Holy Spirit I

And the series is on the Holy Spirit.

And some of us may think, but we come from Pentecostal backgrounds

and we know all about the Holy Spirit and I suggest to you that it's not true.

And some of us may think, but we come from a very solid background

in terms of teaching and theology and we are not those that get involved in this

experiencing of the Spirit and I'd say to you that that doesn't mean much either

because as I have been preparing these notes on the Holy Spirit,

I'm just surprised at things that I thought I knew that I need to hear again, hear clearly.

And so I encourage us to pay attention and not assume that we know, not assume that we know.

And having said that, understand also that on one hand you need to know solid stuff about the Spirit of God

but it cannot be at the cost of experiencing the Spirit.

Let me put it in a different way.

Most of us in Acts 39 have been so steeped in knowledge and revelation for the last few years

that what is good was a place for it, that we are beginning to lose out on experiencing an encounter with the Spirit of God.

And I want to correct that. That's part of the reason why we are shifting focus now.

It's not that what we did was not the thing to do, it was the thing to do

because we had to earth what we believe because far too often things of the Spirit are very flaky

and so we worked it. But now we want to come back into experiencing the Spirit of God.

Experiencing, as in feeling, knowing, having encounters.

So part of the reason we are shifting is because of that.

And understand also that last week we said that we are engaging in something called Showtime.

That's what our theme is for 2013.

And why are we calling it Showtime? Because we are saying that we want to show the nature of God,

we want to see and expect manifestations and we want to hear the voice.

And in all these three aspects the Holy Spirit is involved.

And therefore over the next two or three weeks we'll focus on a study of the Holy Spirit.

And I've deliberately titled the page Holy Spirit Who?

Because often it's Holy Spirit What?

And let's understand it the way we need to understand.

And the thing that most Christians, even those sitting under this roof right now,

is that we grasp the Father and we grasp the Son, but we don't so much grasp the Holy Spirit.

Because often the Holy Spirit is represented by impersonal terms or non-personal terms such as oil, wind, water, fire.

That's how the Holy Spirit is represented.

And they are non-personal terms.

So a fire fell and so we have fire conferences or oil and wine conferences.

I haven't heard of that one.

But what I'm trying to say is these are non-personal terms or the dove.

So sometimes he's very non-personal and we want to change that.

One of the prophets and regents was saying how he was sitting in his summer school class

and the teacher was trying to explain to the student what the Holy Spirit is like.

And he said the Holy Spirit is invisible.

But then he held a paper in front of him and blew on it and said,

but you can see his activity and he blew on it.

And he said the Holy Spirit is like a wind.

He's invisible but you can see his activity.

And the little boy in the summer school scared.

But can't you make him un-invisible?

So that's what the kid said.

And it's true.

The Holy Spirit doesn't seem to be visible.

The Father has been made visible through Christ.

Jesus Christ walked the earth.

So when we read the Gospels, we see him as personal.

But the Holy Spirit seems invisible.

And one of the things we'll try to do over the next three weeks is to make him un-invisible.

And really when you think of it, just as Christ made the Father real

by representing him accurately,

so Christ has also put a face on the Holy Spirit.

Because some of us may not know this,

but the Spirit of God is also called the Spirit of Christ.

The Spirit of God is called the Spirit of Christ.

Jesus Christ has put a face on the Holy Spirit.

We'll talk about that.

But I just want you to know that we won't have to dig.

It will be quite evident.

Just as the invisible Father has been made visible through Christ,

this is a statement you rarely hear in church,

the invisible Holy Spirit also has been made visible through Christ.

Because in most circles we are taught that the Holy Spirit reveals Christ.

I would like to suggest to you today that Christ reveals Christ.

Reveals the Holy Spirit too.

That Christ puts a face on who the Holy Spirit is.

And that's not sacrilegious to say that.

That Christ reveals the Holy Spirit.

It's actually that way.

The Holy Spirit didn't fall on Mary, right?

Yeah.

Christ will fall on Mary.

Christ is actually the face of the Holy Spirit.

No, Christ is not exactly.

Because some of these equations, James, will have to be,

we'll examine, but not all have been fit exactly.

And yet at the end of the day you'll see that they're all connected.

So we'll come to that.

So don't hesitate to comment or ask, but I'm just saying it's a little different.

Christ reveals the Father.

Christ also reveals the nature of the Spirit.

The Spirit reveals Christ.

It is very connected.

We'll talk about that.

So in dealing with the Spirit, in dealing with the Holy Spirit, guys,

we are dealing with none other than the personal presence of God.

In dealing with the Holy Spirit today,

we are dealing with none other than the personal presence of God Himself.

This V, R, Alpha and Omega.

We are dealing with none other than the personal presence of Alpha and Omega

when you're dealing with the Holy Spirit.

And now to go down the road that James just talked about in terms of how do they all relate.

Guys, the Jehovah's Witnesses, for example,

say that the Holy Spirit is a divine influence

and they don't necessarily see Him as a distinct person.

So when you are talking to a Jehovah's Witness, if you at one point ask them,

so what do you think of the Holy Spirit?

They will say He is a divine influence or a strong influence from God.

But they will not say that He is an actual person.

They won't say that.

