The surprising job description of the Holy Spirit.

Steve Brown:
The surprising job description of the Holy Spirit. Let’s talk, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown. He’s an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life, a program all about God’s radical grace. We’re committed to bringing you Bible teaching that’s honest, straight-forward, and street-smart. Keep listening to hear truth that’ll make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. Well, we finished Proverbs yesterday after weeks and weeks. We’re starting a new series on Key Life, and it’s the Doctrine of the Holy Spirit. Now, I’ve been teaching for a very long time. And I found out when I sat down, because a publisher asked me to write a book on this doctrine, that there really isn’t a lot of teaching on the Holy Spirit. And there’s a reason for that, and we’re going to talk about it as we go along. At any rate, I wrote one of the truly great classical books on the doctrine of the Holy Spirit. And if you believe that, you’ll believe anything. It was called Follow the Wind: Our Lord, the Holy Spirit. I sold a number of copies and it was fun working on it because of what it did in my own life. And then I was at the Billy Graham Training Center at the Cove where I go fairly often to teach. And I taught a series there on the Holy Spirit, and as I did that, I noticed the change in the lives of the people who were at that particular seminar at the Cove. And so, this is kind of the direction we’re going to go in, and we’ll see, I might change. It is my program, and I can do whatever I want to do. It may change, but this is the direction I think I’m going to go in. We’re going to talk in general about the Holy Spirit, and I’m going to teach you some things that I learned that are really good, and then we’re going to see the Holy Spirit’s connection to our sin. And I’m going to make you feel really guilty, and then I’m going to make you feel really good when we talk about the Holy Spirit’s connection to grace. And then we’re going to see something about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit’s connection to truth. There is a major connection between the Holy Spirit and truth that is revealed to us. And then we’re going to talk about the Holy Spirit and power. The reason so many Christians walk with Christ, look like a radio with the batteries gone dead, is because we don’t understand the power of the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. And then we’re going to talk about the Holy Spirit’s connection to love. And then we’re going to spend a good bit of time going in some other areas as we pursue in depth the wonderful, powerful, exciting, and amazing doctrine of the Holy Spirit. The truth is that teaching about the Holy Spirit is not easy. The problem is that the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, points to the first and second persons of the Holy, of the Trinity, and not to himself. That if you will, forgive the impropriety, is his job description. I have a friend, his name is Eddie. And I wish you knew him. Because of Eddie, his faithfulness, and his life, the world will be different. Eddie has been a prime mover in evangelism and discipleship through sports and recreation for so many years. He’s been God’s point man at the Olympics. He has created sports chapels for major professional sports teams, and he has brought together every major sports ministry in the world to try to reach the world for Christ. His kids ministry is amazing, the training is amazing, the difference he has made is amazing. Eddie has been responsible for major Christian sports conferences all over the world. And only God knows the hundreds of thousands of lives that have been touched and changed because Eddie has been faithful to what God called him to do. And you have probably, except in this broadcast, never even heard his name. For years, I’ve been trying to get Eddie to write a book. I’ve been asking him if I could write a book about him, about the amazing and supernatural ministry God has given him. I’ve tried to get him to promote himself and to share his story. And you know something? He just won’t do it. He refuses. And do you know why? Because Eddie has decided that God has called him to work behind the scenes and to lift up others so that they might point to Christ. I remember a presidential prayer luncheon in Washington that Eddie organized, planned, and executed. He helped each of the speakers, most of them athletes, to prepare his or her testimony. He made sure the timing for that particular meeting was right. The speakers knew how much time they had and how to say what they were going to say to honor Christ. The President of the United States was in attendance, as were many important and influential people. The witness the sports figures gave on that occasion changed many lives. Later somebody gave me a copy of the program for that luncheon. And I looked for Eddie’s name somewhere in the text. It wasn’t there. Nobody even knew Eddie was in Washington for the luncheon. I asked him about it, and I said, Eddie, if I had done all that work that you did, I would at least want to have an honorable mention somewhere. Do you know what he said to me? Steve, God is the only one who ought to get an honorable mention, as long as he is honored through others, I’ve done what he asked me to do. It’s hard to lift him up, and to lift up myself at the same time. Actually, Eddie’s not, if he hears that I said what I just said about him on this broadcast, he’s not going to be happy with what I said. It’s my prayer that the Holy Spirit won’t be displeased about what I’m going to say about him either. The reason I’m a bit worried is that the Holy Spirit and Eddie, at least in this one particular are alike. Both exist not to draw attention to themselves, but to somebody else. So, that’s one of the reasons that doing a series on the Holy Spirit is difficult. You have been touched, and taught, and guided, and comforted, and empowered, and confirmed, and loved by the Holy Spirit, but you probably didn’t even know it was Him. I remember first reading Charles Williams books, The Descent of the Dove, The History of the Holy Spirit in the Church. I love Charles Williams books. When he died, C.S. Lewis said the idea of death met the idea of Charles Williams. And the idea of death died. At any rate, in The Descent of the Dove, Williams refers to the Holy Spirit as our Lord, the Holy Spirit. I was young when I first read that book, and those words made me uncomfortable. Now, I’m a lot older and a little bit wiser and I think I know why I felt uncomfortable. I felt uncomfortable because the Holy Spirit, I suspect, felt uncomfortable. I can’t teach about the Holy Spirit, without the Holy Spirit being behind what I teach, guiding and encouraging and helping. And not only that, when I do teach a series on the Holy Spirit, it will be Biblical and true, and your understanding of what I say will depend also on the Holy Spirit. So, if this series I’m doing on the Holy Spirit doesn’t quite make it, it could be because of me, and I just don’t teach that well. And maybe I wasn’t clear because I wasn’t faithful or even because you’re too dense to understand the things I’m teaching. However, even though I’m not a great teacher all the time, I’m not half bad. I’m sometimes unfaithful, and you and I both on occasion are dense. Though probably those won’t be the reasons, the real reason will be because the Holy Spirit isn’t altogether comfortable with a book about himself. And so, as we proceed through this series over the next few weeks and months, there will be one extra person involved. And that person is the Holy Spirit. Sometimes you won’t recognize him, but when you understand and you apply and you rejoice and you’re faithful, it was him. You think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
And that was Steve Brown ushering us into a brand new series about the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit. So excited for that. And what a great time this would be to invite a friend along, right? Just send them to keylife.org the adventure continues tomorrow. Hope to see you then. Well, Steve referenced this a few minutes ago, his book on the Holy Spirit called Follow the Wind. Well, we took excerpts from that book to create a special booklet. Actually, it’s most of the last chapter of the book. We’d love to send you that booklet for free and getting your copy is easy. Just call us right now at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for that booklet. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of the booklet about the Holy Spirit. And finally, if you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You could charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 to give safely and securely. That’s Key Life, one word, two words. It doesn’t matter. Just text that to 28950 and then follow the instructions. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And as always, we are a listener supported production of Key Life Network.