Untitled Sermon

Declaration 7.22.18 - I declare that I am dependent on the power, presence, and person of the Holy Spirit in my life. He not only lives inside of me, but also guides and directs my footsteps, influencing the decisions I make. As I journey through this life, I choose to trust the Holy Spirit to lead the way!

The Holy Spirit – We Need You! 7.22.18

On the Day of Ascension, Jesus told the disciples at the Mount of Olives, "John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now ... You shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you." , . In a single statement, Jesus connected baptism in the Spirit to the imparting of His power. That wonderful event occurred on the day of Pentecost when 120 disciples in the Upper Room received the blessing. Scripture carefully explains that others who were not present at Pentecost experienced the same empowering later. That included the Samaritans, , Saul of Tarsus, , the household of Cornelius, , and the Ephesians, . Young Timothy followed the example. .

We live in a day and age when there is a fascination with supernatural power. Case in point – look at all the superhero movies. The Avengers, Thor, the Black Panther, Iron Man, AntMan and the Wasp, the Justice League, Wonder Woman, Hulk, Spiderman, Captain America, Superman, Batman, etc. and the Xmen, The Twilight Saga and Harry Potter, and even the Incredibles and etc. Yes, we are enamored with super power!

And the Lord promises us power and spiritual gifts if we simply ask, seek, knock!

If anyone thinks himself to be a prophet or spiritual, let him acknowledge that the things which I write to you are the commandments of the Lord. 38 But if anyone is ignorant, let him be ignorant. NKJV

The argument immediately arises, "These gifts passed away." Paul did not believe that. Nor should you. The New Testament does not teach it. In the introduction of his Corinthian letters (29 chapters and longest of all New Testament writings) Paul exhorted believers to " ... Come short in no gift, eagerly waiting for the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ." .

There is a danger that we will lose the next generations to the knowledge of, experience of and power of the Holy Spirit! We must operate in the Spirit's power.

And I will pray the Father, and He will give you another Helper, that He may abide with you forever — 17 the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him; but you know Him, for He dwells with you and will be in you. NKJV

"These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. NKJV

The Holy Spirit desires to speak to each of us, so our spiritual ears and mind need to be open to discerning (understanding) His voice and knowing His thoughts.

"But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' 6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 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. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 "I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. NKJV

elegcho (el-eng'-kho)- convict, convince, tell a fault, rebuke, reprove. Biblesoft's New Exhaustive Strong's Numbers and Concordance with Expanded Greek-Hebrew Dictionary.

He convicts/convinces the world of sin, righteousness and judgment ().

And when He comes, He will convict and convince the world and bring demonstration to it about sin and about righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God) and about judgment: 9 About sin, because they do not believe in Me [trust in, rely on, and adhere to Me]; 10 About righteousness (uprightness of heart and right standing with God), because I go to My Father, and you will see Me no longer; 11 About judgment, because the ruler (evil genius, prince) of this world [Satan] is judged and condemned and sentence already is passed upon him. AMP

Without this special work of the Holy Spirit people would not be deeply convinced of their sinfulness, God's righteousness or the coming judgment. The HS will open the understanding, convincing and convicting power of God's word in our lives.

Jesus said in However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you. NKJV

In this passage, HE is the Holy Spirit, who always glorifies Jesus.

The Holy Spirit is the Revealer, Representative and Reality of Jesus!

378 References to the Holy Spirit in the OT – most often the Hebrew word used is

“Ru-Wach” – Wind, Breath, Spirit of a Rational being, including expression and functions

379 References in the New Testament

“Pneuma” – breath, blast, divine God, Holy Spirit, life, mind, rational soul,

The Holy Spirit Bears Witness - The Inner Witness - . "The Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God." . "And it is the Spirit who bears witness, because the Spirit is truth. For there are three that bear witness in heaven: the Father, the Word, and the Holy Spirit; and these three are one."

