Three Marks of the Holy Spirit in Us — Sandeep Poonen

The Holy Spirit as the Third Person of the Trinity

I want to speak today about the ministry of the Holy Spirit that must be very present in our lives. I do not know if we think often about the Holy Spirit and His importance in our lives. He is a third separate person of the Trinity.

We speak much about the Father. We all know about Jesus, but I don't know if we have the same confidence and the same faith about the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is a critical person in the Trinity.

Jesus said, it is better that I go, because if I don't go, you won't get the Holy Spirit. But if I leave, you'll receive the Holy Spirit. So just that very basic statement. Many of us can fall into the mistaken idea that if Jesus was physically living with me, some of us may pray that our spouses would act a little bit more like Jesus.

Well, what if you got Jesus living with you? We can fall into the mistaken idea that if Jesus was living with me, life would be very simple. Five loaves and two fish would be no problem to feed 5 ,000.

Water bodies would have no problem as He just walked me through it, on top of it. And on and on. And we can think, given to the mistaken idea that Jesus with me will make my problems a lot simpler. But Jesus very clearly said, it is better that I go away, so that I'm not with you physically, so that the Holy Spirit can be in me.

And so for the Holy Spirit to be in me must become a tangible reality. The Holy Spirit, if I am surrendered to Jesus Christ, and I give all of my ambitions, desires, everything over to Him, and I say, I surrender Lord, and I'm a sinner, Jesus accepts my surrendered heart, and He gives His Holy Spirit to live inside of me.

If that Holy Spirit is going to live inside of me, there must be real proof that there is somebody, somebody, not something, somebody different living inside of me. Marked difference. So what all we've heard today definitely speaks right to it.

Listening to the Holy Spirit Through Scripture

Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4, we can start with that, and I want to give you three simple verses that we can know that the Holy Spirit is in us. But Isaiah chapter 50 verse 4 says, The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples, that I might know how to sustain the weary one with the word.

He awakens me morning by morning, every single day, He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple, to listen. We as Christians must grow in our ability to listen to the Holy Spirit prompting us to apologize to somebody, to send an email to somebody, to say, Lord what are you trying to speak to me?

And the Holy Spirit is within me trying to speak to me. It's important for us to know God's word, which is God's spoken word, that was spoken and now written down for us. It's important to know God's written word because that gives us the parameters around which God can speak.

So He tells us, look this is how God does operate and I can test whether what God is speaking in my heart is from God because it aligns with scripture. If you want to know how all of these books came to be in the Bible, that was one of the very important tests.

Do they line up with all what God is speaking? If it's saying something randomly different, then it doesn't belong in this book of inspired scripture. And it must also have a strong confirmation in our heart, this aligns up with what God is all about.

So when I encounter things like the prosperity gospel that God wants to make me rich, I have to ask myself, does it line up with what this book is generally about? And I see that this book is primarily about Jesus, not about my wealth, it's about Him.

And so any gospel that tries to make it about me and my comfort and my ease doesn't fit with the thrust of this book. And many other things that we can ask ourselves, at the end of the day we should say, Lord Jesus give me an ear to listen.

Give me an ear to listen. What are you trying to say? Is He trying to tell you something at your workplace? You must have an ear to listen. And He can speak to you. That's a very important thing that the Lord wants us to develop as a habit, as we seek to be a light in this world, as we seek to be a salt in this world.

We have to develop an ear to listen. Lord is this what you're asking me to speak? That is how we'll get freed from all the pressures of man to say, do this, do that. What about this ministry? What about that ministry?

What about this burden? What about that burden? Develop an ear to listen to what the Holy Spirit is saying to us. And most of all He tries to, as we heard today, consecrate us. Consecrate us wholly for Him.

Obedience in Small Matters

And He tests us in the little areas. And all of us, as we live this Christian life, God will test us in the little areas. If you've been coming to this church for a few years, you've heard how God has tested us in little different areas.

I've shared a little different pieces of doctrine or something. The Lord may be testing me to see, do you wholly want to be consecrated to you? And the payoff is not known. The payoff is known years later, as I see that God gives me His nature.

I get to partake of the very nature of God. That He transforms me. But before He gives me all of that, He tests me in little areas of obedience. Usually the small ones. And He asks, will you be obedient?

