Ghosts have been a part of our book, movie and TV culture for a long time. There is the Ghost of Christmas Past in the book A Christmas Carol. Then, there was the movie Ghostbusters. There are cable shows like Ghost Hunters. I grew up watching the cartoon Casper the Friendly Ghost. Most importantly, the word “ghost” saw a dramatically increased use starting in 1611 due to the King James Version of the Bible. Using old English, the translators of that Bible version referred to the Spirit as the Holy Ghost.
When we think of the idea of a ghost we think of something with personality; after all, Casper was very outgoing and friendly. We think of something that influences us, yet is unseen. That’s why the King James translators used the term “ghost.”
There is an unseen power available to every believer. That power transforms us on the inside and empowers us to do the very things God wills of us. But this power is not an “it”, but a person who is the third person of our one God. We are talking about the Holy Spirit.
When Jesus returned to his Father, he sent us the Spirit because he knew the Spirit would be so much better for us. The Holy Spirit is our forever helper. The Holy Spirit comes alongside us to make us stronger so we can do greater things than we could on our own. The Spirit is God who came to live inside to guide, protect, convict, coach, instruct, counsel and empower us. This is a “ghost” we do not fear but depend on to love God and serve others well.
Yet, the Holy Spirit is probably the most neglected part of the Trinity – God as Father, Son, and Spirit while remaining as one. Francis Chan wrote an excellent book titled – Forgotten God- Reversing our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit. We agree with Chan on this. So Sunday, March 1st, we are starting a new four-week message series titled Ghost. We’ll be looking into who the Holy Spirit is and how he helps the believer.
But, we can’t cover all there is about the Spirit in four Sunday messages, so we are going to offer the first of many events we are calling Deeper Dive. On Sunday, March 22nd at 4 PM, we’ll offer our first Deeper Dive into the Holy Spirit. From scripture, I’ll be answering your questions about the Holy Spirit. If you have a question about the Holy Spirit you would like to have answered at the event, submit it by visiting mypantano.church/deeperdive. Join us March 22nd at 4 PM at the Pantano East Auditorium to take a deeper dive into the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
