Wirksworth | 28/06/26 | Holy Spirit | Neal Garratt

Wirksworth

Podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/354059/episodes/19412640-wirksworth-28-06-26-holy-spirit-neal-garratt.mp3

Neal continued our series on church fundementals, looking in particular at the Holy Spirit.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:06

Lord, would you bless Neil? I know he's worked so hard on this and what's been a really, really busy week for us. So we thank you, Lord, that you don't look at our weariness. Um you look at our heart and I know um the work and the time that he's put into this. So Lord, would you bless him? Would you fill him with your spirit? Would you give him everything he needs to convey what's on his heart this morning? In Jesus' name. Amen.

SPEAKER_00 0:53

And then I sat down to prepare. And I just felt, as I prepared, the Lord wanted me to speak on something different. So that's what you've got. Fresh. It's not rehashed, it's fresh, fresh manner from God. So um what I want to speak about really is the Holy Spirit and how the Holy Spirit works in the church. And I think out of the Trinity, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, we're comfortable, most of us are comfortable with God the Father, most of our comfortable, comfortable with Jesus. But the Holy Spirit tends to get a bit of a bad press. As soon as you mention the Holy Spirit, kind of people, whoa, I'm not sure about that. It's the word spirit, you know, and ghosts even worse, Holy Ghost. So people get a bit fearful about the Holy Spirit, and I just want to dispel those fears this morning and just bring a bit of reality and describe who the Holy Spirit is to us, which I hope will just help us to relax. When we say we want to go into the Holy Spirit's presence, which is what we want to do every Sunday, it is a beautiful place to be. Okay, there's no fear there, there's no need to be concerned. Even when we have manifestations of the Holy Spirit, speaking in tongues, interpretation, you know, words of knowledge, words of wisdom, prophetic words. There's nothing to be fearful. God's heart is to do us good, and that's really what I want to look at today. So, Jesus promises us the Holy Spirit. That's where we're going to start. John 14 says this, and I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate who will never leave you. He is the Holy Spirit who leads us into all truth. The world cannot receive him because it isn't looking for him and doesn't recognize him, but you know him because he lives with you now and later will be in you. This is Jesus talking to his disciples. And the same chapter a bit later on, verse 25-26, is I'm telling you these things now while I am still with you. Jesus talking to his disciples. But when the Father sends the advocate as my representative, that is the Holy Spirit, he will teach you everything and will remind you of everything I have told you. Okay, this is Jesus' promise to the disciples, but it's his promise to us as well. And it's really important to look at the word that he uses. And the word he uses is advocate. Now, you may think, what on earth does advocate mean? I'll tell you. If I go to my doctor's in Matlock, in the waiting room, there's a notice on the wall and it says, if you would like an advocate with you, you are allowed to bring somebody in to the doctors with you. An advocate. Someone that comes in with you can help you describe what your symptoms are, if you're nervous, can sit with you, can hold your hand, you know, all those types of things. That's what an advocate does. Totally non-threatening, totally with you and for you to help you, and that is the word that Jesus Himself describes the Holy Spirit to us. Advocate, one who pleads our case before Jesus, who helps us, encourages us, strengthens us, and counsels us. What a beautiful picture that is. And it's so important for us to understand that this is our view, or should be our view, of what the Holy Spirit does in our lives. There's nothing scary, there's nothing to worry about, there's nothing to fear at all, because He's there as our advocate to help us, to encourage