Living out our Union with the Holy Spirit

Sunday 08/11/19

Series: Walking the Talk

Message – Living out our Union with the Holy Spirit

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Living out our union with the Holy Spirit

Now, we know that the Holy Spirit has been given to us by God in order to be to us what Jesus was to His disciples…and more!

We know this because of the words allos paraklaytos “Another Comforter” which means another aid Who is different in person but the same in function. The word paraklaytos -is very similar in meaning to the word God used for women as the helpmate for man. It is used to refer to an advisor, pleader, proxy, or advocate, one who comes forward in behalf of and as the representative of another.

- Notice that this is what the Holy Spirit was doing with Jesus – even here!

This Holy Spirit is…

He is the Spirit of truth

to be with you forever—
remains with you and in you. En – Of those with whom someone is in near connection, intimate union, oneness of heart, mind, purpose, especially of Christians, in union with Christ by faith and who are become as branches in the true Vine.

The nature of the relationship is almost parental.

“(18) I will not leave you as orphans; I am coming to you.”

As I told you before, The KJV says, “I will not leave you comfortless” which is a shallow word to represent this Greek word and it actually robs from it’s true depth of meaning. Orphanós the means – obscure, dark. So jesus was saying I will not leave you in obscurity or darkness – but this was in a relational context. Orphans are often little esteemed and neglected and thus forced, as it were, to wander in obscurity and darkness. Orphaned, bereaved of parents (James 1:27). Metaphorically, when used for disciples it would mean without a master, teacher and guide.

Now, given that our relationship is such – it seems obvious that we need to know how to hear and properly respond to the Holy Spirit Who has been given to us from God.

There are many practical ways to do this, but we are going to rely upon some biblical examples to illuminate our path in this journey of living out our union with the Holy Spirit and one could hardly start with a clearer or better example that our Lord Jesus Himself so turn with me to Matt. 12:18 “BEHOLD! MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN, MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL IS WELL PLEASED! I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, AND HE WILL DECLARE JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES.”

Now remember, Jesus began His ministry in the river Jordan.

What happened there? The Holy Spirit descended UPON Him.

Had Jesus already had the Holy Spirit within Him beforehand? YES…of course He did.

He was a sinless human being, so he was a habitation or dwelling place for God. But now the Spirit came upon Him…JUST like Jesus told His disciples would happen to them in the upper room on Pentecost.

Those believers already had the Spirit within them as well once Jesus breathed on them and told them to RECEIVE the Holy Spirit of God – in John 20:22, but the Spirit came UPON them in POWER in the upper room on Pentecost.

And,

In Matt. 3:16-17-4:1, “(16) After Jesus was baptized, He went up immediately from the water. The heavens suddenly opened for Him, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming down on Him. (17) And there came a voice from heaven: This is My beloved Son. I take delight in Him! (4:1) Then Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness to be tempted by the Devil.”

Notice that the Spirit was leading Jesus the moment He came upon Him and continued to throughout His ministry. Immediately this was seen in the Spirit’s counsel and guidance in the midst of temptation and physical weakness.

The Spirit had been sent to Him to cause Him to see and hear the Father. This was ABSOLUTELY NECESSARY because Jesus was the ambassador /minister on behalf of the Father.

So our first point here is… that the Spirit showed Jesus the Father that Jesus might reveal the Father to us.

That is all we are really learning today, but there is much here to learn.

We think we know this, but in reality we only know about this.

You see God does what He does in the most personable of ways. He could have sent an instruction manual…in fact, He kinda did in the Law, but it was insufficient in itself to bring union – not because of some deficiency in the law but because man himself was broken.

So God sent us a gift and wrapped Him in flesh and called Him Jesus. He was a clear representative of the Father.

What did He tell his disciples in John 14 – “If you have seen Me, you have seen the Father.”

John 5:19-20, “(19) Then Jesus replied, “I assure you: The Son is not able to do anything on His own, but only what He sees the Father doing. For whatever the Father does, the Son also does these things in the same way.

