The Gift Of The Holy Spirit Part 1

Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith. Some of the gifts God gives His children may seem intangible.

For instance, having the righteousness of God sounds theoretical, but today's gift makes all the other gifts very real. Stay with us to learn about a Helper who indwells all believers, putting God Himself inside of us. From the Moody Church in Chicago, this is Running to Win with Dr. Erwin Lutzer, whose clear teaching helps us make it across the finish line. Pastor Lutzer, there's a variety of understandings out there about the role of the Holy Spirit. Will today's message help to clear things up?

Well, Dave, I certainly hope that it will help to clear things up. One of the reasons that there's so much controversy has to do with the baptism of the Spirit, whether or not speaking in tongues is involved. As a result of that, there are many people who back away from any experience of the Spirit, any understanding of what He is intended to do in our lives.

And that's why I believe that this message is so important. I've written a book entitled The Inheritance of the Redeemed, claiming the spiritual treasures that are yours in Christ. And one of those treasures definitely is the Holy Spirit. By the way, for a gift of any amount, this book can be yours.

Simply go to rtwoffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. This happens to be the third in a series of messages titled The Inheritance of the Redeemed, blessings that belong to all those who put their faith in Christ. If you have been with us recently, you'll notice that we began with predestination. And then last time it was the righteousness of God, and both of these gifts, without them, you cannot be saved. And today we come to a third gift, a remarkable gift, in which we begin to really experience our salvation. And as a result of this message, I hope that when I'm finished, many of you and many of us who perhaps have never really learned to walk in the Spirit may remember this message and remember what will be said so that your life will be changed and changed forever. That's how much faith I have in the Holy Spirit and His work among us today.

When you read in the Bible that Peter was filled with the Holy Spirit, you probably think, I have no idea what that is. And it's something certainly good for apostles and missionaries and maybe from time to time we hope our pastor knows what it is like to be filled with the Spirit, but that's not for me because I'm a struggling Christian. If you're a struggling Christian, I'm looking for you today.

This message is directed toward you. You say, well, Pastor Luther, are there some people who aren't struggling Christians? Absolutely, there are Christians who are non-struggling Christians.

I know many of them by name. All of them are in heaven today. If you're not in heaven today, you're a struggling Christian. This message is for me and it's for you as well.

That's the first thing I want to say. Secondly, this message, as all of these gifts, belong to believers in Jesus Christ. And if you've never trusted Christ as your Savior, I want you to listen to this message very carefully because I hope it makes you jealous and at the end you say, I want what Christians want.

I want to receive Jesus as my Savior. So you listen carefully. But Jesus said very clearly that the Holy Spirit, who is this gift, the gift of the Spirit, is not known or given to the world. So you have the privilege today of looking in, listening, and at the end you'll have an opportunity to participate in these matchless blessings. Well, we have a lot of ground to cover and this is going to be a topical message in contrast to an expository message, which means we're going to go through a number of different verses. I am going to ask you to turn to only two passages that are really pivotal and important and the rest I may quote.

I'll give them to you so you may write them down. And at the end, I hope to finally defuse all the mystery surrounding this idea of being filled with the Spirit and walking in the Spirit so that we can all do it together. There are four ministries of the Spirit that are very important, really more than that, but four that are very important for all believers who have trusted Christ. The Holy Spirit comes, four ministries he brings us. The first is, and this is found in the 14th chapter of John, and I want you to look at the text. John chapter 14, the first ministry of the Spirit we are going to look at is the ministry of indwelling. When Jesus told the disciples he was going to leave, they were very disappointed.

They were fearful. And he tells them, don't worry, I'm going to heaven and I'm preparing a place for you. That's wonderful. How nice.

That's great that you're doing that. But what about here on earth? What Jesus is going to tell them is this. I am leaving you physically, but not actually.

Physically, but not actually. Let's look at the text. Verse 15 of chapter 14 of John, if you love me, you will keep my commandments and I will ask the Father and he'll give you another helper.

Everybody stop right here. In Greek, there are two words for another. One is similar and the other is the same. For example, I may say, I give you this pen and now I'm giving you another pen. The other pen that I give you, if it's similar, may be a ballpoint pen. This happens to be an ink pen.

Could be a different color. I'm giving you a similar gift. But if I say I'm giving you a gift that is the same, then I'm giving you a pen that is identical to this. And that's the word that Jesus uses. He says, I am going away and I'm going to give you another helper. And you know that that word helper in Greek is paraclete, which means to be called alongside of. Para, which means alongside to call, is to call, paraclete, someone alongside you. That's why it can be translated helper.

It can be translated comforter and in other ways as well. And the whole idea is this. God is saying that's what the Holy Spirit of God is going to be to you. In the Old Testament, the Holy Spirit came upon people and then left them. And Jesus is saying there are going to be two changes now that I'm here and I'm going to heaven.

