What does the Holy Spirit Do?

introduction
John 3:3-8 In reply Jesus declared, “I tell you the truth, no one can see the kingdom of God unless he is born again.” “How can a man be born when he is old?” Nicodemus asked. “Surely he cannot enter a second time into his mother’s womb to be born!” Jesus answered, “I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit. Flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit. You should not be surprised at my saying, ‘You must be born again.’ The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.”
New Birth
The expression ‘born again’ has become a bit of a cliché. (even been used to advertise cars.)
But it goes back to Jesus.
What Jesus is saying is this, using the analogy of physical birth, that when a man & a woman come together in physical intercourse a new person is born physically. When the spirit of a man or woman comes together with the Spirit of God a new person is born spiritually.
And that is something (he says) which is not just to take place for special Christians. Its for all Christians.

Church Sunday school teacher reporting back how tried to explain to the class the difference between physical birth and spiritual birth, using this passage. She asked the class (5 & 6 year olds) ‘are we born a Christian? Six year old put up hand & said; ‘No miss, you’re born normal.’
There’s a difference between physical birth & Spiritual birth.
Jesus said its not enough to be born physically, all of us must be born from above.
Every Christian has the Holy Spirit living within them.
• Until we become a Christian the chief work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of sin & of our need for Jesus.
• When we come to Christ his Spirit comes to live within us, and we become a new person. So becoming a Christian is not the end, it’s the beginning.
When I first became a Christian I thought, that’s it, I’ve arrived. Then I discovered I literally had only just arrived – like a new baby!
Like birth it’s the start of a new life.
We are born into a new family, and this session I want to look, using analogies of a family, at the changes that will occur.

We become sons & daughters of God

A) Forgiveness
Rom 8:1 “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus,”
The moment we are born again, all of our sins; past present and future, have been taken by Jesus Christ on the cross. We receive total forgiveness; there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. God takes all of our sins and “buries them in depths of the sea”. (OT book of Micah).
Corrie Ten Boom, a famous Dutch Christian said; when He’s done that, God puts a big sign above it saying ‘no fishing’.
• Don’t need to go digging around because everything has been forgiven through Jesus Christ. The past has been wiped clean.
That is in a sense the negative side. The positive side is that we have become children of God.
• Remember we looked at that passage in Romans that said; to those who believe he gave the right to become children of God.
• And that’s what we are. Not by natural birth but by spiritual birth.

B) Sonship
The book of Romans described as like the Himalayas of the NT. Ch 8 is like Mount Everest and these verses are if you like the peak of Mt Everest. They are the pinnacle of the whole New testament. (Read)
Rom 8:14-17 “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you have not received a spirit of slavery leading to fear again, but you have received a spirit of adoption as sons by which we cry out, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

i) It’s the greatest Privilege
The highest privilege that we can ever have in this life is to be a son or daughter of God.
• Paul says here that we have received a spirit of adoption. Those that are led by the spirit of God are the sons of God.
· Boy teased in the playground that he was adopted – his reply – “your parents got lumped with you but my parents chose me”. That’s what it means to be chosen by God. We are adopted – but more than that we are also born by his spirit.
· Billy Bray – born 1794 – lived in early part of 19th century – background was a heavy drinker. He lived a promiscuous lifestyle. Got involved in fights, had domestic quarrels, and at age 29 he came to Christ. He went to his wife and said “you’ll never see me drunk again, with the help of the Lord”. She never did. He became a magnetic personality and had a remarkable ministry, healing and leading people to Christ. His words had magnetic power. He was; ‘charged with divine electricity’. At the end of a days mining he would come out and speak & Crowds of miners would come and hear him preach. He was always praising God and had abundant reason to rejoice. He would describe himself as a young prince. He was the adopted son of God, the King of Kings. Therefore he said he was a prince, already possessing royal rights and privileges.
So its the greatest privilege

