#7
SERIES ON THE HOLY SPIRIT
"THE HOLY SPIRIT OVERCOMES"
TEXT: 1
John 4:1-6 Rom.
8:15-17
INTRO: When a fine
woodworker wants to make a special piece of furniture that displays the highest
quality wood he goes to a lumber yard to request logs from an unexpected
place. He will ignore the trees
that came from the valleys, even if they are perfectly straight and without
knots in them, even if they look smooth.
What he wants are logs that come from the very tops of mountains, the
ones that are in pitiful shape because of all the wind storms that soar over the
mountains, he wants the trees that face the constant exposure to harsh elements
on top of the hill. What does he
know that he would choose these badly beaten trees? Because these trees are constantly being
tested by the elements their grains in the trunks become very fine and closely
packed giving them extra strength.
This finely tightly packed grain is what gives this wood the beauty and
durability that make fine furniture that will last for centuries. Something in
the wood responds to the pressures of life, and this enables these trees to
overcome and produce the finest and most durable
wood.
This is what happens to Christians, the Holy Spirit lives in us and helps
us to grow stronger and stronger the more that comes against us, the Holy Spirit
actually helps us develop as overcomers so that no matter what storms come
against us we can not only overcome but become beautiful in spite of the
storms. The main source of this
strength from the Holy Spirit comes from the Bible which was authored by the
Holy Spirit. He uses this to
protect us from the world's onslaught of evil.
PROP. SENT: The Bible teaches us that the Holy
Spirit enables us to be overcomers, He does this through the Holy Scriptures by
teaching us God's truth and by helping us endure the hardships of life so we can
overcome any deception or attack that the enemy of our soul might throw our
way.
I. THE SPIRIT OF ANTICHRIST 1 Jn.
4:1-6
A. Testing
1 Jn.
4:1-3
1. We are living in the
days of the fantastic and the unbelievable!
a. There is so much new
technology, who can keep up with it all?
b. All kinds of
spectacular things are happening, things that are hard to
comprehend!
c. People want to be
excited, they want to be amazed, they want to be
thrilled!
d. In this age of the
spectacular the Holy Spirit calls us to be ready to overcome, to be
level headed while being open!
2. This is not new!
The early church witnessed the same
desire for the spectacular, for the mind-boggling
experiences.
a. The Gnostics
provided them a good show ... teaching all kinds of great new secret
truths.
b. They had fantastic
prophecies that tickled their imaginations.
c. Today we have the
“Psychic friend’s network” and shows that glorify “mediums” as saviors and
helpers of mankind.
d. There is no lack of
interest in the weird today.
3. In the midst of all
this spiritual activity ... like that of today with all the new age interest in
the spiritual realm, John calls upon the Christians to "test the
spirits!"
a. The Holy Spirit's
presence in our lives encourages us to “test the
spirits” not to just swallow anything that comes along that is
suppose to be from God!
b. God created us with
faculties of reason and knowledge ... they are to be used, not made fun of or
put down.
ILLUS: D.L.
MOODY SAID, "THE
4. The Bible predicted
that in the last days there will be “deceiving spirits” going around, that if it
were possible, they would even fool the very elect of
God!
a. Notice this verse in
Matt. 24:24 "For false
Christs and false prophets will appear and perform great signs and miracles to
deceive even the elect, if that were possible. See, I have told you ahead of
time."
b. These were Jesus'
own words to His disciples! We
should not be surprised to see what we are seeing today with all the interest in
the spectacular and supernatural.
c. The implication is
that in the last days people will not be well grounded in truth ... we will be
taken by the spectacular, the exciting, a people looking for something
thrilling.
5. The word to
believers here is to be prepared to “TEST THE
SPIRITS!”
a. This is the “spirit of
antichrist” ... seeking thrills, even spiritual thrills without
testing the expressions against a sure straight stick ... the Word of
God!
b. The Holy Spirit
helps us to overcome, primarily through the Word of
God!
c. Thus we need this
tool in our hearts and minds; it will protect us more than anything else against
the false expressions. The Bible is
the work of the Holy Spirit, thus the Spirit overcomes for us through this
Book!
d. Experts on
counterfeit money don’t study counterfeits for hours on end; they study the real
thing for hours so they can easily spot a counterfeit. The better they know the real thing the
better they can spot the counterfeit.
