The Holy Spirit’s Deity + Person • 11.03.24 | Harvest Bible Chapel Des Moines

The Holy Spirit’s Deity + Person • 11.03.24

Nick Lees - November 3, 2024

The Holy Spirit’s Deity + Person
Various Texts

Believing the truth about God the Holy Spirit

The Holy Spirit is God
The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force
The Holy Spirit has a mission

Good morning church family! (Welcome guests, introduce self)

Share about Single Parent Provision Blessing Bags + Christmas Dinner

Dismiss 4^th + 5^th graders

Ushers + Bibles

Welcome to November, which in our church is also known as Stewardship Month! Stewardship month is an opportunity for us to learn about the principles of biblical stewardship. Biblical Stewardship is based on the understanding that God owns everything… which includes you and me and all that we have.

The Scriptures teach that this world is God’s and so is everything in it!

Psalm 24:1

The earth is the LORD’s and the fullness thereof,

the world and those who dwell therein,

Everything is God’s. He owns it all! Which means that anything you have – life, health, possessions, and so on – has been entrusted to you by God. As your Creator, he is generously sharing these gifts with you for your careful management. That’s what it means to be a steward. You are a manager of the resources that God has entrusted to you.

If it was all His to begin with, then anything we have is given to us by Him. So, the question we have to ask ourselves is, “What does God expect me to do with all that he has entrusted to me?” Time, talents, treasure, my life, it’s all his!

Well, the Apostle Paul sets a helpful example in 1 Corinthians 4:1-2.

1 Corinthians 4:1–2

This is how one should regard us, as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is required of stewards that they be found faithful.

Just like Paul, we are to view ourselves as servants of Christ and stewards of the mysteries of God. And not just any kind of steward, faithful stewards.

God expects us to take what He has entrusted to us – His truth, His world, our lives – and to be faithful with them. I want to share with you four stewardship principles that drive what we’re discussing this month:

God owns everything, I own nothing
God entrusts me with everything I have
I can either be a wise or poor steward of what God has entrusted to me; He wants me to be a wise steward
God can call me to give an account at any time and it could be today

These principles inform the discussions that we will have each Sunday in November.

I also want to make you aware of the resources the church has provided to help you grow as faithful stewards this month. (Stewardship Resources Slide)

Share the 7-day Stewardship Study + the other online resources that we have compiled for their benefit. (https://www.harvestdesmoines.org/stewardship-resources/)

Please take advantage of these tools. They are for your spiritual growth and the glory of God. I would love to see every person, every family unit growing in obedience to God in these areas. I have personally benefited greatly from learning and following God’s clear teaching with my time, talent, and treasures.

In our sermon series this November, we are focusing on Stewardship of the Holy Spirit. Now, you may hear that and think “How is that a stewardship issue?” That is a fair question. My answer is twofold:

First, God has entrusted the church with His Word, and we are responsible to teach sound doctrine to equip the saints to stand firm in the faith and for the work of the ministry. In his first letter to Timothy, Paul called the church “a pillar and buttress of the truth.” (1 Timothy 3:15) It is the church’s job to protect and uphold the truth, including what God says about the Holy Spirit. Then, in his letter to Titus, Paul said that anyone who is going to be a pastor in the church “must hold firm to the trustworthy word as taught, so that he may be able to give instruction in sound doctrine and also to rebuke those who contradict it.” (Titus 1:9)

Given how much misunderstanding there is about the Holy Spirit, our pastor team believed it would be wise to preach a series on this member of the Trinity. We want to protect our church from false teaching that has led others astray. In general, most of us are probably more well-versed in speaking about God the Son or God the Father than we are about God the Holy Spirit. So, we believe it will be beneficial to learn from God’s Word together on this matter.

The second part of my answer is that this is a stewardship issue because God’s Word teaches that God the Holy Spirit indwells believers at salvation and we are called to walk by the Spirit rather than grieving the Spirit. In his writings to the Galatians, Paul says:

Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV)

¹⁶But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. ¹⁷For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

Or in his letter to the Ephesians, he writes:

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Our pastor team believes that it is important to understand what God means when he says these things. What does it look like to be a wise steward of our relationship with the Holy Spirit? How can we view him correctly and respond to him appropriately? To walk faithfully by the Spirit and not live in a manner that grieves the Spirit.

These are questions worth answering. And, as you heard last month, the Word of God is our authority, so we will be turning to it to inform our views. Our desire is to please the Lord and bear great fruit in our lives and the world around us.

So, over the course of November, we are going to address the following four topics related to God the Holy Spirit.

