06 Sep MVMT 01 – The promise of the Holy Spirit

Acts 1:1-8

In the first book, O Theophilus, I have dealt with all that Jesus began to do and teach, ² until the day when he was taken up, after he had given commands through the Holy Spirit to the apostles whom he had chosen. ³ He presented himself alive to them after his suffering by many proofs, appearing to them during forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God. ⁴ And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, “you heard from me; ⁵ for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.” ⁶ So when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” ⁷ He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. ⁸ But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.”

What if I say to you that Jesus wants you to do greater works than him? Would you believe it? Before you throw stones at me and call me a heretic, this is the word of Jesus himself. John 14:12 – Truly, truly, I say to you, whoever believes in me will also do the works that I do; and greater works than these will he do, because I am going to the Father. Whoever believes in Jesus means that this promise does not only belong to the apostles. It belongs to everyone who believes that Jesus is God. Whoever believes in Jesus will do the works that Jesus does. Jesus goes on to say that whoever believes in him will not only do the works that he does but also greater works than Jesus. So, the works that we will do not only reflect the works of Jesus but greater than the works of Jesus. I think there are two ways we can understand what Jesus means by greater works. First, our works will be greater than Jesus because when Jesus said it, he has yet to die for the sins of the people and be exalted to the highest place. The gospel is yet to be completed. But today we have the complete gospel. Our message is not Jesus will do but Jesus has done all the works for our salvation. That’s the first one. The second is to carry the works of Jesus further than Jesus can. In his lifetime, Jesus’ works are mostly limited to Israel. But we are to carry the works of Jesus to Judea, Samaria and to the end of the earth.

The book of Acts is the story of the greater works. It is written by the same Luke who wrote the gospel of Luke. You can think of the book of Acts as Luke season 2. In the gospel of Luke, Luke focuses on the life and works of Jesus. In the book of Acts, Luke focuses on the works of the Holy Spirit. In this book, we will see the gospel spread from Judea to different parts of the world. The book of Acts is the story of the gospel movement. And I desire to see the gospel movement happening in our church and our city. That we will play part in the greater works. Because the promise of the greater works does not only belong to the apostles. It belongs to whoever believes in Jesus. It is important to note that the book of Acts begins with Jesus telling his disciples to wait for the promise of the Holy Spirit. Think about it. Jesus has just been resurrected from death. What would you do if you were the apostles? If I see a man who was crucified before my eyes resurrected from death, I am ready. “Jesus, what you do want me to do? Do you want me to gather soldiers and start a war against the Roman empire? I am ready. Just say the word.” But Jesus says, “No, it is not the time yet to restore the kingdom of Israel. But I want you to be my witnesses. However, you are not ready yet. I want you to wait for the Holy Spirit to come. You won’t be able to do it on your own. You need to be baptised with the Holy Spirit first.” And look at verse 8. This is the mission statement of the book of Acts. Acts 1:8 – But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth. The first thing the apostles must do after the resurrection and the ascension of Jesus is to wait for the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit, they will not be able to do the greater works that Jesus wants them to do. The Holy Spirit holds the power for the gospel movement. That is why today I want to talk about the Holy Spirit.

The topic of the Holy Spirit is one that created many controversies in Christian circles for the past hundred years. There are two main camps regarding the works of the Holy Spirit. One is called the cessationist. They believe that some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit have ceased and some still continue today. The other is called the continuationist. They believe that all the gifts of the Holy Spirit still continue today. Let’s take a poll. How many of you believe some of the gifts of the Holy Spirit no longer continue today? How many of you believe that all the gifts of the Spirit still continue today? How many of you play safe and wait for the next “Titik Temu” first before you decide? Let me open my card. I am a continuationist. I believe all the gifts of the Spirit still continue today. I know I do not sound like a typical charismatic preacher but I am. I believe in the continuation of gifts of healing, speaking in tongue and all other supernatural gifts of the Spirit. But I also have a very high view of the Bible in that the Bible tells us how we should operate in these gifts. The Bible is not silent on the matter and there are many charismatic practices that are not in line with the Bible. Anyway, stay tuned for the next “Titik Temu.”

