Sermon: The powerful work of the Holy Spirit.
Introduction: The word of God teaches us in the Book of Acts, that when the apostle Paul arrived in the city of Ephesus, he asked the disciples there: “Did you receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? And they said, “We haven’t even heard if there’s a Holy Ghost.”
As we can see, these disciples were completely unaware of the person and work of the Holy Spirit. The Lord Jesus ascended to heaven, is seated at the right hand of the Father and will return for his church. But today we are in the earthly ministry of the Spirit of God, and this means that we must know much more about the powerful work of the Holy Spirit.
1) The Holy Spirit, in addition to anointing with power, generates holiness in the Christian.
Let us first see the meaning of the name of the Holy Spirit:
The word “Spirit” is translated from the Greek term “pneuma” which also means: wind, breath, spirit, breath. And the word “Holy” is translated from the Greek term “jágios” which also means: Pure, sacred, consecrated (of course, to God, according to the Bible).
In this way, we can conclude that we are talking about the One who wants to lead us to the will of the heavenly Father. He is the one who reproves us, the one who tries to convince us of what is wrong, he will never lead us to disobey the Lord. The Holy Spirit wants to generate in us the holy character of the Heavenly Father, every son looks like his father.
In First Peter 1:14-16 the word of God tells us: “As obedient children, do not be conformed to the desires that you once had in your ignorance; but, as he who called you is holy, you also be holy in all your way of living; because it is written: Be holy, because I am holy.”
God is good and powerful, he anoints and trains his children. The anointing and spiritual gifts are received, the Lord gives them; while the holy character is formed, the character of Jesus in the Christian is the result of a process.
We must keep in mind that it is a mistake to seek the gifts, the anointing and the power, without longing for the holy character that the Spirit of God produces. The character is for the anointing what the vessel is for the oil, that is, the character sustains the anointing of God in the Christian. The character of Christ in the Christian is fundamental (remember that the word “Christians” originally means: “little Christs”).
Let us keep in mind then that the character in the child of God is the basis of the anointing. The word of God rightly tells us: “To him who has, more will be given; but whoever he does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him,” according to the gospel of Matthew 13:12).
None of us would deposit the valuable oil in a vessel with a hole or orifice. Surely, the first thing would be to repair it, and thus restored it would not lose the oil. Therefore, character is the strength of the container that contains or supports the precious oil of God.
The Bible teaches us that it is possible to operate in the gifts of the Holy Spirit without experiencing its wonderful fruit (character). One thing is his power, and another is his character.
When we observe the First Letter to the Corinthians in detail, we can see that there are nine gifts of the Holy Spirit (Miracles, healings, prophecy…), and there are nine manifestations of the fruit of the Spirit of God (According to Galatians 5:22- 23), this equality teaches us that both are very important in the life of the child of God.
Unfortunately, in the church that was in the city of Corinth, we can see that there was power (gifts and anointing) with a great lack of integrity, because the Bible teaches us in 1 Corinthians 1:7 that there was an abundance of supernatural gifts; and 1 Corinthians 1:11 teaches us that there were disputes and strong conflicts between brothers, as well as immorality, gossip, among other things.
We can also remember the case of Samson, a man with a supernatural physical strength, a special power of the Holy Spirit, but with a great moral weakness, and therefore, his sad end.
two) The Holy Spirit brings revelation of the secrets of God.
The word of God teaches us according to the Second Letter to the Corinthians 13:14 that it is the Holy Spirit who gives us powerful revelations, such as:
The love of God the Father.
The secrets of the heavenly Father, 1 Corinthians 2:7-10.
Truths of the Lord Jesus Christ and his redeeming work. That is why, speaking of the work of the Holy Spirit, the Lord Jesus said: “he will glorify me, take what is mine and make it known to you”.
The Holy Spirit immerses us in God, so that the heart, the mind, our being yearns for more of the presence of the Lord.
3) The Holy Spirit renews the Christian.
It is very interesting to see that in the word of God the Holy Spirit is presented through various symbols, such as: fire, wind, oil, water, among others.
These figures or symbols of the Bible speak to us of reviving (that is, lighting the fire that goes out), of refreshing (in the midst of the scorching heat), of the new things that the Lord brings (that is why it says: “fresh oil” ), and water tells us about quenching thirst. As we can see, all these symbols or signs present us with the diverse work of the Holy Spirit in favor of each believer.
The word of God bluntly teaches us that the Holy Spirit renews the life of the Lord Jesus Christ in every Christian, let’s see what the gospel tells us according to John 7:37-39
“On the last and great day of the feast, Jesus stood up and raised his voice, saying: If anyone is thirsty, come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture says, from within him will flow rivers of living water. This he said of the Spirit, which those who believed in him were to receive; for the Holy Spirit had not yet come, because Jesus had not yet been glorified.
This is powerful and very important, because it teaches us that within you is the source of your renewal, of your restoration, the Holy Spirit, he has come to strengthen you, renew you, quench your thirst for God, to give you new strength and lead you to purpose for which you were created. He is your source of strength and security in God.
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Therefore, in the face of all adversity, crisis or in the midst of spiritual drought, approach the Lord, strengthen your communion with the Holy Spirit, and you will not leave disappointed, because the word of God tells us:
“The Lord will guide you always, and in droughts (dry, difficult weather, losses, scarcity, loneliness) it will satisfy your soul, and give strength to your bones; and you will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of waters, whose waters never fail” as the book of the prophet Isaiah 58:11 teaches us.
We must also keep in mind that water (also one of the symbols of the Holy Spirit) cleanses, purifies. It is the Holy Spirit who reproves us to correct what does not please God, and in joint action with the word of God corrects, reproves and cleanses us.
Final reflection: The Holy Spirit of God wishes to make himself known, he wants to teach us, as in his time the Lord Jesus did with the twelve. The Holy Spirit wants to renew you, strengthen you, lead you to God’s design for you. He has not only come to empower us to serve God, he has also come to transform our character and help us become more like Christ our Lord.
Written by Pastor Gonzalo Sanabria.
I invite you to read: Whoever seeks God will be blessed