Happy Mother’s Day! This is one of those days everyone has a special person for whom they can thank God. My mother, Rosemary, watches online every week. She even throws a little watch party and gives me a report! Mom, if you are watching Happy Mother’s Day! Mom, if you are not watching, why you doing me like that? {smiling…joke!} To all you mothers we love you and appreciate you!
For the last few weeks, we’ve been in a new series we’re calling “RESET”. We’ve been entertaining God’s promise that if we would repent and turn back to God… if we would trust his Word, if we would look deep into the face of Jesus, if we would get an eye-full of God’s mercies… God would REFRESH us! This morning we continue that conversation, as we look to how God RESETS our INNER LIFE. Next week we’re going to talk about our OUTER LIFE, our Character, our Conduct.
Years ago, I was a huge fan of the Dog Whisperer. Anyone still watching Caesar Millan? You know, some person would have an unruly dog. Maybe it was depressed or sad. Maybe it was high energy, neurotic, ultra-hyper. Maybe it was overfriendly and wouldn’t respect any boundaries. Maybe it was a dangerous dog—lashing out because of pain or fear. I loved the show because people would kind of enable the dog’s bad behavior by making excuses: “This puppy had a bad life, this one was abused, this one was abandoned, this one came from a house where children tormented it…” Often, within seconds, with the owner standing there, Caesar could transform the dog’s behavior! I’ve tried all Caesar’s tricks at home but the softer I whisper, the louder the dogs bark.
Far more impressive than dog whisperers, are Mothers. Mothers are baby whisperers, child whisperers, teenager whisperers. The kid’s having a meltdown. But mom knows just what to do. More often than not, Moms have to be husband whisperers—but let’s not go there. Mothers have the high praise and admiration of God! Proverbs 31:25-29 is an example. Describing virtuous Mom. . . She is strong and honorable. She knows just when to laugh. She speaks wisdom and gives loving instruction. She watches over her household and is never idle. Her children and husband praise her. Mom’s goodness surpasses that of everyone else!
As I thought about our Inner Life this morning, it dawned on me that one of the ways we can think of the Holy Spirit is that He is a kind of “human-whisperer.” The word for God’s Spirit in the Bible is wind or breath. Jesus said the Holy Spirit is like the wind, blowing wherever it will. We can feel the Spirit’s affect, though we cannot see Him. God is Spirit, he is invisible.
At the end of John’s gospel, there is this moment in John 20:22, when Jesus “breathes on his disciples” and says, “receive my Holy Spirit.”. In the verse before, John 20:21, Jesus says “my peace be with you.” He barely uses words, he just breathes! By his Holy Spirit, God can bring peace into our lives, doing the unimaginable! By his Spirit, God can do things for us not even mom can do!
This may surprise many religious people—but God never intended us to live this great Christian life in the power of the flesh. The repeated refrain of the Old Testament prophets. “Not by power, not by might, but by my Spirit says the Lord of Hosts.” You may recall Paul’s criticism of the church at Galatia. Galatians 3:3, “Are you so foolish? After beginning by the Spirit, are you now finishing by the flesh?” God intends us to live this life with His indwelling Spirit and Power.
One question people ask is, how do I receive the Holy Spirit? I think of passages like Ephesians 1:13. “In [Jesus] you also were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and when you believed.” When were you sealed with the Holy Spirit? When (A) we heard the gospel of Jesus, and (B) when we believed in Jesus. I think of Acts 2:38. Peter is preaching Christ. The crowd responds in faith and asks Peter, “What shall we do?” And Peter replies, “Repent and be baptized, each 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 Acts 2 they (A) Hear, (B) Believe, (C) Repent, and (D) Get Baptized. Acts 2 echoes what Jesus told Nicodemus, when Nicodemus asked what he must do to enter the Kingdom of God. John 3:5, “Truly I tell you, unless someone is born of water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.”
I love that phrase “Born Again.” If ever there an invitation to “RESET” its Jesus’ invitation “BE BORN AGAIN”. You want a RESET? Go down into the waters of the baptistry and ask Jesus to wash all your sins away. Repent. Say goodbye to your past! No more excuses, no more sad stories, no more justifications. No more “I was hurt, I was abandoned, I was tormented…” By his GRACE God offers a reset. Be forgiven! Peace be with you! But then God simultaneously baptizes us with his Holy Spirit. We’re forgiven in Jesus, the water symbolizes the blood that washes away our sins. But then we come up out of that water and breathe in God’s Spirit. God’s Spirit then sets us free! He sanctifies us. He makes us Holy!
In Gospels, when Jesus is on earth, Jesus is central in the disciple’s life. They are literally, physically, following Jesus around being taught and led by him. But when Jesus ascended into heaven, Jesus’ Spirit, the Holy Spirit becomes central.
In the later NT there are invitations to embrace Holy Spirit. For Example…
• Be Immersed/Drink in Holy Spirit. “For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body—whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free—and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.” -1 Corinthians 12:13
• Being filled with the Spirit. “Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.” -Ephesians 5:18
• Sow to the Spirit. “The one who sows to please his sinful nature, from that nature will reap destruction; the one who sows to please the Spirit, from the Spirit will reap eternal life.” - Gal 6:8
• Drink in the Spirit. “On the last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, ‘If anyone is thirsty, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him." By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.’” - John 7:37-39
• Keep in Step with the Spirit. “Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.”-Gal 5:25
• Produce Fruit of the Spirit. “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control…” – Gal 5:22-23
• Be on fire in the Spirit. “Never be lacking in zeal, but keep your spiritual fervor, serving the Lord.”- Rom 12:11
There are just as many warnings about resisting the Holy Spirit.
