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10 Sermon Illustrations on The Holy Spirit

10 illustrations

The Holy Spirit is the divine presence that guides, empowers, and transforms believers, making God's truth alive within them (John 3:5-8). Often portrayed as light, wind, or a living force, the Spirit manifests visibly through fruit and spiritual gifts, highlighting His essential role in salvation and the church's vitality (Acts 1:8).

Christ in You

Living like Christ requires His nature within us, given by the Holy Spirit.

Benjamin West, the great painter, speaking of Gilbert Stuart, a brother artist famed for his beautiful coloring, used to say to his pupils, "It's no use to steal Stuart's colors; if you want to paint as he does, you must steal his eyes." When we are baffled in our efforts to live as Christ lived, the record of His life, however wonderful it is, will not enable us to be like Him. What we need is His heart, His nature. Only divinity within us can recognize divinity without. Without the Holy Spirit, we cannot know Him as God. The Work of the Holy Spirit Mr. Spurgeon once preached what in his judgment was one of his poorest sermons. He stammered and floundered and felt that his message was a complete failure. He was greatly humiliated and when he got home, he fell on his knees and said, "Lord God, Thou canst do something with nothing. Bless that poor sermon." All through the week he uttered that prayer. He woke up in the night and prayed about it. He determined the next Sunday he would redeem himself by preaching a great sermon. Sure enough, his sermon the next Sunday went off beautifully. At the close, the people crowded him and covered him with praise. Spurgeon went home pleased with himself and that night he slept like a baby, but he said to himself, "I'll watch the results of those two sermons." What were they? From the one that had seemed a failure he was able to trace forty-one conversions. From the magnificent sermon he was unable to discover even a single soul that had been saved. Spurgeon's explanation was that the Spirit of God used the one and did not use the other.

Holy Spirit, Light of the

The Holy Spirit is like a vital light guiding believers safely through life's dangers.

A man has lost his way in a dark and dreary mine. By the light of one candle, which he carries in his hand, he is groping for the road to sunshine and to home. That light is essential to his safety. The mine has many winding passages, in which he may be hopelessly bewildered. Here and there marks have been made on the rocks to point out the true path; but he cannot see them without that light. There are many deep pits into which, if unwary, he may suddenly fall; but he cannot avoid the danger without that. Should it go out, that mine will be his tomb. How carefully he carries it! How anxiously he shields it from sudden gusts of air, from water dropping on it, from every thing that might quench it! The case described is our own.

— Newman Hall

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Holy Spirit, Manifestation of the

Though unseen, the Holy Spirit's presence is evident in the visible fruit of believers' lives.

As oftentimes, when walking in a wood near sunset, though the sun himself be hid by the weight and bushiness of the trees around, yet we know that he is still above the horizon, from seeing his beams in the open glades before us, illuminating a thousand leaves, the several brightnesses of which are so many evidences of his presence; thus it is with the Holy Spirit. He works in secret; but his work is manifest in the lives of all true Chrisians. Lamps so heavenly must have been lighted from on high. Hare.

Holy Spirit, Names of the

The Holy Spirit is known by many names revealing His diverse roles and attributes.

"Breath of the Almighty; Comforter; Eternal Spirit; Free Spirit; God; Good Spirit; Holy Spirit; Holy Spirit of God; Holy Spirit of Promise; the Lord; Power of the Highest; the Spirit; Spirit of the Lord God; Spirit of the Lord; Spirit of God; Spirit of the Father; Spirit of Christ; Spirit of the Son; Spirit of life; Spirit of grace; Spirit of prophecy; Spirit of adoption; Spirit of wisdom; Spirit of counsel; Spirit of might; Spirit of understanding; Spirit of knowledge; Spirit of the fear of the Lord; Spirit of truth; Spirit of holiness; Spirit of revelation; Spirit of the judgment; Spirit of burning; Spirit of glory; Seven Spirits of God; Voice of the Lord."

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Holy Spirit, Necessity of the

Without the Holy Spirit, souls and the church are lifeless and barren, lacking hope for salvation.

What are our souls without his grace?—as dead as the branch in which the sap circulates not. What is our Church without him?—as parched and barren as the fields without heaven's dew and rains. Where is the hope of the world's conversion, or of the salvation of dear loved ones, out of Christ? If the Spirit of God come not to our aid, our eyes may fall with looking for these much-valued blessings.

