The Dynamic Ministry of the Holy Spirit 1

Pastor Mike will be speaking on The Dynamic Ministry of the Holy Spirit 1. He will be in John 16: 1-5.

You want to help your marriage? Quit trying to change your spouse. You want to help your relationship with your children? Quit trying to change them and spend more time praying for your children, praying for your spouse, praying that the Spirit of God will do a mighty work.

Let me tell you, when the Spirit of God changes someone, it is eternal. Hello, this is Pastor Mike Sanders from The Open Door Church and this is Hope Worth Having Radio broadcasts. We are delighted that you’re with us and that you could tune in today to this broadcast and we are praying that God will encourage you in your faith and draw you close to Him.

And if you don’t know Him, I pray that you will call upon the name of the Lord and be saved today. Now we’re going to be in the Gospel of John, chapter 16, and we’re starting a new study on the dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit.

So let’s get our Bibles and let’s start studying together the dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit. If you have your Bible this morning, I want you to join me in John, chapter 16. We’re going to be talking about the dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit.

When you think of the Holy Spirit, I want to remind you this morning that the Holy Spirit is the power of the church. It is the power of the believer. In Acts 1, 8, Jesus said, you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and all Judea and Samaria, even to the end of the earth.

God empowers His church. He empowers His people. It is literally impossible for you and I to do the work of the church without the ministry of the Holy Spirit of God. Jesus reminds us that He is the vine, that we are the branches.

He who abides in me and I in Him bears much fruit, for without me you can do nothing. I believe that many Christians are burnt out. because they are operating in their own power, their own strength, their own flesh, their own energy.

And as a result, they find that without Christ, they can do nothing but through the power of Christ, through the power of the Spirit of God, they are able to accomplish much and bear much fruit for Jesus Christ.

Jesus sent the Spirit to empower every believer, every Christian, the Spirit of God resides in every believer who has put their faith and trust in Him. This power is available to us if we call upon the Spirit of God to strengthen us, to do what He has called us to do.

In John chapter seven, Jesus reminded the disciples, yet a little while, and I am with you, and then I go unto Him that sent me. The disciples could not understand. why Christ had to leave them. So he showed them that his return to the Father made it possible for greater blessings because of the coming of the Spirit in each of their lives.

The Christian life cannot be lived in the energy of the flesh. We need the Spirit of God if we are going to live lives that glorify Christ. Our Lord described how the Spirit works through the believer in John chapter 16.

And as we look at John chapter 16 this morning we’re gonna see the mission and ministry of the Holy Spirit in our lives. When you and I think about all that God asks out of us to live a faithful Christian life, to walk and to keep in step with what he has called us to do and commanded us to do, I want you to know that it can be a very overwhelming task.

But when we do it and operate it in the power of the Spirit of God, then we are able to do much for the Lord Jesus Christ. So what is this dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit to the believer? Number one, I want you to learn that he encourages believers.

If you’re taking notes write that down. The Spirit of God encourages believers. Look at verse 1 of chapter 16. These things have I spoken unto you that you should not be offended. What he’s really talking about is being trapped or tripped up by the devil.

That you’re not being trapped by the world. That you’re not being tripped up by the flesh. That you’re not falling into a trap that gets you off course living for God. And now you’re drifting from the Lord Jesus Christ.

said the things I’m getting ready to tell you I want to make sure that you stay on course I want to make sure that you don’t fall into the traps that the devil has for you and so he goes on in verse 2 and says they shall put you out of the synagogues yay the time cometh that whosoever killeth you will think that he does God’s surface friends we are living in these times there are people who want to see Christians killed they want to see Jews killed they want to see Americans killed because they think they’re doing a service to God they believe that somehow they will be rewarded if they would kill the infidels how do they define infidels Christians and Jews and if they would just kill us then they will be rewarded Jesus warns us that these days are coming in verse 3 he says these things will they do unto you because they have not known the Father nor me.

They don’t have a relationship with God. There are days of persecution. There are days of trials. There are days of many obstacles that are ahead for the believer. Verse four, but these things have I told you that when the time shall come, you may remember that I told you of them.

