The Coming of the Spirit

For these end times, God had a perfect plan for His people.
If they be His children in Iraq or Syria or Egypt where persecution is rampant.
or, if they be His children in the United States of America where affluence and apathy mark our culture.

Never think that God is wringing His hands or trying to figure out what to do.

He already has the plan and the program. It’s just up to you and up to me to be part of that program.

Already knowing about everything we face, Jesus looked at His disciples in John 16:13 and said: “When He, the Spirit… is come, He will guide you into all truth.”

The coming of the Holy Spirit settles so many problems.

1. First of all, it settles the problem of sin in the heart.

This is the really big issue in all of our lives that must be dealt with.

What are you going to do about sin in your heart?

You can try to keep the ten commandments.

You can try to keep the golden rule.

You can work and discipline yourself to keep every rule of church membership…

but until the Holy Spirit comes, the principle and root of sin on the inside will continue to produce fruits of jealousy and envy and lust and evil thoughts.

Jesus clearly taught this in Mark 7: “From within, out of the heart of men proceed evil thoughts… adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts, covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, blasphemy, pride, foolishness… all these evil things come from within and defile the man.” Thank God that He saved you from your sins… You have a changed life with changed habits and changed values… but if you have not allowed the Holy Spirit to come in His fullness, the devil yet has a stake in your heart. While the guns of temptation will ever shoot from the outside, you cannot long remain true to Christ with bombs bursting on the inside of your heart as well.

At Pentecost. At the coming of the Spirit, The problem of sin in the heart was settled.

There is a cleansing.

There is an uprooting of that old sinful lusting decaying nature that must take place and can take place in your heart.

2. The Coming of the Holy Spirit also settles the problem of Worldliness.

It empties us of our love of the world.

We leave the low levels of doubt concerning questionable things. Giving God the benefit of the doubt and leaving activities behind that would rob us of integrity and power.

Before the Coming of the Spirit in the early church, the disciples were clearly saved from their sins… they were part of Christ’s team… they were walking in all known light…

and yet, the spirit of the world was so clearly exhibited in their lives.

-In the suggestion to call down fire on the Samaritan village in Luke 9. They come into the village and were not received… the disciples wanted to destroy the village with fire… Jesus responds: “Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of.”

Spitefulness and revenge when they didn’t get their way. They didn’t even realize the spirit they were manifesting. They didn’t even realize the worldliness in their own heart.

The spirit of the world was evident in their hearts when…
-They were asking for the best places in Heaven. Matthew 20:20-21 Actually coming to Jesus saying- when you get to Heaven could my two boys sit beside you… one on the right and the other on the left?

Pride and pettiness.

The spirit of the world was evident in their hearts when in Luke 22: we read they followed afar off…

Facts are, Jesus never really had all there was of the disciples until the Holy Spirit came…

But when the Spirit came, this problem was fixed. The love of the world was gone.

3. The Coming of the Spirit settled the problem of Service.

They lacked the power. Worldly aims and worldly desires hampered them, and they could never catch the vision that Jesus had. It was not about budgets and politics- but about the Kingdom.
One said: “As the heart becomes spirit filled, the hands become work filled”

“When love of Christ is deep, service becomes a joy.” The Peter who denied Christ- is the same Peter who wins 3000 converts in his first public meeting following the Coming of the Holy Spirit.
The famous piano store in a river front city… well known for their beautiful grand pianos of all sizes and descriptions. A family owned business of many years…

Alas, one Spring, with snow melting in the mountains and unusual rainfall, the river that flowed near that town overflowed its banks and flooded that city… The owner of that piano store stood on the hillside and watched as the mighty torrents of that swollen river finally reached his store and broke through the large plate glass windows… causing those beautiful pianos to float up and away out of the store.

As he watched the flood tides one by one carry those beautiful pianos out of the store and down the river…

He was heard to say… They make beautiful floats… but they were made for so much more.

As I look at some of our people selling out cheap.

Maybe the difficulties of life have stolen the Spirit.

Maybe youth who want to hold on to the world at the same time…

They continue on their way- I can’t help but think…

They were made for so much more.

The Coming of the Spirit. Settles the problem of Service.