So, I acknowledge that there have been lots of abuses regarding the gifts of the Spirit in the charismatic circle. Let me give you one example. A charismatic preacher was preaching in the Christian channel and he was trying to get people to give money to his ministry. He said that the Holy Spirit led him to say that just like the poor widow gave all she had for Elijah, if people would just send him the little amount that they had left on their credit card, God would honour their faith and give them a new BMW in the next few months. Their neighbours would be amazed as they drove down the street in their new BMW, smiling and giving glory to God. Well, I too am a charismatic. And I think the Holy Spirit tells me to punch this preacher in the face. Right? They used out of context verses in the Bible to manipulate people. Let me give you a rule of thumb. If someone is using verses in the Bible out of context, it does not come from the Holy Spirit. So, this is what some unhealthy charismatics do with the Holy Spirit. This is wrong.

However, it is also wrong to go to the other extreme. The extremist on the other side almost never talk about the Holy Spirit unless they have too. They have seen the damages and the chaos created by the unhealthy charismatic and they decided to stay as far away from it as possible. It’s been said that their Trinity is God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Bible. They don’t know what to do with the Holy Spirit. They believed in the Holy Spirit, but the Holy Spirit is more like a theory. They can explain it, but they have no communion with him. They have a very high view of the Bible, which is good, but they neglect the Holy Spirit, which is unhealthy.

We’ll talk more about the life of greater works in the coming weeks but today I want to focus on the Holy Spirit and the primary works of the Holy Spirit. For that, we will turn to John 14 to 16. On the night before the crucifixion, Jesus promises his disciples that he will send the Holy Spirit. I only have two major points tonight. The who of the Holy Spirit and the works of the Holy Spirit.

The who of the Holy Spirit

John 14:16-17 – ¹⁶ And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, ¹⁷ even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.

There is a small problem with verse 16. The problem is in the word Helper. If you look at different translations of the Bible, they will translate the word Helper differently. Some translate it as Comforter, Counsellor or Advocate. ESV chooses the word Helper. Why the variation on translation? Because there is no one English word that can communicate what Jesus is saying. In one sense, every translation is right. The Holy Spirit is a helper who helps you when you are weak. He is a comforter who comforts you when you are broken-hearted. He is a counsellor who counsels you through difficulties. He is an advocate who defends your case. Yet at the same time, none of the translation gets it right. Holy Spirit is more than just a Helper. He is more than just a Comforter, Counsellor or Advocate. He is all that and more. The Greek word that Jesus uses is “Paraclete” which means to come alongside. The Holy Spirit is someone who comes alongside you to be with you. And he is not with you temporarily. Jesus says that the Holy Spirit will be with you forever. I love this. That means once you have the Holy Spirit, you cannot lose the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit will never abandon you. Yes, you can grieve the Holy Spirit, but you cannot lose him. He will be with you to the very end.

Jesus also calls the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth. It means that the Holy Spirit communicates nothing but the truth. The Holy Spirit cannot lie. The word of the Holy Spirit is and will always be consistent with the truth of the Bible. The world does not receive him because the world is in rebellion against God. They do not want the truth. They prefer to live in the darkness. But watch what Jesus says next. “You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.” With another word, the Holy Spirit is someone that you can know. The Holy Spirit is not a force. He is not energy. He is a person. He is someone you can be with. In fact, he is so close to you that he not only dwells with you, but he is also in you.