11/3 – The Holy Spirit’s Deity + Person
11/10 – Work of the Holy Spirit
11/17 – Responding to the Holy Spirit
11/24 – The Holy Spirit’s Gifts

I hope you’ll make it a priority to gather with us each Sunday as we dive into this study in the Scriptures. Let’s turn our attention to our topic for today The Holy Spirit’s Deity + Person. Our aim is…

Believing the truth about God the Holy Spirit

I want to start by sharing our church’s doctrine statement related to the Godhead. Here is what we believe about God.

God

We believe in the only true God (John 17:3), the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit (Matthew 28:18-20). He created all things (Revelation 4:11) and upholds all things by the Word of His power (Hebrews 1:3). In Him we live and move and have our being (Acts 17:28). He is a God of truth and without iniquity; He is just and right (Deuteronomy 32:4); and He shall judge the world (Psalm 9:8).

We believe that the Godhead eternally exists in three persons: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. These three are one God, having precisely the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage, confidence and obedience (Mark 12:29; John 1:1-4; Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 5:3-4).

It’s this second half of the doctrine statement that I want to focus on. As Christians, we believe in a triune God – One God in three persons. Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Notice that they have the same nature, attributes and perfections, and are worthy of precisely the same homage (honor), confidence and obedience. We do not separate them out as if the Father were the most authoritative, the Son the most gracious, and the Spirit the most helpful. They are all the same God.

Another way of putting this is that God the Holy Spirit is co-equal, co-eternal, and co-existent with God the Father and God the Son. Let’s look at some passages that teach us these truths. First one that shows us that he is co-equal:

Matthew 28:18–20 (ESV)

¹⁸And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. ¹⁹Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, ²⁰teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

This is known as the Great Commission. It is Jesus’ final command to his disciples before ascending to heaven. He is commissioning them to go in his authority to make disciples. Meaning they are to spread the teachings of God the Son and call upon sinners to repent and believe in Him. And part of this discipleship process is baptizing them in the name of all three persons of the Godhead – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. If they were not equal this statement would be blasphemy because we are told in Isaiah 42:8 that God does not share his glory with another. But because they are co-equal members of the Godhead, it is a right and true statement that glorifies God.

Speaking of baptism… it is an act of obedience for anyone who professes faith in Christ. Next Sunday, during our 9am service, we have the opportunity to celebrate with 3 individuals who are doing just that!

Now let’s look at Acts 5:1-4. This is in the days of the early church, when they were sacrificially selling their goods in order to care for one another. This is another example of the deity or co-equalness of the Spirit.

Acts 5:1–4 (ESV)

But a man named Ananias, with his wife Sapphira, sold a piece of property, ²and with his wife’s knowledge he kept back for himself some of the proceeds and brought only a part of it and laid it at the apostles’ feet.

³But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? ⁴While it remained unsold, did it not remain your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.”

This situation with Ananias and Sapphira is the context for Peter stating that the Holy Spirit is God. Peter speaks of lying to the Holy Spirit as lying to God. This is another helpful piece of evidence as we seek to believe the truth about the Holy Spirit.

Now let’s look at some passages that reveal the co-eternal nature of the Holy Spirit. If we go all the way back to the beginning of the Bible, which speaks about the beginning of Creation…

Genesis 1:1–2 (ESV)

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. ²The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Before anything was made, God was. And in this passage, we find the Spirit of God directly involved with the creative work of God. This is alluded to in Psalm 33:6:

Psalm 33:6 (ESV)

⁶ By the word of the Lord the heavens were made,

and by the breath of his mouth all their host.

The word translated “the breath” is the same word for Spirit in the Hebrew. These examples, though not quite as obvious as the New Testament ones, are believed to be referencing God the Holy Spirit. We’ll hear another passage about the Spirit’s eternality later in the sermon.

Let’s look at a passage that shows the co-existence of the Godhead. This is recording the baptism of Jesus prior to the start of his public ministry.

Matthew 3:13–17 (ESV)

¹³Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to John, to be baptized by him. ¹⁴John would have prevented him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?” ¹⁵But Jesus answered him, “Let it be so now, for thus it is fitting for us to fulfill all righteousness.”

Then he consented. ¹⁶And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; ¹⁷and behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

Notice that you have all three members of the Godhead present here. The Father is speaking from heaven, the Son is being baptized, and the Spirit is resting upon the Son to empower Him for ministry. This is a reminder that although they are all One God, they are three persons. Perhaps the most helpful illustration to try to convey this mind-boggling truth is (IMAGE):

They are equal in being, yet distinct in role. We see just a glimpse of this distinction in the Gospel of John:

John 14:26 (ESV)

²⁶But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you.

