We are continuing going through our doctrinal statement once again and we've been looking
at the nature of God, we looked at the true God, his triune nature, we've also looked
at God the Father, God the Son and we're up to of course God the Holy Spirit, the title
for the sermon this morning is God the Holy Spirit.
And what we're going to have in our doctrinal statement, I'll just read you this paragraph,
it says we believe in the Holy Spirit who is divine, I want to make that very clear
who is divine and the reason I want to say that is because, like I said that's obvious,
there are some Christians that think, again when I say Christians you know what I'm
talking about, under that Christian umbrella, when I say Christians many times when I preach
I'm not necessarily saying saved people, like when I'm actually referring to saved
people I'll say saved or believers or something like that okay, because there are many that
go under the umbrella under Christianity okay but there are some Christians that believe
that the Holy Spirit is not really this divine person that it is this sort of this power,
just this power of God, like an impersonal power okay, but what we're going to have
in our statement of faith it says we believe in the Holy Spirit who is divine and the third
person of the Trinity, so the Holy Spirit is a person, it's someone that is personable
okay, it is someone that we can communicate with alright, it's not just some power,
impersonal power, the third person of the Trinity, it says that he convicts the world
concerning sin, righteousness and judgment, he is the agent in the new birth who seals
and use with power and guides into all truth okay, so the Holy Spirit of course plays a
very important role in our Christian life, if he is the agent of the new birth we cannot
be born again without the Holy Spirit, if he is the one that guides us into all truth
we cannot know what the Bible teaches, the Holy Spirit gives us power, gives us knowledge
you're there in John 16, John 16 verse number 7 and of course these are some chapters of
your Bible where Jesus Christ is just plainly teaching the doctrine of the Trinity, just
over and over again referring to the Father, referring to himself, referring to the Holy
Spirit but it says in verse number 7, nevertheless I tell you the truth okay, so this is the
truth alright, the truth about God alright, it is expedient for you that I go away, expedient
means profitable, it goes look it's profitable for you that I go away, for if I go not away
look at this, the comforter will not come unto you, so is Jesus the comforter, no because
Jesus has to go away and that is profitable for us because the comforter will come okay,
the comforter will not come unto you but if I depart, I want you to notice the next words,
I will send the power unto you, is that what it says, I will send God's impersonal power
towards you, no, he says I will send him, him unto you, you see the comforter is a him,
it's a he, it's a person, this comforter alright, look at verse number 8 and when he, the comforter,
when he is come, he will reprove the word of sin and of righteousness and of judgments,
that's what we had in our statement of faith there right, it says that he convicts the
word concerning sin, righteousness and judgments and what's quite interesting about this passage
here in verse number 8, I want to pause here because I also want to just reinforce once
again the gospel over and over again, you say pastor there's no need, I believe there's
a need for us to speak about the gospel and I want to be very clear about our church and
our position as a church okay, what must we do to be saved according to the bible, believe
in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved okay and say well what makes us realise
the need for salvation, I mean why do we need to be saved in the first place of course because
we recognise that we're sinners, we recognise that we're not righteous before God, we recognise
that without Jesus we're on the way to hell and of course when we say to be saved, we're
speaking about being saved from our sins, being saved from hell, being saved from that
destination which is the wrath of God abiding upon us, I want to make that very clear because
there are churches that teach it's not just believing, believing is not enough they'll
say, I'm talking about independent fundamental Baptist churches here okay, they'll say you
also have to repent of your sins to be saved, to repent means to turn or to change and preachers
will get behind the pulpit, they'll go as far as saying if you're an alcoholic you must
give up on the alcohol before you're saved, they'll teach this, plainly teach this you
know and I'm not misrepresenting, I'm saying I've heard the sermons myself, I've heard
testimonies from people themselves, you know well if you're living with your girlfriend,
you're committing fornication, you've got to break that relationship, you've got to
give up on that relationship in order to be saved, you must repent from those sins in
order to be saved but it's so strange, they always talk about alcohol and fornication
as the sins and yet we sin every day, the Bible says the thought of foolishness is sin,
I mean why don't they say hey you got to turn from the thoughts of foolishness to be
saved because they know we all have thoughts of foolishness, like they only say the sins
that they kind of feel like they're safe from, so I'm saved because I don't do those things,
I'm not an alcoholic, I'm saved because I don't commit fornication okay, now that is
not salvation, you have no power to overcome sin in your life until you are saved, you
must be saved first, you must be saved, you must be a child of God, the Holy Spirit empowering
you, then you have the ability to overcome sins, to say you've got to repent of your
sins which is a phrase nowhere found in your Bible, you search for it, I promise you it's
not in the Bible and they'll turn around and say well you've got to add this extra step,
be careful, be warned about these preachers that say such things because the Bible warns
us about another Gospel okay, another Gospel, it's not just another Gospel is like you've
got to confess your sins to a priest, yeah that is another Gospel but there is another
Gospel which is not another Gospel, which is not another the Bible says, meaning that
it is so close to the truth that people get deceived and I hear this all the time, now
again and I'm saying this because we're going to look at this passage that we're looking
at here, they'll use this what we just read, I'll just show you, they'll say this, well
it says there that verse number 8, when he is come he will reprove the world of sin,
they say the world, the unsaved world, they have to reprove of sin and then they'll turn
around and say well that means people have to give up on their sins, they have to turn
from their sins in order to be saved, that is not true brethren, you cannot turn from
your sins, even those that are saved, even those that have the power of the Holy Spirit,
the power of God, even the most mature Christians that walk this planet, the most mature saved
believers that walk this planet will still sin till the day they die, so how can you
have any confidence of salvation if you're required to turn from sins to be saved, you
are constantly doubting, oh well I did this wrong, that must mean I'm not saved, no, believe
on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shall be saved, alright, John 3 is 16, for God so loved
the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever, what, believeth on him shall
