Monday, November 19, 2007

Thnksgiving Baskets 2007

Put them together
The drivers




Thanks for all the hard work.




Friday, November 16, 2007

Holy Spirit

Lesson 5
Holy Spirit

We have so far looked at two persons of the Trinity, this evening we will look at the third person, the Holy Spirit.

One book I read this week on the subject made this interesting observation "the current interest in the Holy Spirit is not without its dangers" (p 42 Christian Doctrine for Everyman). This is not a quote that one might have said about interest in God or in Jesus although I think it might be true of both. We must always be careful in our studies and stay faithful to the text. Much that is said about God (ie He has many different names) or Jesus (He was just a good man) so also are things said about the Holy Spirt when examined in the light of the Scriptures prove false.

Just as we looked at Jesus through the person and the works we will now do the same with the Holy Spirit.
The Person of the Holy Spirit
Like Jesus, there are two parts to understanding the person of the Holy Spirit
1. First, The Holy Spirit is a person
Max Ander's points out that too often people think of the Holy Spirit like we think of "School Spirit" or that we see it as a sort of an "it". When in reality, just like God and Jesus, the Holy Spirit is also a person. We know this for two reasons.
a. He is spoken of in personal terms (I use the masculine because Jesus used masculine pronouns.) (John 14:16)
b. He has personal qualities: hearing, speaking, comforting, revealing, and grieving

2. Secondly, The Holy Spirit is God.
(Acts 5:4)

The Work of the Holy Spirit
There are three ways to look at the work of the Spirit: His work in the world, with believers, and in relationship to Jesus.
1. When I talk about His relationship in the World, I am referring to His relationship with both believers and non-believers.
a. The first thing He does is he works to Convict (some say reprove or convince)
(John 16:8)
"...To make men realize their lost condition and make them seek after life and righteousness." (CDFE)
When we are caught up in sin we are not fully aware of our condition or the necessity to do something about it. It is through the work of the Holy Spirit that we are convicted (or convinced) that we have a problem.
(I like the word convinced over convicted because we, at times, feel convicted and we don’t know why. Convinced means you know why. The Holy Spirit lets us know why)
(If you are never convinced will you ever change?)
b. Regenerates
He provides the power or the means for a person to believe. Just as our sinful condition does not allow us to see the state we exist in, we are also helpless in that state. We are incapable of believing in Jesus Christ.
This is sometimes what the Bible means when it says faith. It is the ability to believe.
This why I sometimes think people are wrong when the say, "if I have enough faith such and such will happen". When really it is allowing the Holy Spirit to work in you so you can be okay if such and such doesn't happen.

2. After we are convicted and then regenerated we become a believer. But the work of the Holy Spirit does not stop there. He continues to be at work in the Believer.
a. We see Him at work at the time of our Conversion
1. First, He comes to dwell within us. I Cor. 6:19 God with us.
2. Second, He Seals until the day of our redemption Eph 1:13

3. Thirdly He Baptizes us into the body of Christ. I Cor 12:13
This is the primary meaning of "Baptism of the Holy Spirit" and not the recieving of special gifts or powers.
(Max Anders in 30 Days to understanding the Bible uses the anachronism CRIBS to described all five acts Conviction, regeneration, Indwelling, Baptism, and Sealing )
b. The Holy Spirit also continues to be at work in our lives after conversion. After Conversion
1. He develops Christian character
2. He bring comfort
3. He Teaches
4. And He empowers Christians for service
5. And within the fellowship of the church He works to maintain unity, lead in worship and provide gifts for ministry. Needless to say He is one busy dude.

3. In one of the texts I was working from they listed a third area, the Holy Spirit’s relationship to Christ. It mentioned two things that the Holy Spirit does in relationship to Jesus.
a. He glorifies Christ. Just as Jesus glorified the Father so now does the Holy Spirit glorify the Son
b. He makes Christ real to believers. One way of understanding this is that we know Jesus is alive and at work today. That He is relevant.
The Holy Spirit never eclipses Jesus Christ.