Be Deliberate: Holy Spirit
Luke 11 The chapter starts with the Disciples asking Jesus, “teach us to pray.”
• After teaching the Lord’s Prayer, He tells them a parable.
o Jesus ends the parable in verse 8 with a powerful and even shocking statement.
o The word translated here in the NIV as “boldness” means “shameless persistence”
• Two points here.
o First, the stress is not on persistent or repetition of the request, as much as it is on the boldness or nerve of the request. We get to come boldly before the throne of God with our requests.
o Second, God is not stingy or lazy, God is the not the neighbor.
• Now the question, what is the basis for these bold requests?
o Luke 11:11-13 Jesus is inviting us to make bold requests for the Holy Spirit.
o Notice it says, to those who ask Him. We have to be deliberate to ask for the Holy Spirit.
• Why don’t we all get blasted and filled all at once?
o We have to learn to steward this well.
But wait? Common Argument
• Didn’t I get the Holy Spirit when I accepted Jesus?
• Acts 8:14 So here is a group of believers that have accepted Jesus and have been baptized.
o But they had not received the Holy Spirit.
• Acts 19:1 Here Apollos and Paul find some believers. Notice the first question they ask them?
o Did you receive the Holy Spirit?
• This group had only been baptized with John’s baptisms. So they water baptize them into Jesus name.
o Then subsequent to that, they pray and ask for the Holy Spirit.
• In both passages being filled with the Holy Spirit came after receiving Jesus.
o The Apostles put an extraordinarily high value on receiving the Holy Spirit. So should we!
• Acts 10:45 Here they get filled with the Holy Spirit first.
o Then they get water baptized into the name of Jesus.
Being refilled We leak, we are leaky vessels, so we constantly need to be refilled.
• We see glimpses of this in different bible stories.
• Also, as we mature we can be filled to great measure. God can trust us with more.
Grieving Holy Spirit It is possible for us to grieve the Holy Spirit.
• Eph 4:29 Do you see how both our actions and our words can grieve the Holy Spirit?
The book of James adds that the spirit living in us envies intensely.
Don’t Resist Holy Spirit Acts 7:51 Stephen accuses the people of resisting the Holy Spirit.
• The Holy Spirit will not force Himself on us.
Spiritual Gifts: And of course, we must be deliberate with using our spiritual gifts.