ii) It’s the closest Intimacy
For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father (v.15)
The word ‘Abba’ is an unusual word because its not translated. Its an Aramaic word. It means something like ‘Daddy’. But its not a childish word. It’s a word of reverence, but also extraordinary intimacy. – - Nowhere in the OT is God addressed as Abba. Using the word Abba to address God is distinctive to Jesus. – - – But Jesus gives to us the right to address God as Abba, this word of total intimacy.
Let me read you some of the titles that Prince Charles has.
· He’s the Heir apparent to the throne. He’s His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales. He’s the Duke of Cornwall. He’s a knight of the Garter. He’s Colonel in chief of the royal regiment of Wales. He’s Duke of Rothesay, Knight of the Thistle, Commander of the Royal Navy. Great Master of the Order of Bath. Earl of Chester. Earl of Carrick. Baron of Renthrew. Lord of the Isles. Great Steward of Scotland. And if you or I wrote a letter we would have to sign it; ‘your royal highnesses most humble and obedient servant’. But to William and Harry he’s ‘daddy’. There’s an intimacy between a father and a son.
John Wesley says that when he experienced the Spirit he exchanged the faith of a servant for the faith of a Son.
So it’s the greatest privilege, its the closest Intimacy

iii) It’s the deepest experience
“The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children.” (v.16)
God wants us to know and to experience what it means to be a child of God. Just like a good parent wants their children to experience the love of their parent. God wants us to experience his love.
· Bill Burnett a bishop in South Africa who became Archbishop of Capetown – became a bishop he was 40 years old. He said; ‘at that time I believed in Theology, that I the truth about God, but not in God. I was a practical atheist. I sought righteousness by doing good’. It wasn’t till he’d been a bishop for 15 years – he went to do a confirmation service, and at that service he spoke about how the love of God is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. When he finished he came home to Sunday lunch, opened the Sunday newspapers, poured himself a drink and sat down. As he did so he had a sense that he should go and pray. So he went into his private chapel and started to pray. And as he started to pray he felt the Lord say ‘I want your body’. Tall gangly sort and said ‘Lord why would you want my body? I’m just a bag of bones’. But he felt God say no I want your body. So he presented to God every part of himself, hands feet whole body. Then he said ‘what I had preached about in the morning actually happened to me. I experienced electric shocks of love.’ He found himself flat on the floor. And the Lord said to him; ‘You are my Son’ He thought ‘oh that’s blasphemous’. You only had one son and that was Jesus Christ. And then he sensed that he too was an adopted child of God.He said when he got up he was a different person. ‘Before I was full of resentment and anger and not easy to live with, now it was like a spring of water welling up to eternal life’. Praise and adoration were welling up within him. His whole ministry was utterly transformed. People came from all over the world to be prayed for by him.
It’s the deepest possible experience, not just for Bishops and Archbishops but for every single person that comes to him.

iv) It’s the greatest security
(v.17) Now if we are children, then we are heirs– heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.
Under Roman law an adopted son would take his fathers name and inherit his fathers estate. What Paul is saying here is that if you are a child of God, you will inherit. The only difference is we inherit not when our father dies but when we die. But we are heirs with God, Co-heirs with Christ. That is the greatest security you or I could ever have for the future.
He says if we share in his suffering we will share in his glory. That’s not a condition, but an observation. That if we identify with Christ it is inevitable that there will be, we will share in his suffering. We may experience some rejection. But it is nothing compared to the inheritance we have in Christ.
• So that’s the first main point – we become sons & daughters of God.

Then the Spirit helps us in

Developing the relationship
a) He helps us to pray
(Eph 2:18) For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit.
(Rom 8:26) In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.
So if you have faith in Christ, God is probably much closer to you than you may realise.
(- Illustration – wife & I in same room – quiet and so I thought she was upstairs so bellowed really loudly (family habit) but she was in same room and I nearly burst her eardrums.) The barrier is much thinner than we think between God and us.
Also

