Worship for 13 February 2022

by Roy Milward 13 February 2022

As we continue to look at the apostle’s creed today, we are thinking about ‘I believe in the Holy Spirit’ 

Who is the Holy Spirit?

How does the Holy Spirit make a difference in our lives?

Hymn: Let your living water flow over my soul

Let us pray.
Lord as we come to spend time with you today, we pray that we may know the power and presence of the Holy Spirit.

How can I not praise you, Lord of my life, for in Christ you have given me all things?
In Christ you have given me hope,
In Christ you have given me faith.
In Christ you have given me love
In Christ you have given me peace
In Christ you have given me sisters and brothers.
In Christ you have given me a new purpose.
In Christ you have given me forgiveness.
In Christ you have given me the Holy Spirit.

Hymn: Spirit of the living God

Readings: 1 Corinthians 12: 4-6 Luke 3: 15-22

Hymn: I stand amazed in the presence of Jesus the Nazarene

Let us pray
Lord, we thank you for the gift of your Word and as we think on these things, open our hearts and our minds to hear you and through the Holy Spirit empower us to live in the light of the gospel, declaring its truth with our words, and embodying this truth through our actions.
Give us love for you and love for one another. Amen

The Gift of God’s Holy Spirit.
Who is the Holy Spirit and how does the Holy Spirit make a difference in our lives?
We are now in the sixth of the series in an exploration of the Apostles Creed.  “I believe in the Holy Spirit” but what do we believe and know?

Introduction
In our reading from Luke’s Gospel we look again at the message of John the Baptist.  This was the climax of John’s message:  “I baptize you with water.  But one who is more powerful than I will come, he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire”.  John was announcing the coming of Jesus, God’s promised Messiah or Deliverer.  In Acts also written by Luke, Jesus baptizes with the Holy Spirit those who come to Him.

Who is the Holy Spirit? 
When we talk about God the Father, we can understand the concept of a Father, when we talk about God the Son, again we can understand a Son, but what happens when we say, God the Holy Spirit? 

People can understand something they see or know, but we can’t see the Spirit. However, the Holy Spirit is God, He’s not an “IT”, but a person of the Godhead, and He is in every believer. The Holy Spirit does today what Jesus did 2000 years ago.

Jesus’ ministry on earth was to teach the things of the Father. He explained the law, showed people their sin, and brought comfort to those who believed. The role of the Spirit in us is to remind us of the Words of Christ. He is actively doing the work of Christ, and was sent by Christ to indwell believers. He lives inside of us, he cleans out the unwanted parts of us and gives power to those who allow Him to fill each part of their lives. We live in a hard and difficult world, and God’s Spirit working in us helps us to keep our footing, and to stand firm in faith.

When we accept Jesus our Lord, and Saviour, we receive the Holy Spirit. God’s Spirit is inside every believer, all the time. You don’t have to experience earth shaking “feelings” or emotions, you don’t have to jump, shout, cry, roll on the floor, or have any such outward displays of physical emotions to be indwelt with the spirit.

I am sure we have all at some time travelled on the London underground where you will see three rails.  The wheels sits on the two but without the third rail – the rail supplying the power nothing moves. You can’t see the power but without it the train stands still.  From that rail the power enters the motor and causes the rotor to turn and the wheels to move. It’s quite invisible.

• The Holy Spirit enters, and establishes a new relationship with us and God but this is only the beginning of His work in us. The Holy Spirit marks us as belonging to God. Ephesians 1:13-14 He is our seal of salvation, so that God can see from Heaven and know us to be His sons and daughters, He becomes our direct line, through Jesus, to the Father. He convicts us of sin and the need for righteousness in our lives. John 16:8 He teaches us to obey the Lord and to trust Him to direct our every step, and to put all our cares on Him for He is greater than any problem. Through the Spirit we learn to develop greater reliance on the Lord, and less on human wisdom, or strength, or our own abilities.  And like the third rail of the train we keep being filled.
  
  The Holy Spirit
• Knows our search for truth in the visible world is futile, we must seek God’s Word. 
  John 17-7 John 16-13 He teaches us ways to see things deeper than what is on the surface, to help point out blind spots in our minds eye to those areas that are not completely yielded, or fully surrendered to God.
   
• Helps us to know God. 
  Ephesians 1:17 - 18 He makes us wise and reveals God to us, and He helps us to understand the mind of God. Without the Spirit, you cannot understand the things of God. We need spiritual “eyes” in our hearts in order to see God and His ways more clearly.  That’s when we begin to understand the mind of God, how He thinks, and how that knowledge will help us in our daily walk. 
  Remember the more we want to know of Him, the more the Spirit reveals to us.
   
