1 00:00:06,960 --> 00:00:10,120 We finished First Corinthians last week and actually for the 2 00:00:10,120 --> 00:00:14,920 next six weeks, we'll just be focusing in on who the Holy 3 00:00:14,920 --> 00:00:20,120 Spirit is, what the Holy Spirit's role is in our lives, 4 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:24,360 and get to really know and enjoy and experience the Holy Spirit 5 00:00:24,360 --> 00:00:27,400 more in our lives. I'd ask you to turn to John 14 6 00:00:28,160 --> 00:00:32,360 and and then we'll just flick ahead to chapter 16 and then if 7 00:00:32,360 --> 00:00:36,400 you're apartment and able to park a finger in Romans chapter 8 00:00:36,400 --> 00:00:38,320 8. We're going to read just a few 9 00:00:38,320 --> 00:00:41,400 scriptures to begin with tonight. 10 00:00:41,400 --> 00:00:44,360 The title of the message is the divine person of the Holy 11 00:00:44,360 --> 00:00:46,840 Spirit. John 14, verse 16. 12 00:00:50,440 --> 00:00:55,480 Jesus was talking to his disciples, he said, and I will 13 00:00:55,480 --> 00:00:59,400 pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, capital 14 00:00:59,400 --> 00:01:02,560 H, that he may abide with you forever. 15 00:01:03,720 --> 00:01:07,880 The Spirit of truth, verse 17 whom the world cannot receive 16 00:01:08,440 --> 00:01:11,480 because it neither sees him nor knows him. 17 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:16,120 But you know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you. 18 00:01:17,160 --> 00:01:22,520 I will not leave you orphans. I will come to you, then move 19 00:01:22,520 --> 00:01:25,440 ahead. Sorry, I will read 19 and 20 as 20 00:01:25,440 --> 00:01:26,600 well. A little while longer and the 21 00:01:26,600 --> 00:01:29,200 world will see me no more. But you will see me because I 22 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:32,400 live. You will live also at that day 23 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:35,760 you will know that I am in my Father and you and me and I and 24 00:01:35,760 --> 00:01:39,240 you. Now move ahead to verse 25. 25 00:01:40,320 --> 00:01:43,280 These things I've spoken to you while being present with you, 26 00:01:43,920 --> 00:01:46,840 but the help of the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my 27 00:01:46,840 --> 00:01:49,200 name. He will teach you all things and 28 00:01:49,200 --> 00:01:51,480 bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. 29 00:01:52,080 --> 00:01:57,320 Then over into chapter 16 of John's Gospel, verse 5. 30 00:01:58,560 --> 00:02:01,000 But now I go away to him who sent me. 31 00:02:01,720 --> 00:02:03,320 None of you asked me where are you going? 32 00:02:04,320 --> 00:02:07,200 But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled 33 00:02:07,200 --> 00:02:09,960 your heart. Nevertheless, listen to this. 34 00:02:09,960 --> 00:02:12,920 I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I 35 00:02:12,920 --> 00:02:15,960 go away. For if I do not go away, the 36 00:02:15,960 --> 00:02:19,840 helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him 37 00:02:19,840 --> 00:02:24,000 to you, and when he has come, he will convict the world of sin 38 00:02:24,360 --> 00:02:27,640 and of righteousness and of judgement of sin, because they 39 00:02:27,640 --> 00:02:29,840 not do not believe in Me. Verse 9. 40 00:02:30,320 --> 00:02:32,240 Verse 10. Of righteousness, because I go 41 00:02:32,240 --> 00:02:36,560 to my Father and you see me no more of judgement. 42 00:02:36,560 --> 00:02:38,680 Verse 11. Because the ruler of this world 43 00:02:38,680 --> 00:02:42,200 is judged. I still have many things to say 44 00:02:42,200 --> 00:02:44,440 to you, but you cannot bear them Now. 45 00:02:45,000 --> 00:02:48,680 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, verse 13 has come, He 46 00:02:48,680 --> 00:02:52,280 will guide you into all truth, but He will not speak on His own 47 00:02:52,280 --> 00:02:54,040 authority. But whatever He hears, He will 48 00:02:54,040 --> 00:02:56,120 speak, and He will tell you things to come. 49 00:02:56,640 --> 00:03:00,520 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is mine and declare 50 00:03:00,520 --> 00:03:03,160 it to you. All things that the Father has 51 00:03:03,280 --> 00:03:05,080 are mine. Therefore I said that He will 52 00:03:05,080 --> 00:03:07,440 take of mine and declare it to you. 53 00:03:09,320 --> 00:03:16,160 Now move ahead, please, to the book of Romans chapter 8 and 54 00:03:16,160 --> 00:03:18,800 verses 1 to 6. Again, reading from the new King 55 00:03:18,800 --> 00:03:25,680 James, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in 56 00:03:25,680 --> 00:03:29,880 Christ Jesus who do not walk according to the flesh, but 57 00:03:30,000 --> 00:03:35,160 according to the Spirit. For the law of the Spirit of 58 00:03:35,160 --> 00:03:38,960 life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and 59 00:03:38,960 --> 00:03:41,560 death. For what the law could not do, 60 00:03:41,560 --> 00:03:45,040 in that it was weak through the flesh, God did by sending His 61 00:03:45,040 --> 00:03:48,440 own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh on account of sin. 62 00:03:49,200 --> 00:03:52,960 He condemns sin in the flesh. That verse 4, the righteous 63 00:03:52,960 --> 00:03:56,320 requirement of the law might be fulfilled in US who do not walk 64 00:03:56,320 --> 00:03:59,080 according to the flesh, but according to the Spirit. 65 00:04:00,280 --> 00:04:02,760 For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the 66 00:04:02,760 --> 00:04:05,480 things of the flesh. For those who live according to 67 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:07,360 the Spirit, things of the Spirit. 68 00:04:08,480 --> 00:04:11,240 For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually 69 00:04:11,240 --> 00:04:20,120 minded is life and peace. So I just wanted to read those 70 00:04:20,120 --> 00:04:22,400 scriptures there. And, and that'll just kind of, I 71 00:04:22,400 --> 00:04:26,440 think sit as a blanket for us and we'll come back to some of 72 00:04:26,440 --> 00:04:28,560 them throughout the course of tonight's message. 73 00:04:28,560 --> 00:04:33,320 But what we deduce through that is that the Holy Spirit is given 74 00:04:33,640 --> 00:04:36,880 to us. So much so that Jesus said it's 75 00:04:36,880 --> 00:04:41,640 actually beneficial that I go so that you can receive the Holy 76 00:04:41,640 --> 00:04:45,240 Spirit and that he will indwell the disciples and he will 77 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,680 indwell us as followers of Jesus, disciples of Jesus now 78 00:04:49,240 --> 00:04:52,680 and Romans tells us that the Christian life that it is 79 00:04:52,680 --> 00:04:57,880 absolutely necessary for us to because it's the life in the 80 00:04:57,880 --> 00:05:01,960 spirit to have the Holy Spirit. It's an essential thing. 