I know it is breathtaking already. But there is more. Jesus tells his disciples that they already know the Holy Spirit for the Holy Spirit already dwells with them. This is strange. The Holy Spirit has yet to be poured out. Pentecost has not happened. How can the apostles know the Holy Spirit already? The answer lies in the word that Jesus used to describe the Holy Spirit. Jesus says that he will give them “another” Paraclete. The word that Jesus used for another is not the word that describes another of a different type. He uses the word “allon” which describes another of the exact same type. Which mean that Jesus is the first Paraclete. Jesus is saying that knowing Jesus is like knowing the Holy Spirit. They are two different people and yet they are so one that knowing one is to know the other. With another word, the Holy Spirit is not only a person, but he is also God. He is a Divine Person. He is exactly like Jesus. So here is what Jesus is saying. “I am going to send to you another Paraclete. But you already know that Paraclete. I am the first Paraclete. But I am going to go away, and I will send another Paraclete who is just like me. He will be everything I am for you. He will continue my works with you. He will be with you forever. And he will be in you.” *Mind explodes*

Let me give you one application on what it means to have the Holy Spirit in you. Jesus is abundantly clear that the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person. He is God. He is not a force. I have heard many misinterpretations of the Holy Spirit. The most common one is one that describes the Holy Spirit like an electrical outlet. They said that to be filled with the Holy Spirit is like being connected to the power socket. How many of you ever charge your phone before bed and wake up with an empty battery? What happened? The charger is not connected to the power socket. So, if you want to be filled with the Holy Spirit, you must be connected to the source. When you do, you will feel the spiritual shock aka anointing. Or, what about this one. The Holy Spirit is like petrol. Without petrol, your car won’t run. So, for you to be able to drive your car, you need to continually fill it with petrol. These illustrations make sense. I think they are cute. But they are very wrong. Because the Holy Spirit is not a force but a person. The way you approach a force and a person is very different. If we think of the Holy Spirit as a force, we will ask, “How can I get more of the Holy Spirit?” If we think of the Holy Spirit as a person, we will ask, “How can I know more of the Holy Spirit?” One is mechanical, one is organic. One is about doing the right thing and pressing the right button, the other is about a relationship.

How are you filled with a person? Let me put it this way. Almost every once a year since this church started, my parents would invite Ps Timotius Arifin and his wife to Sydney. If you do not know, Ps Timotius is our big boss. He is like the godfather of ROCK churches all over the world. And let me tell you, every time they come to Sydney, everything in my house changes. Some of you have been to my house before. It is always clean. But when they come to Sydney, my house is even cleaner than usual. And we would have luxurious meals all the time. I loved it even though I feel sorry for my parents since they have to pay for it. Everyone is on their best behaviour. Including me. Little things around the house that usually annoy me and make me upset does not matter as much anymore. Because we are in the presence of someone great. This is what it means to have the Holy Spirit in your life. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to have your life transformed by the awareness of the glorious person who lives in you. To be filled with the Holy Spirit is to have Christ awareness. You lived your life in constant wonder and amazement of the fact that Christ is in living in you through the Holy Spirit.

The works of the Holy Spirit

I think we can sum up the primary works of the Holy Spirit into three. First, the Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible. John 14:25-26 – ²⁵ “These things I have spoken to you while I am still with you. ²⁶ But 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. Jesus says to the apostles that the Holy Spirit will help them remember everything that Jesus told them. I love it. This is why we can trust the Bible. Have you ever wondered how did the apostles manage to remember and write down everything that Jesus taught? In fact, how can they come to a full and accurate understanding of the words and works of Christ? Because while Jesus was alive, the apostles kept missing the point. Right? One time Jesus told them, “Guys, I am going to die soon.” And the next minutes the apostles were fighting about who gets to sit on Jesus’ right and left. How can we trust these dudes? It is because the Holy Spirit is working in them and help them remember and understand everything that Jesus has said to them. The apostles are not writing a new revelation, but a fuller complete revelation of what Jesus has taught them. So even though the Bible is written by men, it is inspired by the Holy Spirit. It is the Spirit of Truth that created the Bible.

