The Work of the Holy Spirit
Part Two of a Billy Graham Sermon
February 10, 2011 - This is second installment of the February teaching series on the Holy Spirit. Read below as Billy Graham explains how the Holy Spirit, Who indwells us, works in our everyday lives.
Your body becomes the temple where God dwells by His Holy Spirit.—Billy Graham
Excerpted from "Does the Holy Spirit Shine Through You?" by Billy Graham
Read the first installment of the series »
First, the work of the Holy Spirit is to convict us of our sin. “And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment” (John 16:8, NKJV). He uses a mother’s prayers, or a tragic experience, or a pastor’s sermon, or some other experience to convict us of sin and of our need to run our lives over to Jesus Christ. That is the work of the Holy Spirit. He points to us and says, “You are a sinner. You need to repent.”
We don’t like to hear that, but that is the work of the Holy Spirit. Without that work we could never have our sins forgiven, we could never be saved, we could never go to Heaven.
Second, the Holy Spirit gives new life. The Bible says that we are dead in our sins and trespasses (see Ephesians 2:1). Our spirit within us, made in the image of God, is dead toward God. Mankind needs life. All have sinned. Therefore, all are dead toward God. The Holy Spirit gives us new life in Jesus Christ. Jesus said, “No one can see the Kingdom of God unless he is born again” (John 3:3). You must be born again.
And the Holy Spirit is the One who does the work of making you a born-again person. It is a supernatural act.
Paul said to Titus, “not by works of righteousness which we have done”—not all our good works and all the good things we have done are going to save us—“but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit” (Titus 3:5, NKJV). We are saved by the mercy of God, by the grace of God. It is something I didn’t earn, something I didn’t work for. It is the gift of God, the gift of salvation.
Third, the Holy Spirit indwells us. As you read this, you may realize that you are spiritually dead, overdosed on our hedonistic culture. God says, “I will put my Spirit in you. I will come to live in you.” You body becomes the temple where God dwells by His Holy Spirit.
That is the reason we should never take anything unclean into our bodies. That is the reason we should discipline our bodies. God loves your body. He doesn’t want it polluted by fleshly lusts and the things to which you give yourself. The Bible says, “Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit lives in you?” (1 Corinthians 3:16).
Fourth, The Holy Spirit gives you power to serve Christ. “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses” (Acts 1:8). I couldn’t do the work I am doing without the power of the Holy Spirit. I am a communicator of God’s message. He called me and gave me that gift. What counts is the message that—according to the Scripture—Christ died for our sins, He rose again. He is coming back again, and He is ready to come into your heart by the Holy Spirit and make you a new person.
That is the Gospel.
All Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version, unless otherwise noted.
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