Tape 5 - Abundant Life Series

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to be starting a series of thoughts concerning the fullness of the

Holy Spirit The normal Christian life the abundant life a life of fullness or the

Christ life Whichever term you want to apply to this life. Most of us will agree that there is a

Christian life That is far beyond that on a higher plane than that.

It seems to be that for which Most Christians desire, but you haven't never attained and we want to speak of the relationship of the

Holy Spirit In the life of the believer We know that when a person becomes a

Christian They are given the Holy Spirit Christ comes to live his life in their life by the

Holy Spirit We know that in the book of Romans chapter 8 Verse 23 it says and not only they but ourselves also who have the firstfruits of the

Spirit even we ourselves grown within ourselves Waiting for the adoption.

That is the redemption of our body and then it says in verse 26 Likewise the

Spirit also helping our infirmity For we know not what we should pray for as we are

But the Spirit Himself Make it intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered and he that searches the hearts

Knows what is the mind of the Spirit because he makes intercession for the Saints according to the will of God This passage amongst many others tells us that we have the

Holy Spirit of God We are living under the dispensation of the Spirit He who does not know

God the Holy Spirit cannot know God at all To the church.

He is the source and supply of wisdom and power The church is the body of Christ indwelt and controlled by the

Spirit the Holy Spirit directs energizes and controls This dispensation in which you and I live is the dispensation of the

Spirit But I want to pose a pertinent question to our hearts this evening

Do we really believe in the doctrine of the Holy Spirit? Let's first of all consider under that topic the fruit of neglect

The church again and again affirms its faith in the Holy Spirit But my question is does the

Church of Jesus Christ really believe its belief? Modern writers are contending that the name is nothing more than a figure of speech for spiritual atmosphere

They regarded as one of the misfortunes of the Christian faith that personality has been claimed for the

Spirit that the Holy Spirit is a person The life of the church witnesses to the same attitude.

We deny the thought but we witness the same attitude The things of the Holy Spirit are ignored as of no account

Atmosphere is valued. Is it a peaceful atmosphere? Is it aesthetic atmosphere?

Does the organ and piano play correctly when it's the time of prayer? Religious assemblies give a large place to silent pauses which produce nothing but emotional excitement spirituality and silence are wedded together as was revivalism and rowdyism and rowdiness in the olden days

Both types are emotional but most revivalists in that day did believe their work was on the

Holy Spirit The quietest those who emphasize the silence cultivate psychological influence

Now in this fruit of neglect will find the blunders and disasters of the church are largely if not entirely

Accounted for by the neglect of the Spirit's ministry and his mission to the church the morass

Speculation about the Bible takes no account of the Holy Spirit It regards inspiration as negligible

I'm speaking of those people who do not believe in the infallibility in the inerrancy of the Bible It takes no account whatsoever of the

Holy Spirit It regards inspiration as negligible and insists upon interpreting revealed truth by no standards except those of history and literature

Prophecy is dismissed without inquiry revelation is ignored without reason our

Lord spoke of the Holy Spirit as the Spirit of truth and Promised that he would guide his people into all truth.

He spoke by the prophets and there were many writers But he is the author and the Bible can neither be accounted for nor be interpreted but by his guidance

He holds the key because he is the key Revealed truth can be known only through the revealer

Ignoring this many scholars and historians Grammarians and antiquarians critics and agnostics are blind in the midst of a brilliant life

Men are seeking to interpret Christ in the terms of reason history and philosophy

The Christian faith begins in a new birth in the power of the Holy Spirit Regeneration is brought about it is developed under his guidance and sustained by his presence

But ignoring the spirit it becomes only a matter of education and evolution The church is the body of Christ begotten

Unified and indwelled by the Holy Spirit, but forgetting the spirit men wrangle over limbs functions and orders the

Christian faith becomes hopeless without the Holy Spirit and so there's been a great

Neglect and there is this is the fruit of that neglect in the ministry of the

Holy Spirit Well, let me pose another problem. What about the problems of the church itself as in true

So it is in the service If we have problems in truth, we shall have problems in serving.

The church is helpless Without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit the church never talks so much about itself and its problems

That is always a bad sign the lust for talk about work increases as the power for work declines conferences and committees multiply

When the work fails the problems of the church are never solved by talking about them

The problems arise out of basic failures There is no need to discuss the problem of reaching the masses.

