The Blessed Holy Spirit (Part Five)

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Greet everyone and first time visitors!

Well, this morning will be part 5 in a series of messages, in which we have been looking at and learning about the Holy Spirit of almighty God. I don’t think, and I would have to look back to be sure, but I don’t think that I have ever went more than five messages within a series before, so this one could be a first!

How many of you, if you were to be totally honest right now, would be willing to say that you desire a closer relationship with Holy Spirit and that you really want a deeper understanding of what walking with Him means and looks like? (If that is you, let me see a show of hands!)

OK. great. Now let me see a show of hands for those of you who were raised, either without any understanding of God’s Word, or, you were raised attending a church where teachings about Holy Spirit were never really taught from the pulpit? (A quick show of hands please if that in any way describes your background.)

Regardless of how you just answered those questions, I’m convinced, that now more than ever, the Body of Christ, desperately needs to seek a more intimate and personal relationship with Holy Spirit, for the equipping of the saints and for the coming days ahead.

And let me share some really great news with everyone right now. Regardless of what you knew about Holy Spirit before, or what you were taught about Him from the past, you can begin this very day with having a deep and intimate relationship with Him and you can begin to walk in the power and authority of God, as given by His Holy Spirit!

Last week we looked at Ephesians 5:15-21 and that of being “filled with the Holy Spirit”.

More specifically, I stressed what would manifest in the life of the person who was filled with the Holy Spirit continually, according to the Apostle Paul in verses 19-21 of that passage, where Paul tells us:

“Addressing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ.”

In these verses, Paul shows us that a believer who was “being filled with the Spirit”, (and remember, this is a continual process, and not a “one and done” sort of thing), this person would be someone who would have rapturous joy and praise for the Lord God welling up inside of them.

Such joy and praise would produce ecstatic desires to sing and praise the Lord from within your heart and from the depths of your renewed spirit, through such means as maybe singing and quoting the psalms, and singing hymns and even making up spiritual songs for God from within your own heart!

And this deep desire to worship and praise God would manifest externally from within a person’s heart and mind through these psalms and hymns and spiritual songs as we use our mouths to praise God, giving thanks for all He that has done and is doing in our lives and in our families and in our church families!

Regardless of the situation that we are in, good or bad, we just want to praise and thank Him for all things and for all circumstances!

And this especially happens in the lives of Spirit-filled believers when we are in the presence of other, spirit filled believers!

It should just flow our of us, without compulsion or effort.........as one Body and as one family in Christ!

We should naturally, as one body, as one functioning organism, begin to flood the heavens with the sounds of glorious praise and thanksgiving to our great God and Savior!

This is the bi-product of living a life that is continually “being filled” with the Holy Spirit of almighty God!

I know that some of you are saying to yourselves right now, “Well, that’s just not me. I am not someone who openly feels comfortable singing out loud and raising my hands in praise before others”.

I hear you and I get that and I understand what your’e saying.

But you’re not getting what I’m saying!

I’m not talking about your natural/carnal person. That is, I’m not speaking about your natural mind and your personality and how you were created in the flesh and what your comfort level and natural desires are, that’s not it at all!

No flesh, naturally wants to yield itself to praising and worshipping God, because, according to the Bible, our flesh is at enmity with the Spirit and the Holy Spirit is against our flesh.

So, your natural mind is always going to be opposed to doing this.

BUT.........what I’m talking about is your spirit that dwells within you. When you’re born again, your spirit becomes new and regenerated and it naturally wants to be with the Lord and in His presence.

Your flesh will war against that, but it doesn’t stop your spirit and the HolySpirit of God within you from wanting to praise and worship the Lord God!

That’s where this praise and worship that I’m talking about comes from. It is not carnal and natural (although it eventually becomes an external manifestation), it is spiritual and as such, it is beyond your natural logic!

That’s why Jesus said to the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4, “But an hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for such people the Father seeks to be His worshipers. God is spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.”

And in the Greek, the word used here for “worship”, (which is “pros-koo-neh´-o”), literally means: to worship, to bow as an act of allegiance, to prostrate oneself before, kneel down before as an act of reverence.

