Sermon by Neil Earle, 5/14/2005
Isaiah 63:10-11: "But they rebelled and grieved His Holy Spirit; So He turned Himself against them as an enemy, And He fought against them. Then he remembered the days of old, Moses and his people, saying: 'Where is He who brought them up out of the sea With the shepherd of His flock? Where is He who put His Holy Spirit within them?'"
In the gospel of John he is miles ahead and above the people he is around. Unlike the gospel of Mark which is more of a human view of Jesus Christ.
And even in the gospel of John, even in his weakest moments and most tried moments as a human being he is always featured as the master as he is called so often in his gospel. In the book of John chapter 4 we come upon Jesus with one of those human moments where He is walking from Jerusalem to the holy area of Galilee and He meets a woman at a well.
John 4:6-10,13-14: "Now Jacob's well was there. Jesus therefore, being wearied from His journey, sat thus by the well. It was about the sixth hour. A woman of Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give Me a drink." For His disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. Then the woman of Samaria said to Him, "How is it that You, being a Jew, ask a drink from me, a Samaritan woman?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered and said to her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is who says to you, 'Give Me a drink,' you would have asked Him, and He would have given you living water.... Jesus answered and said to her, "Whoever drinks of this water will thirst again, "but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst. But the water that I shall give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life."
Life in the book of John is right here and right now. The purpose of life is to receive the Holy Spirit of God and have it as a personal begettal and inside of us acting and living as a counselor and encourager.
John 7:37-39: "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water." But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified."
We find that God is on a time schedule. Certain things are not revealed completely even in the ministry of Jesus Christ. There are new things yet to be seen and to be learned as one might expect.
John 19:33-34: "But when they came to Jesus and saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out."
One of Johns main themes is the Holy Spirit and that living water. He talks about being born of water and of the Spirit. Water is a symbolic of the pouring out of the Holy Spirit. Johns gospel is full of signs and wonders. John gospel is a mystical book. In Genesis chapter one the Spirit of God moved upon the waters. When Moses struck the rock water came out.
1 Peter 1:10-12: "Of this salvation the prophets have inquired and searched carefully, who prophesied of the grace that would come to you, searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ who was in them was indicating when He testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glories that would follow. To them it was revealed that, not to themselves, but to us they were ministering the things which now have been reported to you through those who have preached the gospel to you by the Holy Spirit sent from heaven – things which angels desire to look into."
The Bible is about the history of salvation. We understand more now about the Holy Spirit than they did in old testament times. We have received the promise of everlasting life which begins now in this life. Living water and the Holy Spirit and revelation are still to come.
Numbers 11:16-17, 24-29: "So the LORD said to Moses: "Gather to Me seventy men of the elders of Israel, whom you know to be the elders of the people and officers over them; bring them to the tabernacle of meeting, that they may stand there with you. "Then I will come down and talk with you there. I will take of the Spirit that is upon you and will put the same upon them; and they shall bear the burden of the people with you, that you may not bear it yourself alone....So Moses went out and told the people the words of the LORD, and he gathered the seventy men of the elders of the people and placed them around the tabernacle. Then the LORD came down in the cloud, and spoke to him, and took of the Spirit that was upon him, and placed the same upon the seventy elders; and it happened, when the Spirit rested upon them, that they prophesied, although they never did so again. But two men had remained in the camp: the name of one was Eldad, and the name of the other Medad. And the Spirit rested upon them. Now they were among those listed, but who had not gone out to the tabernacle; yet they prophesied in the camp. And a young man ran and told Moses, and said, "Eldad and Medad are prophesying in the camp." So Joshua the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, one of his choice men, answered and said, "Moses my lord, forbid them!" Then Moses said to him, "Are you zealous for my sake? Oh, that all the LORD'S people were prophets and that the LORD would put His Spirit upon them!"
What conceals the great mystery of the Holy Spirit is the fact that the gospel of John finally opens up to what is going on.
Luke 4:14-19: "Then Jesus returned in the power of the Spirit to Galilee, and news of Him went out through all the surrounding region. And He taught in their synagogues, being glorified by all. So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up to read. And He was handed the book of the prophet Isaiah. And when He had opened the book, He found the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted, To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind, To set at liberty those who are oppressed; To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD."
John 14:15-17, 26: "If you love Me, keep My commandments. "And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever – "the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you....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 things that I said to you."
The Holy Spirit leads us into all truth. That is what the Christian life is all about. It is not wrong to complain to God. We need more of the Holy Spirit and not less. The Holy Spirit can be grieved. Some people will not change.
Sermon summary prepared by local Glendora church member Charlie Schreiner.