81 00:05:01,960 --> 00:05:05,560 So today we're going to talk about the divine person of the 82 00:05:05,560 --> 00:05:08,400 Holy Spirit. That's that's The Who next week 83 00:05:08,400 --> 00:05:11,560 we'll have a look at what the Holy Spirit does about the work 84 00:05:11,560 --> 00:05:13,720 of the Holy Spirit. But I think it's important to 85 00:05:13,720 --> 00:05:19,280 begin with who the Holy Spirit is in our study in this series, 86 00:05:19,600 --> 00:05:22,320 not just what he does because that that's the temptation is to 87 00:05:22,320 --> 00:05:26,160 go straight to the work of the Holy Spirit in our lives. 88 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:29,160 Now think of yourself and and our culture and this is often 89 00:05:29,160 --> 00:05:32,920 how we operate. We have a tendency to value what 90 00:05:32,960 --> 00:05:36,400 over who You know. When you meet someone you know, 91 00:05:36,400 --> 00:05:39,080 you'll say nice to meet you. And then what's the next 92 00:05:39,080 --> 00:05:41,560 question we'll ask? What do you do? 93 00:05:42,920 --> 00:05:45,200 All right, we do that in the way that we interact with one 94 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:47,640 another. What we do is certainly 95 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:49,800 important. It's a part of who we are, but 96 00:05:49,800 --> 00:05:52,840 it's not the revelation of our entire being. 97 00:05:53,640 --> 00:05:57,120 Our whole identity ought not to be wrapped up in what we do. 98 00:05:57,200 --> 00:06:01,640 It's not the whole story. I scan groceries. 99 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:03,280 What do you do? I scan groceries. 100 00:06:03,920 --> 00:06:08,400 So is that the end of the story? No, there is more to an 101 00:06:08,400 --> 00:06:11,920 individual than than that. What we do is important and may 102 00:06:11,920 --> 00:06:15,880 reveal much about us, but it's not the whole story of who we 103 00:06:15,880 --> 00:06:19,720 are. And so, given that's not the end 104 00:06:19,720 --> 00:06:22,280 of the story of who we are, it's important that we look at who 105 00:06:22,280 --> 00:06:25,600 the Holy Spirit is and afford that same liberty that we would 106 00:06:25,600 --> 00:06:29,360 like to afford to each other. Now who you are as a person is 107 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:31,960 more there's there's hopes, there's dreams, there's 108 00:06:31,960 --> 00:06:34,760 ambitions, there's passions, there's fears, there's loves, 109 00:06:35,720 --> 00:06:39,680 you know, gifts receive things to give, wounds and and sort of 110 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:43,360 grace abounding in our lives. So which tells the truest story? 111 00:06:44,240 --> 00:06:48,640 I scan groceries. Well, the deeper revelation of 112 00:06:48,640 --> 00:06:53,080 who you are, who you love and who you are loved by, what 113 00:06:53,080 --> 00:06:57,280 you're passionate about, what drives you, what holds you back. 114 00:06:58,600 --> 00:07:02,200 You know, we're, we're, I think the often the reason we ask that 115 00:07:02,200 --> 00:07:05,280 is that we're, we're kind of painfully self oriented in our 116 00:07:05,320 --> 00:07:08,440 culture. And so often that question, what 117 00:07:08,440 --> 00:07:12,440 do you do is because we're seeking to, to know how that 118 00:07:12,440 --> 00:07:14,520 person can help us in what they do. 119 00:07:14,720 --> 00:07:16,920 Typically, what can you do for me? 120 00:07:17,800 --> 00:07:20,640 And that's often times the approach that we take to the 121 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:22,400 Holy Spirit. What does the Holy Spirit do? 122 00:07:22,400 --> 00:07:24,960 So then therefore, what can the Holy Spirit do for me? 123 00:07:25,920 --> 00:07:29,320 We need to appreciate, we need to understand the divine person 124 00:07:29,520 --> 00:07:31,640 of the Holy Spirit aside from that. 125 00:07:31,640 --> 00:07:34,960 And so we first look at who the Holy Spirit is. 126 00:07:35,360 --> 00:07:38,680 Individualism, consumerism is, is the wrong approach to God. 127 00:07:41,120 --> 00:07:44,120 Now, it's, I think probably much easier to talk about what the 128 00:07:44,120 --> 00:07:49,000 Holy Spirit does than who he is because that's a little bit more 129 00:07:49,000 --> 00:07:52,080 difficult for us to get AT. And so hopefully tonight as we 130 00:07:52,080 --> 00:07:57,240 study, we'll have a greater understanding because after all, 131 00:07:57,240 --> 00:08:02,280 who really understands what spirit is, you know, And if if I 132 00:08:02,280 --> 00:08:06,320 say the word spirit, all sorts of things come to our minds. 133 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:11,280 And then the old King James Version talks of the Holy Spirit 134 00:08:11,280 --> 00:08:15,720 and uses the terminology the Holy Ghost, the Holy Ghost. 135 00:08:16,720 --> 00:08:19,600 What does that even mean? And so we're, we're a little 136 00:08:19,600 --> 00:08:22,560 confused maybe sometimes who even understands terms like 137 00:08:22,560 --> 00:08:28,120 ghost and and spirit, These are ethereal terms for us, sometimes 138 00:08:28,400 --> 00:08:31,960 mysterious, hard to pin down a little bit. 139 00:08:33,159 --> 00:08:38,440 We don't really even know what our spirits are, let alone the 140 00:08:38,440 --> 00:08:42,600 Holy Spirit. So we need help to understand, 141 00:08:43,000 --> 00:08:47,680 to comprehend the Spirit of God, and that's what we're we're 142 00:08:47,680 --> 00:08:51,240 looking at and why we're studying this series to aid us 143 00:08:51,240 --> 00:08:53,080 in that. But you know, when we think of 144 00:08:53,080 --> 00:08:57,680 the other other members of the Trinity for whom we have kind of 145 00:08:57,680 --> 00:09:01,920 reference or points of analogy, we're a little bit more probably 146 00:09:02,240 --> 00:09:05,200 secure in our understanding of Father God. 147 00:09:05,200 --> 00:09:09,440 I mean, we know the term father. We can at least even in our 148 00:09:09,440 --> 00:09:13,440 broken world, have some semblance of what a a father is 149 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:15,600 and, and to function like and to be like. 150 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:19,240 We can understand that and, and son as well. 151 00:09:19,680 --> 00:09:22,920 And, and Jesus, obviously with the gospels and we read of his 152 00:09:22,920 --> 00:09:24,760 humanity and all of his experiences. 