Is The Holy Spirit A Ghost, Dove, Water, Tongue, Or An It -- Herbert Cooper
Transcript
00:00Reintroducing the Holy Spirit. You know, as I was thinking about the beginning of
00:05this series, I thought about when Tiffany and I first met. We met in 1996. She was a
00:16freshman in college and we just started to talk and get to know one another and
00:22we started dating one another and just started to fall in love. And here's a
00:27picture of us in college. This is at Lake of the Ozarks near Branson. We were
00:33just, man, falling in love with one another. Look at us, looking dapper. Come
00:39on somebody, you know. Just falling in love. We were going to all kinds of dates.
00:43We would, we loved to go to church together. We went to church together all
00:46the time and we would go out to eat and sit in restaurants and talk. One of our
00:52favorite restaurants in college was Cici's Pizza because we were broke. Who
00:56knows what I'm talking about. Broke, broke. So we went to that Cici's Pizza buffet
01:01line and ate that Cici's Pizza and then we would spend hours on the phone. And
01:06back in the day, we didn't have no cell phone. You know what I'm saying? You had
01:09to call off a landline and we'd get on the phone and I'd call her. Hey, what are
01:14you doing? I knew what she was doing because I just called her. She couldn't be
01:17nowhere else. She picked up the phone. She's in her dorm room. But what are you
01:20doing? I'm in my dorm room. What are you doing? I'm in mine too. What you been doing? I've
01:24been studying. How you doing? What's going on? And we just start talking. We
01:28just talk. Just getting to know each other. Just hours on the phone every
01:32night. Be up late at night. I got class tomorrow early. So we have to get on the
01:36phone, okay? We have to get off. I'm gonna count to three. One, two, three. You still
01:41there? You know what I mean? Just getting to know one another. And how Tiffin and I
01:48got to know each other is a lot like how we get to know the Holy Spirit. The Bible
01:54says something interesting as Paul was meeting with believers and he wanted
01:59them to know the Holy Spirit. Now I'm getting ready to dive into God's Word.
02:04Now if you're new to People's Church today, we are a Bible-believing church. I
02:09love preaching the Bible. We give a lot of Bible here at the church. Who loves
02:14the Word of God around here at People's Church? Let's dive into the Word of God.
02:18So Paul meets these disciples and he says in Acts chapter 19 verse 2, did you
02:22receive the Holy Spirit when you believed? They answered, no, we have not
02:26even heard that there is a Holy Spirit. These disciples had never heard about
02:36the Holy Spirit. And some of you are just like these disciples. You're just
02:42beginning a relationship with Jesus and you don't know about the Holy Spirit. You
02:48don't know much about him at all. Some of you are like, I don't, this is kind of my
02:51first time hearing about the Holy Spirit. Others of you are like, well I know
02:54something about the Holy Spirit but I don't really, I don't really know him all
02:57that well. I'm just kind of beginning this journey with him. And others of you
03:01are like me. You've known the Holy Spirit for years. You've had relationship with
03:08the Holy Spirit and what you need to know is that there's still so much more
03:13for all of us to know about the Holy Spirit. No matter if you've known the
03:18Holy Spirit for many, many, many years or it's, it's just your first week or two
03:23knowing about the Holy Spirit, there is always more to know about the Holy
03:30Spirit. There's more, there's more, there's more, there's more. 1st Corinthians
03:36chapter 2 and verse 9 says this, however, as it is written, what no eye has seen,
03:42what no ear has heard, and what no human mind has conceived, the things God has
03:47prepared for those who love him. These are the things God has revealed to us,
03:53notice this, how? By his Spirit. The Spirit searches all. Come on, everybody shout all.
04:00The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God. For no one knows a
04:08person's thoughts except their own spirit within them. In the same way, no
04:13one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. You see, we get to know the
04:20deep things of God by getting to know the Holy Spirit. Understand this, there's
04:26more. Romans chapter 11 verse 33, oh the depths of the riches of the wisdom and
04:33knowledge of God, how unsearchable are his judgments and untraceable his ways.
