Respecting the Holy Spirit

Come Holy Spirit. Part 3

Let’s continue learning about the Holy Spirit. Thanks for joining us for Part 3! 

Fun Fact: God is always present with us thanks to His Holy Spirit. Therefore it is to our advantage to develop a greater awareness of this presence.

WATCH THE SERMON HERE. 

You will only go so far as a Christian if you are not willing to respond in obedience to the Holy Spirit’s leading. 

There are two kinds of unbelief:

1. Ignorance
   1. The solution to ignorance is just the opposite: knowledge
2. Unpersuadableness
   1. The answer to unpersuadableness is obedience.
   2. Faith, by definition, is a firm persuasion based upon hearing.
   3. Genuine faith says: “If God said it, then I believe it.”

Unbelief says:

• “God said it, but I don’t believe it.”
• “God said it, but I’m not persuaded.”
• “God said it, but i have my own opinion about it.”

In John 16:8 (NLT), it states, “and when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin, and God’s righteousness, and of the coming judgment.”

Context is so important in understanding scripture. From John 13-16, Jesus not only shares with His disciples His plans to leave, but he also shares with them some specific details about the ministry of the Holy Spirit (in their lives) and what specifically He was sent here to do. So let’s dive deeper into what conviction is.

Convict Definition: To convince someone of the truth

So when the Holy Spirit convicts someone about the truth, He is not condemning them. He is convincing them about the truth. Let’s dive deeper into John 16:8 and talk about the three things the Holy Spirit is convincing us about. 

• He’s convincing the world about the truth regarding sin.

Why is this important? The reason why it’s so important is that we don’t believe the truth about sin; we will never understand why we need a Savior. Sin is not your friend. 

• He’s convincing them about God’s righteousness.

You might think that everyone will quickly choose to do the right or holy thing. But since we have an enemy, it’s not always something many people do easily. If you are having some struggles here, ask for the Holy Spirit to minister your heart. 

“Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need.” Matthew 6:33

• He’s convincing them to prepare themselves for judgment

Holy Spirit works to convince us of the truth until faith comes alive inside us. Faith accepts Holy Spirit’s discourse as truth.  

2 Different Types of Truth

1. Spiritual Truth: Based on God’s word (John 16:13)

   1. This is the highest form of knowledge. It transcends and supersedes all other truths. When it comes alive in your heart, it’s called REVELATION (exact knowledge). 
   2. Its wisdom and principles are timeless and eternal in nature. It transcends trends, fads, and theory.
   3. The bible tells us that there is nothing you can do against the truth but for the truth. Spiritual truth/knowledge does not update; it just unveils deeper layers of reality to those who seek it out.

2. Natural Truth

   1. This is information gathered from our five physical senses, and it is a lower form of knowledge.
   2. It’s subjective truth. When the truth is solely based upon the human experience that is constantly evolving, its wisdom and principles will need to develop and update continually.

There is nothing wrong with natural truth as long as it doesn’t contradict scripture. He is the one who gave us our senses, but we must understand that “we are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.”

There will be times when spiritual truth and natural truth will not agree on how they see things. When spiritual truth & natural truth no longer say the same thing – you will be forced to decide which one you will prioritize. One of these truths will have to submit to the other.

For the rest of the time we spend together, let’s talk about respecting the Holy Spirit. Are you ready? Ready or not, here it goes. 

The world can’t receive the Holy Spirit.

John 14:17 states that the world cannot receive him because it isn’t looking for him and doesn’t recognize him (NLT). As a Christian, you will have a hard time knowing and recognizing the leading of the Holy Spirit if you try to base most things.

• On what you see and don’t
• And the inward witness (Isaiah 11:2-3)

Suppose you have received Jesus; you know and recognize Him because He lives in you. You must have a mutual understanding of one another. The great news is that God already knows us. God knows us, but He also wants us to know Him. Respect is enormous when you share a space with someone.

“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.” 1 Corinthians 2:11,12

So to know God, He has placed His spirit inside of you to get to know Him so that you can understand the things that have been freely given to you by Him. 

When someone new moves into your home, will their presence change the dynamic of your home? Sure it will. So when the Holy Spirit moved into your heart when you accepted God as your savior, His indwelling presence should have changed the dynamic of your innermost being. God has given us some scriptures in the New Testament to help us understand what it is like to know Him and have Him living on the inside of us. Let’s look at some examples: 

Your Body is a Temple

1. 1. 1. God desires a level of intimacy with us that we cannot get from anywhere else. 
      2. Marriage can help you understand covenant & oneness. Pregnancy can help you understand what it means to have someone live on the inside of you. But your relationship with Holy Spirit is supposed to be all of that & more.

Your Body is a Workspace

1. 1. 1. The Holy Spirit is not just chilling in you on vacation. He is working within you. Every day there is something for Him to work on, to reveal to you, to heal. Protect your body from things that will hinder the work of the Holy Spirit.

Your Body is a Home

1. 1. Home is where we get to be our authentic selves. Home is where we get to know those that we love. Home is where we go to regroup, where we go to get refreshed & rejuvenated.

God the Father gave us His Spirit so that we can know His heart concerning us and know all the wonderful things God has freely given us. Until next time, God bless!

Watch Part 2 here

Watch Part 1 here