Last week we talked about increasing the octane of our relationship with Jesus. Believing in Jesus is the key to knowing God the Father. Believing in Jesus is the key to being forgiven. If we believe in Jesus, God refuses to punish us as our sins deserve. 1 Thessalonians 1:10 (ESV) says that Jesus, whom God raised from the dead, "...delivers us from the wrath that is to come."
Believing in Jesus is the key to eternal life. Jesus said in John 3:16 (ESV), "...that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have eternal life." Jesus also said that he was the resurrection and the life. He promised that whoever believes in him will have eternal life.
The critical dynamic in our relationship with Jesus is believing that Jesus is who he says he is and that Jesus has the power to do what he says he can do.
I assume that this is as true for you as it is for me. Some days your relationship with God runs at a pretty high octane. God seems near. You believe in him. But other times your relationship with God cools. God seems far away. Some days you feel alive in Christ, but other days you need spiritual CPR.
It's like my boat. Some days it starts right up. It's awesome! But other days it takes all the patience this preacher can give to it. On Tuesday, I was so frustrated. I'd just spent hundreds of dollars to get my boat fixed. I drove all the way to Carlinville to pick it up. The repairman had taken it all up and down Otter Lake and he said it ran like a charm. But as soon as I put it on Lake Springfield, the motor choked and sputtered. I was so mad that Lara and the dogs had to hide downstairs while I ranted and raved about like a madman. It hasn't run all summer. So I got online to see what I could sell it for. I wondered about trading it off for a newer boat-- one that would actually start!
But Lara intervened. Later that night, after tinkering around some more, we took the boat out and it roared to life. We flew around the lake for over an hour. We were going so fast, Lara's hair became a complete bird's nest.
With God things can seem hot and cold. Some days you are filled with a profound knowledge of God, but other days you wonder if you know God at all. Some days you have the inward assurance of salvation, but other days you wonder if the sense of shame, judgment, or dread will ever be lifted from your life. Some days you're filled with a sense of hope, but other days you wonder if God really does have the power to conquer sin, disease, and death. You wonder if God has the power to resurrect your flesh and grant you eternal life.
I take encouragement from James 4:8 (ESV) which promises, "Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you." When we feel far from God it's not because God has changed or has somehow failed us. It's because we need to change. In fact, the whole Christian life is one of continual change, continual repentance, continual renewal, and continual surrender.
The rest of James 4:8 (ESV) clarifies what it means to draw near to God. "Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded." It's not as if God stopped loving us, or stopped taking an interest in us. It's that our hands are dirty and prone to sin. Our hearts are impure, and our minds are prone to distraction. In order for us to get back on track, something very deep, very profound, needs to change within us.
Before Jesus ascended into heaven, he promised to send his Holy Spirit into the world. The Holy Spirit doesn't change God. The Spirit changes us, and he makes this new life in Christ possible. And how does the Spirit change us? The Holy Spirit changes us from the inside-out, from the heart, from the mind, and all the way to our hands.
Until the Holy Spirit came upon the believers in Acts 2, the newly formed disciples (though believing in Jesus) sat immobilized. But once the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples, not only did they change, but they changed the world.
In the same way, Jesus didn't begin his public ministry without first being baptized and thus receiving the Holy Spirit. After his baptism, he was careful to be led by the Spirit. When Jesus was in the wilderness, the Spirit led him as Satan tempted him.
The focus in the gospels (the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) is the believer's relationship with Jesus. The focus in Acts is the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit. Jesus' instructed the disciples to remain in Jerusalem. In Acts 1:5 (ESV) Jesus promised, "...you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." Peter's first instruction to the crowds on the day of Pentecost was detailed in Acts 2:38 (ESV). "Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins , and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." In letter after letter, the apostle Paul urged the early Church not to quench the Spirit, grieve the Spirit, resist the Spirit, or blaspheme the Spirit. Isn't it interesting that the unpardonable sin is blaspheming the Holy Spirit?
In Mark 3:28-29 (ESV) Jesus says, "...all sins will be forgiven the children of man, and whatever blasphemies they utter, but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin." We'd better think long and hard about our relationship with the Holy Spirit! So what does a relationship with the Holy Spirit look like?
First, We Move From Unresponsive to Responsive
In John 16:7 (ESV) Jesus describes the Holy Spirit as, "the helper" The NIV translation uses the word counselor. The KJV uses the word comforter. In Old English, comforter doesn't mean what it sounds like today. John Castelein from Lincoln Christian University, uses the word mentor to help us understand the role of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit doesn't do for us, but he works in us, through us, and with us. He guides, leads, coaches, mentors, equips, and empowers us.
In John 16:8 (ESV) Jesus explains how the Holy Spirit, "...will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment..." There is a general sense in which the Holy Spirit is in constant dialogue with every man. The problem is that unbelievers (and some Christians) don't recognize the convicting voice of the Holy Spirit as the Holy Spirit. They assume it's their conscience or some inner voice that's tapping on their shoulder.
One of our first steps with the Holy Spirit is to become responsive to his leading. Last week during second service communion, the fire alarm went off. I don't know about anyone else, but it kind of startled me! Sometimes the Holy Spirit is like a fire alarm. We're going about our usual things when all of the sudden his voice breaks into our conscience, warning us or commanding us to make our paths straight. At that moment we can obey or disobey.
When we respond to the Spirit, his voice becomes stronger in our life. When we ignore the Spirit, our conscience becomes seared. We become dead to the things of God.
It's interesting that when Peter describes baptism in 1 Peter 4 he describes it as pledging to live with a clear conscience before God. Baptism is pledging to keep in step with the Holy Spirit. We are to be open, be willing to be led, be mentorable, and be changeable to the Spirit's prompting. If baptism is anything, it is an act of surrender, yielding, and responding. This is why faith, repentance, baptism, and confession are so intimately intertwined.
Second, We Move From Responsive to Being Filled
Our relationship with the Holy Spirit isn't passive, but active. Our relationship with Holy Spirit isn't individualistic either. It's communal. Ephesians 5:18-21 (ESV) says, "And do not get drunk with wine, for that is derbauchery, but be filled with the Spirit, addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another (surrendering) out of reverence for Christ."
I've learned that I don't just respond to the Spirit of God as he speaks to me directly. We are to yield to the Spirit of God in others, as well. Though I might be attuned to the Spirit of God in one area of my life, someone else will be more attuned in an area I've neglected. This is what I love about spiritual friendships. So often someone more led by the Spirit of God than I will throw on the brakes for me.
Something else I've learned is that through fasting, prayer, Bible reading, worship, and other spiritual disciplines, God causes my heart and mind to become more attuned to his Spirit. Tomorrow night we have a class called "Go Deeper" that will show you how to grow deeper in your relationship with the Holy Spirit through regular use of the spiritual disciplines.
Third, We Move From Being Filled to Empowering Others
It's not enough that you or I have an awesome relationship with the Holy Spirit. How do we pray, how do we help other believers be filled, or how do we help non-Christians become more responsive to the Holy Spirit? Tomorrow night we have a class called "Lead Out" that will equip you as a leader to take people deeper in relationship with the Holy Spirit.