Holy Spirit Sermon 9-8-19

Sanctified by the Spirit - Beni Wilson

When I was hiking in Colorado earlier this week, it was amazing the difference between the plants in the dry areas and in the wet areas. Even 100 feet away from each other, you could have scraggly small shrubs trying to survive on a dry hill side, in close proximity to big trees and large, bushes along the creek at the bottom of the hill.

Isn’t it amazing the difference that water makes?

About a month ago, we were driving through western Maryland, through the Appalachian Mountains, and stopped at Dollar General, and while Rachel was inside, Thomas and I picked wildflowers on the edge of the parking lot. Of course, the flowers were beautiful, even after we picked them. But after a few minutes, we noticed a change. The ones we had picked were wilting because they weren’t connected to their water source.

Our spiritual health is the same way

Jer 17:5-9 “Thus says the LORD: “Cursed is the man who trusts in man and makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD. 6 He is like a shrub in the desert, and shall not see any good come. He shall dwell in the parched places of the wilderness, in an uninhabited salt land. 7 “Blessed is the man who trusts in the LORD, whose trust is the LORD. 8 He is like a tree planted by water, that sends out its roots by the stream, and does not fear when heat comes, for its leaves remain green, and is not anxious in the year of drought, for it does not cease to bear fruit.” 9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?”

Side note: Have you ever heard “Follow your heart?” Well, God says don’t.

While God doesn’t specifically mention the Holy Spirit to Jeremiah, other Bible passages we’ll look at later make it clear that the Holy Spirit is our spiritual power source

That’s a big thing God has been teaching me over the past few years, not to rely on myself and my own strength, but to rely on and trust His Holy Spirit

I feel like I bit off more than I can chew with this topic, so this is really just skimming the surface about the role of the Holy Spirit in the lives of believers!

This morning, I want to cover the role of the Holy Spirit in the sanctification process and the importance of trusting and relying on Him

First, we’ll cover some general background on sanctification and the Holy Spirit, and then we’ll move to four practical out-workings of what it looks like to rely on the Holy Spirit

So first some general background:

-Holy Spirit

All true believers have HS (Act 2:38 “… 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.” Eph 1:13 “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit,” also John 14:17, Rom 8:9, 2 Cor 1:22, 5:5)

The Holy Spirit:

Teaches us (John 14:26, Neh 9:20, 1 Cor 2:9-10), Helps us remember Jesus’ words (John 14:26), Helps us understand God’s word (1 Cor 2:12), Helps us pray (Rom 8:26), Gives us the words to say (Luke 12:12, Matt 10:20), Comforts (John 14:16), Gives us spiritual gifts (1 Cor 12, 14), Gives us the Fruit of the Spirit (Gal 5:22-23), Gives power to the preaching of the gospel (1 Cor 2:4), Convicts of sin (John 16:8), Gives us assurance of faith (Rom 8:16, 1 Jn 5:6)

Guides (John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” Also Rom 8:14, Acts 20:23, etc.),

Strengthens (Rom 8:11 “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” Also Eph 3:16, 2Tim 1:14, etc.),

Sanctifies (Rom 15:16 “… that the offering of the Gentiles may be acceptable, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.)

And there’s probably more that I’ve missed!

Isn’t that an intimidating job description? But He does it perfectly!

John 16:7 “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.”

Have you ever heard anyone say, I just wish that Jesus was here and we could see Him

Well, it’s better this way!

-Ordo Soludis – is the mechanism for Sanctification different from Justification and Glorification?

(Galatians were religiously following OT law, including circumcision and feasts (4:9))

NO!

If we can’t be good enough to earn salvation, how can we expect to make ourselves perfect after salvation?

Lector reading: Gal 3:1-3 “O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? … 2… Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?”

Jesus agrees: John 6:63 “It is the Spirit who gives life; the flesh is no help at all…”

HS helping our sanctification is even in OT! Eze 36:26-27 “And I will give you a new heart, and a new spirit I will put within you. And I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 And I will put my Spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes and be careful to obey my rules.”