b) He enables us to understand Gods word
(Eph 1:17-18) I keep asking that the God of our Lord Jesus Christ, the glorious Father, may give you the Spirit of wisdom and revelation, so that you may know him better. I pray also that the eyes of your heart may be enlightened in order that you may know the hope to which he has called you, the riches of his glorious inheritance in the saints,
One of things HS does when he comes to live within us is that he opens our eyes so that we can understand this book.
I had read parts of bible at school, heard sermons and had not understood any of it. It is only the Spirit of God who brings this book to light so that we understand it.
- Some people say ‘I’m not yet convinced, I don’t really understand everything’.
· Ansong (Archbishop of Canterbury 1033 – 1109) said this; ‘Credo but intelligan’ = ‘I believe in order that I may understand’. He explained; ‘I do not seek to understand in order to believe, but I believe in order to understand. That doesn’t mean that faith is a leap in the dark. There are good reasons, as we’ve seen, for faith. But we will not understand everything. And understanding comes through faith. Because the moment we put our trust in Jesus Christ the Spirit of God come to live within us. And his Spirit opens our eyes so that we understand.

3) The Family likeness
The Spirit of God brings about changes in our lives which makes us more like Jesus Christ. Paul says as we spend time in the presence of Christ we are transformed into his (moral) likeness. When we spend time with people we become more like them. See that with parents & children, Husbands & wives, (dogs & owners?)
• So what’s going to happen to us, what changes will occur in our lives as we spend time I the presence of God & of Jesus Christ, when the Spirit comes & lives within?
(Gal 5:22-23) But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.
Love is the first fruit of the Spirit.
If you wanted to sum up what Christianity is about, apart from the word Jesus, the word Love is the best word to sum it up. Its all about Gods love for us being poured into our hearts by the HS, our love for God, & then our love for other people.
Love is not just a gooey feeling. Love is something that is transforming. In thought, word, action – the whole of our lives. Without love, everything else (Paul says) counts for absolutely nothing.
• Its not love just when everything is going right, it’s a love for our enemies, It’s a love in the midst of hate. It’s a very, very powerful force. – It’s the first evidence of the Spirit.
• Secondly Joy. Joy is different from happiness. Happiness depends on what happens to you. Joy is a far deeper thing. We can be joyful even if things are going very badly wrong in our lives. Even if going through trails and tribulations and having a difficult time, we can still have the joy of the Lord in our hearts. Joy in the midst of Grief.

Richard Wurmbrandt was imprisoned for many years and frequently tortured, and he wrote an account of his time in a prison cell. “Alone in my cell, cold hungry and in rags, I danced for joy every night. Sometimes I was so filled with joy that I though I would burst if I did not give it expression.” That is the fruit of the HS. Is not natural, it comes from the HS living within us.
• Love Joy, Peace, It’s a peace which Paul says passes understanding, in the midst of anxiety and trouble. Its something the HS brings.
And so on….
These are the characteristics that begin to grow as we develop the family likeness…..

4) Unity in the family
(Eph 4:3-6) Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit through the bond of peace. There is one body and one Spirit– just as you were called to one hope when you were called–one Lord, one faith, one baptism; one God and Father of all, who is over all and through all and in all.
The point is this – we all have the same Spirit living within us. So regardless of denomination, background, colour, race, we all have the same Spirit, lord, father… so we are one family. That’s why its an absolute nonsense to have division in the church. There is only one body of Christ in the world.
• Because all of us are indwelled by his Spirit he brings about a unity. He brings about that unity.
• Some of you may have already experienced that unity. In this group or as met with other Christians in the church. Maybe never met before and wondered am I ever going to get on with these people? But gradually you’ve experienced the unity that the HS brings.
• I can go to any part of world – and know get a family welcome…
• Some people still think that their denomination is the only one – but not many.

A bigoted Baptist minister – thought Baptists only true Christians. In one service he asked all who were Baptists to put hand up. Nearly all did of course. Asked ‘well is anyone here not a Baptist?’ One old lady put her hand up. ‘What are you then? ‘I’m a Methodist’ ‘A Methodist! – Why?’ Father was a Methodist, Grandfather was a Methodist’ Minister thought have some fun. ‘That’s ridiculous. What if your grandfather was a moron, and your Father was a moron, what would that make you?’ Scratched her head ‘ I guess that would make me a Baptist’.
• Unusual attitude today – Paul says Make every effort to keep the unity of the Spirit.
Each of us has a different role in the church.