This word is a derivative of two other words, one of which has the meaning of, “to kiss, like a dog licking his master’s hand; to fawn or crouch to prostrate oneself in homage (do reverence to, adore).

Do you see that this is not a natural thing, but rather, it is a supernatural thing; it is a SPIRITUAL thing!!

Let me give you an example of someone that I have used with you before.

There was a man who at one time, he and his wife used attend here years ago, until health problems set in on them.

They loved the Lord God and it showed in their lives and in their marriage.

They were always so loving and tender in their heart and in their affect whenever you were around them!

It was infectious! You just wanted to have them hug you and say something to you!

The husband, Don, was always sharing a new spiritual song that he had been given from Holy Spirit and that he had been singing in his own heart and mind.

It would eventually manifest and he would share it with the church body!

He was always singing to the Lord and sharing it before others!

He was always praising God with his mouth and with his lifestyle.

Even when his wife, Terri was sick and dying, the two of them were constantly thanking God and praising Him for who He was and for their lives He had given them!

And even after Terri, his wife, went home to be with the Lord, Don would constantly sing and praise his great God and savior, because he was constantly being filled with the Holy Spirit!!

And when Don would be around you and start singing and praising the Lord, it would prompt your heart and spirit to want to do the same!

This is what Paul is showing us in Ephesians 5, “singing psalms and hymns and spiritual songs among yourselves, and making music to the Lord in your hearts. And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.”

This is the same thing that we read of in Psalm 40:1-3, where David writes,

Psalm 40:1–3 (NASB95)

1 I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

2 He brought me up out of the pit of destruction, out of the miry clay, And He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm.

3 He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God; Many will see and fear And will trust in the Lord.

When we are being filled with and yielding to the Holy Spirit of almighty God, our hearts and minds yield to the leading of the Spirit of God and we begin to praise Him and give thanks to Him!

Does everyone understand that being continually filled with the Holy Spirit of God should produce the natural desire to praise and worship God?

And in that same passage from Ephesians 5 where we just read from, as I mentioned to you last week, Paul says that we must “walk in love”, “walk as children of light” and “walk as those who are wise and not unwise”.

What does Paul mean, when he says that we are to “walk” in each of these areas?

Well, the word that is used for “walk” in these verses, in the Greek, basically, means, “to behave, live, or conduct one’s life”.

So, really, what Paul is instructing us to do, is to behave, or live our lives in and through the “love” of Christ, in the “light” of the Lord Jesus and in the wisdom of the Lord!

And that it where our focus is going to reside for the remainder of this morning, on our “walk with the Lord” via the Holy Spirit.

You see, it’s not enough to know some verses from the Bible, or even memorize the entire Bible for that matter.

It’s not enough to show up for the occasional Sunday morning service, or for every service that is held within the body of Christ as far as that goes.

It doesn’t matter if you do some good deeds for people periodically.

None of these things matter, if you are still “walking” in the world and not with the Lord.

Or as I John 1:6-7 says it,

1 John 1:6–7 ESV

6 If we say we have fellowship with him while we walk in darkness, we lie and do not practice the truth. 7 But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus his Son cleanses us from all sin.

You may have convinced yourself that you are a good and decent and upright, moral person and that you are truly saved in the name of Jesus and other people may have pronounced this over you.

BUT.............if you continue, in your life, to walk in the “darkness” as John said, (and that word literally means to walk where the light is dim, or absent; to walk in sin and evil), versus walking in the light, (walking in God and in His love and in His will, according to His Word), then the truth is not in you.

And Yeshua is the TRUTH!

Let me remind you of what the Apostle said back in Romans 8:6-7, where he says,

Romans 8:6–7 ESV

6 For to set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. 7 For the mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God’s law; indeed, it cannot.

And then he goes on to say in Romans 8:9,

Romans 8:9 ESV

9 You, however, are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if in fact the Spirit of God dwells in you. Anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.

Does everyone understand what Paul is stressing in these verses?

If you are still “walking” in your natural mind and according to your natural desires and doing whatever seems right and pleasing to you, versus aligning your life with God’s perfect Word, then you do not belong to God and the TRUTH is not in you.

As I said last week, you cannot serve two masters. You are either serving the flesh (the god of this world) and thus walking in darkness, or you are serving the Lord Jesus and the God of all creation and thus you are “walking” in the light!

