Relying on the Holy Spirit

Six Spokes of the Wheel - Relying on the Spirit (John 14:15-17, 15:26-27, 16:7-15, John 20: 19-22)

How are you getting on with the Six Spokes of the Wheel? Have you tried the Prayer and Godly Thoughts and Godly Living practical suggestions at home? The practical suggestions aren't tests. There's no pass or fail mark. The practical suggestions are like training exercises which can help us become more Christ-like.  Today we move on to consider the third Spoke of the Wheel - Relying on the Holy Spirit.

Last Sunday I ran the Great South Run - 10 miles along the sea front at Portsmouth. Although I got a Personal Worst time, it was great to take part. I trained over a six month period, gradually building up longer distances, interspersed with faster sessions. Training takes effort and perseverance. On one occasion I over-trained and realised the importance of incorporating adequate rest-days into my training schedule. Rest allows the body to recover.

Much of modern life in Britain is about effort  - always working, always trying harder, being strivers not shirkers. It's as if the treadmill has moved out of the gym and taken over the whole of society. It starts at school with SATs, GCSEs and A Levels, and progresses into our working lives, driven by the need to get a job, keep a job and pay the rent or mortgage. Older people need to work longer too, given the uncertainty over pensions and the pension age in the future.

There are times when we need to work hard as Christians but we mustn't succumb to treadmill-society norms in our Christian lives. We need to leave time and space for the Holy Spirit to work in us. Relying on the Spirit isn't about effort and trying harder. It's about accepting an amazing gift from God - a gift that will make us more Christ-like.

It's good to give gifts but it's also good to receive them. Some people find that harder than others but God can help everyone of us if we open ourselves to receive his gift of the Holy Spirit.

Paracelete Sayings

Before his death and resurrection, Jesus prepared his disciples for the time when he would not longer be with them in person. There are five so-called Paracelete Sayings in John's gospel chapters 14, 15 and 16 where Jesus teaches his disciples about the Holy Spirit. When Jesus returns to heaven, God will send the Holy Spirit to help his followers on earth.

In John 14:15-17 Jesus says to his disciples:

I will ask the Father and he will give you another Helper who will stay with you forever. He is the Spirit of God who reveals the truth about God. The world cannot receive him, because it cannot see him or know him. But you know him, because he remains in you and is in you.

The Good News Bible describes the Spirit of God as our Helper. A Helper is one who comes alongside us and helps us live our Christian lives.

The original Greek word is Paraclete which means "one who calls alongside".

Paraclete can also be translated as Advocate . An Advocate is someone who speaks outwardly on our behalf - like a lawyer in court. The Holy Spirit helps us find the words that we can't find on our own.

Thirdly, Paraclete is sometimes translated Teacher. The Holy Spirit speaks inwardly to us, teaching God's truth to our minds and hearts.

The Holy Spirit comes alongside us to help us, speaks outwardly on our behalf and speaks inwardly to teach us and the Holy Spirit is always a "he" and not an "it". The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity - with God the Father and Jesus the Son in an eternal relationship of love. The Spirit shares the same love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, humility and self-control as the Father and Son.

Accustomed to zombie films and Dr Who episodes, we can easily confuse the Holy Spirit with a sort of fictional alien life-force which takes control of people, typically threatening to overrun a city or spaceship. The Holy Spirit isn't like that. He's not an alien life-force. He doesn't take us over and never forces us to do something. Whether it's speaking in tongues, saying a prayer out-loud or that sudden feeling that we must go and talk with someone or ring them up, the Holy Spirit always give us the final choice. 

When I worked at Lucent Telecoms, I was part of an enormous team developing a Radio Network Controller for the 3G mobile phone infrastructure that smart phones use now. There was masses to learn. The Radio Network Controller had to connect and route thousands of calls and connect to the internet, sending data reliably as the user moves from cell to cell.  Fortunately I worked alongside a very talented telecoms expert when I first arrived called Eugene. When I got something wrong Eugene didn't tell me off or even correct me directly, he would quietly ask one or two seemingly small questions. When he left, I would

start thinking about the problem and often work out the solution too. Eugene came alongside me. He was a gentle teacher - more akin to the way the Holy Spirit teaches us.

In  John 15:26-27 Jesus says

I will send him to you from the Father, and he will speak about me. And you too will speak about me.

