Are you a spiritual Christian? How can a saint of God become a

spiritual Christian without a vital, biblical, precious walk in the

Spirit. Christ spoke much of the person and work of the Spirit of

whom He said, "I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another

Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever." (John 14:16)

"... whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth,

which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:" (John 15:26)

We are commanded to walk in the Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-17) How

can we become what God the Father desires without the power of the

Holy Spirit upon our lives?

As Christ came to pay for sin, to be our Savior and has presently a

ministry for us as the High Priest -- so the Holy Spirit has manifold

ministries in our lives as the third person of the trinity. He is now

carrying out this ministry in our lives as children of God -- for He is

doing what the God-head three planned would take place in us and

for us. Do you recognized His work? Do you cooperate with the

Holy Spirit and his labor in your life?

There are many excesses and false teachings that abound concerning

the Holy Spirit. It is apparent that Satan has endeavored to keep

many from understanding the Spirit's work, or to bring excesses and

wrong that other saved people might ignore the importance of the

Holy Spirit in their lives. The following ought to open your eyes

about many matters. I trust it will! -- Dr. Edward Watke Jr.

No. 1 Reality of This Blessed Person, the

Holy Spirit pg. 3

No. 2 The Holy Spirit ... Do You Know Him? pg. 7

No. 3 The Amazing Relationship of the Lord

Jesus and the Holy Spirit pg. 11

No. 4 The Holy Spirit Is To Be Recognized pg. 16

No. 5 The Fruits of the Wonderful

Spirit-filled Life pg. 19

No. 6 Keeping In Step With the Spirit pg. 23

No. 7 Trusting the Holy Spirit By Faith pg. 25

No. 8 Quenching the Spirit pg. 29

No. 9 Grieving the Spirit pg. 32

No. 10 The Power of the Spirit pg. 35

No. 11 The Gifts of the Spirit pg. 39

No. 12 The Holy Spirit and Missions Today pg. 44

No. 13 Dying, Dead, or Alive? pg. 48

No. 14 Who Will God For Us? pg. 52

No. 15 Listen. . . The Holy Spirit Is Speaking pg. 56

No. 16 What Is the Baptism of the Spirit? pg. 60

No. 17 Biblical Revelation and the Holy Spirit...

Dangers of an Anti-Biblical Position! pg. 65

Dividing the Word of Truth pg. 77

No. 20 What About the Sign Gifts? pg. 82

˜ But life isn't always wonderful. . . even life for the Spirit-filled Christian is not always wonderful. . . it wasn't for Paul, for an example.

˜ Most of the saved would say their Christian life is a struggle. . . you could call it carnal, or fleshly. . . a life of ongoing struggle and defeat!

˜ For many Christians something is missing. We just hope things will get better.

˜ For many of us the Christian life is a series of efforts. . . as we try harder. . . we have good intentions, but poor follow-through.

˜ A charismatic congregation once advertised,"We don't teach doctrine, but we teach character!" This may even sound good, but character, maturity, or spirituality comes from the foundation of doctrine. Is your life simply a process of doing the best that you can?

˜ Few doctrines are more life related. The study of the Holy Spirit and the Christian is full of personal application for our daily lives.

˜ We must consider questions like:

1. How do these truths relate to me personally?

2. How should I respond to these truths?

3. How should I apply the truths I will learn to my family, work, church, and daily life?

4. How can the understanding of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit help

me in my service, soul winning, relationships, and in the nitty-gritty of l life?

1. What a remarkable privilege the disciples (apostles) had in walking with

the Lord Jesus for three and a half years.

2. During that time they saw Him perform many remarkable works.

(Jo. 20:30-31)

3. It was extremely significant that Christ was their personal teacher and advisor during those years.

4. Can we imagine what this training must have been like? (Luke 24:25-34)

1. He talked about His death -- as the death of a corn of wheat.

"Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone, but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.

(Jo. 12:23-25, 32-33)

2. He talked about his death -- as going where they could not go now!

"Simon Peter said, unto him, Lord, whither goest thou? Jesus answered him, Whither I go, thou canst not follow me now. . . " (Jh 13:36-38)

B. This brought fear, dismay, sorrow, and bewilderment to the group.

1. Jesus sought to comfort them in John 14:1-3. (Cf II Cor. 1:3-4)

2. He promised, He would not leave them comfortless! (Jo. 14:18)

3. Christ bequeathed many things unto His own! (All in John's gospel.)

a. He gave the promise of a comforter. (7:37-39; 14:16, 26)

b. He gave the promise of a prepared home. (14:1-3)

c. He gave the promise of the power of His Name in prayer. (14:13-14)

d. He gave the promise of His peace. (14:27)

e. He gave the promise of His sustaining life within us. (15:1-8)

f. He gave the promise of continual love. (15:9)

g. He gave the promise of His friendship. (15:13-16)

h. He gave the promise of His joy. (15:11)

C. They could not grasp the fact of Christ's death, or resurrection and glorification. (Mark 16:9-14; Luke 24:25-27, 32, 41-47; Heb. 3:12; 4:6)

D. They needed the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives! (Lk 24:49;

Acts 1:4-8 It is not something we grow into. Jh 3:30; Gal. 2:20; Phil. 4:13)

1. If we don't need help, then why send a Helper?

2. The quality of life Jesus expects from His followers is unattainable

apart from outside intervention.

3. The Christian life is not simply difficult . . .without Him it is impossible!

a. It is not something that gets easier with time;

b. it is not something you grow into;

c. it's impossible in ourselves. You can't live it! I can't live it.

d. God doesn't expect us to live it. He knows that it is impossible.

e. This is a liberating truth. (We are liberated from fleshly self effort of

just trying. . . and from the hollow life of ongoing failure!)

If any group should have been able to live consistent Christian

lives, it was them.

1. They were trained by the Master.

2. They saw the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead raised to life.

3. They performed miracles themselves, yet they were told to wait, to

tarry for power from the Holy Spirit. (Lk 24:49)

1. There may be a great chasm between what we sing on Sunday and what we actually do Monday through Saturday.

2. Many Christians have a different theology for life on week-days.

3. For many of the saved, life is a long string of joys and failures with the promise of heaven in the end. (But mainly it is a string of failures.)

God is looking for imperfect men and women who have learned to walk in moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit.

A. The promise about the Comforter, the Holy Spirit, was often given.

(Consider John 14:16-17, 26; 15:26; 16:7-15; 7:37-39)

1. It was imperative that Christ Jesus left them!

a. Jo. 16:7 "Nevertheless I tell you the truth, It is expedient for you that

2. Christ spoke of One who would be especially sent!

b. Jo 14:16 "And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever."

c. Jh. 15:26 "But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto

B. All of these statements have rich meaning!

1. "Another comforter" would come! The word, "another," carried a rich

meaning to their hearts.

2. In the original language, the Greek has two words which are translated

"other" or "another."

a. One word means, "one of the same kind," and the other means

"one of another kind."

b. He was saying He was going to send the disciples "another comforter

of the same kind," a comforter like Himself.

c. This Comforter would not stay just three and half years. He would

be with God's people forever.

d. He would be with them and never, never leave them.

e. Comforter -- "one alongside to help," is the literal meaning of the

word. He comes alongside to help, to assist, to bring comfort and

strength where it is needed in our lives.

C. The Lord Jesus described this other Comforter.

1. As the -- "Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it

with you and shall be in you." (Jo. 14:17)

2. That is why Christ said, "I will not leave you comfortless, (I will not

leave you orphans), I will come unto you." (Jo 14:18)

a. Here is a promise of His return, but how?

b. He is speaking of one who would come and take His place.

3. He is also the "advocate," which is another translation of the word,

comforter. As the advocate. . .

a. He is the One who is in charge of a case, to plead a cause. (Jh. 16:7-10)

b. Yet, not merely an advocate or attorney--

˜ but One who identifies himself totally with all our interests,

˜ and who completely undertakes in our cause whatever

that godly cause might be.

c. He is involved right now, engaged now to see us through all of

the difficulties whatever these difficulties might be.

d. The Holy Spirit is the Personal Agent who transacts all spiritual

business for us,

˜ in our behalf, for our need,

˜ and the One who carries out the Father's interests within us.

˜ The Bible teaches that God the Father is a Person separate and apart from the Son and from the Holy Spirit.

˜ The Lord Jesus Christ is a Person separate from the Father and from the Holy Spirit and

˜ the Holy Spirit is a Person separate in His identity from the Father and the Son.

˜ Thus we have three Persons and yet all three Persons are in the Godhead. All three are equally God.

1. How real is the Holy Spirit to you?

2. Are you living a lifestyle that is empowered and directed by the Holy Spirit?

3. Do you find yourself primarily going through the motions of the Christian

life with much frustration, direction less, unmotivated, and discouraged?

4. Do you expect the Christian life to be better. . . well, "after I get married,

or when I get older, or when I get this or that finished, etc." Is it an ongoing

illusion that someday for some reason it will be better?

5. The promise of a helper presupposes that we need help.

6. Do you have the idea that the Christian life is. . . doing the best I can, and

God understands my constant failure. . . I am expected to fail!

7. What can you attribute to the power of the Holy Spirit in your life today?

We are living in a day when the Holy Spirit is much talked about but little understood. Many excesses, false doctrine, and wrong ideas abound!

˜ For many professing Christians the ministry of the Holy Spirit is more experiential than factual. For the emphasis is upon experience and emotions.

˜ Many are more interested in some emotional experience or feelings they may receive from the Holy Spirit than what the Bible actually teaches concerning the Holy Spirit, His Person, work and ministry to us.

˜ Spirituality is available for every saved person. We are saved on the basis of our relationship to Christ , and we become a spiritual Christian (rather than carnal) on the basis of our relationship to the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 5:16-17,24; Rom. 8:9- 16; I Cor. 2:9-14)

˜ Too many Christians live on a carnal plane; they have not allowed the Person and work of the Holy Spirit to become a personal truth that effects their life.

˜ Many of us are powerless, fruitless, barren, and ineffective in our daily life.

Why is this so? We have not appropriated the ministry of the Holy Spirit

unto ourselves.

Some people believe that the Holy Spirit is merely an extension or influence from God, and that He has no distinct, personal existence. The word Spirit may seem to be impersonal to many, like a force or energy, not a person.

1. He has the attributes of a person. Three prominent things are included

in the concept of personality -- intellect, emotion, and will.

a. We read of "the mind of the Spirit," (Rom. 8:27)

b. We are not to "grieve the Spirit." (Eph. 4:30) He is not an unfeeling

power, remote from emotions we humans experience and feel.

c. We understand He gives gifts, making decisions about those gifts

given, and dispensing them "as he will." (I Cor. 12:11)

2. He works as a person.

a. Teaching us to pray, leading us in our praying. (Rom. 8:26) Prayer

involves knowledge, orderly thought processes, and purpose.

b. He is the teacher who leads us into all truth. (Jh 14:26) Teaching

requires knowledge, logic, and the ability to communicate

intelligently. The Holy Spirit is all of that to us.

c. The Holy Spirit teaches the things of Christ. (Jh. 16:12-15)

d. Christ said the Holy Spirit will take the things of Christ and make them ours.

3. He ministers as a person, for

a. He makes the Lord Jesus an ever present reality to us.

b. Christ promised that the Holy Spirit's presence, as the Comforter,

would restore to them the presence of Christ.

4. He possesses the titles of a person -- many names-- pronouns "he, him"

B. The Holy Spirit is a Divine Person. (Rom. 1:4; I Jo 2:20; Acts 13:1-4)

.. as a Divine Person .....

1. He is omnipresent -- dwelling in us! (Ps. 139:7; I Cor. 6:19-20)

2. He is omnipotent -- guiding, filling us! (Acts 1:8; Job. 33:4)

3. He is a Person of ultimate royalty, for He is God.

a. But He is not some remote deity, His ministry is to us. (I Cor. 6:11)

b. The Heavenly Father comes real in a daily, and personal sense.

4. He is the Spirit of Glory, the Spirit of grace, our blessed

Comforter! (Heb. 10:29; I Pet. 4:14)

˜ He desires to be our fullness. In the Divine plan, the gift of the Holy Spirit has as much purpose as the gift of the Son for salvation.

˜ Through the Son of God the sinner has life, has salvation, and through the person of the Holy Spirit the saved are to know abundant life, or the fullness of the spiritual life.

˜ Through salvation by Christ's death, burial and resurrection the sinner left the realm of the natural to enter into the supernatural. By the Holy Spirit's

ministry the saved person is led on into the fullness of the Christian life.

˜ The Holy Spirit dwells in us for the purpose of leading us into the fullness of God for our lives.

A. He desires to be "our fullness." (Eph. 1:23; 3:16-19; Jh. 7:37-39)

1. He reveals in the Word the fullness we are to have in Christ;

2. Then He creates in us the desire for that fullness, and

3. Then He acts as the channel for the transmission of fullness from God unto us.

B. He desires we understand this is our "birthright."

1. It is ours by virtue of being born again.

2. It is the right of every believer to know the blessing of the Spirit's

overflowing in us and through us. (Jh 7:37-39)

C. He desires to be the One who "controls our daily lives." (Eph. 5:18)

1. Here is a command to be obeyed, not an option, but an obligation.

2. The refusal of Christ is the greatest sin of the unsaved, and the

refusal of the Spirit's control is the greatest sin of the saved.

3. The early church recognized a Spirit filled person (Acts 6:1-6)

4. His work is the "reproducing of Christ's life in us." (Gal. 5:22-23)

5. His work is the "reenactment of Christ's supernatural power" in us

and through us. (Eph. 5:18; 3:16-20)

6. His work is to make real the "abiding presence of Christ in the life."

D. He desires to fulfill in us all the ministries of His Person!

1. He came to be Spirit of Truth! (John 14:17;

a. To lead us into all truth,

b. to remove all the is false, deceitful, hypocritical, grieving to

God. (Eph. 4:30)

2. He came to be the Spirit of Faith! (II Cor. 4:13)

a. So that all unbelief, distrust, worry, anxiety, unrest,

barrenness, etc., could be removed.

b. So we would believe God utterly, trusting Him for

great things. (Heb. 11:6)

3. He came to be the Spirit of Holiness! (Rom. 1:4)

a. As God, the Holy Spirit, He hates every thing unclean, impure, the

filthy, the degraded, the defiling.

b. He would take away -- out of our lives -- anything unclean, defiling, degrading -- that which grieves and quenches God's work in us.

c. He would take away that which would be the harboring of the impure -- such as pictures, books, TV viewing, etc., that is evil.

