USE THE INDWELLING POWER OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Purpose: To inform the congregation of the indwelling power of the Holy Spirit so they will make greater use of the power He provides.

Introduction:

  1. How would you feel if you were on a lake in a boat and a man fell overboard? You throw a life bouy right to him but he will not reach out to take it--and so drowns. What would you say?

    How would you feel if your friend lost his house because he was not making the payments and you found out he had $100,000 in the bank?

    To have needed power within our reach and then not to use it would certainly be foolish.

    Yet, many of us may be doing that very thing. You have tremendous power at your disposal to help you please the Lord. But you may not be plugging into the power. That is what this lesson is about.

  2. God sends the Holy Spirit to live in each baptized believer.
    Acts 2:38; Acts 5:32; Rom. 5:5.

  3. But why does God send the Holy Spirit? How do we benefit from this?

    Does this mean we can work miracles? Does the Spirit give us messages?

    No. Not all Christians could work miracles. Except for the household of Cornelius, which was a special case, the power to work miracles came with the laying on of the apostles’ hands.

  4. He sends the Holy Spirit as to give us a strong sense of His presence in our lives. Eph. 1:13-14; 3:16-17. We cannot fully comprehend all this means and we do not know all of what the Spirit does for us. But understanding more of what this means will help us to utilize more fully the power that works within us.
Subject Sentence: God sends the Holy Spirit to give us a strong sense of His presence.


Body:
  1. The Spirit within gives us hope.

    1. Gal. 5:5--Through the Spirit, by faith, we wait for the hope of righteousness.
    2. Sensing the presence of God within, gives us hope to be with God in a fuller sense someday.

  2. The Spirit within gives us motivation.

    1. I Cor. 6:19--your body is as temple of the Holy Spirit.
    2. Paul uses this fact as motivation for the Corinthians to avoid sin and live holy lives.
    3. Eph. 4:30--we do not want to grieve the Holy Spirit. So, thinking about having the Holy Spirit living in us can help us do what is right.
    4. Wind--boat.

  3. The Spirit within gives us direction.

    1. Rom. 8:12-14.--If we are led by the Spirit, we are sons of God. We want to be like our Father. He is our model.
    2. Rom. 8:4-5--having the Spirit within helps us to give attention to the spiritual above the fleshly.
    3. Gal. 5:21-22--having the Spirit within helps us develop the fruit of the Spirit. These are His qualities.
    4. Through the Word we learn more of what God is like and, then, being more aware of His presence within, we want to be more like God and to fix our sights on the spiritual.

  4. The Spirit within gives us confidence.

    1. Rom. 8:26--the Holy Spirit helps our prayers.
    2. We can pray knowing the Holy Spirit helps us. This gives us a greater confidence in prayer. His presence helps us feel closer to God and that is the heart of worship.

  5. The Holy Spirit within gives us optimism.

    1. Eph. 3:16-20.--By the power that works within us.
    2. Child and father in forest.
    3. We sense God’s presence with us. Yea, though I walk through the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Psalm 139:7-11.
    4. Knowing God is with us surely gives us a strong sense of power and optimism. If God is for us, who can be against us.
Conclusion:
    1. The Spirit dwells in our hearts by faith.
    2. The more aware we are of that, the more we become filled with the Holy Spirit. Eph. 5:18. The less we are aware of God’s presence, the more we quench the Spirit. I Thes. 5:19.
    3. How will you use the Spirit of God within you? Will you stake hold of the life bouy God has placed within your grasp to help you? Make the Spirit your daily companion.
    4. To have the Spirit within, you must be one of His.