What does it look like today?

Friends, before we start, I'm going to ask Wendy to read the

scripture for us, if that's OK. Why?

Because she reads reads better than I do.

So Gilly, why don't you read the scripture for us?

Thank you, lovey. OK, we're reading out of Matthew

one, verse 18 to 25. Joseph accepts Jesus as his son.

This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about.

His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before

they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the

Holy Spirit. Because Joseph, her husband, was

faithful to the law and yet did not want to expose her to public

disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

But after he had considered this, an Angel of the Lord

appeared to him in a dream and said, Joseph, son of David, do

not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is

conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit.

She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name

Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.

All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through

the prophet. The Virgin will conceive and

give birth to a son, and they will call him Emmanuel, which

means God with us. When Joseph woke up, he did what

the Angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home

as his wife. But he did not consummate their

marriage until she gave birth to a son and he gave him this name,

Jesus. Beautiful lovey.

Thank you, my lovey, beautiful. Let's just pray.

Father, this is your word. We are your children.

Make your word alive within us today.

Jesus name, Amen. Amen.

Your friends, it is so good to be with you.

I'm excited for this morning and roar.

Thank you for the privilege of bringing God's word and trusting

us in the pulpit. This morning is a very special

time for me because one of my dearest friends is here from the

United States. I've seen hurt.

Yeah. 30, about 36 years ago, he was a pastor with my dad in

ministry. And this morning, friends, I've

gotten the same service. I've got the man that taught me

about the Holy Spirit, and I've got the man that taught me about

the Father of God in one service.

Why don't we welcome Captain Jeanette with us this morning?

Thank you. Wow.

What a privilege to have you with us.

I will never forget my dad died. He was the one that taught me

about Jesus. And my dad died and I didn't

know where to go. And about 8 months after he died

I walked into Kat's office and I just sat and I asked him about

can can I do karate and can I do this and can I do that.

I don't even know if he remembers.

And he gave me some good advice but eventually I was so long

that he just carried on preparing his preach.

But I didn't want to leave because the room was filled with

the Spirit. I felt safe.

And I trust you feel safe here this morning.

This is a lounge, friends. It's just like you always says

to us. This is a fancy way I was to

keep the rain off our heads. The Holy Spirit is in each one

of us. I tell you, on Thursday, I had

one of the most remarkable meetings.

Wendy and I, we thought we're going to have brekkie with

friends of ours, Steve and Bernie Delggetti, they're from

Benoni, Kempton Park area, and we thought we're just going to

have a breaky. And Steve said to me after about

an hour, he said, you know, you're OK.

I said to you, yes, Steve, I'm OK.

So he looked into my eyes with his deep blue eyes and it was

like he's piercing right into my soul.

He says you're carrying burdens. Hey, I said Gee, Steve said I

am. I said.

I've done done about 3 funerals in two weeks.

One of my mates died tragically doing another memorial service

on Friday and another one in January.

You see friends, this is not a preach preaching centre.

We passed this. We just care deeply, just care

deeply. And we carry the loads you

carry. And I did weddings and we

celebrated 2 weddings and I, we celebrated with somebody that

their child gets born and expecting a child.

And so all these things plays up and, and he said, whoa, whoa,

whoa, whoa. He said, let me just speak to

you about the Holy Spirit. And for 2 1/2 hours, he unpacked

the Holy Spirit to Wendy and I and everything he shared just

it's like load after load after load after load after load,

lifting my shoulders. And if he's there, if there's

one prayer I've got this morning, it is this.

While we share on Emmanuel, God with us, He's still with us God

today that you lift load after load after load off your

shoulders, load after load. Prince, why?

Let's speak a little bit about the Holy Spirit.

So what am I aiming at this morning?

I'm just going to tell us about Jesus, who he was, where the

Holy Spirit was. Why did we receive the Holy

Spirit? How do we receive the Holy

Spirit? How do we get filled with the

Spirit? And what's the art working?

Is that all right? Easy.

It's not rocket science, friends.

