The Mission of the Spirit

Dr. Charles Stanley: Where did you get the strength, the determination, the will, the deep hungering, thirsting, yearning desire in your heart to read the Word of God, to learn spiritual principles, to apply them to your heart? That's the work of the Holy Spirit. You cannot live the Christian life apart from the Holy Spirit. That's his sanctifying work. That's who he is. So that he not only came for our salvation, he came for our sanctification.
Guest (Male): The moment of salvation is an awesome event, but it should be just the beginning of a lifetime pursuit of holiness. Today on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley, we'll discover that holiness isn't achieved through good works or good behavior. Instead, it comes by surrendering to the gradual working of the Holy Spirit. Stay with us now to hear about the mission of the Spirit. Let's listen in to Dr. Stanley's message.
Dr. Charles Stanley: Now this is the second message in our series, Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit. And just to catch you up for a moment, in the first message, the Promise of the Father, we identified who he is. Who is this Holy Spirit? Promise of the Father, a person of the Trinity, the seal of the child of God, our helper, our teacher, our guide. Many areas of our life in which he is personally involved every single day. And yet many people don't have any idea who he is. The question may be, well, okay, so that's who he is. Why did he come? Why is he here? Why is he working in our lives? You've got God the Father and God the Son, why do you need anybody else? God the Father is seated on his throne in the heavens, Jesus seated at the Father's right hand, the Holy Spirit in this life on Earth, working in his children. Why did God send him? That's the theme of this message, and the title is simply this: The Mission of the Spirit. I want you to turn, if you will, to John Chapter 16. I want you to notice in this 16th chapter, beginning in verse five, what Jesus says. He says, "But now I'm going to him who sent me and none of you ask me, 'Where are you going?' But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. For if I do not go away, the helper, speaking of the Holy Spirit, will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And he, when he comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment." He says, this is the reason I'm sending him, very specifically why I'm sending him. So if someone were to ask you today, "Well, you Christians believe in the Holy Spirit, who is he anyway?" could you answer that question? Could you say to them, "Well, he's the promise of the Father and he's our seal under the day of redemption. He's our guide, our teacher, he's our helper. He is the divine energy and authority by which we carry out the work that God has called us to do"? And if they said to you then exactly tell me why he's here, we want to answer that question because he didn't just show up. So the first thing I would say is simply this: the ministry of the Holy Spirit is essential to our salvation. Somebody says, "Now wait a minute, I got saved a long time ago. I didn't know anything about the Holy Spirit." So did I. When I was the age of 12, the Lord Jesus Christ spoke to my heart one Sunday morning. I went to the altar, knelt down, asked the Lord Jesus Christ to forgive me of my sins. How much did I know? Very little, except that I was a sinner, Jesus died for my sins, and that if I asked him to forgive me of my sins, he would and he would save me. That is exactly what happened. If you had said to me then, "Well, tell us about the Holy Spirit," I would have probably said, "Who?" because I didn't know. Here's what I want you to remember: you do not have to understand what I want to share this morning in order to be saved. But once you are saved, it is very important that you and I understand what is the ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer and also what part he plays and does he work in a person's salvation, because he has a vital part. Somebody says, "I'll tell you what, I'm going to get saved when I get good and ready." And the answer is no, you're not. You say, "Well, doesn't the Bible say whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved?" That's exactly what it says. But first of all, who creates the desire in your heart to be saved? If you'll recall what Jesus said in this sixth chapter of John, here's what he said. He said, "No one," in verse 44, "no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him, and I will raise him up on the last day." Well, who is it that draws him? It is the work of the Holy Spirit in this life that draws a person to even desire to be saved. It is his work. It is the work of the Holy Spirit. Let me show you why that's true. In Ephesians Chapter 2, for example, Paul describes the condition of the unbeliever. He says, "You were dead in your trespasses and sins in which you formerly walked according to the course of this world, according to the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now working in the sons of disobedience." How can a dead person who's dead to spiritual things have any desire for spiritual things? You cannot, apart from the Holy Spirit. When a person says, "I'm going to get saved when I get ready," yes, you get saved when you get ready to answer the call of the Holy Spirit in your life, then you'll be saved. Jesus said, "No one can unless the Father draws them." That is the work of the Spirit. For example, not only does he say we are dead in trespasses and sins, but in Romans Chapter 3, he describes God's view of a person who's lost. He says, "There is none righteous, no not one. There's none who understands, there's none who seeks after God." The path of peace they have not known, and there's no fear of God before their eyes. How can a person who has no desire for God, isn't seeking God, who's dead in their trespasses and sins, how can that person be saved? Not apart from the drawing of the Holy Spirit of God. So if you, my friend, once in a while have this feeling in your heart and you have this sudden interest in your heart of what about this salvation, what about Jesus, what about the cross, the resurrection, all of these things? That's the Spirit of God beginning to do his work in your life. Apart from the Holy Spirit, there's no such thing as a dead person becoming an alive person filled with new life and a new spirit and eternal life, so it's the work of the Holy Spirit. Who is it that illumines the mind of a man or a woman or a young person? For example, how can a child, let's just say six or seven years of age, understand enough, genuinely understand enough about their sin, their guilt at that age to want to receive Jesus Christ as their savior and place their trust in him at a young age and all their lives attempt to live for him? That is the work of God. It is the work of the Holy Spirit that illumined your mind. The reason you even understand John 3:16 is the Holy Spirit. The reason you understand the scripture is the Holy Spirit. He's the teacher, as I've said before. I'm not the teacher. It is the Spirit of God who must teach you the truth, the Spirit of God who must open your mind and heart to help you realize what is the truth. Apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, there is no understanding of the things of God. So first of all, there's illumination. Secondly, there's conviction. This is what he says in this 16th chapter and eighth verse. He said, "It's for your good that I depart. When I depart, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit, and here's what he's going to do. He's going to convict you of sin, of the righteousness of Christ, and of the judgment to come." Conviction is the work of the Holy Spirit. How does that work? When a person has the illumination of truth, you don't need a whole lot of truth, just illumination of truth. When that person rejects the little light they have, what happens? No conviction. They begin the terrible process of hardening their heart to the wooing of the Spirit of God. When that person is willing to open their heart by their choice, they begin to feel guilty. They begin to understand that they're living against God, they're in opposition to God, they're rebelling against God, they're out of the path and will and purpose and plan of God in their life. There's great conviction. So what happens now? They have something new going on inside of them because another one of the works of the Holy Spirit is granting them new life. The simplest and the best and most popular verse to turn to would be John Chapter 3. We all know John 3:16, but look at these first passages when Jesus is talking to Nicodemus, a Pharisee. He says, "We know that you're a man come from God because of these miracles that we see." Jesus went straight to the point. He said, "Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God, nor can he enter the kingdom of God." Then he makes this statement: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh. That which is born of the Spirit is spirit." That is what happens. The Spirit of God brings regeneration. That is, the Spirit of God gives new life to that person. Now they have a new spirit, they have the life of God living inside of them, and that's when Jesus said, "I'm abiding in you and you in me." When a person receives Jesus Christ as their savior, the Holy Spirit absolutely regenerates. He gives new life so that every single believer is indwelt by the life of God. The Holy Spirit comes in to indwell us, and he makes it very clear in many scriptures that every single believer is indwelt by the Spirit and sealed by the Spirit of God until the moment God takes them home. That is the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation. You take the Holy Spirit out of salvation, you can't get saved. You can't understand the truth apart from the Holy Spirit. I want you to see this: you can't be saved apart from the ministry of the Holy Spirit, no matter who you are. It doesn't make any difference if you preached in a pulpit in a church for years and years and years, you can't be saved until the Spirit of God draws you by his awesome power and love to understand the truth, be convicted of your sin, accept the gift of repentance and faith, and you have a brand new life. Apart from the Holy Spirit, you cannot. Now, that's the first reason he sent him: the ministry of the Holy Spirit in our salvation. The second reason he sent the Holy Spirit is in our sanctification. Sanctification means holy. You say, "I can't be holy." Hold it, watch this. The word holy means something has been separated unto for another purpose beyond the normal thing. The moment you trusted Jesus Christ as your personal savior, God set you apart as a child of God and sealed you with the Holy Spirit of promise in Ephesians Chapter 1. He sealed you as a child of God. Every single believer is sanctified positionally. That's our position. But there's another aspect of sanctification and that's the progressive work of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit set you aside as a child of God, and then that begins his progressive work in your life. You say, "Well, what's his progressive work?" Well, Romans 8:29, "He predestined you and me to be conformed to the likeness of his Son," which means what? That the Holy Spirit is working in your life and my life in order to bring us into such a relationship of intimacy