Holy Spirit Connections (Galatians 3:1-5)
Gary McManus, 05/30/2021Part of the Holy Spirit series, preached at a Sunday Morning service
May 30, 2021 The Second Sunday of Pentecost
Galatians 3:1-5
From the Bible and “Captain Obvious”:
You have the Holy Spirit.
Pastor has been warned about preaching on the
Holy Spirit. Why?
--the Power of the Holy Spirit
--Spirit power
--like FIRE? like WIND?
--the American desire to abuse power
--the human desire to abuse power
--the churches of the New Testament, especially Corinth
--the freedom of the Holy Spirit (John 3:8)
--the tendency to get “puffed up”
So, a reminder; 2 Corinthians 7:1
. . .let us purify ourselves. . .perfecting holiness out of
reverence for God.
The goal of the Holy Spirit: transformation, sanctification.
We all have the Holy Spirit. Twenty Bible verses say so. See Romans 5:5, Romans 7:6, Ephesians 3:16,
2 Timothy 1:7.
Acts and Paul (today’s reading) state that believers hear and receive the Gospel, they receive the Holy Spirit.
Intellectual or Spiritual? Intellectual AND Spiritual.
Pastor find it helpful to think of the Holy Spirit as an electrical power source or a signal source, like wireless internet or radio.
Our Heavenly Father is the generator and the Holy Spirit is the spark or signal.
Some of us have trouble with the connection.
Here is what to do.
1. Look first at the connection: plugged in, connected?
2. Are you on the proper frequency?
Are you on the right channel?
Can you hear anything? Do you need to keep
tuning? AND what are you expecting?
(See Acts 2:13 and Acts 2:15)
Loud and clear?
See 1 Kings 19:12 in many versions.
The Sound of Silence?
3. Here is a tough one: do you need an adapter?
Remember, you’re attempting to access the realm
of the Spirit. Experience teaches that the Holy Spirit wants to find you if you want to access the Holy Spirit.
Those things running interference with the connection:
--How can (and why do) people talk on the phone at
a ballgame?!
Ever had a person cut out on you on a phone call?
A dropped call? You may have to be persistent in
receiving from the Holy Spirit.
Does your receiver need attention?
Pray for help with reception.
Any other expectations about time and place?
Convenience?
Expecting to feel comfortable?
Entire congregations are given the Holy Spirit “. . .to all who believe in the Gospel they have heard.”(Galatians 3:1-5)
Access to the Holy Spirit for your transformation,
for your guidance, for truth, and to make you a blessing to others. Amen.
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