And these things I said not unto you at the beginning because I was with you, meaning that Jesus, that as he walked with his disciples, he was able to protect them. He took the brunt of the criticism.

He took the brunt of the assaults. He’s the one that stood up and as the great shepherd, he protected his sheep. But the day’s coming, that the Savior’s gonna go to the cross, that he’s gonna get resurrected, and then he’s gonna ascend in the heaven, sit at the right hand of the Father, interceding for all who believe in him.

That day has come. And he’s saying that day is coming for you. And that’s why I’m telling you what’s gonna happen. Verse five, but now I go my way to him that sent me. And none of you asked me whither goest thou?

But because I have said these things unto you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is expedient for you that I go away, for if I go not away, the comforter will not come unto you.

But if I depart, I will send him unto you. Jesus makes an interesting statement. He says, none of you are asking me where am I going? I’ve been telling you that I’m gonna go. I’ve been telling you that I’ve been leaving.

Sorrow is filling your heart. And none of you are asking, why are they not asking? They’re sorrowful that Jesus is leaving because the focus is on themselves. They don’t have a heart where they’re saying, Lord, we’re concerned for you.

We’re concerned about that you’re gonna have to go through the crucifixion. We’re concerned about what you’re getting ready to endure, but they were focused on themselves. And Jesus points this out. their life.

He helps them to acknowledge that they’re so filled with self, that they don’t even ask, where are you going Jesus? What are you getting ready to encounter? What are you getting ready to have to deal with?

They are just filled with sorrow because they don’t want Jesus to leave them alone. Well, the Bible teaches us that Jesus tells them that it was necessary for him to leave. It was expedient for him to leave so that the Comforter would come.

Before the Holy Spirit could come, Jesus had to be crucified and to deal with sin on the cross through the resurrection. But Jesus is on mission. He’s staying on task and He’s reminding His disciples that they will receive the Pericalasis or the Pericalleo.

It is the Comforter, the Holy Spirit. We taught you this before but we remind you again this morning. that this is a combination of two words, para, which means beside, calleo, which means to call. And the point is that the Spirit of God will come alongside each and every one of us and He will bring us comfort, He will bring us encouragement, and He will be the one that now will guide our lives, that rather than having a localized Savior limited by the flesh,

Jesus Christ will die on the cross, He will be resurrected, ascended to heaven, and the Spirit of God will come and live inside every believer. And the believer will live in the power and the strength of the Spirit of God.

And what is this ministry of the Spirit? He encourages believers when their hearts are filled with sorrow. How does He do that? Let’s look at the different names of the Spirit to help us understand that.

Different translations translate this Greek word, periclesis, as comforter, counselor, helper. And so I want you to note first of all that the Spirit encourages us by comforting us. How often we need comfort, amen?

There’s no doubt that in our life, we face much adversity. And our adversity comes in different ways for different people. But God promises us comfort in our times of adversity. And I want you to remember this, that true comfort comes in the life of the believer through the means of the Spirit of God.

One of the ways you know that the Spirit of God lives in you and you have the assurance of your salvation is the comfort that you receive in your heart through the power of the Spirit of God in your life.

The Spirit of God uses the word of God. and it brings comfort in your life and we need comfort in our life. We need comfort when we are facing separation. Jesus was getting ready to ascend. He was getting ready to be separated from his disciples.

He was getting ready to go to the cross and all of its agony that was ahead of him. We need comfort when we face tears in our hearts. We need comfort when we feel alone. We need comfort when others turn against us.

We need comfort when we face death and the Spirit of God encourages us by comforting us. He is not only a comforter but he is a counselor. He is a counselor. I want you to jump back to chapter 14 verse 26 and I want you to notice the text the Bible says here again the King James translation says the comforter which is the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name.

What will he do? He will teach you. He’ll teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you. Now some of you are wondering, hey, I’m always forgetful, Pastor, and you said the Spirit of God will bring all things into remembrance of me.

