The PCF Blog

“The Holy Spirit – giving you spiritual gifts” (2). – The gift of prophecy

Listen to this talk (or download – right click here and ‘Save as’):

 

We want to address ourselves to five questions today:

• 1. Is Prophecy for today?
• 2. What is Prophecy?
• 3. How does it work?
• 4. Who can Prophesy?
• 5. How can I do it?

NB Prophecy and Scripture. Scripture is the inspired infallible authoritative word of God. All prophetic gifts today stand under the authority of the Bible and subject to it.

To deal with the initial question:

• 1. Is Prophecy for today?

We will just treat this briefly as it was covered in depth in the last session when we looked at the “cessationist debate”. Notes about this are on the blog. The position we adopt is the “non-cessationist” position which is summarised thus:

• All the gifts of the Holy Spirit are for the whole of the church age.
• God gives them to individuals as he sees fit
• They are given to build the body of Christ
• The body of Christ can not reach maturity without them
• We should therefore seek them and exercise them

In obedience to the word of God, therefore we earnestly desire to function in the gifts of the Holy Spirit – especially to prophesy 1 Corinthians 14:1
[ Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues ] Follow the way of love and eagerly desire spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy.

2. What is Prophecy?

This is an absolutely critical question: if we want to exercise this, we have to know what it is! The difficulty with this arises because, like many words, the meaning can be different according to the context.

For example in much of the Bible it clearly refers to the inspiration of scripture:

²⁰Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation. ²¹For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit. (1 Peter 1 v20-21)

But we also have examples in Old and New testaments of people who were prophesying but were clearly NOT writing scripture: Saul prophesied, along with many others – and their utterances never came to be recorded in Scripture. Philip had four daughters church is who prophesied – but their words were not Scripture. Agabus was recognised as a prophet, but his words were not recorded in scripture. In the church in Corinth Paul said that “two or three prophets should speak” – but they were not writing words of Scripture.

Vine says prophecy  “signifies the speaking forth of the mind and counsel of God”

Grudem says “By the time of the New Testament, the word “prophet” meant “one who had supernatural knowledge” or simply “spokesman” (Grudem)

Both of these definition are useful and indicate that there is a wider meaning to prophecy than the anointing that enabled people to write scripture.

• So our working definition of prophecy is:
• “The speaking out of something revealed by the Holy Spirit”
• By this definition the believer is acting as a spokesman, or reporter, of something that God has given them.

3. How does Prophecy Work?

It is possible to miss the blessing by being over-analytical – but a brief analysis of how the gift operates will help us here.

God

Revelation

Processing

Choice

Utterance

Evaluation

In the above flowchart, we start with God. God possesses every piece of knowledge, information, encouragement, rebuke and wisdom. There is nothing that he does not possess (in accordance with his character). So he is perfectly able, and willing, to give pieces of his revelation to his children. This is “revelation”. It can come by something gently coming to mind, a Scripture, a vision a picture – or a myriad of other ways.

When that happens, this individual processes it, evaluates it and makes a choice as to whether or not to share it, in what way, to whom and when. Utterance is when they decide to share it in their own words (as a spokesman, or reporter, not a medium), and the process of evaluation and testing by the leadership of the local church then follows.

This process is quite simple and it is clear that there is both a supernatural and a human element. The process commences with God – but the processing, delivery and testing is human.

4. Who Can Prophesy?

The passage from Romans 12 may help:

Romans 12 v.3-8

For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you. ⁴Just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, ⁵so in Christ we who are many form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. ⁶We have different gifts, according to the grace given us. If a man’s gift is prophesying, let him use it in proportion to his^[b]faith. ⁷If it is serving, let him serve; if it is teaching, let him teach; ⁸if it is encouraging, let him encourage; if it is contributing to the needs of others, let him give generously; if it is leadership, let him govern diligently; if it is showing mercy, let him do it cheerfully.

