THE INTERCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

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• THE INTERCESSION OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
• Romans 826-27

2

• Ro 826-27
• 26 And in the same way the Spirit also helps our
  weakness for we do not know how to pray as we
  should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us
  with groanings too deep for words 27 and He who
  searches the hearts knows what the mind of the
  Spirit is, because He intercedes for the saints
  according to the will of God. NASB

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Legion of Super Heroes
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• We have a Super Hero
• We have the HOLY SPIRIT

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• He frees us from sin,
• Enables us to fulfill God's law,
• Changes our nature,
• Empowers us for victory,
• Confirms our adoption,
• Guarantees our glory.
• He sets us free to live the Christian life. He
  sets us apart to a new relationship and He gives
  us hope in the midst of suffering in a fallen
  world. He is the Spirit of strength who helps us
  in our weakness.

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• The Intercession of the Spirit in Prayer

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• Without the help of the Spirit of God we are
  unable to control the old self, we remain slaves
  to sin and as Paul said we are unable to please
  God. Without Him we would be left to bear trails
  and troubles and suffering of this world alone.

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• He Helps our Weakness in prayer

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• An essential element to appropriating the Spirit
  and power of God in our lives is through
  communication with God in prayer.

10

• And it came about that while He was praying in a
  certain place, after He had finished, one of His
  disciples said to Him, "Lord, teach us to pray
  just as John also taught his disciples. Lk 111
  NASB

11

• We know about prayer, we know God listens and
  hears prayer, but we show by our lack of
  commitment to prayer our lack of fervency or
  intensity in practical praying that we really
  don't comprehend the awesomeness of being able to
  communicate with the living God. We fail to
  understand the importance of prayer and the
  greatness of that gift God has given us to
  communicate with Him.

12

• 9 For this reason, since the day we heard about
  you, we have not stopped praying for you and
  asking God to fill you with the knowledge of his
  will through all spiritual wisdom and
  understanding. 10 And we pray this in order that
  you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may
  please him in every way bearing fruit in every
  good work, growing in the knowledge of God, 11
  being strengthened with all power according to
  his glorious might so that you may have great
  endurance and patience, and joyfully 12 giving
  thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to
  share in the inheritance of the saints in the
  kingdom of light. 13 For he has rescued us from
  the dominion of darkness and brought us into the
  kingdom of the Son he loves, 14 in whom we have
  redemption, the forgiveness of sins. (Col 1 9-14
  NIV)

13

• The Spirit intercedes with groanings too deep
  for words.

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• What are these groanings?

15

• What are these groanings?
• This is not glossolalia or speaking in tongues,
  or praying in tongues. There is nothing in the
  context of Romans 826-27 thats even remotely
  related to the issue of tongues.

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• In the same manner
• This also refers to what Paul had previously
  written of creation groaning in anxious
  expectation (v. 22), and of our own groaning
  within our selves (v. 23) waiting for the
  consummation of our redemption.

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• This refers to an intense desire or longing
  within creation and within the believer for the
  consummation of Gods eternal plan of redemption.
• In the same way Paul now speaks of the intense
  emotional/spiritual involvement of the Spirit as
  well in that expectation and particularly His
  involvement in the area of prayer.

18

• And being in agony He was praying very
  fervently and His sweat became like drops of
  blood, falling down upon the ground.
• Lk 2244 NASB

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• The groans themselves are not inexpressible, in
  other words they are not audible groans we cant
  understand. Paul is referring to the Spirits
  intense desire and intercession for us that cant
  be described or expressed in human terms.

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• The meaning of the Spirits groanings

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• The meaning of the Spirits groaning is clear to
  the one who has complete access to the human
  heart.
• God

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• The Spirit comes to the aid of believers
  baffled by the perplexity of prayer and takes
  their concerns to God with an intensity far
  greater than we could ever imagine.
• Robert Mounce

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• Paul is not just talking about our intercession
  for ourselves and others or our prayer in
  general.
• Paul is talking about the Spirits intense
  desire, longing and intercession in the sense of
  our genuinely seeking Gods will for our lives
  and the desire to conform to the image of God.

24

• in the same way the Spirit also helps our
  weakness. V. 26 We are fallen humans living in
  a fallen world. All of our understanding and
  ability as great and wonderful as it might be is
  tainted and marred by sin.

25

• When we are sincere in our faith and in our
  desire to be more like our Father and to be
  conformed to His image even when we are weak in
  our understanding of what that is and what it
  might entail the Spirit intercedes in a way we
  cant understand to help us achieve that goal.

26

• We understand the call to be conformed to the
  image of God, we even have the desire to be
  conformed to the image of God but not necessarily
  what it takes to get us there or what we must go
  through to get there or what God wants us to go
  through to accomplish His will. We dont know
  what trials we may face tomorrow but God does and
  the Spirit intercedes for us as we encounter
  those trials.

27

• "Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded
  permission to sift you like wheat 32 but I have
  prayed for you, that your faith may not fail and
  you, when once you have turned again, strengthen
  your brothers. "
• Lk 2231-32 NASB

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• Just as Jesus interceded for Peter and also
  continues to interceded for us too, the Spirit
  intercedes for us with such a deep intense desire
  it cant be described in words.

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• Primarily when we talk about prayer we are
  talking about finding the mind and the will of
  God and conforming to it.