One of the most difficult tasks required of a minister is comforting a family after a sudden death. The call to minister after a death is one that seems to come at the most inopportune time.
The pastor could be all sweaty and dirty because he was mowing the yard on a hot summer day when the call came. He could be sleeping like a baby at 2 a.m. when the phone rings jolting him awake.
The pastor leaves whatever he is doing and goes to minister in the name of Jesus. What will he say when he arrives that could possibly help the burden of grief this family is experiencing? The minister must depend on the guidance of the Holy Spirit.
The lesson this week explores the Person of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is at work in the lives of all believers.
The Spirit is God (Genesis 1:2, Acts 5:3-4)
Have you ever prayed only to the Holy Spirit like you pray directly to God and Jesus? A prayer directed to God or Jesus may go something like this, “I ask you God to help me,” or “Jesus, please give me strength.” But would this prayer be proper, “Holy Spirit, I ask for your help as I go to minister to this hurting family. Holy Spirit, direct my actions and allow me to see how I can help the hurting hearts of this family. Holy Spirit, help me to be Jesus to them. Amen.”
Yes, it is okay to pray directly to the Holy Spirit because the Spirit is God. Genesis reveals that the Spirit of God was active in creation. “Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters” (Genesis 1:2).
The word “hovering” presents the image of the Spirit of God being similar to a mother bird caring for and protecting its young. God’s care over us and his protection still is active today for believers.
In Acts, we learn the believers were moved by the Holy Spirit to share their possessions with one another. One particular couple, Ananias and Sapphira, sold property but kept some of the proceeds even though they claimed to give it all to the church. Peter confronted them, and the couple denied what they had done.
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Peter saw this act by Ananias and Sapphira as a lie to the Holy Spirit, thus lying directly to God. That is why he said, “You have not lied to men but to God” (Acts 5:4). Both Ananias and Sapphira fell down and died after Peter confronted them with the truth (Acts 5:5, 10).
God’s judgment on the couple seems very harsh. The punishment by God shows us the deity of the Holy Spirit. Lying directly to God, to Jesus, to the Holy Spirit is a very serious matter for the believer.
The Bible assures us the Spirit of God is active in the world today.
The Spirit indwells believers (John 7:37-39)
Do you remember the days on the elementary school playground when it was time to choose up teams to play kickball or softball? Two captains were chosen and they alternated picking players for their respective teams.
What criteria did the captain use to pick players? Some would pick only their friends, but most of the time, a player was picked according to their ability. The last one chosen usually was the one nobody wanted on his or her team.
How does one get picked to have the Holy Spirit indwell inside them? Do certain individuals get filled with the Holy Spirit more than others based on their abilities to perform in the kingdom of God?
Jesus said, “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).
The reference to living water by Jesus was really a reference to the Holy Spirit. When Jesus walked the earth, the Holy Spirit was present with him. The focal passage tells us all who believe in Jesus will receive the Holy Spirit after his glorification, which occurred with his crucifixion, resurrection and ascension. The Holy Spirit was poured out on the believers at Pentecost.
All believers receive the Holy Spirit at conversion and the Holy Spirit lives within all believers. The Holy Spirit brings spiritual life and quenches spiritual thirst.
The Spirit gives boldness (Acts 4:29-31)
The apostles Peter and John were arrested for preaching the gospel. The religious leaders of the day “commanded them not to speak or teach at all in the name of Jesus” (Acts 4:18). What would the two apostles do? Jesus had told them to go and preach the good news.
They prayed and asked the Lord for the ability “to speak your word with great boldness” (Acts 4:29). Their prayer also asked requested the ability to continue to “heal and perform miraculous signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus” (Acts 4:30). After they prayed, “they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly” (Acts 4:31).
What is meant by “filled with the Holy Spirit”? This does not mean there was a second Pentecost. Peter and John received, from God, renewal of the awareness of the Holy Spirit’s power in their lives.
The Holy Spirit provides power in all believers. The Holy Spirit will not let us down when we need boldness and courage in our attempts to be a witness for the Lord.
The Spirit equips for service (1 Corinthians 12:4-7)
What else does the Holy Spirit do for believers?
One summer, I was a roustabout for Getty Oil Company in Kilgore, Texas. The company paid for me to have a physical to see if my body was healthy enough to work in the oil fields. I had to have steel-toed boots as well as a hard hat to protect me from injury. I was given instruction in the dangers of working in the oil field. The company was equipping me to perform my job safely.
The Apostle Paul shares in 1 Corinthians 12:4-7, “There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit. There are different kinds of service, but the same Lord. There are different kinds of working, but the same God works all of them in all men. Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good.”
The Holy Spirit equips the believer to work for the Lord by giving a variety of spiritual gifts for the benefit of the church as a whole. The believer is to search out ways to use the gifts God has given in order to build the church.
Believers are not to ignore the Holy Spirit but rather rely on his power to work in and through their lives. The Holy Spirit gives new life, power to witness to others, and gifts to serve God and build up his church.
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