153 00:09:24,760 --> 00:09:29,280 But you know, compared to these familiar and and familial terms, 154 00:09:29,280 --> 00:09:34,480 father and son, spirit, you know, we're a little vague or 155 00:09:34,480 --> 00:09:42,480 unsure about that kind of seems remote, removed, maybe even cold 156 00:09:42,480 --> 00:09:46,080 or distant in our understanding of that, at least on an 157 00:09:46,080 --> 00:09:50,160 emotional or psychological level with us, maybe even a little 158 00:09:50,160 --> 00:09:53,840 intimidating, especially when you factor in the old King James 159 00:09:53,840 --> 00:09:58,080 Version, Holy Ghost. And what I think also adds to 160 00:09:58,080 --> 00:10:00,960 this mystery is the adjective holy. 161 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:06,120 It's difficult enough enough for us with spirit and with ghost, 162 00:10:06,440 --> 00:10:12,160 but then holy at the beginning in reference of God. 163 00:10:12,520 --> 00:10:16,800 What does holy mean? The root significance of the 164 00:10:16,800 --> 00:10:23,200 word holy in Scripture has to do with God's otherness of him 165 00:10:23,200 --> 00:10:29,600 being separate in his morality, in his righteousness, kind of 166 00:10:29,600 --> 00:10:33,520 placed at a distance, set apart, altogether different and unique, 167 00:10:33,520 --> 00:10:38,960 special, particular, out of the ordinary for us. 168 00:10:39,520 --> 00:10:44,240 And it's spatial language that again has otherness in mind. 169 00:10:45,120 --> 00:10:47,920 And at the core of that otherness is morality. 170 00:10:48,440 --> 00:10:53,080 God has moral distance where because of His Holiness, there's 171 00:10:53,080 --> 00:10:57,400 this essential separation that must be there between sinful, 172 00:10:57,400 --> 00:10:59,880 depraved humanity and a holy righteous God. 173 00:11:00,760 --> 00:11:04,360 And this is language that we're we're very familiar with 174 00:11:04,360 --> 00:11:06,680 throughout the Scripture. But one example I wish to give 175 00:11:06,680 --> 00:11:10,520 to you in reference to God the Father particularly is in the 176 00:11:10,520 --> 00:11:13,000 book of Isaiah. Turn with me to the Old 177 00:11:13,000 --> 00:11:16,560 Testament book of Isaiah in chapter 6. 178 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:24,000 And the prophet Isaiah has this revelation of God the Father and 179 00:11:24,200 --> 00:11:27,920 the holy God of Israel as he understands it in Isaiah chapter 180 00:11:27,920 --> 00:11:31,320 6 verses 1 to 5. And you see this language that 181 00:11:31,320 --> 00:11:37,560 describes God in His Holiness, God the Father, God the Son, and 182 00:11:37,560 --> 00:11:41,840 in application also in reference to the the Holy Spirit. 183 00:11:43,240 --> 00:11:46,560 Isaiah 6 verse one it says in the year that King Uzziah died, 184 00:11:46,560 --> 00:11:52,880 I saw the Lord sitting on a throne high and lifted up and 185 00:11:52,880 --> 00:11:55,040 the train of his robe filled the temple. 186 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:59,320 Above it stood Seraphim. Each one had 6 wings. 187 00:11:59,320 --> 00:12:01,600 With two he covered his face, with two he covered his feet, 188 00:12:01,600 --> 00:12:06,440 and with two he flew. So already there's this language 189 00:12:06,440 --> 00:12:10,360 in this, this imagery of things that are all together foreign 190 00:12:10,360 --> 00:12:13,760 and and complex for our human minds to to grapple with and 191 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:17,280 understand. Verse 31 cried to another and 192 00:12:17,280 --> 00:12:21,040 said Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of hosts. 193 00:12:21,040 --> 00:12:24,240 Now in Hebrew, to say something three times was like our 194 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:27,200 exclamation mark, and it was the fullness. 195 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:31,720 So in other words, when it comes to holy and holiness, to say it 196 00:12:31,720 --> 00:12:35,520 three times means that that God is the epitome of all that is 197 00:12:35,520 --> 00:12:37,600 holy. Everything holy is wrapped up in 198 00:12:37,600 --> 00:12:39,880 Him. Holy, holy, holy is the Lord of 199 00:12:39,880 --> 00:12:43,080 hosts. The whole earth is full of His 200 00:12:43,080 --> 00:12:45,600 glory. Excuse me and look at this verse 201 00:12:45,600 --> 00:12:48,120 4. The post of the door was shaken 202 00:12:48,120 --> 00:12:49,720 by the voice of him who cried out. 203 00:12:50,920 --> 00:12:56,560 The house was filled with smoke, so I said, woe is me. 204 00:12:57,280 --> 00:13:00,480 The new Living Translation, I think, puts it, I am doomed. 205 00:13:02,080 --> 00:13:07,280 Woe is me, it says, for I am undone because I am a man of 206 00:13:07,280 --> 00:13:10,920 unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean 207 00:13:10,920 --> 00:13:13,360 lips. For my eyes have seen the King, 208 00:13:13,920 --> 00:13:18,280 the Lord of hosts. Wow, God is high and exalted. 209 00:13:18,280 --> 00:13:21,440 We just read. He's lifted up. 210 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:27,360 Isaiah, in contrast, is pictured as being low and thrust down. 211 00:13:27,360 --> 00:13:31,240 The contrast, God's presence, the train of his robe, fills the 212 00:13:31,240 --> 00:13:35,200 temple, it says with glory. While Isaiah, it's like he's 213 00:13:35,200 --> 00:13:39,840 shrinking back in a corner, carrying, overwhelmed. 214 00:13:40,800 --> 00:13:45,320 God has been declared by the Seraphim to be holy, holy, holy, 215 00:13:45,800 --> 00:13:48,680 and the prophet discovers himself in comparison to be 216 00:13:48,680 --> 00:13:56,600 sinful, unclean, and undone. Woe is me, I am doomed. 1 217 00:13:56,600 --> 00:13:59,440 theologian puts it this way when Speaking of God's holiness. 218 00:13:59,440 --> 00:14:04,040 God's holy holiness is the searing purity of his eternal 219 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:09,080 infinite being, the searing purity of his eternal infinite 220 00:14:09,080 --> 00:14:12,360 being. And so the Holy Spirit of God in 221 00:14:12,360 --> 00:14:16,640 this searing, pure, morally distant, high and exalted 222 00:14:16,720 --> 00:14:20,200 otherness above anything else, holy, holy, holy. 223 00:14:20,280 --> 00:14:23,640 It's who he is, Father and the Son. 224 00:14:23,840 --> 00:14:28,240 Such is God. And so when it comes to the Holy 225 00:14:28,240 --> 00:14:32,600 Spirit, we go, well, if, if God is holy, if the Son is holy, the 226 00:14:32,600 --> 00:14:36,120 Holy Spirit, what makes him unique in that holiness? 227 00:14:37,240 --> 00:14:39,200 How is there some differentiation? 228 00:14:39,200 --> 00:14:42,720 You know, when we think of spirit or ghost, the sense that 229 00:14:42,720 --> 00:14:45,600 comes to mind most quickly is perhaps that of immaterialism, 230 00:14:45,600 --> 00:14:49,560 some sort of cosmic life force, some entity just sort of 231 00:14:49,560 --> 00:14:51,440 floating out there in some vagueness. 