By Rev. Dr. Brent Russett -Asbury Free Methodist
February 16, 2025, Acts 2:1-4
We have been working our way through a series of “Things we need to be reminded of.” Last week, we looked at Forgiving Others. This morning I want to remind you of the Holy Spirit. Francis Chan called him “The Forgotten God.
We get God the Father: all-powerful, all-knowing, everywhere present, and full of love. We get God the Son. Jesus. We see how he demonstrated who God is. We see his love for us on the cross and the power of the resurrection. But we don’t really get the Holy Spirit.
We know that he is the third member of the Trinity. But after that, things seem to get a little confusing. So, this morning, I want to talk about the Holy Spirit. I am hoping that you will get to know this wonderful third person of the Trinity because he is important to your spiritual journey. In fact, he is the member of the Trinity that you are in touch with most regularly, although you may be unaware of that.
It is the Spirit of God who applies what Jesus did on the cross to your life. He is the one who puts the life of Christ in you. He is the one who transforms you into the image of Christ. He is the one who empowers you to live a new life. He is the one who speaks to you both through the word of God and in your spirit.
He is at work in those who believe, but that doesn’t mean we know him well.
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I have read a lot of theology in my time. I have all kinds of books on “the doctrine of the Holy Spirit.” It is vital that we think correctly about the Holy Spirit. But I think it is more important that we experience the Holy Spirit. It is kind of like the difference between thinking about love and being in love. My hope is that you will know the Spirit well enough to walk in step with him.
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So, to give us an overview of the Holy Spirit, I will turn it over to our friends at the Bible Project for a few minutes.
I think that video is a helpful overview. But it doesn’t go far enough.
Whenever we talk about God, we need to use metaphors because God is totally other than what he has created. God is so far beyond our imagination that we use comparisons to what we know to help us understand what we don’t know.
When the Bible talks about the Holy Spirit, it uses metaphors that give us insight into what the Spirit does, but they can sometimes confuse us. So, the passage that was read from the book of Acts tells us that the believers were all filled with the Spirit. In that metaphor, it sounds like He is a liquid filling a cup. We hear in Scripture about the Spirit moving in power. We hear the Spirit described as a fire. In the video, we heard the Spirit described as wind, or breath or energy. With these kinds of metaphors, you kind of get the idea that the Holy Spirit is a powerful, untamed, wild energy in our lives. He is that.
Those metaphors are helpful. But they can also give us the wrong idea about the Holy Spirit. If those descriptions conjure up in our minds visions of the force in Star Wars, we have misunderstood.
The first thing you need to know about the Spirit of God, despite all those metaphors, is that He is a person. Just like the other members of the Godhead are persons. Persons, not in the sense that they are human, but they think and they have unique personalities; they relate and are relatable. You can’t really have a relationship with a force or with energy. But we can and do have a relationship with the Holy Spirit.
Come with me to
John 15:26–27 (NIV) (Notice the personal pronouns)
26 “When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father—the Spirit of truth who goes out from the Father—he will testify about me. 27 And you also must testify, for you have been with me from the beginning.
John 16:8–15 (NIV)
8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.
12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”
Notice all the way through, Jesus use the personal pronoun “He”. The Spirit is not a force like Star Wars. The Spirit is not an impersonal power. We don’t refer to the Spirit as an “it.” We use personal pronounces because he is, in fact, a person. He is relatable. You can speak to Him. He has a personality.
And notice what the Spirit does – He acts as go-between, between the Father and us, Jesus and us. The Scripture we just read says
Verse 15:26 – He will go out from the Father and testify about Jesus.
Chapter 16:8 – He is going to talk to the world about sin and righteousness and judgement.
Verse 13 – He will guide you into truth
– He will tell you what is to come
Verse 14 He will glorify Jesus
Verse 15 – He will tell us what Jesus told Him.
The Spirit of God is not just some supernatural force; he is a person who takes on the role of bringing people to Christ. He glorifies Christ and delivers the words of Christ to us.
One of the reasons that we don’t know the Spirit as well as we might is that He is constantly saying, look at Jesus. Come to Jesus. Hear the words of Jesus. He doesn’t focus on himself but points us towards Jesus. So, he is a little tricky to get to know because he is like that person who doesn’t really talk about themselves. They talk about what they love.
But make no mistake. The Holy Spirit is a member of the Trinity. If you have a relationship with God, then you have a relationship with the Spirit. The only question is, “Is it a healthy relationship?”
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Paul writes to the church in Thessalonica and says
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (NIV)
19 Do not quench the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is gentle. He does not force himself on us. He is at work in you, but you can stop his work. He is calling you to be like Jesus – but you can stop his work in your life. He will lead you, but you can refuse to follow. He will convict you, but you can ignore his conviction. But whenever we say “no” to the Spirit of God, we quench the work he wants to do inside of us. And that, my friends, is a tragic loss.
Because the Spirit of God wants the very best for you. When he is allowed to work in your life, not only does he apply the work of Christ to your life in salvation; not only is he a deposit guaranteeing your inheritance in heaven, but he is also causing a change in you.
Galatians 5:22–23 (NIV)
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness and self-control.
As you put your hand in His, the Spirit of God is a work in your life, producing love and joy and peace and patience and kindness and goodness and faithfulness and gentleness and self-control. These things are just the by-product of a relationship with the Spirit.