4. He came to be the Spirit of Life -- (Rom. 8:3)

a. So indifference, lukewarmness, dullness, deadness might not

grieve Him.

b. How alive are you? How fervent? (Rom. 12:11) What about

fervency in prayer, in witnessing, toward the Word of God?

5. He came to be the Comforter! - - (John 14:16)

a. The One who indwells -- enabling us to grow up in all things.

b. To bring about conformity to Christ, the Son, unto His image,

to strengthen us so that we do not go into sin. (Rom 8:1-16)

6. He came to be the Spirit of Grace -- (Heb. 10:29)

a. Here is a touching designation of the Holy Spirit. Between the

sinner and awful judgment stands the Spirit of Grace.

b. He is the One who pleads with sinners (Jh 16:-7-10) to come to

Christ.

c. He is the One who warns of Hell and points to Calvary, who unveils

God's provision for sin in the merits of Christ's death.

7. He came to be the Spirit of Glory -- (I Pet. 4:14)

a. Christians have suffered much. This world is full of suffering

saints. The Holy Spirit as the Spirit of glory lifts up the believer.

b. He gives grace... strength... glory in the midst of suffering and trial.

c. When you are despairing, He will give you glory, victory, and the

blessing of God's sweet presence in the midst of trials.

1. Do you make much of the Holy Spirit's Person and work for your life?

2. How much of these truths are a reality to you?

3. To what degree do you find failure, frustration, and inability a part of your

daily life?

4. Do you see it is because you do not appropriate the Spirit's work in

you and for you?

5. Christ said, "Ye know Him for He dwelleth with you and shall be in you!" Can

you say that you know the Holy Spirit?

6. Do you know Jesus as Savior? So do you know the Holy Spirit also?

live out the fullness of God on a daily basis!

˜ The Holy Spirit's place in the life of Christ is nothing short of amazing! From Christ's birth to the resurrection, the Holy Spirit has a fantastic part in the life and ministry of Christ.

˜ We have a tremendous picture before us -- of Christ and the Holy Spirit -- a picture and example for the believer's relationship to the Holy Spirit.

˜ We step into the pages of Holy Scripture and consider the work of the Holy Spirit in the life and ministry of the Jesus Christ. (See Acts 10:39; I Pet 2:21.)

˜ The Holy Spirit and Christ were not strangers -- but always are, always will be -- one with and in the Godhead -- in eternity past. What a blessed mystery!

˜ Since the Holy Spirit had such a close, essential relationship to Christ -- how foolish and presumptuous for us to think that we can live one moment without the Holy Spirit's power and wisdom. We must "walk in the Spirit! Gal. 5:16

˜ There is a mystery connected with the work of the Holy Spirit and only by faith

can we understand.

-- We cannot explain the Holy Spirit as the Divine Agent of conception in the Virgin birth....

-- nor can we explain the Holy Spirit's working as convicting, redeeming agent in the new birth. But how precious, how real are both events! (Jh 3:1-9)

A. He was born of the Spirit -- fulfillment of the words of the prophesy of

Isa 7:14....

1. The conception of Christ is vitally attributed to the work of the Holy Spirit.... a virgin birth... by the Spirit!

2. This only could make possible the divine immaculate conception... Christ would not inherit the sin nature... passed down from generation to generation.

3. This should settled forever, once and for all, that Christ had no human

father. . . "The Holy Ghost (Spirit) shall come upon thee..." Lk 1:35

B. The Quality of life is also spoken of. . .

1. "the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee...." (Lk 1:35)

2. There is absolute power on the part of the Holy Spirit....

3. This is a mystery beyond our comprehension.... to be received by faith.

C. Believers are also born of the Spirit! (Jh 1:11-13; 3:3-7; Tit 3:5;

I Pet. 1:23)

1. Here is the promise of supernatural birth... born of the Spirit.

2. You cannot fully explain it (nor can you or I explain the wind, (Jh 3:3-11)

whither it cometh.. or whither it goeth)... but how majestically true.

3. It is the sovereign work of God's infinite grace that reaches down to man's

extremity in sin and brings about ... through the shed blood of Christ,

the New birth that makes one a new creature in Christ. (Tit 3:5)

"The Spirit of the Lord is upon ME... he had anointed ME... he hath sent ME."

(Lk 4:18 .... as related to Isa 61.)

A. Jesus was anointed by the Holy Spirit -- (Isa. 61: 1-7)

1. To "preach the gospel to the poor...

2. to heal the brokenhearted.....

3. to preach the acceptable year of the Lord." (Lk 4:17-20)

B. The priests... kings of the Old Testament were the recipients of an

unction... an anointing of oil. (Lev. 8:12; I Sam 16:12-13)

1. These were types, pictures of Christ who would be anointed... not with

oil... but with the Holy Spirit.

Isa 11:1-2 "And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse. . . the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom, and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord."

Also we read in Isa. 42:1... "Behold my servant... mine elect, in whom my soul delights; I have put my spirit upon him."

C. Believers are also anointed with the Spirit:

1. In I John 2:27 we read, "The anointing which ye have received of

him.."

2. This parallels the anointing of the Son of God with the Holy Spirit

for a great and glorious ministry. "When Jesus was baptized he was

Lk 3:21-22

3. Believers today need an anointing of the Holy Spirit for every phase of

life's work. (Cf Matt. 3:17)

A. At the baptism of Christ, it is written that the Spirit descended and

remained upon Him. (Jh 1:33)

1. He had the Spirit without limitation... without measure -- (Jh 3:34)

"God giveth not the Spirit by measure unto him."

2. Others had the Spirit of God... by measure prior to this time.

a. They knew but fragments of the truth of God, the power of God...

b. To them the Spirit came and then went away. Their gifts were

limited... but to Christ every gift of the Spirit was given.

c. The Spirit abode upon Christ (Jh 1:32)

d. Christ was endowed with every divine gift..."For in Him dwelleth

all the fullness of Godhead bodily." (Col. 2:9)

B. We are also indwelt by the Spirit -- (I Cor. 6:19,20; I Cor. 3:15)

1. Written to a needy church, a carnal church, a divided church... but

His indwelling has nothing to do with our perfection or lack of it.

2. He comes to us.... to bring spiritual power resulting in a life of holiness

and sweet fellowship with God and with one another.

A careful study of the life of Christ indicates that Jesus was constantly guided by the Holy Spirit. He gave such complete obedience that he was able to say: "He that sent me is with me: the Father hath not left me alone; for I do always those things that please him." (Jh 8:29)

A. Christ was filled with the Spirit. (Luke 4:1)

1. "and Jesus being full of the Holy Spirit..."

## the masses of humanity today are well versed and even full of many subjects.... such as current events, literature, sport trivial, etc.

2. But how many of God's people are full of the Spirit as Christ was?

B. Christ was led by the Spirit: (Luke 4:1)

1. "Jesus... was led by the Spirit into the wilderness.

2. Two very practical gleanings of truth come from this....

a. We ought to be led daily by the Holy Spirit in every detail of the

day; (Eph. 5:17; 6:6; Col. 4:12; Psa 37:23; Rom. 8:14)

b. Furthermore we need to be ready for the wilderness experiences

the dry, barren, places... the difficulties, the testings, etc.