with him that our character begins to reflect the character of Jesus. Our behavior begins to reflect the behavior of Jesus, our conduct, our conversation. He says he predestined us to be conformed to the likeness of his Son. So what does he do? He continues some of the work that he was in when you and I were saved. It is the Holy Spirit who gives you understanding when you read the Word of God. Without the Holy Spirit, you can't understand it. This is why some people say, "I read that over and over again, I didn't get that." The Spirit of God is why you and I can read a passage many, many times, come back the 500th time and think, "I never saw that before." That's the work of the Holy Spirit. For example, when you step out of his way, the Holy Spirit is doing his job, which is to convict us of sin even after we're saved, to show us the truth of God's Word, show us his path, show us his way, show us his will. That's his work. Does he not say, "Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not to your own understanding, in all your ways acknowledge him, he'll direct your path"? Who is it that's directing our path? It is the Spirit of the living God who indwells us to guide us, teach us, and help us. He's just doing his work. That's who he is. So that he not only came for our salvation, he came for our sanctification. Positionally, one act; progressively, a lifetime; and ultimately, when we die, we're glorified in absolute perfection. Why did he come? He came to sanctify us, to make us like his Son. There's a third reason he came: the ministry of the Holy Spirit in service. Every single one of us is called to serve the Lord. You say, "God hasn't called me." Yes, he has. We make the mistake of saying, "Servants of God are those who stand on platforms and sing and play and do these things." You know who a servant of God is? Every single person that's ever been saved is a called servant of God. Let me ask a question. Would you not agree that being a godly mother or a godly father in this day and time, raising godly children who have to go to school and be taught things that you do not believe, living in a society where there's awesome peer pressure, where there's immorality all around them and all kind of pornography and all kind of drink and drugs, raising godly children in this society is probably one of the most difficult jobs that exists? You don't think that takes the Holy Spirit? One of the reasons our kids are in such a mess is because too many parents don't realize God will teach you how to raise your children. God will show you how to raise them up. God will work his awesome work in your life if you let him do it. Godly mothers and godly fathers, that is an awesome sense of service. That's just one. Teachers, for example, you may teach in a secular school. You don't need the Holy Spirit? They don't let us talk about Jesus. You may not be able to talk about him, but you can live it out. There are ways to live it out with kindness and love that somebody says, "There's something different about her, something different about them." There are all kinds of ways for God to work out his works in our life. What I want you to see is that you've been called to do something. Think about it. There are times when somebody walks up to you, asks you a question, and it's an awesome opportunity to witness for Christ. Here you are just sort of like you got marbles in your mouth. When somebody opens the door, here's what you do immediately: "Holy Spirit, speak through me." Do you think he's going to say, "Nothing doing"? No, he's not. He will say things through you you hadn't even thought about. He's going to bring scriptures to your mind that you thought you'd forgotten. The engines begin to churn up in you. When God opens a door of opportunity, he intends you to step through it. This is why many people who are not pastors and teachers who live out in the secular world are awesome witnesses, they have the most awesome effect on other people because God has equipped them, because they wanted to be equipped, they wanted to do it. They may have fumbled and made some mistakes to begin with, but they knew that God had called them to share their faith. So they keep doing it until it becomes not polished, but powerful. Think about this: salvation is an act of faith, sanctification is the walk of faith, and service, what is that? That's the work of faith, faith in the power of the Holy Spirit to enable you to do what God wants you to do. When the Holy Spirit is working through your life, here's what you can expect. You'll tire at times, but you won't burnout. You'll face obstacles, but you won't give up. You'll find yourself oftentimes having to wait, but you won't manipulate circumstances. You'll find yourself sometimes in stress, you'll find yourself stressful and you think, "Oh God, how can I do this?" but what happens is you won't get desperate and do something foolish. You'll find yourself at times feeling helpless, but never hopeless. Why? Because you have the Holy Spirit living inside of you. He came to save you, he came to sanctify you, and he came to equip you to do what God called you to do. Father, how grateful we are. When I think about what you were willing to forgive us for, put it behind us, what you're willing to teach us, ingrained in our thinking, the opportunities that lay before us because you placed them there. When we think about what you're willing to do in the life of any individual if we're willing, we're awed by that, Father, humbled by it all. I pray that the Holy Spirit will sink the truth of this message so deep it's inescapable. Thank you that we can watch you work and know in our heart your work is the best work. We thank you in Jesus' name. Amen.