Yeah, we'll be coming to that.

They don't see Him as an actual person.

They see Him as an influence.

And in Christian circles, I suggest to you that again when it comes to the Holy Spirit,

things are very blurry.

We don't exactly know how to look at Him.

And so what sometimes happens is, because the Trinity is a mystery,

and when I say Trinity I mean Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

because how do you figure it out?

You can't figure it out.

So what we normally do when we can't figure out how Father, Son and Holy Spirit can be one,

what we do is we reduce Him to something that fits well with our thinking.

We reduce Him to a God whose signs our minds can grasp and control.

And I suggest to you that's idolatry.

Let me say that again.

When we can't understand concepts in the Bible, and particularly the Triune God,

what we often do is we reduce God to a science that we can grasp and control.

And that is a form of idolatry.

I have to be careful not to reduce God to something I can comprehend

just because I cannot comprehend a certain thing.

Nor can I do this other thing that we Christians do.

Sometimes because I can't comprehend a certain aspect of God, I set it aside.

That is like setting aside an idol because we've got no one to grasp and control.

Either way, neither is the correct approach.

You cannot reduce Him to something that you can grasp and control because your mind can't handle it.

Nor can you set Him aside because your mind can't handle it.

Both are forms of idolatry.

So when I can't understand something in the Bible, I have to go back and say,

Father, can't grasp it with my mind.

Help me begin to understand it in my spirit.

Father, can't grasp it right now even in my spirit.

But I won't set it aside.

I want to understand it more.

So please come back to me, my beloved, who runs down the hills, over the mountains to come and speak.

Show me, show me.

But I do not set it aside.

So even today as we talk about the relationship between Father, Son and Holy Spirit,

you'll find that for almost none of us will, I mean not almost, none of us will necessarily comprehend it.

But certain lights may be looking.

Go on.

J.K.

By setting aside, isn't that something you actually say, well I'm not interested?

Yeah, when I say setting aside, it's like, ah, this is too complicated.

Let it be.

But there's a point where you have to say, okay, I'm not going to worry about this right now.

Let's accept what I know and then go.

Yeah, it comes from a different place.

When I'm interested in something like, like hockey, I mean I understand something.

But there's still this, there's still this tomorrow morning I'll figure it out some more.

It's not a setting aside as in, ah, too complicated.

Let's go on to something else.

Because what happens is then you have a sweater made up of loose ends.

So you've got big holes and it's not moth eating, it's just lack of diligence.

So here are some scriptures we need to look at.

Guys, to begin with, when we think of the triune God, remember he's on one hand God in one God,

one God in three persons.

And you know this, but I want to introduce something else too.

One being in three persons.

Both need to be understood.

It's not sufficient to understand one.

So it's one God in three persons as in God is one.

Father, Spirit and Son.

And yet, he's also one being in three persons, meaning there's such unity in the Godhead

that what the Father thinks is what the Holy Spirit thinks is what the Son thinks.

What the Father does is what the Holy Spirit does is what Jesus does.

It's both one God in three distinct persons and it is one being in three persons.

This is important that you have both steps.

Let's look at some scriptures.

One God in three persons.

1 Corinthians 12, 4 to 6.

1 Corinthians 12, 4 to 6.

Guys, if you don't have a Bible, grab a Bible because there's a lot of scriptures we'll be looking at.

If nothing else, you can mark it and go home and look at it again.

1 Corinthians 12, 4 to 6.

Okay, here it goes.

Look at all three persons of the Godhead being mentioned in 4 to 6.

There are different kinds of gifts but the same Spirit.

There are different kinds of services but the same Lord as in Jesus.

There are different kinds of workings but the same God as in the Father works all of them in all men.

Let's look at another one.

2 Corinthians 13, 14.

2 Corinthians 13, 14.

Okay, a very simple one.

And there is a benediction that is so often read.

2 Corinthians 13, 14.

May the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the...

You know the word fellowship should be replaced by the word participation.

That's more...fellowship seems to be...

When you think of fellowship, it's like what happened at Anne's place yesterday.

It's a little moving that there is participation in.

So, may the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the participation of the Holy Spirit be which you...

or the participation in the Holy Spirit be which you are.

So, those are two scriptures.

There I can give you another 14 or 15 where we talk about God in three persons.

But look at this.

Even though God is in three persons and one being in three persons...

Look at this.

The Holy Spirit is separate from Christ.

This is one part of it.

The Holy Spirit is separate from Christ.

Look at Romans 8, Romans 8, 26 and 27.

Romans 8, 26 and 27.

So, in Romans 8, 26 and 27, here's what it says.

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

We did not know what we ought to pray.

But the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express.

So, on one hand, Romans 8, 26 says that.

Now look at Romans 8, 34.

And you'll see Jesus Christ doing the same thing but is very clearly mentioned in a separate...

Romans 8, verse 34.

Romans 8:34

Who is he that condemns Christ Jesus who died more than that who was raised to life is in the right hand of God and is also interceding for us?

So, on one hand, in Romans 8, 26 and 27, you've got the Spirit of God who invulg in us, interceding for us.

But on the other hand, in the heavens, you've got Jesus Christ who intercedes for us in the heavenlies.

Yet, having said that, now look at this other scripture.