04:39We will never search out all the depths of God. There's always more and just like
04:46with Tiffany, I had just to keep learning her. I had to keep leaning into her and
04:52learning her and even after 26 years of marriage, I have to keep learning about
04:58Tiffany because the day I stopped learning about her, there's so much
05:03depth and knowledge and wisdom and insight and richness in my wife and the
05:07day I stopped learning about her is the day our relationship will get stale, it'll
05:13get dry, it won't flourish and so I got to keep leaning in. I got to keep
05:18learning. I got to keep asking questions and get knowing her heart and I got to
05:23keep knowing her desires and what she's dreaming about and what she's thinking.
05:28After 26 years, I still have to keep knowing and learning my wife and it's
05:34the same way with the Holy Spirit. There's so much depth in him. There's so
05:38much richness in God. His wisdom, his knowledge is unsearchable and you've
05:45got to keep leaning in and you got to keep learning because if you don't keep
05:48leaning in and learning about God and about the Holy Spirit, you're gonna get
05:53dry and stale and your relationship with God will not flourish. Somebody shout
05:58there's more! You got to keep leaning in. You got to keep learning about the Holy
06:04Spirit. No matter if you've known him for 40 or 50 years, there's more. Today as we
06:11begin this new series, I want to give you five questions about the Holy Spirit and
06:17here's what I want us to do today. I want us all to get in the right heart of the
06:21right mindset and I want us all to know the Holy Spirit better. Beginning today
06:28and all throughout this series and let's begin by answering five questions. Number
06:33one, what is the Holy Spirit? Whether you have grown up in the church for many
06:40many years or maybe you're just checking out church for the first time today,
06:44you've probably heard some things about the Holy Spirit that was like
06:51that's kind of weird. Maybe you heard he's a dove or he's water or he's a
06:58ghost. He's a tongue of fire. He's an it. What in the world is the Holy Spirit?
07:12What is the Holy Spirit? Here's where he is. Here's his first thought. The Holy
07:16Spirit is God. The Holy Spirit is God and the Bible teaches us that there is one
07:24God who exists in three persons. God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy
07:30Spirit. And the Holy Spirit is not weaker or lesser than God the Father or of God
07:36the Son. The Holy Spirit is fully God. He's 100% God. Acts chapter 5 verse 3
07:47through 4 says, Then Paul said, Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your
07:52heart that you have lied to, notice this, the Holy Spirit. You've lied to the Holy
07:56Spirit. And then it goes on to say in verse 4 at the end, you have not lied
08:00just to human beings but to God. You've lied to God. You have lied to God the
08:05Holy Spirit because the Holy Spirit is God. The Father is God. The Son is God and
08:13the Holy Spirit is God. We see all three are one and yet they're three in one and
08:23they are all God. They're all one God and they also have three distinct persons.
08:32They're God. One in three. Three in one. It's a mystery right now. One God.
08:39Three distinct persons. One in three and three in one. It says this, Acts chapter
08:4610 verse 38. Let me show this to you. How God, talking about the Father, anointed
08:50Jesus of Nazareth, the Son, with the Holy Spirit and power. And he went around
08:57doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil because God
09:02was with him. We see this and did you catch this? There's God the Father. He
09:07anointed Jesus the Son with the Holy Spirit. We see three distinct persons of
09:12God. Three in one and one in three. Matthew chapter 3 verse 16 and 17. As
09:18soon as Jesus was baptized, he went up out of the water. At that moment, heaven
09:23was open and he saw the Spirit of God. So Jesus is getting water baptized. He saw
09:27the Spirit of God descending like a dove and lightning on him and a voice from
09:31heaven. This is God the Father says, this is my Son whom I love. With him I am well
09:35pleased. And although they are three distinct persons, they are all one God.