That is why it's very important for us to listen and to know that the Holy Spirit is living inside of me and trying to speak to me. Some of the areas that He'll ask you to, definitely He'll ask you to speak, He's trying to speak to you is, wipe that frown off your face.

Why are you in a bad mood? Why are you discouraged? Why are you murmuring? Why are you complaining? Why are you anxious? Why do you love money? Say sorry to your spouse. Now. Turn off the internet. Now.

Many different ways the Lord will speak to us. And if we are attentive, do you know that the Lord has spoken to me? About pieces of clothing, not immodest, but about even pieces of clothing that I should wear.

And I've put on a shirt and I felt the Lord saying, put on a different shirt. I've worn that shirt on other occasions, but He says, take off that shirt and put it on now. Put a different one on now. It's not any area of sin, but I'm trying to prove to the Lord, Lord if you tell me, I will listen and I'll obey.

This is not about shirts. It's not about pants. It's not about that. I'm just trying to tell you. This is how sensitive I want to be about Lord Jesus. I want to do it. And now the Lord is asking me to say, you know, I put you at your company, not to give you a salary.

I put you in your company because I want to try to reach somebody there. Are you listening? Are you paying attention? Are you willing to sow a seed even if it means shame and people laughing in your face?

Will you prepare your heart now when a needy person comes to you at your work and the political culture doesn't allow for you to speak about the faith? Will you be ready to take on the shame? Again, we have to be very wise in how we speak and when we speak and how we understand the corporate regulations.

But I'm trying to ask the Lord, Lord, I want to be ready to listen. I want to be willing to speak for you. I want to be willing to do anything for you. I must listen. This is what the Holy Spirit is trying to do in all of us.

Discernment, Church Leadership, and Spiritual Stagnation

We hear some wonderful testimonies of how the Lord is able to speak in our lives. This is not for the high priestly class. This is not for the faithful ones. This is for every single Christian. That is why it's also very important to come to a good church where you know the leaders of the church and what is being taught.

Because that teaches you how God is trying to speak, what He's interested in about it. That's what a good teacher will tell you. God's not interested in making you rich. God will give you good spiritual leaders who can help you decipher what's in God's word for it.

And a good spiritual leader will not try to dominate your life. It's one proof of a good spiritual leader. They won't try to tell you what to do. But they will tell you when God's word tells you otherwise.

That's what we seek to have in this church as well. So He wants to speak to you. Are you listening? When was the last time the Holy Spirit spoke to you and prompted you and said, do this? Has He spoken to you?

Maybe through this pulpit. Maybe through a man of God. Maybe through an older sister in Christ. Have you listened? Have you obeyed? Are you wondering why your spiritual life is stagnant? Maybe it's because God said, look I told you something three months ago.

I had the Lord tell me this for months and for years. I asked the Lord for years in my twenties. I asked the Lord for so many different areas and I felt the Lord keep telling me, I'm pointing out this one area in your life.

You're not addressing it like I said you should. Until you do that, everything else, I'm not interested in addressing that until you address this one particular matter. And I didn't address it for years.

And the result was an up and down Christian life. But when I addressed what I knew was God clearly telling me to address that area. And when I decided to permanently keep dying in that area, the Lord opened up other areas.

And the Lord released many other areas in my life. And He continues to do that. When He nags you with the Holy Spirit, prompting you, not in a negative way, but keeps pushing you saying, deal with this, deal with this.

Dear brothers and sisters, obey. Obey in the small matters. You may think, hey look, I'm still coming regularly, I'm still reading my Bible. Obey in the small areas of sin. The Holy Spirit may be speaking to you right now.

He may have spoken to you through something He said. Don't despise it. This is critical. If you want the Holy Spirit to speak more clearly, lay it down, whatever you're holding on to. Apologize, whatever pride you're holding on to that's stopping you from doing it.

Have a clear conscience. When in doubt, do it anyway. Not sure I should, Lord Jesus, I just want to do it for your sake. God will help us. Beyond that, three marks that the Holy Spirit is in us. And what is the work of the Holy Spirit to do in us?

The First Mark: Knowing the Love of God

Romans chapter 5 verse 5. This is something I shared in the small group earlier as well, but I want to share it to the whole church. Because in that study where we were having, a small group in our church, there were non-Christians who came.