It is clear that there is a gift of prophecy – in other words there are some for whom the use of the gift is a regular occurrence and they are effective in it. However that deos not restrict it’s use to those who are gifted, any more than showing mercy or giving generously is limited to those who are gifted. In other words – you can prophesy – and shuld aspire to do so!

So finally – how?

• 5. How Can I Prophesy?

Believe that this is for today – God will not enable you to prophesy unless you believe that it is possible for Him to do so. Many cessationists when they use phrases like “God laid it on my heart” or “God quickened this Scripture to me” are in fact  prophesying, although they would dispute it!

• Believe that it is for you – the Romans Scripture shows that this is something that all believers – including you – are able to do
• Actively desire it and pray for it -1 Cortinthian 14 v 1 requires you to desire to do this,
• Be available -   you are a player, not a spectator – our meetings need to be team events, not spectator sports!
• Recognise that you are spiritually qualified – we often feel that we are not spiritually qualified to minister in any way. But when God says that we are qualified – we have no right to doubt it! The perfect life of Jesus has been ascribed to us – we are qualified!
• Keep short accounts with God..and others. Notwithstanding the point above, sin comes between ourselves and God. But when cleared up by confession we are quite able to hear God. One of the greatest barriers to hearing God is unforgiveness – make sure that there is nothing standing in the way of you hearing God.
• Be expectant – every day expect God to use you to speak his word, Come to every meeting with a sense of expectancy
• Seek to build and to bless – remember that prophecy is to build up others
• DEVELOP YOUR OWN RELATIONSHIP WITH GOD!!!!! - nothing equips us to prophesy more than a close walk with Him. The normal disciplines of the Christian life, prayer, the word, obedience, fellowship are critical to anyone who would move in prophecy.
• Learn to know the voice of God – how does God speak to you? Learn to hear his voice and respond to it.
• Be bold and take risks –ultimately, if we want to bless others there is a risk of embarrassment, it’s just a risk you have to take.
• Speak in English – these are your words directed to others for them to understand. Make sure they are in plain English – not super-spiritual gobbledegook
• Avoid the first person –you are speaking as a spokesman, not a medium: therefore phrases like “The Lord says:…” are inappropriate, and indicate that the prophecy has already been judged, The suggested formula is a phrase like: “I feel the Lord may want to remind us…”
• Offer in humility and submission “God opposes the proud…”
• Invite and submit to evaluation – the evaluation and testing of prophecy is a key element of the process. If someone does not welcome this, then their contribution is not wanted.

• Recommended Reading
• “Surprised by the Power of the Spirit” Jack Deere  (1993)
• “Surprised by the Voice of God” Jack Deere (1996)
• “The Gift of Prophecy in the New Testament and Testament and today” Wayne Grudem (1998)

The Holy Spirit and You (5)

“The Holy Spirit – making you like Jesus”

Today we continue in our discussion of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives by looking at the work of the Holy Spirit in making us like Jesus

Listen to this talk (or download – right click here and ‘Save as’):

 

1. The Priority of becoming like Jesus

What is it that Christians really want from their Christianity?

• If we were to ask a room full of Christians what they want from their faith, and got absolute honesty, you would get a range of answers that would include, spiritual reality, excitement, healing, company, friendship, good worship…the list goes on.  However…

What is it that God really wants from our Christianity?

• We need God’s agenda to be our agenda. And the word clearly shows that God’s agenda for us has Holiness or Christ – likeness right up near the top.
• ( Eph 4 v.24; Heb 12 v.14; 1 Thess 4 v 7; 2 Tim 1 v 9; 1 Peter 1 v 15-16)

2. The Process of becoming like Jesus

a) The Three stages of becoming like Jesus:

1. New Birth – when we were born again God started the process of comforting us to his likeness.

2. Sanctification – throughout our lives the Holy Spirit is at work in us to make us like Jesus.

3. Glorification – that Process is complete when we go to be with him at the end of our lives, or when Jesus returns

The Great Process of Sanctification

The Work of the Spirit (2 Corinthians 3 v 15-18) – God produces Christ-likeness in us by His Holy Spirit – we can not do it ourselves

The Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5 v.22-25) – fruit does not appear instantaneously, it happens over a period of time and gradually.