He is the Spirit of Love. He is the Spirit of Joy. He is the Spirit of peace. He demonstrates Patience and Kindness and goodness to us. He is incredibly faithful and gentle and helps us to live the way we are called. So, when we live in relationship with him, we become like him.
So, Paul goes on to say. – Galatians 5:25 (NLT)
25 Since we are living by the Spirit, let us follow the Spirit’s leading in every part of our lives.
Since he is producing these qualities in our lives, let’s keep in step with him.
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There are so many other things I could tell you about the Spirit. When the Spirit comes inside you, he gives you spiritual gifts for building up the believers around you. As you use those spiritual gifts, you will see God glorified in your life.
I could tell you the power of the Spirit. Paul, writing to the Corinthian Church, talked about all kinds of sinners: swindlers, sexually immoral, the greedy, the idolaters – and then he says this
1 Corinthians 6:11 (NIV)
11 And that is what some of you were. But you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
God transforms people by His Spirit. He has done it in many of your lives – you were that, by you were washed, you were made holy, you have been forgiven in the name of Jesus by the work of the Holy Spirit.
We could focus on so many things, but I want to spend the rest of my time being very practical about cooperating with the work of the Spirit in your life.
Galatians 5:25
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit.
The gospel is about life. Jesus came that we might have life and have it to the full.
Here is what you need to know. If you want the abundant life, that life comes by keeping in step with the Spirit. We are brought from death to life by the Spirit. We live by the Spirit. The life of Jesus in us happens by the Spirit. You will experience the fullness of life that God has intended for you because the Spirit of God is at work in you. We live by the Spirit.
So Paul says, Verse 25
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit
The question is how? How do you keep in step with the Spirit?
I am a naturally slow walker. I am a tall person with short legs. When I am walking with people, I am aware of how fast they are walking, so I will make an extra effort to walk faster for them. If I am going to keep in step with them, then I need to be aware of them.
It is the same with the Spirit. If you are going to keep in step with the Spirit, then you are going to have to be aware of the Spirit.
So, the general question we have to ask is, “what is the Spirit up to in your life right now?”
We read a little earlier from John 16
13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. – So, what truth is the Spirit of God teaching you right now. What truth has he led you into in the last little while? If you are going to keep in step with the Spirit, you will have to be aware of what the Spirit of God is up to.
Romans 8:14 (NIV)
14 For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.
How has God been leading you lately? Has he been guiding you to do something or not do something? As you look back over the last week or two, have you seen how he has led, even though you weren’t aware of it at the time? Oftentimes, it is only in retrospect that I see what God was up to, but you see how he was leading. If you are going to keep in step with the Spirit, you will have to be aware of what the Spirit of God is up to.
The first step to keeping in step with the Spirit is to become aware of the Spirit’s work in your life. What is he up to in your life?
A little earlier, we looked at the fruit of the Spirit. We looked at how this fruit is produced when you put his hand in his. But the reality is that there are so many times when we want to pull away from him. Just before the fruit of the Spirit, it says this.
Galatians 5:16–17 (NIV)
16 So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.
If you are going to keep in step with the Spirit, then it is important that you keep your hand in his and not give in to all the stuff your old nature wants. I like how the New Living Translation paraphrases these verses
Galatians 5:16–17 (NLT)
16 So I say, let the Holy Spirit guide your lives. Then, you won’t be doing what your sinful nature craves. 17 The sinful nature wants to do evil, which is just the opposite of what the Spirit wants. And the Spirit gives us desires that are the opposite of what the sinful nature desires. These two forces are constantly fighting each other.
Sometimes, you will keenly feel that battle. The temptation will be real, and it will be big. You don’t have to give in to it – but you feel its cravings.
If you are going to keep in step with the Spirit, if the Spirit of God is going to rub off on you in such a way that you see His fruit in your life, then keep your hand in his. Choose to do what he desires rather than what your old nature wants to do.
Romans 8:5–6 (NIV) puts this way
5 Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. 6 The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace.
Set your mind on what God wants, not on what your selfish old nature wants. Where you set your mind’s eye will determine where your spiritual feet will go. If you want life and peace, let the Spirit govern your mind.
He is the Spirit of Love. He is the Spirit of Joy. He is the Spirit of peace. He demonstrates Patience and Kindness and goodness to us. He is incredibly faithful and gentle, and helps us to live the way we are called. He wants who He is to become a part of who you are. Will you keep in step with Him?
Pentecost was not just an event in history, God wants it to be a reality in your life.
The third person of the Trinity comes to us and fills us with himself. In doing so, he applies the work of the cross to our lives. You are washed, you are sanctified, you are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.
If you are a Christian, he has been at work in your life, he is at work in your life, and he will be at work in your life. But your job is to become aware of him. See what he is up to. Watch how he is leading you. If you are not a Christian, then the Spirit is going to be at work urging you to go to Jesus so that you can know him.
Put your hands in his because he is the one who fills you with life: real life, abundant life. He is the one who transforms you and makes you into all that you are created to be.
He is the one that will fill you with Love and Joy and Peace. He will help you to live out of patience and kindness goodness. You will become like him as you put your hand in his. Talk to him. Focus on what He is doing in your life. If you have grieved him, apologize. If you have quenched his work, welcome him anew. He wants life for you.
So, I say to you
Verse 25
25 Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit