All right, turn if you would, you're in John chapter 8, just flip over to John 14, come
back to John 8, flip over to John 14, and this morning I want to preach about the Holy
Spirit.
Now, I think the Holy Spirit is someone that we don't give enough emphasis to in our lives,
we maybe don't think about enough and preach about enough in churches today, because first
of all, the Holy Spirit is a person, the Holy Spirit is God, and the Holy Spirit according
to the Bible, indwells every single believer.
Look if you would at John 14, 25, and it says in John 14, 25,
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall
teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance whatsoever I have said
unto you.
So this person, the Holy Spirit, who is God, the Bible says there are three that bear record
in heaven, the Father, the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
The Holy Spirit is the one who is to teach you everything that you know, everything that
you believe, everything that you learn from the Bible, everything that you learn in church
is taught to you according to the Bible by the Holy Ghost.
Now it says in chapter 16, flip over if you would, actually I want to show you something,
verse 18, because a lot of people don't believe in the Trinity, they don't believe that Jesus
is God, they don't believe that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Jehovah's Witnesses say that the Holy Spirit is just a force, but not a person,
even though the Bible calls it Eve, and the Bible says that I send him to you, the Bible
says that the Holy Spirit can be grieved, the Holy Spirit can be quenched, the Holy
Spirit can sorrow, the Holy Spirit can basically be angry, as we see in the book of Hebrews,
but look at John 14, 18, this is interesting.
He says I will not leave you comfortless, who is going to come unto you?
I will come unto you.
So he said I'm going to send the Comforter, I'm going to send the Holy Spirit, he said
I'm not going to leave you comfortless, I will come unto you.
Because the Bible says in 2 Corinthians 13 for example, he said examine yourselves whether
you be in the faith, prove your own selves, know ye not your own selves, how that Jesus
Christ is in you, except ye be reparations.
He said in Colossians 2, Christ in you, the hope of glory.
He said in Romans 8, if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
So the comfort of the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of Christ.
He's a part of the Godhead, the Father, the Word and the Holy Ghost, these three are one.
He's God.
Look at chapter 16 verse 12, it says I have many things to say unto you, but ye cannot
bear them now, albeit when he, does that sound like a force to you?
He said when he, the Spirit of Truth, is come, that's a person, he will guide you into all
truth, for he shall not speak of himself, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he
speak, and he will show you things to come.
He shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine, and shall sow it unto you.
So the Holy Spirit is a person that indwells every single believer.
The Bible says that if you're saved, you're indwelled by the Holy Spirit.
You're indwelled by the Holy Ghost.
He is the one who's going to lead you.
He's the one who's going to teach you the Bible.
He's the one who's going to guide you and direct you, and the Bible says that he is
the one who's going to bring all things to remembrance that Jesus has spoken of you.
When you read the Bible, you're basically listening to the voice of Jesus Christ speaking
to you.
Well, the Holy Spirit, according to the Bible, is the one that's going to bring that to your
remembrance.
You're going to be going through your life, something's going to pop into your mind, a
scripture verse that's going to tell you whether to go to the right hand or the left.
You have a decision to make, you're trying to decide what you're going to do.
That verse from the Bible that comes into your head, that's the Holy Spirit bringing
that to your remembrance, trying to show you what to do in your life when you're out sowing
and you're trying to get the gospel somebody and they're just not getting it, and then
all of a sudden that verse pops into your mind.
You take them there, and that was the verse that helped explain it to that person to where
they can understand the gospel and be saved.
That is the Holy Spirit leading you, directing you.
Now why is this so important?
Well, turn if you went to John 8 where I had you start, John chapter 8.
John chapter number 8, we're going to see a lot of things about the Holy Spirit.
I preached other sermons about the Holy Ghost upon you, and basically the power of the Holy
Spirit, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, that's not what I'm preaching about this morning,
that's another sermon.
And that's a vital sermon, that's an important message.
But tonight, or this morning, I'm going to be preaching about the Holy Spirit's working
within you, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that's going to guide you and teach you and
help you to understand the Bible.
Look at John chapter 8, 47, the Bible says, he that is of God heareth God's words.
He therefore cannot, he said, he therefore hear them not because ye are not of God.
Do you see that?
He that is of God, I'm going to read it again, he that is of God heareth God's words, he
therefore hear them not because ye are not of God.
Look where he says you cannot hear them in verse 43.
Why do you not understand my speech?
Even because ye cannot hear my word.
You see, without being saved, according to the Bible, you cannot understand the Bible.
You cannot understand the things of God.
Look at John chapter 10, just one page over, verse number 1.
Barely, barely, I say unto you, he that enterth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth
up some other way, the same as a thief and a robber.
But he that enterth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep, of course we know that
Jesus is the good shepherd.
It says to him, the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own
sheep by name, and leadeth them out.
And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him,
for they know his voice.
And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice
of strangers.
This parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what things they were which
he spake unto them.
Then said Jesus unto them again, Barely, barely, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.
All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door.
By me, if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.
The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.
I am the good shepherd, the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.
Now what is the Bible saying to you?
The Bible says that those sheep are the ones that are saved, those who believe on Jesus Christ.
They are the sheep.
One day the sheep will be separated from the goats.
And the Bible says the good shepherd knows his sheep, he gave his life for his sheep,
he calls them by name, and they follow him.
He says they will not follow another, a stranger will they flee from, for they know not the
voice of strangers.
And what is interesting is that just when he finished saying this in verse 6, it says
this parable spake Jesus said to them, but they understood not what things they were
which he spake unto them.
Why?
Because they were not saved.
Because he that is of God heareth God's word he told the Pharisees, ye therefore hear them
not because ye are not of God.
Now look if you would at Romans chapter 8.
Romans chapter 8 is probably the greatest chapter in the Bible on the Holy Spirit.
You know different chapters are kind of known for different things.
We think of 1 Corinthians chapter 13 as being all about charity, it's a very famous chapter.
We think of Romans 8 as basically the chapter that really emphasizes the Holy Spirit more
than any other chapter.
We think of a chapter on faith, what would we think of?
In verse chapter 11 right, it's the great faith chapter.
Different chapters in the Bible, what chapter would you think of as being all about the
word of God?
Psalm 119 right, every single verse, 176 verses, all about God's word, all about the
word of God.
And so different chapters are known for different things.
This chapter is really the Holy Spirit chapter.
I mean if you want to get your doctrine and get a lot of great teaching and just really
understand the concept of who the Holy Spirit is and what he does, Romans 8 is the place
to be.
Look at verse number 1, it says there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in Christ
Jesus who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin
and death.
For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own
Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and for sin condemned sin in the flesh that the righteousness
of the law might be fulfilled in us who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.
For they that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but they that are
after the Spirit the things of the Spirit.
For to be carnally minded, what is carnally minded?
Fleshly minded.
He said to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.
Now watch this, because the carnal mind is enmity against God, for it is not subject
to the law of God, neither indeed can be.
So then they that are in the flesh cannot please God, but ye are not in the flesh, but
in the Spirit if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you.
Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his.
So if you're saved, the Bible says, you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you or you're
none of his.
Look at verse 14, for as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
For we have not received the Spirit of bondage again in fear, but ye have received the Spirit
of adoption whereby we cry, Abba Father, the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God.
Look at John 5, you don't have to turn there, but it says, basically, he that believeth
on the Son of God hath the witness in himself.
Who is the witness?
The Holy Spirit, because he said there are three that bear record in heaven, the Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one.
If we receive the witness of man, the witness of God is greater, for this is the witness
of God which he had testified of his Son.
He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself, the one that testifies,
the Holy Ghost.
He said witness, testify, are both synonymous, and he's saying he that believeth on the Son
of God hath the witness in himself.
So if you believe on the Son of God, you have the Holy Spirit within yourself.
He that believeth not God hath made him a liar, because he believeth not the record
that God gave of his Son, and this is the record that God hath given to us eternal life,
and this life is in his Son.
He that hath the Son hath life, he that hath not the Son of God hath not life.
These things have I written unto you that believe on the name of the Son of God, that
you may know that you have eternal life, and that you may believe on the name of the Son
of God.
How do I know that I'm saved?
How do I know that I have eternal life?
How do I know?
Because the Bible says the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God.
See, those who are saved know they're saved.
They know they're saved because they have the witness in themselves, and because the
Spirit itself beareth witness with their spirit that they are the children of God.
People who are saved understand God's Word.
When they hear Jesus Christ preach, whether in person when he was on this earth, or whether
they're reading it in the Bible, we understand it because we're saved.
Because we are his sheep, we hear his voice, we recognize his voice, we know the voice
of the shepherd, and we comprehend what is said to us because we're saved.
The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 2, it says, But the natural man receiveth not the things
of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned.
The Bible says that a person who is unsaved, the natural man, cannot understand the Word
of God.
It says that he cannot receive the things of the Spirit of God.
They're foolishness unto him, neither can he know them, because they are spiritually
discerned.
The Bible says here that we know we're saved because the Holy Spirit tells us we're saved.
We know the voice of the shepherd, we know the voice of Jesus Christ, because when we
hear God's Word preached, the Holy Spirit is within us, telling us, yes, that is the
truth.
Yes, what you're hearing is God's Word.
Now wait a minute.
What about those who are saved and they're following another shepherd?
No, they don't exist, because the Bible says, He that is of God heareth God's words, ye
therefore hear them not, and ye not of God.
He said that the sheep know the voice of the shepherd, and they follow him, and they will
not follow another, for they know not the voice of strangers.
Now you see, a lot of people misunderstand this, and they say, wait, does that mean that
everybody who's saved is just going to follow Jesus, live a perfect life, walk in his footsteps,
and not commit sin, and they're going to be going to church every week?
No, that's not what he's saying.
He said, all that came before me, he said, were thieves and robbers, he said, anybody
else who came before me claiming to be some kind of a messiah, claiming to be the savior,
claiming to be God, he said, obviously they're all fraud, he said, I'm the only savior, and
he said, my sheep hear my voice, he said, they will not follow another, they know not
the voice of strangers.
Now think about this, Matthew 24 says this, that the antichrist will be so deceptive,
he says that he would deceive the very elect if it were possible, which means what?
That it's not possible, did you get that?