Look at Romans 8, 9.

Romans 8, 9.

Ready?

Okay, here it goes.

You, however, are controlled not by the sinful nature but by the Spirit.

If the Spirit of God lives in you.

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

Suddenly, in this scripture, you see that the Spirit of God is the same as the Spirit of Christ.

So, on one hand, the Spirit of God is different from Jesus Christ.

Meaning, Jesus Christ is the second person of the triune Godhead.

The Holy Spirit is the third person of the triune Godhead.

Yet, the Spirit of God or the Holy Spirit is the same as the Spirit of Christ.

It's this whole thing of one God in three persons, one being in three persons.

I know it's a little hard to comprehend but it's the way it works.

Look at Galatians 4, 6.

Okay.

Galatians 4, 6 says, Because you are sons, God sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts.

Right?

Now look at Galatians 3, 5.

Galatians 3, 5.

Galatians 3, 5.

Galatians 3, 5.

It says that, Does God give you his Spirit and work miracles among you because you observe

the law or because you believe what you heard?

So, in Galatians 3, 5, it says, Does God, meaning God the Father, give you his Spirit?

But in Galatians 4, 6 it says, But he has received the Spirit of his Son.

God in three persons, one being in three persons.

It's hard to comprehend but it all comes together.

What translation are you using?

An ID.

Any questions?

I'm going to be able to answer some of them but any questions or any comments?

I want to try to describe the fresh baked cherry pie in three pieces.

Because the filling still all runs together but it's still three pieces of pie.

Yeah.

Did you hear that?

You heard that?

It's the Holy Spirit.

These analogies can only go so far because they just don't cut it.

But it's like a pie that's cut in three pieces and the filling is the same in all three pieces.

They're only kind of convinced for the advantage.

You know how it works with ice, water and steam and the light heat and energy.

All those things.

The egg and the yolk.

Egg and the yolk.

I mean these things can only take you thus far.

It is impossible to feel.

Comprehended.

Any other questions or statements?

So on one hand the Spirit of God is distinct from the Jesus Christ and yet we look to these verses where the Spirit of God is the Spirit of Christ.

Any other comments or questions?

We'll talk about that in the coming weeks because we will talk about how the Holy Spirit is involved in mission.

We will talk about that.

Because especially to Muslims to explain the triune God becomes the biggest thumping block and yet you cannot avoid it if they ask.

I recently heard a very well known evangelist in a Muslim country.

I saw this on TV so it's not even hearsay.

He preached Jesus Christ and then he said, okay if you believe in Jesus Christ raise your hands and people did.

And then when he prayed for them he said Allah invites you and Allah wants to bless you and now you've become Allah's student.

And what he did was he took the word Allah which means God and used that to now invite people and declare them evangelized or one over.

But the word Allah doesn't correspond to Jesus Christ.

So in the end the entire message he preached was kind of made moot because they were being invited into Allah not into Christ.

And I'm surprised they put it on TV because it seemed to hollow out what he was doing but he was a very well known person.

So as we accept Christ, His Spirit comes and lives in us so that's the Holy Spirit.

He's the head of the body.

So is that connected that way?

Yes it is.

We'll be talking about that.

So let's talk about what happens when you're born again guys because this is another thing that we need to grasp.

What happens when you get born again?

Any questions on this?

Any comments on this guys?

Anybody?

Turn to John 3.6.

This is basically the place we start about the Holy Spirit.

Hopefully over the next two weeks we'll talk about other things.

Did Jesus call both spirits a function?

It's one of His functions but it's not His only function.

So it would be like saying you're a flight manager but there's so much more to you than the flight manager.

So it would be a function.

Yeah, so many other, about six or seven other things.

We'll talk about that today before we finish.

It'll be fascinating.

Guys, John 3 verses 6 to 8.

John 3:6–8

Look at what it says there.

Let's start with verse 5.

Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, no one can enter the kingdom of God unless he is born of water and the Spirit.

The flesh gives birth to flesh but the Spirit gives birth to spirit.

You should not be surprised at my saying you must be born again.

The wind blows wherever it pees.

You hear its sound but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going.

So it is with everyone born of the Spirit.

So the whole idea of being born again has so much to do with the Spirit of God.

So before we go there, I just want to say that there are components to getting born again, if you want to call it that.

First, there's hearing.

If I bend down to pick that up, this thing will start sounding off.

First, there's hearing.

You get born again by first, you get converted or whatever word you want to use or you commit to salvation by first hearing.

How can they hear unless you send someone?

So the first component is hearing.

The second component is faith.

Once someone hears, one has to now exert faith and in all of these aspects of salvation, the Holy Spirit is involved.

In the proclamation of the Gospel, the Holy Spirit is involved.

We'll talk about that to answer Maryam's question another time.

Then there is faith involved.

And strangely, it's the Spirit of God who gives you faith and that faith allows you to believe in the Spirit of God.

We won't do that today.

There's faith involved.

And once faith is involved, there's conversion.

Where a person is transformed, a man is changed.

No longer do you derive your lineage from flesh, you derive your lineage from the Spirit, you're converted.

Your heart of stone is replaced with a heart of flesh.

And there are many metaphors and statements that you can use to explain it.

