We turn to Titus 3:5;

‘Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to His mercy He saved us, through the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Spirit, ‘

Here tells us we must be renewed through the washing of regeneration and rewashing of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes the applications you use on your electronic devices ask you to update them so that you can use the new features. It might get annoying because you have to wait before you can use it again. However, after it’s updated, the phone becomes more powerful.

Today, Jesus died for us during baptism. But His love doesn’t stop there. He knows that men are weak and when we’re weak, we cannot act according to His words and sometimes we don’t have the strength to follow His words. He tells us that He’ll give us the Holy Spirit to be our counsellor to help us and be with us. Jesus not only shows His love through the baptism but also by giving us the Holy Spirit. He knows that through the Holy Spirit we will receive help.

Because we live in this world, our environment is not very good. It’s a world full of sin and evil. This world will not improve our faith and hence we need to use the Holy Spirit to help us be better each day. We have to submit to the Holy Spirit; we cannot quench the Holy Spirit. If we esteem our spiritual life, why don’t we let the Holy Spirit renew us? A person who does not let the Holy Spirit renew him is just like what Paul mentions in 1 Thessalonians 5:19;

The Holy Spirit is given to help us but sometimes we’re unable to follow God’s word. Sometimes we “turn off” the Holy Spirit and we don’t want to obey. The Holy Spirit is burning within you to not be angry anymore because your anger will not fulfil God’s righteousness but because you anger is so fierce, it overcomes the moving of the Holy Spirit. As a result, you quench the Holy Spirit and lose your temper and offend the other party. Paul tells us here to not quench the spirit. This is one example. There are times where we’ll quench the Holy Spirit.

The speaker remembers once when he went to a funeral. There was a member there from Auckland who was baptised there but is a Singaporean. The couple went to Auckland to work. This couple has 5 sons and this sister lived in a boys’ dormitory (because all were males).

The sister came to believe in the Lord when her son had a skin problem. She was recommended a Chinese doctor and this doctor happened to be our believer in the Auckland church. This doctor preached to her husband but he replied, “It’s okay, I don’t want. I am a Catholic and I have no interest in anything Christian.” But this doctor kept preaching the gospel. He also told him, “Don’t come to my office between 7:30pm to 8:30pm because I want to go to church.” This man thought the doctor wouldn’t be home until 8:30pm and so he didn’t consult the doctor during that time.

One day, the wife told this man, “He has been inviting you so many times, just go this once.” One occasion, he followed the doctor for a service. Miraculously, the moment he sat for service and read the Bible, he accepted and brought his family. After a while, they all received the Holy Spirit. First, the father, then all the 5 sons. The mother said, “How come all of you have received the Holy Spirit but I haven’t!” She prayed earnestly. This was before baptism. God gave them His mercy and the Holy Spirit.

After she received the Holy Spirit, one day, she wanted to argue with her husband. In order to escalate the argument, she wanted to remember all the things she didn’t like about her husband to have a good argument. Before she received the Holy Spirit, she could do so.

But this time, she couldn’t argue. She forgot that she received the Holy Spirit. Whenever she wanted to argue with her husband and think about the things she disliked about him, she couldn’t do so. The Holy Spirit would tear her thoughts down. She thought, “Wow this Holy Spirit of the TJC is true!” After she received the Holy Spirit, she changed and couldn’t find the reason to be angry. This Holy Spirit is very good. This was what she told the speaker during the funeral service 2 years ago.

This Holy Spirit can truly renew us, and can truly change us. Like what Paul says here, we should not quench the spirit.

Before she was baptised, this sister had to learn many things so she was perhaps still learning about the truth. But God gave her this precious Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit truly changed her.

Are we willing to let to Holy Spirit change and renew us? So that our actions and faith will become better and better? So that the Holy Spirit will help us lead a holy life. We mustn’t quench the spirit.

Praying for the Holy Spirit is not just to enter heaven but to reach another level in our spiritual nurture. All of us have our weaknesses but when we let the Holy Spirit renew us, our spiritual life will be better and better each day. You’ll find that your faith is true and has life in it. Then your faith will be a testimony for others, to lead them to believe in Jesus. This is one of our pursuits. Through such encouragement, hopefully everyone will pray for the Holy Spirit and for those who have received the Holy Spirit; we pray for Him to renew us.