He said, he'd be deceiving the very elect if it were possible, because wait a minute,
those who are saved have the Holy Spirit inside them, when a false teacher and a false prophet
gets up, and basically is preaching to them a false Jesus, a false Christ, a false gospel,
they know it's not right, they don't recognize the voice of Jesus, they say, wait a minute,
that's the voice of a stranger, wait a minute, that's false, and you see today we have Christians
who say, oh, you know, we get these people saved, and if we don't disciple them, they're
going to end up in the cults of Mormonism and Jehovah's Witness, no they're not, if
they end up a Mormon or a Jehovah's Witness, then they were never saved, my friend, get
it straight, and you say, oh, you're preaching, you know, Lord, no I'm not, because I'm saying
that a Christian who's a born-again, saved believer, can commit all manner of sin and
can be a drunk, and can never go to church, and might get backslidden and commit adultery
like David, or commit murder like Moses, or be drunken like Noah, or commit murder like
David, and do all these different things, but wait a minute, a saved, believing Christian
will not believe another gospel, because they have the Holy Spirit inside of them that's
guiding them and leading them into all truth, and when they hear that other gospel, when
they sit in that Roman Catholic church, they know it's a bunch of baloney, they don't
even have to be taught that, because the Holy Spirit is going to tell them, hey, that's
not the voice of the shepherds, this is not the voice of Jesus, I could give you so many
examples of this from my own life, one of my favorite songs in the hymnal is song 110,
All the Way My Savior Leads Me, and you know what, that is the truest song in the hymnal,
All the Way My Savior Leads Me, the Bible says here that we're led by the Holy Spirit,
He guides us, He directs us, He leads us through life, and you see, so many times throughout
my life, I was ignorant of what the truth was, I didn't read the Bible like I should
have, I wasn't getting the preaching that I should have been getting, and yet, because
I was saved at the age of six years old, I would sit in church and hear false doctrine
preach, and I knew it was false, I just said, you know what, this isn't right, and I couldn't
even put my finger on it, I remember I sat from the age of about 12 through 16, about
five years inclusively, 12 through 16, I sat in churches that preached the NIV, the New
International Version, and I had my King James Version in my lap, no one had taught me why
the King James was right and these other versions were wrong, I didn't even know that, I thought
that the NIV was just another translation, and I had no clue, nobody had ever explained
to me that this one's right, this one's wrong, it had been changed, nobody told me they were
going to mention it, but I sat there, and I had the King James Version in my lap, and
I wasn't a Bible scholar, I was just a kid, I was into video games, watching TV, and everything
like that, but yet I sat in church, and I heard the NIV preach, and I knew that it was
not the voice of the shepherd, I knew it wasn't God's word, I mean I sat there and nobody
taught me that, I couldn't have explained to you, and people came to me, I remember
the youth pastor came to me, and he said, you need to get the New International Version,
he said, why are you on the King James Version? He said, it's too hard for you to understand.
And I told him, I said, no I'm fine with it, I understand, no you need the NIV, it's more
accurate, it's easier to understand, and he would try to convince me, and they would always
try to pin me down, why Steve, why are you still using the King James, and I mean I had
several different youth pastors try to pin me down, other kids would laugh at me, and
wonder why I'm using the King James, and they would try to pin me down, and I was embarrassed
and ashamed, because I didn't know, I didn't have an answer, and I would try to give them
an answer, and it would be a wrong answer, because I didn't even know what I was talking
about, I'd say like, well I'm just using the King James, because you know, and I'd try
to like stammer and stutter and make stuff up, and they'd say no that's not true, you're
wrong, I just didn't know, and then finally it would just come down to, hey look I'm just
going to use it, I just want to, I just like it, and honestly it sounds dumb, but that's
really all I had, but you know what, that was enough, because all I had was the Holy
Spirit telling me, wait a minute, that's not the voice of the shepherd, and then when I
heard the King James Bible, I said wait a minute, this is God speaking to me, the power
of God's word, the Bible says the word of God is quick and powerful, and sharper than
any two-edged sword, piercing even the dividing thunder of soul, spirit of the joints and
marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart, let me tell you
something, the word of God has power, the NIV has no power, the voice of the shepherd
is powerful, the Bible says the voice of the Lord is powerful, Psalm 29, the voice of the
Lord breaketh the cedars, the voice of the Lord is magnificent, and the voice of man
is just the voice of man, and you sit there and listen to the NIV, it has no power, it's
like the butter knife of the NIV, they're going to spread, they're going to spread the
soul and spirit, and it has the power to spread, but it doesn't have the power to cut, because
it's so dull, it's so watered down, and I knew that is not the truth, I sat and listened
to the preacher preach the NIV, preach the NIV, that is not the truth, this is the truth,
no one had to teach me that, because I just recognized the voice of God, as opposed to
the voice of man. Now why was it that all those other teenagers would laugh at the King
James? And they would laugh at it and say, you know, what are you, using that? And they'd
say, how can you understand that? You need the NIV. I'll tell you why, because most of
those teens ended up not being taken. This is just the honest truth about it. The sad
honest truth was that later on I realized, and right about the time that I left that
church, I realized it was because they were not saved. That's why they preferred the NIV.
Because the spiritual book written by God, you've got to be saved to understand it. That's
what the Bible says. The unsaved man cannot understand the Bible. Remember Philip and
the Ethiopian eunuch? The eunuch said, I can't understand it. He said, how can I, except
some man, should guide me? And so the unsaved person, when they read the scripture according
to Galatians 4, the veil is over their face. But when they turn to Christ, when they believe
on him, the veil is removed. Now they can understand. Do you remember when Jesus Christ
breathed on them and said, receive the Holy Ghost? And the Bible says he opened their
understanding of the scriptures? You see, the children in the church that I went to,
the teens, they weren't saved. That's why they loved the NIV and that's why they could
not comprehend why I wanted the King James Version. You say, well, how do you know they
weren't saved? Well, first of all, my first sign was that, you know, they didn't hear
the voice of the shepherd. Now, I didn't know that back then. Okay, now I look back and
I see that. But wait a minute. I remember shortly before, and this, you know, this is
a funny story just because, you know, we're teenagers and we were all swimming, okay?
Because instead of church on Wednesday nights at this church, in the summertime, they would
cancel Wednesday night church. And they would have for the teens, it was called a pool of
emotions, okay? And basically all the girls would strip down into their bikinis and bathing
suits, you know? And then all the guys would put on their trunks and we'd go swimming for
an hour and a half at a male gynecologist's house that was a member of the church, okay?
He was like one of the top guys in the church and he was a male gynecologist. We'd all go
swim in his backyard, you know, and we only had pure and clean righteous thoughts, you
know? It was all about the Bible. But we're just swimming with a bunch of girls for an
hour and a half. And then at the end of that hour and a half, there would be literally
a five-minute devotional, okay? And sometimes we didn't even get to the devotional is the
true story. Sometimes it was just nothing but swimming. Okay, so this is the kind of
church I was going to when I was a teenager. This is where my parents took me, you know?