09:40Three distinct persons, one God. One God. Three in one, one in three. Three in one,
09:45one in three. It's a mystery. And they work together because they are one. They
09:51work together. Jesus said, John chapter 10 verse 30. I am the Father, are one. Three
09:57in one. John 17 verse number 11. I remain in the world, Jesus says, no longer. But
10:02they are still in the world. And I am coming to you, Holy Father. Protect them
10:07by the power of your name. The name you gave them so that they may be one as we
10:13are one. Jesus prays this incredible prayer. He prays for all of us different
10:20people. That we would be one in spirit. We would all be one. And no matter how
10:28much you and I become one in spirit, we will never have the same union as the
10:37Godhead. Because God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit have a
10:42perfect union. They have such a perfect union that the Son only does what the
10:48Father shows him. The Son only does what the Father tells him to do. It's a
10:53perfect divine union. John chapter 5 verse 19. Jesus talks about this. Jesus
10:59gave them this answer. Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself. He
11:05can do only what he sees the Father doing. Because whatever the Father does,
11:10the Son also does. They are a perfect union. Three distinct persons, but they
11:15are one. The Son only does what he sees the Father doing. John chapter 14 verse
11:2110. Jesus talks about this again. He says, don't you believe that I am in the Father
11:26and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you, I do not speak on my own
11:32authority. Rather it is the Father living in me who is doing his work. Believe me
11:37when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me. Or at least believe
11:41on the evidence of the works themselves. The Father and the Son are one. Now
11:50understand this. And the Holy Spirit is also one with the Father and the Son.
11:56It's a perfect union. Jesus describes it in John 16 verse 13. But when the Spirit
12:03of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on his own.
12:07He will speak only what he hears from the Father, from the Son. And he will
12:12tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me. He will glorify Jesus because
12:16it is from me he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs
12:23to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he
12:28will make known to you. Are you seeing this church? There is one God who exists
12:34in three persons. And it's hard for us to get our minds around this mystery.
12:43No matter how educated you are, how many degrees you have, this is a mystery that
12:50God had. Three in one and one in three. The best I can describe it is kind of
12:57like water. Water can manifest in three different forms. Solid, liquid, or gas.
13:06What water substance, it never changes. But the expression does, it does change
13:11for purpose. You know, I think about myself. Sometimes I like room temperature
13:15water. Sometimes I want some ice water. So I get some ice cubes in that water.
13:23Come on, some of that sonic ice, some of that crushed ice. And the crushed ice is
13:30still water. And the water is water. They're just in different forms to serve
13:37a different function. It's like this pretzel right here. This pretzel, it has
13:43three holes. And the first hole is not the second hole. And the second hole is
13:49not the third hole. And the third hole is not the first hole. And yet there's one
13:55dough. They're all one. There's one dough. And yet there's three separate holes.
14:01There's one God made up of three distinct beings. God the Father, God the
14:07Son, and God the Holy Spirit. And they all possess the same divine nature. They all
14:13have the same attributes and perfection. The description of one also belongs to
14:19the others. And today, God the Father is seated in heaven on the throne. God the
14:26Son is seated next to his heavenly Father at his right hand. And the Holy
14:32Spirit is here on the earth convicting people of sin. And he's also in the
14:37hearts of Christ's followers. There's one God who exists in three persons,
14:42three in one, and one in three. Just look at your neighbor and say, this is deep and
14:46we're just getting started. Go ahead and tell him, yeah, we're just getting started.
14:50The Holy Spirit is a person. It's a person. He's a person. He's a, who is he?
14:54He's a person. The Holy Spirit is God. And the Holy Spirit is also referred to
14:59as a he. I think this is so vitally important to understand. Because when you
15:04understand that the Holy Spirit is not an it or a thing, you begin to really
15:10understand that he's a person, you realize you can get to know him. If he was an it
15:15or a thing, you can know about it, but you couldn't know him. But the Holy Spirit is
15:18a he, is a person, and you can get to know the Holy Spirit personally. He's a
15:24he. First Corinthians chapter 12, verse 11. It says, all these are the work of one
15:29and the same Spirit. And he, notice the Bible doesn't say, and it distributes
15:34them. No, not an it. It doesn't say, and the thing distributes them. No, no. It
15:38says, and he distributes them to each one just as he determines, talking about the
15:42Holy Spirit. He said, he's a he. John 15, verse 26. When the advocate comes, the Holy
15:47Spirit comes, whom I will send to you from the Father. And when Jesus ascended
15:51to heaven, the Holy Spirit was poured out on the earth. He said, the Spirit of
15:54truth who goes out from the Father, he, not it. It doesn't say, it will testify
16:00about me. No, no, no. It says, he will testify about me because the Holy Spirit
16:04is not an it or a thing. He's a he. And you can get to know the Holy Spirit
16:10better and better and better. Second question, what makes the Holy Spirit a
16:14person? What makes the Holy Spirit a person? And when I say the Holy Spirit is
16:19a person and talk about a person, it means that one who has their own
16:24identity and individuality as a rational being. A person is one who's conscious of
16:32their own existence. When the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is a person, it's
16:37not saying that he has eyes and ears and feet and hands, but yet the Holy Spirit
16:44does have many attributes of a person. And let me just share some with you
16:49right now. I want you to understand the Holy Spirit is a person that you can get
16:53to know better and better and better and better. The first thought is this, the
16:58Holy Spirit is alive. He's a person. He's alive. Romans 8 verse 2 says, and because
17:03you belong to him, the power of the life giving spirit has freed you from the
17:09power of sin that leads to death. The Holy Spirit is alive. Can I tell you, the
17:12Holy Spirit is at work right now. He's alive. He's in the earth. He's working. He
17:17is moving. The Holy Spirit is not an it or a thing. The Holy Spirit is not dead.
