Sunday's Message - The Work of the Holy Spirit (The Holy Spirit Instructs)

The Holy Spirit is probably the most confusing member of the Trinity. Although we can understand the Father and the Son, it's more difficult for us to grasp the nature of something that can’t be seen. Yet, without the Spirit, we can know very little about either the Father or the Son. And so, we're looking at the work of the Holy Spirit. During five messages, we'll focus on what the Holy Spirit does for us. Over that time, we'll consider the following: 

• September 3 - The Holy Spirit Inspires
• September 10 - The Holy Spirit Instructs
• September 17 - The Holy Spirit Intercedes
• September 24 - Holy Spirit Unites
• October 1 - Holy Spirit Empowers

On Sunday, we focused on how the Holy Spirit instructs us. A recording and copy of the sermon are below. You can stream the service by going to the Sligo Presbyterian Church YouTube Channel at 10:00 a.m.

Now, just in case you were wondering, I have a good reason for showing this little video, and it has nothing to do with being an unpaid recruiter. What you saw was a WVU tradition right up there with setting sofas on fire after a big win. It’s called “Up All Night.” It’s held at the Mountainliar. It’s open to all students. And although I haven’t seen her in it, there’s a possibility that Maggie may be somewhere on the video, although I can guarantee she’s not in the computer Gaming Lounge. You see, as every Mountaineer knows, this is how WVU officially celebrates the first home football game and the beginning of a new academic year. I guess you could say that serious instruction begins after the undergraduates have been up all night.

And like I said, I have a reason for starting the message with this video and here it is. As I think most of y’all know, last week we kicked off a new sermon series dealing with the work of the Holy Spirit. And in the first service, we talked about how this third person in the Trinity inspires. It inspires the life we all have and the life we share with everything else that breathes and the life we can experience, namely eternal life. Now that’s what we looked at last Sunday. 

And today, we’re going to focus on a second work of the Spirit, how the Holy Spirit instructs, you know, how the Holy Spirit teaches us, something a whole bunch of Mountaineers will encounter in classes tomorrow. And to do that, during the rest of our time together, we’re going use scripture from both the Old and the New Testaments to answer these three questions: first, what does the Holy Spirit teach; and second, how does the Holy Spirit do it; and then third, why does the Holy Spirit offer to us this instruction at all. Now that’s what we’re going to do. And hopefully by the end of the message, we’ll have a better understanding of this particular work of the Spirit.

And like I said, we’re going to start by, first, thinking about the question: What does the Holy Spirit teach us? In other words, what is this instruction all about? Put another way, if we were down at WVU, what’s the syllabus for the Spirit’s course? Now that’s the question. And I’ll tell you, as we’ll see with each of the other questions, I think we can divide the answer into two parts. 

You see, if you’re talking about content, on one hand, I think the Holy Spirit teaches us about how we can live, and I’m talking about how we can function in the world that we have even if it’s not the world that we want. For example, as he was explaining the kind of the place that would serve a constant reminder of his presence with the Israelites as they passed through the Wilderness to the Promised Land, 

The Lord said to Moses:

I have chosen Bezalel from the Judah tribe to make the sacred tent and its furnishings. Not only have I filled him with my Spirit, but I have given him wisdom and made him a skilled craftsman who can create objects of art with gold, silver, bronze, precious stones, and wood. I have appointed Oholiab from the tribe of Dan to work with him, and I have also given skills to those who will help them make everything exactly as I have commanded you: [Exodus 31:1-6, CEV]

You see, according to the Book of Exodus, the practical skills Bezalel needed to have in order to do the work that God wanted him to do was grounded in the Spirit. And I’ll tell you, I think this same understanding is behind a request made to God, when the psalmist wrote,

Please rescue me

from my enemies, Lord!

    I come to you for safety. 

You are my God. 

Show me

    what you want me to do,

and let your gentle Spirit

    lead me in the right path. [Psalm 143:9-10, CEV]

You see, in both cases, God’s Spirit was seen as the source of some very practical skills and definite direction. In other words, on one hand, the Spirit teaches us how to live.