So the first one is hearing, faith, conversion.

The fourth one is after or at the moment of conversion, you receive the gift of the Spirit.

And by this I don't mean speaking in tongues.

I'm talking about the gift of the person of the Spirit.

Gift of the person of the Spirit.

And finally the fifth path of salvation is baptism, which is not something to do with the divine.

It is a response.

It's a human response to divine activity in you.

This is how people have always thought of salvation.

They never separated here by the way.

Baptism was always a part of being saved.

These are the five basic components of salvation.

But that doesn't mean that somebody who's not baptized is not saved.

Yeah, but we've got to stop going down that road because for too long we've been going down that road.

When it is such a part, it's like saying, oh just because you're married doesn't mean I've got to sleep with my wife.

It's almost like that, of course.

People don't sleep with their spouses after getting married.

But that doesn't mean that that's the way to go.

So yes, baptism is not required for salvation.

The thief on the right hand didn't get baptized.

But at the same time it is such a part of, just like consummating a marriage is part of a marriage,

so baptism is the human response to the divine.

It is part and parcel of the entire thing.

So it cannot be separated.

So, the other thing that is kind of an eye-opener for me, even though I've always wanted to put it in these words,

was quite revealing, do you know the goal of salvation?

The goal of salvation, I have different ideas about the goal of salvation,

but the goal of salvation is in Christ, the goal of salvation in Christ is a people for God.

The goal of salvation in Christ is a people for God's name.

This is so odd.

The goal of salvation is to form a people in God's name.

How can that be? It's been that way since the beginning of time.

The goal of putting Adam on the face of the earth was so that he could go forth and multiply

and have a people after the name of God who could subdue the earth.

The goal of Abraham being sent out in Genesis 12 was so that he could develop a people who were called the people of God,

so that the other nations on the earth, look at these two, they've got a box.

You asked me what we needed in church.

The goal of sending out Abraham was so that Abraham would go and form a people called the children of God,

which was in other words Israel, who was supposed to show the nations what God looked like.

The goal of doing this was to again form a new kingdom that stands in opposition to the kingdoms of the world.

So the goal of salvation is to form a people after God's name.

How we enter into this new community is individually.

We enter it individually.

But understand that even though you enter it individually, you were talking about the body of Christ,

you enter the body of Christ individually.

But understand that the goal of salvation is to create a people for God on the earth.

The goal of salvation is not to go to heaven.

That just happens to be a place that will be established on the earth.

The goal of salvation is to form a people of God,

to form a kingdom that stands in stark opposition to the kingdoms of the world,

so that the kingdoms of the world may know your God.

The goal of salvation is to form a people or a kingdom that is in stark opposition to the kingdom of the world,

so that the kingdoms of the world may know your God.

This is why in this church you keep emphasizing on parts that form a whole.

Remember it.

I mean there's a deliberate intent here guys.

So people enter this community individually,

not from Germany, not from Canada, not from India, but from every tribe and nation.

From every tribe and nation.

You enter it individually.

How?

By believing in the death and resurrection of Christ

and by believing in the work of the Holy Spirit,

indwelling work of the Holy Spirit.

Those are the two things that you have to do.

I believe in the death and resurrection of Christ

and I begin to believe in the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

Both are vital.

So just so we can look at the work and the indwelling of the Spirit and salvation,

let's look at these scriptures so that we are,

we stand on solid ground with this.

Look at 1 Corinthians 2, 10.

This is just to show you the work of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

The work of the Holy Spirit at the moment of salvation.

1 Corinthians 2, 10 to 14.

You will find guys that it is the Spirit of God that distinguishes you from the other

people.

You will find that it is the Spirit of God that distinguishes you from the other people.

That it is the Spirit of God that distinguishes you as a people of God.

It's the Spirit of God that makes me different from the natural people.

That's what 1 Corinthians 2, 10 to 14 talks about.

Let's read it.

The Spirit searches things even the deep things of God.

For who among men knows the thoughts of the man except the man's spirit within him?

In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Now listen to what it's trying to say.

We have not received the Spirit of the world,

but the Spirit who is from God that we may understand what God has freely given us.

This is what we speak, not in words taught by human wisdom,

but in words taught by the Spirit expressing spiritual truths and spiritual words.

Now here's the thing, Jim.

The man without the Spirit does not accept the things of God that come from the Spirit of God,

for they are foolishness to him and he cannot understand them because they are spiritually discerned.

The spiritual man makes judgment among all things, but he himself is not subject to any man's judgment.

The point being guys, that what distinguishes us as spiritual is not walking spiritually,

which should be the outcome, but it is the presence of the Spirit in you.

This is why we understand the things of God, guys.

The same thing that I am saying can be spoken to somebody who is not a believer and they do not understand it

unless the Spirit of God quickens them,

which is how salvation comes anyways.

Let's take another scripture.

Galatians 3, Galatians 3, 2 to 3, Galatians 3, 2 to 3.

2 to 3.

I would like to learn this one thing from the Apollos talking of the Galatians.

Did you receive the Holy Spirit by observing the law or by believing what you heard?

I am so foolish, after beginning with the Spirit, I am now trying to attain the goal by human effort.

How did they receive the Spirit?