The Place of Co-operation (Roman 6 v.13-14) – although we saw above that Sanctification is the result of the work of the Holy Spirit, Scripture is very clear that we have a responsibility to co-operate with the Holy Spirit in producing it.

The Certainty of Opposition (Romans 7 v 14-25) – the day to day life of the Christian is a life of battling with Sin.

The Reality of Victory (Romans 7 v. 24-25) – it is possible to see victory in this life over sin by the power of God at work in us.

“I am not what I ought to be — ah, how imperfect and deficient! I am not what I wish to be — I abhor what is evil, and I would cleave to what is good! I am not what I hope to be — soon, soon shall I put off mortality, and with mortality all sin and imperfection. Yet, though I am not what I ought to be, nor what I wish to be, nor what I hope to be, I can truly say, I am not what I once was; a slave to sin and Satan; and I can heartily join with the apostle, and acknowledge, “By the grace of God I am what I am.”

John Newton

3. The Practice of becoming like Jesus

Be Filled with the Spirit (Ephesians 5 v 18)

Immerse yourself in the word (John 17 v 17)

Integrate yourself into Fellowship (Hebrews 10 v 24-25)

Control your mind (Romans 8 v 5-8)

Exercise your will (Eph 4 v 24; Heb 12 v 14)

Keep short accounts with God (I John 1 v 9)

Finally – there are few subjects in the Christian life that have the potential to make us feel discouraged, than considering ourselves against the Biblical command to “be Holy”. However we have to understand that God takes full responsibility for the finished product – and he always finishes what he starts!

Romans 8 v 28 ff

”And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.”

The Holy Spirit and You – Session Four:

“The Holy Spirit – Baptising and Filling You”

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In our exploration of the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives we turn today to the subject of the baptism and filling of the Holy Spirit.

We look at it under five headings:

1. The Centrality of the New Birth

Before we look in detail at the subject for today we have to re-cap by stating clearly and categorically that the defining moment in a person’s life is the new birth. It is that experience, that moment, that makes someone a citizen of heaven, that delivers them from darkness to light and puts the Holy Spirit into their lives. There are no second class citizens in the church. Everyone who has been born again is a part of the kingdom.  Whatever experiences may happen subsequently, it is the new birth that makes all the difference in someone’s life.

2. The Promise of the Spirit

“I want here boldly to assert that it is my happy belief that every Christian can have a copious outpouring of the Holy Spirit in a measure far beyond that received at conversion.”

A.W. Tozer “The Divine Conquest”

Whilst we assert that the new birth brings someone to Christ, it is equally true that life does not stop at the new birth. There is much more for someone to experience, and it is that which are going to explore in this session. To pick a couple of examples each from the Gospels, the Epistles and the Acts (church history)

• The Gospels

–        Luke 11 v 9-13 – here Jesus is encouraging those who are already addressing God as their Father, to ask Him for the Holy Spirit.

–        John 7 v 37-39 – here Jesus tells his disciples that they can look forward to the day when from within each of his children will flow streams of water. This does not seem to imply a one-off experience, but rather an ongoing outpouring of life.

• The Epistles

–        Ephesians 1 v 15-17 – here Paul is praying for believers, who are already indwelled by the Holy Spirit, to receive more of God’s Spirit

–        I Corinthians 12 v 12-13 – Paul encourages the Corinthians that they have been given of one Spirit – “to drink”. Again, this does not seem like a one-off blessing but an ongoing experience.

• Church History

–        Acts 2 v. 1-4 and Acts 4 v.31. The first church receives the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 – and the same group of people is filled with the Holy Spirit in Acts 4. Clearly this is not a one – off experience.

