Episode Transcript
[00:00:04] Who is the Holy Spirit?
[00:00:08] Very, very important question.
[00:00:11] And it's really foundational for your Christian experience and your relationship with Jesus.
[00:00:19] It's the Holy Spirit through the Holy Spirit.
[00:00:23] Genesis 1 says, in the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
[00:00:32] Moses describes the beginning not by just saying God, but he introduces us to the Holy Spirit.
[00:00:42] And in verse two, it says, the earth was without form and void, a darkness on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of. Of God, the Holy Spirit was hovering over the face of the deep.
[00:01:01] That's amazing.
[00:01:03] So that's how Moses begins Genesis.
[00:01:08] And it's really interesting. If you go to the New Testament, you'll see how John begins to describe the beginning.
[00:01:17] In John chapter one, John says and writes, in the beginning was the Word, that's Jesus.
[00:01:25] And the Word was with God. And the Word was God.
[00:01:31] And he was in the beginning with God.
[00:01:34] All things were made through him. Who's that? Jesus.
[00:01:37] And without Jesus, nothing was made that was made.
[00:01:42] It's not incredible to insights to the beginning.
[00:01:48] One with the Holy Spirit and one with Jesus, but they're both God.
[00:01:54] It's incredible.
[00:01:57] In the New Testament, Jesus begins to introduce us to God the Father.
[00:02:05] And then he introduced to his disciples God the Holy Spirit.
[00:02:11] See, the Bible clearly teaches that God is one, yet in three persons.
[00:02:17] God the Father, God the Son and God the Holy Spirit.
[00:02:23] Our human word. For this is what we call Trinity, which comes from.
[00:02:30] Here we go. The Latin. I sound really educated now.
[00:02:33] The Latin trinitas, which means threeness.
[00:02:38] So when we sing God in three persons, blessed threeness, that's what you're singing, Blessed threeness.
[00:02:51] So you won't find the word Trinity in the Bible, but you will clearly see the threeness of God in the Bible.
[00:03:02] I have written the word Trinity in lots of passages of the Bible. Every time it mentions the Father, Son and the Holy Spirit. I have loads of the word Trinity written in my New Testament. It's all over the place.
[00:03:20] The Holy Spirit is as much as a person as God the Father and God the Son.
[00:03:29] He doesn't have a physical form that you and I would understand.
[00:03:34] The Bible describes him physically as a dove and also as a flame.
[00:03:41] But he's a person.
[00:03:44] He hears, he speaks, he feels, he's grieved. He is a person.
[00:03:49] He talks about Jesus, he glorifies Jesus. He is a person.
[00:03:55] This is so important you understand the foundation of God, that God is one, yet in three persons.
[00:04:02] I want to mention something really important that I believe is important for this area where we live.
[00:04:09] If you diminish the Son, you diminish the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:16] See, there's one religion that says God has no need of a son.
[00:04:22] They believe that Jesus is a prophet. They believe he is a messiah, but he's not. There's no Son.
[00:04:29] And in their text, they say little or nothing about the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:34] There's another major religion around here that they think Jesus was a brother of Satan or a promoted angel.
[00:04:42] And they believe that the Holy Spirit is simply the force of God.
[00:04:48] That's a lie. He's the person.
[00:04:51] He's the person of the Holy Spirit.
[00:04:54] And so if you can diminish the Son, you diminish the Holy Spirit and you diminish the Trinity.
[00:05:04] Oh, hallelujah. The Holy Spirit's a person.
[00:05:08] And I want to tell you a little bit more of the insight of the threeness of God.
[00:05:13] In Luke 1:34,35.
[00:05:18] This is the incarnation of Jesus, and here's the Trinity at work.
[00:05:23] Then Mary said to the angel, how can this be since I do not know a man?
[00:05:31] And the angel answered and said to her, isn't it amazing the angel had all this insight. He's going to tell you about the Trinity.
[00:05:39] That's amazing.
[00:05:41] The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the highest will shadow over you.
[00:05:50] Therefore also that Holy One who is to be born will be called the Son of God.
[00:05:57] Mary, what's in your belly, what's in your womb, is the Son of God.
[00:06:05] Oh, hallelujah. And the Holy Spirit is not only in the incarnation of Christ, he's there at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus Christ in Luke chapter 3, verse 21 says, and it came to pass that Jesus also baptized. And while he prayed, the heaven was open and the Holy Spirit descended in a bodily form like a dove upon him. And a voice came from heaven which said, you are my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. The threeness of God.