Sanctification by the Spirit also in 2 Thes 2:13, 1 Pet 1:2, Rom 15:16

Throughout the book of Galatians, Paul contrasts relying on the Spirit vs. relying on the flesh

Most clearly in 5:16-23 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.”

Contrast between law or flesh vs. Spirit also in Rom 7:6, 8:2, 1 Cor 3:6

But what does it look like to rely on the Holy Spirit?

1 – Faith: surrender/trust/give control/submit

This one might just as well be about God/Jesus

3 circles adapted to driving a car

Lector reading 3x:

Gal 2:20 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me.”

It’s like we’re dead

3:2 (by a rhetorical question) says we receive the Spirit “…by hearing with faith”

Hearing plays into points on sowing to the Spirit

3:14 “so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”

Later on in chapter 3 (v 17, 18, 22) Paul uses the word “promise” to refer to God’s covenant of grace, which goes along with the idea of faith

An important part of faith is submission

Jas 4:7 “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.”

Not only does submitting to God help us fight our own flesh, but also fight the temptation of Satan

Also includes confession; trusting Jesus is right means admitting we’re wrong when we disobey

In the beginning of Gal 3 Paul infers the Spirit comes by faith, and later in the chapter he seamlessly transitions from contrasting the Spirit and the flesh, to contrasting faith and law, again inferring that the Spirit and faith are clearly linked (as well as that relying on our flesh and relying on the law are linked)

Then in chapter 4 he gives an example of trusting God vs. relying on the flesh: Abraham’s sons

Sarah was too old to have kids, but God promised Abraham a son

Sarah, relying on the flesh, and maybe thinking it was up to them to make God’s word come true, decided Abraham should take her servant Hagar to have a baby with her

But God’s plan was to work a miracle so that Sarah could have a baby

Abraham and eventually Sarah also trusted God to do that

Faith in this case looked like trusting God to do the impossible while acting in a manner that God could use for that

Paul says Hagar and Ishmael and that fleshly thinking is equivalent to slavery to the law, while Sarah and Isaac and that faith-filled thinking is like our freedom in Christ

Faith looks like: trusting that Jesus loves you, trusting that He knows what’s best, trusting that His way is best, even when we don’t understand why and our flesh or the world or the devil present compelling arguments to the contrary

2 - Prayer

A) Prayer is an expression of faith and dependence

Once we recognize we can’t make ourselves better and we literally can’t do anything apart from Christ, we realize our need to pray and beg Him to work in us

I remember as a teenager, struggling heavily with lust and related sins

Every time I would fall, I would feel ashamed and promise myself and God that I would never do it again, only to fall again a few days later

Eventually, in desperation, I prayed to God something like, “I can’t do this! Help me!”

Looking back on it, I think that was shortly before a major turning point in that fight against sin! (Specifically God allowed my sin to be found out by my parents and used the additional accountability and prayer to help me gain victories over sin)

I really believe the simple prayer of “I can’t, You can!” expresses faith and reliance on God/HS

B) Praying to receive the Holy Spirit

Luk 11:9-13 “And I tell you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. 10 For everyone who asks receives, and the one who seeks finds, and to the one who knocks it will be opened. 11 What father among you, if his son asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent; 12 or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? 13 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”

1Jn 5:14 “And this is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us.”

1Th 4:3 “For this is the will of God, your sanctification…”

3 - Sow to the Spirit

I thought I had a nice 3-point sermon, but then from reading through Galatians it became clear that I needed to add this as a 4^th point J

Sowing and reaping; you get what you plant!

Gal 6:7-8 “Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. 8 For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life.”

Rom 8:5-6 “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit. 6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace.”

Similar to:

James 4:8 “Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you…”

Mat 6:33 “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”

It’s an interesting tension between us working and God working

The works happen by our bodies but not from our own strength or our own desire

Plea of the demon-possessed boy’s father in Mark 9:24 “…I believe; help my unbelief!”

The initial action seems like we do it, although really it is only by God’s grace and strength that we even can do anything

Then He causes those seeds to grow, usually doing a bigger work that is more obviously Him, such as changing our attitude and/or the circumstances around us

And His fruit includes changing attitudes not just behavior!

Sometimes it takes a while

Gal 6:9 “And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.”

Gal 5:5 “For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.”