That’s not what he’s talking about. But the Bible says that Jesus would teach us all things, that he would bring all things to our remembrance. This is a specific promise to the apostles. It’s a general promise to all of us in that relating to what Jesus has said, what Jesus has taught, the principles that he has for us, the Spirit of God will bring to our remembrance these truths.

The Spirit of God will bring to remembrance the things that Jesus has said. And as the apostles were writing the Word of God, as they were writing down the ministry of Christ, it was the Spirit of God who reminded them of what he said and what he taught, how he lived and what he accomplished.

But even now, to you and I, the Spirit of God is a counselor to us. He teaches us, he teaches us his truth. He is like a tutor. He teaches us individually. The Bible teaches us that your greatest teacher is not your pastor, it’s not your Sunday school teacher, it’s not your Bible study leader.

The greatest teacher you have is the Holy Spirit of God who resides in every believer. And he brings to remembrance these truths. He is a tutor in your life. He teaches you individually, but he teaches you continually.

The Spirit of God just doesn’t teach you one day and not the next day. The Spirit of God is always teaching and speaking into your life. The Spirit of God is always revealing God’s truth into your heart and into your mind.

What does the Spirit teach? Three things I want you to note. First, he teaches us about the Bible. He teaches us about the Bible. The scriptures tell us that the things of God’s word cannot be done. be understood by the natural mind.

Only can be understood by the power of the Spirit of God, the supernatural. The Spirit of God supernaturally opens the Word of God to me. The Spirit of God teaches me His ways, teaches me His commands.

The Spirit of God helps me to understand the depths and the breadth of God’s Word into my life. He is teaching me, my friends, when you have your time alone with God. When you spend time with Jesus every day, I want you to open His Word, but before you begin to read, study, and learn, I want you to ask the Spirit of God, the third person of the Trinity of God, who is 100% God, who is equal with the Father and the Son,

meaning that whatever is true of the Father is true of the Spirit, and whatever is true of the Son is true of the Spirit, meaning that He is the third person of the Trinity, and that you can talk to the Spirit.

You can pray to the Spirit. and that you can ask the Spirit of God to empower you, you can ask the Spirit of God to help illuminate your mind, to understand the truths that Jesus Christ is teaching us in his word.

What does the Spirit teach me? He teaches me about life. He not only teaches me about the Bible, but he teaches me all things about life. Go back to chapter 14, verse 26. He says that he teaches you all things.

He teaches you all things, not just some things, but all things. Now don’t misunderstand, the Holy Spirit’s not going to help you to pass a test that you never studied for. Okay, I know some students are getting excited, but he’s gonna teach you about life, because in life, we learn lessons, right?

Many times, parents want to jump in and save the day for their kids. What they ought to do is stand back and let the Spirit of God teach their kids. Every time you bail out your kids, every time you try to save the day for your kids, you just stripped them of an opportunity to learn about life through the power of the Spirit of God.

And there are many wonderful lessons to learn in life, and the Spirit of God teaches us about life, but he also not only teaches us about the Bible, about life, but about Jesus. About Jesus. Again, in verse 26 of chapter 14, that he will bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you when the Spirit of God is living in your heart, the things, the truths of God just never leave you.

Why do I tell parents, bring your children to Sunday school, bring your children to Awana groups, bring your children to the ministries of the Open Door Church, because the Spirit of God is making deep grooves in their hearts and their minds of things that they will never forget.

I’m not saying that your children will always respond as they should, but I am saying that the Spirit of God will leave an indelible mark upon the hearts of God. in the minds of your children that will never leave them.

And we praise God that many children do respond, that they do align their lives with Jesus Christ. But it is never a waste. It is never a waste, mom and dad and grandma and grandpa. It’s never a waste to bring your children to the ministries of the open door church so that the Spirit of God can move powerfully and teach them about Jesus.

Jump over to chapter 16, verse 13 through 15. We’re learning that the Spirit teaches about Christ, about Jesus. How be it when he, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth. He shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear that shall he speak and he shall show you things to come.

He shall glorify me, meaning Christ, for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you. to you, verse 15, all things that the Father has are mine, and therefore said I, that he shall take of mine and shall show it unto you.