In God’s presence, there is no darkness; in fact, there is no shifting shadow.

Meaning His glorious light illuminates in all ways at all times, so that when you are in His presence, there is no way that a shadow even could form, because the light is EVERYWHERE, at all times!

If you say with your mouth that you are “walking” with the Lord God, but your daily life shows something else, then you have a real ETERNAL problem!!!

This is why we need the guidance and direction of Holy Spirit in our lives, each and every day.

And this is why having that intimacy with Him, as He fills us with His glorious presence, is an absolute MUST!

Even if you have been truly been born again, you must listen to Holy Spirit in your life for direction and guidance, or you can become, as Jesus warned about in Matthew 24, “deceived” and led astray.

And so many Christians believe that since they received Holy Spirit at the moment they were born again (which they did), then they are “walking” in the fullness of that relationship and in all that He has for them.

But this is not the case and it is not what Paul had in mind for us, when he stressed that we must “walk in the Spirit”!

Let me give you an example of what I am talking about. In his book entitled, “The God I Never Knew”, pastor Robert Morris goes into great detail about what it really means to have a relationship with and to be filled with and empowered with the Holy Spirit of God.

And in the very last chapter of this book, Pastor Morris tells a story about a certain man who lived in Eastern Europe in the early nineteen hundreds and he uses this story as an analogy for people who think that they are walking in the fullness of Holy Spirit. The story goes like this:

The man longed to move himself and his family to the United States in hopes of building a better life. After several years of scrimping and saving, he finally accumulated enough money to purchase a third-class ticket on a large steamship to New York City.

He only had enough money for one ticket. So he and his wife decided he would go ahead of his family, find a job, and as quickly as possible save enough money to bring them all to America to join him.

He spent virtually all his savings on the ticket, leaving him very little for purchasing food on board the ship. Plus, he would need what little money he had left in order to get established once he got to the promised land of America. So he bought a wheel of hard cheese and [a] box of crackers to keep him sustained on the twelve-day voyage to the New World.

As his ocean journey began, he carefully rationed his cheese and crackers, making sure he would have enough to carry him through the whole trip. Sometimes during mealtimes, he would look longingly through the windows of the dining rooms where simple but hearty and abundant meals were being served to other passengers. The food looked wonderful, but he comforted himself in the knowledge that on some future day he would be earning enough money to eat well and feed his family. Then he would slip back to his little stateroom for his ration of cheese.

On the final day of the journey, there was great excitement on board because soon the Statue of Liberty and the Ellis Island entry point for new immigrants would be in sight. It was a good thing, too, because the man had eaten his final portion of molding cheese and stale crackers at noon the previous day. He was hungry.

The man eventually found himself at the railing of the ship, standing beside one of the ship's stewards. They conversed a bit about the excitement of the arrival. Then the steward asked a question. “I don't mean to pry, sir. But I noticed that you didn't take any of your meals with your fellow passengers in the dining hall. I trust we didn't do anything to offend you.”

“Oh my goodness, no,” the man said. “Everyone has been so gracious. It's just that I am saving what little money I have left for my expenses getting established in America. I didn't want to spend money on food.”

The steward's expression of confusion became one of shock and dismay when the meaning of the man's words sank in. “Oh, my dear friend!” the steward said. “Did you not know that three meals each day were included in the price of your ticket? We set a place for you at every meal, but you never came!”

Of course, the man didn't know, until it was too late – and the opportunity for blessing and provision on his journey had been forever missed.

And here was Pastor Morris’ point. He said, and I quote, “Every day I encounter Christians who are just like this man. They live without the blessings and the provisions available to them. Instead, they live lives of cheese- and-crackers Christianity!

He goes on to talk about how these people stand outside, looking in, at the lives of other believers who are living and “walking” in the fullness of the Holy Spirit.

These people read books about it and hear stories told by others about it and they go to certain “revival” meetings where they witness certain actions and are told by others of weak faith, “what you see and hear right now, is what it means to “walk” in the power of Holy Spirit.”

And then out the door they go, right back to the way that they were before!

These people stand with their noses pressed against the window, like the man in the story, who was looking longingly at the other passengers who were eating the hearty, fine foods sat before them.

