TEXT: Psalm 104:30

SUBJECT: The Holy Spirit #2: Creator and Sustainer

We live in "the age of the Spirit". On the Day of Pentecost, He was "poured out on all flesh". Thus, modern Christians enjoy Him in a way unknown to the saints of old. So great is His present work that ancient "kings and righteous men" would gladly change places with the lowliest believer of today. Compared to us, they knew little of being "filled with the Spirit".

But this does not mean that the Holy Spirit did not exist long ago; or that He was inactive at the time. Far from it. What Jesus said about Himself can be equally applied to the Spirit: "My Father has been working until now, and I have been working".

In short, we must recognize the Holy Spirit as Maker and Keeper of all things. This is what our text says--and many other Scriptures confirm: "You send forth your Spirit, they are created; (and) You renew the face of the earth".

The creative work of the Spirit is seen, early on, in the Bible. Its second verse informs us that "The Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters". God was issuing the commands; and the Spirit, executing them with dispatch. He has left no part of creation untouched: "By His Spirit He has garnished the heavens". And, again: "You send forth your Spirit...and renew the face of the earth".

But His "fingerprints" are most conspicuous on mankind. Adam's body was formed "from the dust of the earth". And that is all he was: dust. Till God breathed into his nostrils the Spirit of life". And then the lump of clay became "a living soul"--and the image of God! Thus, Job's friend was right: "The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life".

The Spirit is the giver of physical life. It was He who breathed upon a valley of dry bones, and "they lived and stood upon their feet, an exceedingly great army". If the sending of His Spirit "renews" the face of the earth; then His removal must leave the world desolate. Without Him, the Garden of Eden became "a heap, a dwelling place for jackals, an astonishment, a hissing, and without an inhabitant". But by His coming, "the wilderness becomes a fruitful field".

Thus, all physical life--be it vegetable, animal, or human--is a product of the Holy Spirit. It is He who "gives us life, breath, and all things".

Why are you alive? Medical science might say: Because your brain is functioning. But why is it functioning? Because blood is circulating through it. But why is blood circulating through your brain? Because the heart is beating. But why is your heart beating? Because the brain is telling it to beat. But this is circular reasoning. Materialism can only describe the workings of life. It can never find its origin. Why? Because it denies that "there is a Spirit in man, and the breath of the Almighty..."

Thus, the reason that you are not stone-cold this morning is because the Spirit is communicating life to you. If you doubt this, remember that Christ was "raised from the dead by the Spirit of holiness". He surrendered His physical life to the cross. But it was given back to Him by the Spirit. Thus, you're alive by the Spirit's sufferance. And so you owe Him your life. I wish you would dedicate it to His service entirely.

Secondly, the Holy Spirit is the giver of moral life. It is "the Spirit of God" breathed into the nostrils of our common father that made Him--and us--human; bearers of the Divine Image.

Like God, man is capable of thinking, speaking, and acting. But none of these abilities are self-manufactured. They are gifts of the Holy Spirit. These gifts are given to mankind at large--and not just to Christians. Cyrus is an idolater, and yet called "the anointed of the LORD". King Saul dabbles with the occult, yet the "Spirit comes upon him to deliver Israel". Balaam is a byword for greed, yet he sees "a Star coming out of Jacob, and a Scepter rising out of Israel". And the bloody Caiaphas prophesies, "It is expedient that one should die for the nation".

How did these men come to behave with such wisdom and courage? Only by the Spirit. "There is a Spirit in man; and the inspiration of the Almighty gives them understanding".

The Spirit, therefore, is the Giver of moral life. It is because of Him that you are not a hairless Gorilla. And so, you have much to be thankful for. Because of the Spirit in you, you are capable of knowing God becoming more like Him.

But this great blessing implies an equal responsibility. The Spirit has made you in the Image of God. But sin has marred the likeness. Yet not removed it altogether. You are still a moral agent; still capable of knowing right from wrong. Thus the Spirit of God in you--be it ever so suppressed--calls for repentance and faith; requires you to be "remade after the image of Him who created you; in knowledge, righteousness, and true holiness".

The Spirit is God's best gift; and our most sacred obligation.

Thirdly, the Holy Spirit is the giver and sustainer of "spiritual life". This will be dealt with (D.V.) later, at length. And so here I must summarize. It is He who gives spiritual life in the first place. "It is the Spirit that quickens; the flesh profits nothing". And it is He who maintains and enhances it thereafter. "He who has begun a good work in you will perform it till the day of Jesus Christ".

This is His greatest work. This is the "life that is worth living". No other "life" is worthy of the name. This is the "life that pertains to godliness". This is the "life" that no one regrets living. This is the "life" that Christ had--and we may enjoy as well.

But how do we come to this life? Only by believing on the Lord Jesus Christ. "On the last day, that great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, `If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me and drink. He who believes in me, as the scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water'. But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive".

The Spirit is both the giver of faith, and its reward. Believe on Christ, receive the Holy Spirit, and come to "have life and have it more abundantly".

And finally, how do we know that we have received this Spirit-given life? The Bible is plain at this point: by how we live.

"Walk in the Spirit and you will not fulfil the lusts of the flesh". This does not require sinless perfection. But it does call for repentance! The Christian life is not perfected all at once--but it is changed. And significantly.

"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faith, gentleness, and self-control". The question is not: "Are you always peaceful, self-controlled, and the like?" But, "Are you becoming more loving, more joyful, more gentle, more reliable, and so on?"

These are the tests of spiritual life:

--Decreasing conformity to the world and

--Increasing conformity to Christ.

If these are true of you, then bless God's Spirit. It is He who is mortifying your sins and reviving your graces.

And take hope, too. He's not done with you. He will keep on doing this work till it is perfect. He will--most certainly--"transform your lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body, according to the working by which He is able to subdue all things to Himself".