So if we look at the book of Genesis, right in the beginning,

God says this. In the beginning, God created

the heavens and the earth and the earth was a little bit of a

mess and the and the Holy Spirit Harvard over the waters.

And then God said, let there be light and there was light and

there was day the first day and there was night the first night.

Genesis 1. Let's jump right across John 1.

John one says this, in the beginning was the Word and the

Word was with God and the Word was God and nothing was created

without God. God spoke the Word in the

beginning so nothing was created without God speaking the Word.

And then verse 14 says and the word became flesh.

How did the word become flesh? Wendy just read it to us,

Matthew 1, The Holy Spirit, you see, Mary conceived through the

Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit was there in

the beginning, God was there in the beginning, Jesus was there

in the beginning. Everything was formed through

him. He came to earth, Emmanuel, God

with us. And the Holy Spirit was

intertwined in all of that. Like Rory says, it's the

tapestry of God, this, this intertwine.

And Jesus was born. So, friends, with Emmanuel, God

with us. Everything was created through

Jesus. Jesus was born for us.

Jesus showed us how to live. Friends.

How did he show us how to live through the gospels?

Go and read Matthew, Mark, Luke and John.

Rory taught us so well in John one.

How did Jesus live? Came as the Son of God, the

Lamb. Came as the Lamb of God.

Came as the miracle worker, the great teacher, the great

evangelist, Friends, He came as the doctor.

If you you not well this morning, he's Yeah, he can heal

you. He's the doctor.

He's the bread of life. He's the water of life.

He's the defender of the weak. Friends, the lady was caught in

adultery. What did he do?

He defended her. It's the light of the world.

He's the Good Shepherd. He's the resurrection and the

life. He's the king.

He's the servant. He's the truth.

The way, the life. The only way to the Father.

Only way. It's the giver of the Holy

Spirit, John 16 It's the great intercessor.

I miss 15 The true vine 16 The giver of the Holy Spirit 17.

He's the great intercessor. He showed us what it is to to

pray. If you're struggling to pray,

just go and read John 17. It's the model sufferer.

My friend had the suffering this morning.

He's been diagnosed with cancer and he came for operation and

when he told my heart broke that I send you a message.

I said, cat, I don't know why this happened, but you know

what? So Jesus knows he's the model

sufferer. Are you here this morning?

He's the model sufferer. He knows what you're going

through, Geraldine. He knows what really he's going

through. He meets you where you at beck,

Becky, you just lost your dad. He knows you're, you're

suffering. He's the model sufferer.

Friends, just go to Jesus. He's the uplifted saviour.

He's the Conqueror of death and he's the restorer of broken

people. Friends, he restored Peter.

He can restore you and me. That's how Jesus lived.

That's how Jesus lived. Friends, Jesus died for us.

Jesus rose again for us. Jesus went to prepare a place

for us. John 14.

Jesus is coming back for us. Acts 1, Jesus is interceding for

us at this time while we're meeting here.

Jesus interceding, Romans 8 friends, while we were.

He's interceding for us while we are.

And then in John 16, He promised us the Holy Spirit.

Why? Why the Holy Spirit?

Because Jesus was full of the Holy Spirit.

He was full of the Holy Spirit. He knew.

Friends, if the Son of Almighty God cannot live without the Holy

Spirit, how can you and I live without the Holy Spirit?

We need the Holy Spirit, friends.

We need Him. See, the Holy Spirit was there

in the beginning. The Holy Spirit was there in the

birth. Jesus was full of the Holy

Spirit. The Holy Spirit empowers us and

empowered him. And the Holy Spirit raised Jesus

from the dead. Roman says this.

The same Spirit, if the same spirit that throws crush from

the dead is in you, He that throws crush from the dead will

also raise you from the dead, Our mortal bodies.

He'll raise us from the dead. We can't raise ourselves,

friends. The Holy Spirit does that.

He does that. In fact, in X one verse 49, we

read that Jesus sent the Holy Spirit.

How did he do that? He says go, don't leave

Jerusalem. Stay here and wait.

Wait for what? Wait for the gift.

My Father will send the Holy Spirit to do what?

