Following with the Holy Spirit

Good morning, everyone. If you've just joined us for the first time here at St. Paul's,

this is our third week into launching our strategic plan for the next five years, Follow

25. We're particularly concerned in this series of what it means to be a follower of Jesus,

what it means to follow Jesus in all of life and for all of life. And I should let you

know. You've probably received it in the notifications throughout the email through

the course this week. We lost one of our dear sisters this week, Betty Shearman, who hasn't

been amongst us the last couple of years because of age issues and needing special care, passed

away on Wednesday. She was 99. Someone who followed Jesus, much loved amongst us, someone who trusted

in Jesus and particularly was committed to a very committed devotional life that saw her express

the living relationship with Jesus right to the end and in such a way that had an impact

upon several generations. So at some point in the near future, all details are yet to be

finalised. We will have a Thanksgiving service for Betty here in the next, probably in the next

couple of weeks, but keep your eye out and we'll bring that to you. As we launched in

this series, the first thing we discovered was that being a Christian means that you are

in fact a follower of Jesus Christ, the Lord and Saviour of all. A Christian is a disciple.

They're a follower of Jesus who learns from him, who submits to his teaching and becomes like

him in all of life. And we saw last week that the foundation, sorry, before that, a couple

weeks ago. The foundation of this relationship is the gospel. It is the good news that Jesus

himself has absorbed God's punishment for our sin in us choosing to walk a different path

in life, determining our own journey, rejecting God, our creator. And Jesus went to the cross.

He died our death. He paid our debt. He turned God's anger away from us and has set us free

to live a new life, the life that we were created for in the beginning. And that is in fact to live

in obedience to our God who loves us infinitely and created us. So Christian discipleship is a

lifelong journey of following Jesus and impacts every aspect of your life. It's not just something

that you leave for Sundays. It changes your entire worldview of all things.

So if we're going to follow well, and if we're going to keep following until this journey's

end, God has given us resources for that. We need to take up those resources. And then last

week we looked at the Bible and prayer. Today we're focusing on the gift of the Holy Spirit.

And I've got two things really to say, and that is, first of all, who is the Holy Spirit? And secondly,

what does it mean to live with the Holy Spirit? So if you've got the St. Paul's app open,

that'd be great. If not, create your own app with paper and pen, and you can take some notes as we

go through. So first of all, who is the Holy Spirit? We've touched on this on at least two

occasions already in this series. We're going to do it again today. There's one aspect of the Bible's

teaching. I mean, in fact, there's many aspects of Bible teaching which are difficult. It shouldn't

surprise us because God is so huge and magnificent, bigger and greater than any of our minds could

fully comprehend. So he has to be bigger than us. Otherwise, he's no more than us, and that makes

him a pretty weak God. One of the difficult things, one of the challenging areas is the doctrine of the

Trinity. We sang about it this morning. The Trinity calls us to believe that there is one and only one

God. To know the one true God is, however, to know him as Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Father, Son, and

Holy Spirit, each is fully God, always and forever. So the Trinity functions kind of like an orchestra,

where you have a multitude of different instruments and coming together at the right time in a rich

harmony that any individual instrument wouldn't be able to do by itself. That is, the diversity

of an orchestra is more beautiful sound than if the whole orchestra was just made up of cymbals.

It's just a clanging noise. Each person of the Trinity does its own distinctive work. They work in

harmony with each other as each person fulfills the work, the overall work that is right and good for

that member of the Trinity to do. And yet all three persons of the Trinity are committed to the one

work of God. They contribute to the one work of God. And so the Holy Spirit is equally God,

that is equally God, same as God the Father and God the Son is God. That's the first point. The Holy Spirit

is not some lesser thing than God. For example, in Acts chapter 5, Peter rebukes Ananias for lying to

Acts 5 · chapter mention

the Holy Spirit about the land that he had sold. And then Peter says, you have not lied to men,

but to God. So when he lied to the Holy Spirit, he is lying to God. We also note the Holy Spirit are

certain qualities that are only true of God in the Bible, such as living forever and eternally,

according to Hebrews 9, and being everywhere, according to Psalm 139, and having all knowledge

in 1 Corinthians 2.10. He's also declared to be equal with the Father and the Son in Matthew 28

and 2 Corinthians 13. So that's the first thing. I want to be clear. The Holy Spirit is equally God,

as the Father and Son is equally God. But secondly, the Holy Spirit is a person, not a force. The Holy

Spirit is a divine person, as the Father and Son are divine persons. So in John 14, just read out to us,

verse 16, Jesus calls him another counselor. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you

another counselor, another advocate to be with you forever, the Spirit of truth. So when Jesus calls

him another advocate or comforter or counselor, he treats him as a person, not as a force.