(20) For the Father loves the Son and shows Him everything He is doing, and He will show Him greater works than these so that you will be amazed.”

Sound familiar? Didn’t Jesus say to us – “The Holy Spirit will remind you of everything I’ve said and you will do greater works than these because I go to My Father.”

Matt.11:27, “(27) All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone to whom the Son desires to reveal Him.”

But HOW did Jesus know the Father Himself? He was a human being with all the limitations of human beings. In fact, he didn’t even come into the world knowing the simple difference between right and wrong.

Look at Isa. 7:12-16,

“(12) But Ahaz replied, “I will not ask. I will not test the LORD.” (13) Isaiah said, “Listen, house of David! Is it not enough for you to try the patience of men? Will you also try the patience of my God? (14) Therefore, the Lord Himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive, have a son, and name him Immanuel. (15) By the time he learns to reject what is bad and choose what is good, he will be eating butter and honey. (16) For before the boy knows to reject what is bad and choose what is good, the land of the two kings you dread will be abandoned.”

So, if Jesus had to learn these things how did He learn them?

God did not teach Jesus right from wrong mechanically – He taught it to Him relationally. Right and wrong were not simply abstract concepts tied to old traditions with no anchor or moral center. Right and wrong were rooted in the revelation of the character of God Himself. So Jesus grew to know right and wrong inside of a relational context. THAT is where He got all the teachings and wise insights into the law that people marveled at.

Mark 6:1-2, “(1) He went away from there and came to His hometown, and His disciples followed Him. (2) When the Sabbath came, He began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard Him were astonished. “Where did this man get these things?” they said. “What is this wisdom given to Him, and how are these miracles performed by His hands?”

This is how Jesus saw into the heart of the law rather than the surface meanings.

Matt. 5:21-26, “(21) You have heard that it was said to our ancestors, Do not murder, and whoever murders will be subject to judgment. (22) But I tell you, everyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. And whoever says to his brother, ‘Fool!’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But whoever says, ‘You moron!’ will be subject to hellfire. (23) So if you are offering your gift on the altar, and there you remember that your brother has something against you, (24) leave your gift there in front of the altar. First go and be reconciled with your brother, and then come and offer your gift. (25) Reach a settlement quickly with your adversary while you’re on the way with him, or your adversary will hand you over to the judge, the judge to the officer, and you will be thrown into prison. (26) I assure you: You will never get out of there until you have paid the last penny!”

So watching Jesus in His ministry is to observe the Holy Spirit at work!

Matt. 12:28, “But if I cast out demons by the Spirit of God, surely the kingdom of God has come upon you”

Mark 2:8, “But immediately, when Jesus perceived in His spirit that they reasoned thus within themselves, He said to them, “Why do you reason about these things in your hearts?”

Luke 10:21, “In that hour Jesus rejoiced in the Spirit and said, “I thank You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, that You have hidden these things from the wise and prudent and revealed them to babes. Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in Your sight.”

God Bless!

I hope this message will bless you richly…not because I taught it, but because it reveals Christ. He alone is our blessing and if in any way – whether big or small, 100% accurate or even just partially so – I have revealed our great God and Savior to you in a relationally knowable way, then this was time well spent on both our parts.

We at Living Grace Fellowship encourage you to place your trust in Jesus Christ, deliberately choosing Him and bowing the knee to Him as your Master and Lord, so as to come to realize Him as your Savior.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. The fact that you exist… that you are His creation, says you were in His heart, you are His delight!

If you do not know Him, please reach out to us. Give us a call at the number located on every page of this website or use our ‘Contact Us‘ page. We would be deeply honored, if you gave us the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will EVER be mentioned.

If you HAVE been spiritually fed by this ministry and WANT to give, we truly appreciate that and you may do so here, but please understand that all the outreaches of this ministry are FREE for you and anyone to enjoy at no cost.

Blessings!

Pastor Mark

View posts by Pastor Mark

Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!