They received the Spirit by believing what was spoken, hearing what was spoken,

that Jesus Christ is Lord, that He died and goes again.

That is when they received the Spirit.

So now Paul is saying, why go back to human effort?

Let's take another scripture, Romans 8, 9.

Romans 8, 9.

This is just to show that you cannot be a Christian without the Spirit.

You however are not controlled, are controlled not by the sinful nature,

but by the Spirit, if the Spirit of God lives in you.

And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Christ.

A person who does not have the Spirit of God is not a Christian.

And when do you receive the Spirit of God?

When you hear the death and resurrection of Christ and when you believe it,

that is when the Spirit of God comes into your life.

Let's take another scripture.

Romans 8, 14-17.

Those who are led by the Spirit of God are the sons of God.

For you did not receive the Spirit that makes you a slave against the fear,

but you received the Spirit of sonship, and by Him we cry, Abba, Father.

The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

Now if we are children, then we are heirs, heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ.

If indeed we share in His sufferings, in order that we may also share in His glory.

So how do we know we are the children of God?

We know we are the children of God because we have received the Spirit

who now has a scholar to even say Abba, Father.

It is impossible to be a Christian without, to be a child of God without the Spirit of God.

Impossible.

Let's look at another one.

Ephesians 1, 13.

Ephesians 1, 13.

So is that Ephesians 1?

13.

And you also were included in Christ.

I love this. This is so clear.

And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth,

the gospel of your salvation, and having believed you were martyred with a seal

the promised Holy Spirit who is the deposit guaranteeing our inheritance.

Please don't think that when he says deposit it means like a down payment we make on our house.

It means that. But it's not a down payment as in a small portion of the Holy Spirit.

It's a down payment of our inheritance as in everything that has to come to pass even in the future.

It's not a down payment of the Holy Spirit. It's a down payment of your inheritance.

So there it clearly shows.

You first believed in Christ by hearing the word and when you heard the word

the Holy Spirit was given as a guarantee for everything to come in the future too.

You were marked by the Holy Spirit. See the name.

First, sorry go ahead.

So, hearing, believing, now many people in India walk down the road

whether they're intelligent because of science or whatever

come to this understanding saying, hey you know what this is just focus focus

and I don't so I don't.

Yeah. My response, the only response I have to that is...

Christians who have gone through Muslims and so forth.

Yeah. So my response to that is then were they like the three soil types in the parable of the soul

which received but didn't have roots, which received but in a day it was pictoried

which received but was choked up by crashes and it's really been sinking.

So then the key is also to grow?

The key is to receive it in a way that it becomes reality

because once, because I believe that salvation cannot be lost

and because I'm starting from that point my only response would be

didn't they initially receive Christ?

In Ephesians 1,11 it says, in him we were also chosen having the predestined

according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity.

So one, it's already been chosen who are saved and then there are those who...

No, no. It's not that God has chosen those who are to be saved.

So one knows who walked on the world.

What I'm saying is in that journey there are people who have heard, heard the faith, heard it,

had faith in it, believed in it, but as you say the same thing here.

So they did not grow in it.

Then God already knew that too. So they cannot be the predestined ones.

They're not the predestined ones. I'm not saying that.

Even growing into it is a factor of salvation.

Not only...

Okay, okay, yeah.

Like Eddie says, we're continuously being saved in the sense our soul is being saved now.

It's been transformed. But salvation, my thing is once a seed falls into the ground

and starts germinating, salvation is then done and...

But it's in the process.

No, it is guaranteed.

Because we don't know.

No.

You should explain.

Hear the thing. I come from the prejudiced point that salvation cannot be lost.

It cannot be lost.

Therefore...

That person has got it and we don't know whether that person has got it or not.

Agreed. You cannot know. Only God knows.

A seedling will germinate even though if it's growing on a shallow soil,

even though it's growing in a thorny bush.

Okay, then maybe the word I should be using is not germinate.

The word is to produce 30, 60 and 100 fold.

That is the parable.

That can only be done by the Holy Spirit.

I don't know sometimes who is saved and who is not.

But because I have this slant that salvation cannot be lost,

therefore I have to come from the position that if someone walks away from Christ,

then it is because the person was to begin with never saved.

And it is a slant, for those who believe that salvation can be lost,

they'll come from a different point of view.

But because I am persuaded that salvation cannot be lost,

I have to take this stance.

And I was one, as you know, some of you know, who believed that salvation could be lost.

I don't believe that anymore because from everything I read, it says otherwise.

Isn't that the statement that salvation could be lost or salvation could be gained?

It should not be made because...

Then there is no guarantee, if salvation can be lost,

there is no guarantee that anybody here will actually be saved.

So if I understand Christ's life correctly,

it is impossible once Christ is in me to lose Christ.

So yes, it is a slant, but I checked this slant with Eddie.

I checked this slant with Mike Scambaberry.

Why do I mention the names?

Because they are people that I take cues from.

And I checked this slant with the Word.

Because I was one who believed that salvation can be lost.

And now I've interacted with the Word and with these two men

who in particular have an understanding of things,

I am persuaded and absolutely convinced that salvation cannot be lost.

Yeah.

Yeah.

For the ones who are not saved in our families,

can we just continue to pray?