If you don't have or don't recognize that inner witness, don't move ahead until He speaks! We must be led by the spirit - (Man in Bus Station in Ft. Worth, TX)

B. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL LEAD US Outwardly: . "Now when they had gone through Phrygia and the region of Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to preach the word in Asia. After they had come to Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia but the Spirit did not permit them." : "As for me, being on the way, the Lord led me to the house of my master's brethren." . "Then the Spirit of the Lord will come upon you, and you will prophesy with them and be turned into another man." . "Walk in the Spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law." (Lady in Dulles, DC Airport on the way to Zurich, going to Africa)

C. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL SPEAK TO US

HE spoke to the prophets of old, that's how we got the scripture

. "And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. Then the Spirit said to Philip, 'Go near and overtake this chariot.'" . "While Peter thought about the vision, the Spirit said to him, 'Behold, three men are seeking you. Arise therefore, go down and go with them, doubting nothing; for I have sent them.'"

The Holy Spirit spoke through David about Jesus and Judas, to Isaiah about Paul's day!

We shouldn't be surprised when HE speaks to us and through us!

D. THE HOLY SPIRIT WILL SPEAK TO US PROPHETICALLY THROUGH OTHERS: . "And in these days prophets came from Jerusalem to Antioch. Then one of them, named Agabus, stood up and showed by the Spirit that there was going to be a great famine throughout all the world, which also happened in the days of Claudius Caesar." . "And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and signs among the people. Then there arose some from what is called the Synagogue of the Freedmen (Cyrenians, Alexandrians, and those from Cilicia and Asia), disputing with Stephen. And they were not able to resist the wisdom and the Spirit by which he spoke." . "Now Philip had four virgin daughters who prophesied. And as we stayed many days, a certain prophet named Agabus came down from Judea. When he had come to us, he took Paul's belt, bound his own hands and feet, and said, "Thus says the Holy Spirit, 'So shall the Jews at Jerusalem bind the man who owns this belt, and deliver him into the hands of the Gentiles.'"

E. THE HOLY SPIRIT GIVES SPECIFIC REVELATION KNOWLEDGE: . "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for you Gentiles--if indeed you have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which was given to me for you, how that by revelation He made known to me the mystery (as I have briefly written already, by which, when you read, you may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ), which in other ages was not made known to the sons of men, as it has now been revealed by the Spirit to His holy apostles and prophets ..." . "For to one is given the word of wisdom through the Spirit, to another the word of knowledge through the same Spirit." . "Eye has not seen, nor ear heard, Nor have entered into the heart of man The things which God has prepared for those who love Him. But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God."

F. THE HOLY SPIRIT SPEAKS THROUGH THE WRITTEN WORD OF SCRIPTURE: . "And so we have the prophetic word confirmed, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts; knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

THE VITAL QUESTION IS THIS: Are you experiencing the Holy Spirit's communication in all these ways? No matter where we are in our present walk with God, the Holy Spirit offers us far more than we are accepting. if our relationship with the Holy Spirit is not being enlarged and if we are able to remain comfortable with our limited contact with Him, then we have not fully encountered Him--either in Scripture or in Person. It is impossible for us as limited, human beings to be brought into contact with the infinite Holy Spirit and find that we already have a full, comprehensive, satisfactory, understanding of Him and His work. Eternity itself will not provide us with sufficient time to master the incomprehensible work of the Holy Spirit.

Please hear this carefully: It is absolutely impossible for any of us--now--later--ever--to fully explore the Being and ministry of the Holy Spirit. He is God. All of us are learners on earth and will still be that 100,000,000 light-years into eternity. The Holy Spirit is unlimitable, inexhaustible, inexplicable, unreachable, unfathomable, impenetrable, inconceivable--and much, much more. Our attitude before the Holy Spirit must remain one of unrelenting reverence, complete awe, and utter submission. When we have accepted this fact, submitted to this truth, and established this quality of relationship with Him, we will experience more quickly and deeply His influence in our lives.