So long as the masses are being reached There is no problem of empty churches. So long as churches are full

There is no class meeting question. So long as the class meeting throbs with life and ministers to the manifold needs of heart and life

The power to attract is in its attractiveness and it is useless

I say it is useless ladies and gentlemen to advertise the banquet if there is nothing to eat

It is futile to invite people to the church if they're not going to be fed the

Word of God in the light of the truth ministered by the Holy Spirit We are acting as though the only remedy for our difficulties were new methods more organization and compromise

The church is failing to meet modern needs it is failing to grip the modern mind and it is failing to save the modern life

The Saints are the ordained rulers of the earth according to God's Word, but they do not rule

Indeed, they have dropped the scepter and repudiated the responsibility and refused to involve themselves

The helplessness of the church is pathetic and tragic and yet I hear all the time

The church is alive and well the church triumphant is the song and yet we're baptizing fewer people every year

We're reaching fewer people and there are fewer Christians on the planet earth today than ever any time in Christian history in proportion to the population so the pathetic struggle is there and it is tragic and One of the reasons is that believers are trying to live the

Christian life Without the manifest ministry of the Holy Spirit having freedom in their life

Christian people know quite well both the reason and the remedy for failure The human resources of the

Church of Jesus Christ were never so great as they are today The opportunities of the

Church of Jesus Christ were never so glorious as they are today the need for the work of the

Church of Jesus Christ was never so urgent as it is today and The crisis is momentous and the church is staggering helplessly amid it all

Churches are struggling just to stay even many are in financial difficulties

Their testimonies are being torn up to shreds in the communities because of their financial difficulties

Christians know perfectly well. What is the matter? It is sheer absurdity to seek the explanation in changed conditions

Things are different today and today is a new day and things aren't like they used to be

When were conditions ever anything else? The church has lost the note of authority

It has lost the secret of wisdom and the gift of power through persistent and willful neglect of the

Holy Spirit of God confusion and impotence are inevitable when the wisdom and the resources of the world are

Substituted for the presence and power of the Spirit of God There are many proofs that abound concerning this matter

The New Testament furnishes examples of churches filled with the Spirit and the churches without the

Spirit The differences are quite obvious The church of which Apollos was minister had not so much as heard that the indwelling of the

Spirit had come The church in our day has no such excuse Ours is the sin of denial

He the Holy Spirit has been shut out of the province in which he is indispensable There is no denial of the supernatural

No We wouldn't deny the supernatural is real But it is insisted upon time and again that the supernatural must conform to natural law method and organization

The emphasis is upon the man and in that emphasis there is reason to rejoice

But the strange thing is that in the intense interest in Jesus the man

The certainties about him that come through the Spirit have been lost It is a doctrine without practicality

The church still has a theology of the Holy Spirit But it has no living consciousness of his presence and power in most instances

Theology without daily experience is like faith without works. It is dead or I know there are exceptions

But let's not justify the coldness and the indifference and the impotency

That is in the average church because there are a few churches and very few that are aflame for God The signs of death abound

Prayer meetings have died out because men do not believe in the Holy Spirit of God They are very sparsely attended and prayer meetings are the least attended program in the weekly service

Unless it is a business meeting There is a drought of conversions because faith

About the new birth as a creative act of the Holy Spirit has lost its grip on the intellect and the heart again confusion and impotence are the inevitable results when the wisdom and resources of the world are

Substituted for the presence and power of the Spirit these things flourish on Impoverished soil and dung hills

They are the works of the flesh and the product of spiritual death The remedy is not in reproach and bitterness my friends, but in floods and rivers winds and sun

The answer is a demonstrated Supernatural faith and the only way to a supernatural faith is in the abiding presence of the

Spirit of the Living God Please permit me to read 1st

Corinthians chapter 12 verse 13 For by one spirit where we all baptized into one body the body of Christ every

Christian Has the Holy Spirit of God whether we be Jews or Gentiles whether we be bond or free and have been all made to drink into one spirit again in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 very familiar and Grieve not the

Holy Spirit of God by whom you are sealed unto the day of redemption Now the question is do we really believe in the

Holy Spirit of God if we do Where is the Shekinah the word

Shekinah is a beautiful Hebrew word that is not in the Bible, but it means the manifested personal presence of Majesty We could entitle our thought the church without the

Holy Spirit The church is the creation of God by the Lord Jesus Christ through the

Holy Spirit It is a community of believers who owe their religious life from first to last

To the Holy Spirit as he is sent by the Son from God the Father Apart from him there can be neither

Christian nor church. The Christian faith is not institutional, but it is experimental living

It is not a fellowship of common interest in culture virtue or service Membership is kept in heaven.

Christ is the door. He knows them that are his and they know him May I say to you with all the love

I have in my heart ladies and gentlemen young people listen carefully the church role

The role of church membership and the Lamb's Book of Life are not always identical

Confession of the Lordship of Jesus Christ is the first condition of membership in his church

The one essential equipment of the church is the Holy Spirit He is the one who gives the church its equipping to accomplish the purpose to which it was sent forth into this world

Nothing else avails for the real work of the church For much that is undertaken by the church.