Yeah. Yeah. Yeah.

So that's where I'll be coming from. Sorry, go on.

What if somebody is born again and continues to need it?

It is possible for people to be born again and continue to need.

I'm an example of that.

Yeah. Yeah.

Is it because the person doesn't need the whole life's weight of conviction of the Holy Spirit?

Yeah, it is because I am not as much in love with God

and it is because I am not as transformed by the work of the Spirit.

I'll be talking about that.

Is it different to believe in Christ by heart or believe in Christ in our mind?

Both have to come into play because I have to both feel, think, everything.

With all my heart, with all my mind, with all my soul and with all my strength.

So all of them want.

That's the only way.

Back to your husband and wife.

Yeah. Yeah.

At the end of the day, guys, Christ lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

Did you hear that?

Christ lives in us by the Holy Spirit.

Col. 2.20 says, I have been crucified with Christ, I no longer live, but Christ lives in me.

How does Christ live in me?

Christ lives in me by His Spirit.

Christ lives in me by His Spirit.

When I receive Christ, I now have the mind of Christ.

I'm sorry.

When I receive the Holy Spirit, I have the mind of Christ.

Let me say that again.

At the end of the day, Christ lives in me by His Spirit.

When I say Christ lives in me, what I'm saying is by the Spirit, Christ lives in me.

What else am I saying?

I'm saying that when I receive the Spirit of God, I now have the mind of Christ.

1 Corinthians 2 talks about it.

It talks about the spiritual can understand spiritual things.

And then at the end of the chapter, he ends the chapter saying, who has the mind of Christ?

But we have received the mind of Christ.

When you receive the Holy Spirit, you now receive the mind of Christ.

I think that's how to manage it.

Yeah, there are quite a few comparisons there.

Okay, let's go to the last bit.

Guys, I deliberately titled it The Things the Holy Spirit Will Do in My Life this Week.

The Things the Holy Spirit Will Do in My Life this Week.

The Things the Holy Spirit Will Do in My Life this Week.

You know, just as...

Let me put it this way.

In Vernon, when I went to Vernon some time ago, one of the guys in the church told me this story.

That there was a man who was coming down from Silver Star, which is his key resort there.

And his car, fancy looking car, was stuck by the side of the road, had a flat.

And one of the local farmers, or one of the guys who lives in Vernon,

pulled up and helped him fix the tire, did all the work himself,

took out the jack from his car, fixed it, did everything.

And this man offered to pay him for it and he said no.

And helped him take the car out of the ditch that it was in and move it to the road.

And all this man said is, anyone will do this for you.

And this guy whose car was on the side of the road asked his name and he gave him his name and that's it.

About 2 or 3 weeks later, the guy had 50 or 100 thousand, I don't remember the amount, dollars in his bank.

And found out that the guy he was helping was Bill Gates.

Stuck by the side of the road on his way back from Silver Star.

Now I don't know why Vernon goes to Silver Star, but it's a nice place.

Yeah, so this is what happened.

Now why am I telling you this story?

Because sometimes when you're not aware of who you are with,

you are not aware of the potential that exists.

Because awareness brings both expectancy and awareness brings participation.

Awareness brings expectancy and awareness brings participation or polynomial.

When I'm aware, that's when there's an expectancy.

As in, oh shucks, this is Mr Gates.

Oh shucks, this is Jason, depending on how you want to go.

But the point is that when you're aware of who you are with,

you become more aware of the potential and there's a greater expectancy.

And for far too long, we have not been aware of what the Holy Spirit does on a weekly basis.

And I'm not giving you the exhaustive list, I'm just picking on a few.

What the Holy Spirit will be doing this week with your life.

I have a question about John 15, in the beginning of John 15.

Can you read it for me?

I am the true wine and my father is a gardener.

He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit.

While every branch that does bear fruit, he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful.

Can you talk to the Christians about the importance of the food?

My contention is that how can you be connected to Christ and not bear fruit?

If there is a lack of food for a sustained period of time,

then you need to question Jacob, are you really a Christian?

What if the scripture says that my father cuts the wine off,

and the branches that don't produce fruit, that equates to losing salvation?

That is my understanding.

I came to say, you say you are of Christ, but there is no fruit to shoot.

But if the branches are already growing on that tree, that means you work out of it.

That pruning, that's a good opportunity.

Again guys, we'll have to, I'm not making excuses here, this will sound like an excuse.

You can only stretch analogies so far, and we talked about this on Monday night.

An analogy is meant to convey a point, but we can only stretch it thus far,

because otherwise it's open to lots of interpretation.

So I would say the intent is how can you not produce fruit if you're connected to the Alpha and Omega?

Something is wrong.

So again, please understand, because my position in salvation cannot be lost,

I am coming from a slanted viewpoint, but I would suggest to you

that that's what this Church has taught and believed right from the start, from 2007 onwards.

So, this is your view.

Guys, so here are some of the things that the Spirit of God does,

that they'll be doing in my life this week.

1 Corinthians 2, 11 says,

The Spirit of God knows the mind of God, and he searches it, and he brings forth things to my understanding.

So I want to say to you that this week, the Holy Spirit, who knows the mind of God,

will bring out all that God has planned for me this week.

