thefourthbrother: the average one

The Work of the Holy Spirit August 6, 2012

God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. All of my life I have known these names, having heard them preached in sermons; I have read them in the Bible; heard them spoken by members of my family; heard them mentioned on TV. I have heard them mocked continuously for years by irreverent celebrities and talking heads. They are names that go together automatically and it is even difficult to mention one without adding the others. I know these names and I believe in them – but even today it is difficult, if not impossible, to fully understand how they go together. I believe in them by having faith in them; because I have never seen them or heard them.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In the book of Hebrews, chapter 11, it tells us that faith is the “substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen”. I have this. I hope for God the Father and God the Son and God the Holy Spirit; I long for them. I have evidence of them though I have never seen. My evidence is my changed heart. So long ago as a young boy I gave my heart to God in a children’s church service – at a time when I did not fully understand what that meant and how it would change my life. I spent years trying to live on my own and ignoring God’s call on my heart yet I could not escape; I was only miserable and wandering without Him. My evidence of a changed heart is that my heart continually comes back to God seeking forgiveness and redemption.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

In John 15 verse 5, Jesus tells us that “. . . without me you can do nothing.”

Without Him, on our own, we wouldn’t find time to pray, wouldn’t find time to read the Bible, wouldn’t find time to go to church, or fellowship, or especially,  we wouldn’t bother to spread the Gospel. And we certainly would not understand the Word of God.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

The Apostle Peter is a perfect example of the work of the Holy Spirit (at least I think so). Let’s take a look at how. . .

Peter was with Jesus for nearly the full length of Jesus’ ministry on earth. In that time and being that close to the Lord, witnessing countless miracles and hearing words preached that no one could refute, Peter for the most part was a mess. When He saw Jesus walking on the water and asked to join Him, Peter stepped out of the boat, did some actual walking on the water himself and then promptly freaked. After Jesus pulled Peter up out of the water from where Peter had begun to sink, He scolded Peter for his lack of faith.

When Jesus began to tell His disciples that He would suffer and die, Peter tried to scold the Lord. Big mistake. He got a royal tongue lashing for that. Surely by this point Peter had a pretty good idea that Jesus could perform any miracle he wanted and that everything He said could not be proven wrong, by anyone. Why would he choose this point to suddenly think that Jesus was speaking rashly?

Then there was the so-called “last supper” in the upper room. Jesus began washing everyone’s feet, just like a servant would do, and again Peter opens his big mouth and tells Jesus no way. ‘nother big mistake. When Jesus gave him an ultimatum, Peter quickly changed his mind.

In the garden of Gethsemane, even after witnessing Jesus proclaim “I AM” and watching the mob of soldiers and others get knocked off their feet by Jesus’ words, Peter once again loses it. He takes a knife and cuts off the ear of a servant who was part of the mob. Jesus had to tell Peter to put it away because Peter likely would have continued hacking away at people.  Was Peter simply dumb as a box of rocks? Jesus spoke words and knocked people down – obviously if the arrest was going to happen it was because Jesus was letting it happen. Why did Peter try to stop it?

You would think and hope that by this time Peter would get a clue and quit making so many mistakes. Not Peter. He had one more big mistake to make. The most famous of Peter’s displays of stupidity was the denial of Jesus, which Peter was quick to perform 3 times, even after hearing Jesus tell him that was what would happen. Only upon hearing the crowing of the rooster did Peter realize that, once again he was messing up.

So here was a man who was witness to the greatest displays of divine power ever performed in front of people, knew  personally the Son of God and believed Him to be that and heard words spoken that would remain the most famous on the planet even after 2000 years, and this man behaved like a total basket case. Nearly everything Peter did that was recorded in the gospels was rash and dumb.

Why? How was this even possible?

Because even standing next to the Son of God on a daily basis, Peter did not yet have the Holy Spirit. Even though Peter believed, his life was still a mess because his salvation was not yet complete. Take a look at what happens next.

The book of Acts chapter 1:  Just before Jesus is taken up into heaven He tells the disciples to go to Jerusalem and wait for the “Promise of the Father”. They do this. On the day of Pentecost they were all together when there was the sound of a mighty wind and what is described as “tongues of fire” are seen above the disciples heads. The Promise had come. The Holy Spirit.

Immediately they began speaking in other tongues and prophesying. This obviously created a great disturbance in the community because it drew an enormous crowd of people, each one drawn to the sound of their own language being spoken.

Did you catch that?

Even in the midst of that cacophony of voices, individuals were able to pick out their own language and understand what was being said.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

You remember Peter? The bumbling, angry, scared, confused and rash Peter? He faces the great crowd of people and launches into a powerful sermon that Chapter 2 verse 37 says “cut them to the heart”. It was so powerful that the Bible records about 3000 souls were saved that day. Because of Peter’s words three thousand people became believers in Jesus as Savior and repented of their sins. The church was launched on that day.

What changed? How did Peter go from being a mess to becoming not just a disciple but an Apostle, preaching the good news and even performing miracles himself?

Peter now had the Holy Spirit.

He was able to do nothing on his own, even physically being next to Jesus, until he received the Holy Spirit who, according to Acts 4: 8, Peter was “filled’ with the Holy Spirit. So God’s Spirit, the third person in the Godhead, actually comes to dwell inside of each new believer, filling them; imparting to each believer in Christ the Lord the ability to preach the Gospel, win souls to the Lord, cast out demons and perform miracles such as healing sickness and disease and understand His Word.

That is the work of the Holy Spirit. And is that all the Holy Spirit does?

The Apostle Paul, in Galatians 5: 22,23 tells us “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long-suffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such there is no law.”

Basically the Holy Spirit enables us to live for God, being obedient to His Word and making sure that everyone we come in contact with knows about the free gift of salvation through Jesus at the cross. That is the work of the Holy Spirit.

We are all surrounded by people going about their daily lives, working, playing, existing. Do you see the Holy Spirit working in them? Are they seeking God and are they repentant for their sins?

What about you?

Is the work of the Holy Spirit being done in your life?

I would suggest that if your life is a mess -  just one mistake after another – Maybe you need what Peter needed. You need the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the one promised by Jesus Himself. Will your life be perfect after that? Of course not. Even Peter still made some mistakes. But like Peter, your life can be turned around. You can have peace and joy and happiness even when life is dumping on you big time. And you can have assurance, through the work of the Holy Spirit, that your name is written in the Book of life.

Do it today.