Sunday July 1, 2007

Who is the Holy Spirit?
Zechariah 4:1-7

I. Introduction

Once upon a time there was a piece of iron, which was very strong and very hard. Many attempts had been made to
break it, but all had failed.

“I’ll master it,” said the axe… and his blows fell heavily upon the piece of iron, but every blow only made the axe’s edge more blunt, until it finally ceased to strike and gave up in frustration.

“Leave it to me,” said the saw… and it worked back and forth on the iron’s surface until its jagged teeth were all worn
and broken. Then in despair, the saw quit trying and fell to the side.

“Ah!” said the hammer, “I knew you two wouldn’t succeed. I’ll show you how to do this!” But at the first fierce blow,
off flew its head and the piece of iron remained just as before, proud and hard and unchanged.

“Shall I try?” asked the small flame. “Forget it,” everyone else said. “What can you do? You’re too small and you have
no strength.” But the flame curled around the piece of iron, embraced it… and never left it until it melted under its influence.

When I read this parable the other day, I could totally identify with it with it in a couple of ways.

First, I thought of the various struggles that exist in my heart and mind. Sometimes they just seem so overwhelming and I feel like the axe, saw, and hammer trying to break through the iron.

But I also think of reaching out to this community – the people I talk to and interact with every day are for the most part nice people, but there is also a subtle, yet firm resistance to their fully yielding themselves to God.

Sometimes I lie in bed at night crying out to God – yearning to see the iron of people’s hearts broken so that they can
come to know the love and transforming power of Almighty God – but I am painfully aware (like the axe, saw and hammer) that I do not have the ability within myself to break through the hardness of people’s hearts.

We desperately need a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our church, and in our community so that the prisoners will be set free and the chains that hold people in bondage will be broken!

But who is this Holy Spirit that will break the chains of iron that hold people in bondage?

II. Who is the Holy Spirit?

A. He is a Person

First, the Holy Spirit is not a power, a force or an energy; He is a person.

There is a tendency to think of the Holy Spirit as merely a power, a force, or an “it,” when in fact, Scripture reveals that
the Holy Spirit is a person.

The Holy Spirit is a person in the same sense that God the Father is a person, and the Lord Jesus Christ is a person.

1. He acts like a person.

   a. He teaches.

“But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you everything, and remind you of all that I have said to you.” (John 14:26, NRSV)

   b. He testifies.

“When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who comes from the Father, he will testify on my behalf.” (John 15:26, NRSV)

   c. He guides into all truth, hears, speaks, and shows.

“When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth; for he will not speak on his own, but will
speak whatever he hears, and he will declare to you the things that are to come.” (John 16:13, NRSV)

   d. He prays for us.

“Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness; for we do not know how to pray as we ought, but that very Spirit intercedes with sighs too deep for words.” (Romans 8:26, NRSV)

2. He has the attributes of a person.

What are the essentials of personality? Usually we consider them to be three things: intelligence, emotions, and will.

A thing lacks these attributes, but the Holy Spirit is not a thing because He has intelligence, emotions and will.

   a. Intelligence – The Spirit knows the things of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-11).

   b. Emotions – The Holy Spirit can be grieved (Ephesians 4:30), and He loves Christians.

“Dear brothers and sisters, I urge you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to join in my struggle by praying to God for me. Do this because of your love for me, given to you by the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 15:30, NLT)

Both emotions are experienced by a person – not a thing or power.

   c. Will – The Spirit gives gifts to men as He wills (1 Corinthians 12:11).

3. He can be treated as a person, since He can be…

   a. Lied to (Acts 5:3)
   b. Resisted (Acts 7:51)
   c. Grieved (Ephesians 4:30)
   d. Outraged (Hebrews 10:29)
   e. Called Upon (Ezekiel 37:9)

B. The Holy Spirit Is God.

1. The Holy Spirit possesses divine attributes.

He knows all things (1 Corinthians 2:11-12) and one can never escape the presence of the Spirit; in other words, He is omnipresent.

“Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? 8 If I ascend to heaven, you are
there; if I make my bed in Sheol, you are there. 9 If I take the wings of the morning and settle at the farthest
limits of the sea, 10 even there your hand shall lead me, and your right hand shall hold me fast.”
(Psalm 139:7-10)

2. The Holy Spirit is associated with the Father and the Son, and placed on the same level as they are.

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 and teaching them to obey everything that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20, NRSV)

3. According to John 4:24, what is God? God is Spirit.

III. Application

In learning who the Holy Spirit is, it is critical to begin with the basic understanding that He is a person and He is God.

If the Spirit were merely a power coming from above, “it” would be at my disposal and I could use “it” at will. But the
Holy Spirit is a Person, and more than that He is God; as a result it is I who should be at His disposal.

Because the Holy Spirit is God, we should strive to love and obey Him in all things.

Do you remember at the beginning of my message how I spoke of the piece of iron and how difficult it is to break?
I likened the iron to our hearts and the hearts of those in our community.

I also voiced that at times I feel desperate in my desire to see the iron bars that keep people in bondage broken.

Well, I need to share something more: In the midst of my desperation, I have been hearing the quiet, yet unwavering voice of God saying, “Not by might, not by power, but by my Spirit says the Lord.” (Zechariah 4:6)

We desperately need a sovereign work of the Holy Spirit in our lives, in our church, and in our community so that the prisoners will be set free and the chains that hold people in bondage will be broken!

Then, like the word of the Lord though Zechariah to Zerubbabel, the leader of God’s people, we too can say, “What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (Zechariah 4:7, NRSV)

Now listen to this – when the Scripture says that “he shall bring out the top stone” it is referring to the completion of the second temple.

You see, Israel had been laid waste by the Babylonians and the magnificent temple of Solomon had been utterly destroyed about 80 years earlier.

The people had been carted off to a foreign land and there they awaited the promise of God that came through Jeremiah that they would return to the land and once again worship the living God in His holy temple in Jerusalem.

True to the word of the Lord, a remnant of the people had returned to Jerusalem, but at this time the temple has still not been rebuilt.

There has also been much opposition from the nations around them to the rebuilding of the temple, as this signaled the renewal of Israel as a local power.

It is in the face of all these obstacles that this ragtag group of Jews is laboring to rebuild the temple.

In their desperation, they cry out to the Lord and this was His response, “This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel: Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. 7 What are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel you shall become a plain; and he shall bring out the top stone amid shouts of ‘Grace, grace to it!’” (Zechariah 4:6-7, NRSV)

Do you see what is happening here? The people are overwhelmed; the mountain of obstacles seems too great; they have labored but they have not completed the work and in the midst of that God says, “This mountain shall be removed.”

Not only that, but from the very mountain that has stood in your way you are going to find the material to complete the work I have called you to!

And as you complete it, there are going to be shouts of “grace, grace to it!” In other words, there is going to be quite a ruckus going on! Shouting and dancing and carrying on.

And this did come to pass, “And all the people responded with a great shout when they praised the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid…for the people shouted so loudly that the sound was heard far away.” (Ezra 3:11-13, NRSV)

What mountains are standing in your way today? What obstacles are keeping you from building your life into a holy temple of God and knowing God more intimately?

I have a word for you today: This mountain shall be removed! And from this very mountain, God will complete His work in you and you will look back and see how God has taken these obstacles you face and applied His grace to your life and used them to transform you into a mighty temple for His glory. Hallelujah!