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Have
you ever thought someone was really weird/different before you got to know
them? Maybe it was a co-worker? A neighbor? An in-law?
·
Do
you have someone in your mind that the first impression was not really the best
impression of who they really are?
·
I
cannot tell you how many times this has happened to me.
·
The
biggest example of this is probably my wife…
·
She
had gone on a couple of dates with my brand new roommate my sophomore year of
college.
·
At
the time I thought he was alright, but quickly learned he and I had very different
values (cleanliness).
·
It
wasn’t until after I started dating Corrie that I realized she was the same
girl… He’d painted a very different picture of who she was.
WE
We
all do this though don’t we? It’s easier to compartmentalize and “control” our
relationships if we’ve set up a picture of who they are and the way they act…
But
you never know someone’s true nature until you really get to know them well.
Dilemma
- In our relationship to God, I think we’ve done this time and
again with the Holy Spirit. I’ve found that there is much confusion, ignorance,
abuse, fear, negative experience etc. of the Holy Spirit in the church—both in
the past and present
And sometimes its because the Holy Spirit can be a little weird.
But, listen to what Jesus says
about the Holy Spirit in his final discourse the night before the crucifixion.
John 14:26
26 But when
the Father sends the Advocate as my representative—that is, the Holy Spirit—he
will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you.
Jesus
seems to think that the Spirit of God (at creation, poured out on prophets and
kings, the power that Jesus flowed with and passed on to His followers) is a
relationship that needs to be cultivated.
We’ve
been talking at length about Soul Food as a church. Today, we want to learn how
to feast on the relationship we can have with Holy Spirit.
GOD
In
my own life, my journey towards the HS has been an interesting one.
· Raised
in a church that never even talked about Him
· Radically
met God thru a HS encounter.
· Essentials
of theology class – “that’s dumb” STORY – presented with both sides of the
argument.
· Corrie
came from a HS belief system that always involved guilt… rejected
· Encounters
with the Jesus People & Vineyard movements
It’s
been a courtship with God. It’s been fun and interesting and it’s been an
experience of knowing that if I believe in a God that is limitless &
unchanging, and that I can have relationship with, then I can believe that His
Holy Spirit is JUST LIKE HE IS!
So,
what is the Holy Spirit’s role in our relationship with God? Let’s
look at 4 important ways feasting on the Spirit feeds our souls:
1. Deepens our intimacy with Jesus
a.
Did you
know that the only way to know Jesus better is through a deeper relationship
with His Spirit?
b.
In fact
Jesus told us that it would be better for Him to “go away” so that the Spirit
could come and minister to us. Further on in that passage he says this:
c. John
16:12 “There is so much
more I want to tell you, but you can’t bear it now. 13 When the Spirit of truth
comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own but will
tell you what he has heard. He will tell you about the future. 14 He will bring
me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. 15 All that belongs to
the Father is mine; this is why I said, ‘The Spirit will tell you whatever he
receives from me.’
d.
Jesus
becomes more real, loved through the power of the HS working in our devotional
lives.
e.
The HS is
the catalyst to spiritual growth with the Father.
f.
You cannot
work it up on your own
2. Reveals deep things of God
a.
Not only does he take us deeper with
God, but once we get there… he brings out all the things that we are seeking
from the Father.
b.
1 Corinthians 2:9-12
c.
“No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no
mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” But it was to
us that God revealed these things by his Spirit. For his Spirit searches out
everything and shows us God’s deep secrets. No one can know a person’s
thoughts except that person’s own spirit, and no one can know God’s thoughts
except God’s own Spirit. And we have received God’s Spirit (not the world’s
spirit), so we can know the wonderful things God has freely given us.
d.
Last month, we talked on the amazing revelation of what the gospel
has accomplished for us in the past, today and in the future.
i. Cross
ii. Sonship/ HS Abba
iii. Grace--Freely
given to us
e.
The HS in our lives daily reveals the
depths of those truths and takes us to a place a greater understanding and
freedom!
3. Helps us pray
a.
How many of us have been in a place
where we have no idea how we will get through something…Don’t have words
b.
BEING A PARENT (Eleora in NICU)
c.
Look at how the HS interacts with us
again!
d.
Romans 8:26 And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For
example, we don’t know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays
for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. 27 And the Father who
knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying, for the Spirit pleads for us
believers in harmony with God’s own will. 28 And we know that God causes
everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called
according to his purpose for them.
e.
Wouldn’t you like a helper… a
comforter… an advocate to help you during those times of loss, confusion,
helplessness?
YOU
Now,
you may be sitting here thinking… “ok, I’m on board with this, but what about
all of the weird stuff… you know `speaking in tongues’ and miracles and what
not?”
For
many of us, this is where the HS becomes hard for us to identify with… we want
to understand better how, why and
especially when that “weird” stuff
happens.
As
one of my college profs used to say… “God is God and I’m not.” Which means that
He has the ability to say and do things that are beyond me… which I think is a
good thing… because I don’t want to worship a God that can’t do things beyond
my own abilities.
But
this is also true, when we came to believe in Him, he adopted us and gave us
the rights as sons and daughters in His kingdom… which means that we will begin
to look like Him.
As
we get to know HS better, we become more intimate with God… our knowledge of
Him, our intimacy with his work and purpose, and our language becoming more and
more like His… as this happens the HS begins to…
4. Release us in more gifts (1 Corinthians 12: 4-11)
a.
Now, there is a lot there.
b.
Lots of classes and workshops and
sermons (SoKM, etc.).
c.
We will address some at later dates.
d.
Today, I wanna deal with the big 3
i. Tongues
ii. Prophecy
iii. Miracles
Everyday EXAMPLE:
Long marriage
relationship (15 years for us – 19 together)… or friendship…
·
We begin to speak the same things to
each other – love language.
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We begin to speak the same things to
others – one heart.
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We begin to do the same things for
others – family business.
Tongues
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Love language of heaven… see above
texts.
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We won’t be speaking English J
·
My experiences – never knew anyone who this didn’t
ratchet up intimacy
Prophecy
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God’s heart for others.
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The more time you spend with Him, the
more likely He is to release His heart in you towards others.
Miracles
·
God is only about giving “good gifts”
to His children.
·
If he were here, what would Jesus do?
·
We are called to complete his mission.
The
HS relationship is our greatest feast.
If we can shift our perspective
from the “Ghost” of God, or the forgotten God, or the step-cousin of Jesus that
we don’t really like…
To
the part of God’s nature that makes us look more and more like Him.
Loving
Peaceful
Secure
in our identity.
Full
of power
Then we might just open up
ourselves to feasting on the person of the HS with a fresh enthusiasm… for he
his God and he is good… and there’s always more to discover with HS.
