Unseen Week 4 – Seeing the Unseen
Series Big Idea: Learning to see the unseen helps us recognize that our story is part of God’s bigger story of redemption.
Message Big Idea: The unseen becomes seen as we invite the Holy Spirit to work in and through us.
Scripture:Galatians 5:16-26, 1 Corinthians 12:4-11, Acts 2:17-18
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Introduction: Behind the Scenes
Let’s start offwith a quick show of hands…wholoves movies? Raise your hand high! Great…that’s exactly what I thought. We have a ton of movie lovers here. Now what’s your favorite movie of all time? Just shout it out. (Take 3 or 4 responses.)
Those are some great movies. It’s really hard to say what my favorite movie of all time is…so I decided to name one of my favorites from my teenage years…Back to the Future! Anyone else a fan?Michael J. Fox travels back in time with the help of his crazy-haired friend, Doc. It’s brilliant!I saw it multiple times in the theater.
But the other day I came across this picturethat made me see the movie in a different light. It’s always a little jarring to see a “behind the scenes” photo from one of your favorite movies, isn’t it? All of a sudden it changes your perspective of what you saw on the screen.
Here are a couple other examples. How many of you knew that the killer shark from the movie Jaws was so playful?
Or who knew that Dumbledore and Voldemort were such good friends?
And it doesn’t look to me likeJack and Rosewere really in danger in the frigid watersof the Atlantic.
Now another quick show of hands…how many people now hate me for ruining your favorite movie?
I wanted to show you some “behind the scenes” pictures because they remind us that there’s a lot going on in the background that we just don’t see. In fact, all those “behind the scenes” moments really make what we do see come to life. Everything unseen is working to tell a story.
Ina similar way, the Holy Spirit is at work in the unseen realm, and he, too, wants to tell a story. But instead of making a movie for the big screen, he wants to tell a story through you and through me.
Holy Spirit (Recap of Part 1)
Today we’re wrapping up our series (Series Graphic)“Unseen.” This is part 2 of a 2-part message focusing on the Holy Spirit.
Last week we learned the Holy Spirit was, and is, and always will be the active presence of God in our world.Before Jesus, people experienced this presence at special times under special circumstances. Often the presence of God would come empower an individual to accomplish a specific task.
But when Jesus left the earth, he sent the Holy Spirit to be the supernatural presence and person of God living within everyone who has committed their life to following him. God isn’t just the Creator of the universe that is somewhere out there…if you’re a follower of Jesus, he is in you!
And here’s what we want to talk about today… The Spirit wants to tell a story through you and through me. Understand, even though we can’t see him, he’s meant to become visible. How? Through what he produces in your life and my life. It’s in the lives of Christ-followers that the unseen becomes seen.
Word: Galatians 5:16-17
Yet, we have to realize that each and every one of us has a part to play to make this happen. Like the actors, prop masters, and directors on a movie set; we have a role to play in partnership with the Holy Spirit to make the story come to life.
The Apostle Paul, writing to the Christ-followers in Galatia says this about our partnership:
“So I say walk by the Spirit,and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh.They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whateveryou want… Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the fleshwith its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit,let us keep in step with the Spirit.” -Galatians 5:16-17, 24-25
Paul instructs us to actively partner with the Holy Spirit by:(highlight) “walking by the Spirit” and“keeping in step with the Spirit.”He contrasts this with walking by “the flesh”… which is basically Paul’s way of saying that we shouldn’t be guided by our own selfishness and desires.
In theoriginal language of the New Testament, the verb tense for the command to “walk by the Spirit” describes a continuous action. It could be translated:“Be always walking by the Spirit.”
So you see, walking by the Spirit is a way of life where we’re continually surrendered to the work of God in us, through us, and among us. This is about living in partnership with the Spirit, letting God do what he wants to do in and through our lives.
In order to do this, we have to have what we might call a “Holy Awareness”.What I mean is we have to pay attention to what the Spirit is doing behind the scenes. We need to be looking for the unseen activity of God in us and around us.
Now maybe you’re thinking, “Yeah this sounds great, but how am I supposed to see what can't be seen?” Well, that’s a great question. I think we can start by looking at every day, every circumstance, every encounter, and askingourselves a few questions. Questions like: (add these to the heading “Holy Awareness”)
- How is God at work in this circumstance?
- How would Jesus respond in this situation?
- How could I honor God in this decision?
