Who is the Holy Spirit? What does he do? Why do you need Him?
In this message, Pastor Jamie explores God as represented by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit represents God now on earth. Believers need the work of the Holy Spirit in order to be the people we are called to be.
John 4:24 “God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. He is God. The Holy Spirit is a “he” not an “it.”
Hebrew: ruach – wind or breath (current, moving air)
Greek: pneuma – movement of air or breath (gentle blast)
What is the Holy Spirit like?
He is like the Wind:
- Invisible. John 14:17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you.
- Unpredictable. John 3:8 The wind blows where it wishes, and you hear the sound of it, but cannot tell where it comes from and where it goes.
- Powerful. Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you.
What does God the Spirit do?
- His power validates the gospel.
Romans 15:18-19 “Yet I dare not boast about anything except what Christ has done through me, bringing the Gentiles to God by my message and by the way I worked among them. 19 They were convinced by the power of miraculous signs and wonders and by the power of God’s Spirit. In this way, I have fully presented the Good News of Christ from Jerusalem all the way to Illyricum.”
Mark 16:20 “And the disciples went everywhere and preached, and the Lord worked through them, confirming what they said by many miraculous signs.”
If there is no power displayed when the gospel is preached, did you really preach the gospel? - He gives spiritual gifts.
1 Cor. 12:4 There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit is the source of them all.
Spiritual gifts aren’t gifts for you, but they are gifts that you give away to others. - He purifies us.
1 Cor. 6:11 Some of you were once like that. But you were cleansed; you were made holy; you were made right with God by calling on the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
God gives us power to make us pure, not to make us weird. * If you think you encountered the Holy Spirit and it didn’t change you, it wasn’t the Holy Spirit. - He teaches us.
John 14:26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
You get to learn about life from the one who created it. Maybe your scripture reading is dry because you haven’t invited the Spirit to teach you. Not only is God our creator, He is our teacher. You get to learn about life from the one who created it. - He guides us.
Romans 8:14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.
A guide is a teacher that goes WITH you. Jesus walked the path first, and if you’ll let Him, His Spirit will walk WITH you, too. The Holy Spirit accompanies you. - He helps us.
John 14:16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever.
Whatever you may need in the moment, your help is in the Holy Spirit. - He convicts us of sin and righteousness.
John 16:7-8 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.
To convict someone is to convince them in order to correct them. You’re a bad Holy Spirit. - He grows us.
Galatians 5:22-23 “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”
Fruit is the evidence of connection to a source. God’s growth in your life will not only help you, but it will help others. - He fellowships with us.
2 Cor. 13:14 May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
You weren’t created to know about God, but to know God.
Have you let GOD THE SPIRIT show you who God is?