5) Gifts for all the children
Each member of the family is different
1 Cor 12:7-11 Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit the message of wisdom, to another the message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit, to another miraculous powers, to another prophecy, to another distinguishing between spirits, to another speaking in different kinds of tongues, and to still another the interpretation of tongues. All these are the work of one and the same Spirit, and he gives them to each one, just as he determines.
This is not an exhaustive list. In another places Paul adds some. In Romans 12 – talks about service, encouraging, contributing to the needs of others, leadership, showing mercy. In Eph 4 he adds Evangelists and Pastors. In I Peter 4, Peter talks about hospitality and speaking as being gifts of the Spirit.
Non of these are exhaustive lists. What the writers are saying is that there are loads of different roles.
• But the point is every single one of us has a part to play in the body of Christ.
• Some of the gifts more obviously demonstrate the more unusual acts of God in the world. For example miracles.
• Others include natural talents that have been transformed by the HS. Teaching, encouraging, hospitality.
• A German theologian wrote this; ‘every human potentiality and capacity can become ‘charismatic’ (that is a gift of the spirit) through a persons call if only they are used in Christ’

• It says “to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
There are no first class Christians and second class Christians, all Christians have a gift. And all of us need to exercise them. The Church is not meant to be a one man show, where a pastor or leader does everything while everyone else sits there and watches the performance. Every single one of us is meant to be involved; we all have a role to play within the church.
• There is an urgent need for these gifts to be exercised within the church. Too often it’s the other model.
Church often been likened to a football match – 22 player desperately in need of a rest watched by 22,000 people who are desperately in need of exercise. That’s how the church has often been.

One person wrote to their pastor like this; “Dear pastor there are 566 people in our church. 100 are frail and elderly, which leaves 466 to do all the work. 80 are young people at school or college, which leaves 386 to do all the work. But 150 are tired businessmen which leaves 236 to do all the work. 150 of those are busy housewives with children, which leaves 86 to do all the work. But 15 live too far away to come here regularly anyway which leaves 71 to do all the work. And 69 say they have already done their bit for the church and that leaves you and me, and I’m exhausted so good luck to you.”
All of us are meant to play our part in the church. God gives gifts to all the children
Finally…

It’s a growing family
(Acts 1:8) But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses …..
In other words we will pass on to others what we have experienced. I know some people have a fear about telling other people. They think; ‘Arghhh! I could never tell anybody about what’s happened’. And it can stop some people from coming to Christ. ‘If I became a Christian I would have to tell people, and I could never do that’.

One person in great fear. Went to wise old person and explained his fear. This wise man said; ‘well in you case you don’t have to tell anyone’. ‘What! – I though had to tell everyone.’ ‘No, you are a special exception.’ Man was so relieved he went home, went to his bedroom, knelt by his bed and said a prayer, repenting of his sins and asking for forgiveness, thanking Jesus for dying for him and asking the Spirit to fill him. And the Spirit of God came upon him with great power & filled him to overflowing. He went downstairs and went into sitting room where his wife, his parents and three of his friends were sitting & said ‘ you know its so amazing, you can become a Christian and you don’t have to tell anybody’.
The point is this – once you have experienced the Holy Spirit, you want to tell people, you want to share the experience because its such an amazing thing to have a relationship with God through Jesus Christ. Because of that the family is always growing – its never static. New people are always coming to Christ.
Conclusion
SO every Christian has the HS living in them
Rom 8:9 If anyone does not have the spirit of Christ he does not belong to him.
But – Not every Christian is full of the HS, because Paul writes (Eph 5:18) Be filled with the Spirit, go on being filled with the Spirit.

But How – How can we be filled?
we started with Genesis Ch1:1 – finish with one of last verses in bible.
Rev 22:17 The Spirit and the bride say, “Come!” And let him who hears say, “Come!” Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life.

The promise is that all who are thirsty should come. We are to come as we are – if not thirsty be honest – tell God if you are not thirsty – perhaps you would like to ask God to make you thirsty.
But if you are thirsty then pray with me…..

Thank live in age of the Spirit – that all who put their faith in Jesus receive that Spirit. Lord pray first for those who thirst – that you would satisfy that thirst – I pray also for those who say don’t yet thirst. Pray you would give them as they pray today that thirst. And satisfy that thirst with the free gift of the water of life.

Amen