not perish but have everlasting life, it's not whosoever shall turn from their sins and
believe on Jesus, but this is what preachers do, it's ridiculous, it's crazy to me, now
I'm not saying that every time a preacher uses this phrase they're unsaved, I'm not
saying that, okay, but many are unsaved that say that, okay, many use that phrase and look,
I have these conversations on a regular basis with people, you know, what do you mean by
repenting of sins, well, I'm not saying you have to turn from them, contrary to what some
people believe, but you've got to at least recognise you're a sinner, okay, you do have
to recognise you're a sinner, you're right, it's the moment you recognise you're a sinner
is the moment you realise I must be saved, I cannot save myself, I need to be saved,
and again, I've heard pastors take this passage, when he has come, when the Holy Spirit has come,
he will reprove the world of sin, therefore you have to give up on your sins to be saved,
and brethren, look, Jesus does not leave it like, what's the word I'm looking for,
he doesn't leave it open to interpretation, that's what I'm trying to say here, okay,
because we keep reading there, we're talking about the work of the Holy Spirit,
look at verse number 9, he answers it immediately in verse number 9, okay,
what is this sin that the Holy Spirit is reproving the world of, verse number 9,
of sin because they believe not on me, you see, not believing on Jesus is a sin, okay,
and when the Holy Spirit comes to reprove the world of sin, the Holy Spirit's job is to convince
this world through the work of a preacher, through the work of a soul winner, to show them
they must believe on Jesus, the way you overcome sin is not reforming this life and cleaning up
this life, the way you overcome sin is by believing on Jesus, because Jesus has taken all of your sins,
your past, your present, your future sins, and they were all nailed to the cross, he became sin
for us, Jesus takes care of our sins, alright, yeah, if you want to say turn away from your sins,
fine, let Jesus take all of your sins upon himself, which he already did, and accept that truth,
okay, and that is how the Holy Spirit reproves this world of sin, okay, that they don't believe
on Jesus, so yeah, there is a sin we want people to repent of to be saved, you know,
repent from not believing the gospel, and believe the gospel, repent from not believing in Jesus,
and believe in Jesus, that's what Jesus Christ says, repent and believe the gospel, repent ye,
and believe the gospel, okay, Jesus Christ, it's the same message, okay, it's salvation on Christ
and Christ alone, not of your own efforts, but I wanted to make that point because I've heard
that verse being taken, and I don't want you to walk away thinking that's what, oh man, then maybe
we have to do something about it, now see now, of course, you do have to do something about your
sins, now that you're saved, God wants you to walk in holiness, alright, God wants you to be
a little bit more like Jesus every day, you know, when we come to this, so we're not just preaching
salvation every week in, week out, we're preaching about how we can live a clean, righteous Christian
life that pleases the Lord, you know, I'm all for repenting of your sins, I'm all for turning from
your sins, but if you put it before salvation, you've got another gospel, it's something that
takes place after, after salvation, okay, and even if someone still continues living in filthiness,
because they've not been, you know, walking the spirit, they've not been going to church,
they've not been growing, they continue in their sin, they're still saved because salvation is
faith on Christ alone, okay, not of your own merits, but the Holy Spirit comes, verse number
nine of sin, because they believe not on me, verse number 10 of righteousness, alright, so the Holy
Spirit is teaching us righteousness, why? Because I go to my Father, and you see me no more, so Jesus
Christ is saying, look, I'm not teaching about how you can live a righteous life any further,
because he's going, his ministry is finished, alright, but since Christ has returned back to
the Father, it is the Holy Spirit's job to teach us about righteousness, verse number 11 of judgment,
because the prince of this world is judged, the prince of this world, of course, is the devil,
and so the Holy Spirit here is teaching us about the world, how we can judge correctly, how we can
determine what is right and wrong, hey, how we can determine what are the ways of the devil, and what
are the ways that God wants us to walk, alright, so the Holy Spirit helps us pass judgment, helps
us make decisions, the right decisions in life, verse number 12, I have yet many things to say
unto you, but ye cannot bear them now, now notice verse number 13 again, how be it when he, Jesus
Christ wants to make it very clear, this is a person, when he, who, the spirit of truth is come,
he will guide you into all truth, brethren, whose job is it to guide you into all truth,
Pastor Kevin Sepulveda, no, okay, in fact, you know what, I hope I got a lot of truth, I hope
I got a lot that I can teach you, but I can't tell you that I've got all truth, like I can't
sit here and say, man, I'm infallible with my knowledge of the Bible, but the one that teaches
you all truth is, of course, the Holy Spirit, alright, so as you listen to a pastor preach
or any man preach behind a pulpit, alright, we pray that the Holy Spirit would, you know,
enable that man, of course, but of course, you have the Holy Spirit within you as well,
you know, you should be assessing what he preached, you should be assessing that,
look at the scriptures yourself, because you have the indwelling of the Holy Spirit that guides you
into all truth as well, okay, so we all have the Holy Spirit, he's guiding us into all truth,
in fact, that's what we had in our statement of faith, guides into all truth, that's where it
comes from, let's keep going there, it says in verse number 13, for he, how many times does
Christ have to tell us that he's a person, the Holy Spirit is a person, okay, for he shall not
speak of himself, alright, but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak, and he will show you
things to come, verse number 14, he shall glorify me, for he shall receive of mine and shall show
it unto you, alright, so he shall receive of mine, so whatever Christ has taught,
right, when it comes to Christ, of course, being the word of God, whatever Christ has taught his
disciples, it's the Holy Spirit to remind them these same truths, like the Holy Spirit did not
come revealing something completely different to what Jesus Christ taught, it's the same truth,
because it is the same God, the comforter that has come to teach us these things, look at verse
14 again, he shall glorify me, what is the job of the Holy Spirit? To glorify Jesus, to set our
eyes on Jesus, okay, and this is why you know the Pentecostals and the Charismatics have got it all
wrong, because when they speak of the Holy Spirit, it's like the Holy Spirit is the one that's
emphasised, it's like the Holy Spirit is the one that is glorified, you know, no, the Holy Spirit
that came to glorify Jesus, okay, our hearts and minds ought to be on Jesus Christ, he is our
example, he has come to this earth, he has walked this earth and he sets the steps that we are to
follow, so you know you've got the wrong spirit when the spirit is emphasising itself, that's
another spirit, the Holy Spirit glorifies Jesus, points us back to Jesus, points us to the things
that Jesus Christ has already taught, and so that is the great job of the Holy Spirit, you know,
