Adventures in Acts: Part 2-Help to do Hard Things
Adventure Thru Acts: Part 2
Last week I told you “We Do Hard Things”. Today let’s talk about “Help To Do Hard Things!”
I don’t mind doing hard things when I feel like I have some help to do it…
The book of Acts is Action…the church is to be a People, a Church, and a Community of Action.
The book of Acts is the blueprint for 21st Century Ministry…
Two themes from last week and this week:
- Last week was Being – Character
- This week is Doing – Actions Stuff
Now if you are like me at all…I’m much better at Doing than I am at Being…
We need to have a good understanding of the Central Figure of the book…yes you guessed it…The Holy Spirit!
John 14:16-17, 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. NKJV
- Let me highlight something in this passage and I will elaborate on it in a few minutes
- In these two verses Holy Spirit is referred to as He or Him…never is Holy Spirit referred to as “it” in the Bible
- But notice who is referred to as “it” in the passage…yep the World.
- Isn’t that interesting how we have gotten that so twisted even in the Church…
John 14:25-26, 25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV
John 15:26, 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. NKJV
John 16:7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. NKJV
John 16:12-13, 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. NKJV
- For Your Good
John 16:7, Nevertheless I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you; but if I depart, I will send Him to you. NKJV
- In John 16:7 Jesus says to his followers — “It is for your good that I am going away…”I can hear the disciples saying,
- “Yeah right, Jesus … did you ever hear the one about how the spank-er feels worse than the spank-ee?”
- “Jesus, how in the world can you say we’ll be better off with you gone — have you seen what we’re like when you’re not around — we’re a mess!?
- When you’re not around we have relational problems! (ego/status)
- When you’re not around we have resource problems! (food/faith)
- When you’re not around we have resistance problems! — (your presence is the key to our convictions and courage!)
- Jesus — there’s just no way it can be better for us for you to leave— you’ve always been right — but you couldn’t be more wrong on this one!
- The disciples were fearful and confused because they didn’t hear — the rest of the story! Jesus was leaving … but He wasn’t leaving them … alone!
As disciples they were about to embark on a brand-new adventure that would lead them to crazy places and cause them to do miraculous things they had never dreamt…
The Holy Spirit coming was not just for our good according to Jesus…He was also an answer to Jesus’ Prayer.
- Help Is On The Way
John 14:16-17, 16 And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever —
John 14:25-26, 25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV
John 15:26, 26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me. NKJV
- These verses tell me both an aspect of the assignment of Holy Spirit as well as Holy Spirit’s character…it is to Help.
- That’s exactly what the Holy Spirit was for the disciples and the early church — and that’s exactly who the Holy Spirit wants to be in your life and mine! For many, the Holy Spirit is the least known or understood person of the Trinity — He was that way for the disciples! That’s why Jesus wanted his followers to — meet and know the Holy Spirit in a personal and partnering way — the Lord wants the same for us!
- Let me ask you a few questions —
- Have you ever made a dumb decision?
- Have you ever stayed up late worrying about a situation you couldn’t control?
- Have you ever had people problems? (Do you ever feel like the cartoon of the lady with the frazzled hair, haggard expression, dark circles under her eyes — her face is lined with care and the caption reads — “When I woke up this morning, I had one nerve left, and now you’re getting on it!”)
- Do you ever mismanage your anger?
- Have you ever had a hard time getting along with … yourself?
- Have you ever caved when it really counted?
- Have you ever had a great chance to introduce someone to Jesus? They were ready but you weren’t, and you blew it?
- Jesus promised His disciples a counselor — a helper —because He knew they couldn’t handle life successfully without help — and neither can we!
- Help or Helper is used 4 times in these verses I’ve read today…but what does it mean. The KJV uses the Word – Comforter
- Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a — counselor (comforter)!
- The Greek word is Parakletos! Parakletos is an incredibly rich word in the Greek language —
- in fact there isn’t one English word that can capture all of its meanings and nuances! (It’s literally a study all by itself)
- Let me share with you just a few of the ways in which the word was used:
- The word Parakletos was used in the legal arena to describe a defense attorney, or a character witness in a trial!
- The word Parakletos was used to describe a specialist in any field who could come in and supply the missing knowledge or insight needed to solve a perplexing problem!
- The word Parakletos was an encourager who knew the right thing to say or do when a person was suffering or discouraged!
- Note carefully that a Parakletos wasn’t something —
- a Parakletos was someone —
- and so is the Holy Spirit! When Jesus spoke of the Holy Spirit he used personal pronouns like — “he and him!”
The Holy Spirit desires to be a Help and a Comfort to us…
- How He Help’s Us
John 16:8-11, 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Now when we read these we read them negatively but they are not…and these next three verses show us they aren’t. 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. NKJV
- He Convicts or another word Convinces the World of Sin
- It’s the Holy Spirit who works in our hearts to convict or convince us of what’s wrong — what’s right — and what we need to do about it!
- John 3:5 — Jesus spoke to a searching Nicodemus and said —
“I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of the water and the Spirit. The flesh gives birth to flesh, but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.” - Long before we know the Holy Spirit — He knows us and is working in us to get us right with God!
- If we are not convinced of sin…we will not be convinced, we need a savior.
- 1 Cor.12:3 says, “No one can say “Jesus is Lord” except by the Holy Spirit.”
- Of Righteousness
- 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more;
- Jesus is telling them I’m going to the right hand of the Father to make intercession for you….and the Holy Spirit is going to Convince you of Righteousness…
- Of Righteousness
- Righteousness: Right-standing with God
- It’s righteousness here…not righteous living…which the Holy Spirit does convict us of righteous living…
- But you first have to understand your position in Christ…in Right-Standing with God
- Judgment
Vs.11 – of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
John 12:31, 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. NKJV
John 14:30, 30 I will no longer talk much with you, for the ruler of this world is coming, and he has nothing in Me. NKJV
- Jesus was announcing that Satan was about to be stripped of his authority
- But let’s look how most of us have read these scriptures…
- Wrong Interpretation
- You’re a Sinner
- You’re not living right
- And God is going to get you
- The Proper Interpretation
- The Holy Spirit has come to convince you that you need a savior and convince you that you are in right standing with God…and Satan has no more authority over you.
- With Us
- Let me do a play on words if I may to illustrate my last point…
- Acts 1:7-8, 8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” ESV
- Wrong Interpretation
Matt 1:23-24, and they shall call his name Immanuel” (which means, God with us). ESV
- You may be wondering what these two verses have in common and I want to show you…because it ties to Our Doing…from a place of our Being…
- With
- God has a Middle name and it is “With”
- Witness originates from WITH-ness…
- You cannot be a witness to what you have not been Present to and or with…
- We have turned the Gospel into a Proposition instead of a Preposition…
- Our Witness is found in our Ability to be WITH Him…
- The Whole Gospel story begins with “God With Us…” Emmanuel, and the Gospel story ends with I’ll be with you always…”
- How Must and Often Are We With….
- The Lord
- With People
- Our City
- Our Neighbors…
- With people who are not like us…
- Maybe we are not effective Witnesses because we haven’t been willing to be WITH?
- Can I go Deeper…Cause this is stupid good…
- Maybe you have read or maybe not…but when Jesus died on the Cross the Temple Veil in the Temple was torn from top to bottom….
- Now the Temple veil that is spoken of here is what separated people from the Holy of Holies…and kept people out….by the Veil tearing God was saying Through Jesus all may approach my presence…
- Now in Exodus we read about the construction of this Veil…
- It was as thick as a man’s hand…
- The only person who could go behind it was the High Priest or Moses…
- The Curtain was held up by 4 Gold Hooks….
- Now check this out…because it is stupid Good…
- “God WITH us…” the Word With in this text is only used one other time in all of scripture…and it is referring to these hooks that hold up a torn veil…
- If we are not With him and others…we can never be Witnesses to the Torn Veil.
The Great Apostle Paul wrote this: I know in whom I have believe…Not what I believe!
- Holy Spirit is God…I’ll talk more about that this next week.
- But today the Holy Spirit is here to Convince some of you
- That you need a Savior
- That some are in right standing with God
- Others that the enemy no longer has control over your life.
- He who the Son set free is free indeed.
You have access to a Helper to do hard things!