It's not my fault, right? But anyway, so here I am going to this church and this is right
before I told my parents. I was like, you know, we need to try this other church. And
they agreed with me because they saw the same things I was seeing. And so we all switched
to Regency Baptist, Fundamental Baptist Church. Well, this girl was, you know, she had her
head like wrapped in a towel and it was kind of like draping over and so she looked kind
of like a nun, okay? And so somebody said like, hey, it's Mother Teresa, okay? Like,
you know, because she had this weird head covering that she had built out of the towel.
And I said, hey, you know, I'm just a silly teenager, you know what I mean? I said, hey,
I got an impression of Mother Teresa. And I said, because she was dead. And then I said,
hey, I got another impression of Mother Teresa. I said, because she's burning in hell right
now. And my friends were like, what's wrong with you? How did you say that? And all my
friends just flipped out like, what are you doing? Like, that's a blast for me. Like,
you're a big kid, you're on a golly. I said, oh, you know, I'm going out. And I sat there
and I explained to them, I said, wait a minute. I said, do you think that Mother Teresa is
safe? Of course. And this is a Baptist Church. Every single kid in the youth group said of
course. And they said she did all these wonderful things. She's feeding the poor, she's helping
all these people. I'm like, wait a minute, is that how you get to heaven? I'm like, are
you kidding me? And then we got in this big discussion at this swimming pool. Because
usually we weren't talking about spiritual things. But all of a sudden we started talking
about spiritual things. And some of them started to say things like this. Well, you know, back
then I wasn't really living for God. I don't even think I would have gone to heaven if
I would have died back then. Like, I was saved as a kid, but then there was, this is what
they said, I was saved, but then there was a time where I got kind of backslidden away
from God. I'm not even sure if I would have gone to heaven during that time, because I
was so distant from church and things of God. But then now I'm back on track, now I'm
pretty sure I go to heaven. So it just started to become apparent that these people... And
it was shocking to me, because you just assume, yeah, it's faith, it's belief. You know, that's
just where I grew up. I thought that's what Baptists believe. But in these churches that
are so watered down, they're not preaching a lot of doctrine, you don't really realize
how many unsaved people are around you in the church. And even though the pastor did
believe it was faith, and it was grace, and that you can't lose it, these teens did not
know that, because they weren't getting solid preaching. The pastor wasn't preaching the
Word, he wasn't teaching doctrine. And so all these teens were saying, and I said, what
do you know about Mother Teresa? I said, you know she's a Catholic? You know that she fed
the homeless, but wait a minute, is that what saves you? I said, have you ever heard Mother
Teresa speak? Can you tell me one thing she ever said? And they said no. I said, that's
because she doesn't even speak English. You know, so you bet you haven't heard her say
anything, and yet you're going to swear to me that she's saved because she's a Catholic?
Because she's out helping people? You know, and then we got in this big discussion about
it, and it was kind of shocking to me that they did not understand the Gospel, and they
thought that anybody who's that good must be on their way to heaven. You know, and then
if you do bad, even if you're a believer, you're going to go to hell they say. I mean
and then a guy got up a week later, one week later, a teen from the youth group got up
and started giving his testimony, and he said this, he said, well I know that faith
and works are tied together. You know, I know they're tied in, and he said, but I'm just,
he said, I'm still trying to figure out whether you have to do the works to be saved, or whether
when you're saved you'll just automatically do the works as a byproduct. Because I know
it's faith and works. I'm just trying to decide whether you have to do the works in order
to get saved. Wait a minute, if faith and works are the same thing, then why are you
saved by grace? Are you saved through faith? Not of works. So faith and works, somebody,
I heard this, remember at that funeral we were at? Faith, he said, you can't have faith
without works, you can't have works without faith. The two go together, he said, you can't
have faith without works. He said, where there's one, there's the other. Do you remember that
statement? He said, where you find one, you find together. Is that why he says faith without
works is dead? I thought the two were always together. I thought they were always together.
Why did he say you're saved by grace through faith? Not of works. Why did he say, but to
him that worketh not, but believeeth not. That means you can believe and work not. And
so this led me to understand that the sea, and it was horrifying to me, because these
are my friends that I've been friends with for years, that I love, they're my good friends.
And all of a sudden I started to realize, these people aren't even saved. They think
you can lose your salvation, they think salvation's by works. And then now it's no wonder to me
why they don't even have the right Bible, because they don't even know what the voice
of Jesus Christ is. When I read the voice of Jesus Christ, I'm reading the Bible, and
they heard God's Spirit speak, because we'd sit down in these little Bible studies, my
friend, and we'd go around in a circle, and I'd read five verses, then he'd read five
verses, then he'd read five verses. Everything else was NIV. And it would come to my turn
to read, it'd be the King James.
Why didn't they hear God's Word and say, wow, wow, that's powerful. Why didn't they
hear me read those five verses from the King James Version, and all of a sudden they say,
wait a minute, that sounds like God. That sounds like the Holy Spirit. That sounds like
Jesus Christ. They couldn't even tell, they couldn't even comprehend it. They couldn't
see it, because it turned out that they weren't even saved when you went and factored later.
And these churches, and look, this is not going to be a popular statement with a lot
of people, but I'm here to tell you, these people who prefer the NIV and prefer the New
American Center, there's a reason why, folks. It's because they're not saved, that's why.
That's why. You say, well, I thought all a person has to do is just believe, are you
adding to it? No. All a person has to do is just believe that Jesus Christ is the only
way out. But I'm going to tell you something, people who believe that recognize the voice
of the shepherd, and that's why the people that you question, whenever we're out sowing
you, look, we know, because we go sowing. I mean, we knock doors, and the people who
say, I know I'm saved, I know I'm going to heaven, if I say, do you base that on something
out of the Bible? They don't quote you the NIV to tell you why they know you can't lose
it as a gift. They usually quote you something from the King James. And even if they're going
to an NIV church, they'll say, oh, I got saved back yonder in a Baptist church, and they'll
quote you some scripture out of the King James Version. And look, a lot of people go to these
NIV churches like I did, just because they're ignorant, just because they haven't been talked.