This week, the Spirit of God, who searches and knows the mind of God for Jacob,

will bring out all the plans that God has for me this week. Why?

Because Christ is resident in me through the Spirit of God.

The Spirit of God searches and knows the mind of God.

He will bring out all the things God has planned for me this week.

That's one of the things he'll be doing this week.

All the things that he's planned for Doris, he'll be bringing up.

Doris here, she can. Why?

Because the beloved is running over the hills and upon the mountains.

You know what the Spirit of God will do this week?

He will bear witness with my spirit and confirm the things of God this week.

He will bear witness with my spirit and confirm the things of God this week.

I'm looking forward to it. I've got three major expensive decisions.

Meaning if I get it wrong, it will be expensive, both for me and the Church.

So the Spirit of God will bear witness with my spirit this week to confirm the things of God.

The Bible talks about it in Romans 8.16.

Here's something else he'll be doing this week.

He will both direct me and lead me in the ways of God.

Romans 8.14, Galatians 5.18.

That those that are the sons of God are led by the Spirit of God.

This week, there will be multiple times when the Holy Spirit will direct me and lead me in the ways of God that I should walk.

Planned before the foundations of the earth.

Romans 8.14, Galatians 5.18.

Oh, here's another exciting thing.

I've been having a pretty decent couple of days in terms of reading the Word and understanding the Word.

It's been really exciting.

So one of the things the Holy Spirit will do this week is He will make the content of the Gospel known to me and He will read things to me.

He will make the content of the Word known to me and He will reveal things to me.

He'll make the content of the Word known to me.

1 Corinthians 2.13.

He'll make the content of the Word known to me.

Because only He can.

Spiritual things can only be explained by the Spirit to spiritual men like me and like you.

Why are you spiritual?

Because the Holy Spirit lives in you.

So this week He will make known the content of the Gospel to me, the content of the Word to me.

1 Corinthians 2.12.

And He'll also reveal things from the Word to me.

Ephesians 3.5.

Let's look at another one.

Guys, this week there will be many occasions when the Spirit of God will give me life.

And I'll explain that to you.

The Spirit of God will give me life.

One of the things that we need to understand is that God in His essence is life giving.

God in His essence is life giving.

It's the essential nature of God.

This is why He calls Himself the Living God.

It is not to convey to us, oh by the way I'm not there.

No, no, no.

This whole idea of calling Himself the Living God was because He wanted to convey to you that,

listen, I'm a life giving God.

This is why when He talks about the Spirit He often says that the Spirit gives life but the letter brings death.

So this week, there will be many times during the week when the Spirit of God will give me life.

Give me life as in He will bring newness out of old things in me.

He will bring newness out of old things in me.

We apply this sometimes only to the mortal body.

No, no, no, no, no, no.

Much more than that.

There will be many times this week when newness will be brought out of old ways of thinking.

Newness will be brought out of old.

The winter has passed and the springtime has come.

Like realizing that the Holy Spirit walks with us.

Like realizing that the Holy Spirit walks with us.

He is a life giving Spirit.

So many times during this week, He will give me life.

Q. How do I know the Holy Spirit is in a different situation?

How do I recognize that the Holy Spirit is from my emotions?

Yeah, sometimes it may be from your emotions, but the Holy Spirit can correct that also, gently.

If my desire is to run after my beloved who is on the mountains, then even when I get it wrong, He will help me with it.

Q. The response is eagerly desire.

Yeah, yeah.

So, don't be too afraid of getting it wrong because even if you get it wrong, He will gently correct you because your heart desires to run.

Q. So, He may be able to write scape where I learn to cook it.

Yeah.

Let's look at another one.

Guys, this week He will cry out from within my heart.

He will cry out from within my heart.

And in the process, He will show me of my sonship and He will show me of my father.

This week, there will be times when He cries.

Yeah, yesterday morning I got up at an anarchy hour, something like 6 o'clock or something, and it was completely dark outside.

And I spent an hour in something just crying out to God for different things.

And I have been crying out, I am so confident in my sonship and so assured of His fatherhood.

And words were just pouring out of my heart and I knew that the cry and the desires I have in terms of what I want to be with God were coming from a place that was deep inside.

And it is the spirit of God crying out for me on my behalf.

He will cry out this week from within my heart. Galatians 4.6. Galatians 4.6. Romans also talks about it but Galatians 4.6 talks about it.

The cry is always an Abba cry. Galatians 4.6 says there,

Because you are sons, God sent the spirit of His Son into our hearts and the spirit who calls our Abba Father.

So you are no longer a slave but a son. But since you are a son of God, since you are a son, God has made you an heir.

The point being the spirit of God will cry out and assure me of my sonship and God's fatherhood.

The other thing is, He will help me in my weakness many times this week.

He will help me in my weakness many times this week.

What a confident, primitive man to think that this week many times He will help me in my weakness.

Not this week many times He will help you in your weakness.

Where does He live? In you. Who will be the spirit of Christ? Who will be the spirit of the Son and the spirit of God?

Who will be God Himself? And this week many times in my weakness He will help me.

At times when I don't know how to handle things, He will intercede on my behalf.

Do you see why He is suddenly becoming personal and not some kind of a divine influence?