Your Bibles are open. You'll notice it says the world cannot receive the spirit of truth. I meant verse 17. Last part of the verse, you know him for he dwells with you and shall be in you. The first is you have in the indwelling of the spirit. And this is going to mean now the indwelling of the spirit for all believers who trust Christ. If you trusted Christ as Savior, you have within you the indwelling spirit. Do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit? All throughout the scriptures, the New Testament, that is emphasized. And not only will he be in you, but Jesus said this. He said it's greater in extent in the New Testament, it includes all believers, and it is greater in duration. You'll notice the text.

It says he will be with you forever. What a privilege it is for us to live in this age and this era rather than in Old Testament times. Now here's the way we generally think of it. We think, you know, we envy those disciples. They were there with Jesus. They saw him walk on water. They saw him do the miracles.

Oh, if only we had been there. Do you know what Jesus says in the 16th chapter? He says, it is good for you that I go away. He says, you're getting a greater blessing than if I had stayed.

You know why? Because when he was here, he could only be in one place at one time. Even with his glorified body, he couldn't be in Galilee and Jerusalem simultaneously. He had to travel from one place to another. Now, he says, I will come to you to, we were in the south this past week for a few moments.

I'm going to come to y'all. Now here's where I want to dispel an idea in your mind. One of the ideas we have is, you know, Jesus is in heaven. His body is there. Yes, he's at the right hand of God, the Father. He's really far, but he sent his Holy Spirit as kind of a substitute. Is that the way you think of it?

No. The Holy Spirit is not a substitute for Jesus. The Holy Spirit of God brings Jesus to us. Jesus is with us.

You'll notice he says, I'm not leaving you. I'll come to you. I will come to you. I'm not going to leave you as orphans. I am coming to you.

Realize what this means. You have the companionship of Jesus all the time. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ, it is because Christ is present. It is good for you that I go away. And by the way, go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature.

Why? And behold, I am with you. I, I am with you.

And if you still aren't blessed because you've had a hard morning, look at this. I'm now in about verse 22 and 23. If anyone loves me, he will keep my word.

My Father will love him. And we will make our home with him. We, the Father, the Son, the Spirit, God dwells within you. The Holy Spirit is God indwelling believers. I know that some of you are lonely. Some of you are going through a hard time.

You walk into your apartment and nobody else is there. Can I encourage you by reminding you that somebody else is there? The companionship of Jesus, the fact that he is there for fellowship and for companionship because he was with the Old Testament saints. He will dwell within you ever present Jesus, right where you are, even when you ride the L in Chicago. He's there. So first of all, we have the indwelling of the Spirit and that emphasizes the companionship of Jesus.

That's the gift. There's another ministry of the Spirit. And for that, I will ask you to turn to Ephesians chapter 1. Please turn there. It is the last verse actually that I'm going to ask you to actually turn to.

The others I'm going to either quote or simply give you the reference. But notice what it says. Ephesians 1, and we preached on this when we preached on predestination, the earlier verses. But now I'm in verse 13. Ephesians 1 13, in him you also when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, you believed in him.

There we are. You were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit, who is the guarantee of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it to the praise of his glory. The Holy Spirit of God seals every believer, seals every believer.

Now the imagery that comes to us from ancient times is when a king wanted to send a document, piece of parchment, it would be rolled up, and then some hot wax would be poured on it and he would put his signet ring right where the parchment comes together. And so it was sealed. If anybody tampered with it, everybody would know it. So what he was saying is this is sealed.

The only one who can break the seal is me who wrote the document and sealed it or the person to whom it is given, the recipient of the document. And in our case God is the one who's both. He's the one who does the sealing and he's the one where we are sealed, the Bible says, now I'm in Ephesians 4, you can look it up later, until the day of redemption. If first of all the indwelling spirit gives us the companionship of the spirit, now we have the ownership of the spirit.

You may struggle, you may fight against God, but at the end of the day you believe in him and he, he owns you. That's why it says, you know, don't you know that your body is the temple of the living God, therefore live like it because you've been purchased at high cost by God and you are owned by him. So it signifies ownership, but there's something else it signifies. It is the guarantee of our inheritance. That's what it says back in Ephesians 1, where I read it in verse 14. He is the guarantee of our inheritance.

Here's what Jesus says, I'm sending you the blessed Holy Spirit of God. And as a result of that gift, you are beginning to get a little indication. It's a down payment of what someday you're going to inherit. I understand in ancient times, sometimes when a land deal was done, the owner who was selling it to the buyer would take a bag and put some soil in it and give it to him as a guarantee that more was coming. Earnest money.

I was introduced to that as a boy. I'll never forget it on the farm when my father bought a combine from a neighbor and gave the neighbor $45 as earnest money. They shook on the deal and the deal was done. That's the way it was done in those days.

And then of course my father paid the rest. By the way, it was a disastrous combine. But a deal is a deal.

In our case, it's not a disaster at all because we are given a down payment. It's going to get so much better. God says, I'm giving you the Holy Spirit today and he is sealing you and will take you all the way to heaven but he is a down payment. Now you get the flower but someday you're going to get the whole garden.