us, to strengthen us, and to counsel us. He will hold your hand. As you go in to the doctor, someone can walk with you and hold your hand and plead your case before the doctor. The Holy Spirit is the same. He holds your hand. As we come together on a Sunday morning, just imagine the Holy Spirit walking in with you, holding your hand. Such a beautiful picture of the Holy Spirit's presence with us. And then verse 17, but you know him because he lives with you now. Holy Spirit lives with you, and later he will be in you. The Holy Spirit lives within our hearts. And that's so important for us to know and understand. And then later on, John 16, Jesus says this in fact, it's best for you that I go away, because if I don't, the advocate won't come. If I do go away, then I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world of its sin and of God's righteousness, and of the coming judgment. The world's sin is that it refuses to believe in me. Righteousness is available because I go to the Father, and you will see me no more. Judgment will come because the ruler of this world has already been judged. There is so much more I want to tell you, but you can't bear it now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own, but will tell you what he's heard. He will tell you about the future. He will bring me glory by telling you whatever he receives from me. All that belongs to the Father is mine. This is why I said the Spirit will tell you whatever he receives from me. Okay, look at let's look at what the Holy, the work of the Holy Spirit in these verses in John. First of all, the Holy Spirit brings conviction of sin. The Holy Spirit is the one who convicts people that they are actually a sinner in need of a saviour. That's where this all starts, isn't it? The Holy Spirit convicts. I can preach from the front, I'm never gonna convince anybody. It has to be by the Holy Spirit. Because people think they're okay, don't they? They don't think they need a saviour. That's why the world, and particularly this country, has turned its back on God. I'm okay. I don't need a saviour. And the Holy Spirit comes and it brings conviction. When my dad, uh before he got saved, we had a guy across the road called Mr. Lee, who was a Christian. And Mr. Lee uh used to have some friends around on a Sunday night, and they would play the piano and sing choruses and hymns. And uh my dad wasn't a Christian, and he thought this was really cheesy and funny. And uh one day Mr. Lee had a package for him, and he went over to pick this package up, and when he got there, my dad, typical sort of you know, sarcastic comment, said, Oh, I thought you'd be sitting around the piano, you know, singing songs and everything, taking the Mickey, really. And Mr. Lee said to him, Did you know that Jesus Christ came in the world to save sinners? That's all he said. Which is not in the book of evangelism as the best way to evangelize. But my dad walked over the road and said to my mum, Did you know that Jesus Christ came into the world to save sinners? I'm a sinner. And the conviction of the Holy Spirit came in that moment. He walked down to the High Street, there was a bookshop in Ashwood High Street in Middlesex, and he bought a Bible that morning, he brought it back, and they came back and they read the Bible together, and they both got saved. And that's what the Holy Spirit does. You go and take the Mickey out of somebody, and the Holy Spirit turns it round and convicts you of your own sin in the moment. What a wonderful thing that is, the conviction of the Holy Spirit. It's not something you can manufacture, it's a revelation of your position. It's a revelation that I'm a sinner and I need it, I need to be saved, and who is it that saves me? It's Jesus Christ, the Saviour of the world. Hallelujah. He brings conviction of sin. What's the second thing he does? He reveals God's righteousness. It's not negative, he just doesn't bring conviction of sin and leave you there, he brings and reveals God's righteousness. Just as we've talked about this morning, the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world, that is God's righteousness. No longer does God look at me as a sinner and look at all my sin and say, you naughty, horrible little person, which he's got every right to do. But Jesus comes and gives us his righteousness because he was the perfect Lamb that took away the sin of the world. He's our perfect sacrifice, and the Holy Spirit comes and he reveals God's righteousness, and it's such a beautiful thing when you know that God loves you and has forgiven you, and you can come into his presence at any time. And it's a revelation, and so often the Holy Spirit, this is what the Holy Spirit does, he reveals truth. In that thing, it says he said, When the Holy Spirit comes, he will bring you into all truth. And this is the truth. The truth is we need to be convicted of sin, we need to know what our situation is, and we need to reveal God's righteousness to us that there is an answer to this problem. Hallelujah. Also, the Holy Spirit reveals the coming judgment. It says this in these verses, and the future of the earth. This is the Holy Spirit revelation. We're looking at revelation in Matlock at the moment, and it's a revelation of what? It's a revelation of Jesus Christ. That's what it is. It's not a revelation of the beasts, it's not a revelation of all the things that are going to happen in the world. It's a revelation of Jesus Christ that He is the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords, and He is coming back for His church, of which we are a part. A small part, but we're still a part of His glorious church. And He's coming back. Hallelujah. He guides us into all truth. The enemy is a liar from the beginning, and he will come and tell you you're alright, you don't need a savior, what's going on? You can do this yourself, work harder, you'll be fine, and it's just lies. He is a liar from the beginning, and the Holy Spirit reveals truth. He comes and says, No, this is the truth. And it may be a still small voice, but it comes and it reveals our position. Hallelujah. Thank goodness for Mr. Lee across the road from my dad. Bless him. My dad was quite a difficult character to deal with. And uh, I just love the way Mr. Lee honoured God in that situation, and uh our whole family is saved now. My grandma got saved, my mum got saved, all us kids are saved, and we had one auntie who wasn't saved, and we used to go and see this auntie, and my parents used to say, Auntie Gertie, don't worry if she smokes or swears, that's that's who Auntie Gertie is. She's like the black sheep of the family, you know. And uh, we used to go and see Auntie Gertie and she used to smoke Player's Navy Cup, which are wickedly strong cigarettes, and uh she used to sit there smoking these cigarettes and swearing like a trooper, and we were like young boys. We were like, oh my goodness, who is this person? Um, anyway, Auntie Gertie was the only one in our family who wasn't saved, and she lived in Hounslow in Liddlesex, and the pastor there invited her onto an alpha course, and we were like, he's got no idea what he's doing, it's gonna be a disaster. It was amazing. She got saved on this alpha course, and that God completely transformed her life, and she was the last one in our family to become a Christian. But that is just from Mr. Lee honouring God and speaking truth into the situation. Fantastic, love it. The Holy Spirit brings Jesus glory, it says it in the verses there. That's the Holy Spirit saying it's always to point us to Jesus. Always point us to Jesus as we worship on a Sunday morning, as the Holy Spirit comes, he rises within us. Remember, he lives in you, he rises within us and points us to Jesus. And that's why when we worship, it's always Jesus focused. It's always we want to look at you, Jesus. Jesus, your faithfulness. This morning he's come and he's just said, Remember my faithfulness. That's what he does during worship. He reminds us who he is. The wonder of knowing Jesus. Every morning you wake up, I am faithful. Every night when you go to bed, I am faithful. And all the times in between. His faithfulness reaches to the heavens, it cannot be measured. Hallelujah. Are you glad we've got a God like that?

unknown 14:50

Amen.

SPEAKER_00 14:51

Hallelujah. Excites me. He speaks to us the Father's heart through Jesus and the Holy Spirit. I just want us to understand that the work of the Holy Spirit in the church is so much greater than just spiritual gifts. Okay? We get stuck on the gifts so often, don't we? The gifts are the most important thing. They're not. The Holy Spirit's work is huge, it's beyond our imagination. Who knows what the Holy Spirit is doing in Worksmouth? Even as we meet here. Who knows what the Holy Spirit is doing in Worksworth Market? As we speak to people, we don't know what the Holy Spirit is doing, but we trust that He's gonna come and change people's lives. Born again. As Jesus said to Nicodemus, John chapter 3, Jesus said, I tell you the truth, unless you are born again, you cannot see the kingdom of God. What do you mean? exclaimed Nicodemus. How can an old man go back into his mother's womb and be born again? Jesus replied, I assure you, no one can enter the kingdom of God without being born of water and the spirit. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. That is so, so important. Humans can reproduce only human life, but the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. So don't be surprised when I say you must be born again. The wind blows wherever it wants, just as you can hear the wind but can't tell where it comes from or where it is going. So you can't explain how people are born of the Spirit. And I recommend uh watching the interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus on the chosen if you've not seen it. It is one of the most beautiful parts in that programme, it just brings me to tears every time. I watched it yesterday, and I was saying to Steve, I was gonna use it this morning, but it's it's 11 minutes long, and I thought I can't put you through that on our day. But it's on YouTube, it's on the chosen app. Have a look at it. It's such a beautiful interaction between Jesus and Nicodemus as Nicodemus' eyes are opened, he's got completely the wrong idea about Jesus, and Jesus so gently and so beautifully just leads him through John 3.16 and 17. And talks, I haven't read that, but that's the next bit. John's John 3.16, for God so loved the world. He did not come in the world to condemn the world, but that the world might know him through his love. And it's such a beautiful uh thing. I really recommend have a look at it as I say, it's 11 minutes long, but it is it's just lovely. We are born again by the Holy Spirit, and he lives within us. He comes and tabernacles himself in our hearts, he lives in me. The word tabernacle in the Old Testament is the same word that's used in the New Testament. He comes and he presences himself in your heart, just as his presence was in the tabernacle in the Old Testament in the temple. That was where God's presence was. The Hebrew word is exactly the same as He comes and He lives in your heart, He's tabernacling Himself in your heart. The Holy Spirit lives within you. Such a beautiful picture. Not only this, but the Holy Spirit confirms or witnesses our salvation. Do you sometimes kind of think, am I even saved? Have I got this all wrong? Am I even a Christian? You know, there's those moments we have, isn't there? I'm sure. Is it just me or is it all of them? It's just me. Thanks, Julia. Word of encouragement from Julia. And it's like, what happens? How do you know you're a Christian? And we have that expression, we say, you know in your know. You know, and what is a knower? Well, what it is, it's the Holy Spirit. He says he comes and he witnesses that you are indeed saved. Romans 8 16 says this for all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. So you've not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's Spirit when He adopted you as His own children. Now we call Him Abba Father, for His Spirit joins with our Spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Okay, you ever doubt that you're saved? Go and read Romans 8 verse 16. His Spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. Am I saved, Lord Jesus? Have I got this all wrong? Is this all a myth? It's just all you know nonsense. Holy Spirit, come and just reaffirm my salvation. You know you're saved because the Holy Spirit lives within you and He witnesses with Jesus that you are saved. Never doubt it. Hallelujah. Also, the Spirit reveals the spiritual atmosphere in people and places. When you're saved, the Holy Spirit lives within you. You can meet people and you can feel uncomfortable in their presence. Or you can go into someone's house and you can just feel uncomfortable in that house. Or a shop. It can be anywhere. What is that? Well, it's the Holy Spirit reacting within you to what is going on. And that's why we have to be careful when we meet people, Holy Spirit, how how do you feel? How you don't even have to think about it. It just happens. So many times, the Holy Spirit, you just come away and you think, I just don't feel quite right about that. I don't, there's something in me that just feels uncomfortable in that person's presence. It's just the Holy Spirit just giving you a warning sign. But that's what He does. He reveals spiritual truths that you cannot know by your own mind and your own understanding, thankfully. Hallelujah. The Holy Spirit comes and just brings a feeling to your heart and mind. And it's really important for us to listen to