— Lewis

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster salvation

Holy Spirit, Need of the

The Holy Spirit empowers the church's weak efforts to accomplish mighty spiritual victories.

Suppose we saw an army setting down before a granite fort, and they told us that they intended to batter it down, we might ask them, "How?" They point to a cannon-ball. "Well, but there is no power in that: it is heavy,—but no more than half a hundred or perhaps a hundred weight. If all the men in the army hurled it against the fort, they would make no impression." They say, "No; but look at the cannon."—"Well, but there is no power in that: a child may ride upon it, a bird may perch in its mouth: it is a machine, and nothing more."—"But look at the powder."—"Well, there is no power in that: a child may spill it, a sparrow may peck it." Yet this powerless powder and powerless ball are put in the powerless cannon: one spark of fire enters it; and then, in the twinkling of an eye, that powder is a flash of lightning, and that cannon-ball is a thunderbolt, which emites as if it had been sent from heaven. So it is with our church-machinery of this day: we have all the instruments necessary for pulling down strongholds; and oh for the baptism of fire!

— Arthur

Holy Spirit, Office of the

The Holy Spirit reveals and unlocks the deep spiritual truths of God's Word to believers.

To unconverted persons, a great part of the Bible resembles a letter written in cipher. The blessed Spirit's office is to act as God's decipherer, by letting his people into the secret of celestial experience, as the key and clew to those sweet mysteries of grace which were before as a garden shut up, or as a fountain sealed, or as a book written in an unknown character. Toplady.

Holy Spirit, Outpouring of the

A future outpouring of the Holy Spirit will bring widespread holiness, prayer, and gospel spread.

The hour is coming, and, it may be, even now is, when the Holy Ghost shall be poured out again in such a wonderful manner, that many shall run to and fro, and knowledge shall be increased, — the knowledge of the Lord shall cover the earth as the waters cover the surface of the great deep; when his kingdom shall come, and his will shall be done on earth even as it is in heaven. We are not going to be dragging on forever like Pharaoh, with the wheels off his chariot. My hearts exults and my eyes flash with the thought, that very likely I shall live to see the outpouring of the Spirit; when "the sons and the daughters of God again shall prophesy, and the young men shall see visions, and the old men shall dream dreams." Perhaps there shall be no miraculous gifts, for they will not be required; but yet there shall be such a miraculous amount of holiness, such an extraordinary fervor of prayer, such a real communion with God, and so much vital religion, and such a spread of the doctrines of the cross, that every one will see that verily the Spirit is poured out like water, and the rains are descending from above.

Holy Spirit

John 3:8

The Holy Spirit is a personal being, not mere wind, evidenced by Jesus' teaching on new birth.

HOLY SPIRIT, Personality of A young student preparing for Cambridge was assailed by a certain village sceptic, who sneered at the idea of the Holy Ghost being a person. "Personality of the Spirit!" said he: "why, the Spirit is wind, breath, air: the very Greek word shows you this; for it simply means wind." — "Be it so," replied the youth: "then be so good as to tell me the meaning of this passage, 'Except a man be born of water and of the wind, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the wind is wind.'" The sceptic had no answer; and the student concluded, "Your words are born of the wind, but not of the Spirit."

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster

Unction, Necessity of the

Without the Holy Spirit's unction, eloquence alone fails to truly move or change souls.

A legend of the middle ages affirms, that a certain great preacher failed to keep his appointment by reason of sickness. The prior was much distressed; when, at the very moment, there came to the priory a brother in the garb of the orler. Learning the cause of the prior's trouble, he said, "Ah! you must trust in the Lord. I hope that God by me will supply this want of yours. Let me enter into your library for a few moments." In the pulpit, the strange brother discoursed wondrously of sin, misery, hell, and heaven, moving all present to tears by his eloquence. In the audience was a holy man, who recognized the strange preacher as none other than Frater Diabolus, the Devil turned preacher. After the sermon, he said to the Devil, "Oh! thou acursed one, vile deceiver, how couldst thou take this office upon thee?" Diabolus replied, "Think you my discourse would prevent a single soul from seeking damnation? Not so: the most finished eloquence and profoundest learning are worthless beside one drop of unction. There was no unction in my sermon. You see how I have moved the people; but they will forget all, they will practise nothing; and hence all the words they have heard will serve to their greater judgment."

from New Cyclopaedia of Prose Illustrations · Elon Foster preaching

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