232 00:14:51,440 --> 00:14:54,240 But that is not what the biblical words are getting at 233 00:14:54,240 --> 00:14:58,600 when we explore this. Spirit, many of you may know in 234 00:14:58,600 --> 00:15:04,400 Hebrew is the term ruach, and it helps if you get that little at 235 00:15:04,400 --> 00:15:07,200 the end of it too. And actually both of these 236 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:11,320 terms, the Hebrew and the Greek are onomatopoeic in their 237 00:15:11,320 --> 00:15:14,400 pronunciation, in fact, and and it helps to to kind of 238 00:15:14,400 --> 00:15:18,120 understand what what the language is getting at Ruach in 239 00:15:18,120 --> 00:15:22,560 the Hebrew and it it looks like we would say Numa, but it's 240 00:15:22,560 --> 00:15:27,240 actually you say it in this S and in the Greek here Numa. 241 00:15:27,800 --> 00:15:31,680 It's kind of, it sounds odd for us to do so, but these terms 242 00:15:31,680 --> 00:15:34,520 onomatopoeic, you know, onomatopoeia where words that 243 00:15:34,520 --> 00:15:39,120 are spelt that sounds right sizzle and on snap and bat and 244 00:15:39,120 --> 00:15:44,520 on through. So Ruach and and panema kind of 245 00:15:44,520 --> 00:15:50,480 had this expulsion of wind, ruch and breath, you know, that are 246 00:15:50,480 --> 00:15:53,400 connected with them. The idea is of air in motion. 247 00:15:53,840 --> 00:15:56,680 So, so it kind of helps, I think in that way. 248 00:15:56,880 --> 00:16:02,000 So spirit as a referent to God expresses in his most 249 00:16:02,000 --> 00:16:08,240 fundamental form like the the breath of life, power, energy, 250 00:16:09,440 --> 00:16:13,560 life, like I say, and the point of of spirit is not 251 00:16:13,680 --> 00:16:16,960 immateriality, but rather the presence of energy and of 252 00:16:16,960 --> 00:16:21,160 activity. Energy rather than immateriality 253 00:16:21,160 --> 00:16:26,840 is in view here action not absence, power not 254 00:16:26,840 --> 00:16:31,720 impersonality, And so therefore to say Holy Spirit is not to say 255 00:16:31,960 --> 00:16:37,280 morally removed immaterial, but rather to say the searing purity 256 00:16:37,360 --> 00:16:43,200 and active power of God. We must remember, though, that 257 00:16:43,200 --> 00:16:47,760 the Holy Spirit is not merely energy or an impersonal it. 258 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:52,280 Just as I don't come up to you, or you don't come up to me and 259 00:16:52,280 --> 00:16:55,640 ask what does it think about this thing that is happening 260 00:16:55,640 --> 00:16:58,360 tomorrow? Though some in today's language 261 00:16:58,360 --> 00:17:01,320 do, right? What does it think about what 262 00:17:01,320 --> 00:17:04,359 you get going to do tomorrow? We don't say that Scripture 263 00:17:04,359 --> 00:17:08,160 teaches that the Holy Spirit is a person, a who? 264 00:17:08,599 --> 00:17:12,400 Not an it. Not in the way that you are, you 265 00:17:12,400 --> 00:17:17,440 or I are persons, but in the way that the Father and the Son are 266 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:23,480 persons, divine persons. So we must not say that the Holy 267 00:17:23,480 --> 00:17:27,000 Spirit is merely the exerted energy of God. 268 00:17:27,720 --> 00:17:31,840 And some err in that way, you know, manifested in the world or 269 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:35,760 the eternally preceding energy of God, as some might declare. 270 00:17:35,840 --> 00:17:39,360 In fact, that's classic heresy when it comes to the Holy 271 00:17:39,360 --> 00:17:42,160 Spirit. And it's not historic Christian 272 00:17:42,160 --> 00:17:46,320 orthodoxy to say that. To believe that the Holy Spirit 273 00:17:46,320 --> 00:17:53,280 isn't it is to deny Scripture is to malign God and to be guilty 274 00:17:53,280 --> 00:17:54,680 of heresy. That's in fact what the 275 00:17:54,680 --> 00:17:59,600 Jehovah's Witness do. So a denial of his personhood is 276 00:17:59,600 --> 00:18:05,200 a denial of the Trinity and tantamount to, like I say, 277 00:18:05,200 --> 00:18:07,920 heretical thought when it comes to distinct Christian doctrine. 278 00:18:08,720 --> 00:18:11,960 The Holy Spirit is the third person of the Trinity. 279 00:18:11,960 --> 00:18:16,080 Let me give you an excerpt from the Athanasian Creed, which had 280 00:18:16,080 --> 00:18:19,040 its origins around the 4th, 5th centuries AD. 281 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,760 Listen to this. We worship one God in Trinity, 282 00:18:24,120 --> 00:18:28,560 and Trinity in unity, neither confounding the persons nor 283 00:18:28,560 --> 00:18:32,240 dividing the substance. For there is one Person of the 284 00:18:32,240 --> 00:18:36,200 Father, another of the Son, and another of the Holy Spirit. 285 00:18:36,880 --> 00:18:41,240 But the Godhead of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy 286 00:18:41,240 --> 00:18:47,240 Spirit is all one, the glory equal, the majesty Co eternal. 287 00:18:48,200 --> 00:18:52,760 Such as the Father is, such is the Son, and such is the Holy 288 00:18:52,760 --> 00:18:56,480 Spirit. The Father uncreated, the Son 289 00:18:56,480 --> 00:19:01,240 uncreated and the Holy Spirit uncreated, the Father 290 00:19:01,240 --> 00:19:05,080 incomprehensible, the Son incomprehensible, and the Holy 291 00:19:05,080 --> 00:19:10,040 Spirit incomprehensible, the Father eternal, the Son eternal, 292 00:19:10,280 --> 00:19:15,320 and the Holy Spirit eternal. And yet there are not 3 293 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:20,520 eternals, but one eternal, as also there are not 3 uncreated 294 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:23,880 nor 3 incomprehensible, but one uncreated and one 295 00:19:23,880 --> 00:19:27,240 incomprehensible. So likewise the Father is 296 00:19:27,240 --> 00:19:30,960 Almighty, the Son Almighty, and the Holy Spirit Almighty. 297 00:19:31,120 --> 00:19:33,760 And yet there are not 3 Almighty's, but one Almighty. 298 00:19:34,400 --> 00:19:38,120 So the Father is God, the Son is God, and the Holy Spirit is God. 299 00:19:38,400 --> 00:19:41,520 And yet they are not three gods, but one God. 300 00:19:41,960 --> 00:19:45,120 So likewise the Father is Lord, the Son Lord, and the Holy 301 00:19:45,120 --> 00:19:48,120 Spirit Lord. And yet they are not 3 Lords, 302 00:19:48,120 --> 00:19:51,240 but one Lord. It's awesome, isn't it? 303 00:19:52,600 --> 00:19:56,280 So the Holy Spirit is presented in Scripture to have the same 304 00:19:56,280 --> 00:20:01,240 essential deity as the Father and the Son, and therefore is to 305 00:20:01,240 --> 00:20:06,840 be worshipped and adored, loved and obeyed as God. 306 00:20:08,400 --> 00:20:13,280 Now the idea of what's called Ruach Kadesh is not simply 307 00:20:13,280 --> 00:20:18,440 energy from God, but rather it describes God extending himself 308 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,280 in active engagement with his creation in a personal way. 309 00:20:23,320 --> 00:20:27,040 It is the holy extending of the power and love of God to 310 00:20:27,040 --> 00:20:30,120 creation in himself. And one of the things we 311 00:20:30,120 --> 00:20:34,600 understand about God from Scripture is, is that God is 312 00:20:34,600 --> 00:20:37,920 omnipresent. You know, he, he exists, he's 313 00:20:37,920 --> 00:20:40,240 present, he's everywhere at all times. 