˜ We need God's strength -- protection, for all the powers of Satan

are arrayed in diabolical, cunning schemes, bent on the destruction

of the believers' testimony. Mandatory that we are strong.....

˜ Satan would endeavor to keep us from spiritual joy and effective

Christian service.

˜ Jesus was ready for Satan's attacks... for He being full of the Holy

Spirit was led by the Spirit... to a testing time.

˜ Christ hungered; was weak, Satan knew; he made three subtle

attempts to discredit the Lord -- etc.

C. Christ triumphed in the Power of the Holy Spirit... Lk 4:14

1. "And Jesus returned in the power of Spirit into Galilee...."

2. He was led by the Spirit into the wilderness for this testing, and

returned (not defeated) glorious in power.

a. What a picture of triumph and victory.

b. Our goings and returning ought to be characterized by the power

of the Holy Spirit. ( I Jh. 4:4; Rom. 8:37; James 4:17)

c. Rom. 8:4; Jh 16:13; Gal. 5:16; 18; Eph. 5:18

A. Christ declared the source of His power --

1. the result of the fullness of the Spirit is that rivers of living water flowed

out from His life, (Jh 7:39)

2. In this manner Christ started -- sustained and solemnly completed his

earthly ministry -- "with the Holy Ghost and with power... doing good...

3. He stated that He cast out demons -- by the Spirit of God. (Matt. 12:28)

4. And it was through the Holy Spirit that He gave His commands

to the disciples. "He through the Holy Ghost had given commandments

unto the apostles whom he had chosen." (Acts 1:2)

5. OH, THINK.... All of His teachings, His works and His miracles were attributed directly to the Holy Spirit... Luke 4:18

B. We also must serve in the Power of the Holy Spirit:

(Gal. 5:16-17; 5:22-23; Jh 15:1-8; I Cor. 2:4; Eph. 3:16

A. When Christ voluntarily offered Himself for our atonement, our salvation. . . He did so through the eternal Spirit.

A. The quickening or resurrection was accomplished through the Holy

1. as cowards, they became bold (Acts. 2:14, 23, 32)

2. as doubters, they were convinced -- (Jh 20:24-29)

3. their discouragement was changed to assurance -- (Lk 24: 17, 21, 31-35)

4. rejecters became converted through their ministry. -- (Acts )

C. By the Power of the Holy Spirit -- we will also be raised from the dead:

(Rom. 8:11)

Acts 9:31; 13:52; Rom. 14:17-18; Eph. 5:9-10; Gal. 5:22-23; Rom. 15:30;

Rev. 2:17, 29; 3:1, 13, 22

Scriptures that relate: Rev. 2:7, 2:11; I Cor. 6:19-20; II Thess. 3:5; I Thess. 1:5-6

˜ The Holy Spirit is called "Lord," quite frequently throughout the Word of God.

˜ Paul refers to Him as "Lord" a number of times in the Epistles.

˜ We are urged to treat the Holy Spirit as one of the mighty and wonderful persons of the Triune God.

˜ We must treat Him as a Royal Person... we must make Him Lord in our lives.

˜ We are to go to Him personally and directly as the One who is here in place of the Lord Jesus.

˜ We should treat Him as we would treat Christ were He here on the earth.

˜ We must learn to feel at home in His presence.

I. THE HOLY SPIRIT ACTS ..... AS LORD:

A. We are told that Israel must "turn to the Lord." (II Cor. 3:16-18)

1. The next verse explains that the Lord is the Spirit.

2. Paul gave honor to the exalted place of authority which belongs to the

Spirit.

B. The One who directs the hearts is the Spirit. (II Thess. 3:5) Here He directs

us to the other two persons of the Godhead.

C. The Holy Spirit is called the "Lord of the Harvest."

1. Compare Matt. 9:38 -- Lk 10:2;

2. With Isa. 6:6-8, 10; and Acts 28:25

D. The Spirit as Lord called Paul and Barnabas into service. (Acts 13:2-4)

1. The Spirit Himself did the calling, the sanctifying, the sending.

2. We do not read that God "sent them by His Spirit"... as if the Holy Spirit

is the Father's chore boy to do certain things.

3. The Holy Spirit has charge of the mission fields of the world.

a. He directs the workers to the fields of labor,

b. He directs the workers to the work,

c. He brings the servant of God in touch with the seeking soul.

E. Because He is Lord, Ananias and Sapphira was stricken with death.

(Acts 5:4-5)

F. Because He was made Lord of his life, Paul was mightily used of

God. . . (Acts 9:15-20, 29, 31)

It is one of Satan's clever devices to hide this blessed Spirit in a mist of

superstition and a fog of misconception in order that we may not trust Him to do anything in our lives. . . just as Satan seeks to deceive the unsaved of their need of Jesus Christ as Savior from sin.

For this reason, many Christians lives are barren and their service fruitless. Maybe some don't live for Christ... we say they are unsaved... maybe unyielded!

(Acts 6, 8, 9, 10)

A. The disciples learned to trust the Spirit. (Acts 15:28)

B. Paul trusted the Spirit for a life of goodness and godliness. (Rom. 8:2-5;

Eph. 5:9-10; Gal. 5:16)

C. Peter trusted the ministry of the Spirit. (Acts 10:19; 11:12-16)

the Spirit. (I Pet. 1:12)

E. Paul trusted the Holy Spirit to appoint the elders. (Acts 20:28)

F. The Holy Spirit was trusted in the giving of gifts. (I Cor. 12:4-6, 11)

(I Cor. 2:9-12)

Each person of the Trinity has a work to do, and we must treat each accordingly. The Father did not die for sinners; that was the work of the Son. The Son did not come to teach the Scriptures throughout these centuries, or to empower His willing children for service, or to direct or lead them... that is the work of the Spirit.

We need to intelligently understand the work of the Spirit and learn to trust Him. We must learn to recognize the ministries of the Father and the Son and to also trust the Holy Spirit in His work in our behalf.

The Holy Spirit desires to be Lord of our lives. The very command to be filled with the Spirit means "to make Him controller. . . of our very lives." (Eph. 5:18)

A. Yielded to as teacher -- (Rev. 2:7, 11; Jh 14:26 Jh 15:26-27; 16:13-15)

1. It is the Spirit who instructs the people of God (Cf Jh 14:26)

2. While Christ was on earth, He taught the people concerning the will of

of God; He explained the Scriptures.

3. After ascending to heaven, He committed that ministry to the Spirit.

4. As the Son exalted the Father and the Spirit while here on earth, so

now the Spirit exalts the Father and the Son, (Jh 16:13-15.)

B. Yielded to as "Lord of our Bodies" -- (Rom. 6:13; 12:1-2; I Cor. 3:16)

1. He is free to do His work in us and through us (as He did in Christ)

when we yield our bodies to Him. (Eph. 5:18; Acts 1:8; Heb. 10:5-7)

2. It is his desire to fill our lives with God's message.... God's interests.....

God's love.... God's thoughts..... God's will.....

3. This is the secret of the Victorious life.

C. Yielded to as the "Indwelling One!" (I Cor. 6:19-20; 12:13; Eph. 5:18)

1. It is not for us to ask Him to help us... but for us to allow Him

to control us.