However, it works differently for us today. Today, we no longer write the Bible. That application is specific to the apostles of Christ. So, don’t come to me and say that the Holy Spirit has given you a vision that the Bible is incomplete, and you have been given the missing revelation. That’s not the Holy Spirit. That’s Heineken spirit. Today, we no longer need a new revelation from God. What we need is an illumination of God’s revelation in the Bible. And that’s what the Spirit of Truth does in us. The Holy Spirit helps us to understand the Bible. It is one thing to read the Bible. It is another to have the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see the beauty of Christ in the Bible. Paul describes it as a light that shines in our darkness. One moment, it is dark. You can’t see anything. Then someone suddenly switches on the light. You can see what you did not see before. I recently got a new iPad. Before this one, my old iPad was more than five years old. I was happy with it. It worked fine. But since I was about to graduate, I thought I might as well use the student discount to get a new iPad. And let me tell you, I am not going back to my old iPad. I can’t. Why? Because my new iPad has shown me a whole new world, a new fantastic point of view. It showed me what high definition colours actually look like. Compare to my new iPad, my old iPad looks like black and white. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. The Holy Spirit turns the black and white of the Bible into 4K. You are still seeing and reading the same word on the same page but in so much more beauty and definition. So, when you read the Bible, you not only see truth but beauty.

I think this is where some charismatics get it wrong. Some charismatic get it wrong in that they try to emphasis experience of the Holy Spirit outside of the Bible. They emphasis on vision, chaotic experiences, slain in the Spirit, holy laughter etc. They are very experiential-driven. However, some of the reformed also get it wrong. They make the Holy Spirit all about doctrine and teaching of the Bible and very little experience. I don’t think you can separate the two. There is a profound and inseparable unity between the Holy Spirit and the Bible. The Holy Spirit makes the letters of the Bible come alive to us and it creates a wonderful experience. For many years, I thought I knew a lot about the Bible. I grew up as a pastor’s kid and got lots of stars in Sunday school. I even taught Sunday school when I was 13. But when I went to college and the Holy Spirit opened my eyes, all sort of things that I thought I knew, I experienced it in a new way that I have not before. Like, I always know that God loves me. But when the Holy Spirit illuminates the Bible for me, in the words of Dr Martyn Lloyd Jones, it is like a father who is walking with his son. The son always knows that his father loves him. He feels safe and secure with his father walking beside him. But then suddenly his father lifts him, kisses him, hugs him, and says to him, “I love you and you are mine.” That’s a sweet and glorious experience that is different from mere knowledge of the father’s love. That’s what the Holy Spirit does in us. He illuminates the Bible and makes us experience the beauty of Christ. And we need to be reminded of this constantly as we are a forgetful people.

Second, the Holy Spirit convicts the world. John 16:7-11 – ⁷ Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. ⁸ And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: ⁹ concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; ¹⁰ concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; ¹¹ concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. This is very interesting and counter-intuitive. Think about it. Jesus says that is to our advantage that he goes away. Because if he does not die and ascend to his throne, there will be no Holy Spirit for us. Holy Spirit can only be given to us after Jesus finished his works. But do we really believe that it is to our advantage that Jesus goes away? Imagine if one day I stand in front of you and announce my resignation from being your pastor. How many of you will be sad? Don’t raise your hand because I’ll be sad. But I think at least a few of you might be sad for me. But then I say, “Good news RSI. Even though I resign as your pastor, we have found the perfect replacement. Apparently, Jesus sent his resume and he will be your new pastor.” Now, how many of you would be excited about having Jesus as your new pastor? Those who were sad about me a few seconds ago are now completely forgotten the fact that I just resigned. Right? It is extremely awesome to have Jesus beside you. But here Jesus tells us, “Don’t get excited at the prospect of having me as your new pastor. You should be far more excited about having the Holy Spirit in you.” Do we think that way about the Holy Spirit?