314 00:20:40,280 --> 00:20:42,600 That's what that that word means, omnipresent. 315 00:20:43,080 --> 00:20:46,000 We also realise that there is a difference between the 316 00:20:46,000 --> 00:20:51,320 omnipresence of God and the manifest presence of God. 317 00:20:52,120 --> 00:20:56,240 Think of the following examples. Moses God exists everywhere at 318 00:20:56,240 --> 00:20:58,480 all times. But Moses encountered A 319 00:20:58,480 --> 00:21:02,480 manifestation and manifest presence of God when he came 320 00:21:02,800 --> 00:21:05,160 across holy ground in the burning Bush. 321 00:21:06,040 --> 00:21:08,240 Think of what we just read out of Isaiah. 322 00:21:08,640 --> 00:21:12,400 A manifest presence of God. God is present everywhere, 323 00:21:12,400 --> 00:21:17,600 omnipresent at all times and yet he he saw the train of his Rd 324 00:21:17,600 --> 00:21:23,240 filled the temple and the voice. Think of Daniel the prophet on 325 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:26,920 the river and and the manifest presence of God. 326 00:21:27,200 --> 00:21:29,320 Again, God present ever at all times. 327 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:36,520 But there are manifestations, revelations of God, where the 328 00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:40,640 power of God is, as I say, powerful and real in ways very 329 00:21:40,640 --> 00:21:43,760 tangible and known. And so it is the Holy Spirit who 330 00:21:43,760 --> 00:21:46,520 seems to be the member of the Trinity, that manifests the 331 00:21:46,520 --> 00:21:52,040 presence of God in creation. Ezekiel 39 verse 29 says I will 332 00:21:52,040 --> 00:21:54,200 no longer hide my face from them. 333 00:21:54,640 --> 00:21:58,200 My face is terminology about presence in the Bible. 334 00:21:58,360 --> 00:22:02,040 For I will pour out my spirit on the House of Israel, declares 335 00:22:02,040 --> 00:22:05,800 the sovereign Lord. Psalm 139, verse 7. 336 00:22:06,000 --> 00:22:10,800 Where can I go from thy spirit, or where can I flee from thy 337 00:22:10,800 --> 00:22:15,840 presence? And so the person of the Holy 338 00:22:15,840 --> 00:22:22,160 Spirit is the extending of God's holy presence into creation, but 339 00:22:22,160 --> 00:22:25,600 also of His loving presence. For God is holy. 340 00:22:25,600 --> 00:22:29,560 Yes, we've been looking at that, but God is love. 1 John 4, verse 341 00:22:29,560 --> 00:22:31,800 8. And there is a deep and unique 342 00:22:31,800 --> 00:22:36,480 connection of love with the Holy Spirit even in this very in his 343 00:22:36,480 --> 00:22:38,520 very essence as the third person of the Trinity. 344 00:22:38,840 --> 00:22:42,760 Listen to what Saint Bernard of Clavo called the Spirit. 345 00:22:42,760 --> 00:22:46,520 He said the Spirit is the kiss of the Father and the Son. 346 00:22:48,560 --> 00:22:51,600 When great theologians have tried to describe the Holy 347 00:22:51,600 --> 00:22:54,920 Spirit, they often resort to this kind of language and 348 00:22:54,920 --> 00:22:58,760 imagery of, of trinitarian love and and delight in eternal 349 00:22:58,760 --> 00:23:01,200 relationship. God the Father, Son, Holy 350 00:23:01,200 --> 00:23:05,240 Spirit. Jonathan Edwards, He said the 351 00:23:05,240 --> 00:23:10,400 Holy Spirit is the delight that the Father and the Son have in 352 00:23:10,400 --> 00:23:13,360 each other and he carries in himself. 353 00:23:13,360 --> 00:23:19,160 So sorry, I have to take this jacket off, but I'm kind of 354 00:23:19,160 --> 00:23:21,880 pinned here. Sorry about that. 355 00:23:24,120 --> 00:23:26,160 Let me read that again. Jonathan Edwards said that the 356 00:23:26,160 --> 00:23:29,720 Holy Spirit is the delight that the Father and the Son have in 357 00:23:29,720 --> 00:23:35,160 each other, and he carries in himself so fully the essence of 358 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:39,520 the Father and the Son that he himself stands forth as a third 359 00:23:39,520 --> 00:23:43,120 person in his own right. Heard the name CS Lewis, 360 00:23:43,480 --> 00:23:45,680 Chronicles of Narnia, Mere Christianity. 361 00:23:46,400 --> 00:23:49,760 He said Christians believe that the living, dynamic activity of 362 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:53,840 love between Father, Son and Holy Spirit has been going in 363 00:23:53,840 --> 00:23:56,520 God forever and has created everything else. 364 00:23:57,120 --> 00:24:00,760 In Christianity, God is not a static thing, but a dynamic 365 00:24:00,760 --> 00:24:06,360 pulsating activity, a life almost, a kind of drama almost. 366 00:24:06,360 --> 00:24:09,360 He goes on, if you will not think me irreverent, a kind of 367 00:24:09,360 --> 00:24:12,280 dance. The union between the Father and 368 00:24:12,280 --> 00:24:15,680 the Son is such a a live, concrete thing that this union 369 00:24:15,680 --> 00:24:23,240 itself is also a person. Now to know who someone loves 370 00:24:23,240 --> 00:24:26,400 and who loves them is actually a great way to get to know them, 371 00:24:26,600 --> 00:24:28,840 isn't it? You know, we start to see who 372 00:24:28,840 --> 00:24:34,200 the Spirit is as we begin to see whom he loves and who loves him. 373 00:24:35,480 --> 00:24:37,600 The Bible tells us that the Spirit loves the Father. 374 00:24:38,840 --> 00:24:41,160 The Bible tells us that the Spirit loves the Son. 375 00:24:42,080 --> 00:24:45,240 The Bible tells us that the Father and the Son love the 376 00:24:45,240 --> 00:24:49,200 Spirit. And we do this naturally in our 377 00:24:49,200 --> 00:24:53,240 interactions. If any of you are employers or, 378 00:24:53,240 --> 00:24:55,880 or maybe even as an employee, you've, you've had to submit 379 00:24:55,880 --> 00:24:59,880 references and people will ring around and, and they'll ask and 380 00:24:59,880 --> 00:25:04,120 they'll enquire about people who know you to get a sense of who 381 00:25:04,120 --> 00:25:06,600 you are through their knowing of you. 382 00:25:07,160 --> 00:25:11,440 And so we can do the same of the Holy Spirit by by looking at the 383 00:25:11,440 --> 00:25:14,400 attributes and characteristics of those that know the Holy 384 00:25:14,400 --> 00:25:18,400 Spirit and to enquire of what they say also about the Holy 385 00:25:18,400 --> 00:25:21,240 Spirit. And so of the Holy Spirit ask 386 00:25:21,240 --> 00:25:23,920 those who are closest to him, who are closest to the Holy 387 00:25:23,920 --> 00:25:26,360 Spirit, God the Father and God the Son. 388 00:25:27,120 --> 00:25:29,600 How does the Father feel and think about the Spirit? 