3. The Variety of Experience

Reading through the book of Acts one has to be struck by the diversity of experiences that the early church had:

• Pentecost  (Acts 2 v1-4) – tongues of fire, a wind and speaking in tongues
• The Release from Prison (Acts 4 v 31) – a shaking house
• Cornelius (Acts 10 v 44-46) – speaking in tongues and praising God
• Lydia (Acts 16 13-15) –a quiet response to God
• The Philippian Jailor (Acts 16 v 25-34) – an earthquake and a miracle
• You – every one of us who has experiences God would tall of an experience that was unique to us. We do the Holy Spirit and one another a big disservice if we try to impose on others a particular experience of God’s Spirit.

4. The Two Terms – “Baptised and Filled”

The two terms before us today are “baptised by/with/in the Spirit” and “filled with the Spirit” Which if these terms is it more appropriate to use, and  when?

• Uses of “Baptised”:

–        Matthew  3 v 11

–        Mark 1 v 8

–        Luke 3 v 16

–        John 1 v 33

–        Acts 1 v 5

–        Acts 11 v 16

All the above references are either John the Baptist or Jesus pointing forward to a day when they would be baptised in the Spirit.  They promise an event yet to come, but do not define it.

–        1 Corinthians 12 v.13 – in this verse Paul states that we were all baptised by one Spirit into one body. The Greek construction is virtually identical to the construction in the other verses, from which we can assume that Paul is saying all believers have been baptised in the Spirit.

• Uses of “Filled”:

Luke 1:15 John the Baptist

Luke 1:41 Elizabeth

Luke 1:67 Zechariah

Acts 2:4 Pentecost

Acts 4:8 Peter

Acts 4:31 Release from prison

Acts 9:17 Paul

Acts 9:16-18 Paul

Acts 13:9 Paul

Here we have a variety of individuals being described as “filled with the Holy Spirit”

So what conclusions should we draw from this?

The three main views can be summarised as below:

Classic Conservative Evangelical

–        “everything available was given at conversion: we need to live in the good of it”

Classic Pentecostal and Charismatic

–        “At conversion we are born again; following that we need to be baptised in the Spirit which will be accompanied by speaking in tongues”

“Third way” – (Wimber and others)

–        “We are baptised in the Holy Spirit at conversion. God then has much more for us to experience – experiences which are best described as being “filled with the Spirit”. These give power for life and ministry and will vary from individual to individual in nature, intensity and manifestation”

It is my view that the most consistent biblical view to go with is the “third way” view as articulated by Wimber, Grudem and others. All believers should be encouraged to seek God for constant infilling of the Holy Spirit subsequent to conversion.

5. The Spirit –Filled Life

We may encourage all believers to seek:

• The Experience of being “Filled with the Holy Spirit” (Acts 2 etc)

And …

• The Lifestyle of being  “full of the Holy Spirit”

–        Luke 4 v 1 – Jesus was “full of the Spirit”

–        Acts 6 v 3 – qualifications for service – the apostles looked to appoint people “full of the Spirit”

–        Acts 7 v 55 – Stephen was “full of the Spirit”

–        Acts 10 v 54 – Barnabus was full of the Spirit

–        Ephesians 5 v 18 “be filled” – all believers were encouraged by Paul to be filled – literally to go on being filled with the Holy Spirit.

In summary…

We should affirm that all genuine believers who are born again   should seek to be experientially and experimentally filled with the Holy Spirit to empower them for life and service. This is the desired state for all Christians.

So….

How Can I be Filled with the Holy Spirit?

1. We should determine that we really want to be filled with the Holy Spirit.  Are we prepared to pay whatever cost is necessary for |God’s Spirit to fill us?
2. Are we prepared to be broken by the cross – to put aside our own wishes to surrender to the infilling of the Spirit?
3. Are we asking God to fill us with his Spirit?

“Lord, fill your people with the Holy Spirit!”

Questions for Discussion

• What are the evidences that someone is filled with the Holy Spirit?
• How can I pursue the Spirit-filled life?
• How could I hinder the Spirit-filled life?