John 15:26 (ESV)

²⁶“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

The Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to help believers. We’ll talk more about his specific work next week, but nevertheless we see a distinction in roles within the Godhead. The Father sent the Son, the Son does the Father’s will in accomplishing the plan of redemption, and the Spirit is the Helper who bears witness, teaches, and convicts about the truth of God.

All of this leads us to our first truth about the Holy Spirit… He is God.

The Holy Spirit is God

This is the first truth we must believe. We’ve already heard some evidence in the Scriptures for the deity of the Holy Spirit but let me give you more.

From the pages of Scripture, we see that the Holy Spirit has attributes that are only found in God. Such as:

Eternality (Heb. 9:14)

Hebrews 9:14 (ESV)

¹⁴how much more will the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify our conscience from dead works to serve the living God.

“the eternal Spirit” … As we heard earlier, the Spirit has no beginning or end. He has always been and always will be, because He is God.

Omnipresence (Ps. 139:7-10)

Psalm 139:7–10 (ESV)

⁷ Where shall I go from your Spirit?

Or where shall I flee from your presence?

⁸ If I ascend to heaven, you are there!

If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there!

⁹ If I take the wings of the morning

and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea,

¹⁰ even there your hand shall lead me,

and your right hand shall hold me.

Only God can be present everywhere at once. Theologian Wayne Grudem defines this attribute of God as follows: “God does not have size or spiritual dimensions and is present at every point of space with his whole being, yet God acts differently in different places.” This is how the Spirit can carry out His work in many people around the world at once. It is a mind-boggling reality that Scripture teaches. Or how about the Spirit’s…

Omniscience (1 Cor. 2:10-11)

1 Corinthians 2:10–11 (ESV)

¹⁰these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. ¹¹For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

“The Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God…” There is nothing hidden from God the Holy Spirit. That is both incredibly comforting, you want a God who knows everything and always does what is best, yet it is also incredibly uncomfortable, God knows everything about me! That leaves us feeling a bit small and very exposed, doesn’t it? Yet, even though he knows everything about us, he still chose to make a way of salvation for us. What a good and gracious God!

The Spirit identified as Yahweh

There are also a few times where the New Testament identifies the Spirit as Yahweh of the Old Testament. For example, earlier this year we studied Isaiah 6 and heard Yahweh calling Isaiah into ministry. Listen to how Paul elaborates on this in Acts 28:25-28:

Acts 28:25–28 (ESV)

²⁵And disagreeing among themselves, they departed after Paul had made one statement: “The Holy Spirit was right in saying to your fathers through Isaiah the prophet:

²⁶ “ ‘Go to this people, and say,

“You will indeed hear but never understand,

and you will indeed see but never perceive.”

²⁷ For this people’s heart has grown dull,

and with their ears they can barely hear,

and their eyes they have closed;

lest they should see with their eyes

and hear with their ears

and understand with their heart

and turn, and I would heal them.’

²⁸Therefore let it be known to you that this salvation of God has been sent to the Gentiles; they will listen.”

Paul says it was the Holy Spirit speaking through Isaiah offering salvation. He has no problem speaking of the Holy Spirit as Yahweh. Or how about Psalm 95, which says:

Psalm 95:6–9 (ESV)

⁶ Oh come, let us worship and bow down;

let us kneel before the Lord (YHWH), our Maker!

⁷ For he is our God,

and we are the people of his pasture,

and the sheep of his hand.

Today, if you hear his voice,

⁸ do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah,

as on the day at Massah in the wilderness,

⁹ when your fathers put me to the test

and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

The word LORD is Yahweh in the Hebrew. This same passage is quoted by the author of Hebrews in the New Testament as coming from the Holy Spirit.

Hebrews 3:7–9 (ESV)

⁷Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,

“Today, if you hear his voice,

⁸ do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,

on the day of testing in the wilderness,

⁹ where your fathers put me to the test

and saw my works for forty years.

What Yahweh says, the Holy Spirit says, because they are one and the same God.

As the first line of our doctrine statement about the Holy Spirit states:

Holy Spirit

We believe in the total deity of the Holy Spirit…

So, what, right? What are you supposed to do with all of this? Well, because the Holy Spirit is God, that means you must worship him as God. (Write “so I must worship Him as God” next to the main point)

All of the reverence and awe that is due to God the Father/Son is due to the Holy Spirit, because He is God. The many passages encouraging you to praise God are applicable to the Holy Spirit. Which is why Jordan wrote this new song about the Holy Spirit. Because, as our God, we want to sing true things about Him to Him and to one another.

Just as you worship God the Father/Son by seeking to know Him more and respond to Him appropriately, so you must do the same with the Holy Spirit. It is worth the effort! It will not do to have unequal understandings of the persons of the Godhead. They are all equally worthy of your worship.