He felt like and believed that those foods were for a better class of passenger.

There are Christians who are going through their daily lives the exact same way.

They believe that all of the gifts and authority and power of the Holy Spirit, is for a better class of Christian.

For the elites who have attained a certain status from the Lord!

I’m here to tell you today, that the full power and authority of Holy Spirit, is for every true blood bought child of God!

If you have in fact been born again through the Christ, then you have access to the fullness of His kingdom!

You can sit at the table and feast with everyone else, because He has lovingly lavished upon us, everything that we need to be able to “walk” according to His will and His Word, in the fullness of His Spirit!

But it will cost you! It will cost you letting go of this world and all of its desires and pseudo-pleasures that it promises.

It means that you must truly repent and put away all of the works of the enemy.

For it is by such things, Paul said that we “grieve” or sadden the Holy Spirit of God within us.

As Paul stated in Ephesians 4, there must be NO (notta, zip ,zilch, NONE) of unwholesome, foul, abusive words proceeding from our mouths! There are to be no lies, no bitterness and rage and anger and harsh words and slander, or any other type of evil behavior coming from our lives!

And Paul said something else that people in this day and age really don’t like. He said, “If you are a thief, quit stealing. Instead, use your hands for good hard work, and then give generously to others in need.”

If you are physically able to work a job, but you will not do so, because you are too lazy and you think that someone owes you something and that you are just going to lay on your rump and draw a government check, then you are a THIEF!

You have bought into a lie of the enemy and you are stealing. I don’t care if the government says, “Here, take it, it’s free!”

The same government also says that you can take life and murder innocent babies, so I don’t put a lot of stock in what they blab on about.

If you can work ,then the Bible says to work and thus help out others who may have need.

QUIT BEING A BURDEN AND START BEING A BLESSING!!!

This is all part of “walking in the Spirit”!

In our own natural ability, we cannot, nor will we stay away from the desires of the flesh. Paul said in Galatians 5:16-17,

Galatians 5:16–17 ESV

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do.

And then Paul lists off different “works”, or fruit, if you will, of the flesh: sexual immorality, impurity, lustful pleasures, idolatry, sorcery, (the word for sorcery is “pharmakĕia” and it means: medication, poison, sorcery, witchcraft. If you are dabbling into drugs then you are dabbling into sorcery. And if you are someone who is rebellious, like I mentioned a moment ago about refusing to work for a living, then you are performing witchcraft. According to I Samuel 15:23, “For rebellion is as the sin of witchcraft, And stubbornness is as iniquity and idolatry.”)

Paul continues with his list of sins with hostility, quarreling, jealousy, outbursts of anger, selfish ambition, dissension, division, envy, drunkeness, wild parties and other sins like these.

BUT, then, Paul lists off the fruit of the Holy Spirit (the things that manifest in the life of someone who is “walking according to the Spirit”!)

The fruit of the Spirit of God is: LOVE ,JOY ,PEACE, PATIENCE, KINDNESS, GOODNESS, FAITHFULNESS, GENTLENESS and SELF-CONTROL!

Next stop here for now and consider next week looking more at walking in the power of Holy Spirit and possibly talking about the three baptisms that we have as believers!

You know, this is Memorial Day weekend and a time of reflecting and remembering. And I was thinking this weekend about this great nation and how and of what it was founded upon. Yes, there were some deists in the mix of our founding fathers, but there were many of them, who were Christians and who founded this nation, based solely upon their faith and belief in Christ.

Founding fathers like Patrick Henry, who was famous for his quote of, “Give me liberty or give me death”, had this to say about the founding of this nation. He said, “It cannot be emphasized too strongly or too often that this great nation was founded, not by religionists, but by Christians; not on religions, but on the Gospel of Jesus Christ. For this very reason peoples of other faiths have been afforded asylum, prosperity and freedom of worship here.”

He went on to say, “The Bible is worth all other books which have ever been printed.”

These words and many others like them, from different founding fathers of this nation, prove to us that we are a nation built on the foundation of Jesus Christ and the Word of God.

WE NEED TO GET BACK TO THAT SAME FOUNDATION!

WE NEED GOD IN AMERICA AGAIN!!