“The Holy Spirit and You” Session Three: “The Holy Spirit –  giving you new birth ”

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A Christian is, quite simply, someone who has been born again. That is, a person who has experienced the miracle of God coming and living inside them by his Holy Spirit.

1. Why do we Need to be Born again?

Jesus said: “You must be born again” (John 3) Why is this?

•Without the new birth….

•…we are dead (Eph 2 v 1;Col 2 v.13)

•…we cannot see the kingdom of God (John 3 v.3)

•…we cannot please God (Romans 8 v.8)

•…we are “objects of wrath” (Eph 2 v 2-5)

The fact is that without the new birth we are helpless, lost and unable to please God. The message of the new birth has never been a popular one, because it shows that without God, we are lost.

2. What Happens when we are Born Again?

An amazing spiritual transaction takes place when we are born again. Some of the implications are listed below:

•God’s Spirit enters us (John 3 v 1-7; Romans 8 v.9)

•We become children of God (John 1 v 12-13)

•We are regenerated (Titus 3 v 5)

•We become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5 v 17; Galatians 6 v 15)

•We are able to respond to God (Romans 8 v.8)

•Our sins are forgiven (Colossians 2 v 13)

•We receive eternal life (1 John 5 v 11-13)

•We have a living hope (1 Peter 1 v 3)

•We become a part of God’s family – the church (1 Corinthians 12 12-13)

By being born again are lives are sorted out for eternity. It can be seen then that the greatest need of the human condition is that a person is born again. And the greatest need for the Christian church is to preach the necessity of the new birth. Other things that we involve ourselves in, concern about famine relief, global warming, social injustice, abortion etc  are all admirable and worthwhile concerns. But all of them together will not deliver a single person from hell or send a single person to heaven. Only the new birth can do that.

Therefore, without embarrassment, apology or qualification we maintain that the chief message of the church to the world is: “you must be born again”

3. How is someone Born Again?

The new birth is a miraculous intervention from God. However there are some things we  can say about how God  does it:

–By the Spirit of God (John 3 v.3)

–Through the Resurrection of Jesus ( 1 Peter 1 v 3)

–By the Word of God (1 Peter 1 v 23-25)

4. What are the effects of being born again?

The question arises: how can I know that I am born again? – and how can any Christian be certain of his salvation? It is a vital and necessary question – eternity hangs on it.

Someone who has been genuinely born of the Holy Spirit will know the following:

•A Relationship with God (John 1 v 12)

•Changed relationships with others (1 John 3 v 14-15)

•A life of obedience (1 John 2 v 3-6)

•A new view of sin (1 John 5 v 18)

•A new desire for the word of God (1Peter 1v.23 – 2 v 2)

Because we are still “under construction” these things will not be perfected until eternity. However if there are the beginnings of these things in a Christian’s life we can be sure that he has been born again.

And because he has been born again- his salvation is secure.

¹¹And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. ¹²He who has the Son has life; he who does not have the Son of God does not have life.

¹³I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life (1 John 5 v 11-13)

4.How Can we Help others to be Born again?

As we have seen above, the new birth is a miracle that can only be carried out by God. As Jonah said: “Salvation belongs to the Lord” Only God can give new birth!

Does that mean therefore that we have no part to play? Not at all!

I Peter says that we are born again through the word of truth. And we read constantly in the Acts of the Apostles that  the early Christians pleaded with people to turn to God.

Astonishingly – just as God uses humans in the process of natural birth, so God uses humans in his miracle of creating new birth.

Are you and I available to be used to bring new birth to another? There is no greater privilege!

Question for discussion: What part can you and I play in leading someone towards experiencing the new birth for themselves?

The Holy Spirit and You – Session Two: “The Holy Spirit – bringing you God’s word”

Talk given 1 October 2009.

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Today we move on to consider how the Holy Spirit brings the word of God to His people.