And there was a non-Christian who also said, well, this is how the Spirit speaks to me. They were not talking about the Holy Spirit. They were talking about a spirit of another religion. And so New Agers also say they have the Spirit of God dealing with them.

It's a force. And the Spirit of God tells them to have gratitude and all kinds of things. How do you know that you have the Holy Spirit living in you? We can come up with multiple different ideas, but we base our confidence on God's Word.

And this is not an exhaustive study. There's much more to it. But I wanted to give you three fundamental markers that I use in my life. Romans chapter 5 verse 5. The second half of it. The love of God has been poured out through the Holy Spirit.

It's not that the love of God is present. It's not that the love of God is there. It has been poured out. One mark that you have been born again. One mark that you have the Holy Spirit in you is that you know that you are loved.

I'm not talking about quantity. That means you know how much you are loved. That will grow. I know I'm more loved now compared to 10 years ago or 20 years ago when I was first born again. But that seed must be in there that you are loved.

The picture of the prodigal son being loved by the father. Before the son has even said sorry, as we heard. That is the mark that the Holy Spirit has come to live in us is that we know that we are loved.

Because God is love and the Holy Spirit is God. And it is the love of God the father. Romans 8 chapter 15 says you have not received a spirit of slavery. But you've received a spirit of adoption as sons by which you cry out daddy.

That's the Holy Spirit living in you is that you have an intimate child-father relationship with God. If you don't have it, seek that the Lord open your heart to the Holy Spirit. He wants to do that to you.

But the love of God as a father has to be in you. If you say you have the Holy Spirit living in you. Jesus next to you can't do it. Good sermons can't do it. It takes the Holy Spirit to be in us. To have the love of God.

Not our love for God but God's love for us. Even before we say sorry to God we need to know that the Lord is willing to run out to meet us. And as we accept that in faith and as we do say sorry. You must have the confidence that God does his part because he's eager to do it.

The Second Mark: Conviction of Sin

The second mark of the Holy Spirit in our lives is John chapter 16 verse 8. Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Let's start with verse 7. John chapter 16 verse 7 Jesus says but I tell you the truth.

Almost like Jesus who is the truth. Jesus who never lied. Almost said look I want to underline. That's why he says but I tell you the truth because he wanted to underline it. It is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away the helper will not come to you.

And you really need the helper. If I go I will send him to you and when he comes he will convict. The Holy Spirit must be somebody who's convicting you of areas of sin in your life. Areas that are not reflecting Christ.

What is the definition of sin? Anything that falls short of the glory of God. For all have sinned because they fall short of the glory of God. But God I've been pretty good this week. I've read my Bible every day.

I've done a lot of good things this week. I fed the poor. I went on a short term mission trip for three days. Did you fall short of the glory of God? I have sinned. In all those areas the Holy Spirit is trying to convict us in motives and in intentions of our heart.

And you say Sandeep that's an extremely tall standard. It's an extremely impossible standard. It's an extremely difficult standard. I agree it's not just difficult it's impossible. But remember this is after the infinite love of God has come to live inside of us.

This is on top of you being eternally loved with an everlasting love. And when you try to deal with the Holy Spirit who tries to convict you without first embracing the infinite love of God, it will result in condemnation.

And that's why we shy away from even the conviction of the Holy Spirit because we keep getting condemned. Because we don't know the love of God. That's the lap on which God seeks to convict you. What's the posture in which God wants to convict you?

On the lap of God. That's where you ought to be sitting. He's seated you in the heavenlies in Christ. So as we are seated on the lap of our loving Heavenly Father it's on that lap that God says I want to point out what's wrong and that could become better.

As you seek to be a better reflection of me. You can't hide it from God but position is so important. God convicted people in the Old Testament but it was standing from the top of Mount Sinai thundering down and all the people fell back.

That's the life under the Old Covenant and that's the life under the life of rules and regulations but we're standing at the base of the mountain and Gods of the Holy Righteous Judge God up in heaven thundering down His commandments.

And even though we are post the death and resurrection of Christ we can still interact with God that way where God's up on His holy mountain and we're down there and we receive His judgments and we feel condemned because we cower in fright.

It's not the gospel. The gospel says come up higher come and sit on my lap. It says John chapter 1 verse 18 that Jesus who was in the bosom in the lap of the Father He has explained God to us and now we are seated in Christ.