He the Holy Spirit is not at all necessary The Holy Spirit is no more needed to run garage sales social clubs

Institutions and picnics than he is to run a circus These may be necessary for the modern church, but it is not for power to run these things we need

Religious services and organized groups do not constitute nor make a Christian Church Let's think for a moment about the life of the body the body of Christ Again in Ephesians chapter 4 it says in verse 4

There is one body and one spirit even as you are called in one hope of your calling one

Lord one faith one baptism one God and Father of all who is above all and through all and in you all the work of the

Spirit in the church is set forth in the promises of Jesus Christ on the eve of his departure and It is demonstrated in the acts of the

Apostles The acts of the Apostles the book of the Bible tells us of all that he continued to do and to teach

After the day in which he was received up into the presence of the Father Acts 1 10 and 11

You men of Galilee why stand you here gazing this same Jesus that you saw go shall in like manner

Come again. Now. The Holy Spirit is active. He is the administrative agent of the glorified

Son He is the Paraclete the deputy the acting representative of the

Ascended Christ His mission is to glorify Jesus Christ by perpetuating his character establishing his kingdom and Accomplishing his redeeming purpose in the world.

The church is the body of Christ and the Spirit is the Spirit of Christ He fills the body.

He would direct its movements controls its members Inspires its wisdom it supplies its strength.

He guides it into the truth sanctifies its agents or messengers and empowers them for witnessing he calls and Distributes he controls and guides he inspires and strengthens

Now ladies gentlemen, the Holy Spirit has never abdicated his authority nor relegated his power

Neither Pope nor Parliament neither president nor Congress neither convention nor conference is

Supreme in the Church of Jesus Christ the church that is man -managed instead of God governed is doomed to failure

I suggest to you that we may already be on that sidetrack a

Ministry that is seminary trained but not spirit -filled works No wonders in the world the church that multiplies committees and neglects prayer may be fussy noisy Enterprising busy and active but it labors in vain and spends its strength for nothing

It is possible to excel in mechanics and fail in dynamics There is a super abundance of machinery

What is lacking in our lives and the lives of our churches is spiritual power

To run an organization needs no God man can supply the energy

Enterprise and enthusiasm for all things human, but the real work of the church

Depends upon the power of the Holy Spirit Yes, the presence of the

Holy Spirit is vital and central to the work of the church Nothing else avails apart from him wisdom becomes folly

Strength becomes weakness The church is called to be a spiritual house and a holy priesthood

Only spiritual people can be its living stones and only the spirit field its priests.

I Believe in academic training. I believe in scholarship But scholarship seems to be blind to spiritual truth until he reveals that truth

Worship remains idolatry until he inspires Preaching his powers if it is not a demonstration of his power

Prayer is vain unless he energizes human resources of learning and organization wealth and enthusiasm

Reform and philanthropy are worse than useless if there be no Holy Spirit in them.

I Self -confidence When the church is run on the same lines as any business organization or religious club, there may be crowds

There may be music. There may be excitement, but there is no Shekinah.

There is no manifested presence personal presence of Almighty God That is why prayer is the test of faith and the secret of power

The Spirit of God travails in the prayer life of the individual the carnal mind can argue

But it is the spirit that connects Education can civilize but it is being born of the spirit that saves the energy of the flesh can run sales fellowships parties

Organized groups and activities and raise millions of dollars But it is the presence of the

Holy Spirit that makes a temple of the Living God. I believe the root trouble of the present distress is that the church has more faith in the worldly methods and the flesh than in the

Holy Spirit and Things will get no better till we get back to his realized presence and power and it only comes by prayer

We're constantly concocting new methods and new gimmicks and new ideas and new attitudes

Trying to reach the people the people won't come the young people won't come if you only preach the

Bible if we only preach the Word of God, then they'll not come. This is what we hear time and time again

Yes, the scripture tells us having a form of godliness but denying the power thereof

We think about the form and the spirit our form of worship and the spirit the church in Laodicea You recall in the book of the

Revelation Was rich and respectable prosperous and influential Complacent and confident, but it was blind to the tragedy on the doorstep their worship was faultless in form and Passionless in spirit.

There was no heresy in their belief. They believed correctly There was nothing wrong with their doctrine, but there was no fire in their souls

The spirit of Christ was on the outside yet when we go study the book of Ephesians we find the church at Ephesus had the advantage of a distinguished and brilliant preacher

He was a man of great scholarship who had one distinction at a great university no preacher can have too much learning and the

Bible gives due recognition to the fact that Apollos was a learned man in Addition to the wisdom of the schools the scripture says he was mighty in the scriptures

Now I believe in academic achievement. I believe a person ought to be as prepared as they can be

The many preachers have finished their ministerial training with the confession that they had learned less about their

Bibles than any other Subject, but this man of whom I speak had been taught the scriptures and instructed in the way of the

Lord His teaching was scriptural Orthodox and careful to scholarships.

