The Holy Spirit: He Means So Much to Me
/I. He is my Teacher
John 14:26 KJV
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. Experiential knowledge 2 Peter 1:3
He teaches Jesus
John 16:14. Ego- of who I am, My nature
He shall [1] glorify me: for [2] he shall receive of mine, and shall shew it unto you.
1. The way
John 14:4-6. The Holy Spirit is in partnership w Jesus— there is no other way and He will never say there is
4 And whither I go ye know, and the way ye know. 5 Thomas saith unto him, Lord, we know not whither thou goest; and how can we know the way? 6 Jesus saith unto him, I am the way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me.
2. His nature
Matthew 20:28
Even as the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give his life a ransom for many.
Matthew 20:26 But it shall not be so among you: but whosoever will be great among you, let him be your minister;
Matthew 20:27 And whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant:
3. His fruit
Galatians 5:22-24 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, 23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law. 24 And they that are Christ's have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts.
II. He is Comforter/Helper
He provides comfort and help on the journey
John 14:15-17 KJV. Can it get any clearer, “Obey w help!”
15 If ye love me, keep my commandments. 16 And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; 17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
The KJV uses comforter and the ESV uses the word Helper.
John 14:16 Amplified
And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Comforter (Counselor, Helper, Intercessor, Advocate, Strengthener, and Standby), that He may remain with you forever—
Counselor is translated from the Greek paraklētos. This word was used of legal assistants who pleaded a cause or presented a case. A big meaning of the word is a person who publicly supports someone.
There are two books that the word Paraclete is used in the NT, the gospel of John and John’s first letter:
1 John 2:1
My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:
Here, the Paraclete is Jesus. He pleads our case to the Father. The plea is His blood.
The Holy Spirit is called a Paraclete because He undertakes Christ's work in the world now that Jesus isn’t in the world as the God-Man in bodily form—the Holy Spirit is Spirit [without body] working on the earth—that is where we come into the picture.
When it comes to the Holy Spirit as the Paraclete, the word must be understood differently than in 1John 2:1/::/ referring to our substitutionary Advocate who pleads our cause with the Father. Instead, the Holy Spirit pleads God's cause with us—through us
He works with us by working through us.
The lord can use any form of creation he chooses to accomplish His work. He can allow the the wind to whistle the name of Jesus over water lilies in the Amazon. He can cause birds to sing His fame, donkeys to declare the character of His name and cause the rocks to cry out and sing His glory, but that’s not His intention. His intention is that man will be the vessel that He uses.
If someone is to receive healing, deliverance, salvation or help of any kind, it will be the Holy Spirit with the use of human vessels that will get it done!
These are some of the ways that the Holy Spirit ministers on the earth, but Jesus said that the Holy Spirit has a specific job to do:
III. He is Convictor the Holy Spirit is with the victor [Jesus]
He convicts of sin, righteousness and judgment
John 16:6-8 ESV
6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 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. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment:
The devils believe yet tremble Jas 2:19
John 16:9. If you don’t believe ❤️ in Jesus, you’re still dead in sin
concerning sin, because they do not believe in me;
John 16:10. The resurrection proves He was righteous and those that believe in Him share in His righteousness
concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer;
John 16:11. Man’s sins were judged by God on Jesus- the world w/ out Jesus will be judged with the world’s ruler. They chose him and the world over Jesus
concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
The words “convict ... of guilt” means to present or expose facts, to convince of the truth.” The Spirit works on the minds of the unsaved to show them the truth of God for what it is. Normally this process includes human aid (cf. 15:26-27).
KJV- reprove
ESV- convict
Reprove: refute/ confute
Refute- disprove a theory
Confute- disprove a person and their theory
Jesus tells the truth and the truth brings conviction against sin. If you are a believer this morning that means that you have acknowledged Jesus as your Savior. You accepted by faith Jesus’ sacrifice for your sin. Faith in Jesus’ sacrifice resulted in the Holy Spirit moving into your heart. Now, the Spirit of truth lives in you. He will use you to refute the lies of the world
In conclusion
Two quick things to mention about your relationship with the Holy Spirit:
1. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit- Ephesians 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
Grieve- to make sorrowful or throw into sadness
The Holy Spirit is holy and sin makes Him sad. It’s not my job to convict you of sin, and I sure can’t set you free from it, but if you want a relationship with the Holy Spirit and don’t want to grieve Him, then you will need to get saved and then learn God’s heart. That’s the best chance you have not to grieve the Holy Spirit
2. Fellowship with the Holy Spirit- 2 Corinthians 13:14
The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
Fellowship- communion, intimacy, joint participation