The Work Of The Holy Spirit In A Believers Life (part 2)

Good to see you all.

It's good to be in the house of the Lord together, this first day of the week, to be able to worship

and be able to come to this class, Sunday school class.

I don't know if you know this, but historically, Sunday school classes were started to teach

children from off the streets.

I think maybe it was really prevalent in England.

They were children that were orphans.

They did not have the public school systems like we did in the church.

Took it upon themselves to have a ministry to bring the children in and to teach them to read, write, and things like that,

but also to teach them about the Lord and use it as a ministry.

Of course, it's carried on today.

We have Sunday school to have all folks of all ages in the church to be able to come

in and learn more about the Lord so that we can grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord

Jesus Christ.

Why don't we go and ask our God, our great God and King, to teach us and to help us in prayer.

If you'd join me as we pray.

Our Father in heaven, we do thank you and we do come to you in Jesus' name and we

would ask that in this short Sunday school class that you would teach us that

we might be able to, as we consider the scripture, be taught of our God.

We know that that ministry is the ministry of the Holy Spirit and we pray that

our hearts would be opened, that our minds would be illuminated to the things of God,

that we might just be so thrilled with your goodness to us in

all the ways that you deal towards us.

How good you are and how faithful you have been even this past week to bring us to this point where

once again, the first day of the week, we can gather and we can worship and we can praise and we

can lift up our hearts to our great God and King.

We ask this in Jesus' precious name.

Amen.

And I began the class by saying that there are some folks who look at

churches like Bible churches or Baptist churches and they say that we do not believe in the

Holy Spirit.

Well, for us, not to believe in the Holy Spirit at BBC would be to say that we don't believe the

Bible because when we open the Bible, we see it's so prevalent

that God is three in one, three persons, one Godhead,

God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.

I did some further digging around just so that I can kind of elaborate on where we went

last week and I found this on the Master's College in Santa Clarita,

California, their website.

This is from their doctrinal statement.

This is what they teach the kids.

And after I read it, I said, this is pretty good stuff.

We teach that the Holy Spirit is a divine person, eternal, underrived,

possessing all the attributes of personality and deity, including intellect,

emotions, will, eternality, omnipresence, omniscience,

omnipotence, truthfulness.

Now, if you believe, as some do, that the Holy Spirit is just a force

or a power or the Holy Spirit is just kind of

represents the presence of God, a force or presence or a

power doesn't have a will.

He doesn't have those things, those its.

They don't have the divine attributes of omnipotence or

omnipresence.

They don't have emotions.

You can't grieve a force.

You can't grieve a power.

You can't grieve a presence.

But you can, according to the New Testament, grieve the Holy Spirit.

Therefore, Holy Spirit is a person with these attributes.

It goes on to say, in all the divine attributes, he is co -equal and co -substantial with

the Father and the Son.

We teach that it is the work of the Holy Spirit to execute the divine will with relation to all mankind.

We recognize his sovereignty in creation.

How is it that the Spirit of God is, according to the Scripture, and all I got to do is open up to the

very first page and the very first couple of verses, how is the Spirit of God involved in creation?

Somebody tell me.

Brian?

Right.

The Spirit of God moved over the face of the waters.

And when it says, you know, and then there's this activity of the Spirit of God.

And Paul kind of takes and capitalizes on that or pulls

that Scripture back and uses it in 2 Corinthians chapter 4 when he talks

about the recreation of the soul of the sinner being born from above.

He's saying just like God, you know, created back then, God

recreates when it comes to our hearts and being born from above.

And we know that when it comes to being regenerated or born, you remember on the sheet, the first few,

the conviction of sin, the illumination of God, the

regeneration.

Just think of these things that we looked at last week to be to be convicted of sin, to be

regenerated, to to be sealed, to be indwelt by, to be

sanctified by, to be empowered by, by, by God.

Who is it alone that can do those things?

Who is it that can do that?

Who is it that can?

How is it that we're born again?

We're born of God, right?

The truth is revealed to us by who?

God.

We're born by God.

The truth is revealed by God.

We're indwelt by God.

And then when the Scripture goes and says that it is the spirit who

indwells us, it is the spirit who teaches us.

John chapter 3.

We are born of the spirit.

That which is born of the flesh is flesh.

That which is born of the spirit is spirit.

Equating the spirit, of course, with God.

One and the same.

The spirit of God.

Even has that name in the Scripture as being called that, the spirit of

God.

This doctrinal statement goes on to say we recognize His sovereign activity in creation

and incarnation.

The written revelation and the work of salvation.

We teach the Holy Spirit is the supernatural and sovereign agent in regeneration.