389 00:25:29,600 --> 00:25:34,120 Luke 24 verse 49. He is the promised gift of the 390 00:25:34,120 --> 00:25:36,080 Father. In other words, when when the 391 00:25:36,080 --> 00:25:40,840 Father looks at the Holy Spirit, he, he thinks of the Holy Spirit 392 00:25:40,840 --> 00:25:44,800 being a precious gift to His people. 393 00:25:45,480 --> 00:25:47,880 How does the Son feel about the Spirit? 394 00:25:48,440 --> 00:25:52,760 As I read out of John 16 verse seven that he said it's actually 395 00:25:52,760 --> 00:25:56,160 advantageous. It's better that I go so that 396 00:25:56,160 --> 00:25:58,760 the Holy Spirit could come because he's going to be a 397 00:25:58,760 --> 00:26:03,240 blessing to you. It's going to be beneficial for 398 00:26:03,240 --> 00:26:07,520 you, an advantage. So the Father and the Son see 399 00:26:07,520 --> 00:26:11,400 the person of the Holy Spirit as a tremendous love gift then to 400 00:26:11,400 --> 00:26:14,360 humanity. And there's also a sense of 401 00:26:14,360 --> 00:26:17,640 protection that they have about the Holy Spirit. 402 00:26:17,640 --> 00:26:21,200 You know, what did Jesus say in Luke 12? 403 00:26:21,680 --> 00:26:26,680 That all sins would be forgiven even against him? 404 00:26:26,880 --> 00:26:30,960 But what would not be forgiven? Blasphemy against who? 405 00:26:30,960 --> 00:26:35,160 The Holy Spirit. And so there's this this element 406 00:26:35,160 --> 00:26:39,040 of protection that is towards the Holy Spirit in this way. 407 00:26:39,600 --> 00:26:42,600 So both the Father and the Son send the Holy Spirit to us as a 408 00:26:42,600 --> 00:26:44,320 gift is the language that they use. 409 00:26:44,320 --> 00:26:47,360 And it's almost as if there's this beautiful loving Co 410 00:26:47,360 --> 00:26:50,840 claiming of who it is. It's giving the Holy Spirit by 411 00:26:50,840 --> 00:26:54,720 the Father and the Son. John 14 verse 26, the Helper, 412 00:26:54,720 --> 00:26:57,200 the Holy Spirit whom the Father will send in my name. 413 00:26:57,200 --> 00:27:01,000 He will teach you all things. And then Jesus later and John 414 00:27:01,000 --> 00:27:04,360 15, verse 26, when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you 415 00:27:04,640 --> 00:27:07,400 from the Father, that is the Spirit of truth, man. 416 00:27:07,400 --> 00:27:09,320 I get to send him. Well, the Father's sending him, 417 00:27:09,320 --> 00:27:10,840 but I get to send him too. Oh no. 418 00:27:11,240 --> 00:27:15,200 And there's almost like you could argue kind of like a holy 419 00:27:15,200 --> 00:27:17,240 argument over who gets to give the Holy Spirit. 420 00:27:18,960 --> 00:27:21,760 Andrew Murray says that the most precious gift of the Father's 421 00:27:21,760 --> 00:27:25,200 love in Christ is the gift of the Holy Spirit to dwell in US 422 00:27:25,200 --> 00:27:30,080 and lead us. So there's this again, wonderful 423 00:27:31,640 --> 00:27:36,760 Trinitarian love that exists, Father, Son, Holy Spirit, some 424 00:27:36,760 --> 00:27:39,440 sort of special endearing quality going on here. 425 00:27:41,680 --> 00:27:45,600 And look at the sweetness that the Scripture uses to describe 426 00:27:45,600 --> 00:27:49,080 the Holy Spirit. And 2nd Corinthians chapter 3, 427 00:27:49,080 --> 00:27:53,440 verse 17, wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. 428 00:27:55,120 --> 00:28:01,000 Romans 8 verse 6 The mindset on the Spirit is life and peace. 429 00:28:02,280 --> 00:28:07,640 Romans 1513 You will overflow with confident hope through the 430 00:28:07,640 --> 00:28:14,000 power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 1417 For the Kingdom of 431 00:28:14,000 --> 00:28:17,000 God is not a matter of what we eat or drink, but of living a 432 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,760 life of goodness and peace and joy in the Holy Spirit. 433 00:28:23,320 --> 00:28:27,800 On Thessalonians chapter 1, verses 5 and 6, the Holy Spirit 434 00:28:27,800 --> 00:28:30,880 gave you full assurance that what we said was true. 435 00:28:30,880 --> 00:28:34,760 So you received the message with joy from the Holy Spirit. 436 00:28:36,520 --> 00:28:39,920 Rooms 815 You have received the spirit of adoption as sons, by 437 00:28:39,920 --> 00:28:45,000 which we cry out, ABBA Father. In other words, when the Holy 438 00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,840 Spirit is enjoyed and experienced, we can't help but 439 00:28:47,840 --> 00:28:51,360 say Thank you, Father, God, ABBA, Father. 440 00:28:52,800 --> 00:28:55,160 Acts 9, verse 31. So the church throughout all 441 00:28:55,160 --> 00:28:59,240 Judea and Galilee and Samaria enjoyed peace being built up, 442 00:28:59,920 --> 00:29:03,280 going on in the fear of the Lord and in the comfort of the Holy 443 00:29:03,280 --> 00:29:05,720 Spirit. It continued to increase 444 00:29:06,720 --> 00:29:14,040 freedom, hope, goodness, joy, love, full assurance, comfort, 445 00:29:14,160 --> 00:29:18,200 life, all of those those terms there that that hint at this, 446 00:29:18,200 --> 00:29:22,480 this sweetness that is connected with the Holy Spirit, associated 447 00:29:22,480 --> 00:29:25,120 with the person of the Holy Spirit, his attributes, his 448 00:29:25,120 --> 00:29:28,840 characteristics. So far from there being some 449 00:29:28,880 --> 00:29:34,280 remote sort of distant, mysterious cold connotations and 450 00:29:34,280 --> 00:29:38,560 feelings, there is when we go to Scripture, an incredible sense 451 00:29:38,560 --> 00:29:44,040 of warmth and tender care for the believer that is enjoyed and 452 00:29:44,040 --> 00:29:49,200 to be known and the Church in and through the Divine person of 453 00:29:49,200 --> 00:29:54,080 the Holy Spirit. Jesus used the term Paracletus 454 00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:57,240 to describe or name the Holy Spirit, and translated that 455 00:29:57,240 --> 00:30:02,240 means Helper, Comforter, Advocate, Intercessor. 456 00:30:02,920 --> 00:30:06,400 And that tells us so much about who the Holy Spirit is. 457 00:30:07,200 --> 00:30:11,080 The Holy Spirit is the one who's always ready to help, always 458 00:30:11,080 --> 00:30:14,000 ready to bring comfort and support and advocate and 459 00:30:14,000 --> 00:30:16,320 intercede for the Christian, for the church. 