Let’s Get Real About the Holy Spirit
5/25/25
“The Influence of the Holy Spirit”
John 16:5-8 “But now I am going to Him who sent Me; and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’ 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your hearts [and taken complete possession of them]. 7 But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper (Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor—Counselor, Strengthener, Standby) will not come to you; but if I go, I will send Him (the Holy Spirit) to you [to be in close fellowship with you]. 8 And He, when He comes, will convict the world about [the guilt of] sin [and the need for a Savior], and about righteousness, and about coming judgment:”
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Now, in these verses, Jesus tells us that on His return to heaven, the Holy Spirit would be poured out to continue the outworking of God’s plan of salvation.
ONE–He will be active in the work of salvation.
Jesus said that the Holy Spirit would convict men of their sinful condition,
of their lack of true righteousness,
and of the approaching judgment of the whole world.
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Once the Holy Spirit was poured out on the Day of Pentecost, He immediately began moving on the hearts of men and women.
After just one sermon from Simon Peter, over 3,000 people were brought under conviction by the Holy Spirit (they were “cut to the heart”) and asked Peter:
“What must we do” to which Peter replied, “Repent, be baptized, and you shall receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”–Acts 2:38
Then just a couple of chapters later over 5,000 men (not including women and children) turned to Christ under the convicting power of the Holy Spirit after hearing the gospel.
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TWO: Not only would the Holy Spirit be instrumental in men’s salvation, but Jesus said—-He would be continuously active in the lives of the redeemed on a literal relationship level.
2 Cor 13:14 “May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, and the fellowship (koinonia) of the Holy Spirit be with you all.”
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And as we saw last time, the Holy Spirit is the Agent of change, the transforming power that shapes and molds believers into the image of Christ.
2 Cor 3:18 “But we all, with unveiled face, beholding as in a mirror the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from glory to glory, just as by the Spirit of the Lord.”
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So before you’re saved He CONVICTS you.
After you’re saved He TRANSFORMS you, beginning with the miracle of REGENERATION—-of being born again.
Then He begins the life long work of RENEWAL by shaping, molding, and fashioning you into the image of Christ.
Phil 1:6 “And I am certain that God, who began the good work within you, will continue his work until it is finally finished on the day when Christ Jesus returns.”
And what is that work?
Ro 8:29 “For from the very beginning God decided that those who came to him—and all along he knew who would—should become like his Son,”
So the Holy Spirit convicts, regenerates, renews and transforms us into Jesus’s likeness.
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And He also GUIDES us:
Jesus said, “But when He, the Spirit of Truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth. For He will not speak on His own initiative, but He will speak whatever He hears [from the Father], and He will disclose to you what is to come [in the future].”–John 16:13
One of the great blessings of the genuine, born-again life is the leading and guiding of the Holy Spirit:
“For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God.”–Ro 8:14 NLT.
If we are truly God’s children, we will experience the leading of the Holy Spirit!
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But here’s the thing:
The busyness and trials of life can and do DEAFEN many Christians to the voice of the Holy Spirit.
One of Jesus’s favorite sayings was, “He that has ears to hear, let him hear.”–Matt 11:15
The writer of Hebrews says that it is a challenge teaching some people God’s word because, “…you have become dull of hearing.”–Heb 5:11
But not just of hearing God’s word, but also the voice of His Spirit within!
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ILLUS: The story is told of an American Indian that one day visited downtown New York. Walking down a busy street with a friend, he suddenly stopped and said, “I hear a cricket”.
His friend said, “A cricket? There’s no way you could hear a cricket in all this noise! It’s noon! There are thousands of people, cars honking, sounds of construction….how can you hear a little cricket!”
The Indian persisted, “No! I hear a cricket… I’m sure of it!”
The Indian listened again and walked slowly across the street where he found a large cement planter with a shrub in it. He dug beneath the leaves, and sure enough…there was a cricket!
His amazed friend said, “You’ve got amazing hearing!”
But the Indian said, “No. My ears are no different from yours. It simply depends on what you’re listening to–Here, let me show you.”
So he reached into his pocket and pulled out a handful of change and dropped it on the concrete.
You guessed it…every head within a block turned!
“You see what I mean? he said with a smile. It all depends on what you’re listening for.”
–Church, the reason we often don’t hear Jesus speak is because we’re listening to the sounds of this world, and we’re not tuned to the voice of the Holy Spirit!
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So what are some of the ways the Spirit speaks to us?
FIRST,
I. The Spirit speaks through his WHISPERS
We tend to think that is God speaks it will only manifest in dynamic ways–thunder, lightning, earthquake, wind.
But God’s voice is most often a soft whisper,
a gentle nudge,
a quiet stirring,
like a leaf gently falling onto a glassy pond.
Some describe God’s whisper as a gentle nudge, or an inner prompting.
For instance, after sending an
earthquake,
stormy wind,
and a raging fire as the prophet Elijah stood in the mouth of a cave,
God spoke to him in a still, small voice–which Elijah immediately recognized as the voice of God!
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For example in Acts 8, Philip—a man full of the Holy Spirit—is walking along a desert road from Jerusalem to Gaza when he sees a chariot heading the other way.
The Bible records, “The Holy Spirit said to Philip, ‘Go near and join this chariot.'”–Acts 8:29 NLT.
We don’t know HOW the Spirit spoke, but it points to a prompting within over an audible voice.
Philip obeyed the Spirit, which led to a conversation with an Ethiopian official that just happened to be reading Isaiah 53–which talks about the sufferings of the Messiah.
He invited Philip to sit with him in the chariot so he could explain it.
Philip led this man to Christ, and history tells us it opened the gospel door to Africa and historians believe he may have been one of the founders of the Ethiopian Orthodox church!
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Now, the Holy Spirit spoke to Philip through a WHISPER, but He spoke to the Ethiopian official through a second way the Spirit speaks to us, which is by a WITNESS:
II. A witness
God uses people to speak to us.
God can speak through anyone, anytime, but will generally speak through those that know Him.
A one sentence zinger on the radio that God quickens to our heart,
or something said in a casual conversation,
or by listening to a sermon like this one.
God sometimes speaks through a person while we’re just doing every day life.
But something is said that the Spirit quickens to our heart was from Him—-because whatever is said speaks right to something you need God’s wisdom or direction about!
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Finally, the Holy Spirit speaks:
III. Through the WORD
In fact, The Holy Spirit’s primary way of speaking to us today is through God’s Word.
The Bible is the hotline to heaven, the voice of God for all the issues of life.
It’s the Holy Spirit’s message to every person, everywhere.
His word is a light in a dark place,
Spiritual bread, milk, meat, and sustenance,
Its tried, true, pure, right,
perfect, and profitable,
It’s a living word,
powerful, sharp, and eternal,
It is wisdom, knowledge, and understanding,
a shield of protection, and a faithful counselor
It corrects me when I’m wrong,
Assures me when I’m right,
Protects me from Satan’s traps,
Sets my feet on solid rock,
Helps me stand in the fiercest storms,
And yes, through His Word the Holy Spirit guides me!
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The Holy Spirit speaks by whispers, witnesses, and the Word!