Some preliminary thoughts:

The Power of the Word (Genesis 1 v 1-3;Psalm 107 v.20;Psalm 138 v.2; Matthew 8 v.16; John 1 v 1; Ephesians 6 v 17; Hebrews 1 v 3; Hebrews 4 v 12)

God’s Holy Spirit was present at creation and spoke the word of God. Right at the start of the scriptures we see that when God spoke – it happened! As Jesus, drove out the demons with a word, and we read that God sustains all things by his powerful word, it can be seen that the work of God is a creative, dynamic force, the sword of the Spirit.

The Need for Communication

The Christian faith had relationship at its heart. Like any relationship, our friendship with God implies two-way communication.

We will look at this subject under three headings:

1. God has Spoken by His Spirit

God has spoken through:

Creation (Genesis 1 v.1-3; Psalm 19 v.1; Romans 1 v 20)

The Incarnate Word (Hebrews 1 v 1-3)

The Written Word (2 Timothy 3 v.16; 2 Peter 1 v 21)

2. God still Speaks by His Spirit

Objectively through:

Creation

The Incarnate Word

The Written Word

Subjectively

NB – ALL SUBJECTIVE REVELATIONS MUST BE SUBMITTED TO THE SCRUTINY OF SCRIPTURE. ANY CLAIMS OF REVELATIONS NOT IN ACCORDANCE WITH SCRIPTURE CARRY NO WEIGHT WHATSOEVER ( Isaiah 8 v 19-20; Acts 17 v 11)

The illumination of the word (John 14 v 26; Acts 2 v 17-18)

Through  circumstances  (Acts 16 v 7)

Through Discipline (Hebrews 12 v 7;Revelation 3 v 14-19)

Through other people (Galatians 2 v 14)

Prophetically  Acts 2 v 17-18;1 Corinthians  14 v.3;Acts 11 v 28 Acts 21 v.8-11; 1 Thess 5 19-21)(NB – THERE IS NO BIBLICAL FOUNDATION TO THE VIEW THAT PROPHECY ENDED WITH THE COMPLETION OF SCRIPTURE)

Through Angelic Visitation (Abraham, Balaam. Gideon, Elijah, David, Mary, Zechariah, The Shepherds , Acts 8 v 26; Acts 10 v 3)

Through Dreams and Visions (Acts 2 v 17-18; Joseph (OT), Joseph (NT), Wise Men, Acts 10 v 9-17)

3.God Speaks to you by His Spirit

God has no favourite children. Anyone who is born again has the Spirit of God and is a candidate to hear from God. The question we need to discuss is: how can I be someone to whom God will speak?

God chooses whether to speak, to whom and in what manner  (Amos talks of a famine of hearing the word of God, and in the days of Samuel the word of God was rare) – but each of us needs to be available and listening.

The following are SOME of the qualities we need to cultivate in our lives to be available to hear God:

Immersed in Scripture

Gives time to being with God

Obedient to what God has already said – -if we haven’t obeyed what God has already revealed to us, why would he give us more?

Open – hungry – desperate – the challenge is – do we really want to hear God?

Humble – Isaiah 66 v 2ce to the humble but opposes the proud. Moses – to whom god spoke face to face – was the humblest man on earth.

Submitted – especially for those who wish to bring God’s word publically, we need to ask: is there a pattern of submission in this person’s life?

Motivated by…

–         a desire for obedience

–         a desire to love and serve

Bold – stepping out to act on what we have heard from God, and bringing it to others takes an element of risk, and exposes us to the risk of looking foolish. Are we prepared for that?

“Speak LORD, for your servant is listening”

The Holy Spirit and You – Session One: Who is the Holy Spirit?

Talk given 17 September 2009.

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All the talks in this series will be based on two assumptions:

…that we are confident that we have more to experience of God’s Holy Spirit.  Not that we are disappointed in God – but we believe that there are greater things of God that are not yet a reality in our lives.