• Becoming Lukewarm. “So, because you are lukewarm—neither hot nor cold—I am about to spit you out of my mouth.” - Revelations 3:16
• Insulting the Spirit. “How much more severely do you think a man deserves to be punished who has trampled the Son of God under foot, who has treated as an unholy thing the blood of the covenant that sanctified him, and who has insulted the Spirit of grace?” -Hebrews 10:29
• Quenching the Spirit. “Do not put out the Spirit's fire; do not treat prophecies with contempt” -1 Thessalonians 5:19-20
• Rejecting the Spirit. “Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.” -1 Thessalonians 4:8
• Lying to the Spirit. “Then Peter said, "Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?”-Acts 5:3
• Grieving the Spirit. “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, with whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.”-Ephesians 4:30
• Blaspheming the Spirit Begins. “And so I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.” -Matthew 12:31-32
• Conscience Being Seared. “Such teachings come through hypocritical liars, whose consciences have been seared as with a hot iron.” -1 Timothy 4:2
• Falling Away. “It is impossible for those who have once been enlightened, who have tasted heavenly gift, who have shared in Holy Spirit, who have tasted the goodness of the word of God and the powers of the coming age, if they fall away, to be brought back to repentance, because to their loss they are crucifying the Son of God all over again, subjecting him to public disgrace.” -Hebrews 6:4-6
Now if we will keep in step with the Spirit—an incredible relationship unfolds. One of my dear professors from my LCU days was Dr. John Castelein. I learned more about the Holy Spirit from this one professor than anyone else. Whenever he taught, he encouraged us to think of the Holy Spirit not just as our “Helper” in life, but as our “Mentor and Tutor” in life. With every step of surrender we take, the Holy Spirit acts moves more deeply, powerfully, profoundly in our lives.
I only have time to summarize the many ways the Spirit mentors us. But if you want to dig deep, go online and find this sermon on our website later:
• The Mentor guides our thoughts, knowledge, wisdom, insight (Deut 34:9; Neh 9:20,30; Isaiah 11:1-2; Luke 12:12; Acts 6:3,10; 7:51; 2 Cor 3:14-18; Eph 1:14-21; 3:14-19; 1 Cor 2:10-16; 1 Thess 4:9; 1 John 2:20-21,27).
• The Mentor guides our feelings, emotions, attitudes (Exod 31:3; Luke 10:21; Acts 4:31 (boldness); 9:31 (peace); 13:52 (joy); Rom 8:14-15 (not fear); 8:23; 14:17; 15:13 (hope and peace); 2 Cor 1:21-22 (hope); 3:14-18; 5:5-8; Gal 4:6-7; 5:5 (hope); Eph 1:13-14; 4:30; 1 Thess 1:6 (joy); 1 Pet 4:14 (blessed).
• The Mentor guides our intentions, plans, action (Ps 143:10; Isaiah 63:10-14; Acts 7:51; Rom 7:6; Gal 5:16-18; 5:25; 6:7-8; 1 Thess 5:19 (passion/commitment).
• The Mentor guides our actions of charity toward the needy (afflicted, grieving, captives, prisoners in Isaiah 61:1-3)
• The Mentor guides in holy living and character, which the Law cannot condemn (Ezek 36:25-28; Rom 1:4; 2:29; 7:6; 8:3-4.10,12-13; 14:17; 15:15-16; 1 Cor 3:16; 6:11,19; Eph 2:22; 2 Thess 2:13; 1 Pet 1:1; 1 John 3:24). Rom 8:16; 14:16-17; 2 Cor 3:17-18; Gal 5:22-25; 2 Tim 1:13-14).
• The Mentor guides in leadership (Judges 3:10 (Othniel); 6:34 (Gideon); 11:29 (Jephtha); 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14 (Samson); 1 Sam 11:6 (Saul); 1 Sam 16:13 (David).
• The Mentor guides in speaking with power on God's behalf in prophecy in the Old Testament and New Testament (Numb 11:25-26,29; 1 Sam 10:6; 18:10 (raved or prophesied?); 19:20,23; 2 Sam 23:1-2; 1 Kings 22:22-24; 2 Chron 20:14-15; 24:20; Ezek 11:5; Joel 2:28-29; Matt 10:20; Mark 13:11; Luke 1:67; Acts 2:17-18; 4:31; 6:10; 11:28; 19:6; 2 Pet 1:20-21; Rev 19:10?).
• The Mentor guides in artistic abilities (Exod 31:3-5; 35:30-35).
• The Mentor guides actions of love and justice toward the needy (Isaiah 42:1-4; 61:1-3; Matt 12:18-21; Acts 10:38; Rom 5:5; 15:30; Col 1:8).
• The Mentor guides in leadership for the common good (Numb 11:16-17; Judges 3:10 (Othniel); 6:34 (Gideon); 11:29 (Jephtha); 13:25; 14:6,19; 15:14 (Samson); 1 Sam 11:6 (Saul); 1 Sam 16:13 (David); Isaiah 28:5-6; Acts 6:3; 20:28; 1 Cor 12:-11).
• The Mentor guides in prayers (Rom 8:26-27; Eph 6:18; Jude 20).
• The Mentor guides in spiritual warfare (Matt 12:28; Acts 10:38).
• The Mentor guides in missions and evangelism (Acts 1:8; 4:31; 8:29; 10:19-20; 11:12;13:2-4; 15:28; 16:6-7; 1 Cor 2:4-5; Heb 3:7).
• The Mentor guides in worship (Luke 10:21; Phil 3:3).
• The Mentor guides in unity and fellowship within the congregation (1 Cor 12:7-13; 2 Cor 13:14; Eph 2:18; 4:1-6; Phil 1:21; Heb 3:7; 10:15-17 ("today"); Rev 3:1,6,13,22 (speaks to the churches).