it's so wonderful to be saved, you know, to have the indwelling spirit of God that lives within us,
that any of us can pick up the Bible and read it and understand it, I mean if you picked up
the Bible today, or let's say this week and you've understood what you read, you know who gave you
that understanding, it was the Holy Spirit, because you give that same passage to any other
non-believer out there in the world, they'll read it, they won't get it, they won't understand it,
because they haven't got the Holy Spirit, okay, this is why you know that God is working in your
hearts and in your minds, because you can pick up the Bible and read it and understand it for
yourself, that's confirmation that you've got the Holy Spirit that lives within you,
all right, now we did also mention that he's the agent in the new birth, so please turn with me
to John chapter 3, turn with me to John chapter 3 in verse number 5, and I know these are basic
truths, but it's good to remind ourselves in John chapter 3 verse number 5, we have of course
Nicodemus who comes to Jesus asking about salvation, and it says here in John chapter
3 verse 5, Jesus answered, verily, verily, I say unto thee, except a man be born of water
and of the spirits, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God, that which is born of the flesh
is flesh, and that which is born of the spirits is spirit, you see salvation is being born of the
spirits, if you say pastor I am saved today, you've been born again, you've been born of the
spirit, yes you've been born of water, you've been born of flesh, the moment your mother gave birth
to you, the waters opened, you came forth, you've been born of that flesh, of course that's the
first birth that you must experience, you must be a human being, you must be a real person,
all right, in order for you to first be saved and then, then we're born again, then we're born of
the spirit, all right, verse number seven, it says, marvel not that I said unto thee,
ye must be born again, look at verse number eight, the wind bloweth where it listeth,
and thou heardest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth,
so is everyone that is born of the spirit, so is everyone that is born of the spirit,
isn't that beautiful that we've been born of the spirit, the spirit of course is God,
we've been born of God, we've been born of God, can you please tell me to first John chapter five,
first John chapter five, first John chapter five, beautiful thing that we've been born of God,
you know we're part of God's family, right, and look it's humbling, it's important for us to
remember from time to time that we are but dust, that we are sinners saved by grace, that you know
it's important to just remember yourself as a lowly person, that you know God loves so much
to sacrifice his son to save you, but you know that's wonderful, that's good, but I also want
you to remember more often than that is that you are a child of God, you are part of God's family,
okay, you are kings, you are priests because you're in Jesus Christ, okay, so yeah humble
yourself, remember yourself what you were, okay, and I guess what you still are in this flesh,
but don't forget the reality of your importance to God, okay, my children are so important to me,
like I'd lay down my life for my children, like if it's going to benefit my children,
I'll do whatever it takes even if I have to sacrifice myself for the benefit of my children,
you know you're a child of God, you are a child of God, think about how important you are in the
eyes of God, okay, you're very, very important people and when I come behind this pulpit to
preach at New Life Baptist Church, I've shared it with you many times, part of the fear, not just
fear of God to speak the truth, part of the fear is I'm speaking to the most important people
on the Sunshine Coast, okay, the most important people, the children of God,
so I want to make sure I don't mess things up, okay, because you are important, you're going to
be ruling the reign with Christ for a thousand years, that's how important you are, okay, so
you've been born of the Spirit, now one thing you need to remember, okay, when you're born of the
Spirit, you've been born of God, but you need to remember that this flesh was not born of God,
remember, you must be born of the flesh and born of the Spirit, all right, you must remember
the dual nature of man, the dual nature, the flesh was not born of the Spirit, okay, this flesh is
not godly in any way, shape or form, okay, if I just want to give in to the lust of this flesh,
Reverend, I'm not going to be doing righteous things, I'll tell you that, I'm not going to
be doing godly things, okay, in order for us to do what is right, we must walk in the Spirit,
in the new man, in the new creature, as the Bible puts it, okay, and I want you to remember that,
you've got a dual nature in you, because when you turn to a passage like 1 John 15,
so 1 John chapter 5 and verse number 18, this is something else Christians really struggle with
sometimes, all right, but 1 John chapter 5, it's so clear, like when you understand the basic
concepts of salvation, that you've been born again, you've got two births, the birth of the
flesh and the birth of the Spirit, okay, then verse number 18 makes perfect sense,
but I see Christians mess up this verse time and time again, it says, we know that whosoever
is born of God, sinneth not, Reverend, that is a true statement, if you've been born of God,
you do not sin, that's where Christians get confused, but pastor I sin, I mean didn't you
just say we're going to sin to the day we die, does that mean I'm not saved, and then see
Christians read this and they're so confused by it, say man I've done such a horrible thing
pastor, I don't think I'm saved, well have you trusted Christ, have you believed on the Lord
Jesus Christ, do you believe the promise of God, believe in the Lord Jesus Christ and thou
shall be saved, do you believe that, for by grace are you saved through faith, that not of yourselves
it is the gift of God, not of works lest any man should boast, do you believe that, that salvation
is by faith alone not by your works, if you believe that you're saved, okay, it's not like
oh man I don't know, it's ridiculous, what you do know is whether you've trusted Christ or not,
if you trusted Christ you're saved, okay, the evidence of your salvation is not your works,
because works never saved you, the evidence of your salvation is your faith, because it's faith
that saved you, okay, that's the evidence, you can't change the evidence of something else,
when that what you're trying to make the evidence is not the criteria of salvation,
but this statement is true, this statement is so true, we know that whosoever is born of God
sineth not, so brethren again born of the flesh, born of the spirit, spirit is God, if you if that
spirit has been born of God, that new man that spirit sineth not, okay, there is no sin in that
new man, but the flesh sins, okay, the flesh sins, but that flesh, remember flesh and blood cannot
inherit the kingdom of God, okay, that flesh will never get saved, that's why God has a promise of
a new resurrected body one day at his rapture, okay, that's when it happens, but brethren you
have that which is born of God, the new man the spirit, that remains clean and pure, when you sin
it's in your flesh, but it doesn't taint the new man, this is why it's ridiculous to say well I
know that person's saved, because look how much they've cleaned up their life, but the flesh was
never saved in the first place, the new man has always been sinless, the moment you trust Christ