And here is what the Holy Spirit does. He convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. The Holy Spirit will make the world painfully aware of their sin, their refusal to trust in Jesus. The Holy Spirit will make the world see the insufficiency of their own righteousness. Their righteousness is like a filthy rag in the eyes of God. And the Holy Spirit will make the world see that just as Satan will be judged, they too will be judged. The Holy Spirit convicts the world. But how does he do that? It is not automatic. The Holy Spirit does his works through us. Jesus sends the Holy Spirit to us and the Holy Spirit dwells inside of us and we continue the works of Jesus. We are the means by which the Holy Spirit convicts the world. Remember that when Jesus is on earth, he is limited by time and space. But now, every believer has the Holy Spirit inside of them and it is through us that the world will see the works of Jesus. Christians are the means by which the Holy Spirit does his work in the world. When you are filled with the Holy Spirit and you carry the works of Christ, you convict the world of sin, righteousness, and judgement. In another word, when the world sees you, they see Christ in you. So, we not only have one Jesus, we have millions of Jesus living out the gospel and calling the people of the world into repentance. How amazing is that?

Third, the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus. John 16:12-15 – ¹² “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. ¹³ When 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. ¹⁴ He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. ¹⁵ All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. I love it. Many scholars refer to the Holy Spirit as the shy member of the Trinity. Why? Because the Holy Spirit does not like to cast the spotlight on himself. Get this. The Holy Spirit is supremely Christocentric. The primary purpose of the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to glorify Jesus. That means that all the gifts and the works of the Holy Spirit are intended to direct your attention on Jesus and create affection for Jesus. Any teaching that exalts Holy Spirit over Jesus is unbiblical. In fact, I am convinced that the reason that there are many negative excesses when we talk about the gifts of the Spirit is because many people have put the spotlight on the Holy Spirit rather than Jesus. They miss the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit. But it does not mean that we should ignore the Holy Spirit. Just because he is shy does not mean he is not present. But we must acknowledge that the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit is to make much of Jesus.

J.I. Packer puts this beautifully. One day he was preaching on the Holy Spirit and he was looking for a good illustration. On the way to preach, he saw a floodlight. He saw a floodlight lighting up an old building, which didn’t look very good at daytime but looked beautiful at night. As he was driving, he suddenly realized he could not even tell where the floodlight was. And he thought, “That’s it. That’s the works of the Holy Spirit.” The job of the floodlight is not to call attention to itself but to show the beauty and the magnificence of the object it is flooding. The Holy Spirit’s job is not to say, “Look at me. Look at my power. Look at my anointing.” The Holy Spirit’s job is to say, “Look at Jesus. Look at the beauty of what he has done. Look at his glory. Do you see Jesus?”

Let me put it this way. How do you know when someone is filled with the Holy Spirit? Let me tell you how. Because the Holy Spirit never draws attention to himself, a Spirit-filled person should never draw attention to himself either. A Spirit-filled person does not talk much about himself and his accomplishment. He doesn’t talk much about the vision and the miracles he performed where he is seen as the hero. A Spirit-filled person does not talk much about what you must do for God. A Spirit-filled person does not talk much about the Holy Spirit as well. A Spirit-filled person talks much about Jesus and what Jesus has done. A Spirit-filled person cannot help but talk much about the gospel. A Spirit-filled person is like a tour guide. The job of a tour guide is not to tell you about himself but about what you are seeing. Imagine if you visit the holocaust museum and the tour guide can’t stop talking about his wife and kids. What would you say? “Dude, I know you think your wife is beautiful and your kids are cute, but I don’t care. You are missing the point. Your job is to inform me about what’s behind you and not you. Can you please stop talking about you and get to the holocaust?” So, if a preacher spends more time talking about the works of the Spirit through him than Jesus, tell him, “Can you please stop your humblebrag and get to Jesus?” He misses the point. But the Holy Spirit is different. The Holy Spirit is the ultimate tour guide. He guides you through every part of the Bible and shows you the beauty and the glory of Christ in every page of the Bible.