Now you get the drop but someday you're going to get the whole ocean. Now you get the tree but someday you are going to inherit all the fruit of paradise. Now you get the hors d'oeuvres but my friend today, a banquet is coming and the Holy Spirit of God is a reminder that there's more to come. You're sealed all the way to heaven. That's another ministry, the Holy Spirit.

We've had the ministry of companionship, now the ministry of ownership. Let's go on to another ministry and that's the baptizing ministry of the Spirit. I'm not going to ask you to turn to this passage because I think that one of the messages in this series is going to be on the body of Christ. So I'll simply quote the verse, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13, for by one spirit are we all baptized into one body whether we be Jew or Greek or bond or free and we've all drunk from one spirit. The baptizing ministry of the Holy Spirit and when you receive Christ you probably didn't even know what God was doing. He was baptizing you into the body of Jesus Christ so that from now on in the New Testament more than 100 times, I think just in the writings of Paul, you have this expression that you are in Christ. You are in Christ and the whole body of Christ. And as a result of that the Holy Spirit of God gives gifts and makes you part of that larger body. And because I'm going to be speaking about that, that's about all that I'm going to say today about the baptism of the Spirit, except to tell you that it gives us what we could call now a sense of partnership.

We've had the fact that we have companionship, we have ownership, and we also have partnership. We are members of one another for great and wonderful ministry. All gifts of the Spirit that some people don't even know about.

It's possible, you know, for people to sit on a pile of diamonds and not even know it and they think they're sitting on coal. Listen, he who spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how will he not also with him freely give us all things? I'm so excited about this I get my mings fixed up and I begin backing talk words. Let's go to a fourth ministry and this for us is most important because I want you to leave here today filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5 18 it says it so clearly, be filled with the Spirit.

Don't be drunk with wine, which is in excess, but be filled with the Spirit. And elsewhere it talks about being filled with the Spirit and singing songs of joy and so forth. All right, now we're going to really talk plainly.

I think I've been talking plainly actually. But I want you to leave here today with faith in what the Holy Spirit is going to do through you as a result of what we're learning together. What comes to mind when you hear about the filling of the Spirit? Peter stands up, he's filled with the Spirit. So much mystery. Oh, you could never be filled, not you. Oh, Peter, yeah, yeah, one of the apostles. It's no mystery really, filling of the Spirit.

We use that language all the time. We say that he was filled with anger, motivated by, controlled by anger, or he was filled with jealousy or he was filled with joy. It has to do with the matter of desire and what is coming as a result of all of that and what is controlling your life. So there's really no great mystery on what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit. So what we need to do is to recognize here that now we're talking about the experience of the Spirit.

And I am so jealous for you that you get this and experience the Spirit. Now I don't know exactly how it all works. I don't know how it can be that rain can come down, it can water the earth, and you have trees that grow and gardens that grow and then eventually what you have after that is water going back up again. There's so much here that I don't understand. And obviously there's mystery connected with the Spirit. But no mystery should keep us away from experiencing his overwhelming blessing. Now the Bible says this in Galatians. It talks about the fruit of the Spirit. And you probably know this verse, so again we're not going to ask you to turn to it, but it says, the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness. We're going to look very briefly, just a minute or two, at two of those fruits, the first fruit and then the second fruit of the Spirit.

It's actually not plural, it's singular. It's like a tree that grows and all the branches are filled with these blessings. Well this is Pastor Lutzer. Of course I hope that you understand this shows that the Holy Spirit of God is not only to be resident but president. He is the one who reproduces this fruit in our lives.

Nothing could be more relevant. I've written a book entitled The Inheritance of the Redeemed, claiming the spiritual treasures that are yours in Christ. And I wrote the book so that we might better understand many of the gifts that have been given to us. By gifts I mean the Holy Spirit, access to God, the righteousness of Christ, even the gift of glorification which is going to be ours in the future. As I like to emphasize, we make these resources available to you to help you in your Christian walk. This is the kind of book that you might like to share with a friend.

Give it to someone who is skeptical about what salvation is all about and for a gift of any amount it can be yours. The book is entitled The Inheritance of the Redeemed, claiming the spiritual treasures that are yours in Christ. Here's how you can connect with us. Go to RTWOffer.com.

That's RTWOffer.com or call us at 1-888-218-9337. Ask for the book The Inheritance of the Redeemed. And from my heart to yours, I want to thank you so much for joining us today. Thank you for praying for us.

Thank you for your gifts. Thank you for holding our hands in spreading the gospel. You can write to us at Running to Win, 1635 North LaSalle Blvd, Chicago, IL 60614. Running to Win is all about helping you find God's roadmap for your race of life. What does it look like when the Spirit has free reign in our lives? Next time, teaching to help us understand what this means. This is Dave McAllister. Running to Win is sponsored by the Moody Church.