That's what we just talked about.

Also baptizing all believers into the body of Christ.

First Corinthians chapter 12.

The Holy Spirit also indwells, sanctifies, instructs, empowers believers for service and

seals them into the day of redemption.

Let me look at a couple more here.

We teach the Holy Spirit administers spiritual gifts to the church.

If we have time, we'll go there.

First Corinthians 12.

The Holy Spirit.

Notice this one.

I brought this out last week.

It's down at the bottom of the sheet, you remember, under the miscellaneous section.

Miscellaneous ministries.

I didn't put them down there.

They are secondary.

These are all great to look at.

That one down there says the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus Christ.

Listen to this sentence.

This is pretty neat.

The Holy Spirit glorifies neither himself nor his gifts

by ostentatious displays.

Get that again.

The Holy Spirit does not glorify himself or his gifts by

ostentatious displays.

But what does he do?

Jesus Christ says in that verse that I put down there for you in John 16.

That the Spirit of God will not speak of himself.

That I put down there for you in John 16.

That the Spirit of God will not speak of himself.

The Spirit of God will glorify me.

Not himself.

He will not put himself forward.

That's why I believe that the churches who do have these ostentatious

displays.

These outward supposed demonstrations of the work of the Spirit in their

churches.

Where there are manifestations.

Where there is speaking in tongues.

And really when it comes to speaking in tongues, even if they were to do it.

Most of them don't do it properly.

If you study 1 Corinthians chapter 14.

There is not the men doing it only.

It is not one at a time.

And it is not with an interpreter.

So it's not even done properly.

Decently in an order as it says in 1 Corinthians 14.

But beside that, what happens is it goes askew.

It goes off the rails.

And it gets showy.

And manifestations.

And it's all about feelings.

It's all about getting pumped up for the moment.

And it is all about the Spirit.

Where the Spirit's ministry is all about Jesus Christ.

Just like our lives.

The Spirit's ministry is about Christ.

Our life is to be Christ.

And this goes on to say he does glorify Christ.

By implementing his work of redeeming the lost.

And building up believers in the most holy faith.

And then lastly they say here.

We teach in this respect.

That God the Holy Spirit is sovereign in the bestowing of all his gifts.

For the perfecting of the saints today.

And that speaking in tongues.

And the working of the signs and the miracles.

In the beginning days of the church.

Was for the purpose of pointing to.

And authenticating the apostles as revealers of divine truth.

And were never intended to be characteristic of the lives of believers.

So there's a wrong emphasis.

I guess that's a good way to put it.

In the ministry of the persons of the one Godhead.

And there we see that there is an overemphasis of these manifestations.

These outward showy gifts of the Spirit.

Whereas really when the Spirit of God is present.

In the church of God.

The local New Testament church.

Leading, teaching, instructing.

There is an exaltation of Jesus Christ.

There is a lifting up of Christ.

He is glorified.

We are taught about Christ in the scripture.

By the Spirit of God.

And he is magnified.

Well another place where I did a little bit of study.

Was in Grudem's systematic theology.

And it really kind of bolstered the thought.

The truth that we just read there.

That the Holy Spirit is God.

And the way that he did it.

We touched on some of these.

But I just thought by way of review.

This would be very helpful to us.

He says that some have questioned whether the Holy Spirit.

Is indeed a distinct person.

Rather than just the power or force of God at work in the world.

But the New Testament evidence is quite clear and strong.

And he gives about four or five.

We will only look at four of them real quickly.

He says first.

First are the several verses mentioned.

Where the Holy Spirit is put in a coordinate relationship.

With the Father and Son.

That sounds a little technical.

The Holy Spirit is put in a coordinate relationship.

With the Father and the Son.

That would be verses where they are named together.

And where would one of those be?

What we looked at last week.

Does anybody remember the first one that we looked at?

It is in one of the gospels.

It begins with an M.

It is not the first M.

I mean it is the first M.

I am sorry.

It is not the second M.

It is Matthew.

Baptizing in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Verses like that.

Where the Spirit is put into that relationship.

And since the Father and the Son are both persons.

The coordinate expression there strongly intimates.

That the Holy Spirit is a person also.

The Father is a person.

The Son is a person.

And therefore the Holy Spirit is a person.

And then another second argument he says here is.

This is interesting.

And I used this last week.

But I did not touch on it.

Look in John chapter 14 if you would.

John chapter 14.

If you are ever sitting beside me in church.

And somebody says turn to John chapter 14.

And if I ask you.

Is that the New Testament?

I am just kidding.

I just thought I would let you know that.

Or if Pastor Mike says open to the Psalms.

We are going to read from the Psalms.

And I go like this.

