawares (Skandalizo) by Satan and Sin. That s how the Holy Spirit Saves. The Bible in various places indicates and warns that it is possible for someone to start the Christian race and not finish it well by stumbling and falling by the way-side. Hebrews 6:4-6 says: 4For it is impossible for those who were once enlightened, and have tasted the heavenly gift, and have become partakers of the Holy Spirit,5and have tasted the good word of God and the powers of the age to come,6 [c]if they fall away, to renew them again to repentance, since they crucify again for themselves the Son of God, and put Him to an open shame.
(ii). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves (John 16:7). The Holy Spirit serves as our Helper , our Comforter (Parakletos). The Holy Spirit is your defense attorney. The Holy Spirit is your intercessor, your support, your strength, and your Counselor. He is someone who encourages, exhorts, comforts and guides us. We re never alone! Story of our coming to Lithia Springs
II. II. Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves (John 16:7). (Cont d) The Holy Spirit Ensures for us today a Perfect Ending! Illustration: Britain s Derek Redmond had serious right hamstring injury, while running the 400-meter semifinals at the 1992 Olympic Summer Games in Barcelona. Derek s father went along with him on the track and helped him finish the race in front of 65,000 people. Illustration: Winning Athletes sometimes have the wind come to their help or advantage.
II. II. Delight in How the Holy Spirit Delight in How the Holy Spirit Serves Serves (John 16:7). (Cont d) The Holy Spirit serves like an Oil Lamp: How? (Fuel). Illustration: The missionary Doctor using oil lamp to teach medical students in Africa till the oil ran out. If we try to use ourselves, rather than the Holy Spirit, as the fuel to shine for the glory of God, we stink.
(iii). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Solicits Delight in How the Holy Spirit Solicits (John 16:8). The Holy Spirit not only solicits with God for us, He also solicits with us. The Greek word (elegchein) translated Convict cannot be translated adequately by any one English word. The word elegchein means both to Convict and Convince The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin. The Holy Spirit also convinces us that our Salvation is in the cross of Christ because of the righteousness of Christ credited to us.
(iv). Delight in How the Holy Spirit Delight in How the Holy Spirit Sanctifies Sanctifies (John 16:13). The Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Truth . He is the revealer of the truth that sanctifies. Jesus said: Sanctify them in Your truth. Your word is truth (John 17:17). The Holy Spirit enables us to understand and interpret God s Word, and be guided into all truth (John 16:13) (John 16:14-15).
3. Doing without the Holy Spirit Doing without the Holy Spirit (Genesis 11:1-9)- sinning, and scattering instead of shining! 1Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.2As people moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there. 3They said to each other, Come, let s make bricks and bake them thoroughly. They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.4Then they said, Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves; otherwise we will be scattered over the face of the whole earth. 5But the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building.6The LORD said, If as one people speaking the same language they have begun to do this, then nothing they plan to do will be impossible for them.7Come, let us go down and confuse their language so they will not understand each other. 8So the LORD scattered them from there over all the earth, and they stopped building the city.9That is why it was called Babel (Babylon) because there the LORD confused the language of the whole world. From there the LORD scattered them over the face of the whole earth (Genesis 11:1-9).
(i). Sinning by doing without the Holy Spirit (Gen. 11:1-4) There was no indication that the builders of the Tower of Babel had any knowledge or acknowledgement of the Almighty God, or the leading of the Holy Spirit of God. In the story of the building of the Tower of Babel, God was dealing with sin at different levels. a. First was the sin of outright disobedience and rebellion (Gen. 9:1, 11:2, 4). b. Second was the sin of idolatry (Gen. 11:3). The Tower of Babel was to be a temple for sacrifice, including human sacrifice to the Babylonian nature gods. c. Third was the sin of pride and over-ambition shown by the expression: so that we may make a name for ourselves (v. 4). See James 3:14 16, ESV.
(ii). Scattering, Instead of Shining, by doing without the Holy Spirit (Gen. 11:5-9) Note: The expression in v. 5 that the LORD came down to see the city and the tower the people were building is anthropomorphic. The Mesopotamians were used to thinking that their gods came down to them on the top of high mountains and high towers. So, they were building this Tower-temple with the anticipation that their god s would come down to them. In keeping with that anticipation of the people, the true God Almighty descended. He put division among them by confusing their language (v. 7), and scattering them (vv. 8-9). God s word through the prophet Zephaniah (3:9-12) suggests that in the fullness of time (the Pleroma) God will again restore one language to all the peoples so that they will all call upon the name of the LORD and serve him with one accord .
Dont tune out the Holy Spirit! A park ranger at the Yellowstone National Park was leading a group of hikers. He considered the messages on his two- way radio distracting. So he switched it off. Ranger
He did not realize that a grizzly bear had been seen stalking the group, and the authorities were trying to warn them of the danger.
Any time we tune out the Holy Spirit or ignore the warnings of the Bible we put ourselves and those around us in great danger!
Decision: What is the role of the Holy Spirit in your Life Today? Thank God for making the Holy Spirit available to guide us, to teach us, to help us, to make Jesus known to us. The Holy Spirit is here to help us individually, and as part of His body Before His Ascension, The Lord Said to His Eleven Disciples: " repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, I am going to send the promise of my Father upon you... Jesus has fulfilled His promise! Jesus has fulfilled His promise! What is your decision today?
Closing Prayer: Closing Prayer: Hymn: Holy Spirit, faithful Guide, Ever near the Christian s side. 1. Holy Spirit, faithful Guide, Ever near the Christian s side; Gently lead us by the hand, Pilgrims in a desert land; Weary souls fore er rejoice, While they hear that sweetest voice, Whisp'ring softly, Wand'rer, come! Follow Me, I ll guide thee home. 2. Ever present, truest Friend, Ever near Thine aid to lend, Leave us not to doubt and fear, Groping on in darkness drear; When the storms are raging sore, Hearts grow faint, and hopes give o er. Whisp'ring softly, Wand'rer, come! Follow Me, I ll guide thee home. 3. When our days of toil shall cease, Waiting still for sweet release, Nothing left but heav'n and prayer, Wond'ring if our names were there; Wading deep the dismal flood, Pleading naught but Jesus blood, Whisp'ring softly, Wand'rer, come! Follow Me, I ll guide thee home. Link: YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7-GK_Ps-y6o