- How might God be speaking in this moment?
Understand at every point, in every day, we’re either governed by the Spirit or our own passions and desires. By default we’re more likely to ask questions like:
- How can I find the most favorable circumstances?
- How can I respond to make myself look good?
- What decision would advance my interests?
- What do I want to say in this moment?
Remember, Paul is challenging us to be continually influenced and directed by the Holy Spirit. When we choose to be governed by the Spirit, keeping in step with the Spirit, the unseen work of the Holy Spirit becomes visible in our lives. We “see the unseen.”
What is it that becomes visible? Let’s talk about three ways the unseen work of the Spirit become seen.
The Fruit of the Spirit
(Onscreen: “The Fruit of the Spirit” and Galatians 5:22-23) First, Paul says we see the unseen in the visible fruit the Spirit produces in our lives. Fruit like love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.
Now I want to pause here for a moment and address some common misunderstandings about the “The Fruit of the Spirit.” Many of us have been taught that these things are traits we have to constantly work at so that we can be a “good Christian.” But the reality is love, joy, peace, patience, and so on aren’t simply behavioral traits we need to work on. Paul says they are the fruit the Spirit produces in us. They’reactually evidence that the Spirit is at work in our lives.
The fruit of the Spirit are really the products of the internal change happening inside of us. As we practice “holy awareness,” as we grow in our relationship with God, the Spirit works to transform us from the inside out.
So if we’re keeping in step with the Spirit, we should expect to have moments down the road where we recognize this transformation. Moments where we realize:
●“Hey, I was way more patient with that person than I used to be.” –or-
●“I had more self-control in that situation than I would have in the past.” –or-
●“I’m finding so much more joy in the simple things of life than I ever have before.”
Seeing this transformation, seeing this fruit is one way the unseen work of the Holy Spirit becomes seen in our lives.
The Gifts of the Spirit
A second way is throughTheGifts of the Spirit.(include Scripture below)
There are several passages in the New Testament about these gifts. In one of them found in 1 Corinthians Paul writes:
“There are different kinds of gifts, but the same Spirit distributes them…Now to each one the manifestation of the Spirit is given for the common good. To one there is given through the Spirit a message of wisdom, to another a message of knowledge by means of the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit, to another gifts of healing by that one Spirit…” 1 Corinthians 12:4, 7-9
In other places in the New Testament there are other gifts mentioned such as:
- Leadership
- Mercy
- Giving
- Hospitality
- Teaching
None of the authors were attempting to give us a complete list. There are many different gifts, possibly even a greater variety than we find named in the Bible. But what I want you to notice is that Paul tells us these gifts are given for a specific purpose… (Highlight v.7)for the common good.A spiritual gift is evidence of God working through an individual to benefit the whole community of Christ-followers.
I think this is one of the things that can distinguish a spiritual gift from a talent. It can be difficult to tell the two apart because they can be somewhat related. But think of it this way…
A person can have incredible musical talent. They can sing or play beautifully. But that talent might just point tothemselves. We hear them and think, “Man! That person is talented!” And there is nothing wrong with that. We all can appreciate good art. But sometimes the Spirit takes that talent and uses it to point people to God. Sometimes people with only marginal musical talents can lead us in powerful times of worship. That’s evidence of the Spirit’s work. The unseen becoming seen.
Or someone might have a natural inclination toward being compassionate. They cry at every Hallmark movie and adopt every stray puppy. Lots of people are wired like that. Not me, but lots of people are. But there are some people who the Spirit has gifted to be unusually merciful. They can walk into any hospital room with a total stranger and make that person feel loved, cared for, and understood. They have a God-given ability to care for those who are hurting or struggling in the community.
Spiritual gifts are given for the common good, to build up the community.
And it’s important to remember, (Highlight “the same Spirit distributes them”) these gifts are God-given. We can ask for them, but we don’t earn them or work for them. The Spirit distributes the gifts to each Christ-follower to meet the needs of the community.
When we exercise these gifts, when we step out and serve one another with our gifts, we will see evidence of God at work. We see the unseen.