and you're born again, you're born in that new man, it's sinless, it's perfect, it is because
that is what goes to heaven, okay, if he could taint the new man with sin, then you need like
a brand new sacrifice all over again to save that new man, now the new man is saved, the new man is
born of God, okay, let's keep going there, verse number 18, sorry, we know that whosoever is born
of God sineth not, but he that is begotten of God keepeth himself and the wicked one
toucheth him not, the wicked one of course is a devil, the devil cannot touch that new man,
okay, the devil cannot touch that one, again we have a dual nature, if you read the epistles you
see this over and over again, I mean the apostle Paul speaks about the law that he finds in his
members, the apostle Paul says, you know, he calls himself the chief of sinners, doesn't he, because
he's struggling, even the apostle Paul's struggling, there are things that he wants to do but he cannot
do and he finds that it's his flesh, it's his members, it's his body that gets in the way,
this body is selfish, it wants to do its own will, but the new man wants to do what pleases God,
so we learned an interesting truth about this dual nature, in order to have this flesh
under subjection, we must be walking in the spirit, okay, and it is by the new man that we can commune
with God, it is by the spirit that we can speak to the Holy Spirit and by that power we can overcome
that flesh that wants to sin, that wants to be selfish, that wants to do things contrary to
God's will, forever we must walk in the spirit, can you please turn with me to Acts chapter 8,
Acts chapter 8, verse number 26, not only is the Holy Spirit referred to as a person,
he, he, him, right, but the Holy Spirit speaks, the Holy Spirit speaks,
now we saw earlier, before we read Acts chapter 8, we saw earlier in John 16 verse 13,
I'll read it again, how be it when he the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you into all truth,
for he shall not speak of himself, alright, so again the Holy Spirit is not coming with
new revelations and again this is another reason why the Charismatics and the Pentecostals get this
all wrong, because I say well I got a message from the Holy Spirit, I received a word of the
Lord, right, and they'll say something and you go man that's not in the Bible, that's not what
Christ taught, that's not what's contained in the scriptures, alright, so what happens,
oh that's contradicted to what the scriptures teach, so what do you learn in that scenario,
okay, that spirit that spoke to that person or it's their own imagination, whatever it is,
wherever it's another spirit, okay, it's another spirit, okay, if it's not in line with God's word,
it's another spirit, they'll say the Holy Spirit said this or that, but it's not the Holy Spirit
of God, okay, now the Holy Spirit has come to teach us, the scriptures has come to teach us
what Christ has already taught, it says in Acts chapter 8 verse 26, we know this great story of
the Ethiopian eunuch, it says in verse 26, and the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying arise
and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is deserts,
and he arose and went and behold a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority, under Candace, queen
of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,
was returning and sitting in his chariot, read Isaiah, sorry, and sitting in his chariot read
Isaiah the prophet, look at verse number 29, then the spirit said unto Philip go near and join
thyself to this chariot, the spirit said unto Philip, again the Holy Spirit is not just some power,
it's a person who speaks to us, okay, and of course the Holy Spirit guided Philip to go and
preach the gospel to the Ethiopian eunuch, okay, if you're being guided to preach the gospel,
brethren that is the Holy Spirit speaking these things unto you, but it's the same thing that
Christ has already taught us, the need to preach the word, the need to preach the gospel, okay,
that is of course what the Holy Spirit is instructing Philip to do, but he speaks to him,
all right, the Holy Spirit speaks to you through the word of God, that's what you need to understand,
okay, there are certain things that you might go through life and you might have to make decisions
and you ask the Lord to guide you and, you know, you have that thought well, you know,
believe the Lord wants me to do this, you know what you need to do when you say that,
let me just go back to God's word and let me just confirm that's what God wants me to do,
don't be take, don't take this view, well I've got the feeling that God wants me, you know,
the Holy Spirit's directed me, I kind of feel that, go back to God's word and confirm that
it's the Holy Spirit teaching you that, okay, and if yes, it lines up with God's word, amen,
then I would say yeah, the Holy Spirit is speaking to you, okay, it's just lining up with
what already is contained within God's word, it's nothing new, it's what he's already just brought
to your remembrance from your study, from your learning of the Bible, turn with me to Acts
chapter 13, Acts chapter 13 and verse number 1, Acts chapter 13 and verse number 1,
Acts chapter 13 and verse number 1,
now this is about the church in Antioch, it says, now there was in the church that was an Antioch,
certain prophets and teachers as Barnabas and Simeon that was called Niger and Lucius of Cyrene
and Manaion which had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch and Saul which of course is Paul,
verse number 2, and they ministered to the Lord and fasted, look at this,
the Holy Ghost said, separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them,
the Holy Spirit once again said, spoke to these people, to these leaders in this church,
hey Barnabas and Saul or Paul, you need to send them out to go preach the gospel of course,
to go and start churches, alright, that's the work that they've been called to do by the Holy Ghost,
once again just reinforcing what we already know, that Christ has given us the great commission
to go out throughout the whole world and to preach the gospel, alright, to start churches,
ministries that we can serve the people of God, but I just want to, the main point there brethren
is I want to say that the Holy Spirit can speak to us, okay, but he's always going to speak to us
what has already been said in your scriptures, okay, he just brings to remembrance sometimes
the things that you've learnt in scriptures, alright, sometimes when I'm preparing a sermon,
and I'll tell you the truth, if I ask God can you please guide me, can you direct me,
preparing a sermon and all of a sudden in my head I'm like, I know there's a verse,
alright, it's just, and then like I know that verse just goes well with the sermon,
I just can't really necessarily remember it and I'll think about it for a while, and of course
the Lord's just taken something that I've learnt, I've read, you know not long ago, I've heard not
long ago, and bringing it back to my remembrance, that's the work of the Holy Spirit, okay,
so yeah, that's what preaching ought to be brethren, just hearing the words of God over
and over again, being brought to remembrance, you know, I don't come behind this pulpit teaching
you something new, that's not my goal, why should I do that, when God has given us his word,
there's enough, we're never going to get to the end of his word, why should I just
invent something new to teach you, if you invent something new that's not found in the scriptures
brethren, then you know that I'm not being led by the Holy Spirit, that's pretty dangerous,