How does the Holy Spirit glorify Jesus? Two ways. First, the Holy Spirit guides you into all truth. It means that the Holy Spirit is committed to our growth in Christlikeness. He is in us forever. He will not abandon us. He will oppose anything in our life that is contrary to the words of God. He is not afraid to confront us. He is like a true friend who will argue with us for our good. The Holy Spirit will reveal to us that we are far more sinful than we think we are. He will expose different areas of our life that is contrary to the truth. He will not leave us content with our blind spots. He will reveal it to us, and it is painful. But he does not stop there. Second, the Holy Spirit points you to the works of Jesus. Not only our heart does not realize that we are more sinful than we think we are, but it also does not believe that we are more loved than we think we are. Our hearts are dumb. And the Holy Spirit reminds us who we are in Christ.

How? Remember that the Holy Spirit is the second Paraclete. Who is the first Paraclete? Jesus. One of the roles of the Paraclete is to be our Advocate. Advocate is someone who argues your case on your behalf before the judge and jury. Jesus is our lawyer and he never loses his case. And Jesus does not argue our cases based on mercy. He is not pleading with God saying, “Father, please be kind to Yosi. I know he did many stupid sinful things but deep inside he is a nice kid. Look at him. He is trying hard. Let’s be nice to him. Let’s just let him off this time. Pretty please?” That’s not the way Jesus argues our case. Jesus does not appeal for mercy; he appeals for justice. He says to God, “Father, look at what I’ve done. I’ve paid the full price. I’ve absorbed every ounce of your wrath against him and my blood was spilled. I suffered a horrible death at Calvary on his behalf. I have satisfied all your claim against him. Therefore, it is only right and just for you to forgive him. Yosi cannot be held accountable for his sin because I have paid the price.” God forgives us not because he is soft on sin. God hates sin but he is just, and he cannot demand two payments for the same sin. Because of Jesus, I am declared righteous before God. That’s the job of the first Paraclete.

The first Paraclete purchased our pardon and the second Paraclete applied our pardon. So, the Holy Spirit takes the truth of the gospel and hammers it into our heart. After he convicts us of our sin, he pounds the truth of the gospel into us. He tells us that the price has been paid. He tells us that we are the child of God. He tells us that there is now, therefore, no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. Jesus is the first Paraclete who intercedes for us in front of the Father. The Holy Spirit is the second Paraclete who intercedes within us. The Holy Spirit is pointing our heart to our Paraclete in heaven, making the work of Jesus so beautiful to our life that we are transformed by it. He constantly tells our heart, “Stop looking at yourself. Look at Jesus.”

Let me close with this. Do you believe it? Because if you do, you will be filled with power on high. I love the way Jerry Bridges illustrates it. Many years ago, a slave received an inheritance from his master that was worth $50,000. It is equivalent to half a million dollars today. The lawyer told the slave that he is free, and the money was deposited at the local bank in his name. Several weeks went by and the former slave never called to ask for any of his inheritance. After several years, the banker called him and told him that he has $50,000 available for him to draw upon at any time. The former slave replied, “Sir, can you give me $0.50 so that I can buy corn soup?” Do you see what happened? This illustrates the life of many Christians today. It is as if we have millions of dollars available to us in the gospel and yet we are only hoping that we can get $20 out of it. We miss out on the kind of life that Jesus has in mind for us. I don’t want us to miss out on what God has in stock for us. The Holy Spirit is not a power but a deep relationship with him will give you explosive power. You will not be able to contain the beauty of Jesus for yourself. Jesus is so precious to you that you will be his witness wherever you are. You can’t stop talking about Jesus and pointing people to Jesus. And that, my friend, is what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

Discussion questions:

1. What does Jesus mean by “greater works” and how does it apply to us?
2. Explain the meaning and the importance of these two words –  “Another Paraclete”
3. Give some examples of the wrong meaning of being filled with the Holy Spirit.
4. Out of the three primary works of the Holy Spirit, which one stands out the most for you and why?
5. What is the relationship between the Holy Spirit and the Bible? Give some examples.
6. How do you know if you are filled with the Holy Spirit?