[00:06:47] Do you see it? The threeness of God.
[00:06:53] The Holy Spirit was right at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus.
[00:06:58] After he was baptized in the Holy Spirit, he went to the wilderness and then came back in the power of the Spirit. Then he went to a synagogue and he opened the scroll as the Jews did, and he came to Isaiah, chapter 61.
[00:07:14] And he said this. And Luke records it in chapter four of Luke. The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach. See, it was the Holy Spirit who was going to flow through Jesus with miracles and signs and wonders.
[00:07:34] It's wonderful.
[00:07:35] And I love it. What? The apostle Peter sums it up in Acts 10:38, how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, who went about doing good, healing all those who are oppressed of the devil.
[00:07:52] The Trinity, the threeness of God, working against the oppression of the devil, working to bring you healing all three, all the time. It's amazing. Well, I'm excited.
[00:08:05] I don't care what you say, I'm excited.
[00:08:09] The Trinity, the Trinitas, the threeness of God working for you.
[00:08:18] Isn't that amazing?
[00:08:20] This is a beautiful passage of scripture.
[00:08:23] I'm laying the foundation of the threeness of God before we specifically focus more on the holy spirit.
[00:08:29] Hebrews 9:14.
[00:08:33] How much more shall the blood of Christ through the eternal Spirit?
[00:08:40] Who's that? The Holy Spirit.
[00:08:44] Offer himself without spot to God.
[00:08:48] Cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.
[00:08:54] I want to say something. You know, none of us will ever be good enough for the Holy Spirit.
[00:09:01] None of us will ever be holy enough.
[00:09:04] None of us will never be righteous enough. But because we've been washed in the precious blood of Jesus Christ through the eternal Spirit, through the Holy Spirit, we are presented spotless before the Father. The Bible says if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. You know, Mark shared last week, how the devil speaks lies into our life all the time. You're never good enough.
[00:09:36] You're never going to be good enough.
[00:09:39] Don't do it.
[00:09:40] You're rubbish. All these negativity. But what does the Bible say about you? You are chosen.
[00:09:47] You are a child of God.
[00:09:49] You are forgiven.
[00:09:51] You are the righteousness of God in Christ Jesus.
[00:09:55] You are more than a conqueror because of him. He's loved you with an everlasting love.
[00:10:01] And if you feel a sense of worthlessness this morning, that is not from God. God says you are worthy because of the blood of Jesus through the eternal Spirit.
[00:10:14] How much more?
[00:10:17] Ephesians says, through Jesus we have access to the Father by one spirit.
[00:10:27] You don't go to the Father except through the Son, through the Holy Spirit.
[00:10:33] There's no other way, precious. Holy Spirit, we understand Jesus when we begin to understand the Holy Spirit.
[00:10:44] You are to relate to Jesus through the Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit tells you everything about Jesus. The Holy Spirit loves to glorify Jesus. You know, as a worship leader, I understand when the Holy Spirit is pleased with the songs, he's so pleased when we don't sing about ourselves.
[00:11:03] He is so pleased. I sense it when I worship, when I'm just singing. Worthy is the Lamb Holy is the Lamb, Worthy is Jesus. I feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why?
[00:11:14] Because the Holy Spirit has come to glorify Jesus.
[00:11:18] He's come to tell of what the redemption has done. Oh, hallelujah.
[00:11:24] And then in Revelation, chapter one, here's another description of the Trinity.
[00:11:32] Chapter one, verse four.
[00:11:34] Grace to you and peace from him who is and who was and is to come.
[00:11:42] And from the seven spirits who are before the throne, and from Jesus Christ. And what did Jesus say about himself? I am he who is dead, but I live.
[00:11:55] I am the Almighty, the One who is the One who was and the One who is to come.
[00:12:03] Who is the seven spirits of God? It's the Holy Spirit.
[00:12:08] It's the Holy Spirit. The number seven in Jewish writing is very important.
[00:12:16] It means perfection, completeness, holiness.
[00:12:22] It's a very precious number.
[00:12:25] And the prophet Isaiah, in chapter 11, verse 2, says about the Holy Spirit, talking about the describing of the Holy Spirit upon Jesus, says this.
[00:12:39] And it's seven things. Seven attributes of the Holy Spirit said, the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him.
[00:12:47] Number one, the Spirit of the Lord is God.
[00:12:50] God shall rest upon him. That's one.
[00:12:55] He will be the Spirit of Wisdom. Two, Spirit of understanding. Three, the Spirit of counsel.