And I go.

What page is that on?

Is that the Old Testament?

I am just kidding.

Sometimes I kid and I have a serious face.

John chapter 14 verse 26.

But the helper.

And it is clarified who the helper is.

The comforter might be in your translation.

But the helper of the Holy Spirit.

So we know who we are speaking about.

Whom the Father will send in my name.

The Father.

Just you see the Trinity working here.

The Father will send in Jesus name.

The helper.

The Holy Spirit.

He will teach you all things.

And bring to your remembrance all that I have said unto you.

What one word in that verse.

Points to the fact that the Holy Spirit is a person.

He.

Right?

That personal pronoun of he.

If it was a force.

If it was a power.

It would be an it.

But here it says he.

Notice in John chapter 15.

14 .26 and 15 .26.

Same thing.

John 15 .26.

But when the helper comes.

Whom I will send to you from the Father.

The Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father.

Very similar.

He will bear witness about me.

He.

Again.

Personal pronoun.

And it's really interesting.

Because in the Greek.

The word for.

In the Greek grammar.

The word for spirit.

Or pneuma.

Is neuter.

Which is not male nor female.

It's neuter.

But it's interesting.

That a masculine.

Pronoun.

Is chosen.

Which is he.

And of course.

What that does.

For us.

Is.

It's a term.

That pronoun he.

Is a term.

Which is commonly used.

To speak of a person.

Who gives help.

Or a person.

Who gives comfort.

Or counsel.

To another person.

And it is used.

Of the Holy Spirit.

In John's gospel.

Very.

Very interesting.

Another point.

We've looked at.

In these verses.

We've seen the word.

Paracletos.

Or the counselor.

Or the comforter.

Or the helper.

And that is a term.

That is commonly used.

To speak of a person.

Not a.

Not a thing.

Not a power.

Not a force.

Another.

Another.

Interesting.

This is where the Sunday school class.

Really is.

Gone.

These ministries of the spirit.

Or these activities.

Group.

Speaks of the personal activities.

That are ascribed to the Holy Spirit.

Such as teaching.

Or bearing witness.

Which we just read there.

In John 15. 26.

Or interceding.

Or praying.

On the behalf of believers.

Or serving.

Or searching the depths of God.

Or knowing the thoughts of God.

Willing to distribute gifts.

Forbidding.

Or not allowing certain things to happen.

Speaking.

Evaluating.

And approving of things.

In the lives of the believer.

Or church.

These are things that a person does.

And if you think about those.

Again.

Teaching.

Knowing all things.

I mean.

That's.

That's.

Omniscience.

Knowing all things.

That's a divine attribute.

That is not an attribute of a force.

Or an it.

Or something that's neuter.

It is a divine attribute.

Therefore.

The Holy Spirit.

Is God.

Let's just consider.

One of those.

And turn with me.

If you would.

To the book of Psalms.

About the.

One of the attributes of God.

Turn to the book of Psalms.

In Psalm 139.

And I'll.

I will just.

Imagine that many of you.

Will know this scripture.

And really hadn't thought of this.

Nor put.

Put this together.

But it'll be interesting for you.

And I hope a blessing.

For you.

This morning.

Psalm 139.

A tremendous Psalm.

Oh Lord.

You have searched me.

And known me.

You know my.

When I sit down.

And when I rise up.

You discern my thoughts.

From afar.

You search out my path.

And my lying down.

And unacquainted with all my ways.

Even before the world.

A word is in my tongue.

Behold oh Lord.

You know it all together.

This.

Omniscience of God.

God knows.

What we're going to say.

Before.

It's even spoken.

You hem me in.

Behind and before.

And lay your hand upon me.

Speaking of God.

Here.

Such.

Knowledge is too wonderful for me.

It is high.

I cannot attain it.

Notice verse 7.

Where shall I go.

From your spirit.

Where shall I go.

From your spirit.

Or where.

Shall I flee.

From your presence.

Notice the connection there.

Between the spirit.

God's spirit.

And God's presence.

David asks.

In this psalm.

Whether shall I go from your spirit.

Or.

Where can I flee.

From your presence.

If I ascend up.

Into a heaven.

You are there.

In this passage.

Attributes.

The divine characteristic.

Of omnipresence.

To the Holy Spirit.

The Holy Spirit.

Is omnipresent.

He's everywhere.

You cannot get away from.

If you could go some place on the earth.

And be away from the spirit of God.

He would not be God.

But because you can't do that.

He is God.

The Holy Spirit.

Is God here.

Something.

This is not true.

Of any other creature.

You can leave this room.

And you are out of my presence.

But you can't leave this room.

You can't go to the depths of the sea.