He added passion this accomplished scholar Scriptural in doctrine careful in his exegesis of the

Word of God literally boiled over in the spirit the scripture tells us But may

I say then enthusiasm does not often company scholarship Much learning has a tendency to make cold dry

Preachers or proclaimers of the word This was a rare type of university

Seminary trained preacher his fervor survived success in study and he came through his course intense and scholarly fervent and accurate faithful and accomplished courageous and Cultured it seems hardly credible that such a minister could lack the very things essential for the work of the

Christian ministry But he had neither gospel nor power in his preaching there was no cross no resurrection

No indwelling power of the Holy Spirit. He preached Jesus, but he did not know

Christ crucified eloquent learned scriptural impassioned faithful and courageous

Apollos had no gospel Carefully trained well instructed a courageous learner and an effective teacher.

He had no vision He had no power the schools had given him their best But they left him ignorant of things vital and destitute of the

Holy Spirit Let me read you lest you question what I'm saying to you May I read to you from Acts chapter 18 verse 24 and a certain

Jew named Apollos born in a Alexandria an eloquent man and mighty in the scriptures came to Ephesus This man was instructed in the way of the

Lord and being fervent in the spirit He spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord knowing only the baptism of John And he began to speak boldly in the synagogue whom when

Aquila and Priscilla had heard They took him unto them and expounded unto him the way of God more perfectly

Now here's an interesting side play concerning this if I might mention it in Chapter 19 of Acts and it came to pass that while Apollos was at Corinth Paul having passed through the upper borders came to Ephesus now

This is where he was and finding certain disciples knees of the men that Apollos had been preaching to he said of them

Have you received the Holy Spirit since you believe and they said unto him? We have not heard so much as we have not so much as heard whether there is any

Holy Spirit And he said unto them in what were you baptized and they said unto

John's Baptism and then Paul preached unto them the gospel of Jesus Christ When one reads 1st

Corinthians chapter 1 verse 12 You find that Apollos was even involved in the cliques that were in the

Corinthian Church again in chapter 3 of 1st Corinthians verse 4 So what

I'm saying is one may be fervent and one may be effective and courageous and a good learner well instructed

Well -trained have no vision and no powers. Yes The schools had given him their best but they left him ignorant of things vital and destitute of the

Holy Spirit. I find this is true and I've talked to student after student after student and I myself who have degrees from three different seminaries

Find the same to be true that in some of our schools It is tragic that the things of the

Spirit are not guided forth into the heart like priests Like preachers like people like ministers and pastors like the member

Truth comes through personality and the level of a preacher's experience

Determines both the range and level of the sermon It also determines the level to which he can help other people to Paul's keen eye

There was something lacking as he came into the borders There were devout Orderly very reverent, but it was not

Christian worship and experience Their heads were bowed their faces gave evidence of discipline, but they were not radiant in the

Lord Their lives were marked with great integrity. They were quite honest They were as fervent as they were upright and as religious as they were conscientious

Their religion was marked by spirit of deep penitence and godly fear They were upright in life fervent in their religion devout in spirit faithful in service yet without spiritual power

Their religion was external observance not an indwelling presence

They lived by rule Not by illumination God saves from within does he not they disciplined themselves from without They carried their

God on their backs instead of in their heart Well, what a difference the

Holy Spirit makes the commonest most ordinary bush Ablaze with the presence of God becomes a miracle of glory

Under its influence the feeble become as David and the choice mighty as the angel of the

Lord the ministry energized by the Holy Spirit is marked by aggressive evangelism social revolution and Persecution Holy Spirit empowered preaching led to the burning of the books of the magic arts in the book of Acts and It stirred up the opposition of those who trafficked in the ruin of the people

Indifference to Christianity is impossible where the preacher is a flame of fire By the

Holy Spirit to the church to each came illumination of mind assurance of heart intensity of love

Fullness of power and exuberance of joy. This is the lot of every Christian Why even demons know the difference between the power of inspiration and the correctness and instruction uninspired devices end in defeat

The only power that is adequate for Christian living Christian life and the Christian work is the power of the

Holy Spirit That we are agreed upon But the work of God is not by might of man or by the power of men

But by his spirit the Word of God tells us it is by him the truth convicts and converts sanctifies and saves

The philosophies of men will fail but the Word of God in the demonstration of empowerment by the

Holy Spirit always prevails Our woes are many and our faults innumerable

But they are all comprehended and understood in lack of not being filled with the

Holy Spirit I Say that the resources of the church according to God's Word are in the supply of the

Spirit The Holy Spirit is more than the minister of consolation He is

Christ without the limitations of the flesh and the material world He has resources of power.