460 00:30:16,440 --> 00:30:19,880 It's his nature, it's his qualities, it's it's his 461 00:30:19,880 --> 00:30:21,880 attributes. They're all declared in this, 462 00:30:21,880 --> 00:30:27,160 but there's more. Now this sweetness is combined 463 00:30:27,160 --> 00:30:33,840 with tremendous holiness, hence holy, and this tells us more 464 00:30:33,840 --> 00:30:39,520 about the Spirit. You see, again, just as is the 465 00:30:39,520 --> 00:30:45,120 case with humanity, knowing someone's dislikes, what bothers 466 00:30:45,120 --> 00:30:48,720 them, what annoys them, what irritates them, what what wounds 467 00:30:48,720 --> 00:30:52,880 or what hurts them, tells us a lot about them and helps us to 468 00:30:52,880 --> 00:30:55,200 get to know them more. And the same is true of the Holy 469 00:30:55,200 --> 00:30:57,040 Spirit when we look into the Scripture. 470 00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:04,200 The Holy Spirit can be wounded per SE, as we are, but not in 471 00:31:04,200 --> 00:31:07,800 the way that we are. Scripture doesn't tell us this, 472 00:31:07,800 --> 00:31:10,320 that the Holy Spirit can be grieved. 473 00:31:11,600 --> 00:31:16,160 Ephesians 4, verse 31, Thessalonians 5, verse 19, and 474 00:31:16,160 --> 00:31:19,720 that the Holy Spirit has a tremendous sensitivity towards 475 00:31:19,720 --> 00:31:25,400 sin, to lies and untruths. He's called the Spirit of truth. 476 00:31:25,400 --> 00:31:30,880 John 15, verse 26 And remember in the early days of the church 477 00:31:30,880 --> 00:31:34,280 in the book of Acts, when Ananias and Sapphira came and 478 00:31:34,280 --> 00:31:37,280 they conjured up their scheme over having sold some property 479 00:31:37,280 --> 00:31:40,680 and they together in cahoots with one another said, well, 480 00:31:40,680 --> 00:31:43,520 let's tell this story to the church, that we've sold it for 481 00:31:43,520 --> 00:31:46,240 this amount and here it all is. But they held back some for 482 00:31:46,240 --> 00:31:48,600 themselves and lied. And what did Peter say? 483 00:31:48,760 --> 00:31:52,960 He said, why have you lied? Not to us, to the church, but he 484 00:31:52,960 --> 00:31:57,920 said, why have you lied to the Holy Spirit as if it would have 485 00:31:57,920 --> 00:32:01,920 been affront to his personage, to his attributes, to his 486 00:32:01,920 --> 00:32:06,000 characteristics. Honesty is one of the best 487 00:32:06,000 --> 00:32:09,560 qualities in a friend, isn't it? You know, Proverbs 27 verse 6 is 488 00:32:09,560 --> 00:32:11,480 how faithful are the wounds of a friend. 489 00:32:12,960 --> 00:32:15,640 Jesus calls us his friends in John 15. 490 00:32:16,320 --> 00:32:18,040 Abraham was called the friend of God. 491 00:32:18,240 --> 00:32:21,760 And so too, we're able to think of the Holy Spirit in this way. 492 00:32:22,840 --> 00:32:26,280 If we press into the Holy Spirit, we'll discover him to be 493 00:32:26,280 --> 00:32:30,600 a very good friend because the Holy Spirit will always tell us 494 00:32:30,600 --> 00:32:38,720 the truth about ourselves, about God, about our sin. 495 00:32:39,240 --> 00:32:44,240 John 16, verse 9, Sin, righteousness and judgement we 496 00:32:44,240 --> 00:32:47,000 read is is what he would be focusing on. 497 00:32:47,000 --> 00:32:53,960 And the Spirit will, though sweet and tender, never make you 498 00:32:53,960 --> 00:32:57,280 feel OK about sin. Haven't you noticed that to be 499 00:32:57,280 --> 00:33:00,600 true? John 16, verse 8. 500 00:33:03,080 --> 00:33:07,280 The Holy Spirit will also be a faithful friend and true in that 501 00:33:07,280 --> 00:33:12,240 way where he will never lie about life's harsh realities. 502 00:33:13,360 --> 00:33:16,840 Think of the example of Paul when giving his farewell address 503 00:33:16,840 --> 00:33:20,520 to the Ephesian elders in the book of Acts in chapter 20. 504 00:33:21,920 --> 00:33:24,600 And the church has gathered there and the elders and he's 505 00:33:24,600 --> 00:33:27,600 declaring that he would be making his way to a particular 506 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:32,000 destination and that the Holy Spirit had warned him what that 507 00:33:32,000 --> 00:33:36,800 in going there that it would not go well for Paul. 508 00:33:36,800 --> 00:33:43,040 And the Holy Spirit wasn't holding back on on giving that 509 00:33:43,040 --> 00:33:45,760 revelation of truth because the Holy Spirit is a friend. 510 00:33:45,760 --> 00:33:49,240 And we'll reveal that about life's harsh realities and did 511 00:33:49,240 --> 00:33:52,440 so for the apostle Paul. You know, every, any friend that 512 00:33:52,440 --> 00:33:56,160 tells you everything's going to be OK, you'll be right. 513 00:33:56,160 --> 00:33:57,480 How do I look? Fine. 514 00:33:59,000 --> 00:34:01,000 It's not a real friend. It's not a true friend. 515 00:34:01,000 --> 00:34:03,240 A great friend who truly loves you will tell you, you know, 516 00:34:03,280 --> 00:34:07,920 things are going to get hard. It'll be difficult, but take 517 00:34:07,920 --> 00:34:10,080 heart. And that's the Holy Spirit. 518 00:34:11,960 --> 00:34:15,280 You know, when you or I want to really get past what someone 519 00:34:15,280 --> 00:34:19,880 merely does and get down to who they are, you know, sometimes 520 00:34:19,880 --> 00:34:22,520 we'll ask some some deeper questions of them. 521 00:34:22,520 --> 00:34:24,040 You know, what are you passionate about? 522 00:34:25,199 --> 00:34:27,600 What drives you, what motivates you? 523 00:34:27,600 --> 00:34:29,840 What, what gets you out of bed in the morning? 524 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,719 Three things that the Holy Spirit is passionate about, as 525 00:34:33,719 --> 00:34:37,400 we understand through the scriptures #1 the Holy Spirit is 526 00:34:37,400 --> 00:34:41,960 passionate about Jesus, is Christ centred. 527 00:34:43,199 --> 00:34:45,480 He's humble. It's never about himself. 528 00:34:45,480 --> 00:34:48,920 The Holy Spirit is always pointing to Jesus Christ, to 529 00:34:48,920 --> 00:34:52,800 magnifying Jesus. What the Holy Spirit is 530 00:34:52,800 --> 00:34:58,000 passionate about #2 is holiness. He is pure and undefiled. 531 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:03,720 And thirdly, what the Holy Spirit is passionate about is 532 00:35:03,720 --> 00:35:07,880 the mission of Jesus Christ. And he is active and 533 00:35:07,880 --> 00:35:11,440 compassionate and working in that and dedicated and devoted 534 00:35:11,440 --> 00:35:14,440 to that. You know, so if you or I, we are 535 00:35:14,440 --> 00:35:18,440 seeking the Holy Spirit, really wanting to pursue him and to get 536 00:35:18,440 --> 00:35:23,760 to know him more, He will always be introducing us to and pushing 537 00:35:23,760 --> 00:35:27,040 us toward and taking us deeper into Jesus. 