2. We are to be His temples, His helpers, to thus allow Him

to take charge of our lives.

3. Our bodies are to be His occupancy! If we expect Him to use us... then we must yield to His control.

˜ There is no jealousy in the Godhead.

˜ We need to understand that each exalts the work and the position of the other.

˜ The Father was not jealous over the attention given the Son while

He was on the earth.

˜ The Son and Father are not jealous over the place and position you

give to the Spirit in His ministry among the saved.

˜ The work of the Spirit is to exalt the Son, (Jh 16:13-15) and to bring

glory to the Father and the Son.

˜ It is the work of the Holy Spirit to unfolded the Scriptures -- to give us discernment, wisdom, enlightenment, understanding of the Word of God.

˜ The more freedom He has in our lives, the more He can exalt Christ.

˜ In a similar way -- we are to allow the Holy Spirit to have complete control over our hearts and minds... to be filled with Him is to allow His influence to invade every crack, and crevice of our being -- our thoughts, our motives, our relationships and our dreams... yes, every aspect of our being.

Imagine that you have a cup in your hand, water serves as the content... and you fill it. You and I, who are saved, are that cup, and the filler is the Holy Spirit.

˜ We are to be filled by the Spirit, dominated, controlled by.. . . . Eph. 5:18

˜ To be drunk is to be under the control of alcohol, to surrender one's body, mind, and spirit to its influence.

˜ To be filled with the Spirit is to voluntarily put oneself under the influence of the Holy Spirit.

˜ God's plan of salvation includes a provision for saving you from yourself.

The key player in this is the Holy Spirit -- the Holy Spirit is God's answer to the problem of righteous living -- He is the abiding presence of Christ's life in you. He endows us with strength, power, ability to live for Christ.

˜ It isn't God's will that you and I live lives characterized by defeat -- It isn't His will for us to be defeated in our thought lives, in our emotions, in our attitudes ... in lack of self-control -- or in our faith.

We said last week, this necessitates... total dependency and total surrender.

(See Rom. 6:1-14; 8:9-17; Gal. 5:16-17, 22-24; 5:5)

Now, if the Holy Spirit controls us... what will take place in our lives??

A. Christ said,... "without Me ye can do nothing.... we are to be

1. What Christ has called us to do -- be Christ-like, mature, conformed to

the His image! (Rom. 8:28,29), this is impossible for us to do!

2. For apart from Me, ye can do NOTHING.. nothing.. not a little, but

nothing! We struggle because we are constantly trying to do what we feel we ought to do in our own ability. (Jh 15:5c)

B. The Spirit of Christ dwells in you -- Rom. 8:9-12

1. Jesus Christ dwells in us through the Holy Spirit. To have the Spirit is to

have the life of Christ within.

2. The Holy Spirit is for us, the presence of Christ.. the spiritual presence of Jesus Himself, We are indwelt of the Spirit of God who is the living

Essence of Jesus in us!

3. Christ lives in me... Gal. 2:20; Rom. 8:12-17:

"It is no longer I who live, but Christ lives in me!" How? by the Spirit!

a. It is to be no longer I who was expected to produce patience, self- control, and love in my life.

b. That is the job of the Spirit... Who will produce joy in the midst of

stress?? -- the Holy Spirit.

c. Christ's character -- who will make that mine in me? The Holy

Spirit is there to do that.

d. Abiding, not striving, nor struggling,

˜ looking off unto HIM; ˜ trusting Him, Christ, for present power; ˜ trusting Him to subdue all inward corruption;

˜ resting in the love of the Almighty Savior.

C. What did the Apostles, Disciples Sense? (Jh 14:2-3; 25, 28; Jh 15:1-8)

1. They knew by Christ's message-- something big was about to happen

-- He would die, He would depart; they did not understand it all!

2. Up until then, they had drawn their strength and security from His presence.

3. The thought of carrying on without Him must have been very

depressing, for after all, even when He was there they often failed.

4. Jesus knew their fears, their dependence upon Him -- for direction, for

perspective... so as He moved toward those final hours, He explained

the way things would work after He was gone -- Jh 15:1-11

a. He would be the source of everything;

b. His love would be theirs; c. His joy would be theirs;

d. His very life would be lived in them, through them -- by the indwelling

Holy Spirit!

Jh 15:1-8; Eph. 5:9-10)

A. How Do We Bear Fruit? He expects us to bear fruit... but in ourselves this is impossible -- in fact we can't do anything in ourselves.

1. The contrast between works and fruit is important!

a. A machine in a factory works, and turns out a product, but it could

never manufacture fruit.

b. Fruit must grow out of life, and in the case of the believer it is the

fruit of the Spirit.

c. When you think of works-- you think of effort, labors, strain, and

toil.

d. When you think of fruit -- you think of beauty, sweetness, the unfolding of life, quietness... no noise there, or effort, or toil, or strain.

e. The flesh produces dead works... but the Spirit produces living fruit.

What a contrast --

2. The New Testament speaks of several different kinds of fruit--

a. People won to Christ -- Rom.1:13

b. Holy living -- Rom. 6:22

c. Gifts brought to God -- Rom. 15:26-28

d. Good works -- Col. 1:10

e. Praise, the fruit of our lips -- Heb. 13:15

f. The fruit of the Spirit -- Gal. 5:22-23; Eph. 5:9

These have to do with character -- not the gifts of the Spirit, but

the graces of the Spirit.

3. We are the branches-- He is the vine. How does the branch bear fruit?

a. Not by incessant effort for sunshine and air;

b. not by vain struggles for those influences that will give beauty to

the blossom.. and life to the leaf;

c. not by trying... but the branch simply abides in the vine, silently,

there is undisturbed union... blossoms and fruit are spontaneous.

4. How then do we bear fruit?

a. by efforts and struggling to obtain that which is freely given?

b. By straining to produce fruit? trying harder?

c. Will we have fruit by looking at ourselves -- our abilities -- our efforts?

d. Only by Christ living His life through us... only by resting in Him,

(Gal. 2:20) a complete surrender of the whole being to Him; a

constant looking to Him for grace, trusting the Holy Spirit to do this!

e. The vine does the work -- the fruit is a product of the sap that runs from the vine into the branch.

B. Christ expected them (us) to bear fruit -- more fruit, much fruit.

1. Not produce it -- but bear it. (Jh 15:1-8; Matt. 12:33-35)

a. By their fruits ye shall know them; our Christian life is known

by its fruit.

b. In a practical way -- we won't have the marriage we ought to have

without HIS fruit -- characterized by love, joy, peace.

We won't have self-control -- necessary to consistently overcome

temptation -- without His power.

c. Christ is our LIFE -- When the Holy Spirit took up residency in us --

He brings with Him an inexhaustible source of life.

d. He is life -- Jh 4:14; II Pet. 1:4; Jh 7:37-39

2. The Life of Christ in YOU has the potential to produce all kinds of change.

a. But you say, I tried to change, I can't... You are not equipped to

produce change -- only to bear the change. He will do it in YOU!

b. Your new life produces change -- that new nature given of you --

trust the Holy Spirit to use the New Nature -- You are simply the

vehicle through whom change is produced. -- Eph. 4:22, II Pet. 1:3-4

c. the vine-producing life is expressed in and through you.

