Wednesday, November 13, 2013

Sermon Excerpt

Now, why is having more of the Spirit a good thing? First, that's good for you. There's lots of debate about some of what the Spirit does. But everyone agrees that the Spirit is all about Jesus. Whatever else the Spirit does, He changes disciples so that they become more like Jesus. Think about Jesus and how He acted. Think about the wisdom that He displayed. Think about His awareness of God. All of those qualities are increasingly yours as the Spirit changes you. Life is hard. There is much evil all around us, and all too often that evil touches us. How do you deal with that? Well, how did Jesus deal with that? Jesus dealt with it all so very well, and He was able to do that because of the presence of the Spirit with Him. So, more of the Spirit is good for you because you will become more like Jesus and be able to live well.

But it's also good for another reason. Our having more of the Spirit makes Jesus look good. One result of our being changed by the Spirit is that it is proof to the world that Jesus is real. Words about the great power of the Gospel without living proof of that power are almost worthless. The world needs to see the proof. If the Gospel is true, it should be able to show it. What is needed these days are more churches where the power of the Spirit to change lives is evident. So, pursuing loving obedience so that you might enjoy more of the Spirit is an act of worship - wanting to make Jesus look good - and an act of evangelism - offering proof to unbelievers that Jesus is real.