The Outpouring of God’s Spirit
Isaiah 44
Today we are going to talk about the Holy Spirit. Many followers of Jesus Christ feel pretty comfortable with God the Father and Jesus the Son, but they don’t know what to do with the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit seems to be the neglected person of the Trinity.
And this is tragic, because it’s by the Holy Spirit that we know and experience God. So if we neglect the work of the Spirit, then we will be left with just thinking the right things and doing the right things -- but there’s won’t be any life or reality.
That’s my background. In my early years as a Christian I neglected the work of the Spirit, and I focused on believing the right things and doing the right things – and my heart shrivelled up. But God used some godly men to help me understand the work of the Spirit – and life came back.
That’s why I’m so excited about the promise that God makes to us in Isaiah 44 – that God will pour His Spirit out upon us.
So let’s turn to Isaiah 44. If you need a Bible, go ahead and raise your hand and we will bring one to you. Isaiah 44 is on page 604 in the Bibles we are passing out. Isaiah was a prophet whom God raised up at around 700 BC to speak God’s truth to the nation of Israel. And here in chapter 44 God tells Israel that the time is coming when He will pour His Spirit out upon them.
Here’s an overview of the chapter. In vv.1-5 God promises to pour out His Spirit. Then in vv.6-8 He explains why they can be certain this will happen, since He has fulfilled every prophecy and promise He’s ever made.
Then in vv.9-20 He wants them to see that the reason God will do this is not because of how good they have been, because they have persisted in turning from God and making idols. Israel, like us, has sinned grievously against God. So how can a just and holy God pour His Spirit upon them?
He answers that in vv.21-28: God will redeem them, which we now know is through Jesus’ death on the Cross, and God will blot out – forgive -- all their sins as they repent and trust Him.
So the main point of this chapter is that God promises Israel that He will pour out His Holy Spirit. That’s described in vv.1-5 – so this morning we are going to focus on those verses. Let’s read them --
1 "But now hear, O Jacob my servant, Israel whom I have chosen!
2 Thus says the LORD who made you, who formed you from the womb and will help you: Fear not, O Jacob my servant, Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,' another will call on the name of Jacob, and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
So right there in v.3 God promises to pour out His Spirit upon Israel. So what is the outpouring of the Spirit? To understand this we need to understand who the Holy Spirit is. He is not a force or a power; He is the third person of the Trinity, fully God in Himself. And the most important job of the Holy Spirit is to make God the Father and Jesus the Son real to us in our experience.
Think about it like this. Right now God the Father is in heaven, and Jesus the Son is at His right hand. So if the Father and the Son are in heaven, and we are here on earth, how can we know them? We can know about them, sure; but how can we really know them and personally experience their presence?
This is a crucial question. I remember when I was on a 10-day missions trip in Europe – it was agonizing being thousands of miles from Jan. I could look at a picture of Jan, and read a note she had written, and think about her, but she wasn’t there. So I wasn’t able to personally know and experience her.
The most important work of the Holy Spirit is to help us personally know and experience God. To see this, turn to John 16:6-7 (p.902).
Think of what it would have been like to know Jesus when He was here on earth; to have had person-to-person contact with Him, like I could have with you right now. Then imagine having Jesus tell you that He is going to leave. When the disciples heard that, they were devastated. But look at what Jesus says in John 16:6-7 --
6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
7 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper [the Holy Spirit] will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you.
The disciples have known Jesus personally, face-to-face, for three years. And He says to them: “it’s better for you that I go away, because when I go, I will send the Holy Spirit to you.”
Part of what that means is that even though Jesus would ascend to heaven and be gone from earth, the Holy Spirit would make Jesus real to them in their experience. And this would be even better than when Jesus was on earth, because Jesus’ presence would not be limited to those who could crowd around Him. Peter could experience the presence of Jesus in Jerusalem while Paul experienced the presence of Jesus hundreds of miles away in Antioch.
Now with that in mind, turn back to Isaiah 44. God promises Israel that the day will come when He will save them: change their hearts, forgive their sins through the Messiah, and – pour out His Spirit upon them. The third person of the Trinity, God the Holy Spirit, who is fully God in Himself, would be poured out upon them. God the Holy Spirit would indwell them.
And the result is that they would personally know and experience God Himself. They would not just know about Him – they would know Him. They would not just know that God forgave them, they would feel His forgiveness. They would not just know that God loved them, they would experience His love. They would not just know that God exists, they would have first-hand experience of God Himself.
Here’s how Charles Spurgeon preached on this 200 years ago --
"Ah! you think you cannot tell whether you have the Holy Spirit or not? If I were touched by electricity, could I tell whether I was or not? I suppose I should; the shock would be strong enough to make me know where I stood. So, if I have God within me -- if I have the Deity tabernacling inside me -- if I have God the Holy Ghost resting in my heart, and making a temple of my body, do you think I shall know it?" Spurgeon 1:60.
The Holy Spirit makes God real to us in our experience, and when He does we know it.
Then here in Isaiah 44 Isaiah describes the results of this outpouring of the Spirit. There will be quenched heart-thirst. You can see that in v.3 --
3 For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring, and my blessing on your descendants.
When the Holy Spirit makes God real in your experience, you are fully satisfied.
There will also be complete surrender. You can see that in vv.4-5 --
4 They shall spring up among the grass like willows by flowing streams.
5 This one will say, 'I am the LORD's,'
When our hearts are satisfied in God, we gladly surrender to Him: gossip loses its attraction, impressing people loses its pull, and we joyfully say “We are the Lord’s.”