To empower you. And you will be my witnesses in

Jerusalem and Judea and Samaria and the uttermost parts of the

earth. Whether we're in the United

States, whether we're in South Africa, whether we're in

Randburg, whether we're in Benoni, and whether we go.

Yeah, doesn't matter where we come from.

We'll have power. The Holy Spirit gives us power.

Friends, we cannot do without the Holy Spirit.

What does the Holy Spirit do? So the Bible says Isaiah.

Wendy quoted from Isaiah this morning, Isaiah 7 verse 14.

Isaiah 7:14

The prophecy was and there'll be a Son, and he was born and he

was Emmanuel, God with us. He was called Emmanuel, God with

us, but his name was Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us.

Today He's still God with us, but he's through His Holy

Spirit. Friends, that's the first thing

that he, the Holy Spirit does. He is God with us.

Yes, John 16 tells us that He comes to convict of sin,

righteousness and judgement. He does that, He empowers us.

But there's two things that I want to concentrate this morning

more a little bit more practical, what the Holy Spirit

does. Firstly, we're going to read

from John 14 verse 25, please. Alex says the Holy Spirit

John 14:25

reminds us of everything Jesus has said.

You see Jesus, when he walked this earth, he could only be at

one place at one time. When the Holy Spirit came, He

could be everywhere at the same time.

So it doesn't matter whether we meet here or whether Doxa meets

or where the CRC meets or where the Levant of Word meets the

Holy Spirit or choose life, the Holy Spirit's there, the Holy

Spirit's there. Let's read.

Is this OK, friends? Let's read from verse 26.

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will

send in my name will teach you. First thing you'll do, you'll

teach us. So those of you that heard Ross

speak in the past, you never lose your student cap.

Never. We've got people here today

that's got master's degrees and doctorates.

The reason why they have those degrees, they never lost their

student cap. They never lost it.

Let's don't lose our student cap, friends.

How does he teach us? And he will remind you of

everything I have said to you. Jesus speaking here.

So the first thing that I want to emphasize is the Holy Spirit

will remind us of what Jesus said.

How will he remind us? We read in God's word.

And when a situation comes up, He reminds us, reminds us of

what we read. He reminds us of what Jesus said

and he says peace I leave with you, my peace I give you.

So not only the Holy Spirit, by through giving the Holy Spirit

we receive peace. Colossians 3.

I do not give us the world gifts.

Do not let your hearts be troubled.

Do not be afraid. If there's one person that

walked the face of this earth, who knows what it was for, for a

heart to be troubled and to be afraid.

It was Jesus. And he says don't be afraid.

Don't let your heart be troubled.

Why? It was full of the Holy Spirit,

full of the Holy Spirit, friends, full of the Holy

Spirit. So he reminds us, let's briefly

look at what did Jesus say? So in Luke 3, we see that Jesus

got baptized. And when he got baptized, he

came up out of the water. And Luke's Luke put in this

phrase and he prayed. Jesus prayed.

And then the Holy Spirit comes in the in the form of a dove and

we hear a voice that says, this is my son whom I love in the

Imam world. Please, we know this, friends.

Why did we pray this morning when there was baptisms?

It's because it it happened in the Bible.

If it doesn't happen in the Bible, don't do it.

I mean, weddings, you get all sorts of requests.

It's just about the vows. Guys, don't go.

Don't string any anyway. Just don't go there.

I love you. But but you know what?

This morning Kyle got baptised. Squirrel.

She says squirrel when I go off track.

So we get we get baptized and then we get out and what do we

pray? Holy Spirit?

Won't you just fill Kyle? Won't you just fill?

Why? That's what Jesus did.

So from there, full of the Holy Spirit, we're going to go back

to Matthew now full of the Holy Spirit, Jesus went into the

wilderness. He was led by the Spirit into

the wilderness to be tempted. Why?

Because Jesus needed temptation. No, Jesus knew that you and I

will fight temptation and he wanted to teach us how to how to

handle that. So the first thing the enemy

comes and says, if you are the Son of God, tell these stones to

become bread. That's after 40 days, friends of

him not eating. I mean, you're hungry.