Now all the Midianites, Amalekites and other eastern peoples joined forces and crossed over the Jordan and camped in the Valley of Jezreel. [34] Then the SPIRIT OF THE LORD CAME UPON GIDEON, and he blew a trumpet, summoning the Abiezrites to follow him.

•• We need some Gideons to be MOVED upon by the Holy Spirit.

• Some Gideons to rally God’s “300.” You Know the Story!

• Some Gideons to act on some God-given dreams and to defeat the Midianites.

• Some Gideons to cry to the Lord like Isaiah: “Here am I, Lord, send me!”

God moments are Holy interruptions - divine appointments - the “AHA”, defining moments - “This is what I was made for moments” - God experiences, Divine moments - Holy Ghost encounters - breakthrough experiences - the SRO (standing room only) moments

God Moments are moment of divine interruption, intervention, protection, power, provision, testimony, correction, discipline,

God Moments give us a place to start from or point to: When God stepped in and interrupted our lives, when He showed Himself strong in our lives

The Lord’s Supper is a celebration of the work of the Holy Spirit in the life of the community, and designed to celebrate both the unity and the diversity of the Church. The Holy Spirit always points to Jesus. Communion recognizes the work of the Holy Spirit in us, and the Holy Spirit reminds us of the work Jesus accomplishes for and in us through His cross.

As we come to the communion table today, the Holy Spirit will help us “examine ourselves”

We can only come in a “worthy manner” by the work of the HS in our lives.

We take the Lord’s Supper with other saints who believe Jesus as we do. This confession and fellowship is the work of God’s Holy Spirit.

"Fire Up, Church"story

Some of us church desperately need a God moment. We need a God moment in our health; we need a God moment in our marriages; we need a God moment in our finances; we need a God moment to break the bondage of addiction; and we need a God moment to transform into a new spiritual awareness.

If that same spirit…

And if the Spirit of Him Who raised up Jesus from the dead dwells in you, [then] He Who raised up Christ Jesus from the dead will also restore to life your mortal (short-lived, perishable) bodies through His Spirit Who dwells in you. AMP

Pastor Phil, I/we are in desperate need of a God Moment in our family – NOW! The only place for us to turn is to the Lord and His intervention. I say you are in the perfect place for a holy interruption, brother, sister!

There is no need for us to wait, as the one hundred and twenty had to wait [], for the Spirit to come. For the Holy Spirit did come on the day of Pentecost, and has never left his church. Our responsibility is to humble ourselves before his sovereign authority, to determine not to quench him, but to allow him his freedom. For then our churches will again manifest those marks of the Spirit's presence which many young people are especially looking for, namely biblical teaching, loving fellowship, living worship, and an ongoing, outgoing evangelism.  John R. W. Stott John Stott Ministries 

While "atmosphere" is definitely important, it must never replace the "presence", the manifest presence of the Holy Spirit! We must have His anointing, we can have both!

We must engage, pursue and position ourselves for the voice and communion of the Holy Spirit in our lives.

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. NKJV

For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so the thoughts of God no one knows except the Spirit of God. NASU

One cannot truly know the mind, thoughts, etc. of God without knowing the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. ESV

If we don't enter into communion with the Spirit, we cannot truly even know the Son, Jesus.

Thoughts - the Holy Spirit is our teacher. Francis Frangipane - "The Word of the Lord, united with the Holy Spirit, is the vehicle of our transformation into the image of Christ."The Scriptures are not God, but the Spirit that breathes through the words is God. And this Holy Spirit should be honored as God. Therefore, as you seek the Lord, place your Bible at the foot of your bed, and kneel as you read; are you not seeking to meet with the Almighty? Pray that you will not merely read intellectually. Rather, ask the Holy Spirit to speak to your heart through the Word. As you kneel in humility before the Lord, the Word will be engrafted into your soul, actually becoming a part of your nature ()."