that's pretty dangerous if you have a preacher behind the pulpit, not being led by the Holy
Spirit, alright, go with me to 2 Peter chapter 1, 2 Peter chapter 1 please,
something else that I find a lot of charismatics say at the door when you knock their doors,
and they want to tell you, they're so boastful aren't they, about their revelations, they're
so boastful about their so-called miracles, you know, I feel like every charismatic that I meet
either has raised someone from the dead or them themselves were raised from the dead,
just constantly, they all have these amazing stories don't they,
and when you try to bring them back to the Bible, I don't know if you've heard this said,
I've heard it many times, is oh you're just you know, you're too narrow minded,
you're trying to put God in a box, alright, they'll say you know the Holy Spirit, you know
God is beyond, you know the Bible, there's more to it than just the Bible, why are you so
restrictive with what God can do, almost like the Bible, it's just something that almost to many of
them, it's like preventing them from experiencing the greatness of whatever spirit they're dealing
with, which would make sense, okay, because if it's another spirit, of course the other spirits
not going to want them restricted by the word of God, alright, but it says in 2 Peter chapter 1
verse 19, 2 Peter chapter 1 verse number 19, and we know this passage very well,
but it says we have also a more sure word of prophecy, I want you to remember that,
so when the charismatic come up to you and say well I've received a prophecy,
I've received a vision, hey we have also a more sure word of prophecy, I've got something that is
more sure than your visions and your so-called experiences, I've got something more sure than
that, where unto ye do well that ye take heed, so you do well to take heed, you do well to listen
to this more sure word of prophecy, okay, as unto a light that shineth in a dark place until the day
dawn and the day star arise in your hearts, knowing this first that no prophecy of the
scripture, so we know what prophecy we're talking about here, the scriptures, no prophecy of the
scripture is of any private interpretation, and yet you got these charismatic say and I've had it,
I've had a pastor once come up to me, says you know Kevin, I've seen a vision,
you're going to have hundreds and thousands of people following you,
well what a vision, alright, I don't know, maybe this is the hundreds and thousands, I don't know,
just following you, you know, you're going to be doing this great work, I hope I'm doing a great
work for God, but you know, it's got this far out vision, you know, the Holy Ghost has come to tell
me this about you, well that's a private interpretation, okay, if that were the truth,
I'm going to find that truth in God's word, in the more sure word of prophecy, okay, you know what
Jesus Christ says, where two or three are gathered in my name, there am I in the midst of them,
you know what, I'd rather two or three serve in Jesus Christ faithfully as a church,
than hundreds and thousands of people following me, that are giving me private interpretations
of their knowledge of the Bible, okay, that's not doesn't serve the Lord, I'd rather have two or
three that love the Lord Jesus Christ, that are saved, you know, that are prioritizing his work,
that's what's important to me, but they love the hundreds and thousands of people following them.
Now as we continue in verse number 21, it says for the prophecy, that's the prophecy of the
scriptures, came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were,
look at this, moved by the Holy Ghost, let's say you're restricting God, you're putting God in a
box, you're saying let's stick to the scriptures, oh that's holy, listen, the scriptures were
written by the Holy Ghost, he moved the men to pen these words, so if you're telling me that
the Holy Ghost is saying something contrary to the Bible, then I know full well that the Spirit
that's speaking to you is another spirit, I know full well that that man is not even saved,
because he's not being led by the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit teaches us the scriptures,
he is the one that was used by God to move men to write these words, you want a revelation by
the Holy Ghost, you can experience it Brethren, you just open your Bible and read it, that's it,
you say Lord teach me from your word, and that's your revelation of the Holy Spirit teaching you
his words faithfully, see of course the Holy Spirit can teach you the scriptures, can teach
you the word of God, because he himself was involved in getting those words penned down
for us so we can read, and of course when we speak about the Lord God,
you know, we think about his eternal nature, and I'll just quickly read to you,
I'm sure you're very familiar with this passage, from the very beginning of the Bible,
from the very beginning we learn of the Holy Ghost, in Genesis 1, 1, in the beginning God
created the heaven and the earth, and the earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon
the face of the deep, and the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters, we literally get to
verse number two of the Bible, and we already see that the Holy Spirit is there, involved in
creation, okay, the Holy Spirit is God, okay, he is deity, he is a person of the triune nature of
God, we don't have to get all the way to the book of John to learn about the Holy Spirit, if you've
picked up your Bible you've learned about him straight away, okay, moving there upon the face
of the waters at creation, all right, first John please, first John chapter 2, first John chapter
2 verse number 27, once again let me reinforce that anything that gets taught behind this pulpit
is not some extra brand new revelation, all right, and it's definitely not something that you can't
learn on your own, all right, anything I teach you should be able to learn on your own, one-on-one
time with the Lord God, asking the Lord that his Holy Ghost would guide you into all truth, you
pick up that Bible, you have the ability, okay, it's just that we get lazy, sometimes we get lazy,
I've been lazy, okay, before I become pastor, I have times I'm lazy, I just can't be bothered
reading the Bible, just until the pastor says, stuck on this passage, not sure what it says,
oh just go to YouTube and listen to a sermon of another pastor that said,
going to teach me that passage, listen just spend time with God, say Lord can you reveal
this truth unto me, okay, you have the ability and it's not wrong to listen to pastors preach,
I'm not saying that but I'm just trying to say don't give up, okay, I think one of the most
amazing things is when you discover truths on your own, you know, just by being led by the Holy Ghost
or you find just some cryptic passage or something that you've not really understood before
and then you go back to it, you're like man, now it makes sense, right, just go back, wow Lord,
you revealed this truth unto me, it's a beautiful thing, okay, now again, like if you're stuck on
that for a long, long, long, long time, you know, fine, go listen to another man that speaks about
it but please try to use your time wisely as well, okay, you know, when the scriptures were written,
they did not have YouTube, they didn't have the internets, okay, you know what believers had to
do, they had to spend their own quality time with the Lord God to understand what the scriptures
had to say, okay, so don't miss that important part in your life, spending time one-on-one with