May I share with you what I see him to be He is the Spirit of God He is the spirit of truth the spirit of witness the spirit of conviction

The spirit of power the spirit of holiness the spirit of life the spirit of adoption

The spirit of help the spirit of Liberty the spirit of wisdom the spirit of revelation the spirit of promise the spirit of love the spirit of meekness the spirit of sound mind the spirit of grace the spirit of glory and the spirit of prophecy

He is these and more than these and each of these is a message within itself But it is for the church itself for Christians to explore the resources of the

Holy Spirit the resources of the world Organization and the business world are futile in the life of the church the resources of the church herself are inadequate

In the fullness of the spirit there is abundance of wisdom resources and power but a man -managed world annexing

Priest pretending church can never save people or fulfill the mission of Christ my brethren

Let's stop using the church like a business or some democracy bringing the

Constitution of the United States into the body of Christ Instead of bringing these things into the body of Christ my thought is

Let's stop doing this and let's try God's ways through Christ by the

Holy Spirit May God grant that it be so Let's look together in this

Evening in the moment that we have together and I wanted to direct your attention to the book of Genesis chapter 1 and let's just read the first five verses that are familiar to us and I want to share with you some thoughts and I want to direct your thing with just these words the five facts of man the five facts of man

Chapter 1 verse 1 in the beginning God created the heaven and the earth and the earth was without form and boy and darkness was upon the face of the deep and the

Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters and God said let there be light and there was light

And God saw the light that it was good and God divided the light from the darkness And God called the light day and the darkness he called night and the evening in the morning were the first day

It says that the Spirit of God moved Upon the face of the waters.

It says in the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters This is interesting because the word mood is from the

Hebrew word brood Brr br o o d brooding the

Spirit of God was brooding upon the face of the waters After the creation by God it became a subject to vanity by reason of him who subjected it

We had an earth which was without form and boy No living thing existed in the sullen waters the house of life was being built

Dense clouds enveloped the entire globe and excluded a single ray of light

Darkness was upon the face of the deep and the rain of chaos seemed to divide to defy control

The only alleviating trait in the entire scene is cited in the extraordinary

Announcement that the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters. All else was dark and dismal gloomy

The word moved as I've said the margin in many translations substitutes the word brooded in the year 350 of The Common Era ad an old father of the church whose name was basal preached on this passage

He said and I quote These words form the portico of the Bible the forecourt of the sanctuary in the inner

Holy of Holies of which Jesus Christ is to be found in quote He goes on to say that the word should be translated brood

How how sublime this simple image is when God would utter his greatest thoughts?

It is in the simplest imagery and here it is the bird brooding over her nest

Until her vitality is communicated to the age Over the darkness and chaos

There was brooding the warm bosom of God's love and that moving stage by stage from that beginning

He was able finally to say let us make man in our image

After our likeness and he shall have dominion Chapter 1 verse 26 of Genesis the use of By Paul of this particular passage in 2nd

Corinthians chapter 4 verse 6 Where he says for God who commanded the light to shine out of darkness hath shown in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ This suggests that Paul saw a parallel between these verses in Genesis and their spiritual analogies

The analogy between the work of the Holy Spirit in reconstructing a chaotic world and his work in the human heart

This is of which I speak The Spirit of God prepares the way for the

Word of God Before God speaks the creative word the Spirit of God must make ready his way

He hovers he moves he broods over the heart as a hymn over her young Before the sinner awakes to grace out of the world of chaos in which he has been living and Uneasiness comes over him.

We call this conviction. It is the brooding of the Holy Spirit After a time of brooding in the scriptures, we read that God said let there be light and there was light the

Holy Spirit moved before God spoke and When God speaks there is light

God's Word is light Some strong angel perhaps who'd been waiting for the command roll back the curtain of cloud and the light broke in remaining in Removing the chaos and the storm that had rained so long

Was gone this gave hope This division of the light from the darkness

Revealed a new principle the light was good. Why it came from another sphere?