• Helps us to learn and to think like God. 
  When His Spirit takes over our thoughts, that’s when things happen. Our priorities change. Before Christ, it was all about me, what I could do, what I wanted, what I thought was best. We don’t belong to ourselves anymore, we belong to God. We’ve been bought by a price and are no longer our own. We become better because God’s Spirit is a superior influence in our life, not because we are superior as individuals.
   
• Gives wisdom beyond our natural abilities, as we learn to listen to Him. 
  James 3:17 If we allow ourselves to be totally immersed in God, to focus on His thoughts, then we can do powerful things in this world.
   
• Helps us to pray. He guides us in what to pray for and how to pray.  
  Romans 8:26 When we are committed to praying seriously, the Spirit helps us know what to pray for and can bring God’s power into the lives of those we care about through intercession.
   
• Seeks to bring greater joy to the Lord through every believer. 
  John 16-14 He gives gifts to whomever He will for the purpose of giving glory to God.
  1 Corinthians 12:4-6.  Our motivation for receiving the Holy Spirit is not to have a ‘gift’ but to want to be everything that God wants us to be, and not miss out on the blessings he wants to give us. The Spirit gives us power to see God’s purpose for our life. God has called each of us to follow Him and has given us a purpose and a hope. That’s our reason for following Him and for doing what we do, how very great is His power at work in us.

In short, we belong to God!  
Ask the Father to give you the Spirit and believe he will (Luke 11:13) until you know you are filled with the Spirit.  

Let us pray
God of heaven and earth we thank you that you love us all so much that you gave us your Son.  You gave Him power and strength through the Holy Spirit.
We thank you that you promise to us the power of the Holy Spirit to work within us, to guide us in your ways and strengthen us in your service.  Thank you for your promise always to love us, to always be at your side and to give us a FRESH START EVERY DAY.  Amen

Hymn: Holy Spirit, Living Breath of God

Prayers of Intercession including the Lord’s Prayer.
Lord Jesus, I come to you today and thank you for the privilege of praying for others. I've been the recipient of others' prayers so often, I understand how powerful intercessory prayer can be. 
I ask you first to cleanse my heart and show me if there is any unconfessed sin in my own life so that my prayers for others will not be hindered. 
I thank you that through your name, I can come boldly before you and pray with confidence, according to your will and know that you hear me.

Holy Spirit who descended upon Jesus at his baptism, we pray that you come as a dove of peace into all places and situations.

Silence

Come, Holy Spirit as we lift up those in our city, in our neighbourhood and in our church. Begin with those who follow you, and help them influence others for good. Let them be salt and light, pointing others to you. Deepen their love for you and for the people around them. Guard them from hypocrisy or from giving in to temptations that could harm the cause of Christ.  Let them feel the power of your Holy Spirit.

Come, Holy Spirit as we raise up leaders who will serve you faithfully at all costs. Turn the hearts of fathers toward their children, and families toward you. Help them to exemplify your values, and make them bold in their faith.  Lord. May our love for You help us to love and forgive others and make a difference in our World?

Come, Holy Spirit as we pray for the lost, the hurting, the lonely, the sick, the bereaved, and those who are imprisoned—behind both visible and invisible walls.  Send your comfort, your peace, and your calming presence to those who are without hope. Protect the defenceless, and hold them close to your heart. 
Come, Holy Spirit as we pray for labourers to tell the good news of Jesus to people around our world. Jesus, our heart cries out for persecuted believers, too. Make them brave, and give them your powerful protection.  So many needs, Jesus, but you are adequate for every need. Your name is powerful, and your power is great. So it's in your name that we pray—and believe.

And finally in this time of quiet we ask your dove to rest on each one of us with peace, wisdom and comfort that we may live as Jesus lived.
Come, Holy Spirit, Come.  Amen

Let us join together as we say the Lord’s prayer:
Our Father, who art in heaven hallowed be Thy name; Thy Kingdom come; Thy will be done; on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us.
And lead us not into temptation; but deliver us from evil.
For Thine is the Kingdom, the power and the glory, for ever and ever.  Amen

Hymn: Tell out my soul the greatness of the Lord

Blessing
May the road rise up to meet you
May the wind be always at your back
May the sun shine warm upon your face.
May the rain fall soft upon your fields
And until we meet again, may God hold you in the hollow of His hands Amen