God as you read his scriptures and try to understand it but in 1 John chapter 2, verse 27,
it says, but the anointing, speaking of the Holy Spirit, which you have received of him,
abideth in you, isn't that amazing, so brethren, right now, the Lord God abides in each of us,
each of us, okay, he abides in you and you need not, look at this, and you need not that any man
teach you, you don't need any man to teach you, it's not saying it's wrong to be taught by men,
it's not saying that but you don't need to, is what I'm trying to say, okay, anything that you
hear from church, you can go in your own time, read it in the Bible and understand it because
you have this anointing, it says, but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things and is truth,
I love that, and is no lie and even as he have taught you, ye shall abide in him, isn't that
beautiful, that you can have a teacher that is all truth, no lie, look, even this pastor,
can lie, I don't want to say lie, because I don't purposely lie, what's the word,
even this pastor can be a little bit ignorant sometimes, okay, I can make mistakes, please
understand that, all right, I'm going to understand that, please don't uphold pastors beyond what a
normal human being is like, pastors make mistakes, you know, every pastor I've been under has made
mistakes, but I still love them because I know they're human being, okay, because I know I make
mistakes and we're all going to make mistakes from time to time, but brethren, look, you've
got a teacher that every time he teaches you will be the truth, okay, always the truth and no lie,
that's the Holy Ghost, so why wouldn't you go to the Lord and say Lord you teach me, please,
you know, this is a tough passage, I don't get it, can you teach me Lord, because you're going
to teach me all truth, no lies, okay, we all have that ability, we all have that ability
and you know what, if you struggle, you say pastor, I just, you know, I just, you know,
I just, you know, I want you to be in church, please don't misunderstand, I want you to be
in church, I want you listening to preaching, okay, but it's so important that you don't miss out
one on one time, I want to say this again, with the Lord God, say Lord you teach me,
I'm going to open your word, Lord, I'll just read one chapter, you know what, I just want to read
one chapter and I want you to understand by your power what you're teaching me, how you're changing
me, Lord, please reveal something to me, the Lord can do that for you, he can, he can definitely
do that for you, alright, please go with me to 1st Corinthians, 1st Corinthians chapter 2,
1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse number 9,
1st Corinthians chapter 2 and verse number 9,
the Bible says, but as it is written, I have not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God have prepared for them that love him, but we've never
heard exactly what God is preparing for us, like we read about in the Bible, sometimes people ask me,
so in eternity, is it going to be like this, I'm like, I'm not prepared for this, I'm not prepared
for this, I'm not prepared for this, I'm not prepared for this, I'm not prepared for this,
so in eternity, is it going to be like this, I'm like, I don't know,
like, you know, I can just tell you what we read in the scriptures, but I can't really know beyond
that, like I don't really know how the, you know, the governing powers are going to work in the new
heaven and the new earth, I don't really understand how the economy is going to work in the new
heaven, there's going to be the economy, that's why we're laying up treasures in heaven, okay,
I don't really understand the mansions and the need for them and how we're going to use them and
what, what not, like, but you know what, there's just no, we can't hear enough, we can't even
understand right now, you know, what God has promised us, okay, and then it continues in verse
number 10, but God have revealed them unto us by his spirit, okay, so his spirit is the one that
reveals things to us, brethren, for the spirit, look at this, search of all things, yea the deep
things of God, the deep things of God, verse number 11, for what man knoweth the things of a man,
save the spirit of man which is in him, even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the spirit
of God, all right, so we can understand man to some extent, because we've got the same spirit,
we've got the spirit of man, okay, but the only one that understands God, of course,
is his Holy Spirit, is the spirit of God, okay, verse number 12, now we have received
not the spirit of the world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the things
that are freely given to us of God, isn't that amazing, we've been given the spirit of God,
okay, not the spirit of the world, so once again, brethren, when someone says to you,
I've received a vision, the Holy Spirit is teach telling me to give you this information,
and it's contrary to the scriptures, it's the spirit of the world, okay, it's another spirit,
okay, verse number 13, which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth,
but which the Holy Ghost teacheth, comparing spiritual things with spiritual things,
we're spiritual, spiritual things are spiritual, so brethren, again, when we teach, when we speak
of these things, we're speaking of the things that the Holy Ghost has revealed unto us,
okay, we compare spiritual with spiritual, we can compare the things that we listen to,
that we speak of when it comes to God, and the best thing to do is compare it to the Bible,
which is spiritual, then you know whether these things are true, okay, there's a reason why we
spend a lot of time in this church going through many passages, many scriptures, why am I showing
you again and again, how many passages have I shown you, the Holy Spirit is the one that teaches
you, we're comparing spiritual with spiritual, so you know that you have the ability yourself
to understand God's word, verse number 14, but the natural man, now I'll stop there for a moment,
the natural man, you say well that's the unbeliever, yes it is the unbeliever,
but the natural man is also this flesh, this is the natural man right here, okay, this sinful
creature that is selfish, that wants to do things according to my own will, not God's will, that
natural man, but even yes, definitely non-believers, because they haven't got the Spirit, okay,
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, that's the scriptures, are spiritually discerned,
you can only discern the knowledge of God, the scriptures, his understanding
by his Spirit, the natural man cannot receive those things, alright, so for the men that get
up to preach, you know when you start putting your sermons together, okay, you got to make sure
that you're not in the natural man, natural man's going to not get it, it's going to mess it up,
alright, and look if there's ever been a time when I've been preaching and I've made mistakes,
guess who made the mistake, the natural man, okay, because the natural man just doesn't get it,
alright, this is why you can go to a non-believer, okay, and it's another why, another reason why,
we don't, I don't have a tract here, but anyway, this is another reason why we don't just go and
tract distribute, like we don't just put, you know, Bible verses on a piece of paper and put
it in a letterbox to the unsaved world, because they're a natural man, they cannot receive the
things of God, they don't get it, okay, they can't understand that tract, the Bible commands
for a preacher to be used to speak these words, alright, we're the ones, because we have the