..and that we want our experience of God’s Holy Spirit to conform to what we see as the New Testament norm

The objectives in this series are as follows:

To understand what the Bible says about the work of the Holy Spirit

To experience what the Holy Spirit says about the  work of the Holy Spirit

To apply what the Holy Spirit says about the  work of the Holy Spirit

With that in mind, we launch into the first session: Who is the Holy Spirit?

1. The Person of the Holy Spirit

He is God…

–        A person, not a thing

–        The third person of the Trinity (Matthew 28) *

–        Spirit: Pneuma = breath, wind

He is called…

–        The Spirit of God (Gen 1 v 2)

–        The Spirit (Matthew 4 v 1)

–        The Holy Spirit (2 Peter 1 v 21)

–        The Spirit of Jesus (Phil 1 v.19)

–        The Spirit of Truth (John 15 v 26)

–        The Counsellor (John 15 v 26)

–        The Comforter (John 15 v 26 KJV)

He is like…

–         a  Wind (Acts 2 )

–        Fire (Acts 2)

–        Water (John 4)

–        A Dove (John 1)

All this is truth about the Holy Spirit – but knowing about someone can never be a substitute for actually knowing them ourselves.

*As the third person of the Trinity the Holy Spirit has a specific job role=- namely to glorify Jesus. This may be why we see little of   Jesus and the apostles praying to, praising or glorifying the Holy Spirit. Although he is worthy of all this because he is God, he does not draw attention to himself – He is self-effacing.

2. The Promise of the Holy Spirit

We can see the presence of the Holy Spirit throughout the Old Testament. Below are just a small number of many verses that tell about the way the Holy Spirit is portrayed throughout the Old Testament.

• Present at Creation (Genesis 1 v 2)

Equipped people for service (Exodus 31 v.3;Numbers 35 v.31)

• Inspired prophecy (Numbers 11 v 25)

• Equipped for service (Judges 3 v 10; 6 v.34;11.v29;)

• Guided God’s people  ( Neh 9 v.20)

• Admonished God’s people (Neh 9 v 30)

• Inspired the Scriptures (2 Tim 3 16; 2 Peter 1 v 20-21)

• NB – the Holy Spirit was active throughout the Old Testament, guiding and leading God’s people, equipping them for service and inspiring the prophets – but he was given to only a few people. The general outpouring of the Holy Spirit that has been ours since Pentecost was not available to them

The  OT Prophets then pointed forward to a new day, when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all God’s people

Isaiah 43 v 18-21 “water in the desert”

Isaiah 44 v 1-5 “my Spirit on your offspring…”

Ezekiel 37 v 1-14 “dem bones”

Ezekiel 47 v 1-12 “the river from the temple”

Joel 2 v 28-32 “I will pour out my Spirit”

All the Old Testament prophets pointed towards a day when the realisty of God would be available to all. The new testament begins with the voice of another prophet – John the Baptist – prophesying exactly the same thing:

• “ I baptise you with water. But one more powerful than I will come.. He will baptise you with the Holy Spirit and with power” (Luke  3 v 16)

• “I saw the Spirit come down from heaven as a dove and remain on him…”the man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is he who will baptise with the Holy Spirit” (John 1 32-34)

And when Jesus starts his ministry, he too talks about the day – now imminent – when the Spirit would be poured out:

• John 4 v 10-13 “living water”
• John 7 v 37-39 “streams of living water”
• John 14 v 16 “another Counsellor…”
• John 16 v 7 “for your own good” *
• Acts 1 v 8  “you will receive power”

• Amazing but true: Jesus was telling his disciples that would be better off when he went because the Holy Spirit would be with them. The implications for this are stunning: we are better off now we have the Holy Spirit than we would be if Jesus was standing physically in our midst!

3. The Presence of the Holy Spirit

Finally God “presses the button”. On that wonderful day of Pentecost a new era started: the era of the Holy Spirit. We still live in that day today. The rest of this series is about living in that new era.

Questions for Discussion:

“We were all given one Spirit to drink” Discuss.

How could we hinder the work of the Holy Spirit amongst us?

How can we foster the work of the Holy Spirit amongst us?