When he calls him another, he means another like me. The Holy Spirit is an advocate.

Like Jesus is. He is a person. We also know the Holy Spirit is a person because he shows the

qualities of true personhood, a genuine personhood. For example, Holy Spirit can be lied to,

as we just read in Acts 5, insulted according to Hebrews 10. And there are two things you cannot do

to the electricity that's making your refrigerator work. You can't insult electricity, a force.

The Holy Spirit also has personal qualities, like a mind, according to 1 Corinthians 2, emotions,

according to Ephesians 4, and a will, according to 1 Corinthians 12.

But possibly the most important aspect, the most important aspect of the personhood of the Holy Spirit

is that 94 times in the New Testament, he is called holy. He has the character of holiness,

which along with having emotions and will can only ever be true of someone with personhood.

And so the Holy Spirit is person and divine, divine person. And so when you add the second truth about the Holy Spirit,

the first bit becomes even more precious. It will make an enormous difference in your life.

If you believe that you are being led, changed, transformed by a person who is in their very essence,

the personal God of love and not an impersonal force. It makes a world of difference as you live the Christian life day by day.

The person who leads and purifies is no one less than God, the Holy Spirit.

This is a personal relationship of love. This is not a force connecting you to God.

So there's a lot more that can be said about the Holy Spirit and masses of books have been written on this.

But I want to jump to what does it mean for us to live with the Holy Spirit.

Now for too many Christians, the Holy Spirit has either faded into the background somewhere

to be almost non-existent in their life,

or he's been brought to the forefront in such a way that he dominates the Trinity and all things about God.

Either ends of the spectrum are deficient.

For too many of us, the Holy Spirit doesn't factor enough in our discipleship.

So therefore, what does it mean to live with the Holy Spirit?

In the John reading, we see something very significant about our relationship with the Holy Spirit.

John chapters 14 to 17 are known as the farewell discourse.

John 14 · chapter mention

As Jesus is here farewelling his disciples, he's about to depart back to the Father via the cross.

And he's going to die and he's going to leave his disciples.

And they are distraught by this news.

They are confused.

It was uncertain times.

Their world is falling apart.

We thought that Jesus was the one who would ascend the throne in Jerusalem

and make all things right that are wrong and beat up the Romans and all that kind of stuff.

And so Jesus comforts his disciples by telling them,

Yes, I am departing.

And I am departing to prepare an eternal place for them in the Father's house.

It is fantastic news.

Fantastic news.

That some rooms are getting ready,

but it would feel so distant and unknown for them.

What about now?

What about now?

Are we going to be left abandoned in the meantime?

And that's when Jesus says,

I will send a permanent resident.

Chapter 14, verse 16.

Jesus tells him,

I will ask the Father and he will give you another advocate to be with you forever.

One who will never depart.

The spirit of truth.

So Jesus says to his grieving disciples,

I am going to the Father and I will send you another advocate.

Another, meaning one of the same kind.

Another, in verse 16,

is going to be with them forever

and he will not depart as Jesus must depart.

Now this is exactly what the grieving disciples need in this moment.

When they're feeling abandoned.

Or is it?

Is it really?

Is this really a comfort to these disciples?

Now, not that we actually can at the moment,

but imagine if Nat and I were about to go on a long trip.

And we didn't know,

it was a one-way ticket,

we didn't know exactly when we'd be coming back.

And we sat down our three girls

and said to them,

we're going away on a trip,

not sure when we're going to come back,

but it's okay.

We've organised for an uncle

who you've never met,

ever,

to come and look after you in the meantime.

Oh, that's the comfort we needed.

We haven't gotten over the first bit.

But I think verse 23 reveals the staggering implications of verse 16.

If anyone loves me,

he will obey my teaching,

my father will love him,

and we will come to him

and make our home with him.

Now, let me just unpack this a little bit

and get a bit technical for you.

This is very, very important.

Notice the word home in verse 23.

It is a very rare word

in the original language in the New Testament.

In fact,

it is used in only one other place

in the entire New Testament.

One other place.

And it's in chapter 14, verse 2,

where it is translated rooms.

In verse 2,

Jesus says that by going to the cross,

he is preparing a room,

a dwelling place,

an eternal dwelling place

in the perfection of relationship with the Father,

with God forever.

