The Holy Spirit is attracted to sin.

Steve Brown:
The Holy Spirit is attracted to sin. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
Key Life exists to communicate that the deepest message of Jesus in the Bible is the radical grace of God to sinners and sufferers. Because life’s hard for everyone, grace is for all of us. Our host is seminary professor and author, Steve Brown.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. I hope you had a good week-end, guys. And I hope your pastor’s sermon was as good as my pastor’s sermon. If you’re just joining us, we’re looking at the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. As a matter of fact, not much has been written on the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has a job description, and we’ve seen that. And that job description is not to promote himself, but to promote the first two persons of the Trinity, the Father and the Son. And so, not much is known among the general Christian populace of the Holy Spirit. So, we’re taking our time to spend some time talking about this doctrine. When William Seymour, a one eyed black preacher, was anointed by the Holy Spirit, the Azusa Street Revival took place in Los Angeles in 1906. It’s the beginning, by the way, of the modern Pentecostal charismatic movement. There had been no significant books on the Holy Spirit written for almost 50 years previous to that time. And I believe the whole charismatic Pentecostal movement was a whack upside the head by the God of the universe that says you ought to know something about this. But believe it or not, we are doing that on Key Life, and I hope you’ll stay with us over the next few weeks. Let’s pray, and then we’ll get down and study. Father, we come into your presence and drawn here by the Holy Spirit. Thank you, Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Thank you for being kind to us and merciful and gentle and gracious. Thank you for being God. Father, you know everybody who’s listening to this broadcast and you know when it’s hard and when it’s not, when it’s scary and when it’s not, when it’s difficult and when it’s not. And you are sovereign over every bit of it and sufficient for every need. And we worship you. And now, Father, we pray for the one who teaches on this broadcast, that you would forgive him his sins, because they are many. We would see Jesus in him only. And we pray in Jesus’ name, Amen. Let me give you some Scripture that we’ll be talking about for the next, well, lots of weeks. But we’re going to particularly, and I know I’ve talked about it before, we’re going to talk some more about the Holy Spirit and the fact that the Holy Spirit has a lot to do with our sin. Listen to Romans 8:9 through 17.

You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through the Spirit who dwells in you. So then, brothers, we are debtors not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. But if you live according to the flesh you will die, but by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear, but you have received the Spirit of adoption of sons, by whom we cry, “Abba! Father!” The Spirit himself here bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children, then heirs–heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with Him in order that we might be glorified with him.

Then John 16:6 through 11, that we’ve looked at.

But because I’ve said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.

He’s just been talking about going away and dying on a cross.

Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for I do not go away, if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.

And then one other text, Galatians 4:6 through 7.

And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” You are no longer a slave, but a son and a daughter, and if a son and a daughter, then an heir through him.

Let me tell you something that’s really important. You are loved so deeply that you’ve never been loved that way before. You are forgiven. I don’t care where you’ve gone, what you’ve done, what you’re doing, who you’ve hurt, what you’ve said, you’re forgiven. Not only are you forgiven, you are cherished. You are valuable to the God of the universe. God, not only all of that, God has plans for your life and he’s going to use you in some amazing ways. And not only that, you get to live forever. You say, wow, how do you know that? Cause, dummy, the Holy Spirit told me. That’s what the Holy Spirit does. But we’re talking about sin, and I’m an expert. So, listen up as we go through this week. Let me start with a prayer. I often, in my morning devotions will use a liturgy from the Church of Scotland that was given to me years ago by one of my mentors, and there’s a prayer that I often pray that I’m going to share with you from the Church of Scotland Book of Worship.

Not as I ought or as thou deservest, but as I am able, I thank thee for the Holy Spirit and all he has accomplished on my behalf, on behalf of thy people. I thank thee for the gifts and the Fruit of the Spirit, for the unity of the Spirit, and for the freedom and liberty of the Spirit. I thank thee for the way the Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, and for the way he sends us to thy throne of grace. I thank thee for the wisdom, guidance, and comfort of the Holy Spirit. And for the way the Holy Spirit teaches us and reveals truth to us. I thank thee for the way the Holy Spirit gives us knowledge and understanding, for the way the Holy Spirit interprets our prayers before thee, and for the way the Holy Spirit lifts up and honors and glorifies thee and thy Son, Jesus Christ.

So, we’re studying the Holy Spirit. Let me go down a side road, a very quick one. You ought to note that part of the Holy Spirit is what he does in our salvation, John 16:8.

And when he comes, the Holy Spirit will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.

Let me tell you something. The Holy Spirit is involved in your coming to Christ. You were dead in your sins, and dead people hardly can do anything. You were dead, and dead people are dead people. And then the Holy Spirit came, and the Holy Spirit convicted, and the Holy Spirit drew you to Christ. And in that moment, do you remember it, in that moment you came running and discovered that he was your friend, your Savior, and your promiser for the future. When you came to him, you didn’t come to him by accident, you came because the Holy Spirit drew you, because the Holy Spirit empowered you, because the Holy Spirit taught you, and because the Holy Spirit, and we’re going to be talking about that the rest of the week, let you know that you didn’t deserve any of it. The Holy Spirit told me, Steve, you’re a sinner, you deserve nothing, but I love you. Is that okay? And I came and when I came, he took me to himself. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
You are loved, forgiven, cherished, and valued by God. What a beautiful reminder. Thank you Steve. More to come tomorrow. Do join us.

Every calling, every life’s purpose, every dream, and goal, and desire, and life plan boils down to two things. Love God. Love people. Both can be unimpressive. Both are usually extremely untidy. Both can be discouraging at times. Both are often hidden from the applause of the world. Both bring peace and joy and actual authentic fulfillment, but not if we’re constantly looking for our calling to be extraordinary.

Well, that was from an article by Kendra Fletcher called What If I Can’t Find My Calling? You will find that piece in the 2024 edition of Key Life magazine. Claim your free copy now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that magazine. To mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses. Again, just ask for your free copy of Key Life magazine. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or simply text Key Life to 28950. And as always, if you can’t give right now, don’t you worry about it. But if you would, please do pray for us, okay? Always appreciated. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.