You you're literally hungry after 40 days.

And what does Jesus say? First of all, he sets the record

straight. He says God, man, will not live

of bread alone, but of every word that comes out of the mouth

of God. Who was in the beginning God?

What did he speak the Word? What did the Word do in the book

of John? Became flesh?

How did it become flesh in the book of Matthew?

So Jesus says you will live by every word you quote to John 6.

He's the bread of life. So what will we live of Jesus?

So he just set the record straight.

He said, hey, listen, Satan, I was there right in the

beginning. Everything was created for me.

Don't come with this nonsense that I'm not the son of God.

If I'm the son of God, my identity is set.

I am the son of God. This is my son.

This is my son identity whom I love affection in him.

I'm well pleased affirmation. So let's just get the record

straight. The second thing that Jesus does

there, he says don't focus on the temporary.

It's not just about the bread here.

Now please friends, don't go on a 40 day fast.

Jesus did it because he wanted us to get the lesson.

The lesson is this, when you're heart pressed, when you're

tired, you're the most vulnerable, you'll go for the

first thing insight. Don't go for the first thing

insight. Let's rely on the Holy Spirit,

let's rely on the Holy Spirit, Let's rely on eternity.

Let's eat of the bread of life. If we eat from the bread of

life, we will have the bread of of the temporary, but we eat of

the bread of eternal. First thing Jesus said.

So that's how we respond. The second thing that happened

is the enemy took him to this temple and put him at the

highest point and say to him, throw yourself off.

And then he quotes Psalm 91, but he quotes it a little bit

manipulative, you know, a little bit wonky.

And, and, and, and, and Jesus said to him, no, it is written.

It is written. Do not put the Lord your God to

the test. You know what, friends?

He set the, he set the record straight again.

Let's don't put God to the test. Let's don't take things into our

own hands. That's what he's saying there.

Let's don't, let's then make our own plans.

Let's don't bend things just to fit into our profile.

Sometimes guys in the church will come.

Why did you think he stood it on the stood on the temple, on, on,

on the highest point in the temple sometimes comes from

internal factors, sometimes external factors.

We just got to know the word of God, just got to know the words

that Jesus used. Don't put the Lord your God to

the test. God gives and God takes away.

How do we bend it? We change the words God gives

and God makes away because we can't deal with God takes away

theologically. We we battled to explain it.

So no God gives and God takes away.

We don't take things into our own hands, friends.

And then lastly, last example, I want to use what God Jesus said

took him to our place. He says, listen, if you bow

before me, shout him all the kingdoms of the earth.

If you bow before me, I'll give it all to you because it's been

given to me and Jesus says to him away from me, Satan, you

will serve the Lord your God and him alone and him alone.

You will worship him alone. You'll worship him alone.

Why does God says why does Jesus say that?

You know what the temptations that come our way Those days was

big kingdoms and all those things.

Today it's material things. What are you living for?

I'm, I'm, I'm a little bit of a cyclist.

No, I am a little bit. And I aim for these big races.

And then I fall sick and I become ill and I get very upset

because I can't do these races. And it became my Kingdom, became

my identity. I'm not saying you become sick

because God, please don't hear what I'm not saying.

In my case, I have to put Jesus on the throne.

He's the king. I go for his Kingdom.

I'm not. I'm not going for things that

when moth and rust can destroy. You don't aim for the next car.

You don't aim for the next race to race, to race to race the

next house. We don't serve those things,

friends. Why are they corruption?

Because people are vulnerable and they serve earthly kingdoms.

Why is there bribery? Because we serve earthly

kingdoms. No, we're coming in for a

landing, friends. OK, so the first thing, the Holy

Spirit reminds us of what Jesus has said.

The second thing is the second verse.

Please, Nicole, it's so good to have you, Nicole, all the way

from Stellenbosch. OK, John, I think it's John 16

says I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear.

But when the spirit of truth comes.

So when you do something, just ask if it's truth, OK, not

rocket science comes. He will guide you into all

truth. He will not speak on his own, He

will only He will speak only what he hears, and he will tell

you what is yet to come. He will glorify me.