It was a revelation of possibilities It was good in God's sight

God said that it was good Why it was akin to his own nature for God is light and in him is no darkness at all

His son said I am the light of the world So when the action permitted the flood of light to enter the particles with which the inner space was filled

But hitherto hidden in the atmosphere of mark and chaos Suddenly discovered they were predestined to be the organs and transmitters of life

When the light broke in they all suddenly awoke to their capabilities the stars the moon the

Sun their use Was there and the final ends of their creation the fullness of time had arrived and they were needed to disseminate light

Let's now look at the creation of man And I'd like to notice five facts that are narrated of God's conception of what he was meant to be

What man was meant to be? first of all his nature was Tripartite that means three parts consisting of a spirit soul and body

Secondly he was to have dominion he was to rule Thirdly he was to be zoned in a garment of light

Fourthly he was God's fellow worker in the garden and Fifthly he was invited to intimate communion and converse with God Now the fall in Garden of Eden Seeing this fall the brought about the fall

Consisted in the substitution of the readings of the soul for the intuitions of the spirit

Now man is governed by what he thinks and what he feels by his emotions

Rather than what the spirit communicates to him The woman saw that the forbidden fruit was pleasant to the senses and good for food and to be desired to make wise and she anatomy

But at that moment the Shekinah ceased to shine in the spirit and God could no longer converse with man's spirit

Thus the holy shrine of our nature fell into disuse Later on the scriptures declared that the merely natural or soulish man

Could not receive the things of the divine spirit because they are spiritually discerned Everyone is endowed with spirit with a spiritual nature

Which is the soul's outlook on and capacity for God just as on the other hand the body is the soul's attachment to this material world

But for the most part this higher nature is submerged lost sight of like a disused muscle

One main object of Christianity is to rediscover the spirit to use it to teach man that it should be in constant use

Christ by the Holy Spirit seeks to awaken our slumbering spiritual sense that is practically dead

It is as far as God is concerned spiritually dead He calls to our nature as to Lazarus in his sepulcher or to the little girl of twelve summers who had faded too soon like a rare beautiful flower

But his appeal in its depth of significance is largely ignored But let us affirm our belief in the tripartite nature of man as taught by the

Apostles Paul and John The body which is the organ of the world of matter

The soul is the organ of our personality and the spirit is the organ of the divine and eternal

The soul in the earlier stages of experience strongly contacts with a spirit for supreme

Control the eye of the one is an antagonism with a not I of the other

The conflict is often long and dire, but it determines destiny You see man is dead in trespasses and sin his old nature will lead him wrong.

He needs to be born again the spirit the culmination of creation was the appearance of the first man in the image of God and The culmination of all that can be said by any of us who would lead inquirers forward is that all philosophies systems?

Arguments and distinctions all Teachings and exhortations will fail unless at the close.

We are left face to face with Jesus Christ For when he who commanded the light to shine out of darkness shines in our hearts the light of the knowledge of God's glory

Will be found focused on the face of Jesus Christ Jesus Christ and him alone

Jesus Christ only must fill the spirits vision Not rules nor conditions, but Jesus Christ himself

The great missionary man of God Hudson Taylor said and I quote the consciousness of sin oppressed me.

I prayed agonized Fasted read the word all without effect.

I tried in vain to attain holiness for its own sake But I came to see that it was not by striving after faith

But by trusting the faithful one that I obtained peace It does not matter what situation

We are placed in he is ever in us and he is adequate The Lord Jesus received is holiness begun the

Lord Jesus cherished is holiness advancing The Lord Jesus counted on as never being absent is holiness complete

We understand that when we are regenerated by the Holy Spirit We are restored to the status from which

Adam fell and each of the five Particulars is restored to us in union with our

Savior The spirit is relighted by the Shekinah of his spirit. We are born again

We have spiritual power. We walk with God in purity. We come in with him face to face and cooperate in his work as Each Christian enters into that consciousness.

He realizes that it is superabundant Overflowing and ever freshly springing up God worked with patient persistence to the perfect forming of Christ in our heart

Just like the young chicken is formed in the shell of the egg Let us follow to know the

Lord For his coming forth is prepared as the morning and we shall see his face

When we do there shall be no more night for the Lord shall be our everlasting light and the days of our morning

Shall be ended there from the music round about me stealing I fain would learn the new and holy song and Find at last beneath thy trees of healing the life for which

I long How is it we ask? Is this going to come about?

It is simply going to come about by our communion with the Holy Spirit of God We must have communion with him the word communion means partnership

The word passes through various phases as you study in the New Testament and it's variously translated

But the idea of sharing runs through them all in Luke chapter 5 verse 10

It is said that James and John the sons of Zebedee were partners with Simon in 2nd

Corinthians 8 23 Paul says of Titus that he was his partner and fellow laborer that is they were colleagues in the ministry of the church of Philemon and Onesimus it is used in a more intimate sense of comradeship

The communion of the Holy Spirit therefore would mean that we are partners colleagues

Comrades with the Spirit of God We are partners in vocation and resources we are sharers in work and power

Now such communion as this involves communication The partners put into the common stock for common ends

The New Testament insists upon this grace of fellowship in the church You recall that the

Christians at Philippi are Commended because they communicated with the Apostle in the matter of giving and receiving