Just because they haven't been led. And I went to an NIV church, you know, that's where
my parents brought me, for five years. But wait a minute, I could see it, though. I mean,
I could hear the difference, and whenever somebody did preach to me something from the
King James, that jumped out at me, and I said, that's right, that's the truth. And I heard
so many things over those years, where I didn't know why they were wrong. But I just knew
it was wrong, because the Holy Spirit was telling me it's wrong. Don't downplay the
Holy Spirit, my friend, that's what the sermon's about this morning. Don't downplay the role
of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit lives inside of every believer. And don't discount
his influence and his power. Because I'll tell you something, I'm where I'm at today
because of the Holy Spirit. I mean, the Holy Spirit is the one that led me to Bible preaching,
to King James Version, to soul winning. I was led there by the Holy Ghost. I didn't
just stumble upon it, it wasn't just random. The Bible says, ask and ye shall receive,
seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened unto you for everyone that asketh
receiveth, everyone that seeketh findeth, and to him that knocketh it shall be opened.
If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, they give it to all men liberally, and
upbraideth not. God will reveal to you the truth if you want to know the truth. God will
lead you to the right church if you want to go to the right church. God will teach you
the Bible if you want to know the Bible. And so if you seek and ask God and ask the Holy
Spirit, Holy Spirit lead me, guide me, direct me, show me the truth. That's his job. He's
the comforter to strengthen you, yes. But the Bible says that he'll guide you into all
truth. He'll bring to remembrance the things that Jesus Christ has spoken unto you. He'll
lead you, he'll guide you, he'll direct you, he'll take you where you need to go in life.
And when you're sitting in church and something tells you, wait a minute, this is wrong. Wait
a minute, this doesn't sound right. And then a lot of times you go back and that was God's
Spirit warning you, showing you of the danger of the false start. And then another time
you'll hear something preached and something just tells you that's right. I just know it
in my heart that what's being preached is right. That's the Holy Spirit testifying to
you of his word. He said, the Spirit itself, bear witness with our spirit that we're the
children of God. But back in Romans 8, are you still in Romans 8? Is that where I had
you turn? Let's go a little bit further in Romans 8. He said in verse 14, for as many
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God. For ye have not received
the spirit of bondage again to fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption whereby
we cry, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself, beareth witness with our spirit that we are the children
of God, and if children, then heirs. Heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if so be
that we suffer with them, that we may be also glorified together. So here's what's interesting
about that verse. Notice that if we're children, then what are we? Then heirs. Do you see the
verse in verse 17? If children, then heirs. Because the son is the heir, basically, according
to the Bible. The son is the one who's going to inherit. Now, who is the ultimate heir?
Well, that's Jesus Christ, the Son of God. It says that we as believers, if we believe
on Jesus Christ, we're God's children also, we're joint heirs with Christ. Do you see
that? He said right here, if children, then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ,
if so be that we suffer with them, that we may be also glorified together. Keep your
finger there. Look at Hebrews chapter one. Look at Hebrews chapter one. Hebrews chapter
one, you see a lot of Baptists today, and this is why I was taught in Bible college.
This is what the typical Bible, pretty much every Bible college is going to teach you
this. And they're going to teach you that the angels are sons of God. Put up your hand
if you've ever heard that before. The angels are God's sons. And they come up with all
this crazy stuff, and they try to say that people did not go to heaven in the Old Testament,
because of course, in the Old Testament you've got the sons of God in heaven, in Job 1 and
Job 2. The sons of God are in heaven presenting themselves for the Lord, and they say, well,
that's not Satan or a gay Christian, that's the angels. And then they'll try to say about
Genesis 6, they come up with all this weird demonic doctrine, satanic doctrine about how
the angels are procreating with human beings. When the Bible says that the angels neither
are married nor are given in marriage. But wait a minute, look at Hebrews chapter 1.
And by the way, the NIV, the New International Version, changes sons of God in the Old Testament
to angels. And then it puts a footnote at the bottom, Hebrew says sons of God. Well,
if the Hebrew says sons of God, would you mind translating it into English like that?
Instead of just changing it to angels? But they say, well, the angels are also called
God's sons. And do you want to know what's so warped about that? Is that in Genesis 6,
the sons of God marrying the daughters of men, that's talking about basically born again
and saved Christians marrying unbelievers. But wait a minute, he says the sons of God,
that grieved God and made him angry and upset, that's probably why he sent a foot. So those
would be bad angels, wouldn't they? If they were, let's for example say that they were
angels, which they're not. That would be bad angels like devils. So basically they're saying
that the demons and devils are God's sons? That's some pretty weird doctrine. I guess
somebody's possessed with the son of God? He's son of God possessed. See how wicked
this doctrine is? It's satanic doctrine, my friend. Look, it's satanic, okay? Because
it says that it's sons of God are the devil, that's what the Mormons are teaching, that
the devil is the son of God. No, Jesus is the son of God, and I'm God's son because
I'm a joint heir with Christ, I've been adopted, and we're going to get to the adoption, that's
part of why I'm bringing this up in Romans 8 as we go through. Look at Hebrews 1 and
tell me if the angels are God's sons. Verse 5, for unto which of the angels, well look
at verse 4, being made so much better than the angels as he had by inheritance obtained
a more excellent name than they. Talking about Jesus. For unto which of the angels said he
at any time, thou art my son, this day have I begotten thee, and again I will be to him
a father, and he shall be to me a son. So wait a minute, the difference between Jesus
and the angels, Jesus was the son of God. He said to him, thou art my son, this day
I have begotten thee. Did he say that to any of the angels at any time? No. Look down,
if you would, at verse number 13. But to which of the angels said he at any time, sit on
my right hand until I make thine enemies thy footstool, are they not, who are they?