So when you do something, just ask Jesus, does this glorify

you? If I serve one another, if I

take a meal, if I write policies for work, does this glorify you?

Am I doing it well to the best of my ability?

When you're an employee, do you steal time from your employer?

Are we doing it well? You know we serve.

You serve our heavenly Master. Is it glorifying to God because

it is from me? He will receive what we will

make known to you. All that belongs to the Father

is mine. That is why I said the Spirit.

You receive from me what He will, the Spirit will receive

from me what he will make known to you friends, you, you know

what sometimes we, we, we think when we get the, the Holy

Spirit, we get weird. The the Holy Spirit is is there

for us to hear God's voice and for practical application.

Yes, there is speaking in tongues.

Yes, there is the gifts. We know those things.

Those are art workings, but practical application, it's to

lead us and to guide us and to remind us of what Jesus has

said. How do I receive the Holy

Spirit? Firstly, at salvation.

We cannot receive Jesus without the Holy Spirit.

When you hear His voice today, open up your hearts, do not

harden your hearts. So we receive it at salvation.

Romans 815 says this. The Spirit we receive capital S

sets us free from fear and Son, but gave us brought about the

spirit of adoption brought about.

So when I receive Jesus, I am being adopted.

You are my son in your whom I love you are well in him.

I'm well pleased I become his child. 1 John 3 verse one those

that accepted Christ to them they have given the privilege to

be called children of God. So we receive the Holy Spirit

then. So if you wonder if you've got

the Holy Spirit, just ask do you have you put your faith in

Jesus? If you say yes, I have put my

faith in Jesus. That's the only question I ask

Kyle, did you accept Jesus Christ as your only Lord and

Savior and never you put your faith in him And he said, yes, I

said we can baptize you. It's the only requirement,

friends, not how not do I live perfect?

Have I accepted Christ? If you put your faith in Jesus,

you have the Holy Spirit. That's firstly so we receive the

Holy Spirit then, but then there's also in filling of the

Holy Spirit, a fullness of the Holy Spirit and that there

friends is ongoing. It's not a once off event.

It's not the day I, I, I get baptized with the Holy Spirit

and speaking in tongues. You know, I was eight years old

when the Holy Spirit fooled me supernaturally.

I just started speaking in tongues supernaturally. 2 weeks

later, there's a little chocolate key.

I was sitting on a drum and, and my dad got some guys to work in

his garden. I sat on the drum and I preached

the gospel. I was, I've been brought up

Afrikaans, but I preached in English, believe it or not.

I don't know where I got the words from or very deliciously,

but he thought I was so but, and I was sitting on this drum and I

gave an altar call because that's what you do.

So I have 20 guys working there, 1 old Gray man, great great aid

man, came forward, knelt in front of the drum and I prayed

with him. I don't know if he understood or

didn't understand, I don't care. I just know he accepted Jesus

because they were peace. I just know that when the Holy

Spirit comes on your friends, you'll do things differently and

continue to be filled. But then along the way you get

burdened down again and then you meet with a guy like Steve and,

and, and Bernie Del Getty and he explains to you the Holy Spirit

again and you get filled up again and you speak about the

Spirit or you meet heart and Jeanette and they impart and,

and we build one another up friends.

That's what the Holy Spirit does.

So the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit, we, we, we get filled

ongoingly with the Holy Spirit. How how do I get filled with the

Spirit? Well, Jesus said he, we saw

Jesus prayed. So sometimes we just pray.

We saw Jesus said go and wait, don't leave Jerusalem.

Wait. Sometimes we just wait.

And you know what we'll see now? Sometimes we just have faith

because Stephen and Barnabas was men of faith and full of the

Holy Spirit. Sometimes we just have faith.

You know, sometimes I'm in the gym and, and, and I just, I just

felt God, I need your presence. And I close my eyes, I run on

the treadmill and I just feel his peace and I feel his warmth.

And sometimes I speak in tongues.

Sometimes I'm driving, sometimes, you know, I'm in a

meeting and I didn't know which way to turn to.