Guest (Male): Thanks for joining us on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. God has provided believers everything necessary to effectively serve him. Our responsibility is to trust him and to walk closely with him. More on the role of the Holy Spirit's work in salvation, sanctification, and service can be found on our website, intouch.org, or go back through this lesson again by clicking on the link to Today on Radio. To order a copy of today's complete message, The Mission of the Spirit, visit our online store. It's also included in Dr. Stanley's full teaching set, Living in the Power of the Holy Spirit. Again, log on to intouch.org or call or text us at the number 1-800-INTOUCH. You can write to us when you address your letter to In Touch, Post Office Box 7900, Atlanta, Georgia 30357. The difference between religions and Christianity is the difference between doing and being. Today's moment with Charles Stanley is coming up. Tired of faith feeling like a performance? Worn down by constant striving? Jesus never meant it to feel that way. His call was always to something more, to a life that's generous, vibrant, joyful, and sustainable—a real life with him. That's the heart of Follow Me, our new book created to help you answer that call. Get your copy at intouch.org/followme. There is an inexplicable joy that comes from understanding scripture and learning how to apply it in our own life. The Charles F. Stanley Life Principles Bible includes 30 foundational truths that Dr. Stanley has learned from over 60 years of ministry. It's available in the New King James Version, New International Version, the King James Version, and New American Standard Bible version. To order, call 1-800-INTOUCH or go to intouch.org/store. You're listening to In Touch. Are you feeling inadequate or like something's missing in your life? Hear about Dr. Stanley's discovery of that missing element in a moment with Charles Stanley.
Dr. Charles Stanley: It is the work of the Holy Spirit bringing us to the realization you can't live the Christian life. I can tell you, it took me years before I came to that conclusion. I grew up in a fellowship of people who believed that if you do this and you do that and you do the other, then everything's going to be fine, but you have to do it. I can remember it was in my third church before it ever hit me. God didn't expect me to try. I used to fast, I had a travel trailer parked out my backyard. I'd go out there and fast and pray and beg and plead God to do this and do that and do the other. And some areas I still failed. What really got my attention was I was preaching through the book of Galatians and I was coming to this fifth chapter. I remember thinking one day when I was praying, "Oh Jesus, what am I going to do when I get to the fifth chapter and you talk about the fruit of the spirit is love and joy and peace and goodness and self-control? And Lord, I don't have that, not all the time. Every once in a while I get a good glimpse of that." And here I am getting ready to tell these people, "This is what you'll do," and Lord, you're not even doing it in my life. I'm going to tell you how God got me. He waited until the week before the sermon was to be preached. One Friday night, I walked in my study—I just had a little study out in the backyard of my house in Miami—and I just had a door for a table because I didn't want anything to distract me. I realized that night he never intended for me to live the Christian life. He intended for me to surrender my life to him so that he could live through me what I would never be able to do myself. It was one of the most freeing moments of my life. I can tell you, until you reach that point that you can't, but he will, he can, and he desires to, you're going to struggle over things that you don't need to struggle over. The progressive work of the Holy Spirit is shaping us, conforming us, keeping illuminating our minds and hearts to the truth so that we come to the realization that it's Christ in us through the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit living the life of Jesus Christ through us. It's his power and his authority and his anointing and his work in our heart.
Guest (Male): Learn more about the believer's life of dependence on the Holy Spirit at intouch.org. Have you been encouraged by what you heard today? Take some time and let us know about it. Ahead on In Touch, we'll continue our series on the Holy Spirit to hear about his essential role in empowering us to do God's work. Learn about the gifts of the Spirit on In Touch, the teaching ministry of Dr. Charles Stanley. This program is a presentation of In Touch Ministries, Atlanta, Georgia, and remains on this station through the grace of God and your faithful prayers and gifts.