But of course, I think we all believe it teaches us a whole lot more than just that, because, on the other hand, that same Spirit also teaches us about who Jesus was, including what he taught and how he wants us to live. And I’ll tell you, I think we can see this kind of thing in what Jesus said to his disciples right before his arrest and crucifixion. Just listen to what the Evangelist John wrote, and this is Jesus talking:

I have said these things to you while I am still with you. But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything and remind you of all that I have said to you. [John 14:25-26, CEV]

Now that’s what he said, that the “Advocate,” the Holy Spirit, this gift from the Father, it was going to teach the disciples everything they needed to know after Jesus was gone. And this was something he again explained to them a little later when he said,

I have much more to say to you, but right now it would be more than you could understand. The Spirit shows what is true and will come and guide you into the full truth. The Spirit doesn’t speak on his own. He will tell you only what he has heard from me, and he will let you know what is going to happen. The Spirit will bring glory to me by taking my message and telling it to you. Everything the Father has is mine. This is why I have said that the Spirit takes my message and tells it to you. [John 16:12-15, CEV]

Now back in the day, that’s what Jesus said the Spirit would do. And I’ll tell you, what it did then, it does now. You see, along with instructing us about how we can live, the Holy Spirit enables us to understand who Jesus was. And that’s what the Holy Spirit teaches us; the answer to question number one.

And of course, that moves us to our second question: how does the Holy Spirit teach us? You know, how does the Spirit teach us about living in the real world and how does that Spirit help us understand the life and lessons of Christ? In other words, how are we taught all this stuff that we don’t already know? How does the Holy Spirit teach us? Now, like I said, that’s our second question, and I’ll tell you, just like the first, I think the answer has two parts. 

I mean, on one hand, I believe these lessons are conveyed through an internal presence. And remember, based on what we talked about last week, that’s really what inspiring is all about. It’s God literally breathing his presence, his Spirit into us. And according to Scripture, that inspiration does more than just cause us to breathe. I mean, listen to what John wrote in his first letter:

Christ, the Holy One, has blessed you, and now all of you understand.

I am writing to warn you about those people who are misleading you. But Christ has blessed you with the Holy Spirit. Now the Spirit stays in you, and you don’t need any teachers. The Spirit is truthful and teaches you everything. So stay one in your heart with Christ, just as the Spirit has taught you to do. [1 John 20:20, 26-27, CEV]

Now that’s what John wrote, and remember, he was warning Christians about people, undoubtedly teachers, who were trying to mislead them. You see, for him, the most important teaching was happening on the inside, something that Ezekiel also seemed to believe when he wrote this:

I will take away your stubborn heart and give you a new heart and a desire to be faithful. You will have only pure thoughts, because I will put my Spirit in you and make you eager to obey my laws and teachings. [Ezekiel 37:26-27, CEV]

You see, on one hand, the Spirit is always teaching through an internal presence.

On the other hand, though, I think the actual lessons are in the form of the external word, and now I’m talking about the written Word of God. You see, it’s through this book, in Greek, this βίβλος that God spoke, and that’s exciting. But I’ll tell you, even more exciting than that, it’s still the way God speaks, because he’s continually re-inspiring ancient Hebrew and Greek words so that they can speak with new meaning in a constantly changing world and with new authority to situations that couldn’t have been imagined two thousand years ago. In other words, God’s Word wasn’t just inspired; it is inspired and will continue to be inspired anew. And I think that’s exactly what the Apostle Paul was getting at when he wrote this to Timothy, and for this passage, I’m reading from the New Revised Standard Version:

But as for you, continue in what you have learned and firmly believed, knowing from whom you learned it and how from childhood you have known sacred writings that are able to instruct you for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. All scripture is inspired by God and is useful for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, so that the person of God may be proficient, equipped for every good work. [2 Timothy 3:14-17, NRSVUE]

Again, notice that, when talking about scripture, Paul didn’t use the word “was.” He wrote “is.” And I’ll tell you, I think Peter was talked about this same kind of inspiration when he wrote this about how the Old Testament prophets could see the coming of Christ:

Some prophets told how God would treat you with undeserved grace, and they searched hard to find out more about the way you would be saved. The Spirit of Christ was in them and was telling them how Christ would suffer and would then be given great honor. So they searched to find out exactly who Christ would be and when this would happen. But they were told that they were serving you and not themselves. They preached to you by the power of the Holy Spirit, who was sent from heaven. And their message was only for you, even though angels would like to know more about it. [1 Peter 1:10-12, CEV]

You see, we’ve learned about life and about Jesus through both an internal presence and the external word. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s how the Holy Spirit teaches us; the answer to question number two.

And finally, our third question: Why does the Holy Spirit teach us? In other words, why does the Spirit teach us about life and about Christ? And why does this same Spirit teach us through something we feel on the inside and something we can see on the outside? Why does he do that? Well, again I think the answer is two-fold. 

You see, on one hand, I think God has done this so that we can endure, so that we can face the kind of problems that just plain come up in every life. And I’ll tell you, this was something Nehemiah believed happened to the children of Israel as they wandered through the Wilderness. Just listen to what he wrote:

Because of your great mercy,

you never abandoned them

    in the desert.

And you always guided them

with a cloud by day

    and a fire at night.

Your gentle Spirit

    instructed them, 

and you gave them manna to eat

    and water to drink.

You took good care of them,

and for forty years

    they never lacked a thing.

Their clothes didn't wear out,

and their feet were never swollen. [Nehemiah 9:19-21, CEV] 

You see, as they moved from Egypt to the Promised Land, God’s “gentle Spirit” was always there, instructing them every step of the way, something that Jesus Christ promised that Christians would experience when they faced situations that demanded more than they might have to offer. Now this was what he told his disciples:

Be on your guard! You will be taken to courts and beaten with whips in their synagogues. And because of me, you will have to stand before rulers and kings to tell about your faith. But before the end comes, the good news must be preached to all nations.

When you are arrested, don't worry about what you will say. You will be given the right words when the time comes. But you will not really be the ones speaking. Your words will come from the Holy Spirit. [Mark 13:9-11, CEV]

You see, on one hand, thanks to the Spirit, we can endure.

But that’s not all; on the other hand, what we learn from the Spirit can also give us hope, hope that’s not grounded in situations that are temporary but rather in a presence and a power and a promise that’s eternal. I’ll tell you, it’s like the Prophet Isaiah wrote:

By the power of his Spirit

the Lord God has sent me

     with this message:

People of Israel,

I am the holy Lord God,

    the one who rescues you.

For your own good,

I teach you, and I lead you

    along the right path. [Isaiah 48:16b-17, CEV]

And according to the writer of the letter to the Hebrews:

The Holy Spirit also speaks of this by telling us that the Lord said,

“When the time comes,

I will make an agreement

    with them.

I will write my laws

    on their minds and hearts.

Then I will forget

    about their sins

and no longer remember

    their evil deeds.” [Hebrews 10:15-17, CEV]

You see, right here and right now, God wants us to be able to endure troubles and to have hope. And I’ll tell you, I think that’s why the Holy Spirit teaches us; the answer to question number three.

Now, I know Maggie went to “Up All Night” on Friday. And I know she went to the game on Saturday evening, at least, she tailgated. And I guess I’ll find out later if she lined danced and sang karaoke and of course, played that game that looked like Hungry, Hungry Hippo. But right now, I don’t know. I just hope she had a great time, because tomorrow she’ll have to put her head down and run through the academic gauntlet she’ll be facing between Monday, September 11th and what they call Fall Recess, beginning on November 18th. In other words, there’ll be a lot of teaching going on in Morgantown for the next month and a half.

But of course, there’s also a lot of teaching going on right here and now, and I hope we all know it. And why shouldn’t we? I mean, we know what’s being taught, you know, how we can live and who Jesus is. And we know how it’s being taught, through an internal presence and the external word. In fact, we even why we have the chance to learn, so that we can both endure and have hope. You see, this we all know, because we know that the Holy Spirit instructs.