September 8, 2014
A Helper for All Occasions
The Holy Spirit is a very practical Helper who assists us in every aspect of our lives. When we pray, He intercedes for us according to the Lord's will (Romans 8:26). Because of our limited knowledge or self-centered desires, we sometimes ask for the wrong things, but the Spirit takes our petitions and aligns them with the Father's will. Although you may think your prayer wasn't answered, in reality, the Holy Spirit just straightened out your request in order to give you what was best.
God's Spirit also helps us understand His Word (John 16:13). In fact, no one can comprehend the Bible unless the Spirit illumines his thinking. If you come to the Scriptures with a clean heart, a submissive will, and a dependent attitude, He will enlarge your spiritual senses to see the truth and understand His thoughts.
Perhaps one of the Spirit's most under-appreciated works is His conviction of our sin (vv. 8-11). Although it's unpleasant and sometimes painful, we should never want Him to stop, because this is the way He gets us back on track after we have strayed. But He doesn't just point out our wrongs; He also empowers us to do right. True righteousness is achieved only by relying on Him to transform us and carry out His work through us.
Sometimes we don't realize how much we need the Spirit. Though we acknowledge that salvation is accomplished by Christ alone, how many of us feel as if living the Christian life is now up to us? But self-reliance is a recipe for failure. Only when you know you can't, will you find He can!
Used with permission from In Touch Ministries, Inc.
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Previous Sermon Series:
We are not our labels. We are not who others say we are. And we aren't the broken self-image we see in the mirror. So how can we get to our true identity? By laying down who we think we are to become who God says we are. Let's discover our Altar Ego. We will tackle issues like inadequacy, low self esteem anger, and offense - learn to exchange these feelings for the grace and love of Christ.
Last Week:We learned that we often feel in adequate when we recieve unfair criticism, unrealistic complements, and unwise comparisons. When feeling that way we need to remember that God views us differntly, He's given us more than we think, and it's all about Him!
Sunday's message is available for streaming or for download on our website, just under the calendar, or by visiting us on iTunes.
Next Week: We will continue our series Altar Ego by looking into the topic of My Need For Control.
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September 10 - Kid's Night Resumes at 6:30 PM.
September 18 - Trustee's Meeting at 7 PM.
September 28 - Lord's Supper following AM Worship Service.
October 5 - Carry-In Fellowship Dinner following AM Worship Service.
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