˜ The Spirit-filled life is a life of walking and working in harmony with the Holy Spirit. (Gal. 3:1-6) (The Holy Spirit -- quickens, enlightens, convicts, comforts, draws, indwells, teaches, cleanses, leads, assures, seals, assists, intercedes, transforms, perseveres, confirms, and endows.)

˜ It is not a life of struggling alone to please a distant King. There are no solo chores.

˜ There are no marching orders... the Spirit-filled life is a relationship wherein two work as one.

˜ The Word of God puts great emphasis upon "walking in the Spirit. . . keeping in touch with the Spirit. . . allowing Him to lead our lives."

˜ We receive all of the Spirit at the time of our salvation. We don't receive Him piece by piece or bit by bit, or little by little.

˜ We have all of Him we can have, the problem is does He have all of us... does He have control of our beings.

˜ So, now that He is in us -- what can we expect? What should be the norm?

A. The Biblical Emphasis is upon our walk with the Spirit -- Gal. 5:16, 24

1. There is the indwelling that took place at our salvation -- now there is

the daily influence that must be a daily experience.

2. "Be ye -- being filled! or be ye being controlled by the Spirit -- and this

refers to a walk... a daily relationship.

3. To walk in the Spirit -- Gal. 5:15-18 -- is to be led by the Spirit.

a. We are to take our cues from Him, He is a personal guide, a moral compass... someone to show us the way -- "I will not leave you

comfortless, (orphans)" Jesus said.

b. Not like a police officer pointing the way -- not like someone in a control tower telling jets where to land -- not someone telling you the way -- but someone going the way with you.

c. There is a big difference between being led and being directed. The Holy Spirit is our leader, our guide, He is always there, and desires to fulfill the goals the Heaven Father desires.

d. He is tuned into our emotional state and our surroundings -- He is always sensitive to both -- He leads at a perfect pace -- He always knows our weaknesses -- and strengths, and takes them into consideration.

4. Being led by someone assumes a continuing relationship; it implies fellowship. It brings to mind cooperation, sensitivity, and common goals.

5. When someone is following another, there must be trust, even to the point of dependency.... all of this describe the believer's relationship with the Holy Spirit as the Christian allows Him to be guide.

To walk in the Spirit is to live with moment by moment dependency on and sensitivity to the initial promptings of the Holy Spirit.

B. The Biblical emphasis is also on Christlikeness-- Rom 8:29; Gal. 4:19;

II Cor. 3:16-19

1. The emphasis is upon righteousness -- Rom. 3:10,19-20; Rom. 10:1-3;

Rom. 3: 21-23, 25; I Cor. 5:21; He is made unto us -- I Cor. 1:30

2. A positional righteousness -- a practical righteousness -- But who makes

it possible to grow unto righteousness? The Holy Spirit.

3. Christ-like character and behavior is His desire -- His aim and goal in our

lives. Gal. 5:22-23

4. His goal is to lead us down the path of righteousness -- Gal. 5:16.

a. So we do not walk in the flesh,

b. Our purpose of walking in the Spirit is not to just find the will of God --

but to so live in dependency on the Spirit (sensitivity to promptings

of) that we say no to the pull of the flesh -- it's lusts, desires,

c. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Gal. 5:24

d. Walk "in line with... in agreement with... the Spirit.

e. Let us "keep in step with the Spirit..."

f. Spirit filled life is not just a bunch of don'ts but a large list of DO's.

II. THE WORD IS CLEAR AS TO HOW WE ARE TO WALK IN THE SPIRIT:

1. This not an automatic thing.

2. We were slaves to sin -- Rom. 6:16-17; 6:20;

3. We must realize that we are set free from sin -- otherwise we feel that

when the tug of temptation is there -- we have to give in -- inclination is to follow the fleshly desires.

4. Realize that in Christ -- we are free -- Rom. 6:11-14;

5. We must live the life of being set free -- Rom. 8:1-8

6. The battle is won or lost in what we think upon -- who controls our

thoughts -- what we think is truth -- Eph. 6:17 -- we have the sword of

the Spirit -- the Word of God -- II Cor. 10:5;

7. The Holy Spirit is equipped, committed to prompting you.. to guide you,

Our part is surrender -- yielding to, depending up, walk with.

(Gal. 3:1-9, vs 3, 13-14; Heb. 11:1, 6; Gal. 5:16-17, 24-25)

˜ He took a man who made his living destroying churches and changed him into the greatest church planter of all time.

˜ He took a group of uneducated fishermen and changed them into world- class evangelists and pastors.

˜ Through the years the Holy Spirit has indwelt men and women that have been saved. They came from the background of every imaginable habit, reputation, and persuasion and

˜ He changed them into people of excellence... power... dedication and fruitfulness.

˜ He will do the same for you today.

Phil. 2:13... How does this take place -- by the Holy Spirit... for greater is He that is in you than he that is in the world." (Acts 1:1-2, 8; I Jh 4:4)

Radical change is possible;

˜ We have everything we need to become all He wants us to become.

(II Pet. 1:3)

˜ By abiding in Him, and Him in us, we have the potential to produce a consistent harvest of fruit.... Jh 15 -- fruit, more fruit, much fruit.

˜ the disciples bore fruit. . .men who were unlearned, ignorant men... the kind of fruit that makes the most skeptical unbeliever sit up and take notice.

1 Much like a physical journey, our spiritual pilgrimage is undertaken first by acknowledgement... then by application.

2 In pursuit of the Spirit-filled life we begin by accepting that there is such a life;

a. that we can have that life,

b. that the Spirit who indwells us has the power and

c. desire to bring about great change in our character and perspective.

A. Most of us have no problem understanding and accepting the concept of salvation by faith; nothing I could do to save myself; so I simply trusted Christ's death on the cross as the payment for my sins. By placing my trust in that fact, or truth, I was born again ...

B. Faith is the way we entered into salvation. Is is the means by which we accept God's free gift (See Eph. 2:8-9).

C. We have been put into a family... where His righteousness has become

our righteousness -- II Cor. 5:21; I Pet. 2:24

D. God allowed entry into His family -- where only the righteous are allow!

We are IN HIM; Simply letting us into His family did nothing to reverse our inability to produce righteousness....

E. Most of us are expending a great deal of energy... trying to do right... to

be holy... to produce good fruits... etc.

A. Do you trust Him by faith?

1. For some strange reason, after entering into the wonderful relationship by faith -- we begin to conduct our Christian life by works.

2. It is as if we say... "Thank you God for saving me, now I will take it from here."

c. Is it my responsibility (yours) to produce righteousness/ or holiness?

II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:19-24; Rom 6:16-22... NO, He gives it to me!

B. Is it up me now to change myself, and become a better person?

How absurd! If I could produce righteousness on my own, why did Christ die for me? The truth is, on my own I can't produce one ounce of righteousness, neither before nor after salvation.

As believers, our potential for righteousness is in direct proportion to our willingness to allow the Holy Spirit to produce His fruit in us and through us.

A. How can I live the Christ-like life? How can I have the fruit that is needed in my life? How can I be a effective witness?

B. How does all this potential power that now indwells me interface with my behavior? What brings together my inadequacy with His adequacy? How do I get His power involved with my weakness? (II Cor. 12:9-11)

C. How did you become His Child? How did HE becomes yours?

Was it by dedication on your part, or by unceasing effort?