Which means you must also seek to think right and true things about Him. It will not do to believe lies or half-truths about the Holy Spirit. This is another reason we are going through this sermon series. We want to see what the Word says about the Spirit so that we can correct any misunderstandings we may have, or any lies we’ve been taught over the years. Will you gladly engage in this study so that you might better worship Him? *pause*

Along that line… one of the common misconceptions about the Holy Spirit is to say “it” rather than “him” when referring to him. In modern English the word it is used to refer to a thing, while a person is referred to as him/her. Referring to the Holy Spirit as “it” diminishes the personhood of the Spirit.

For example, if you referred to the person sitting next to you as “it” rather than him/her, would that not be dehumanizing? You wouldn’t do that because it would be inaccurate and weird and probably offensive. The same is true for the Holy Spirit. Our second truth takeaway today is…

The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force

As much as I am a Star Wars fan, there is no joke to be made here when we diminish the personhood of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is not some mystical power that we can command or wield for our own purposes, as some false pastors wrongly teach. The pages of Scripture are very clear that the Holy Spirit is a person with emotions, a will, and actions. Let me prove this to you.

First, let’s look at the Spirit’s pronouns. Not the kind of pronouns our culture is talking about, but the legitimate kind. Listen to Acts 13, where we join in the commissioning of Barnabus and Saul:

Acts 13:1–3 (ESV)

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. ²While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.” ³Then after fasting and praying they laid their hands on them and sent them off.

Did you catch that? The Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for ME… for the work to which I have called them.” An impersonal force does not communicate or command or refer to itself in first person pronouns. This is an act of a person.

Not let’s look at evidence of the Holy Spirit’s will. For this we journey to 1 Corinthians 12, which is a rich section of Scripture on the Spirit’s gifts. But our purpose right now is to look at verse 11 where Paul says:

1 Corinthians 12:11 (ESV)

¹¹All these are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as he wills.

As “he wills”. The Spirit is the One who determines what gifts to give believers. He chooses. This is an act of personhood. An impersonal force like friction does not have a will or make decisions about anything!

How about this – did you know the Holy Spirit has emotions? We heard this passage earlier:

Ephesians 4:30 (ESV)

³⁰And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

Can you grieve an impersonal force? Does gravity care if you make fun of it? NO! Who gets distressed when someone hurts them? A person does. This language about the Holy Spirit being grieved by our sin is revealing. When we choose to live in sin, we are choosing to offend or grieve the person of God the Holy Spirit. We are living in a manner contrary to which he has called us to live.

You may recall another passage from earlier:

Galatians 5:16–17 (ESV)

Notice a few things. First, the Spirit has desires – again evidence of personhood. But also notice that the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh. They are opposed to this sinful way of life that we used to indulge in (or perhaps are currently indulging in). The way we avoid grieving the Spirit is by putting to death the desires of the flesh and choosing to walk in the desires of the Spirit. Guess where those are revealed to you? In the Scriptures! We’ll unpack them in more detail in future weeks.

This is not to mention all the other personal activities that the Spirit does, some of which we’ve already referred to (he helps, he teaches, he brings to remembrance, he speaks, he commands) and others we’ve not explored yet but will in future weeks (he intercedes, he convicts, he loves).

What should you do with this truth about the Holy Spirit? Interact with Him as a person! (Write that on your bulletin…) Do not mystify him. Do not dehumanize him into some kind of magical power/force that you can manipulate or command. Interact with Him as an authority in your life.

Listen to Him. (When he teaches you through the Word, hear what he has to say! We he convicts you in your inner man/woman, don’t ignore it!)
Learn from Him. (He is teaching you the truth!)
Obey Him. (Don’t just be a hearer of the Word through the Spirit, DO it!)
Pray to Him. (“Holy Spirit, convict me of sin. Open my eyes to understand your Word.”)
Thank Him for his work/blessings.

I should make sure I clarify something very important here. Everything I have been teaching has assumed that you are a Christian, meaning that you have confessed your sin and trusted in Jesus Christ for forgiveness and salvation. The beautiful, redemptive, sanctifying work of God the Holy Spirit is only available for those who are in Christ.

So, if you find yourself stuck in sin and are tired of it… If you are ready for true life change and are humbled to the point of admitting life your way hasn’t worked out… If you are willing to die to yourself and live for Christ… then I would invite you to confess your need for a Savior and cry out to God to save you!