The angels. Are they not all ministering spirits sent forth to minister for them who shall
be heirs of salvation? So who are the heirs of salvation? The angels? No. Believers, because
the Bible says, behold what manner of love the Father has bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. The Bible says, be born again. That's what we are. Be born
again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible by the word of God, which liveth and abideth
forever. The Bible says he hath begotten us again unto a lively hope. We are God's sons.
We are God's children. The Bible says, but as many as received him, to them gave thee
power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name. So if you're
a believer, you are a son of God. And if you're a son of God, then you're an heir. And if
you're an heir, then you're a joint heir with Jesus Christ. But wait a minute. Are the angels
heirs? No. They're God. They were created to minister to those who would be heirs. They're
there basically to serve us. They're not the heir. They're ministering to the heir. They're
not the son. They're ministering to the son. I mean, right there twice in Hebrews 1, he's
basically saying they're not God's sons. They're not heirs. They're not the children of God.
And yet these false teachers will teach that the angels are somehow God's son. No. Jesus
Christ, the son of God, and those who believe on him are adopted as his sons. We're born
again in the family of God. The angels are not born again. They cannot receive salvation.
They're not the heirs of salvation. We are the heirs of salvation. We're born again.
Go back to Romans 8. I just wanted to show you that in Hebrews 1. But look at Romans
8. He said in verse number 15, For ye have not received the spirit of bondage again to
fear, but ye have received the spirit of adoption, whereby we cry, Abba, Father. So that's the
difference there with the angels. Look at verse 26. It says, Likewise the spirit also
helpeth our infirmities. For we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit
itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searcheth
the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit, because he maketh intercession for
the saints according to the will of God. And we know, watch this, that all things work
together for good, to them that love God, and to them who are the called according to
his purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the
image of his Son. Now watch this. That he might be the firstborn among many brethren.
You see that? Jesus is the firstborn among many brethren. Jesus is the firstborn son
of God, but I'm also a son of God. You're also a son of God. We are all the children
of God by faith, which is in Christ Jesus, the Bible says. The angels? No. And that's
why the Bible's telling us here that the Spirit of God is basically what gives us that
adoption. That's that incorruptible seed. The Word of God. Because he said the words
that I say unto you, they are spirit and they are life. Does that make sense? Because the
Spirit, the words are the Spirit according to Jesus, that's what he said. He said thy
word is truth, and then he said I am the truth, because you have the Trinity. The Father,
the Word, and the Holy Ghost, and these three are one. Here's a great verse. Titus 3,
5. Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved
us by the washing of regeneration and renewing of the Holy Ghost. So the Holy Ghost is the
one who saves us through the Word of God. So he says here that we know that all things
work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his
purpose. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate to be conformed to the image
of his Son. Now is that verse saying that God chooses who is saved? No. It says that
God foreknew who would be saved. He foreknew that Stephen L. Anderson would believe on
Jesus Christ, and so he didn't predestinate me to be saved. He predestinated me to be
conformed to the image of his Son. He said since I know that you will believe on Jesus
Christ your destiny is to be conformed to the image of his Son, and one day I will be
conformed to the image of Jesus Christ when he shall change my body, Philippians 3.21,
that it may be fastened like unto his glorious body according to the working whereby he is
able even to subdue all things unto himself. The Bible says that one day I will be in the
image of the Son. As we have borne the image of the earthly, 1 Corinthians 15, talking
about Adam, we shall also bear the image of the elderly, the second Adam, Jesus Christ.
And so let's keep reading. It says, verse 30, Moreover whom he did predestinate, then
he also called, and whom he called, then he also justified, and whom he justified, then
he also glorified. What shall we say to these things? Is God before us who can be against
us? He that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him
also freely give us all things? Who shall lay anything to the charge of God's delight?
It is God that justified. Who is he that condemned it? It is Christ that died, yea,
rather that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also made it to
intercession for us. So that's all the doctrine of the sermon right there. So let's make the
application. That's the doctrine. Let's do a quick review. Number one, according to the
Bible, I showed you several verses, if you believe on Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit is
dwelling inside you. It's not something you get later, it's not something, you know, later
on you may be filled with the Holy Spirit or the Spirit of the Lord come upon you, but
if you're saved, the Bible says Christ is in you, the Spirit of Christ dwelleth in you,
or you're none of his. So the Holy Spirit indwells the believer, number one. Number
two, what is the Holy Spirit's job? To comfort you, which means to strengthen you, to guide
you into all truth, to teach you the Bible, to take God's word and show it to you, to
direct you and to teach you, the Bible says the same anointing, teacheth you of all things,
that is truth and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him. He's
there to teach us, he's there to show us what is right and what is wrong. Basically, when
we hear God's word preached, he's telling us, yes, that's right. When we hear something
false, that's not the voice of the shepherd, he's there telling us, there's something wrong
here, something isn't right about this. Have you ever tasted food and something just isn't right?
You know what I mean? You put the food around there and it's like, I can't believe I figured
out there's something wrong with this food. How about a glass of milk? You take a sip
of milk and then you look at the expiration date and it's like September. That's if you're
at your friend's house, the Robinsons' house. And I was like, what are we having for dinner?
All these bachelor guys, all over the counter there's chips and Diet Coke and all this stuff.
And I'm like, what's for dinner? They're like, oh, I don't know, yeah. So I opened the freezer
and the freezer's empty. The counter's covered in chips, cookies, soda, and all this stuff.