NO, NO... Gal. 3:3; Col. 2:6-7; Gal. 2:20

1. only, then will we act upon it... (Rom. 12:1-2) a change of mind.

2. Freedom comes from knowing the truth (Jh 8:32), before doing

anything.

3. The Spirit-filled life is a life of faith; Faith, as opposed to hope,

always has truth as its object.

4. Faith is believing that God will do as He promised.

a. Faith is not a power.

b. It is not something we are supposed to drum up inside ourselves.

5. Faith is trusting that God will honor His promises. That is all there is

to it!

B. Consider the well known story of David and Goliath: I Sam. 17:32-47

1. David did not see Goliath merely as the enemy of Israel, He was coming

against the armies of God. Goliath was God's enemy.

2. David knew he could face Goliath by faith; the soldiers had paralyzing

fear, stress, frustration. . David was not upset, he had faith in God's power

and in what God would do.

3. David's focus was on God's provision... neither he nor the others could

defeat the enemy. . . the only difference was focus.

4. David was not upset, for it was God's battle and not his; David knew exactly what he would do.... and then he would trust God for the rest.

5. This is what faith is -- living by faith boils down to, living as if God is really faithful in keeping His Word. God will keep His Word!

C. Giving the Holy Spirit the Green light --

1. Faith is the Holy Spirit's signal to go into action in my life -- in

your life.

2. Faith is entering into the activity that I need to be involved in --

by faith -- trusting the Holy Spirit to do HIS Work.

3. When you are under pressure -- You are either a reactor or a

responder by faith, by God's grace!

4. A responder activates his faith before he activates his will.

˜ David activated his faith, before he willed to do battle.

˜ I Sam. 17:32-37; his activity flowed from his faith.

˜ When you are under pressure, tempted, tried, tested, are you

a reactor or a responder -- when you are face-to-face with the giant

of lust or jealousy -- when your emotions are controlling you --

do you give in -- give over to sin -- give up?

˜ David claimed victory before he went into battle --

˜ The Holy Spirit is there to produce a Christ-like life;

He is there is make holy living a possibility;

He is there to work in your life the fruits that ought to be there!

D. A person who walks by faith --

1. Claims victory by faith -- Rom. 8:1-4;

2. Claims fruit of character by faith -- Gal. 5:22-23

3. Claims fruit of holiness, by faith -- Rom. 6:16-22

4. Claims fruit of soul winning by faith -- Rom. 1:13

5. Claims fruit of good works -- Col. 1:10

1. Have you receive Christ as Savior by faith?

2. Are you trying to produce righteousness on your own?

3. Have you come to grips with the fact that you cannot do anything

outside the power of the Holy Spirit in your life?

4. Are you willing to allow the Holy Spirit to produce fruit through you?

5. Are you able to accept the fact that the Spirit-filled life is a life of faith --

from beginning to end?

6. Are you will to give the green light to the Holy Spirit -- to allow Him to

take charge of your life-- to give you the victory you so desperately need?

saved as well as the unsaved.

˜ The Scrip is clear.. we can sin against the Holy Spirit -- He is a person, not just an influence; He possesses emotions, which proves His personhood.

˜ The Holy Spirit is a gracious, tender, powerful person, deeply concerned for the welfare of God's child -- and He desires to guide, protect and strengthen us.

˜ What precisely is sin? To help us understand what sin is -- for our learning, it is described in the Greek and Hebrew as:

"missing the mark (Psa. 51:4; 32:1-5; Rom. 3:23)

"a rebellion... " (Isa. 1:2

"a passing over a prescribed line... transgression: (Dan. 9:11; Matt 15:3;

"disobedience.... to a voice... " (Rom. 5:19; Jam. 4:19)

"lawlessness... " (I Jh 3:4)

"an ignorance of what one should have known," (Heb. 9:7)

"iniquity..." (Psa. 32:1-5)

˜ Sin in it's consequences brings:

defilement, bondage, misery, guilt, paralysis, disorder, fears, despair, and death.

˜ God hates sin:

I Thess. 5:19

A. This word means "to suppress, to stifle, to make an end of, or to

subdue, or to subside."

B. One translation reads... "to dampen the Spirit." as you would a fire.

There are numerous ways you can put out a fire: such as douse it with water; or cover it; or just neglect it. To burn it must have the proper attention, preparation, and care. To quench the Holy Spirit is the opposite of a normal attitude and reaction to His person (Cf Acts 18:25) "being fervent in Spirit; ( or Romans 12:11) "fervent in Spirit"). We are not to stifle, dampen, or subdue the work of the Spirit. This could well be one of the first steps toward a backslidden state.

C. To whom this was written: I Thess. 1:1, 3, 6-9

1. Having the Holy Spirit (I Cor. 6:19-20) involves tremendous responsibility.

2. God holds us accountable for what we have, what we might have,

what we are, and what we might have been.

3. It is a serious sin to quench the Holy Spirit.

II. WHAT THIS MEANS:

A. To quench the Spirit means "too say no to Him, to extinguish His voice and refuse His promptings." A great contrast to Paul... (Acts 18:25)

B. The very use of the word -- quench -- portrays the Holy Spirit as a fire, a burning force, a motivating Person Who seeks to direct the believer toward certain actions, goals, thoughts, and life style.

C. Every believer exerts his own will -- for good, or for bad.

D. When we say no to the will of God, we are then in a state of unwillingness and rebellion... and we quench the Holy Spirit.

E. How the Spirit is quenched! (I Thess. 5: I Cor. 10:7-14;

1. We can quench Him by rebelling against the Holy Spirit's leadership.

(compared with Peter - Acts 10, Paul, Acts 16, Philip, Acts 8)

a. His plan, program, will -- includes the field of endeavor where He wants to use us. He gives gifts -- that He might use us.

b. Many a gifted Christian has said, late in life: "I have God's second best.... for I did not do what He called me to do."

2. By being unwilling to yield our lives -- Rom. 12:1; 6:13; 14:9;

a. All activities, indulgences, habits, practices are to be in full accord

to the leadership of the Holy Spirit.

b. Knowingly suppressing His voice about what is sin -- wrong. etc.

3. By failing to submit to the Word of God -- only rule of faith and practice

is the Word of God; Here is the Supreme Court of life's decisions, actions.

4. The context of I Thess 5:11- 24 sets forth ways, in the believer's life that we may well quench the Spirit

a. We often stifle Him or quench Him in the area of praise.

˜ vs 16, we are told to rejoice evermore.

˜ To refuse or to neglect praising the Lord is a sin of which we are

often guilty.

˜ We tend to concentrate on the problems, the difficulties, and the disappointments of life rather than the blessings, promises and victories God gives us.

˜ We easily suppress the One who would give us the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness. (Isa 61:3)

b. We are told to pray without ceasing... but so often we neglect prayer.

(vs. 17)

˜ It is the Spirit who prompts us to pray -- (Rom. 8:26-27).

˜ Sometimes His promptings can be urgent and insistent.

c. And what about obedience to the Word of God? (I Thess. 5:20)

˜ Despise not prophesyings -- the teaching, the preaching of the

Word of God -- that speaks to us; cuts, rebukes, convicts,

reproves, instructs us -- how do we respond to it?

˜ Prophets of old expressed to the people the Word of God -- to

despise is to reject the message through the messenger.