Holy Spirit of God, we have the understanding, we understand salvation, we understand the gospel,
so as we show them God's word, which is the seed, we can then explain to them what God's
word is saying, and then they get it, then they process it, this is why our ministry is not just
some tract, now look, do I tract distribute sometimes, yes, when there's no one at the door,
I'll leave a tract there, okay, but our number one ministry, brethren, is to open our mouth
and speak boldly, okay, the words of God, to speak boldly the gospel that God has given us,
we're the ones that are being used by the Holy Spirit to teach people these things,
the natural man doesn't receive those things, alright, next thing I want you to notice in
Ephesians chapter four, let's turn to Ephesians chapter four, verse number 29, Ephesians chapter
four, verse number 29, two things that I want to see in this passage, number one,
the Holy Spirit has emotions, just like any person does, okay, we know that God can get angry,
we know that God loves, okay, we know that God experiences emotions, we experience emotions
because we're created unto God, you know, we're created like God, so no, these emotions are
emotions that God experiences as well, and there's another reason which we'll have a look at soon,
but in verse number 29, Ephesians 4 29, it says, let no corrupt communication proceed
out of your mouth, have control of your mouth please, not just not taking the Lord's name in
vain, be careful with your cuss words, alright, be careful about speaking about filthiness,
you know, telling dirty jokes or laughing at dirty jokes, okay, be careful with this mouth,
alright, it says, let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good
to the use of edifying, okay, that it might minister grace unto the hearers,
so what should be coming out of your mouth, things that are good to edify,
things that minister grace to those that are listening to what you say, okay, you've got a
ministry to control this mouth, alright, and here's the thing, if you don't control this mouth,
you get to verse number 30, that says, and grieve not the Holy Spirit of God,
you can grieve the Holy Spirit by filthy communication, okay, please be careful about
what your mouth speaks of, you want to grieve the Lord, you're going to grieve the Holy Spirit,
say why does that grieve the Holy Spirit, don't forget because he abides within you,
he's right there, okay, we'll look at this later, but your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost,
okay, this is where the Holy Ghost lives in each one of us, and you use this temple and you defile
the temple with your mouth or any other way brethren, you'll grieve in the Holy Spirit,
and then he continues there, whereby, so whereby the Holy Spirit of God,
ye are sealed unto the day of redemption, isn't that beautiful, the Holy Spirit seals us
unto the day of redemption, of course that's the resurrection, the rapture, okay, we're sealed
brethren, we cannot lose your salvation, I mean there are many ways to prove that you can lose,
not lose your salvation, and one way here is that the Holy Spirit indwells us,
he's never going to leave us, he's going to seal us to the day that we receive those new
resurrected bodies, isn't that beautiful, you can never lose your salvation, even the Holy Spirit
does a job to make sure that you're sealed, and that was something that was written in our
doctrinal statement, there are two things there, the Holy Spirit has emotions because he's a person,
okay, and secondly he seals us unto the day of redemption, can you please turn with me to
1 Corinthians chapter 12, 1 Corinthians chapter 12 in verse number seven,
1 Corinthians chapter 12 in verse number seven,
give your mind to turn there, because this has to do with our church,
okay, we all have the Holy Spirit, and we're all different, we all have different strengths and
weaknesses, okay, but you know what, when you get saved, the Holy, it's the Holy Spirit's job
to give you an ability, a gift, where you can serve this local body, did you know that,
you have it, like if you say pastor, I don't do anything at church,
well it's not that the Holy Spirit has forgotten you, no, he's given you something to do,
you just need to figure out what that is, if you come up to me pastor, what do you want me to do,
I don't necessarily know, because what are your strengths and weaknesses,
what is it that you see in this church that can be done,
well just because we don't do something in the church doesn't mean I'm against doing it,
it's just that I haven't thought about it, maybe you thought about it,
maybe the Holy Spirit has put it upon your heart to do a work, a ministry, a service,
how can you serve this local body, it says in 1 Corinthians 12, 7,
but the manifestation of the Spirit is given, look at this, to every man, to profit with all,
okay there's something that the Holy Spirit is going to manifest in every one of you,
alright, verse number 8, for to one is given by the Spirit the word of wisdom,
to another the word of knowledge by the same Spirit, to another faith by the same Spirit,
and there are some people that are more faithful, that have a greater faith,
some of us have lesser faith, Lord increase my faith as a disciple, some of you guys have
great faith, you've been given that by the Spirit, it says to another the gifts of healing by the
same Spirit, to another the working of miracles, to another prophecy, to another discerning of
spirits, and some of you are more discerning than others, right, like I know because I talked to
some of you guys right, and you're like I don't know about that person right, you're like I think
it's a false brother, I think it's a false prophet, I'm like ah come on guys,
let's give him the benefit of doubt, because my discernment might not be as great as someone else,
that's just how it is, we have different abilities right,
to another diverse kinds of tongues, some of you guys can speak multiple languages,
you know, to another the interpretation of tongues, but all these worketh that one and the
self same spirits divide into every man severally as he will, something else that we learn here is
that the Holy Spirit has his own will, and the Holy Spirit looks at this church and says all
right we need this done, we need this work done, we need this ministry done, and so the Holy Spirit
starts to speak within each one of us, and says look you can do this job, you have this ability
to serve in the local body of Christ okay, if you're in this church you're not here by
accidents, you know God has put you here and has given you a gift to serve this local body,
now look if you're new to the church you're not expected to necessarily do too much,
hey sit down, listen, all right learn from God's word okay, but at some at some point that's it
has to happen, I'm sure it's going to happen at some point you're going to be like man I can do
this for church, hey as soon as that thought comes to your mind come speak to me, it's very likely
that I say yeah all right I might ask you some questions, I might try to clarify, all right but
look if the Lord's given you that ability use it okay, it's the Holy Spirit's will that you serve
this local body with the gifts that God has given you, that the Holy Spirit has given you, you're
there in 1st Corinthians please turn to chapter 6, 1st Corinthians chapter 6 verse number 19,
1st Corinthians chapter 6 and verse number 19, and I did already kind of mention this passage
but just very quickly, 1st Corinthians 6 19, what? Know ye not that your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which you have of God and you're not your own,