6. These false prophets
and spirits ignore or fail to acknowledge that Jesus is the God-man, and that
only His work can save us!
a. False prophets
emphasize everything but Jesus!
b. They don't seek
to point people to Jesus, and if they do, they point people to a Jesus that
doesn't line up with Scripture!
c. This is the first
great test of the true Spirit, the Holy Spirit always puts Jesus as the focus
and the Holy Spirit always lifts Jesus up, not Himself, or the self proclaimed
prophet himself!
B. Truth
1 Jn.
4:4-6
1. While the world toys
with Truth, mixing falsehoods in with truth, we who are saved have a "sure word of
prophecy" ... the Bible!
2. We can and will
overcome the world because greater is the Holy Spirit that is in us than the
spirits that are in the world that are deceiving people! 4:4
a. The reason the world
listens to these deceivers is because they don't know the truth ... thus they
are easy candidates for buying into falsehoods that sound
true!
b. When they speak from
a worldly view ... those in the world listen, it’s like playing their
song!
c. We however know
better! We have the Scriptures, the
fountain of truth and the “Spirit of truth” as the Holy Spirit is
sometimes called in the Bible to lead us and guide us into all
truth! John 16:13
3. We are not of the
world anymore after we get saved, we have a whole different way at looking at
truth, we see truth through Scripture, God's very eyes to us, we cannot be OF
the world any longer, even if we still must be IN the
world!
ILLUS: IT
IS RIGHT FOR THE CHURCH TO BE IN THE WORLD, BUT IT IS WRONG FOR THE WORLD TO BE
IN THE CHURCH. A BOAT IN WATER IS
GOOD, BUT WATER IN THE BOAT IS BAD!
ONLY GOD'S WORD WILL KEEP THE CHURCH AFLOAT IN A
4. The whole concept
here of us being overcomers has to do with the Holy Spirit in our lives working
through the Scriptures, God's truth!
5. Everything should
be tested by God's Word, it is the straight stick the Holy Spirit lays down
beside any crooked one for us to compare it
with!
II. THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION!
A. Triumph!
Rom.
1. We are not overcome
with fear anymore because in Christ we are now sons and
daughters!
a. We have been
adopted!
b. This adoption alone
has made us overcomers already, we have overcome death in Christ and we will
rise again to live with Him forever!
c. With a new nature
that we receive in Christ we can overcome sin
also!
2. We are no longer “slaves" we are “sons!”
a. Therefore, we no
longer have to fear!
b. We belong to God; we
carry His name and now His nature!
c. This sonship gives
us access to the Holy Spirit which in turns gives us victory through knowledge
of His Word and by His empowering nature in us as we walk with
God!
3. This sonship removes
from us the fear of being overcome and gives us the confidence and strength to
know that we will be overcomers!
ILLUS: THE
SCENE IS A COURTROOM, ROBED IN A BLACK GOWN THE JUDGE MAKES HIS WAY TO THE
BENCH, TAKES HIS SEAT AND THE PRISONER IS LED IN WITH HANDCUFFS AND SEATED
BEFORE THE JUDGE. HE IS NERVOUS AND
AFRAID; THIS MAN SITTING UP THERE IN THE BLACK GOWN HAS THE POWER TO PRONOUNCE
SENTENCE ON HIM, HE SITS AFRAID. IN
THE MIDST OF THIS, A YOUNG BOY SUDDENLY COMES INTO THE COURT AND RUNS JOYFULLY
UP TO THE JUDGE AND WHISPERS IN THE JUDGES EAR. THE JUDGE IS SEEN PULLING A QUARTER OUT
OF HIS POCKET AND WITH GREAT JOY HANDING IT TO THE LITTLE BOY WHO TAKES IT AND
RUNS FROM THE COURTROOM WITH A BIG SMILE.