To the heights of the heavens.

And get out of the presence.

Of the Holy Spirit.

Meaning.

It seems like.

David is equating.

God's spirit.

With God's presence here.

To go from God's spirit.

Grudem says this.

To go from God's spirit.

Is to go from his presence.

But if there is nowhere.

That David can flee.

From God's spirit.

Then he knows.

That wherever he goes.

He will have to say.

You are there.

Just another proof to us.

That the spirit of God.

Is God.

Person.

Spirit of God.

Is a person.

Of the Godhead.

And he is God.

Very God.

We looked at last week.

You remember.

Who can pass the quiz.

From Acts chapter 5.

What took place in Acts chapter 5.

That gave us an idea.

Showed us there.

That the Holy Spirit is God.

Anybody remember?

Raise your hand.

Bruce does.

What happened in Acts 5.

Bruce.

Right.

In Peter's.

In Peter's announcement.

It says first.

It said first.

That.

You know.

That they had lied.

To.

The Holy Spirit.

You know.

Why is Satan.

Filled your heart.

To lie to the Holy Spirit.

And then Peter comes.

And says.

With his declaration.

You have not lied to men.

But you have lied to God.

Equating them.

As being.

The Holy Spirit.

Being.

God.

If you remember.

Let's turn there.

In the first Corinthians.

Chapter 2.

We looked here last week.

But I think it would be good.

For us to look once again.

First Corinthians chapter 2.

We're just looking at.

Some of these scriptures.

That show us.

That.

The Holy Spirit.

Is fully God.

And it's.

And it's so important.

You know.

Grudem.

Has.

Had some questions.

At the end of his chapter.

Let me ask you one.

And maybe we can.

Think about that.

As you're turning.

The first Corinthians.

Chapter 2.

What about this question.

In the past.

Has it been hard.

For you to think.

Of the Holy Spirit.

As a person.

Rather than simply.

As.

A presence.

Or force.

Just a thought.

Maybe.

We thought of that.

Before we were saved.

I don't know.

Maybe we just.

Didn't even really think about. The Holy Spirit.

Just a thought.

Maybe.

We thought of that.

Before we were saved.

I don't know.

Maybe we just.

Didn't even really think about.

The Holy Spirit.

I'll just ask this question.

Is there anything.

That has helped you think.

More readily.

Of the Holy Spirit.

As a person.

Is there anything.

That has come out.

That you've heard.

Or.

Possibly.

That you've thought about.

Even since last week.

Anybody have a comment there.

Yes.

Peggy.

Never really saw the word.

He come out.

Out there.

Like in John.

John.

John uses it.

Quite.

Quite frequently.

Yes.

Spirit of God.

It's.

It's he.

In there.

And that's.

That's good.

Amen.

Anybody else.

Something that.

Has helped you.

To think.

And to see.

Maybe to clarify.

To.

Build upon the foundation.

Of the truth.

That God has already.

Revealed to you.

That.

The Holy Spirit.

Is fully God.

It's easy for us.

To think of.

The father.

As being.

A person.

And being fully God.

Right.

It's easy for us.

And really.

Sometimes like.

We almost think.

You know.

They.

They have.

They have a name.

The father.

You know.

Abba.

Father.

And the son.

Jesus.

That's his name.

Christ.

Is not his last name.

As Pastor Mike says.

It's.

Is.

Has to do with.

His title.

And his work.

As being the anointed one.

The Messiah.

Jesus has a name.

But spirit.

And we don't.

We don't.

Think of spirit.

As person.

Because we think of spirit.

As.

As.

Invisible or.

Pneuma.

You know.

Breath.

Breath wind.

In.

In the Greek.

Spirit.

But.

We need to come to the place.

And have an awareness.

Even more so.

In this.

I believe.

Will.

Will.

Will permeate.

Through your life.

As a believer.

It will affect.

The way that you pray.

It will affect.

The way that you worship.

It will affect.

The way that you.

You.

Minister.

As you serve.

You will.

You will go.

If it is the spirit of God.

The person.

The third person.

Of the Trinity.

That empowers.

The believer.

Then you will know.

That when you evangelize.

When you go to evangelize.

You will not be going.

You.

Will not be going.

In your own strength.

When you have to.

When you call somebody up.

And say I'd like to come over.

And talk to you.

Whether the person's lost.

And you want to.

Share the gospel with him.

Or they're a believer.

And there's some issue.

That you want to deal with.

Or just a fellowship.

To be able to do that.

You.

You must do it.

Not in the flesh.

But.

By the power.

Of the spirit of God.

And your dependence.

Is upon the spirit of God.

So this truth.

What.

Isn't it so.

So valid.

That what we believe.

Affects the way.

That we live.

As Christians.

Right.

It affects the way.

That we live.

And what we think about.

And what we know about.

And what we.

What we conclude.

And what we determine.

The scriptures say.

Concerning the person.

Of the spirit of God.

Will.

Will have an effect.

And it ought to have a radical.

Effect.

Upon.

Our lives.

Well in first Corinthians.

Chapter one.

Chapter two.

It says.

In verse.

Notice what it says.

In verse ten.

And eleven.

We.

Cover these verses.

Let me.

Go back to verse nine.

But it is written.

What no eye has seen.

Nor ear heard.

Nor the heart of man imagined.

What God has prepared.

For those who love him.

These things.

God has revealed.

To us.

Through the spirit.

For the spirit.

Searches everything.

Even the depths. Of God.

For who knows.

A person.

Except.

The spirit.

Of that person.

Who is in him.

So also.

No one.

Comprehends.

Notice this now.

So also.

At the end of verse eleven.

No one.

Comprehends.

The thoughts.

In your translation.

It might say things.

The things of God.

The thoughts.

Of the things of God.

Except.

The spirit. Of God.

What is that saying there.

At the end of verse eleven.

What is that saying.

What.

Divine.

Attribute.

Is being attributed.

To the Holy Spirit.

Right there.

Omniscience.

All.

Knowing.

The spirit of God.

Knows.

The things of God.

Knows.

The thoughts of God.

Unlike us.

And he is the one.

According to this.

This passage here.

That what's being.

Told us here.

Is the natural man.

Can't understand it.

We need to be taught.

Of God.

And it is the spirit of God.

Who knows the thoughts of God.

Or is.

Omniscient.

All knowing.

Can.

Is the one who can.

Instruct us.

What did.

Gruden say.

Probably said it better than I did.

Let's see what he says here.

He says.

No one.

Comprehends.

The thoughts of God.

Or literally.

The things of God.

Except.

The spirit of God.

He didn't really get too much into that.

I didn't do too bad there.

All right.

Then.

Then the last one.

That.

That we have here.

And we've already covered this.

We don't have to turn there.

Jesus said to Nicodemus.

In John.

Chapter three.

You must.

Be ready.

Born.

Again.

Or born.

A new.

And then he talks about.

That which is born.

Of the flesh.

Is flesh.

And that which is born.

Of the spirit.

Is spirit.

And.

He's talking there.

About being born again.

By.

The spirit of God.

This is interesting.

Let's see how he puts it.

OK.

But the work of.

This is how Gruden.

Kind of explains this.

But the work of giving.

New.

Spiritual life.

To people.

When they become.

Christians.

Is something.

That only.

Who.

Can do.

Who can do that.

Only.

God.

Can do that.

Right.

And there.

In that verse.

It says.

That where.

That it's the spirit of God.

In John.

In first John.

I can't remember.

What chapter.

I'll bet you.

I don't like to bet.

But.

Pastor Perdeep.

I mean.

Will probably knows.

What verse.

In first John.

Talks about.

That we are born of God.

Maybe.

You can tell us later.

But there's a verse.

In there.

It says.

That we are born.

Of God.

And here.

In John 3.

It says.

That we're born.

Of the spirit.

And we have that.

That connection.

Again.

It's the work of God.

The Holy Spirit.

In the life.

Of the believer.

OK.

So that's kind of like.

A longer.

Background.

As far as we.

Revisiting.

Some of these things.

As far as this.

This idea.

This doctrinal truth.

That the spirit of God.

Is fully.

God.

And we did.

Talk about.

Some activities.

Of the ministries.

Of God.

Did anybody.

Have any questions.

On anything.

That we've covered.

Last week.

Or this week.

Any questions.

So far.

Or maybe.

Some verse.

That you.

That you.

Have seen.

Since we.

Had the class.

Last week.

And you know.

Yes.

Places.

In the scriptures.

That talk about.

Worshiping the Holy Spirit.

They don't come to my.

Mind.

Readily.

But because.

He is God.

There is.

There.

There isn't anything wrong.

With doing it.

As long as we have.

The right emphasis.

And it's not an overemphasis.

On the spirit.

And those.

Manifestations.

And it is a.

It is a pointing.

To Christ.

And a worshiping.

Of of him.

God the father.

In our.

In our great.

Our great God.

Now.

And I know.

That there are some.

Really good songs.

As a matter of fact.

On the way.

In this morning.

We were listening.

To some hymns.

And there are.

Some good songs.

That that will.

Put us in the right.

Frame of thinking.

Because as we're.

Praying it is.

Let's say.

It's okay.

To pray to the father.

In the name of.

Jesus Christ.

By the power.

Of the spirit of God.

We recognize.

That it's the spirit of God.

That's assisting.

And enabling.

And empowering us.

To do all that we do.

For obedience.

Obedience to the Lord.

And there are songs.

Like breathe on me.

Breath of God.

You know.

Fill me with life anew.

And I don't think it's.

I don't think it's wrong.

It just shouldn't be our.

Over emphasis.

To be going there.

To to.

To be placing that emphasis.

On the spirit of God.

Because even.

Even in our praying.

We need to be careful.

Who we're.

How we're praying.

Because sometimes.

When we pray.

We're praying.

To the father.

And saying.

You know.

Things that maybe were.

Attributed to the work.

Of Jesus Christ.

And we can kind of get.

Muddled up.

And get kind of.

Confused.

Confused.

Or might confuse.

Other people.

But I don't think it would be wrong.

It's.

And it's certainly not wrong.

To worship.

Our thrice.

Holy God.

Anybody else.

Have another thought.

On that.

Question.

Well.

They're not interchangeable.

We're not indwelt.

By the father.

We're not indwelt.

By Christ.

Jesus the son.

We're indwelt.

By the spirit of God.

But.

Here's the whole mystery.

It's like.

How is it that.

You can't separate them.

We're indwelt.

By God.

But.

In the person.

Of the Holy Spirit.

Just like.

We weren't.

The father.

Didn't die on the cross.

For us.

Jesus the son.

Did.

But.

We know that.

The father is God.

The son is God.

The Holy Spirit is God.

And they together.

Had purpose.

To save us.

In the work.

Would be done by.

Jesus.

But it was the will.

Of God.

And we're not.

We're not ever going to be able to.

Get our minds.

Wrapped around.

All of it.

Even trying.

We do.

We do pretty bad.

Poorly.

When we try to even.

Explain the Trinity.

To other people.

And have them.

Understand what it means.

But we believe.

We believe it.

Okay.

Let's look at the sheet.

Let's see.

What.

Where are we.

Can we go.

In the time that we have left.

We've covered the top half.

Maybe let's get down.

To some of the verses.

That we haven't looked at.

How about.

How about.

Ephesians chapter 3.

Since you're in Corinthians.

Ephesians chapter 3.

Notice.

And this is the.

In the miscellaneous ministries.

Down the bottom.

The very last one.

In the first section there.

Ephesians 3.

16.

Where the scripture says.

That according to the riches.

Of his glory.

He may grant you.

To be strengthened.

With power.

Through the power.

Through.

His spirit.

In.

Your.

Inner.

Being.

There's.

There's a statement here.

That God.

Strengthens us.

With his power.

Through the spirit.

So the.

Spirit of God.

Is doing this work.

In our.

Inner being.

Or.

In our.

Inner man.

And here.

The Bible.

Speaks of.

The fact that.

That we are.

As we.

As we submit to God.

And as we read.

God's word.

And we submit to the.

To the word of God.

There is a.

Spiritual power.

That is exhibited.

In the life.

Of the believer.

The outward man.

Our body.

Is getting weaker.

And weaker.

And weaker.

As the years.

Go on.

And you might be.

In your 20s.

And you might be.

In your 30s.

And you're doing.

Just fine.

But.

Wait.

There are things.

That happen.

As we get older.

And.

And.

Some of us.

Are wearing glasses.

Some of us.

Our glasses.

Are not just single.

Focal.

But they're.

Trifocal.

I mean.

They're.

There's things in our mouth.

Mouths.

To hold our teeth.

In the mouth.

Or.

To make teeth.

There.

And.

Eyesight.

And so forth.

Legs.

Bones.

Muscles.

The outward man.

Is perishing.

It's like a tent.

That is decaying.

In the.

In the.

In the desert.

And.

Holes and rips.

The body is decaying.

But we are renewed.

In the inner man.

And that.

Work is done.

By.

The spirit of God.

That's encouraging.

To me.

Because.

I know that.

I am frail and weak.

On the outside.

But on the inside.

So as a Christian grows.

In his.

In his life.

Physically.

We grow weaker.

But spiritually.

We're growing.

And ought to be growing.

Stronger.

And that's.

By the work of the Spirit of God.

And that is a true blessing to us as we grow in the grace and knowledge of the Lord, as we're

strengthened by the Spirit of God, using the Word of God for us to combat and

mortify the flesh, to combat sin, to be able to go in the Spirit of God.

And let's do this.

There's a great question, and I wanna ask it of you.

Maybe we can see who somebody else is bold enough to be able to answer this.

Have you ever been especially aware of the Holy Spirit's empowering

in a specific situation of ministry?

Or in a way that you've ministered, have you ever been aware of the Holy Spirit

empowering you?

And he says it could be evangelism counseling, Bible teaching or preaching or prayer or worship or in some other

situation, empowering you.

And he says it could be evangelism counseling, Bible teaching or preaching or prayer or worship or in some other

situation.

Anybody wanna take a stab at that?

Bruce.

Right, so when evangelizing and you're speaking the truth to somebody and you wanna say

the right thing, and isn't it interesting when you're speaking to someone

and you never intended to use a certain scripture or go in a certain direction

that you are prompted, so to speak.

The Spirit of God brings the scripture to memory, direction, speaking to somebody

and it's evident that it is powerful in that person's life because

they are convicted maybe, they are stopped in their tracks.

Here's one.

You know the Spirit of God is working when you're teaching a Sunday school class or preaching a message and you just

make some quote of some remote verse and it's like way off and it's a tangent or

some rabbit trail that you were on and you've just laid out this great outline of four points or five points in

the message and you're going down through them and somebody comes up to you after and said, wow, that verse,

that was just so good for me this morning.

That's the Spirit of God evident in the life of that person because that's what that person needed.

Interesting, isn't it?

Interesting how the Spirit of God moves.

Now, again, in control.

Not with showiness, I'm not talking about that in our lives or in the church.

Not talking about weird stuff.

You know, we're led by the Spirit of God.

It's quite evident.

We're not led by, I think I put, I

think I jotted down something someplace.

There's trouble with my notes.

Yes, we're not led by the casting of lots, throwing of dice.

Yes, we're not led by digital alarm clocks.

You've heard me say this one before.

A woman was deciding whether or not she should go someplace and she woke up in the morning and looked at her digital

alarm clock and she wanted to know if she should fly, go someplace.

And her digital alarm clock said 747.

She said, I know that I should fly.

We kind of giggle, but some people live that way.

And it's sad.

Some people live that way.

We ought not to live that way with these little quirky, mystical nuances and

strange things.

And I was reading in Friesen's book, Decision -Making and the Will of God, and he spoke

of a situation just like that.

And he said that if that woman had woken up and looked at the alarm clock, and if it had said DC 10,

then she would know that God was trying to tell her something.

Now, for those of you that are still asleep, that can't happen on an alarm clock because you don't have letters,

right?

On the alarm clock, so.

But we're led by the Spirit of God, not in bizarre ways or sensational ways, but we're

led by the Spirit of God as we read the Word of God, right?

And we see that these are things, this is the truth that we're to obey.

And we submit to the Word of God.

And as we're going along, I mean, there are times, I'm sure, when you're going along through your

life and somebody's path of their life crosses the path of your

life, that's not an accident, that's not luck, that's not chance.

God is orchestrating all things, and the Spirit of God is involved in leading us where we're going

and orchestrating things in the lives of other people.

When Philip came across the Ethiopian eunuch, it was, well, he didn't just

come across, he was sent there by God, dispatched by God to go to

be there with the Ethiopian eunuch.

If you look at Acts chapter 13, it says in that verse that it was the Spirit

of God picked out people in the church at that time to go on the missionary journeys.

The leaders in the church were picked, but the Spirit of God picked out the men that should go.

If you look in, well, look in Acts chapter 15, verse 28.

Acts 15, I know I'm all over the place, but we only have eight minutes left or so, just

fill it in, get as much in as we can.

Acts 15, 28, just in the working of the

movement of the church and what's going on and the decisions that are being made.

In Acts 15, 28, it says, for it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us

to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements.

And this is the council in the church when they're deciding what to do with the Gentiles.

And it says here that it seems good to the Holy Spirit and to us with the decisions that

they had come to in the church there, in that council, the Spirit of God is evaluating

and approving of a wise action or counsel.

And I believe that that can take place in our lives too.

As we read the word of God and we are going to try to make a wise decision and we pray about it and we're

seeking God to be led by God and we go to do something, if we do it

according to the will of God and with wisdom and with pre

-thought out determination.

We've asked people about it and it pleases the Lord and he approves of that.

But if we have a knee jerk reactions in our lives and it's

the 747s on the alarm clocks and these strange things, or we do it in our own power

or with our own wisdom, then it grieves the Spirit of God and he doesn't approve of that,

just like here.

Let me give you another example.

Next chapter, Acts 16.

Acts 16, does the Spirit of God direct when it comes to ministry?

Well, here we see in Acts chapter 16, the Macedonian call says in Acts 16, verse

six, and they went through the region of Phrygia in Galatia.