And, and suddenly the Holy Spirit reminds me of a

scripture. Put courage in my heart,

friends, not rocket science, not rocket science full of the Holy

Spirit. Just ask.

Sometimes pray, sometimes wait, sometimes sit, sometimes

devotion and sometimes just faith.

What's the art working of the Spirit?

And I'm, I'm closing with this. What's the art working of the

Spirit? Well, Jesus was filled with joy

through the Holy Spirit. So he was known as a friend of

sinners, which is drunkards and tax collectors and everybody in

between. And, and you know what, when

you, when you're visiting a drunkard, he's got a lot of joy.

Sometimes there's a lot of tears, but that comes later.

And yeah, so let's, let's stop there and squirrel and and and

and you know what they got their joy from temporary things.

You get your joy from money. You get your joy from alcohol.

You get your joy from earthly gifts.

You get your. But Jesus got his joy from the

Holy Spirit, lasting joy. Jesus could laugh louder than

glory. Dyer louder, louder.

No way. You know what, friends, I

sometimes laugh, but I don't have joy.

Joy, true joy. It's not just laughter.

It'll sustain you. The salvation, the joy of my

salvation. That's why we put on the helmet

of salvation, where the joy, Jesus was full of joy, the

disciples was full of joy. X13.

It gives us power. We have power to witness.

That's the artworking. And then there's a practical

issue, a very, very practical issue in, in X6, the widows were

overlooked and the people came to the apostles and say, listen,

our widows are being overlooked. And I can just see the, the

apostles just scuttering a little bit looking for my cell

phone. OK, MTN doesn't work.

Let's try Vodacom and and, and did they find the operation

managers that they find the logistic managers that they find

the warehouse managers or the procurement managers that they

find the chief operating officers to come and sort this

out? No they didn't.

They just picked 7 men full of the Holy Spirit.

The only place some of those names friends that's in in X6.

Go and read it. Some of those names is only

written there. You never read anywhere else of

them, only there. But all we know about them, they

were men full of the Holy Spirit.

Imagine, friend, in government we had seven men full of the

Holy Spirit. Imagine in our peace force we

had seven men full of the Holy Spirit.

Imagine in the classroom we had seven teachers full of the Holy

Spirit. In our churches, 7 ministers

full of the Holy Spirit, 7 life group leaders full of the Holy

Spirit. You know what, friends, will

change this world. There'll be no corruption.

There'll be no fraud. Why?

He's the spirit of truth. I tell you, he's the spirit of

truth. Barnabas was a man full of the

Holy Spirit. How do they know that?

When he came to the church, he was a man of encouragement.

That's what his name means, Son of encouragement.

You cannot encourage truly without the Holy Spirit, because

the Holy Spirit's our encouragement.

Full of the Holy Spirit. Encouragement.

Last example, Stephen prayed when he got stoned.

Bible says he was full of the Holy Spirit and he says, Father,

do not keep this sin against them.

Lord, don't count this sin against them.

The Holy Spirit helps us to forgive.

The Holy Spirit was the greatest gift that the Father and Jesus

could ever send us. The greatest gift that we could

probably share with one another at this time is the gift of

forgiveness. Let's just share the gift of

forgiveness. Why?

Because Jesus forgave us, friends.

He forgave us. You know, we said it in the

past, but just for those who didn't hear it, when Stephen

prayed and said Lord, don't keep the sin against them, Saul was

there. He gave approval for Stephen

Stoning and Saul went from there to go and persecute the church.

And he met Christ radically and his name changed.

He became Paul. And when he accepted Jesus

Christ, the Lord and Savior, Lord who?

Who are you, Lord? He recognized him.

He accepted him when he came to faith.

Jesus did not keep his sin against him.

What did Stephen pray? Lord, don't keep the sin against

him. Who's praying for you?

And when you surrender to Christ, he won't keep your sin

against him. Some guys are praying, Lord,

don't keep the sin against him. And Jesus hears those prayers,

the gift of forgiveness. Friends at this time, be full of

the Holy Spirit and you'll remind us of the person of

Christmas, Jesus, Emmanuel, God with us, Amen.