One of the first visible evidences of the Holy Spirit at work in a man or a woman is that they are convicted of their sin and recognize their need for a Savior. If that is happening in your life, then I would encourage you to cooperate with the Spirit’s work in you. Our first responses to God the Holy Spirit on this journey of faith is confession of our sin, belief in Jesus Christ as our Savior, and taking the first steps of a life of repentance (turning from your sin to live for Jesus). If you’d like to talk more about that, would you please stop and talk to one of our prayer team or pastor team members in the back after the service? The same offer applies to those who are here as Christians yet stuck in unrepentant sin. If you’re being convicted that you need to change, we’d love to talk and pray with you! *pause*

Let’s do a quick recap of what we’ve learned so far:

The Holy Spirit is God
1. So worship him as God!
The Holy Spirit is a person, not a force
1. So interact with him as a person!

Finally, our last truth to believe about the Holy Spirit for today is…

The Holy Spirit has a mission

This was referenced in our doctrine statement earlier. In part it is informed by John 16:14, where Jesus is preparing his disciples for his imminent departure. Let’s join them and hear what he said:

John 16:12–15 (ESV)

¹²“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. ¹⁴He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Jesus knows his time is short and there is more for them to know and obey. However, the grand redemption plan of God is to send God the Holy Spirit to fulfill this part of the plan. He will come and guide Christians into all the truth. And all of this is for the glory of Jesus Christ. That is the Spirit’s mission – to glorify the Lord Jesus Christ.

To glorify means to exalt or to worship or to reveal the glory of God. It conveys the idea of reflecting the utter holiness and purity of God. To accurately show who God is and what He is like.

In doing this, the Spirit is ultimately glorifying the Godhead. Listen to how Jesus prayed to the Father about this glory.

John 17:1–5 (ESV)

When Jesus had spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven, and said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you, ²since you have given him authority over all flesh, to give eternal life to all whom you have given him.

³And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent. ⁴I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. ⁵And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed.

The Father, Son, and Holy Spirit have shared glory from eternity past. They are equally glorious. And the Son was sent to glorify the Father by his obedience to the grand redemption plan. Yet the Father also glorified the Son by accepting his perfect sacrifice on the Cross for the redemption of His people. The Cross was glorious as Jesus Christ conquered sin and death through it. And the Spirit glorifies the Son by carrying on his teaching and mission to make disciples after he departed this earth. This work carries on to this day! Every sinner who repents and trusts in Jesus Christ is to the praise of His glory and that is a work of the Spirit!

And our appropriate response to the Spirit’s mission is to cooperate in the mission (Write that down! –> don’t resist!) You are here to glorify Jesus Christ. And the way you glorify Jesus Christ is by submitting to the Spirit’s work in your life. Cooperate with Him when he convicts you of sin – confess it and turn from it. Cooperate with Him when he teaches you from the Word – prayerfully obey it.

Do not be like the religious hypocrites of the disciples’ day. Listen to the rebuke that Stephen had for them:

Acts 7:51–53 (ESV)

⁵¹“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you. ⁵²Which of the prophets did your fathers not persecute? And they killed those who announced beforehand the coming of the Righteous One, whom you have now betrayed and murdered, ⁵³you who received the law as delivered by angels and did not keep it.”

Do not be stiff-necked, resisting the Holy Spirit, disobeying the clear commands of God and hardening your heart to his conviction of sin in your life. Just like the Israelites who had repeatedly disobeyed God and reaped judgment, it will not end well for you either! There is a better way – humble submission and cooperation in the mission of God.

(Title Slide) I want to wrap up our time together today by sharing a great way to combat pride and hard-heartedness that resists the Spirit’s work/mission. Are you ready to hear what this secret weapon is? … It is prayer. Prayer is a powerful resource given to us by God that cultivates humility and cooperation with the mission of God in our lives. Let me share some specific prayers that help cultivate a heart and life that pleases God:

Ask God to change your heart. (“Help me to want to change! To desire to please you!”)
Ask him to convict you. (“Help me to see my sin like you do!”)
Ask him to humble you. (“Help me to be teachable and willing to change!”)
Confess your sin. (Say what God says…)
Pray through truth from His Word. (Pick a passage and respond to it in prayer)
Ask for faith.
Ask for wisdom.

I am sure you can think of other prayers that would also be helpful in cooperating with the Spirit’s mission. I would encourage you to discuss these as a family, in your small groups, with your accountability partners or discipleship relationships this week.

We want to be known as a people who are worshiping the Holy Spirit as God, interacting with Him as a person, and cooperating with Him in his mission to glorify Jesus Christ. This is part of what it looks like to be wise stewards of the Holy Spirit. May we all be found faithfully following God’s teaching on this matter. I look forward to unpacking this further in the weeks ahead.

Let’s pray.

Pray