Divine influence makes you do things. He is personal, He is divine, He lives in me. He does things.

He will intercede on my behalf at times when I am going through difficult weaknesses.

He will intercede on my behalf, cry out perfectly, perfectly on my behalf.

Romans 8, 26 and 27. And He will strengthen me with not just crying out for my weakness,

He will strengthen me. Ephesians 3, 16. Ephesians 3, 16.

I pray that out of His glorious riches He may strengthen me with power through His Spirit in your being.

In your being.

Unfortunately guys, and I am hoping this will not be true this week, but unfortunately there may be occasions when we will be grieved by my sinfulness.

Unfortunately and I am hoping it won't be so, there might be times this week where I may be grieved by my sinfulness.

Ephesians 4, 30. Do not grieve the Holy Spirit.

It doesn't have to be that way because His desires are opposed to the flesh or to my sinful nature.

You read that in Galatians 5, 17. In Galatians 5, 16 it says Jacob I can help you overcome your collision with sin.

And you can come out without any dent in your car. But let's see how it goes this week. Galatians 5, 16 and 17.

This one is nice. The personal attributes of my Father, the personal attributes of my Father and my elder brother, Christ,

will be brought forth in my life by His fears, jealousy, loving spirit that dwells in me. Let me say that again.

The personal attributes of the Father and of my elder brother Jesus Christ will be brought forth in my life this week by me, by this fears, jealousy, loving, personal, ingrained spirit.

How can you call him fears, jealousy, loving? James deftifour talks about it. He is a fears, jealousy, loving, personal, ingrained spirit.

So in your life this week, personal attributes of your Father and your elder brother will be brought forth.

Every time you look like your Father this week, every time you behave like your elder brother this week, know that it is the fears, jealousy, loving, personal, ingrained spirit who is bringing forth fruit.

Another thing that will happen this week is my love from...there will be many times this week when I will be so aware of God's love for me.

Romans 5, 5 says that hope does not disappoint and it is the Holy Spirit who sheds God's love in my heart.

There will be many points this week and I look forward to this. This is the whole song. Dance with me, O lover of my soul.

Many times this week I will know the love of God shed in my heart by the Spirit. By the Spirit it happens. Romans 5, 5.

And then there will be many times this week when I will be loving to someone else because of the Holy Spirit.

Because in Colossians 1, 8 says that Paul is saying to the Colossians, Jesus Christ, I have heard of your love in the Holy Spirit.

Very human. Not seemingly touchy-mucky stuff.

1, 8. 1, 8.

Finally guys. Finally, finally, finally guys. As in there might be 3 findings.

First is, this week he will empower my proclamation. This week he will empower my proclamation.

Meaning he will empower the things I say, not just in terms of anointed words, but this week I am hoping, I am expecting that when I proclaim or declare something

that not only will the words that I speak be packed with power, but that there will be signs and wonders that follow.

This week, this week this is my expectancy. Because I am more and more aware of the Holy Spirit in me this week than I have been last week because of all the meeting and preparing I have been doing.

So he will empower my proclamation. Look at 1 Thessalonians 1, 5. 1 Thessalonians 1, 5. 1 Thessalonians is before 2 Thessalonians and after Colossians.

1 Thessalonians 1, 5.

Line? 1 Thessalonians 1, 5.

1 Thessalonians 1, 5.

No, just the last song.

For we know brothers loved by God that he has chosen you because our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power, with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

Look at that. Our words came with, our gospel came to you not simply with words but also with power and with the Holy Spirit and with deep conviction.

Look at Romans 15, 18 and 19. Romans 15, 18 and 19.

Romans 15, 18 and 19.

Romans 15, 18 and 19.

I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God but by what I have said and done and by the power of signs and miracles through the power of the Spirit.

And the last point. This week the Holy Spirit, this week the Holy Spirit will accomplish divine purposes of the kingdom through me.

This week the Holy Spirit will accomplish divine purposes of the kingdom through me.

Why do I say that? Remember when Jesus was casting out demons, what did he say?

He said, If I am casting out demons by the Spirit of God, know that the kingdom of God has come upon among you.

And then what does Paul say in 1 Corinthians 4, 20? The kingdom of God is not made up of words but it is made up of power.

So this week one of the things the Spirit of God will do through me, everything applies to you, I am just speaking for myself,

what these will mean is that divine purposes of the kingdom will be accomplished through my life with powerful manifestations.

This is my expectation.

Because I have suddenly made you and I aware of what the Spirit does, and this is not an exhaustive list, I can go on for another hour at least.

Because I have made you aware, as you go out today you will become cognizant of the fact that the Holy Spirit is involved in so many activities this week.

You will be very aware of it. So one of the things I wanted to do at the end, Chris can you sit on the piano?

Oh, sit on the piano please.

Oh not sit on the piano, sit at the piano.

12.49

Guys, one of the things I wanted to do is I want you to, as Chris plays this song, I just want you to just recognize the Spirit of God again

and begin to talk to him about the things you have learned, the things that have stood out.

And ask to become more of a participant in his life in you.

Yeah? So, what here? So just start playing. Play the song.

Yeah, so.

I mean, see, I'm not finished but I'm pressing...