So what does it look like to sow to the Spirit?

Maybe you can come up with other examples, but some that come to my mind are:

Reading God’s word, making quality time to pray, making time with God a top priority, spending time with believers

The promise in John 14:26 about Him helping us remember Jesus’ words infers you have read or heard them in the first place!

Sowing to the flesh includes: relying primarily on your instincts or reasoning, prioritizing what you want, trying to clean yourself up first before coming to God, etc.

4 - Listening

This was the hardest for me to accept

The Bible clearly mentions the HS speaking to us:

As mentioned earlier: John 16:13 “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.”

Isa 30:21 “And your ears shall hear a word behind you, saying, ‘This is the way, walk in it,’ when you turn to the right or when you turn to the left.”

Growing up, for whatever reason, I tended to think He doesn’t usually speak to us, and that it’s too hard to discern between our subconscious and the HS so it’s not worth trying to listen

But intentionally ignoring His voice goes against 1 Thes 5:19 “Do not quench the Spirit.”

Danny P (or Ross H?): ‘It’s better to follow your subconscious, thinking it may be the HS, than to ignore the HS thinking it might just be your subconscious’

(Following your gut probably isn’t any worse than following your mind) (I know different people’s personalities are different, but I like to follow my mind…)

Not every voice we hear is the Holy Spirit, or even ourselves:

1Jn 4:1-3 “Beloved, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, for many false prophets have gone out into the world. 2 By this you know the Spirit of God: every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, 3 and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you heard was coming and now is in the world already.”

Our sinful flesh and the devil (arguably also the world) can put thoughts in our minds

How to know it’s God vs. world, flesh, devil vs. subconscious/gut (1 Jn discerning spirits)

Does it go against the Bible?

What emotions/attitudes/feelings go with it? (Not to say feelings are reliable)

Hate? Cold? Calculating? Accusing guilt? (Satan)

Pleasure? Self-reliance? Pride? Laziness? (Flesh)

Looking good? Fitting in? (World/Flesh)

Clarity? Trust? Insight? Surrender? Sweet conviction of sin? Peace?

(Watch out for Satan’s counterfeits: Peace vs. Laziness, Conviction of sin vs. accusing guilt, pleasure vs. satisfaction)

Lay out a fleece (Gideon)

Say/ask “Jesus is Lord”/”is Jesus Lord?” (1Jn 4)

Did you just ask? (Acts 13:2 “While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, ‘Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.’”)

Is it something you would have come up with?

Sometimes you just know!

I suspect though that the Holy Spirit speaks to different people in different ways, and even in different ways to the same person at different times

I could tell a lot of stories about how I think I’ve heard the Holy Spirit since I’ve opened up to listening to Him; and I could give many more examples where I’m honestly not entirely sure whether I heard the Holy Spirit or something from my subconscious.

I’ll share one story in a minute though that ties in with a lot of what we’ve talked about, and just suffice it to say that sometimes it’s been very clear the Holy Spirit prompting me to do something, whether words have popped into my mind or feeling more like a magnetic pull or strong impression

Just in the past few months, I’ve realized that I can listen to the Holy Spirit in every little decision I make and ask Him for guidance, even little things like picking clothes, altering my route for driving across town, what and how much to eat, what to say, what not to say, what to do next, etc. At first, I’m pretty sure I was actually just tuned into my gut, and I haven’t always heard clearly, but I’ve come to believe that that is one of the biggest meanings of walking by the Spirit.

I haven’t always been faithful in obeying the Holy Spirit, and I’ve found that when I disobey, it’s harder to hear Him for a while and my spiritual life stagnates, but when I obey my walk with the Lord grows stronger

But one clearer example came back in 2015 right after I graduated college. About that time, I started developing feelings for a female friend and to my biased eyes everything seemed promising for pursuing a relationship with her. I prayed about it, hoping to get a sense of peace about it, but instead I got the distinct impression that God was saying she was not the right one for me. I don’t remember whether that impression came suddenly or gradually, and I don’t think there were any specific words that popped into my mind that time, but regardless, it was pretty clear to me. I wrestled with God about that for a few weeks, not wanting to give up the possibility of a relationship with this girl. At the same time, I remember my prayer life and spiritual life seeming like it was in a rut and pretty stagnant, and eventually I realized it was because I was resisting God’s will. Eventually, I decided to lay out a fleece and I prayed for specific things to happen if she was or wasn’t the right one. Sure enough, God clearly answered that prayer with the sign she wasn’t the right one. So finally, I gave up and gave in to God’s will.