But in verse 23,

Jesus says that by going to the cross,

I'm not just preparing a room

with the Father in the future,

but I'm going to prepare in us.

He is going to prepare in us

a home,

a dwelling place,

a room for his Father

to dwell with us.

The departure of Jesus

to his Father

via the cross

is going to prepare two things,

a room for us

with the Father and the Son

and the Spirit

in heaven forever,

and a room for the Father

and Jesus

with the Spirit

with us

now on earth.

What a promise.

Not just a place for us

we've got at some point

in the future.

That is,

the promises

of the Christian faith

is not just pie in the sky

when you die,

but it's now.

For God's presence

with us

now.

The coming of the Spirit

doesn't replace

the presence of Jesus.

It guarantees

the presence of Jesus

with us

now.

The Holy Spirit

unites us with Christ

and the Father.

Jesus is not distant.

He has not abandoned

his disciples.

I think Jesus

is actually saying

to his bewildered

disciples

in this moment,

guys,

you've got to understand

it will be better

for you

when I depart.

My presence

will be

stronger.

Jesus promised

not just to

leave us as orphans

to do our best

to survive,

to pull up our socks

and work really hard

on this journey

of discipleship

just to,

he has not left us

to our own devices.

The promise

to his first disciples

extends to us.

He added eternal

words of comfort

in saying

that the Spirit

will come

not just dwelling

with us,

not just walking

beside us,

but dwelling

in the disciples

of Jesus.

The intimacy

of the disciple

of Jesus

and the Holy Spirit

is captured

in the word

abiding.

Abiding.

The Holy Spirit,

the third member

of the Trinity,

abides

in you

and me

in his church

in all

who belong

to Jesus Christ

by faith.

The Holy Spirit,

his abiding

restores

all hope

and secures

us

on the

sure

foundation

of faith

in uncertain

times

as we

trust

in the

promises

of God

in Jesus.

So the Holy Spirit

explains

how the church

survives

and how the gospel

continues to spread

to the ends

of the earth

even when all

else is collapsing

around.

The Holy Spirit

abiding

in us

explains

how the

disciple

of the Lord

Jesus

can hear

the words

of the Bible,

can hear

the gospel

not as the

words of merely

a human philosopher,

not just the

opinions of

other human

beings,

but as the

word of God

revealing truth

and reality.

The Holy Spirit

is the difference

from darkness

to light.

The Holy Spirit

is the difference

between you

reading this

as being

black ink

on white paper

and it being

the very word

of God.

The creator

of the universe

speaking to you.

The Holy Spirit

abiding in us

is the reason

why the

disciples of Jesus

have life

in the face

of death.

The Spirit

does not flee

when we are

struggling with sin.

His presence

does not hinge

upon our

obedience

and our

effort.

His abiding

in the Christian

rests upon

the infinite

grace

and the love

of God

out for us.

So then,

how do we

get the

experience,

how do we

get to

experience

this presence

of the Holy

Spirit right

now?

especially

when we

at times

may not

feel like

it?

And crucial

to this,

last week

we talked

about

absolutely

essential

for the

Christian

life

is

word and

prayer.

How does

the word

and prayer,

devotional

life,

not just

become

about a

regulation,

a rule,

a duty

that must

be performed,

a dry

activity that

makes no

difference in

my life?

What's the

difference?

difference

between the

legalist

who's doing

more than

four and

not really

moving forward?

What makes

the difference?

The Holy

Spirit is

the difference.

In John

chapter,

that is,

it's crucial

to listen

to the

Holy Spirit.

John

John 16:13

chapter 16

verse 13,

we get a

key part of

the Spirit's

work.

book,

but when

he,

the Spirit

of truth,

comes,

he will

guide you

into all

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.

So in

chapter 14,

Jesus

promised that

the Spirit

of truth

will remind

the disciples

of everything

that Jesus

taught them.

Now,

he promises

something a

little bit

more than

that.

The 11

disciples will

be led

into truth,

into a

true understanding

of all the

saving events

which are

about to

take place

about the

death and

the resurrection

of Jesus,

and they'll

be given

glimpses of

the future,

of this

final work

being

played out.

The final

climax, if

you like,

of world

history will

partially be

unveiled to

them so

that they'll

be able to

get a glimpse

of the

sweep of

God's

enormous plan

of salvation

and the

central part

that Jesus

plays in

that with

his death

and his

resurrection.

