Title: What Did the Holy Spirit Do?
Contents
What does the Holy Spirit do? (Jude 1:17-23)
There is a book called "The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People", a world bestseller. There is one thing the book emphasizes from beginning to end: principles. Whether you practice the principle or not is the condition for success. The more adherence to the principle, the greater the chance of success, and the more violating the principle, the slimmer the chance of success. The same is true of the religious life. The principle of a successful life of faith is to live according to the Holy Spirit. As long as that principle is followed, the life of faith is bound to go well. Today, with the words of the text, I would like to share the grace of the Holy Spirit with the title of what the Holy Spirit has done.
1. The Holy Spirit Builds Us on Faith
One of London's most famous preachers in the 19th century, Pastor Alexander McLaren, was delighted to see a well-known atheist attending a service in the city one Sunday.
At the end of the service, he told the atheist that he would preach the main tenets of the Christian faith for four weeks. After the fourth Sunday service, the atheist said that he would believe in Jesus. McLaren was so delighted that she asked which sermons particularly impressed her.
People cannot build me up, but the Holy Spirit builds me up.
I bless you in the name of the Lord that you will be raised up by the Holy Spirit at this time.
2. The Holy Spirit Makes Us Pray
Our prayers cannot be fulfilled without relying on the Holy Spirit. Because prayer itself does not belong to the world, we must rely on the Holy Spirit. Tolstoy's "Life Reading" tells this story. A man goes into a mountain to realize the Way and prays.
He devoted himself to praying while delivering meals to the farmer at the foot of the mountain. Even after praying for many days, nothing is realized.
This man went to the virtuous monk and asked how he would understand. The monk asked you to go to the farmer's house and stay for a few days and observe what the farmer is doing. This man went to the farmer's house and began to pay close attention to what the farmer was doing. The farmer's life, however, was very simple. He wakes up at dawn, shouts "Lord!" and goes to work in the field. Come in in the evening, have dinner, and say, "Lord!" He shouts a word and lays down and grabs it hard. This man went to the monk and said he had not realized anything. The monk asked if that was the case and gave him a bottle of oil.
I went back to the farmer's house with this oil bottle, and I told him not to let the oil flow out. This man did what he was told. the monk asks. "How many times did you think of the Lord while you went to the farmer's house with this bottle of oil?"
This man said that he never thought of the Lord because he was concerned about keeping the oil from flowing. The monk said:
“Look at that. You do not think of the Lord even when you do such a simple thing. Doesn't the farmer seek the Lord twice a day in the midst of such a tiring life?
You didn't care just to keep the oil from flowing
But the farmer said, "Didn't the farmer seek the Lord twice in the midst of worrying about the weather, worrying about whether the seeds he sowed would grow properly, and worrying about what would happen if the birds came and pecked him?" In the name of the Lord, I ask you to become saints who do.
3. The Holy Spirit makes us evangelize.
The church that follows the Holy Spirit evangelizes.
The reason European churches are closing today is because evangelism is dead. The church becomes one of them, whether it preaches the gospel or becomes a fossil. The book of Acts describes the Holy Spirit as the wind. Wind is power. The wind that came down to Mark's upper room on the Day of Pentecost was a wind coming down from heaven and was strong and strong. The Holy Spirit is the power to fulfill the missionary mandate. It is the power that works to spread the gospel. (Acts 1:8) "But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in Meekea, and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth."
When John Wesley was six years old, his house caught fire. The youngest of eight siblings, he could not get out of the fire. Father had no idea where the youngest was until the moment the roof burned and almost collapsed. But the youngest child's cry was heard in the burning house. Young Wesley climbed up to the second floor railing. A neighbor stepped on another person's shoulder and rescued Wesley from weeping from the railing. After that, Wesley led many souls to Christ. Rescued from the pit of fire, he rescued countless souls from the fires of hell.
saints. We who have been saved from the flames of hell, let's evangelize. Those who are perishing must be brought out of the fire. The coming of the Holy Spirit created the church. The Pentecost of the Holy Spirit changed people at that time in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the ends of the earth. The Pentecost of the Holy Spirit continues today as it was at that time. Do you sometimes feel discouraged because of life's exhaustion and hardship? Are you struggling with fear and despair? The Holy Spirit has come for you today.
We want to close the word. The Holy Spirit gives us faith today. It gives you faith and makes you pray. Furthermore, please remember that He makes you evangelize.