So the Spirit of God does not brag about himself. The Spirit of God does not bring attention to himself. There are some churches that make the Holy Spirit the main focus. They glorify the Spirit, but the Spirit never brings attention to himself.

That’s not the way the Spirit works. The Spirit of God always points attention and all focus and all eyes upon Jesus Christ. Whenever you’re a part of a service and it’s all about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s the one and only, then listen to me, my friends.

That’s a cultic church. But the Spirit of God always glorifies the Savior, and the Spirit of God knows what the Savior has said, what Jesus has taught, and he will show it to you. He’ll show it to me.

He brings it to our attention. He brings it to our remembrance. He continues to drive it home to us because this is what the Spirit of God does. He teaches us about Jesus, teaching people about Christ and bringing glory to the Lord Jesus Christ.

Why is this critical? Because Jesus said, if I be lifted up, I will draw all men unto me. And what it means is the way that people are drawn to Christ from every walk of life, from every ethnic background, from every educational status, from every position in life and circumstance in life, the way they are drawn to Christ and true salvation is that Christ must be lifted up.

And when Christ is lifted up, there’s a promise he will draw all people. Not that we hope or we’ll see it might, but my friends, he will do it. And so the Spirit of God teaches us about Jesus Christ.

He is a comforter, he is a counselor, but he is also a… helper. The Spirit encourages us by comforting us. He encourages us by being our counselor and teaching us. He encourages us by being our helper.

We already mentioned to you that the Greek word means to come alongside. To come alongside someone in order to help. And here again I want you to see the work of the Spirit as a helper. I want you to go back to chapter 14 and I want you to see this consistent teaching through the Scriptures just in these few chapters of chapter 14, 15 and 16.

And the Bible says in verse 16 of chapter 14, I will pray the Father and He shall give you another comforter, helper, counselor that He may abide with you forever. Sometimes I just need to know that I’m not alone, amen?

When I’m living my life of faith and I’m going through adversity and I’m facing the challenges of life, I just need to know that someone is there. Why were the disciples filled with sorrow? Because Jesus was leaving them.

But Jesus said, look, I’m not gonna be localized. I’m not gonna be limited by humanity. You’re gonna have the spirit of God inside of you. He is the paracaleo and he will live within you and he will not leave you.

His presence, his power will be available. He is your helper, verse 26 of chapter 14. We already read it, but let’s read it again. But the comforter, the counselor, the helper, which is the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said unto you.

He does not, the spirit of God helps us. We’re not just aimlessly out there trying to live this Christian life. We’re not just walking this journey of faith with no direction and understanding about life and the things that God has called us to do.

But the spirit of God is helping us, teaching us, reminding us, calling us back to Christ. Chapter 15, verse 26, but when the comforter, the counselor, the helper is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the spirit of truth, which proceeds from the Father, he shall testify of me.

The spirit of God is a helper. He is sent from the Father, through the Son, to the believer, and he is the spirit of truth. Jesus teaches us that the spirit of God will not lead us into lies. He will not lead us into things that are false or mislead us into principles that are not applicable to our lives, but rather, he is there to help us.

And he guides us in his truth. Chapter 16, verse seven, again. Nevertheless, I tell you, you the truth. It is expedient. It is necessary for you that I go away. For if I go not away, the comforter, the counselor, the helper will not come unto you.

But if I depart, I will send him unto you.” The Spirit of God is your helper. If you’re trying to live the Christian life by yourself, you’re going to fail. But if you will tap into the Spirit of God, there are some parents here who are trying to raise their children without the Spirit.

And you need to call upon the Spirit to help you. There are people who are walking through trials in your life, and you are facing difficulties at work, and you need to realize that the Spirit of God is to help you.

He is there to help you to deal with that demanding boss, to deal with that difficult customer. He is here to help you so that you do not fail, but rather that you succeed. for the Lord Jesus Christ.

There are so many times that in our roles in life that we feel overwhelmed and we feel like we just can’t do it, but I’m here to tell you that the Spirit of God is your helper. Tap into Him. He is ready to empower you.