Another is that there will be heartfelt prayer – continue in v.5 --
5b another will call on the name of Jacob,
Scholars say this means Gentiles will join Israel in calling on the God of Jacob. So here we see that Gentiles will be included in this outpouring of God’s Spirit, so Jews and Gentiles will call upon God in heartfelt prayer.
Another is that there will be public witness – at least I think that’s the point of the rest of v.5 --
5c and another will write on his hand, 'The LORD's,' and name himself by the name of Israel."
These seem to be public acts that we do in front of other people. So when God saves us and pours His Spirit upon us, we boldly proclaim that we belong to Jesus Christ.
Now if you were an Israelite reading these verses you would have been stunned. Because nothing like this had ever happened in Israel. So you would have been wondering – when does God do this?
Isaiah wrote these word in 700 BC. Then Israel was taken in exile to Babylon, and 70 years later brought back, but there was no outpouring. Israel rebuilt the temple in Jerusalem, but there was no outpouring. Hundreds of years went by, but there was no outpouring. But then one day you heard rumors about some guy out in the dessert wearing animal skins and eating grasshoppers – John the Baptist -- saying the Messiah was coming who would pour out the Holy Spirit.
And a few weeks later, Jesus came on the scene. He taught. He forgave. He loved. He healed. And then He died on the Cross, paying for the sins of all those who would repent and trust Him, and He rose from the dead. But no outpouring.
But then, right before He ascended into heaven, He told His followers to wait in Jerusalem for the Father would pour His Spirit upon them. So they stayed in Jerusalem, waiting, and praying, and just as God had promised 700 years before – on the Day of Pentecost, God the Father and Jesus the Son poured out the third person of the Trinity upon His church.
And that day, like never before, they knew and experienced God the Father and Jesus the Son.
But it didn’t stop there. The New Testament teaches that everyone who trusts Jesus Christ receives this outpouring of the Spirit. Look for example at Romans 5:3-5 (page 942) –
3 More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance,
4 and endurance produces character, and character produces hope,
5 and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.
Paul says God’s love “has been poured into our hearts.” Too many followers of Jesus settle for just knowing that God loves them. That’s crucial; but there’s more. There can also be times when God pours His actual love into our hearts so we don’t just know that God loves us but we feel and experience his actual love for us.
And this is not a one-time event; the Greek verb shows that Paul is talking about something that recurs again and again.
And notice that Paul assumes all his readers have experienced this. Every follower of Jesus Christ can experience this – because God has given His Spirit to us through faith in Christ.
So how do we experience this? Do we just wait? No. God’s Word says there’s steps that we can take. These steps won’t force God to pour out His Spirit on us. But they open the door – and then God in His sovereign mercy will pour out His Spirit at the time and to the degree that He sees as best.
Here’s the steps. We need to fully surrender to Jesus Christ. If we hold to idols or cling to sin that will quench the work of the Spirit. We need to lay aside all pride and self-righteousness, and come to the Father clinging to Jesus’ death and righteousness alone. We need to pray earnestly for God to increase the work of His Spirit in our lives. And since the main way the Spirit works is through the truth of His Word, we need to set our hearts on the truth of God as revealed in Scripture.
And what will happen as we do this? Here’s an example of how David Brainerd experienced this. David Brainerd was a missionary to the American Indians in the 1700’s, and he wrote this in his journal when he was in his 20’s.
“I had been trying to pray for half an hour – but felt very dull. But then as I continued to pray, suddenly God broke in upon me with a revelation of His glory.
“I did not see anything physically. But my soul saw God like I had never seen Him before. I rejoiced with joy unspeakable and full of glory to see such a God, such a glorious Being; and I was inwardly pleased that He should be God over all forever and ever.
“My soul was captivated and delighted with the excellency, loveliness, greatness, and other perfections of God. I continued in this state of inward joy, peace, and astonishment, until near dark.” (adapted, The Journal of David Brainerd pp.69f)
Don’t think that everyone will have this same experience, or that this is what we experience all the time. But this is what we can experience much of the time.
What does this mean for us?
If you are not yet trusting Christ, this is important because it shows you what you will experience when you do. When you repent of your sins and trust Jesus Christ, God will pour His Spirit upon you – and you will not just know about Him, but you will know Him – personally, experientially. Doesn’t that make you want to repent and trust Christ?
And if you are trusting Christ, then ask yourself: have you been neglecting this work of the Holy Spirit? How earnestly and expectantly have you been praying and seeking?
Now why is this so important? It’s because this work of the Holy Spirit is the reality and power of the Christian life. This is how you love your enemy, and give to the poor, and turn from porn. This is how you are empowered to advance the Gospel.
So if you are going to be part of the Garden City Church advancing the Gospel downtown – this is what you need. If you are advancing the Gospel in the Bernal / 101 area – this is what you need. If you are advancing the Gospel in Willow Glen, or Blossom Valley – this is what you need.
The outpouring of the Spirit won’t just make us feel good in our prayer closets. It will thrust us out into the streets to preach the Gospel and care for the needy.
But how earnestly and expectantly have you been praying and seeking for this work of the Spirit?
Some of us picture the outpouring of the Spirit like this. This basin is your heart, and here’s the Holy Spirit being poured out. [Take an eye-dropper and drop a drop of water into a basin.] Did you see that? Pretty tiny, huh? But be honest. Some of you expect about that much of God’s love to be poured into your heart when you seek Him.
But God doesn’t say He will drip the Spirit upon us. He says He will pour the Spirit upon us. [Take a pitcher and pour water into a basin.] That’s what God can do for you.
So – that’s what God will do -- if we will seek Him earnestly and expectantly. So seek Him – earnestly and expectantly seek Him.