those. So often God will speak to us and just nudge us, just ring so and so. Holy Spirit just gives you a nudge, and you ring that person, and they say, Oh, I'm so glad you've rung. I've had just a terrible day, and this has happened, and that's happened. The Holy Spirit knows what is going on. I love what Rita brought this morning. He's in control, it doesn't feel like it sometimes. But listen to the Holy Spirit as he speaks to you, let him live. And guide you because he knows what's going on. You have no idea what someone is going through, but the Holy Spirit can just nud you, give them a ring, drop them a text, just see how they are. Let's see what God can do. 1 Corinthians 2 verse 10 says this but it was to us that God revealed these things by His Spirit. For the Spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets. That's so beautiful. I'd much rather rely on the Holy Spirit and know God's deep secrets than what I know in my mind. You know what's lovely? We go on the prayer ministry when we do Catholic Festival, we go on the prayer ministry. And I love the fact that we can pray for people that we've never ever met before. I have no idea what's going on in their life. And so you're praying for them, and the Holy Spirit just comes and suddenly says something. And we were praying for this lady, and it was really noisy. And uh I could hardly hear what she said. Um, it was it was really, really difficult. And I'm quite tall, she was quite small, and I was like bent over and I was trying to listen, and Julia was going, I can't hear what she's saying. I was going, Nor can I. And the Holy Spirit said to me, Ask her about dance. Completely random. And I was like, you know, you have that argument with God, don't you? I can't ask her about that. She doesn't even look like a dancer. What you know, and the Holy Spirit impressed it on me so much, I said, sorry to say this, I said, but does are you involved in some kind of dance or something? Is there something going on with dance? And she said, absolutely. She said, uh, I've been running a dance uh class, and I just been wondering whether it's the time to stop it, because it's it's not very popular, and it's not really gone where I thought it would go. And uh I said, okay, that's good. Thank you, Holy Spirit. But we were able just to pray for her and just felt God say, don't give up, press in, keep going, and God will you know we'll bring fruit from this. And uh it was just so great, and that's good, isn't it? Because it's not our own understanding. There's no way on earth I could have known about that in a million years. It's the Holy Spirit, he comes and reveals something, word of knowledge, in the moment, which blesses her and helps her in her work with Jesus. That's what the Holy Spirit does. So good, and there are loads of things like that where the Holy Spirit just comes and helps us, he's always seeking to do us good and do other people good through us as well. The Spirit helps us to worship Jesus, we worship in spirit and truth. And Jesus spoke about this when he met the Samaritan woman at the well. You know the story. He goes to the well and he meets the Samaritan woman. Jews never spoke to Samaritans. In fact, when I was doing some research on this for a previous preach, it was it was saying in the commentary that the Jews would actually go round Samaria, they wouldn't even go through it, they'd go round it so they didn't have to deal with any of the Samaritans. And yet Jesus is here in Samaria talking to a Samaritan woman, which was also not allowed, and he's the first one that he reveals who he is to. Such a fantastic story. John 4, it's beautiful. He says, Believe me, dear woman, the time is coming when it will no longer matter whether you worship the Father on this mountain, which is Mount Gerizim, or in Jerusalem. Because he's asking him, where do we worship? He's saying it doesn't, it's not not going to matter anymore where you worship the Father, on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans know very little about the one you worship, while we Jews know all about him, for salvation comes through the Jews. But the time is coming, indeed, it's here now when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and in truth. Hallelujah. The Father is looking for those who will worship him that way, for God is spirit, so those who worship him must worship in spirit and in truth. And as the Holy Spirit, Jesus says it here, we're worshiping in spirit and in truth. The Holy Spirit rises within us to worship Jesus. We've already talked about that. And he leads us into his gifts, which Job so spoke about so well last Sunday. Honestly, if you've not heard it, go on the Church in the Peak website or have a look on Buzz Sprout or Apple Podcasts. It's really worth listening to. It was a great preach. And um, so good. We are gonna look at some of the gifts of the Spirit in in weeks coming up, so I'm not gonna go into that now, but I love this quote from Wayne Grudham. He says this God has given the gifts to the body of Christ to manifest the presence, his presence among us, to remind us of our dependence upon one another, and thus build the unity of the church, to edify the individual, the church, and to reach the lost. Through the spiritual gifts, the believer is humbled, fulfilled, encouraged, and made useful in the hands of our Master, to whom all glory is due. What a quote. But it's true. You edify yourself, God edifies you, he builds you up, he encourages you as you step out in the gifts, but he also builds the church and he builds unity in the church. The whole chapter, uh 1 Corinthians 13, is about the body of Christ working the way God wants it to work. It's all different. Each one has a different gift, each one brings something, and as we put that together, the body works as it should. There's a whole chapter on it. Maybe we'll preach on that later as well. But they're so important. Let God come and fill you with his gifts. If you're not used to the gifts of the Spirit, just ask him. Just say, Lord, come. I want to move in your gifts. Come and speak to me. On a Sunday morning at Guru, wherever you are, God can speak to you at any time, at any point. 