Mark E.

Larson

The Holy Spirit is Our Helper

Introduction: Like Jesus, who was filled with the Spirit, Christians today are given
the help they need by the Spirit to be spiritual and live a life of holiness.

When Jesus was baptized, He was anointed by the Spirit who remained on Him (John
1:33). Jesus was faithful to His Father by following the Spirit's lead (Luke 4:1), relying on
Holy Scripture to combat the temptations of the devil (Mat. 4:1-11). The words that Jesus
taught and obeyed came from His Father which was given to Him by the Holy Spirit
(John 3:34; 6:38, 63). Jesus was obedient even to the point of death on the cross because
He followed the Holy Spirit's lead (Heb. 9:14).

Just as the Holy Spirit was Jesus' Helper, the Spirit would be the Helper of His
disciples and all future disciples of Christ for generations to come (John 14:15-21).
Jesus prayed that His disciples would be given another Helper that would “abide with
them forever - the Spirit of truth.” A Holy Spirit that only disciples of Christ, not the
world, could receive. The Spirit of truth came as promised (Acts 2:4ff). “And it shall
come to pass in the last days, says God, that I will pour out of My Spirit on all mankind”
(Acts 2:17a). All Christians would be given the gift of the Holy Spirit (Acts 2:38; cf.
Acts 5:32; 1 Thes. 4:8; 1 John 3:24) just as Jesus had prophesied (John 7:37-39).

Jesus told the twelve, “for He dwells with you and will be in you. I will not leave you
orphans” (John 14:17b-18a). The same is true for us today! We too are not alone. The
Holy Spirit dwells within every Christian (1 Cor. 3:16). We can be spiritual just like Jesus
when we rely on the Holy Spirit, our Helper that makes living a life of holiness possible.

I. Believe That the Holy Spirit, Your Helper, Dwells in You!

A. Have faith in the reality of the Holy Spirit's presence within you.
i. Do you actually believe this to be true? (1 Cor. 6:19-20).
ii. Whether or not we truly believe this will determine our thoughts, attitudes,
and actions as Christians; our commitment to be holy and refrain from sin.
iii. In order for the Holy Spirit to be our Helper, we need to have strong
conviction and confidence that He truly does dwell within us.
B. To have strong faith in Him and receive help from our Helper depends much
on our dedication to the word of God.
i. We quench the fire or suppress the help that the Holy Spirit has to offer us
when we do not listen to or obey the word of God (1 Thes. 5:19-20).
ii. To “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) believe in His abiding presence
and continue in God's word.

II. Our Helper in Prayer and the Study of God's Word.

A. The Holy Spirit intercedes for us in prayer (Rom. 8:26-27).
i. Especially in difficult times, we groan or cry out to God, unable to put into
words what we need to pray.
ii. Our Helper helps us in times of weakness, assisting us in prayer to God!

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 Mark E. Larson

B. The Holy Spirit gives us understanding of God's word.

i. Sinners can study the Bible and gain some knowledge, but they will fail to
fully understand spiritual truths, for they are still carnal and unconverted.
ii. Only Christians who have the Holy Spirit, can know the wisdom of God
and receive the spiritual truths of the Scriptures (1 Cor. 2:6-16).
iii. The Spirit of wisdom, revelation, and enlightenment opens our eyes to see
spiritual truths and wisdom that were once hidden (Eph. 1:15-19).
a) Our Helper helps us understand Scripture in the way in which God
intended for us to understand it! (cf. John 16:13).
b) Searching the Scriptures does not depend solely on us. While we must
be diligent to study (2 Tim. 2:15), we still need to pray for wisdom
(James 1:5) and seek help from God the Holy Spirit.
III. Our Helper in the Fight Against Sin.
A. The Holy Spirit can give us the victory over the flesh.
i. Jesus had a body of flesh just like us (Heb. 2:17), yet He did not sin. Even
after fasting for 40 days and nights, He did not give into fleshly desire to
sin (Mat 4:1-11). How did He do it? The Helper was with Him! (Luke 4:1)
ii. “Fleshly lusts wage war against the soul” (1 Pet. 2:11) (Gal. 5:16-26).
a) The flesh can be awfully persuasive, yet it is contrary to the Spirit.
We must not allow selfish, fleshly desires to rule the day.
iii. To win the battle against the flesh each day, we must rely on our Helper.
a) Let the Spirit lead you (Gal. 5:18; Rom. 8:14) by setting your mind on
things of the Spirit (Rom. 8:5) (pleasing God according to Scripture).
b) If we live in the Spirit, profess to have the Spirit, we will demonstrate
that we truly believe this by how we walk or conduct ourselves (v. 25).
B. The sword of the Spirit gives us the ability to overcome every temptation.
i. Jesus overcame every temptation of the devil by quoting Scripture (Mat 4).
Triumphantly, He returned “in the power of the Spirit” (Luke 4:13-14).
ii. We too can overcome every temptation the devil throws at us by yielding
“the sword of the Spirit which is the word of God” (Eph. 6:17).

IV. Our Helper Who Strengthens Us Each Day by His Abiding Presence.
A. Believe in the Spirit's abiding presence in daily living (Eph. 3:14-19).
i. Too often we are oblivious to the reality of the Spirit dwelling within us.
ii. To be strong in the Lord we need“to be strengthened with might through
His Spirit in the inner man” which requires FAITH the Spirit is with us.
iii. Those who believe in the Holy Spirit's presence have the strength they
need to do God's will and never give up, knowing that they are not alone.
iv. Example: The Holy Spirit can give us the boldness (confidence, courage)
we need to face our persecutors, to speak truth, and stand for what is right.
(Acts 4:29-31; cf. Eph. 6:18-20; 2 Tim. 1:7).

B. Most importantly, the presence of the Holy Spirit gives us a most blessed
assurance of the love God has for us who has given us the hope of eternal life!
(Rom. 5:1-5; cf. Eph. 1:13-14; 2 Cor. 1:20-22)