The Words of the Spirit
I want to mention one more way the unseen work of the Holy Spirit becomes visible. It’s perhaps something we’re not as familiar with, but we need to talk about it because of the 59 times the Holy Spirit is mentioned in the story of the early church recorded in Acts, in 36 of those appearances, this is how the Spirit’s work becomes visible…through TheWords of the Spirit. (include Scripture below)
In the second chapter of Acts, Peter has this to say about the work of the Spirit among us:
“‘In the last days, God says,
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your young men will see visions,
your old men will dream dreams.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days,
and they will prophesy.” -Acts 2:17-18
What I'm calling “words of the Spirit” are what this passage refers to as “prophesy.” Now sometimes we misunderstand that word “prophesy.” We think it’s about predicting the future or some other weird sort of magic. But that’s not what prophecy is about. Prophecy is about speaking words into one another’s lives that call us back to God. It’s about helping one another practice “holy awareness.”
Peter is saying one way we see the work of the Spiritis when the Spirit empowers members of the Christian community to speak words of insight, direction, promise, or challenge into one another’s lives.
One way the Spirit does this is through the teaching ministry of the church. We’ve probably all sat in a service at one time and felt the message was “just for me.” Have you ever experienced that? That’s the work of the Spirit using the words of the teacher to speak to your heart.
But it’s not just pastors and teachers God uses in this way. The Spirit wants to give all of us these “words” for each other.
Have you ever had an experience where you felt like you were supposed to say something to another person? Maybe it was a close friend or relative? Or maybe it was a complete stranger at the mall? But you felt a “word” was put on your heart or your mind to share with that person? Or perhaps you received a “word” like that from someone else?
Earlier this year I (Tammy) was at a conference, and as one of the mainsessions came to a close, a young, 20-something guy I’d never met sheepishly turned to me and asked if he could tell me something. He seemed so nervous. I had no idea what was coming. Then he shyly said, “During the worship today, I kept feeling over and over again that God wanted me to tell you that he loves the sound of your voice. I just think I’m supposed to tell you that.” As someone who writes and speaks as the main part of my role, let me tell you, those words washed over me as a powerful, unexpected blessing. I’m still not sure why God wanted to give me that encouragement in that moment, but months later, I still think about it.Of course, I told Jon Ferguson this story and he insisted the guy was hitting on me…but I’m going to continue to believe it was a word from God.
These “words” that God puts on our hearts for one another, this is evidence of the work of the Spirit. When we speak these “words” into each other’s lives, the unseen becomes seen.
Now, unfortunately, throughout church history, perhaps even in your own experience, sharing “words” has been something that can get twisted and abused. For example, saying, “God told me you’re supposed to marry me” is not a Spirit-led pick-up line, OK? So let me give you a few “ground rules” that can help us stay in step with the Spirit in sharing words with one another.
First, Ground Rules for Giving Words:(add each bullet point one at a time)
- Never claim the authority of God. Don’t say, “God says…” Instead say, “I believe God may have put this on my heart to say to you…” Second…
- Words are strongest when tied to Scripture. If you feel God wants you to say something to someone, ask him to give you a Scripture to share. And third….
- Use words to build up and advance Jesus’ mission. This is how we see prophetic words used in the Bible. They were never spokenfor the purpose of putting someone in their place or furthering the speaker’s agenda.
And here are a few Ground Rules for Receiving Words:
- It’s OK to be a little skeptical. But don’t let that keep you from receiving what God might have for you. Second…
- Ask: Is this “word” in line with what God says in Scripture? If it contradicts Scripture, it’s not a word from the Spirit. Third…
- Ask: Is this “word” in line with other things I see God doing in my life? Ask the Spirit to confirm the “word” to you if it really is from him. And finally…
- Ask: Does this “word” bring glory to God? If it seems the speaker is more interested in making him or herself look good, it’s probably not from the Spirit.
Challenge: Walk by the Spirit
The fruit of the Spirit, the gifts of the Spirit, words of the Spirit; all of these are ways the unseen work of the Spirit becomes seen in our community and in our lives. So how do we become people, how do we become a community where we see more and more of the unseen?
We heed Paul’s challenge to walk by the Spirit, to keep in step with the Spirit. We practice “holy awareness.”
That’s what I want to challenge us with today. Let’s put up the questions I shared earlier. (Slide with “Holy Awareness” heading and Questions)We made business cards with these questions that you will receive when you exit today.
- How is God at work in this circumstance?
- How would Jesus respond in this situation?
- How could I honor God in this decision?
- How might God be speaking in this moment?
My challenge to all of us this week is to practice “holy awareness” by asking ourselves these questions frequently as we go through our days. Ask these questions: