Sermon – “The Person of the Holy Spirit”

5 “I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in Me, and I in him, bears much fruit; for without Me you can do nothing. 6 If anyone does not abide in Me, he is cast out as a branch and is withered; and they gather them and throw them into the fire, and they are burned. 7 If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, you will[b] ask what you desire, and it shall be done for you. 8 By this My Father is glorified, that you bear much fruit; so you will be My disciples. 9 “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you; abide in My love. 10 If you keep My commandments, you will abide in My love, just as I have kept My Father’s commandments and abide in His love. 11 “These things I have spoken to you, that My joy may remain in you, and that your joy may be full. 12 This is My commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you. 13 Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down one’s life for his friends. 14 You are My friends if you do whatever I command you. 15 No longer do I call you servants, for a servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you friends, for all things that I heard from My Father I have made known to you.

5 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession. 2 And he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles’ feet. 3 But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and keep back part of the price of the land for yourself?

30 And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.

22 And the Holy Spirit descended in bodily form like a dove upon Him, and a voice came from heaven which said, “You are My beloved Son; in You I am well pleased.”

6 But brother goes to law against brother, and that before unbelievers! 7 Now therefore, it is already an utter failure for you that you go to law against one another. Why do you not rather accept wrong? Why do you not rather let yourselves be cheated? 8 No, you yourselves do wrong and cheat, and you do these things to your brethren! 9 Do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God? Do not be deceived. Neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor homosexuals,[a] nor sodomites, 10 nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners will inherit the kingdom of God. 11 And such were some of you. But you were washed, but you were sanctified, but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus and by the Spirit of our God. 2 All things are lawful for me, but all things are not helpful. All things are lawful for me, but I will not be brought under the power of any. 13 Foods for the stomach and the stomach for foods, but God will destroy both it and them. Now the body is not for sexual immorality but for the Lord, and the Lord for the body. 14 And God both raised up the Lord and will also raise us up by His power. 15 Do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ? Shall I then take the members of Christ and make them members of a harlot? Certainly not! 16 Or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her? For “the two,” He says, “shall become one flesh.”[b] 17 But he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with Him. 18 Flee sexual immorality. Every sin that a man does is outside the body, but he who commits sexual immorality sins against his own body. 19 Or do you not know that your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit who is in you, whom you have from God, and you are not your own?

2 “Most assuredly, I say to you, he who believes in Me, the works that I do he will do also; and greater works than these he will do, because I go to My Father.

30 Jesus answered and said, “This voice did not come because of Me, but for your sake. 31 Now is the judgment of this world; now the ruler of this world will be cast out. 32 And I, if I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all peoples to Myself.” 33 This He said, signifying by what death He would die.

Because the carnal mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be. 8 So then, those who are in the flesh cannot please God. 9 But you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. Now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he is not His. 10 And if Christ is in you, the body is dead because of sin, but the Spirit is life because of righteousness. 11 But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you.

16 Do you not know that you are the temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?

This morning I titled my message the person of the Holy Spirit. My first scripture its morning comes from John Chapter sixteen following along our readings from John Chapter sixteen verses five through sixteen. Hear the word of the Lord. But now I go away to Him who sent me and none of you asked me Where are you going but because I have said these things to you sorrow has filled your heart Nevertheless I tell you the truth it is to your advantage that I go away for if I do not go away the Helper will not come to you but if I depart I will send him to you and when he has come he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment of sin because they do not believe in me of righteousness because I go to my father and you see me no more of judgment because the ruler of this world is judged I still have many things to say to you but you cannot bear them now when However when he the Spirit of truth has come He will guide you into all truth for he will not see speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you the things to come He will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare to you all things that The Father has are mine therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare to you a little while and you was and you will not see me and again a little while and you will see me because I go to the father Amen and he got out of his blessing so that here in the reading of His Holy Word let us for a while the God we do thank you and praise you for. The person of the Holy Spirit we thank you father that you dwell within those who believe in your Son Jesus Christ we thank you that you work mightily throughout the world today and every day and father we just pray. That your spirit would open our understanding to receive what you have forced a day by other may only your truth be proclaimed today father anything that is not true that is not of you do or let it not be spoken just father may we received with open hearts and minds and father may we glorify you may we glorify you with the lives that you have given a store of the lives that you have blessed us with in Jesus’ name amen. I believe today that if you would ask. Some Christians I won’t say all who is the Holy Spirit and I truly believe that a lot of them are going to say well of course the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity Now we all know that the word Trinity is not actually in the Bible but we know the Trinity the Father the Son the Holy Ghost right of course and we believe that this combination is Almighty God that they are three and one. So as I was researching this week in the course you know when you get on the Internet you know you Google or you. Whatever other search engine you may use you’re going to find a wide variety of responses to the things you put in air so you know what do people think of the person of the Holy Spirit and it appears that there are even many professing Christians out there today that have a hard time identifying the Holy Spirit as a person they have a hard time confessing Yes he is the person of the Holy Spirit they struggle with that they know they have no problem saying oh yeah the Holy Spirit is a force the Holy Spirit is the symbol of God’s power yet we like to symbolize that dove coming down and landing upon Jesus. But they have a hard time they struggle with identifying the Holy Spirit as a person a living entity that’s what they struggle with one of the arguments that I found in my room as I was researching. It was one person said that says the Holy Spirit doesn’t have a name surely he cannot be a person. Well because we know you know the Son of God we call Jesus God Himself many names Jova I do not. And on and on and on many many names for God and so will sense always spirit doesn’t have a name surely it’s not a living entity it’s not a person well if I were to argue with that person out say OK well let me put it to you this way what if I told you today that next week the king of Jordan is going to come and visit the United States of America are you going to expect a non-living thing to be coming to America just because I didn’t tell you the king of Jordan is named. No you’re going to be expecting a living breathing entity correct you’re going to expect the king of Jordan to own just because I didn’t tell you the name doesn’t mean that he is not a living breathing entity. Just because God didn’t tell you the name of the Holy Spirit doesn’t mean that he’s not a living breathing entity he is a real person and Jesus in our passage here does a better job revealing that a person age of Jesus of the Holy Spirit then in most other passages I mean how many times we redid he says I will send him to you and when he has come he will convict the world when he the Spirit of truth has come He will guide you in all truth for he will not speak on his own authority whatever he hears. He will speak and he will tell you things to come He will glorify me Jesus says for he will take of what is mine on down there for I’ve said that he will take of mine and declare to you. He in him listed many many times Jesus knows the person needs of the Holy Spirit. A W. Tozer many of you have heard of a Debbie a toaster one of his writings is a pursuit of God in Christianity Today he says this of the Holy Spirit He is a person spell it out in capital letters the Holy Spirit is a person says he is not enthusiasm he is not courage he is not energy he is not the personification of all good qualities like Jack Frost is the personification of cold weather actually the Holy Spirit is not the personification of anything he is a person the same as you are a person but not the material substance he has individual ality he is one being and not another he has will and intelligence he has hearing he has knowledge he has sympathy he has ability to love to see and to think he can hear speak desire grieve and rejoice he is a person. The Holy Spirit gives commands here some scriptures that reveal some of these things a toes or says the Holy Spirit can and does in Acts thirteen two he gives a command as a minister to the Lord and fasted the Holy Spirit said the Holy Spirit said not separate to me Barnabas and Saul for the work which I have called them to. The Holy Spirit can be lied to in Acts Chapter five The church is going to accept or fibers as one through three but a little before that the church is young the church is just beginning to go the Holy Spirit has come and will know that they preached and three thousand were saved them. One day and every want to so excited they want everybody else to be able to hear the message they heard from the disciples that they too can find forgiveness of their sins so people began selling their possessions whether it be a an heirloom or rather it be that some land they had or maybe they sold an extra donkey or some cattle or whatever but they began to sell their possessions and when they’d sell his possession they’d bring everything from that possession and lay it at the feet of disciples so that the disciples could continue to minister so that they would have to stop ministering and go out and work to be able to feed themselves and to be able to feed all the people that were there so all these these people in the church say bring in all this and lain at their feet so the ministry could continue while they were this certain man X. five one through three A certain man name and a nihilist with Safire or his wife they sold a possession and he kept back part of the proceeds he or his wife also being aware of it and brought a certain part and laid it at the Apostles feet but Peter said Anna nighest why has saved and filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit. And keep back part of the price of the lamb for yourselves you see he lied to the person of the Holy Spirit they wanted to have the same appearance as everybody else they wanted to appear that they were being just as generous as everybody else so they lied to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit can be grieved inefficient for thirty and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by him you were sealed for the day every day. So how do we have so much confusion. Over the identity of the Holy Spirit perhaps some of this dates back to the King James translation where the word spirit or ghost was used in. Stead of breath or wind of God. This could be that many people throughout the ages of thought the Holy Spirit more a thing than a person because of the word spirit in Ghost nothing could be farther from the truth in fact as we big begin to know the person of the Holy Spirit we will want to have a closer relationship with him just as we do the Father in the Son I like the word breath. The breath is a good description of the always spear because God breathed the breath of life into man that is the Holy Spirit our friends every believer when they believe in God believe in Jesus Christ repent of their sins the Holy Spirit comes into wells in you the breath is the Holy Spirit you know this week so mass sorry what’s that big scar on your head. Well I had the flu very bad a twenty four hour bug thank the Lord it was quick. But I lost a lot of fluid became dehydrated three o’clock in the morning I passed out I was in the bathroom passed out and I had told her before I went to bed I said I’m going to sleep in the other bags I don’t want to give you what I got so she hears me get up and goes to the bathroom Well then she heard a Welp that don’t was me my face gravity took over let me tell you when you pass out gravity takes over and boom down you go and so the next thing I remember I mean because I didn’t feel no pain I don’t know what I hit but the next thing I remember is her be to me and say and breathe Ronnie breathe. Breathe. So you know as I was layer not laying there on net floor in an unconscious state I felt nothing in a sense excuse me but I was just a blob laying there. I was just a blob laying there it’s not the first. I did this as he said before when it happens he’s trying to find a pulse no balls you know says he’s trying to get me to brief breath Holy Spirit there is light that is the person so I was just plain or but when the breath came back into me then I began to move the person began to move do you see what I’m saying. Breath the Holy Spirit is as real as we are just as real as we are. There are many more scriptural references of the coexistence of the Trinity in Luke three twenty two and it says in the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him and a voice came from heaven which said Thou art my beloved Son in V I am well please. So there is evidence of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit right there in one verse the Holy Spirit in the form of the duck. Jesus whom the dove landed upon in the voice of said this is my beloved son. You know it’s so important that we understand the identity of the Holy Spirit. Because the Holy Spirit is that you know it is truly God. It is true that the fact that when we are born again it is God living in us His Spirit in us first Corinthians six nineteen says no you are not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you. Which you have from God have of God and you are not your own. You are not your own you belong to him when you say Lord forgive me my sins come in to well and here dwell in my heart you are no longer you are your own you be long to Him The Holy Spirit takes up residence in here. So what is the Holy Spirit’s mission. To reveal Jesus What was Jesus’ mission to reveal the father so what about the father’s mission to send Jesus and the Holy Spirit so that we can come to him. You see they have always worked in perfect harmony. There were has never ever been and never ever will be a management crisis in heaven. Jesus has never said I think I’m the one in charge now father and you need to step back. Now and has never happened and never will there’s never been any conflict in heaven. The disciples we know one thousand who’s