[00:13:04] Four, the Spirit of might. Five, the Spirit of knowledge, number six. And the Spirit of Fear, number seven. Seven is the completeness, the complete description, the perfection and the majesty of the Holy Spirit.
[00:13:21] Wow.
[00:13:23] And you know, the Holy Spirit is then described even more in the Book of Revelation, chapter 4, verse 5.
[00:13:33] Imagine this is in heaven.
[00:13:35] And from the throne proceeded lightnings and thunderings and voices.
[00:13:41] Seven lamps of fire were burning before the throne, which is the seven spirits of God. The Holy Spirit is burning before the throne.
[00:13:51] It's amazing.
[00:13:53] Revelation 5, 6. This blew my mind when I read it. And I thought, why have I never seen this before?
[00:14:00] It's talking about Jesus, the precious Lamb of God.
[00:14:07] When John said there was real sadness in heaven because nobody was found worthy to open the seals, but the angel said, don't worry. Behold the lion, the tribe of Judah. He's overcome.
[00:14:19] He's overcome.
[00:14:23] And I looked, John says, in this vision in Revelation 5, 6. And I looked. And behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures, and in the midst of the elders stood a lamb. Who is the lamb?
[00:14:37] Jesus.
[00:14:39] As though it had been slain. Having seven horns, seven horns is a description of perfect authority, complete authority.
[00:14:51] And Seven eyes, which are the seven spirits of God. The Holy Spirit.
[00:14:57] The Holy Spirit is right in the midst of the throne with Jesus, the Lamb of God.
[00:15:06] The Holy Spirit was there in the incarnation. The Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of creation, in the incarnation. The Holy Spirit was there at the beginning of the ministry of Jesus. And now he's with him right in the end.
[00:15:19] The Lamb and the Holy Spirit together.
[00:15:23] Now I want to tell you a little bit what Jesus said about the Holy Spirit.
[00:15:29] Man, he's precious.
[00:15:33] I've had wonderful encounters with the Holy Spirit.
[00:15:38] Precious encounters.
[00:15:40] Things that I've experienced can only be described, if not of this world.
[00:15:45] John 14, 16, 17. Jesus said this.
[00:15:51] I will pray the Father, and he will give you another comforter, helper, or parakletos in Greek, that he will abide with you forever.
[00:16:08] Forever.
[00:16:11] I want to say something here in passing.
[00:16:14] I do not like prayers. When people say, lord, please be with me.
[00:16:19] Jesus said, I will never leave you nor forsake you.
[00:16:25] Why are you asking that I'm going to be there? I told you I was going to be there.
[00:16:30] And the Bible said, forever.
[00:16:34] You know, you might grieve the Holy Spirit, you might quench the Holy Spirit, but he's not going to leave you.
[00:16:42] Because we don't understand the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:16:48] We don't understand the redemptive power of the blood of Jesus Christ that he's brought you with a price. You're his.
[00:16:58] And Jesus said, the spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, but you will know him, for he dwells with you.
[00:17:10] They've known the experience, didn't they? Those early disciples, they could see all the signs and wonders. He was dwelling with them.
[00:17:16] Oh, yeah, they could sense it.
[00:17:19] But Jesus said, he'll be in you.
[00:17:23] Wow me, this person, this human me.
[00:17:35] But we've been washed in the blood of Christ.
[00:17:38] John 14:26.
[00:17:41] Jesus said, but the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name. See, it's got Trinity all over the place, hasn't it?
[00:17:49] The threeness of God.
[00:17:51] He will teach you all things and bring all things to your remembrance. All the things that I said to you.
[00:17:59] Oh, is that so wonderful?
[00:18:01] John 15:26. But when the helper comes, whom I shall send, that's Jesus to you. From who? The Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds or flows from the Father, he will testify of me.
[00:18:21] The Holy Spirit always testifies of Jesus, always glorifies Jesus, always exalts Jesus.
[00:18:30] John 16:7 I don't know how many of you have been watching the series the Chosen, and it gets to the Last Supper scenes, and Jesus is telling them some incredible things and they're getting really, really upset because he says, I'm going away.
[00:18:51] And then he said something incredible. John 16, verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. They must have gone. What?
[00:19:02] How can that be to our advantage?
[00:19:08] Duh. I don't understand all the miracles you do, Jesus. How can you say if you go, it's going to be better?
[00:19:19] Because Jesus says the Holy Spirit is going to be in you.
[00:19:25] Acts, chapter one.