THIS WAS THE JUDGE’S SON, HE ENTERED THE COURT WITH NO FEAR AND WENT TO
HIS FATHER THE JUDGE WITH ANTICIPATION AND CONFIDENCE, FOR HE IS NO PRISONER, HE
IS THE SON! ONLY THE PRISONERS OF
SIN FEAR FACING GOD ... WE WHO HAVE BEEN ADOPTED AS SONS NO LONGER HAVE FEAR, WE
ARE OVERCOMERS!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. No wonder Paul says
here that we call Him, "Abba father," or as it is translated best from
the Greek, "dear daddy!"
a. The Spirit of
sonship is the sealing of the Holy Spirit in our lives as evidence of our
adoption!
b. The Holy Spirit
lives in us when we get saved, and He is the evidence of that salvation, always
drawing us toward works of grace and into the Bible as God's
Word!
B. Testimony
1. Here Paul spells it
out, the Holy Spirit gives an inner witness with our human Spirit that there has
indeed been a change!
a. Where before we were
not interested that much in spiritual things, we are
now!
b. Where we once felt
alienated from God we now feel close to Him.
c. Where we once took
little or no interest in the Bible we now have a desire to know what God's Word
says and means!
d. There is a marked
difference in our lives, one that is witnessed by others as a result of the Holy
Spirit prodding us on to live a holy life!
2. Even suffering
doesn't destroy us or our faith, in fact it makes us stronger as the Holy Spirit
gives witness to our spirit that God is doing a work of grace to strengthen us
through these trials!
a. This is what
happened to Jesus, He overcame trials without becoming bitter against His
father, for He knew that God the Father was using these things to bring
salvation to man!
b. Trials only make
Christians stronger, we are like tea; the more hot water we get into, the
stronger we are!
3. Do others know that
we belong to Christ, the world is hungry to see real spirituality, to see real
Christians, people who are Christ-like!
a. Is it “like father,
like son?”
b. The Holy Spirit
counts on using us to get the message to others, if we overcome, then others
will see that it is possible in Christ to
overcome!
ILLUS: YEARS
AGO A PREACHER CAME TO UNDERSTAND THIS TRUTH OF HOW THE WORLD IS LOOKING FOR THE
REAL THING. HE WAS WORKING ON A
PROJECT OUTSIDE; HAMMERING AWAY AS HE BUILT. A YOUNG BOY STOOD NEARBY WATCHING
HIM. FOR THE LONGEST TIME THE BOY
JUST STOOD THERE WATCHING HIM AND NOT SAYING A WORD. THE PREACHER KEPT WORKING ... THINKING THE BOY WAS ADMIRING HIM FOR HIS
GOOD WORK. FINALLY, THE PASTOR
THOUGHT HE WOULD ASK THE BOY IF HE HAD ANY QUESTIONS OR WOULD LIKE SOME POINTERS
ON THE FINE WORK HE WAS DOING, THINKING HE COULD TEACH THE BOY SOMETHING. THE BOY RESPONDED HOWEVER, "NO ... I'M
JUST HANGING AROUND WAITING FOR YOU TO HIT YOUR THUMB WITH THAT HAMMER, I'M
CURIOUS WHAT A PREACHER SAYS WHEN HE HITS HIS THUMB WITH A HAMMER!" THE WORLD IS
WATCHING!
– SOURCE UNKNOWN
4. The world needs to
see the presence of the Holy Spirit, this happens as they watch the Holy Spirit
working through us and upholding God's Word in our daily lives, this is the real
meaning of being an overcomer!
a. Nothing will attract
more people to Jesus Christ than overcoming Christians who practice what they
preach!
b. This is the
essential meaning of being a "witness!"
c. As the Holy Spirit
bears witness to our spirit, we bear witness to the world of
Christ!
CONCLUSION: The Holy Spirit enables us to be
overcomers; He does this by revealing to us the truth about sin, and the truth
about Jesus! The Holy Spirit
constantly keeps us focused on Jesus, who He is and what He has done, this makes
it possible for us to be overcomers.
The main foundation for this truth is Scripture, authored by the Holy
Spirit. God's Spirit brings the
word alive in us and helps us recall it so we can
overcome!