going to be the greatest Well that was before the coming of the Holy Spirit. Whenever they fill it with jealousy or envy. So the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit never had to sit down and work things out because always spirit has always known exactly what the father’s will was he knows exactly what to say because the father he knows the father’s words than of the father’s thoughts just as the Son does complete harmony. So then church Jesus said to the disciples and he says to the church it is to your advantage so we say in church it is to our advantage that he go away to the Father so that the Holy Spirit would come. To our advantage think about that for a moment let that roll around their brains for a minute is it to our advantage was it to their advantage Yes we have the word we know so put yourself back though in their place go back a little over two thousand years ago. You’re one of the disciples and Jesus said it’s to your advantage that I go away. Where you know those disciples were just like us ordinary men flesh blood being. Walking around they had Minister with Jesus for three years they have grown to love him truly believe that he was a Son of God they’ve had in their though but I still we know that they didn’t fully understand all things that were going to happen so he says it’s to your advantage I’m going away could you see him now yes more we can’t why do you go all is going to be so great when you’re gone yes it’s going to be so exciting No that’s not what they said. Because they didn’t want to lose that person that they had to hold in the touch and to see to get up every morning and have breakfast with and have lunch with and see all the miracles and wonderful things he was doing they didn’t want to lose that to our advantage Oh how could that be. Jesus knew that didn’t fully understand at this time that’s why I said sorrow has filled your hearts these things are almost too much for you to grasp right now but there is coming a day when you’re going to understand and when was that day. Pentecost that they always spirit came. And brought to their memories all the things that he had told them and all the things that were going to be the person of the Holy Spirit help them to understand it was then that they knew the advantage. When Jesus came to this earth he had a human body he had to come in a human body. We all know that he had to it was a must because he had to come to live as a man to be tempted in every way that we can be tempted. And yet be without sin to be that perfect lamb he had to become a man so we know that he was limited he was limited in being in one place at one time. One place at one time you know there. I know that there are many passages were Jesus was able to perform a miracle from a distance. There was one case where a century and servant had become sick and so he sent some of his servants to go get Jesus this is you’ll find out in Luke Chapter seven said go go to Jesus he’s heard of all the wonderful things he’s done go and bring him back that he might touch and heal the servant this was a wonderful servant they believed in God They even helped build the synagogue and so you know it’s like I cherish the servant less I want him to live so they send the servants to bring him back in on the way other servants came and said nor don’t bother coming because our master the center and said You know I have people under me I’m a man of authority just say the word. Of course Jesus what great faith so we yes we know that he did have the ability to heal he knew what was going to happen you know when he came and told him that Lazarus was sick he knew he knew that as it was going to die he knew that but yet he waited so but he was still limited one place at a time could he go because he chose to come as a man takes on a human body. So with that question with Jesus coming to take on human body does the Holy Spirit have to dwell in a body. He doesn’t have to but I believe that he has chose to live in a body and friends what is that body. The church he has chosen to live in the body which we call the church not this building but the people the people that not just this church all those who believe in Jesus Christ I believe he has chosen to live in the body we read it from first Corinthians do you not know that you are the temple of the Holy Spirit. He has chosen to live within your bodies to accomplish his ministry upon this earth. You know in the past I’ve prayed many times Karen heard half of this message just well made of forethought it has like the Holy Spirit Wednesday morning just began to just pour out and open and opens just share with me. Many times I’ve prayed in the past Lord please ascend your spirit send your Holy Spirit let it move across this land let it move from the east to the west from the north and the south move upon the hearts of the peoples of this nation. Let it move and I know that it can do I know that the spirit this or the Word says that no man cometh unto the Lord in US A Holy Spirit drollest but I feel that I think the Lord knows my heart but I want to adjust that prayer a little bit Lord awakening quick in the church because the church is where the Holy Spirit dwells awaken the church Quicken us move us Lord that we may bear witness for you across this nation from the north to the south from the east of the West so Lord let that be your prayer awaken the church door to awaken the spirit within us move us Lord think of Pentecost What did you have a Pentecost you had the sound of a mighty rushing when so there was a sound to awaken them. You had to win to move them it appeared in the fire in lightened them in the tongue to speak so they were yes it was tongues the gift was in the hearing that day Peter spoke and all of them heard in their own language so don’t get hung up on that and say well if you are to speak in an undertone tongue I guess you don’t have the Holy Spirit that’s the law. It is a lie. Because if there is an American. Near to know he knows English I’m not going to go speak German to him