1 Corinthians 12, verse 7 says, It's a spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. So important. That's not the first thing you think about when you think about spiritual gifts. But it's so true. Spiritual gift is given to each of us so we can help each other. The Holy Spirit brings power. Hallelujah. In Acts 1, verse 4 to 8, Jesus says, Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, which is the Holy Spirit. As I told you before, John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit. So when the apostles were with Jesus, they kept asking him, Lord, has the time come for you to free Israel and restore our kingdom? And he replied, The Father alone has the authority to set those dates and times, and they are not for you to know. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria and to the ends of the earth. The Great Commission. And it's interesting, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you to be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere, in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, Samaria, until the ends of the earth. And that's the Great Commission for us. It's exactly the same. The Holy Spirit gives us power for witness that other people may come to know Jesus. We need the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives, personally, in our churches and our community. That is what changes people. Look at Peter. Before he gets baptized in the Holy Spirit or filled with the Holy Spirit, he's just denied Jesus three times. Exactly as Jesus told him he would. And if you read it, you think, oh my goodness, Peter, what are you doing? But I think I'd be exactly the same. Because they're saying, You're one of them. You know, we need to deal with you just like we've dealt with Jesus. He fears for his own safety, and so he denies Jesus three times. What changes in Acts is gets filled by the power of the Holy Spirit, and then he's preaching to the Jews, and 3,000 people are saved. It's a great preach if you listen to it. This is what we want, isn't it? And we need it in our churches. The power of the Holy Spirit to change lives radically. In the very next chapter of Acts, Peter heals the crippled beggar. Crippled beggar is there and he asks them for money. And Peter says to him, I don't have silver and gold for you, but I'll give you what I have. In the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, get up and walk. And he jumped up, stood on his feet, and began to walk. Listen, we may not have silver and gold, but we have the risen Lord Jesus living in us. Ask him for more power, ask him for boldness. You know, when we meet people healing on the streets, when they go and meet people, they're asking God to come in the moment and pray for people, reveal what's wrong with people. As we go to uh Worksworth's Market, we can be exactly the same. What do you want to say to these people today, Lord? Help me. Give me a word that releases people, give me a word that draws people to yourself. Wonderful. Okay, to finish. Sorry, we've probably gone on too long. To finish, I want to quote John Piper, who uh if you know me, you know I love John Piper. He manages to put truth together in such a beautiful way and capture our heart's response to Jesus. And this is so important, this quote, this is key. In the end, the heart longs not for any of God's good gifts, but for God Himself. To see Him and to know Him and be in His presence is the soul's final feast. Beyond this, there is no quest, words fail. We call it pleasure, joy, delight, but these are weak pointers to the unspeakable experience of knowing Christ. And that is just so true in the heart, in the end, the heart longs not for any of God's gifts, but for God Himself. And that's what we want in Worksworth and Matlock and Buxton. It's not for people to come, it's for people to come and meet with Jesus. Because he's alive, as we've already heard this morning through testimony and through our worship, he wants to come and do you good. And that's why we worship Jesus, because he is amazing, and we just love being in his presence. Words fail. The unspeakable experience of knowing Christ. Okay, we're gonna come back and sing one song. Which Steve's gonna do for us. Um quick book recommendation. Terry Virgo, the Spirit Filled Church.

unknown 34:27

Such a good book of this monastery. I picked up my copy at home. Um, it's ridiculous. That is such a good apology.

SPEAKER_00 34:40

It's full of truth, which is what I love. It's full of the scriptures, and it's full of truth. And um I bought some extra copies today. If you want to take one, please have a read.