Philippians chapter 4 verses 15 and 16 The Romans likewise are exhorted to communicate to the necessities of the

Saints Romans 12 13 The rich are charged that they do good that they be rich in good works that they be ready to distribute willing to communicate 1st

Timothy 6 18 What I'm saying is this idea of partnership is carried into the highest aspects of our calling

We are called of God into the fellowship of his Son Jesus Christ our

Lord 1st Corinthians 1 verse 9 We are partakers of his sufferings and his comfort 2nd

Corinthians 1 verses 4 through 7 with Philippians 3 verse 10

It is through him we become partakers of the divine nature 2nd Peter chapter 1 verse 4 in all of these senses the

Holy Spirit of God enters into partnership with us and Becomes to us colleague and comrade sharing and sharing what we have and admitting us into his mission and placing at our disposal all the resources of his person in power

Now I want you to think with me for a moment about our fellowship and his Emphasis is laid upon the fact that he enters into partnership with us

Rather than he takes us into partnership with him He comes into partnership with us

Rather than us taking partnership with him Both these aspects are true for all fellowship must be mutual

But is never said that our fellowship is with the Spirit It is always the communion of the

Holy Spirit be with you Philippians chapter 2 verse 1 says it is the fellowship of the

Spirit and not with him John says in chapter 1 verse 3 of 1st

John he says our fellowship is with the Father and with his Son Jesus Christ There is no mention of fellowship with the

Spirit and yet communion is the special function and distinction of the Holy Spirit The omission implies that there is a difference between our fellowship of the

Father and the Son and the communion of the Holy Spirit with us in The one case we are partakers with Christ in the other the

Holy Spirit is partaker with us This may possibly be connected with a special intimacy of his communion by which he has a spirit

Enters into the deepest and closest relation with our spirits That is the first form in which we know it but thereafter there is a reflex fellowship

Which we come to have with him He enters at first into our position because he fills our heart and he sympathizes with all of our need

He then leads us to enter into his position, but that is a higher thing

Now this distinction will make plain many things the Christian benediction ascribes love to the

Father Grace to the Son and communion to the Holy Spirit. Let's say you know the love of God the

Father the grace of The Son the Lord Jesus Christ and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you now and we're always you know

The communion to be a Christian benediction. Well, these qualities are common to all persons of the

Trinity They all have them but they are distinctive of each Love is attributed to the

Son and the Spirit as well as to the Father Grace is of God the

Father as well as of the Son and our fellowship is expressly said to be with the

Father and the Son There is a distinction. However, that must not be confused

The love of the Father is the origin of all grace the grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ is the medium of Redeeming love and it is through the

Spirit that is Communicated both the grace of the Son and the love of the

Father. So the Spirit is the executive agent of the Father and the Son He brings us into the fellowship of the

Father and the Son by entering in the communion with us his partnership with us is progressive and Often his progress is hindered we might add because we admit him into a partnership with qualifications

His communion is with us. He seeks to come into a cooperation with us The negotiations are from him, but the consent to do them is with us

All of his negotiations wait for our consent Now, let's bring this down into the church situation

Now we're talking about this evening the fellowship of the Holy Spirit in the church This distinction is observed in all the teachings of our

Lord concerning the Spirit. You remember he said he is the paraclete Sent by the

Father and the Son to abide in the church until the purpose of redeeming love is accomplished in the world

For all the work of the church they were to look to him for light Guidance and power they were sent forth to witness interpret and save But they were first to receive a witness and teacher and the spirit of power

He would be in them and with them by him. They would have the right word at the critical moment

In him the church would find all its supply of life and grace wisdom and power now

The basis of his work the work of the Holy Spirit is always that of communion

That is why the work of the Spirit is always linked with the life of the church and the power of the church is

Associated with the presence of the Spirit The Spirit works and speaks through a praying and consecrated people

The church that has authority is a church agreed in power

Prayer and gathered in the name and the church that has power to cast out demons as a church that believes and prays

The Holy Spirit and the church cannot be independent of each other The church needs the

Spirit needs the church and the church needs the Spirit. They are partners May I add that power is not in Organization neither is power in wealth or learning

It is still true that this work is not by might nor by power, but by the

Spirit of the Lord All right, I have a question why then is the church bewildered in the day of confusion and Powerless in the presence of both her adversaries and her marvelous opportunities.

I Believe the answer is found in the terms of communion Conditions now exist that make the partnership between the church.

That is the body of Christ and the Holy Spirit ineffective There is a law of the

Spirit by which is communion is made operative The laws are few and simple, but they are imperative.

He cannot work if they are ignored Communion must rest on common ground.

I Think we agree here. Its basis is a common bond of Union Communion is the outcome of Union That is unity in this fellowship.