So where is Christ? In the bosom of the Father. In the lap of the Father. It's on that posture from which Jesus says the Holy Spirit will convict you of sin, of righteousness, of judgment. So we can't ignore the conviction of the Holy Spirit.

Conviction Versus Emotional Manifestations

I got an email yesterday or two days ago. All of these non-Christian friends of mine are asking me you believe in the Holy Spirit but every time we see the Holy Spirit on TV they're jumping and they're clapping and they're shouting and they're falling down and they're all doing kind of crazy things like that.

Is that the Holy Spirit? What should I tell them? Very simple. He's not called the clapping spirit. He's not called the shouting spirit. He's not called the laughing spirit. He's not called any other kind of spirit except the Holy Spirit.

So if He's going to live inside of you, He's going to convict you. He's not going to convict you because you're not shouting enough. He's not going to convict you because you're not laughing enough. He's going to convict you that you're not holy like He is holy.

And holiness includes rejoice always because that's the command of God. So we don't have to have a plastic smile on our face but we must have a spirit of rejoicing. Over a spirit of murmuring and complaining.

Over a spirit of bad moods. We've said this at the church for over a year now, I believe. May the people in our church be done with bad moods. May the people in our church be done with pouting and getting offended.

We heard this five years ago. I remember hearing this five years ago. When we were just beginning as a church. I was at a conference this week in North Carolina and I spoke about that. And it stirred great conversation about them.

Because this was the first time they were interacting with it. And they didn't know what to do with it. They said this is too hard. I said it's not too hard, it's impossible. This is why Jesus just can't be with you.

You need somebody to come to live inside of you. So cry out for Him. Ask Him to speak to you. What does He speak to you? He'll tell you how much God loves you. It's been poured out. And He'll convict you.

Why do you have that pouting attitude? Go and be reconciled with your brother. I don't need some big feats of strength. I don't need to give all your money to the poor. May not be the verse applicable to you.

I just need you to write a small email saying you're sorry. The Holy Spirit convicts us. And then finally John chapter 16. My favorite part that really grabbed a hold of me. And I keep getting reminded of.

The Third Mark: The Holy Spirit Glorifies Jesus

They're all good I'm sure. But John chapter 16 verse 14. He will glorify me. This is why. This is the mark of the Holy Spirit. That must be present in every Christian. No matter what religion you call yourself.

The mark of the Holy Spirit is that He will glorify Jesus. You can call yourself a Christian. Claim to have the Holy Spirit. But you think nothing of Jesus. Yes you know a lot of facts about Him. You watch The Passion every.

Good Friday, Easter season. But Jesus is not glorified. He's not becoming bigger. He's not being magnified. Is Jesus more precious to you now than He was three years ago? Yeah yeah. I know you've done more mission trips.

Yeah I know you've done more. You've taught more classes. You've done more ministry. You've spoken more sermons. Great. Is Jesus more precious to you? You've perfected your doctrines. You've gotten a better understanding of the new covenant life.

You've memorized more scripture. You're memorizing now new songs. Is Jesus, the person of Jesus, more precious to you? Can I see it in your eyes? That you don't have an agenda? That you have Jesus that's grabbed you more?

Or do I see more that you seek to be relevant? That you still want to become somebody? He must increase and I must decrease. He must be everything. I must be nothing. Is that the trend in which you're going?

Is that the trajectory of your life? Or is it more, well I got a bonus. And now I got this new job. And now I got this healthier children. And I used to have a sickness. And now that sickness has gone away.

Is that the trend of your life? I used to be single. And God blessed me in marriage. And then God blessed me with children. And then I, got a bonus. And then I was able to retire. Then I was able to send money to start an orphanage.

And then I died. What about Jesus? We say it's a relationship not a religion. If it is, let's make it a relationship. Relationship with who? With Jesus. This is something even children can understand.

This is something even children can say, Lord Jesus fill me with the Holy Spirit. No matter what your age is. Seek that the Lord will fill you with the Holy Spirit so that Jesus becomes precious to you.

That He magnifies Calvary to you. That He magnifies the empty tomb to you. But more than even all of those, that He magnifies the rent veil. The denying of your self will. That He too did. We heard from Michelle, Hebrews chapter 4 verse 16.