Within the next week or so, I found out that I would be the only male staff member with Cru for the school year, and I realized that maybe God wanted me to have more free time to help with that. And then also within that week or so, I found out we would be visiting the Thomas family soon, and I remembered that Rachel Thomas had a lot of things going for her. So I wondered if God might be saving me for her or someone else who was a closer match than the other girl. And Rachel and I got married 14 months later.

Anyway, I’m happy to talk more with anyone who wants about what I’m learning about listening to the Holy Spirit, or you can talk with each other and learn from each other about listening to and relying on the Holy Spirit. I’m sure some other people here have more experience and a better understanding than I do, and I still feel like I’m figuring it out.

Closing thought: Gal 5:16 “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.”

Walking is continual throughout every day

How many steps per day do you take? Avg American takes about 5,000! That’s about 5/minute that you’re awake

How many things do you have to rely on the Holy Spirt for help with? (Everything!) How many times should we ask the Holy Spirit for guidance?

Your flesh right now may be saying you need to try harder to walk by the Spirit. That you need to trust better, you need to pray more, you need to prioritize God better, you need to listen better.

But do you see what’s wrong with that? We can’t! That’s what this is all about! It’s not up to our effort. We can’t walk by the Spirit by focusing on the flesh!

Instead of saying “I just need to…” all we can do is beg, “God help me to ___, ”

Aren’t we crazy to choose the fruit of the flesh over the fruit of the spirit, and slavery to the law over freedom in Christ?

That or easily deceived

So which do you want? Your own flesh, that you know is weak and fails miserably, or the power of God and His Spirit? Do you want the fruit of the flesh or the fruit of the Spirit? Do you want to be the little desert shrub or the big tree by the river? Do you want to be a slave to the law or to be an heir with Christ?

It seems like such an easy choice when we think about it, but in day to day life it’s easy to forget and get caught in the temptations of the flesh, the cares of the world, and the lies of the devil

Let us pray for God’s grace to walk by the Spirit and rely on His strength, not our own, as we follow Jesus!

(Responsive reading: Deu 27:1-3, 26 “Now Moses and the elders of Israel commanded the people, saying, “Keep the whole commandment that I command you today. 2 And on the day you cross over the Jordan to the land that the LORD your God is giving you, you shall set up large stones and plaster them with plaster. 3 And you shall write on them all the words of this law, when you cross over to enter the land that the LORD your God is giving you, a land flowing with milk and honey, as the LORD, the God of your fathers, has promised you. 26 “‘Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’”)

(Lector reading: Gal 2:20-3:14 “I have been crucified with Christ. It is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me. And the life I now live in the flesh I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me. 21 I do not nullify the grace of God, for if righteousness were through the law, then Christ died for no purpose. 3:1 O foolish Galatians! Who has bewitched you? It was before your eyes that Jesus Christ was publicly portrayed as crucified. 2 Let me ask you only this: Did you receive the Spirit by works of the law or by hearing with faith? 3 Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh? 4 Did you suffer so many things in vain—if indeed it was in vain? 5 Does he who supplies the Spirit to you and works miracles among you do so by works of the law, or by hearing with faith— 6 just as Abraham “believed God, and it was counted to him as righteousness”? 7 Know then that it is those of faith who are the sons of Abraham. 8 And the Scripture, foreseeing that God would justify the Gentiles by faith, preached the gospel beforehand to Abraham, saying, “In you shall all the nations be blessed.” 9 So then, those who are of faith are blessed along with Abraham, the man of faith. 10 For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” 11 Now it is evident that no one is justified before God by the law, for “The righteous shall live by faith.” 12 But the law is not of faith, rather “The one who does them shall live by them.” 13 Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”— 14 so that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham might come to the Gentiles, so that we might receive the promised Spirit through faith.”)