But in

leading them

into truth,

the Holy

Spirit will

not speak

on his

own,

Jesus

insists.

He will

speak only

what he

hears.

In

John

16,

13 to

15,

but when

he, the

spirit truth

comes, he

will guide

you into

all truth,

he will

not speak

on his

own, he

will speak

only what

he hears

and he

will tell

you what

is here

to come.

He will

bring glory

to me

by taking

from what

is mine

and making

it known

to you.

All that

belongs to

the Father

is mine,

that is

why I

said the

spirit will

take from

what is

mine and

make it

known to

you.

So the

general

subject matter

of the

Holy Spirit,

it's saying

there in

John 16,

is restricted.

It's a

glorious

restriction.

salvation.

The spirit

will take

that which

is Jesus'

and make

it known

to the

disciples of

Jesus.

The focus

is entirely

on Jesus.

The role

of the Holy

Spirit is to

bring glory

to Jesus.

It was

necessary for

Jesus to be

glorified by

returning to

the Father

via the

cross,

but when

he leaves,

he receives

more glory

through the

ministry of the

Spirit to

his disciples.

As Jesus

took that

which belonged

to the

Father and

made it known

to them,

to his

disciples,

so the

Spirit takes

that which

belongs to

Jesus and

makes it

known to

us.

Nothing

brings more

glory to

our Lord

Jesus than

for his

followers to

become steeped

in all

truth concerning

him.

Jesus

prays for

his disciples

one chapter

later,

that they

would be led

into that

truth,

and then

he prays

for the

disciples who

come to

the truth

because of

his original

disciples being

led into the

truth.

What does

that mean

for us?

The

acquisition of

this truth

of God is

intellectual,

but it's not

merely intellectual.

As this

truth is

truly absorbed

by the

followers of

the Lord

Jesus,

it transforms

them,

it enables

them to

reflect the

glory of

the Lord

Jesus,

and thereby

being praised

to his

name.

That is,

his priorities

become our

priorities,

his character

our character.

Glory comes

to Jesus

when the

truths

that the

original

disciples

recorded

become

truths

for us.

glory comes

to Jesus

when the

truths of the

gospel,

the word of

God,

are established

in our

lives.

Up until

this point,

the disciples

have been

quite confused,

have been

characterized by

misunderstanding as

the person of

Jesus.

All of this

is going to

change with

the arrival

of the

Holy Spirit

on the day

of Pentecost.

The Spirit

would ensure

that these

original

disciples

would not

forget Jesus,

would not

forget what

he said to

them.

He would

ensure that

they accurately

remembered

everything,

his life,

his commandments,

his teachings,

everything.

So how

does that

happen for

us then?

I think

that one

main answer

comes from

Ephesians

Ephesians 5:18

chapter 5

verse 18

which may

come up on

the screen

in a moment.

This is

where Paul

teaches

believers to

be filled

with the

Spirit so

that their

thoughts,

their attitudes,

their words,

their actions

would be

directed by

the Spirit.

That is,

Paul's command

is to be

filled with

the Spirit

in Ephesians

5 18

is not a

one-off

event when

someone first

comes to

faith in

the Lord

Jesus.

It is also

not what

some might

claim a

reference to

some sort

of second

blessing

reserved for

serious

disciples of

Jesus,

often referred

to as a

baptism of

the Holy

Spirit.

Ephesians

5 18

is what

scholars call

an imperative

in the

present tense

which means

the command

here in

5 18

is to

constantly be

filled with

the Holy

Spirit,

a continuing

experience

and to be

filled implies

something total,

completely filled,

that is the

Spirit has

full control

over all

aspects of

your life,

no area

of life

is off

limits to

the work

of the

Spirit in

your life.

Andreas

Kostenberg in

his book,

What Does

It Mean

To Be

Filled

With

the Spirit

says that

it is

something

that God

does.

So while

it's a

command in

Ephesians

5 18,

it is a

passive

command,

be

filled.

We are

to respond

to the

command,

but it

is something

that primarily

that God

does in

us.

Paul also

wrote a

parallel

passage to

Ephesians

5 and

it's

Colossians

3 16

and 17

and they

are almost

interchangeable,

different language

but almost

interchangeable.

The structure

is exactly

the same.

Let the

word of

Christ dwell

in you

richly,

teaching and

admonish one

another in

all wisdom,

singing psalms

and hymns and

spiritual songs

with thankfulness

in your heart

to God.

And whatever

you do in

word or

deed,

do everything

in the name

of the Lord

Jesus Christ,

giving thanks

to God the

Father through

him.