[00:19:28] Jesus said, john, truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit. Not for many days now.
[00:19:38] One of the last things he said before departing to heaven in Acts chapter one. But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you.
[00:19:47] You shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and to the ends of the earth.
[00:19:55] A few more verses.
[00:19:57] John 16:13.
[00:19:59] However, when he, the Holy Spirit, the Spirit of truth has come, he will guide you into all truth.
[00:20:09] For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak. And he will tell you things to come.
[00:20:16] He will glorify me for you take of what is mine and declare it to you. Oh, thank you, Holy Spirit.
[00:20:28] And finally, just before we get into pray, the kids have been incredible, haven't they?
[00:20:33] Who gave them the sleeping tablets? I don't know.
[00:20:39] Second Corinthians.
[00:20:41] This needs to be a living experience.
[00:20:44] 13:14.
[00:20:46] May the grace. Understand grace in your life. People understand grace, because I don't think I understand it very well. Understand the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
[00:21:01] Wow.
[00:21:05] And the love of God and the fellowship or the communion of the Holy Spirit.
[00:21:20] May it be a living experience with you.
[00:21:26] May it be that you understand who the Holy Spirit is. A little bit more this morning that you would talk to the Holy Spirit and you would say, holy Spirit, would you teach me?
[00:21:39] Would you show me Jesus, Holy Spirit, you know he has wonderful gifts.
[00:21:46] Paul describes them in Corinthians, doesn't he?
[00:21:50] Tongues. Interpretation of tongues. Prophecy, word of knowledge, word of wisdom. Discerning of spirits, the gift of faith, the gifts of healings, the gift of working, of miracles. All those gifts are within the Holy Spirit. And where does the Holy Spirit live now?
[00:22:06] Come on, everyone point at the church in me.
[00:22:09] All those gifts are in the Holy Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is in you.
[00:22:17] Wonderful, precious, Holy Spirit.
[00:22:25] We need today, say Holy Spirit, I want to know you better.
[00:22:35] I want you to teach me. Holy Spirit.
[00:22:40] Some of us, like me, have grieved the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:46] Some of us have quenched the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:52] Some of us have ignored the Holy Spirit.
[00:22:59] Some of us have allowed sin in our lives that grieves the Spirit.
[00:23:08] But the Bible says today if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just, forgives our sins and he cleanses us from all unrighteousness. That today start a fresh relationship with the Holy Spirit.
[00:23:26] Talk to the Holy Spirit, because he'll talk to you about Jesus.
[00:23:30] Let us pray.
[00:23:32] Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Lord.
[00:23:42] Those of us who know that we've ignored or grieved or quenched the Holy Spirit, just with every eye closed, just as it were, just lift your holy hands to the Lord and say, holy Spirit, I want to know you better today.
[00:24:05] Forgive me for ignoring you, for quenching you.
[00:24:10] Holy Spirit, reveal Jesus to me.
[00:24:15] Reveal the power of the blood to me.
[00:24:18] Reveal the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ to me.
[00:24:23] Empower me to be a witness for Jesus.
[00:24:28] Help me to flow in the gifts of the Spirit that you've given that are all in you.
[00:24:33] Holy Spirit, this day we ask you for your forgiveness.
[00:24:40] We ask that you'd help us walk as we ought to walk.
[00:24:45] That you would help us fulfill our ministries that you've called us to do through the power of the Holy Spirit.
[00:24:55] Lord, I thank you. You love us so much.
[00:25:00] You love us so much.
[00:25:04] I can't go any further without asking with every eye still closed.
[00:25:08] You know, if you've not received Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior, now is the day to do it.
[00:25:15] You know, Jesus Christ died for you according to the Scriptures.
[00:25:21] He died for your sin according to the Scripture.
[00:25:24] He was crucified and rose on the third day according to the Scriptures.
[00:25:29] And he is alive and he loves you with an everlasting love.
[00:25:35] You know, your purpose in life is to know him, the true God and Jesus Christ whom he sent.
[00:25:44] So if you want to know Jesus or you want to commit your life back to the Lord, just raise your hands and say, I want somebody to pray for me this morning. If that's you, just lift your hands.
[00:25:56] Thank you.
[00:25:58] Thank you.
[00:26:00] Thank you, Lord.
[00:26:07] Lord, I thank you for your precious love this morning.
[00:26:12] I thank you for your precious presence that never leaves us nor forsakes us in Jesus precious name.
[00:26:24] Thank you, Lord.
[00:26:25] Oh, isn't the Holy Spirit good?