The bond is Christ Where Christ is glorified the Spirit comes to abide reveal direct and work

Through him we enter into living union with our Lord and by him. We find this unity which brings identity of interest and community of possession

That is why faith and prayer count for so much in the work of the Spirit Nothing else really matters.

These are the things that make possible the fellowship of the Spirit He asks of nothing more than unreserved consecration to Christ unclouded simplicity of the open heart and Exultant faith in his grace and power it is by these the churches live and prevail through the fellowship of the

Spirit well We speak of the church What about the believer because a body is made up of members and the members are the believers?

the fellowship of the Spirit with a believer All the blessings of communion are for each and every believer

There is nothing promised to the church that does not belong to each member of the body

The Spirit of God is not the monopoly of any particular class of Christians Everyone can say he is my helper my witness my teacher my guide my strength

For all the will of God we each have the Spirit with all his resources of wisdom and power

Let me say that again for all the will of God. We each have the

Spirit with all his resources of wisdom and power Well, if these things be true

Wherein lies the explanation of our weakness and reproach? Where is the note of certainty in our testimony?

Where is the prevailing power of prayer where is the power that overturns strongholds and casts out demons?

The communion of the Spirit is with us His resources are inexhaustible and his power invincible, but wait wait, ah

There are conditions concerns interests There are barriers that hinder greed and quench the

Spirit He is held back by the barriers of unbelief prayerless living worldly ambition stupid vanity and inflated pride

He wants a central place in our hearts and to be admitted to the life of the soul

He comes to cooperate and cooperation waits for confidence and consent Where there is agreement there is power

Service becomes mighty in this kind of a fellowship Our personality is quickened and sanctified sympathy is deepened and enlightened and in sympathy are the discernment that understands and The appeal that woos and wins

Weakness becomes strength when the Spirit of might comes upon us Ordinary men become wonderful when clothed with a spirit of his power

Weakness is a reproach when such might is at our disposal Defeat is dishonor when the partnership of God is rejected

With the communion of the Holy Spirit at our command what manner of people we ought to be

With such a partnership what mighty works we ought to do

There are no limits to his power. There are no reserves in his communion There is no respect of persons with him

Why do we set boundaries to his work? Limit his activities and refuse his appeal.

He brings all and let us give all he seeks to enter into communion with us in all our life with you and me and In return he will lead us into the communion of all that he has and is

Sign that deed today and there will come the joy and power of the Holy Spirit of God who is the

Spirit of Christ Have you come to the place of the sea in your life?

Have you come to the Red Sea place in your life? Where in spite of all you can do there is no way out.

There is no way back. There is no other way but through Then wait on the

Lord with a trust serene till the night of your fear is gone He will send the wind.

He will heap the floods when he says to your soul Go on and his hand will lead you through clear through here the watery walls roll down No foe can reach you.

No wave can touch. No mightiest sea can drown The tossing billows may rear their crests their foam at your feet may break

But over their bed you shall walk dry shod in the path that your

Lord will make In the morning watch meet the lifted cloud you shall see but the

Lord alone When he leads you on from the place of the sea To land that you have not known and your fear shall pass as your foes have passed

You shall be no more afraid you shall sing his praise in a better place a place

That his hand has made Afraid of what to feel the spirits glad release to pass from pain to perfect peace

The strife and strain of life to cease afraid of what? afraid of what

Afraid to see the Savior's face to hear his welcome and to trace the glory gleam from wounds of grace afraid of what afraid of that a flash a crash a pierced heart

Darkness light Oh heaven's art a wound of his account apart afraid of that To enter into heaven's rest and yet to serve the master bless from service good to service best

Are we afraid of that? To do by death what life could not Baptize with death a stony plot till soul shall blossom from that spot afraid of that Afraid of what

Exodus 15 16 says by the greatness of thine arm. They shall be still till thy people pass over.

Oh Lord, I Don't look back God knows the fruitless efforts the wasted hours the sinning and the regrets

I leave them all with him who blots the record and Mercifully forgives and then forgets

I Don't look forward. God sees all the future the road that short along will lead me home

He will face with me. It's every trial and bear for me the burdens that may come.

I Don't look around me then would fears assail me. So while the tumult of Earth's restless seas

So dark the world so filled with woe and evil so vain the hope of comfort or of ease

I don't look in for them and I'm most wretched myself have naught on which to stay my trust

Nothing, I see say failures and shortcomings and weak endeavors crumbling into the dust

But I look up into the face of Jesus For there my heart can rest my fears are still and there's joy and love and light for darkness and perfect peace and every hope fulfilled

Joys are our wings sorrows our spurs May the grace of the

Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the communion of the Holy Spirit be with you all

The Lord bless thee and keep thee the Lord make his face shine upon thee and be gracious unto thee