Notice this, having been forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in

Asia.

They had a desire to go there, but the Spirit of God forbade them or did not allow them to go.

And when they had come up to Mysia, they attempted to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit

of Jesus did not allow them.

So here they're trying to go in one direction, stop.

Trying to go another direction, stop.

And then there is that vision, that dream of the Macedonian call and Paul ends up

going over to Philippi.

So there is a, and that's on your sheets down the bottom, the call to ministry.

We just looked at Acts 13.

If you want the verses to write beside that, put 1528, where he evaluates and approves

counsel.

And Acts 16 .6, where he directs, or chooses the

field of operation when it comes to ministries.

And that's why it's important for us to be led of the Spirit, even as a church.

All right.

Let me just use a couple of more questions because I think it'd be good for you to think this way.

And we can conclude with this.

Let's see which question.

Maybe I didn't give people enough time to answer that question.

I kind of went off, but you know, the idea of perceiving the presence

of the Holy Spirit in our ministry or in our lives.

Any other thoughts along those lines?

Yes, Becky.

I think it, because we just, like some random

thing, Peter's with me.

Yeah, in our children and out of the mouth of babes is the glory is brought

to the Lord and they'll say things.

And of course, as parents, we want to have times when we spend with our

children to teach them.

We want to give them materials, Bibles, CDs, whatever to help teach them.

Things that will be good resources for them.

We have great plans, but ultimately as a parent, isn't our complete dependence upon God,

the Holy Spirit, to arrest our children's hearts, to open them like he did Lydia's, to save them

and to reveal Christ to them so that they bow the knee to Christ and they

call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.

And like with anybody that we're speaking to, it must be of God.

It can only be of God.

Casey, I see that hand.

Well, I see, I find in

evangelistic

fleshly, the

worse part to do it and you feel like fearful and then that just melts away and you.

Absolutely, Casey said that when we're evangelizing, if we have to approach maybe a hardened criminal

or an educated Harvard professor and we're fearful, it melts away.

We know that the Spirit of God gives us an assurance that we're the children of God and we're doing this under the commission of God, the

authority of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Interesting, going in all the world and make these disciples and teaching the nations,

baptizing them in the name of the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit.

Now, whoever spoke that, spoke that knowing that that's the truth of God.

Who spoke that?

Who spoke those words?

The Lord Jesus, didn't he?

And he speaks directly of the Holy Spirit and puts him right there with the Father as a person, the Son as a person, the

Holy Spirit as a person.

Very, very, very neat.

Okay, one last question here.

Do you have a sense from time to time of the pleasure or displeasure of the Holy Spirit at

some course of action that you're taking?

Do you ever have a sense of the pleasure or displeasure of the Holy Spirit

as you're taking some course of action?

Maybe that's just food for thought for us as we examine our lives as believers.

We've been called to be a holy people and we are taught by the Holy Spirit to be a

holy people.

And if we're not, then it grieves the spirit of God.

Ephesians chapter four, there's a verse in there, I believe that speaks to that.

And second follow -up part of this is, is there anything in your life right now that is grieving the Holy Spirit?

Of course, for us to know that, we would have to examine ourselves in prayer and seek God.

And it's something that we ought to be doing constantly, right, examining ourselves.

Am I grieving God by thinking this way, acting this way, dealing with other

people this way, having my ministry this way, the outbursts, just the thought life.

Am I grieving the Holy Spirit?

And then lastly, what do you plan to do about it?

God help us to be a people who not only understand that the spirit of God

is fully God, He.

His ministry, Grudem says, is the work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in

the world and especially in the church.

To manifest the presence of God.

How thankful we ought to be that God has taught us this concerning who the spirit of God is in His

ministries in our lives.

We still didn't get to all of them, but I don't think there'll be a part three on this Sunday school class.

If you can take those and look at those on your own.

Shall we pray?

Father in heaven, thank you again for revealing truth to us, how kind you are.

You've given us your word, which is established and settled forever.

It is not to be tampered with, not to

be misapplied, not to be taken out of context.

We trust that as we looked at it today, that it would be helpful for us to know

who the Holy Spirit of God is in all of His divine attributes

and activities, especially in the life of the believer.

Yes, He saves the lost.

He opens their hearts.

He regenerates them.

But we who are the people of God, Christians here in this room this morning, we are thankful

that we have the ever -present presence of the Spirit of God in the

ministry and teaching and leading and guarding and convicting and illuminating and directing and

giving gifts as far as men and leadership in the church and the spiritual gifts to

believers and so on.

How blessed we are.

And we would just lift up our hearts in praise this morning to our thrice holy

God, God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit, in Jesus' name, amen.