to tell him about Jesus. I’m going to speak what he knows and the first a German certain air in the Lord enables me to the Holy Spirit to speak to him in German. But that’s the Holy Spirt the person of the Holy Spirit awaken the Church of the Lord. Jesus told His disciples previously how important it was that he go to the Father in John fourteen twelve Most assuredly I say to you he who believes in Me the works that I do he will do also and greater works than these he will do because I go to the Father. Again the advantage because he goes to the Father there is no longer just one working in the power of the spirit it is every single believer on the face of this earth that believes in Jesus Christ has accepted his forgiveness has received the Holy Spirit is now unable to go into the great works that he did and even greater Amen Amen so what church we need to awaken I’m talking about the church in general. What is that work Jesus said that the Holy Spirit will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and a judgment of sin the sin of course is the sin of unbelief. Which is the rejection of the holy Stoli Trinity. That is the work of the spirit that is the witness of believers to expose unbelief someone doesn’t want to hear you come and say well you’re just a dreadful sinner you’re a drunk you’re an adulterer you’re a thief you’re this or that no they just want to hear of a loving God that came to save them they want to hear it’s only because of unbelief. That they are doing those things that they believe Jesus Christ and let him in and God their lives they wouldn’t be doing them things so it is the sin of unbelief that is the witness of the Holy Spirit in the world the conviction of righteousness is not the conviction of the unrighteousness of the world it is the conviction of the righteousness of Jesus Christ is the conviction that comes in our hearts when we realize that the only right just being there walkin is earth that will not cross for us so that is the conviction of the righteousness his righteousness convicting us of our sins Amen that he died. The conviction of judgment because a ruler of this world my friends is already judged John twelve thirty three thirty two Jesus answered and said the voice did not come because of me but for your sake now is the judgment of the world now the ruler of this world will be cast out and if I if I am lifted up from the earth will draw all peoples to myself Satan my friends yes is the prince of this world but he is a defeated Prince he has already been defeated he has already been judged the verdict has been announced the only thing is waiting to take place is the execution of that sentence. So don’t let him trick you he has already defeated said Get behind me you’re defeated am an enemy defeated for where you want to call and get behind me Satan he has already defeated judgment of this world. Romans eight seven through eleven says because the carnal mind is and the tea against God for it is not subject to the law of God nor deed can be so then those who are in the flesh cannot please God but you are not in the flesh but in the speared if indeed to Spirit of God dwells in. You now if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ he is not his and if prices in you the body is dead because of sin but the Spirit is life because of righteousness but if the spirit of him who raises from the dead wells in you he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal body through His Spirit to dwells in you amen amen that is the life that is where the life is in the spirit that’s to that’s more important in a greater life than what we have here in the flesh. You are the temple of God that the spear dwells in you are the temple that the Spirit dwells in you might say can I show you the person each of the Holy Spirit. I believe that I can. Rob believe I can explain it to you and show you then that way I saw the Holy Spirit and a man named Gary trail many years ago when he laid hands on a young girl who was sick. And she was made well. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit in many preachers professing the word of the Word of God. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit in the love somebody going out and helping someone in need I’ve seen the Holy Spirit in a whole group of young people willing to go to Jamaica. To work at a school work with their hands at the school for the deaf obscene always fair work in a group Good went to South Carolina to help restore people’s homes after a flood raft or hurricane rather hurricane and flood. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit work many miracles through those gifted with. I’ve seen the Holy Spirit work through those that would just help somebody on the street in need. So can I show you the Holy Spirit Well do you have love. Do you have love. Yes I’ve seen the always Spirit working teacher Sabbath school teachers. I’ve seen always fear comfort. I have felt his presence but gosh are you always Spirit who here believes in Jesus Christ and accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. OK Go look in a mirror. Go look in the mirror if you want to see the Holy Spirit because always Spirit dwells in you. Is not a matter of the image. But is the person and what it does that which moves and helps in love’s that’s the person Holy Spirit. I hope that is help you understand the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit will glorify the Father in the Son. Said how be it in John sixteen thirteen fourteen how be it when he the Spirit of truth is come he will guide you in all truth for he will not speak of in self but whatever he hears that he shall speak and when and he will show you things to come he shall glorify made. For he shall receive of mine and show it unto you he shall glorify me. That’s one of the main works of the Holy Spirit to bring glory and honor to the son who brings glory and honor to the Father church that’s one of our main works to bring glory and honor to him will we glorify him. Will we glorify him.