He is ready to point you to Jesus. He is ready to guide your life. This is what the Spirit of God does in our heart, for He encourages believers. The second ministry of the Holy Spirit is that He reproves unbelievers.

We come down to verse 8. We look and the Bible says when He is come referring to the Spirit, He will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment. Of sin? Because they believe not in me.

Of righteousness? Because I go to my Father and you see me no more. Of judgment? Because the prince of this world is judge. He reproves unbelievers. Here’s what I want you to note is that as you and I are proclaiming the good news, the Holy Spirit is convicting people of their sinfulness.

Did you see that in verse 9? The Spirit of God reproves or convicts people of sin. Because why? They don’t believe. They don’t know that they’re sinners without the Spirit of God illuminating their minds and helping them to understand.

Some of you are frustrated with friends and family members and you’re like, man, they’re so clueless. They’re so hard -headed. They won’t give their lives to Jesus Christ. It’s because you’re trying to witness in your strength, in your persuasion, in your power.

But when you are praying for the Spirit of God to convict them, for the Spirit of God to open their minds, for the Spirit of God to help their eyes and their ears to hear spiritually and understand spiritually what God is saying, He reproves unbelievers.

unbelievers. He encourages believers, but he reproves and convicts unbelievers. He convicts unbelievers of their sinful nature. Jesus said in John 3 18, he that believeth on him, referring to Christ, is not condemned, but he that believeth not is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only begotten Son of God.

Friends, the judgment of God is upon all who do not believe. The judgment of God is not on believers. This morning, there is no condemnation in those who are in Christ Jesus. I don’t live my life in fear.

I don’t live my life under the guilt of the condemnation of my sin because Christ took my judgment on the cross. And by faith, it was transferred to me. By his grace, it was poured out to me. And so I trust and believe in him.

And now I walk in a spirit of faith and I walk in confidence and love and I walk to honor Christ in my life. But if I’m an unbeliever, judgment of God is still on me. He’s already condemned. The judgment of God hangs over my life.

This is why it’s important for us to make sure that we communicate clearly the gospel of Jesus Christ. I think Spurgeon addresses this passage very well when he says it’s absolutely necessary that men should be convinced of sin.

The fashionable theology Spurgeon goes on to say is convince men of the goodness of God, win them by God’s love, but never mention his wrath against sin or the need of an atonement or the place of punishment.

That is the way of man, but the way of the spirit of God is very different. He comes on purpose to convince men of sin, to make them feel that they are so guilty that they are lost and ruined and undone.

He comes to remind them that not only of God’s loveliness, but of their own unloveliness. Spurgeon continues and says the Holy Spirit does not come to make sinners comfortable in their sins, but to cause them to grieve over their sins, end of quote.

And friends, this is the work of the spirit. You and I have the privilege to help people come to Christ. We introduce family and friends to Christ and sometimes strangers to Christ. God puts people in our path and we share Christ, but it’s the spirit of God that convinces them that they are sinners in need of a savior.

This is why we’re called to walk in the spirit. This is why we’re called to keep in step with the spirit. This is why we’re called to be filled with the spirit of God, because as we witness for God, it is the spirit of God that illuminates the mind of the unbeliever that they might recognize that they need Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit.

prods the conscience about sin, and helps them to come to the point that they understand that they are desperately wicked and in need of salvation. If you’re here today and you feel guilty, listen, my friends, we live in a culture that’s saying, let’s get rid of the guilt, but I say to you, let’s address the guilt.

Because Jesus wants you to address the guilt, God uses guilt in your life to address sin in your life. It is impossible to do the work of the church without the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Everything done in the flesh is in vain, but when we have the anointing and the empowerment of the Spirit of God, we are able to do all that God has called us to do.

Remember, Jesus said, without me, you can do nothing. So as you’re learning about the dynamic ministry of the Holy Spirit, make sure… that you’re taking notes and that you’re applying these principles to your own personal walk with Christ, but as well applying them as you are serving the Lord Jesus Christ.

This is Pastor Mike Sanders reminding you that in Christ there is hope worth having.