isn't that amazing, you know the tabernacle of the Old Testament and then the temple,
you have the presence of God indwelling that temple okay, well what in the New Testament okay
you, your body is the temple okay, you have God's presence living within you by his Holy Spirit
okay, so think about that, think about how your body should please the Lord not just in what you
say but in all that you do okay, leading up to this passage speaks about fornication and
these kinds of sexual sins, hey clean your body of these things, don't grieve the Holy Spirit's,
he lives within you and he gives you the ability to overcome sins,
when you're being tempted instead of just giving in you know to the temptation so easily,
turn to the Holy Spirit of God that is within you and say Lord give me power,
give me power to overcome this temptation, I don't want to sin in this body Lord,
I don't want to grieve you, this body belongs to the Holy Spirit,
it continues in verse number 20, for ye are bought with a price, again that price was the
blood of Christ, therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit which are God's,
isn't that amazing, so we know the spirit within us is God's because it's born of God
and we know this flesh well it's a bit contrary to the things of God but hey even this body belongs
to God okay, it belongs to God, it's not being born of God but it belongs to him okay and one
day again God's going to take that body, whatever's left of it, whether you've been buried or whatever
particles remain of your leftover body all right God's going to create a new man in that body okay
the resurrection to come where you're never going to struggle with sin, you're never going to
struggle with a selfish will contrary to God's will but brethren even now your body belongs to
the Lord, please don't take the view our sin well you know the flesh okay flesh but it belongs to
God, you should not have sinned okay and again people don't justify your sin, you sin okay,
you've got a mediator, you've got a high priest in heaven, you go to the Lord, Lord please forgive me,
please help me to walk back in your paths, this has nothing to do with salvation,
it has to do with your fellowship and your walk with God, so Lord cleanse me,
I want to be back in your light, please forgive me for what I've done, Lord be merciful to me,
please Lord give me a chance Lord to make these things right, give me the ability to overcome
this sin that I just caved into, brethren that's what we need to be doing to our Lord God
but yeah your body belongs to the Holy Spirit of God, I want you to remember that
all right one more passage and we're done, Acts chapter one please, Acts chapter one,
Acts chapter one and while you're turning to Acts chapter one I'm just going to read to you once
again what our doctrinal statements that says that what it says under God the Holy Spirit,
it says we believe in the Holy Spirit who is divine and the third person of the trinity
that he convicts the world concerning sin, righteousness and judgments, he is the agent
in the new birth who seals and endures with power and guides into all truth, we've looked at
everything so far except for the one that says endures with power okay so look at Acts chapter
one and verse number eight, now before we look at that, Acts chapter one verse eight, I want to make
very clear that the goal of this church, what is the goal of this church, what is the number one
goal, I mean we have many goals like I want to edify you right, I want to have fellowship with
you guys, we want to sing praises to God but the number one goal of this church, the primary goal
of this church is the great commission, it's what God has left us to do all right, to see souls saved,
preach the gospel, to baptize believers and to teach all things in God's word, that's the great
commission okay, if we're not fulfilling the great commission, I don't even want to be pastor in this
church honestly, I'd just rather step down and say look we're not fulfilling the great commission
guys, we're not doing what God's asked us to do okay, now many of you will be like I just don't
have the ability pastor to give someone the gospel, I just don't have it, I just don't, you're right,
in this flesh no one has the ability to do anything that pleases God okay, we need power,
we need the power of the Holy Ghost to make that happen all right, I mean I'm sure there are many
of you that are you know you can go and knock a door and give the gospel, I know you'll be saying
about yourself in the past, I just never thought I could do such a thing, I never saw myself knocking
a door and giving someone the gospel you know and that's how we all start right at the very
beginning which is like I don't think I can do that all right and of course once again you can't
because if you're thinking in the flesh of course you can't but don't forget the dual nature, you
have the new man, that which has been born of God that lives within you, it says in Acts chapter 1
verse 8, the words of Christ before his ascension, just before his ascension he says but ye shall
receive power, do you believe that brethren that you have power, you do have power okay,
you do as weak as you are, you're weak in the flesh but Christ has promised us that we're
going to receive power, he says after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, so where's that
power from? The Holy Ghost, power to do what? And ye shall be witnesses unto me, the power to
witness of Christ okay, that's the power, have you ever gone and given someone the gospel?
I'm not saying those who don't necessarily but have you given a family member, a friend
the gospel, you know when you did that you had power of the Holy Ghost giving you that ability
you know and taking away the embarrassment, taking away the shame, taking away any selfish thoughts,
so what if they don't speak to me when I give them the gospel, that power, that boldness comes
from the Holy Spirit of God, I'll read it again verse 8, but ye shall receive power after that
the Holy Ghost has come upon you and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem and in
all Judea and in Samaria and unto the uttermost part of the earth and we had when he had spoken
these things while they be held he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sights,
remember Christ had to go for the comforter to come okay, brethren we have the comforter that
indoors each one of us, that comforter is the power of God, the ability to witness of him,
hey maybe we're not going to witness in Jerusalem, maybe we're not going to witness in Judea or in
Samaria but unto the uttermost part of the earth, you know when Christ said these words
Australia would definitely be the uttermost part of the earth okay, we're here, we've been given
that power by the Holy Spirit okay, to be a witness unto him, the great commission that God
has given us to do, brethren what's the point of church if we're not doing the most important
things that Christ asked us to do before he ascended up to heaven, you say I can't do it,
yes you can, yes you can, just as much as you can pick up a Bible, read it and understand it
by the power of the Holy Ghost you too can speak to someone, give them the gospel, see them saved
and when that happens, brethren it's because the Holy Spirit's power was upon you okay,
these disciples that had to wait for the day of Pentecost to receive that power
but we have that today, we have that power today brethren, what a beautiful thing that God has
given us his Holy Spirit that lives each within each one of us, all right brethren let's pray.