In both

passages,

Ephesians

5,

Colossians

3,

the results

are the

same.

Words

and deeds

that honour

Christ,

bring glory

to Christ.

But what

brings about

the results

are stated

differently in

both passages.

In Ephesians

5,

Paul says,

be filled

with the

Spirit.

In Colossians

3,

he says,

let the

word of

Christ dwell

in you

richly.

What this

means is

that the

Spirit has

greater influence,

provides us

with more

direction in

life,

more comfort

as his

disciples,

more enabling

as his

disciples,

provided

that

God's

word dwells

more and

more within

us.

That is,

it is

impossible,

both in

Old Testament

and New

Testament,

to separate

the word

from the

Spirit.

Our reading

of the

word,

our time

spent memorizing

and meditating

on Scripture

is the

main tool

that the

Spirit of

God uses

to help

us to

think,

feel,

speak,

and act

in ways

that are

more and

more glorifying

to the

Lord Jesus,

which is

why you

were saved.

You see,

the goal of

all biblical

learning is

knowing God.

the Holy

Spirit is

absolutely

essential to

this process.

The Holy

Spirit enables

us not

just to

see the

facts of

the Lord

Jesus Christ

and the

gospel and

the word of

God,

he helps

us to

see the

glory and

the beauty

and the

worth and

the magnificence

of all of

that truth.

He convicts

us of the

necessary

submission and

transformation and

repentance of

sin and

obedience to

Christ that

follows.

And so

listening to

the Spirit

in the

word is

so, so

crucial for

the Christian.

But so is

speaking.

So is

speaking.

See, I would

further suggest

that we pray

for God to

fill us with

his Spirit as

we engage with

him in his

word.

That is, our

engagement with

God in his

word,

prayerfully,

is encountering

God's presence.

And if you

want to know

more about

that, Tim

Keller's

written a

great book

on prayer and

there's a

great section

on what it

means to

encounter God

in his

word and

prayer.

Paul doesn't

explicitly command

anywhere that

we pray for the

filling of the

Holy Spirit,

but he

himself does

it that God

would in fact

give us the

spirit of

revelation and

wisdom in

Ephesians 1.

Also, that

we would be

strengthened in

our inner being

by the Spirit

in Ephesians 3.

Pray that God's

Spirit will fill you

day by day as

you are filled

with his word.

The Holy Spirit

working through

the word of God,

the Bible,

is how the

word of God,

Jesus Christ,

is present and

active in our

daily life and

works in his

world right now.

That's how it

happens.

The Holy Spirit

is essential

for that work.

The late

theologian Jim

Packer puts the

importance of the

Spirit of God for

the Christian

disciple like

this.

If you neglect

the Spirit,

you lose your

focus on the

fellowship with

Christ that he

creates.

The renewal of

character that he

affects.

The assurance and

the joy that he

evokes and the

enabling of service

that he bestows.

Packer then goes

on to the

effects of the

person who ignores

the work of the

Spirit in their

life.

And this may be a

rebuke, so please

hear these words

from Packer.

You slip back

into orthodoxism

and formalism,

getting stuck in a

religion of

aspiration and

perspiration

without either

inspiration or

transformation.

The religion of

low expectations,

deep ruts and

grooves that

become in the

end graves.

Our key

objective for the

next five years

is to see 65%

of St.

Paul's identifying

much growth in

the faith.

As I said last

week, a devotional

life of more than

four a week is

absolutely essential

to that growth.

That is,

without that,

how on earth

is God going to

mediate his

presence in your

life.

He has given

you a resource

that he might

dwell with you

day by day in

all the complexity

of life.

But these

objectives are

not about you

pulling up your

socks and sweating

a lot harder,

a bit more

perspiration, a bit

more effort.

They are about

bringing you to a

point and us as a

point as a church

to say, we

cannot do this

by ourselves.

It should force

us back into

every moment of

every day of

total reliance

upon the Holy

Spirit.

Spirit.

And so what a

resource that we

have as disciples

of Jesus.

He has not

left us.

He's not just

giving us a

promise that one

day when you

die, there will

be some great

future for you.

He gives you a

promise now, the

future's now.

He gives you his

presence now.

So look to the

Spirit as your

enabler to move

out of, as

Packer says, a

Christian life of

low expectations,

of religious

effort, formalism,

ruts, grooves,

so that in the

end, it might not

be for your

grave.

Thank you.

Thank you.