17:21The Holy Spirit is alive and is at work right now. The Holy Spirit has a mind. He
17:27has a mind. Romans 8 verse 27, and he searches our hearts and knows the mind of
17:33the spirit because the spirit intercedes for God's people in accordance with the
17:37will of God. Just like you have a mind, just like you have thoughts, so does the
17:44Holy Spirit. And you have to get to know the Holy Spirit's thoughts. You have to
17:49get to know the Holy Spirit's mind. He has a mind. The Holy Spirit, he has a
17:54will. He has a will. First Corinthians chapter 12 and verse number 11. All these
17:59are empowered by one and the same spirit who apportions or who distributes the
18:04gifts, talking about the gifts, distributes to each one individually as
18:08he wills. The Holy Spirit has a will. It's important to understand this. You will
18:16never get to know the Holy Spirit if you don't understand he has a will that he
18:22wants to accomplish in the earth and also in your life. And the Holy Spirit's
18:29will is oftentimes not your will. And so you got to get to know the Holy Spirit
18:37so you can know his will and his thoughts and what he's thinking. I've
18:43been married to Tiffany almost 26 years and sometimes I think I got her
18:47figured. I think I know what she's thinking. I know what her
18:49will is. I know what she wants to happen. And then I talked to her. I'm like, no, I
18:53wasn't thinking that at all. So I got to keep leaning in. I got to keep learning.
18:57And the Holy Spirit has thoughts. He's got a will. He's alive. And the Holy
19:04Spirit has emotions. Romans 15 verse 30, I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our
19:09Lord Jesus Christ, by the love of the Spirit. The Holy Spirit is loving. He has
19:16emotions. Galatians chapter 5 verse 22 says, but the fruit of the Spirit is, he
19:21starts listing the emotions, emotions of the Spirit. Love, joy, peace. The Holy
19:28Spirit is a he, is a person. He has emotions. He can be grieved. He has
19:36emotions. He has feelings. He can be grieved. Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30, and
19:39do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God with whom you were sealed for for the
19:45day of redemption. Listen, church, understand this. The Holy Spirit is
19:49sensitive. You have to learn what grieves the Holy Spirit. If you don't
19:56know the Holy Spirit, you won't know what is grieving him. You might be doing
20:02some things that's grieving the Holy Spirit and you don't even know it. And
20:10I've been getting to know Tiffany for all of these years. And there were
20:13several years that I didn't realize that I was grieving her. I was doing
20:19things that was hindering and putting obstacles in our relationship. And over
20:26the years, I've continued to lean in and learn and learn and learn and learn. And
20:31now there are times that I'm talking to Tiffany and I say something and I can
20:36see the expression on her face. I'm like, that didn't go over well. That didn't work.
20:43Because I know her. I'm learning her. I'm studying her. And you got
20:49to get to know the Holy Spirit because if you don't get to know him, you'll be
20:52doing some things that's grieving the Holy Spirit, that's hindering your
20:56relationship with the Holy Spirit, that's putting distance between you and the
21:00Holy Spirit. You got to get to know him. He's a person. He's a person.
21:05Matter of fact, the Holy Spirit is such a person you can even lie to the Holy
21:10Spirit. Acts says in chapter 5 verse 3, then Peter said, Ananias, how is it
21:15that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and
21:21have kept for yourself some of the money you have received for the land?