But I opened the freezer, it's just empty. And there's just this one solitary pack of
chicken. And I'm like, great, chicken, let's barbecue some chicken. I pull it out and it
was literally, the date was five, six months expired. No joke. I'm not exaggerating. It
was like five months. And you want to hear the sad part? We ate it anyway. Because I
just said, hey, I was like, it's frozen. It's frozen. And I was like, that's just liability.
They don't want to get in trouble for that date. So we literally, I kid you not, you
ate it. Yeah, you ate something. We took it out of the barbecue and ate it. We're allowed
to tell about it. But the bottom line is, God gave you a nose and a mouth to warn you
of danger. You start to eat something, whoa, man, I don't want to eat that. And it basically
keeps you from eating something poisonous. That's why we just gave the chicken the taste
test. It passed the test. We ate the chicken. Because honestly, that's what brother Dave
told me. He said the sniff test, because we were talking about how long you should
leave leftovers in the fridge before you, and brother Dave said the sniff test would
never steer me wrong. He said, I just take it out and I just give it a little sniff.
And he said, if it smells good, it's good. I don't want to get sued. People are going
to sue me. The president said if it smells okay, we can eat it and we go to the coal
line. That's what brother Dave said. So why did God give us a nose to tell something's
wrong? Do you remember in the Old Testament when Elisha, basically with the sons of the
prophets, they all went out and gathered a bunch of fruits and vegetables and this one
guy found this gourd. And nobody had ever seen it before. Nobody knew what it was. But
they were so hungry, they're like, let's throw this in. So they start chopping up all these
gourds that they'd never seen. And they start stirring it up and these people were really
lean on food and they pretty much put all their last food into the pot. This is all
they had. And they basically threw in this unknown gourd. Like, hey, let's give this
a try. But what happened is they threw it in and they smelled it and they said, there's
death in the pot. And they were really upset because they basically ruined their whole
food supply. Because they had thrown this thing in and it corrupted the whole thing
and that was like their last food. So then Elisha performed a miracle where he basically
straightened it out. And it was a miracle. That was one of the miracles that Elisha did.
It was to basically carry this thing of poison. But let me tell you something, that's why
you have a nose. You ever wonder why you have a nose? Do you understand why you have a mouth
and then touch, see, hear, smell? What's the point? But smell is an important sense. Because
you can tell someone's said to dog food, we need to clean this up. It basically warns
you of things that are dirty and harmful and poisonous. It's a warning. But wait a minute,
that's what the Holy Spirit will do for you spiritually. You'll be in church, you'll hear
something, and you may not know the Bible that well, but sometimes it's alright. The
first time I went to a church where they were speaking in tongues, you better know the Holy
Spirit was like screaming at me, like, no, this is bad. And I got up and left. You smell
things that aren't right because God leads you. The Holy Spirit shows you the voice of
the stranger versus the voice of God. So that's the Holy Spirit's role. He's going to guide
you into all truth. He'll lead you. And when you pray, He'll make warnings for you in Romans
8 that you don't even know what to pray sometimes. You just pray like, God, just do something.
The Holy Spirit will basically translate that for you to God and say, okay, here's what
needs to happen. And basically the Holy Spirit will pray for things for you that you didn't
even know that you need. You're praying for like, God, give me a Ferrari. And the Holy
Spirit's like, you know, by the time it gets the translation up to the Father in heaven,
it's kind of like, just give me something that gives me from point A to point B. You
know what I mean? You know, with like a used, messed up, you know, like a car that's all
filled together with bailing wire. But it's like, Father, I need you. I answered your
prayer. You know? So that's the way it is. Because we don't know how to pray as we ought.
I mean, that's a stupid prayer, like, oh, give me this, give me that, you know, to consume
me. But wait a minute. When we win somebody to the Lord, think about this, this is the
final application I want to make. When we give somebody the Gospel and they get saved,
don't miss it. The Holy Spirit indwells that person. And you say, man, it's such a shame
because we gave them the Gospel, but you know, we could never get them to come to church,
or we couldn't really follow up, or we lost track of that person, and now we don't know
where they are. But wait a minute, that person was truly saved. That person has the Holy
Spirit living inside of him for the rest of their life. Let me tell you a story that could
encourage you. My grandfather won a 10-year-old boy to the Lord. Gave him the Gospel, got
him saved. My dad at the time was about 10. So this was one of his little friends. Okay?
And they basically went to church together. They would, you know, this little boy would
come with their family to church for a little while. But then as he got older, they kind
of lost touch. The kid got out of church, wasn't in church anywhere, and just pretty
much went on to live the typical life that everybody in America lives. He wasn't in church,
he wasn't really living for God, he wasn't doing anything for God, but he was still saved
because he got saved as a boy. And you know what? It's eternal life. And the Holy Spirit
still lived inside of him. And later on, when that man was in his 50s, I mean, we're talking
40 years of God vibe, my dad got back in touch with that guy, got him in church, he
got baptized in his 50s, and started living for God. And today he's still in church, he's
still serving God. And wait a minute, I talked to this man, and he sat down with me, I shook
his hand because I met him a few times, and he said to me, he said, you know what, your
grandpa won me to the Lord when I was just a little boy. And he said, I'll never forget
what your grandpa, he said, man, I'll never forget what a great guy he was, and I still
remember him giving me the gospel, and I still remember when I got saved. And it was just
that, you know, all along the Holy Spirit was there leading him, and he never went into
any weird religions or any false religions, he was just not going to church, but he always
knew. And all those 40-some years, maybe people who looked at him from the outside may or
may not have known him. Maybe other people would have said, well, I don't know if he
really got saved. But he knew in his heart, for 40-some years, the Spirit itself bore
witness with his spirit that he was a child of God, and he knew he was on his way to heaven,
he knew he was saved. And then later on, the Holy Spirit let him, and I'm sure the Holy
Spirit had tried to lead him other times, but finally the Holy Spirit was able to lead
him into a good church to serve God, to be baptized, to live a Christian life. And let
me tell you something, don't forget about that. You win somebody the Lord, and they
get saved, the Holy Spirit moves in, according to the Bible. And when they read the Bible,
God's going to speak to them. When they hear someone preach the Bible, God's going to speak
to them. And when they do something wrong and they commit sin, God is going to speak
to them and tell them that it's wrong. And when they get in church, God's going to speak
to them, and one day, maybe down the road, that person will serve God, and that person
will get in church. Because the Holy Spirit is going to be with them all the way to the
end. But the flip side is true. You run into somebody, you show them stuff in the Bible,
you try to show them the truth, you try to show them the doctrines of the Bible, and
they just don't get it. You know what I'm talking about. And I'm talking about Baptist.