538 00:35:29,040 --> 00:35:32,240 Introducing us to, pushing us toward, and taking us deeper 539 00:35:32,240 --> 00:35:37,520 into holiness. Introducing us to, pushing us 540 00:35:37,520 --> 00:35:41,080 toward, and taking us deeper into the mission that we're 541 00:35:41,080 --> 00:35:45,160 called to as believers. And where these three things are 542 00:35:45,160 --> 00:35:49,280 valued and practise, I can guarantee you that the Holy 543 00:35:49,280 --> 00:35:53,480 Spirit will be found. The Spirit is most present where 544 00:35:53,560 --> 00:35:57,880 Jesus is most central. The Spirit is most present where 545 00:35:57,880 --> 00:36:02,480 holiness is being pursued. The Spirit is most present where 546 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:08,680 mission is being accomplished. And now all of this is an 547 00:36:08,680 --> 00:36:12,200 attempt to sort of bring things down to our level without 548 00:36:12,200 --> 00:36:15,360 understanding and the guidance of Scripture to help us grasp 549 00:36:15,360 --> 00:36:18,800 the person of the Holy Spirit, the The Who of the Holy Spirit. 550 00:36:18,800 --> 00:36:23,680 Tonight we can only go so far. For at the end of the day, 551 00:36:23,680 --> 00:36:26,720 there's a tremendous amount of mystery surrounding the Holy 552 00:36:26,720 --> 00:36:29,960 Spirit. Even even the scriptures begin 553 00:36:29,960 --> 00:36:33,560 to lose language, you know, in in human form when describing 554 00:36:33,560 --> 00:36:37,280 the Holy Spirit and and employs imagery by telling us that he is 555 00:36:37,280 --> 00:36:44,040 like fire, he is like water, he's like oil and wind. 556 00:36:44,040 --> 00:36:48,720 And so brings our understanding of those things and somehow 557 00:36:48,720 --> 00:36:52,920 tries to help flesh out and grow our understanding of the Holy 558 00:36:52,920 --> 00:36:57,840 Spirit in that way. Listen to another theologian, 559 00:36:57,840 --> 00:37:03,800 Ferguson, how he puts it. When the Holy Spirit comes on 560 00:37:03,800 --> 00:37:07,520 individuals, they are caught up in the thrust of an alien energy 561 00:37:07,520 --> 00:37:11,920 and exercise unusual powers. The faint are raised into 562 00:37:11,920 --> 00:37:15,040 action. Exceptional human abilities are 563 00:37:15,040 --> 00:37:18,040 demonstrated. Ecstasy may be experienced. 564 00:37:18,440 --> 00:37:23,000 Yahweh's Ruach is, as it were, the blast of God, the 565 00:37:23,000 --> 00:37:26,440 irresistible power by which He accomplishes His purposes. 566 00:37:27,240 --> 00:37:32,080 Those who are the subject to the activity of the divine Ruach act 567 00:37:32,080 --> 00:37:35,920 in supernatural ways, with supernatural energy and powers. 568 00:37:37,160 --> 00:37:41,720 And yet there's the gentleness, the fruits of the spirit, the 569 00:37:41,720 --> 00:37:45,200 control. Think of all of those combining 570 00:37:45,200 --> 00:37:48,880 together. It's like Jesus who could calm 571 00:37:48,880 --> 00:37:53,320 the raging sea and cradle the little child. 572 00:37:55,320 --> 00:37:59,840 It's like Jesus who could expel a legion of demons and embrace 573 00:38:00,360 --> 00:38:04,840 the suffering leper. He could fiercely overturn the 574 00:38:04,840 --> 00:38:08,280 tables of the money changers in the House of God and mercifully 575 00:38:08,280 --> 00:38:10,520 pardon the woman caught in the act of adultery. 576 00:38:13,080 --> 00:38:15,280 So what does all this mean for the Christian? 577 00:38:17,120 --> 00:38:21,680 It means this God has made himself available to you. 578 00:38:23,160 --> 00:38:28,080 His Spirit is in you. Andrew Murray put it this way. 579 00:38:28,080 --> 00:38:32,440 He said the Spirit displaces our life and replaces it with the 580 00:38:32,440 --> 00:38:37,080 life of Christ in power to make the Son of God divinely and 581 00:38:37,080 --> 00:38:39,920 consciously present with us always. 582 00:38:41,440 --> 00:38:45,720 So here we are over the next six weeks attempting to gain a 583 00:38:45,720 --> 00:38:51,160 little more understanding of who the divine Person of the Holy 584 00:38:51,160 --> 00:38:55,000 Spirit is. And with this in mind, we, we 585 00:38:55,000 --> 00:38:56,960 want to know more of God, don't we? 586 00:38:57,440 --> 00:38:58,960 That's why that's why we're studying this. 587 00:38:58,960 --> 00:39:03,480 That's what this is all about. Psalm 73, verse 25 to 26 says, 588 00:39:03,480 --> 00:39:08,160 besides the I desire nothing on earth, my flesh and my heart may 589 00:39:08,200 --> 00:39:11,840 fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 590 00:39:12,400 --> 00:39:15,920 And so let's begin over the the next six weeks to to really 591 00:39:15,920 --> 00:39:19,440 immerse ourselves in well, what does the Bible say about the 592 00:39:19,440 --> 00:39:23,080 Holy Spirit be students be studies of God's word. 593 00:39:23,280 --> 00:39:27,600 Let me throw out rapid fire a number of scriptures for you 594 00:39:27,760 --> 00:39:30,080 with the Holy Spirit. That would be a great poet of 595 00:39:30,080 --> 00:39:34,880 call in you if your desirous to know God more and to know the 596 00:39:34,880 --> 00:39:39,080 person of the Holy Spirit more, have that be a goal and get to 597 00:39:39,080 --> 00:39:41,800 know the divine person of the Holy Spirit because there's so 598 00:39:41,800 --> 00:39:44,160 much to him. He is the Spirit of God, One 599 00:39:44,160 --> 00:39:49,000 Corinthians 316 the Spirit of Christ Romans 8-9 the Spirit of 600 00:39:49,160 --> 00:39:54,080 Jesus, Acts 16, seven the Spirit of the Lord 2 Corinthians 317 601 00:39:54,240 --> 00:39:59,600 The Holy 1 the eternal Spirit, the Spirit of truth, the Spirit 602 00:39:59,600 --> 00:40:05,640 of grace, the Spirit of glory, Spirit of faith, of life, of 603 00:40:05,640 --> 00:40:10,200 wisdom and revelation, of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of 604 00:40:10,200 --> 00:40:13,160 counsel and might. The spirit of knowledge and the 605 00:40:13,160 --> 00:40:15,680 fear of the Lord. The Spirit of grace and 606 00:40:15,680 --> 00:40:19,280 supplication. He is the comforter, advocate, 607 00:40:19,560 --> 00:40:22,840 counsellor, and helper. He is the witness. 608 00:40:22,840 --> 00:40:25,000 Romans 816. The intercessor. 609 00:40:25,000 --> 00:40:27,400 Romans 826 to 27. The dove. 610 00:40:27,400 --> 00:40:30,240 Luke 322. The promised gift of the Father. 611 00:40:30,640 --> 00:40:33,160 The living water. The spirit of adoption. 612 00:40:33,280 --> 00:40:36,280 The Spirit of holiness. The Author of Scripture. 613 00:40:36,520 --> 00:40:40,040 The convictor of sin. The seal and guarantee of our 614 00:40:40,040 --> 00:40:42,680 salvation. The Teacher of all things, The 615 00:40:42,680 --> 00:40:44,560 power of God. The fire of God. 616 00:40:44,560 --> 00:40:47,200 The rushing wind of God. The outpouring of God. 617 00:40:47,200 --> 00:40:49,360 The oil of God. The anointing of God. 618 00:40:50,680 --> 00:40:53,160 The Divine Person of the Holy Spirit.