21:25This is so key that you understand you can lie to the Holy Spirit. You say,
21:31Pastor, why is it key? Because the foundation of any relationship is trust.
21:38Relationships are built on trust. And you know what happens when you don't trust
21:45someone? You don't keep them close to you. You put some distance between you
21:51and them. When you don't trust someone, you're like, you know, I'm gonna
21:55keep you a little distant. I don't want you too close. And I
21:59wonder today if some of you don't know the Holy Spirit that well and you've
22:02been lying to the Holy Spirit and you're wondering why you can't hear the voice
22:06of God. You're wondering why you can't feel the presence of God. You're
22:09wondering why you're not close to God. You're wondering why there's distance
22:11between you and God. Because you can lie to the Holy Spirit and the foundation of
22:17every relationship is built on trust. You gotta get to know the Holy Spirit more
22:24and more. He has a personality. He has a personality. And we're learning that
22:30right now. The Holy Spirit has a personality. He has unique and
22:33identifiable characteristics. Just like my family. I think about Tiffany and my
22:38four kids, Kel, Cade, Karis, and Case. They all have different personalities. And my
22:45relationship with them is not one-size-fits-all. Because they're
22:48different. They're unique. And the Holy Spirit has a unique personality and
22:56unique qualities that we're going to be learning about throughout this series.
23:00And you have to have a hunger and a desire to know the Holy Spirit more and
23:06more. Know the Holy Spirit. Let me answer this third question. Where did the Holy
23:10Spirit come from? When you really want to get to know someone, you have to learn
23:16their history. When I met Tiffany, I was 21. She was 19. And I got to, one of the
23:23first things I learned was her history. I learned that she was born on August the
23:275th, 1977. I learned about her history. She was born in Nebraska. She was raised in
23:34Nebraska and in Wisconsin. She grew up a Nebraska Cornhusker fan. But the Lord has
23:42delivered her. Mmmmmmm. Jesus, she has been delivered! Glory to God. Boomer sooner if
23:49she is today. Glory to God. She grew up a Green Bay Packers fan. But she's been
23:58delivered! Glory to God. Dallas Cowboys! She's been delivered! From Brett Favre.
24:06Aaron Rodgers. Even Aaron Rodgers wanted to get delivered from the Packers. Some of
24:10you that don't know football, Google it. You'll learn what I'm talking about. But
24:15you, if you're going to get to know someone, you got to know their history. And
24:19you got to know the Holy Spirit's history. Let me give you some history about the
24:22Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has no beginning. Isaiah chapter 40 verse 28
24:26says, Do you not know, have you not heard, that the Lord is the everlasting God, the
24:31creator of the ends of the earth? He will not grow tired or weary in his
24:34understanding. No one can fathom. Revelations 1 verse 8, I am the Alpha and
24:38the Omega, says the Lord, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty. Hebrews
24:44chapter 9 verse 14, Just think how much more the blood of Christ will purify our
24:48consciences from sinful deeds so that we can worship the living God for the by
24:53the power of the eternal spirit. Come on, everybody shout eternal. He's the
24:58eternal spirit. Christ offered himself to God as a perfect sacrifice for our sins.
25:03The Bible teaches us the Holy Spirit is eternal. He has always been. He always
25:08will be. It's mind-blowing. But the Holy Spirit has no beginning and he has no
25:13end. Matter of fact, he was present and a part of the creation of the world. The
25:18Holy Spirit was there when the world was created. The heavens and earth were
25:22created when humanity was created. The Holy Spirit was there. Genesis chapter 1
25:26verse 2, Now the earth was formless and empty. Darkness was over the surface of
25:30the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. The Holy
25:37Spirit was a part of creation because he is God. He has no beginning. He has no end.