I went to a Baptist church with that little Mother Teresa story. You might even be in
a fundamental Baptist church, but you show somebody something point blank in the Bible
and they just don't get it. They just don't see it. And then you show them something else
and they just don't get it. You show them something else. People come to our church
and I'll preach like six different things, all straight out of the Bible, and they say,
I don't agree with anything you preached, and it was all straight out of the Bible.
There's a reason for that, because they're not saved. They may claim to be saved. They
may say that they're saved. But a true believer, they hear God's word. I remember somebody
said to me, oh, I don't think that hell is eternal, and I showed them from the Bible
again and again that hell is eternal, hell is eternal, hell is eternal. And they said,
I still don't believe it. I said, he that is of God heareth God's word, ye therefore
hear them not because you're not of God. Somebody says, oh, I still believe in evolution. You
show them in the Bible in six literal days that everything breaks forth after its own
time. He that is of God heareth God's word, ye therefore hear them not because you're
not of God. You show somebody that salvation is by faith alone. Well, I still think it's
this. I still think it's that. I still think you've got to do this. And you show them verse
after verse after verse after verse. He that is of God heareth God's word, ye therefore
hear them not because you're not of God. We were talking about baptism by immersion.
People say, well, that's not a salvation issue. You know, you're right, because salvation
is just, you just have to believe that Jesus Christ is the only way to heaven and put on
your faith. But wait a minute. Somebody believes that the baptism is by sprinkling, and they've
actually read the Bible once, or you've actually shown them verses about people being dunked
under water and show them it, and you show them, and they just say, well, I still think
it's sprinkling. He that is of God heareth God's word, ye therefore hear them not because
you're not of God. That's the only explanation for somebody who can just hear God's word
preached, can read God's word, and just still persist and say, I don't believe that. I don't
think that's really it, when you sit there and show it to them. And maybe if it's just
one thing, but then you show them a second thing, and they don't get it. You show them
a third thing, and they don't get it. And you're going to tell me that verse is saved?
We've had a lot of people come through this church and sit under my preaching even for
months. We've had people come to our church and sit under the preaching for months. And
yet you'll talk to them and they don't get it. It's going over their head. It's going
in when you're not doing it. It's not just even that they don't agree with it. They just
don't even get it. They just don't even comprehend it. And you know why? It's because it turns
out, it always turns out with these people, because look, I've been at this thing for
a long time. It always turns out that they're not saved. Because people that are saved are
indwelled by the Holy Spirit. And that's why we can agree on things. That's why I meet
people that I've never seen, never talked to, they've never listened to my preaching,
I've never listened to their preaching, and yet we're just agreement on this, agreement
on that, agreement on this, agreement on that. Wow, yeah, that's exactly what I believe.
Same Bible, same Holy Spirit. And if we're all reading the same Bible, and if we're all
listening to the same Holy Spirit, we're all going to believe the same thing. It's true.
Now there are going to be differences where maybe we just haven't learned something yet,
or little small issues, and we're always growing and constantly, you know, I'm sure that there
are things that I believe that are a little off, that I'm going to grow and learn and
be corrected on. But wait a minute. The Bible says, they are of the world, therefore speak
they of the world, and the world heareth them. We are of God. He that knoweth God heareth
us. And he that is not of God heareth not us. Hereby know we, the spirit of truth, and
the spirit of error. Did you get that? He said hey, those that are of the world, they
hear the world. Those that are of God, they don't even just hear God's word, they hear
the man of God preach it. And they hear it, and they comprehend it, and that's how we
can know the difference, the Bible says. John told us. That's how we know the spirit of
truth is from the spirit of error. The person who hears God's word, they hear the preaching,
and they believe it, they comprehend it, versus the person who hears it straight out of the
Bible and says, I don't believe that. So whether or not it's a quote, salvation issue or not,
anybody who doesn't believe, if somebody doesn't believe part of the Bible, they're
not saved. Not that you have to believe the entire Bible to be saved, because obviously
you might not have even heard the entire Bible in order to get saved, but those who are saved
do believe the entire Bible, because they hear God's word, and they will not point at
the Bible and say that's not true. And I've had people point at my Bible literally and
say, well, I believe the Bible and I don't believe that, and they'll point at the verse.
They're not saved. Oh, there's people who are saved that believe in evolution. If you
can show them in the Bible, maybe if they just got saved five minutes ago, they just
don't know it yet, but if you can show them in the Bible where God created it and how
it's six literal days and how it's everything after its own kind, and they say I still believe
in evolution, the person's not saved. I mean, the Holy Spirit would be teaching them and
showing them, and they would hear God's word. Now you say, I don't agree with that, but
wait a minute. That's what Jesus said. He said the reason that you don't believe what
I'm preaching, the reason you don't hear what I'm saying, the reason you can't understand
what I'm saying is because you are not of God, because this book is spiritually discerned.
It's not a book written by man. Now, the NIV is written by man. It's easier to understand.
Yes, it is, for the unbeliever. It's easier to understand. But those of us that are saved,
we can understand God's word. Let's borrow his net worth, correct?