The verse right before that says, He was tempted in all points yet is without sin. Why? Because even though He was tempted to do His own will, He never did. He tore that veil separating humans from God.

He denied His own will. I hope that gets magnified in our eyes. This Jesus who never did His own will but only did what the Father asked Him to do. He must be magnified. The life of Christ must be magnified.

Always carrying about in our body the dying of Jesus so that the life of Christ may be revealed in us. Let me end with how what we heard also about faith. If you want the Holy Spirit, you must ask with faith.

Seeking the Holy Spirit by Faith

If you lack the Holy Spirit, come to God who wants to give Him the Holy Spirit. And we must ask with faith. And the story that I think of is in Luke chapter 11 where it talks about what will you do you who are evil relative to God but since we are so good in an earthly sense what will we do when a child of us asks us for bread?

Will we give that child a stone? What if a child asks for protein? Fish. Will we give him a serpent? Luke chapter 11 verse 11. Now suppose one of you fathers is asked by his son for a fish. He will not give him a snake instead of a fish, will he?

If he is asked for an egg, he will not give him a scorpion, will he? If you now relative to God God is so much more infinitely good than we are. If we know how to give food when our children ask food and not something bad how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?

We don't have because we do not ask. And we don't have because we ask with selfish motives. We want the Holy Spirit to validate us. We want the Holy Spirit to make our lives easier. We must seek the Holy Spirit to glorify Jesus.

We must seek the Holy Spirit to say, Lord Jesus, I do not know your love. I act out of so many insecurities because I do not know how much you love me. And as I'm sitting in the lap of love, I must ask the Holy Spirit, Holy Spirit you must convict me.

I will not get offended at you. I will not shy away from you. You can use any child. You can use an old man or an old woman or a young boy or a young girl. It doesn't matter who it comes from. Lord, the ministry of the Holy Spirit is to convict me.

I want to listen. And then I, Lord, I want to see you. The point of all of that is to see how you were so perfect and how you did it well. I read a story about a woman called Eugenia Price. Don't know much about her.

Spiritual Growth Through Awareness of Need

But she said something that I've taken note of. My need is my most glorious possession outside of Jesus Christ. Let me repeat that. My need is my most glorious possession outside of Jesus Christ. I do not know much about this woman.

But that rings true in my heart. That is the evidence that I know that I have grown spiritually in the last two years or five years. I have a greater sense of my need. I am not sinning in some secret way.

And hence, I have a sense of my own need. My spirituality, my outward as well as my inner life I would say before God is more obedient than it was five years ago. I will say that honestly before God. That in the last five years, I have become more obedient externally and internally.

But something else has also happened. I have never in my life felt as needy as I do now. This only the Holy Spirit can do. I see the distance between Christ and me increasing. Even though I am becoming more and more obedient.

How is that possible? Because the distance between God and me is truly infinite. I thought it was 10 ,000 miles. But if the Holy Spirit is in you, He will magnify Jesus. And I thought Jesus was 10 million miles away.

But now it's 12. So I worship Him a little easier now. Because He's even more glorious than He's ever been. Dear brothers and sisters, this is the most glorious thing I have in my life. It's my need. We are in a church where we preach God's Word and we seek to fulfill the whole counsel of God's Word and we seek to teach all that God has commanded.

And we seek to obey it too. I hope you're seeking to obey it and the things that are being taught. But despite all of that, I pray, I pray that you will not lose the most precious thing that you must have outside of Jesus Christ.

And that is your growing need. An unquenchable thirst. I don't have the time, but John chapter 7, verse 37, when Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit. John 7, 37 through 39, you can take a note of it. Jesus says, on the last day of the feast, after they've had a week-long feast of celebrating God, Jesus cries out with a loud voice, are you still thirsty?

After you've celebrated me for a week and reveled in my goodness for a week, are you still thirsty? No God, I'm all filled up. You know, one thing I am is not thirsty because I've just eaten and drunk all week.

Are you still thirsty after you've taken in all the goodness of God that you've experienced in your life? After you've seen all the victories over sin that God has given you? Are you still thirsty for Him?

Come and drink. He who believes in me from your innermost being will flow rivers of living water. And it says He spoke about the Holy Spirit that was yet to be given to us. Dear saints, let your need be the most glorious possession you have outside of Jesus Christ.

Amen.