25:44He is eternal. He is everlasting. He's the Alpha and the Omega. And not only does he
25:50not have an origin, but he also does not have a single residence. You can't say
25:57the Holy Spirit is there and that's the only place he is. No, he has no single
26:02residence. David described it like this in Psalm 139 verse 7. I can never escape
26:07from your spirit. I can never get away from your presence. Talking about the
26:10omnipresence of God. He goes on to say in verse 78, Where can I go from your
26:16spirit? You see, understand this. Let me teach you. There's the omnipresence of
26:20God and then there's the manifest presence of God. Today as we were
26:26worshiping God, man, hands lifted. I know my hands were lifted worshiping God. Some
26:30of you, you felt the presence of God. You felt God touching you. That's the
26:34manifest presence of God. Sometimes you're driving in your car and you're
26:38and you're praying or you're in the morning reading your Bible and you're
26:41worshiping and you're praying and you feel God touch you. You're filled with
26:44the Holy Spirit. You're touched by the power of God. You feel his tangible
26:48presence. That's the manifest presence of God. Not everybody experiences the
26:53manifest presence of God. There are some people that don't worship that don't
26:56know God. They don't experience his manifest presence. But no matter if
27:00you're far from God, you don't know God. You may be far, far, far from God. You're
27:04not a child of God. You cannot escape the omnipresence of God. It's everywhere.
27:11The omnipresence. David said, where can I go from your presence? The Holy Spirit is
27:18is everywhere. Question four. Question four. What does the Holy Spirit do? What
27:24does he do? This is an important question when you're getting to know someone. You
27:29want to get to know them more. When I first met Tiffany in Missouri on the
27:37college campus, we started to want to know, what do you do? What classes are
27:44you taking? What are you majoring in? You have a job. When you graduate, what are
27:52you planning on doing? You see, to really get to know the Holy Spirit, you need to
27:57ask this question. What does the Holy Spirit do that's different from the
28:02Father and the Son? See, the Godhead, they are three in one and one in three, but
28:09they each have distinct functions and roles. The Father has a role and
28:14function. The Son has a role and functions. And the Spirit has a role
28:20and functions. And today, for the sake of time, I don't have time to unpack all the
28:24roles of the Father and all the roles of the Son and all the roles of the Holy
28:28Spirit. But I do want to illuminate your mind and your understanding for you to
28:32understand that the Holy Spirit does have a different role than the Father
28:35and the Son, so you can go study it out yourself. But today, I do want to
28:41give you one example of what I'm talking about. The three distinct roles of the
28:45Godhead in salvation. Let's take salvation and let's look at the
28:49different roles of the Father, of the Son, and of the Spirit. The Father created the
28:55plan of salvation. John chapter 6 verse 37 and 38. All those the Father gives me
29:02will come to me. And whoever comes to me I will never drive away, Jesus says. For I
29:07have come down from heaven not to do my will. I left heaven not to do my will, but
29:14to do the will of him who sent me. The Father had a will. The Father had a plan.
29:19And the Son, Jesus, executed the plan of salvation. The Father created the plan
29:25and the Son executed the plan. Galatians chapter 4 verse 4. But when the set time
29:32had fully come, the set time, the set time, and you'll read the Old Testament, they
29:38were sacrificing goats and and lambs and the priests were going into the Holy of
29:42Holies to sacrifice the lamb and the goats for the forgiveness of people's
29:46sins. But when the time had fully come, God sent his Son, born of a woman, born
29:52under the law. The Father sent the Son to execute the plan of salvation. The Father
29:58had a plan. He wanted to execute it to save humanity from their sins. Jesus left
30:03heaven, came to earth, and he executed the Father's plan. Luke chapter 22 verse 42.
30:09Father, Jesus said, if you are willing, take this cup from me, yet not
30:14my will. I'm not here to do my will. I'm not here to do my plan. You came up with
30:19the plan, not my will. But yours will be done. And Jesus accomplished the Father's
30:27will by dying on the cross and then he rose again on the third day. Jesus has
30:31done all he's going to do to save humanity from sin. All he's going to do.
30:37He's done his part. Hebrews describes it in Hebrews 7 verse 27. And like those
30:43other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices every day. They did this
30:48for their own sins first and then for the sins of the people. But Jesus did
30:53this once for all when he offered himself as the sacrifice for the
30:58people's sins. And Jesus died once and for all. And now Jesus today, he's seated at
31:03the right hand of the Father. And all he is doing is interceding for you and me.
31:07Because he's died already on the cross and rose again. He's not going to do
31:11anything else for us to be saved. And now let's look at the Holy Spirit. The
31:15Holy Spirit is carrying out the plan of salvation. The Father created the plan.