The Holy Spirit teaches us in a specific way. He testifies about God the Father and makes the deep truths about God the Father real to us, in our hearts and minds. None of us here today are rated "zero" on the Holy Spirit Spoke of the Wheel because each one of us already knows something of God. The Holy Spirit is already at work in each one of us. In 1 Corinthians 12 Paul says that no-one can confess that "Jesus is Lord" without the Spirit's help.

In the Star Wars films, the Force - the fictional power from outside - is primarily given to those who are genetically predisposed to receive it - they have a special type of DNA. The Holy Spirit is given for all but we have to want to accept the gift and remain teachable which can be harder as we grow older.

 We can think we've heard it all before.

An older retired minister gave me some advice once. He had preached many sermons and listened to many more over his life. How did he cope listening to others now? He said that he always prayed beforehand that God would teach him something new in a service. He wanted to keep being taught by the Spirit for the whole of his life.

Thirdly, in John 16:8 Jesus teaches his disciples

When he comes, he will prove to the people of the world that they are wrong about sin ... because they do not believe in me.

Sin isn't not working hard enough or securing our own salvation by never doing anything wrong - we can't do that. In an early Six Spokes of the Wheel talk, Richard explained that SIN has an "I" in the middle. Sin can be seen as "the self-elevating and self-centred condition of the human heart". Sin is putting ourselves at the centre and giving ourselves prime importance. Instead we need to put Jesus Christ, the Son, at the centre of our lives. SON has a "O"  in the middle - a circle of love spreading out from Jesus. We need to give the Spirit space to move in our hearts and minds and convince us that we need a Saviour, Jesus Christ and to rely on him.

In John 20: 19-22 the risen Jesus Christ appears to his disciples

It was late that Sunday evening and the disciples were gathered together behind locked doors, because they were afraid of the Jewish authorities. Then Jesus stood among them, "Peace be with you," he said. After saying this he showed them his hands and his side. The disciples were overjoyed at seeing the Lord. Jesus said to them again, "Peace be with you. As the Father sent me, so I send you." Then he breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit."

There can be many things that scare us - things that makes us afraid. We can be hiding behind metaphorical locked doors. We can even be scared of the Holy Spirit because of misunderstandings or earlier events in our lives. Jesus comes to us and says "Peace be with you" and offers us his Spirit to us too.  He provides the words, the understanding, the peace, strength and courage that we can't generate on our own.

Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength

They shall mount up with wings like eagles

They shall run and not be weary

They shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 41:31)

Practical Suggestions

The first Relying on the Spirit practical suggestion is to read one of the passages about Spiritual Gifts and then pray for one - for yourself or someone else in the church.

In 1 Cor 12:4 Paul writes

There are different kinds of spiritual gifts, but the same Spirit gives them. There are different ways of serving but the same Lord is served. There are different abilities to perform service, but the same God gives ability to everyone in their particular service.

Paul goes on to list some of the gifts of the Spirit  (e.g. messages of wisdom and knowledge, faith, power to heal, work miracles, proclaim God's message, discern between gifts that come from God and those that do not, speak in tongues, interpret what is said). In other parts of the Bible we learn about other gifts (e.g.  administration, helping people, encouragement and craftsmanship). The Spirit gives different gifts to different individuals for the building up of the church and wider mission in the world.

Read one of the Spiritual Gifts readings at home and ask God to grant a gift to yourself or another member of the church for the good of the whole. With gifts we don't get to pick and choose what we're given or even when. Don't make demands. Just be open to the Spirit's moving.

Many metaphors for the Holy Spirit are fluid e.g. wind, fire, wine and water. Wind and fire can  be strong or gentle. Wine and water flow. The Spirit is not easily containable. He flows where he chooses.

The second practical suggestion is to use the following Stuart Townend song as a prayer at home. You might want to open your palms on your lap as if receiving but if not, just say the prayer, opening up your heart

    Your love, shining like the sun,
    Pouring like the rain,
    Raging like the storm,
    Refreshing me again.

    I receive Your love.

    Your grace frees me from the past,
    It purges every sin,
    It purifies my heart
    And heals me from within,
    I receive Your grace.

    Pour over me,
    Pour over me,
    Let Your rain flood this thirsty soul.
   Pour over me Your waves of love,
   Pour over me.

   I come and lay my burden down
  Gladly at Your feet,
  I'm opening up my heart,
  Come make this joy complete,

  I receive your peace

  Amen