31:20The Son executed the plan. The Spirit is carrying out the plan of salvation. John
31:2516 verse 7 through 9 says, But in fact, it is best for you that I go away, Jesus
31:30said, because if I don't, the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, won't come. If I do go
31:34away, because I've done my part, if I do go away, then I will send him to you. And
31:39when he comes, he has a role. He has a function. He will convict the world of
31:44its sin and of God's righteousness and of the coming judgment. The world's sin is
31:49that it refuses to believe in me. And the Holy Spirit right now, understand his
31:54role in salvation. He's on the earth today and he's working. And he's drawing
32:00people to Jesus. He's convicting people of sin. The Holy Spirit is carrying out
32:05the plan of the Father and the execution of the Son. The Godhead has distinct
32:11functions and roles. I close with this last question. What does the Holy Spirit
32:19do in the life of the Christ follower? What does he do? Some of you are thinking
32:26today, Pastor, what does the Holy Spirit want to do in my life personally? How do
32:30I get to know him better? Pastor, what will happen in my life when I get to
32:37know the Holy Spirit better? What will happen? Pastor, does the Holy Spirit speak
32:41to me personally? Can I hear from him? Pastor, I've heard about speaking in
32:46tongues. What is that? I've heard about the gifts of the Holy Spirit. What are
32:52they? I've heard about the fruit of the Spirit. How do I get that fruit in my
32:56life? Pastor, you talked about grieving the Holy Spirit. Am I grieving the Spirit?
33:05The Holy Spirit has a will. Am I in his will? Pastor, what does the Holy Spirit
33:10want to do in my life? I need some answers, Pastor, about the Holy Spirit. How
33:16do I get to know him better? Be back next week.
33:22And the following weeks, as we learn about the Holy Spirit, and we're gonna
33:31give you opportunities to encounter the Holy Spirit, there's more. He's a person
33:40and you need to get to know him better. Father, I love you today. I thank you for
33:44this series. I thank you for the Word of God. I thank you for what you're already
33:48doing in the hearts and lives of people. I thank you that you're drawing people
33:52to Jesus right now. I thank you that people are getting a hunger for more and
33:56more and more of God. Have your way. We want you to have your way, Holy Spirit. We
34:01want you to move in our church. We want you to move in our lives. We want you to
34:05feel people and baptize people in the Holy Spirit. We want to see your work and
34:09your power displayed in our lives, in our church. Have your way, O God. In Jesus
34:15name, my brother. As eyes are closed and heads are bowed, you're hearing you don't know
34:19Jesus as your Lord and Savior. You're away from God today. You used to live
34:24for God, but you're no longer living for God. And right now, you feel this
34:27conviction. You feel something on the inside. You feel this uneasiness. It's the
34:32Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is convicting you. That's his role, his
34:35function. He's drawing you to Jesus. He's not doing it because he's mad at you, but
34:40because he loves you. Say yes to Jesus today. Come home today. Don't give in to
34:46that conviction. Don't just dismiss it. Give in to the conviction and say yes
34:51to Jesus today. As I count to three, I want you to shoot your hand high in the air
34:55and say, Pastor, I say yes to Jesus today. I'm rededicating my life to Jesus. I
34:59sense the Holy Spirit tugging on my heart to surrender to Jesus, and I'm
35:02lifting my hand, surrendering my life to Jesus today. One, two, three. Just shoot it
35:09up high right now. Say, Pastor, that's me. I see your hand. I see your hand there. I
35:12see your hand. Others today, I see your hand. Others today, I see your hand there.
35:15See your hand. Come on, just lift it high. That's it. I surrender my life to Christ.
35:18I see your hand. See your hand there. Others today, just lift it high. I see
35:21your hand there. Others today. So awesome. Come on, every campus, Midwest City,
35:24Northwest, just lift it high. Come on, right there. The ladies at Mabel Bassett,
35:27lift it high. Online, just click the raise your hand button right now and say yes
35:31to Jesus. Every hand raised. Pray this prayer with me right now. Confess it with
35:35your mouth. Believe it in your heart, and God's gonna wash away your sins. Pray
35:38with me now, Heavenly Father. I turn from sin, and I turn to Jesus. I believe he
35:46died on the cross, and he rose again. I surrender my life to you, and with the
35:51help of the Holy Spirit, from this day forward, I will live for you. In Jesus'
35:57name I pray. Amen.