˜ The subject of the Holy Spirit in Scripture is far more prominent that most Christians are aware of.

˜ The truths about the Holy Spirit have a prominent place in the records of the Word of God.

˜ There are 261 passages in the New Testament in which the Holy Spirit is specifically and directly mentioned.

>> In the gospels -- 54 passages,

>> In the book of Acts -- 57 passages,

>> In Paul's epistles -- 112 passages,

>> In other portions -- 36 passages

˜ So we can readily see the importance of the truths about the Holy Spirit; His place in the Word of God. . . so what about His place in the lives of the saved? and what about the confusion we see concerning the Holy Spirit among the saved and the churches ??

˜ We know He abides in our hearts for a definite purpose. . . He is there to fulfill those 40 plus ministries, spoken of in the Word of God. . . but, especially to comfort, to teach us, to guide us and to empower us. (I Cor. 6:19-20)

˜ The Holy Spirit is the ONE who talks to us, acts, thinks, guides, breaks down, and as well as builds up... who challenges for God the Father and for the Son... who frustrates that which is against the will of the Father.

˜ We may speak to the Spirit -- He speaks to us, He is our ever-present companion... He is our comforter... in time of every need.... it is plain to see in the Word of God that many saved spoke or talked to the Spirit and the Holy Spirit spoke to them. (Acts 8, 9, 10, 13, 16)

James 4:4-6, 8-10

"And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption." Eph. 4:30

˜ The believer is indwelt by the Spirit of God. It is no accident that one of His major titles in the Scripture is that of the Holy Spirit.

˜ To grieve is to hurt the Spirit... to bring sorrow to the Comforter who works in our lives. It includes the thought of bringing sorrow to the person of the Godhead who brings all spiritual blessing to our inner lives.

A. What does grieving mean?

1. The word grieve here means "to make sad, to bring to grief, to be

2. One who is hurt is naturally grieved when it involves a love relationship.

a. You cannot grieve a stranger, one who does not know you, nor care

for you, or have any concern for you.

b. You cannot grieve a person some distance away from you, and who

does not know what is happening in your life.

c. You can only grieve someone who loves you deeply - for you cannot

grieve an influence or some inanimate object, or some power.

d. The Holy Spirit is a tender, loving, person... pictured in the dove that

came down upon Christ at His baptism. We can and do grieve Him.

3. God's children are the objects of His affection... (Jh 15:9; Jude 20,21)

Rom. 5:5

a. so whenever continue in sin -- (sin, transgression, iniquity)

b. and / or indifference reigns in our lives --

c. it brings grief to the heart of God.

4. The act of grieving takes place because of our departure from the known will of God as we persist in sin and wrong.

B. What grieves the Holy Spirit? Consider the context... note what it says!

1. We grieve Him when we disregard His presence -- He does not dwell in temples of clay, stone, brick, wood -- but in human vessels -- in living bodies -- Samson is a good example of one who disregarded the presence of the Holy Spirit in his life. (Judges 13:25; 14:6,19) (four times "Spirit of God began to move him ...") (3 times "As the Spirit of God came upon him....") Judges 16:20

2. When we disobey His Word -- II Pet. 1:21; II Tim. 3:16;

3. We grieve Him when we disregard our sin:

a. 4:25- lying; Lying includes anything and everything that has a degree of falseness in it. Within its range comes deception, hypocrisy, misrepresentation, shams, half-truths, pretense, deceit. One of the basic corruptions of heathenism is lying, it has been ingrained into them.

(Col. 3:9; we are exhorted to speak truth!

b. vs 26, 31 - anger; What a common sin anger is! smoldering resentment, inward irritation, hidden malice, bad temper can suddenly flame into violent outburst and evident exasperation. Anger, allow in the heart, is a mighty weapon in Satan's hands. It is a dangerous state of mind and becomes a wedge for more open and damaging forms of sin. (vs 27) Anger gives place to Satan, to demons, for he works through the heart which cherishes anger. It brings malice and desire for revenge.

c. vs 28- stealing, steal someone's good name, unpaid debts, deception,

d. vs 29- evil communication, Our conversation is very revealing, what one says and the manner in which he says it gives an x-ray of the heart. We can speak out of the dearth or emptiness of the heart. Corrupt communication means the unfit for use, the foul, putrid, an unclean flow from an unclean heart, Unholy speech, worthless thoughts and talk... (Eph. 4:29, 32; Matt. 12:33-34; Rom. 3:14; 10:9-10)

e. vs. 31 bitterness, wrath, malice, and evil speaking. Bitterness is the opposite of sweetness, bitterness suggests the acrid, sharp, severe, sarcastic... bitter words and actions. (Heb. 12:15; Jam 3:11-15) Clamor is the audible expression of anger, wrath, and bitterness in the heart.

Col. 3:8

f. 5:3 -- uncleanness -- unclean immoral actions, desires, thoughts, etc.

g. 5:4 -- filthiness, foolish talking, jesting Unclean stories, coarse jokes, idle empty talk, joking at the expense of decency,

When we persist in these sins there will be a major departure of the

˜ leadership, ˜ ministering, ˜ blessing and

˜ work of the Holy Spirit in the life.

II. WHAT ARE THE RESULTS OF GRIEVING THE HOLY SPIRIT?

There is be a loss of fellowship and sweet intimacy with the L.J.C.

A. One will cease bearing abundant fruit,

B. or exhibiting victory in the life.

C. A deluge of doubts, fears, worries, etc., will come upon the person.

D. The level of living can succumb to the level of the lost.

Zec 4:6 Then he answered and spake unto me, saying, This [is] the word of the LORD unto Zerubbabel, saying, "Not by might, nor by (man's) power, but by my spirit, saith the LORD of hosts."

Gen. 32:28 "And he said, Thy name shall be called no more Jacob, but Israel: for as a prince hast thou power with God and with men, and has prevailed."

Ps 62:11 "God hath spoken once; twice have I heard this; that power [belongeth] unto God."

Ps 63:2 "To see thy power and thy glory, so [as] I have seen thee in the sanctuary."

Isa. 40:29 "He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength...."

Luke 24:49 "And behold, I sent the promise of my Father upon you: but tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be endued with power from on high."

Acts 1:8 "But ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you..."

Acts 6:8 "And Stephen, full of faith and power, did great wonders and miracles among the people."

Eph. 1:19 "And what is the exceeding greatness of his power to us-ward who believe, according to the working of his mighty power, which He wrought in Christ."

II Tim. 1:7 "For God hath not give us the spirit of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind.

Main Texts: Lk 24:44-53; Acts 4:23-31

˜ God's will is that we would know His power. . . His mighty working in our lives.

˜ We live in a world that desires power, but for totally different reasons.

˜ Nobody enjoys power-hungry people. For the power-hungry, everything and everybody are a means to an end. They use people to fulfilled their selfish purposes.

˜ Such people are driven by a desire to control their environment and everybody in it. They don't do well with authority, and they usually hurt people closest to them.

˜ The world is full of power-hungry people -- bosses -- parents -- workers -- business executives -- wives -- husbands -- and even children -- and I think they have their counter- part in Christiandom today.

˜ There are many today, who desire to harness the power of the Holy Spirit; often they are obsessed with the desire to have His power for selfish ends and purposes.

> Are we to tap into the power of the Holy Spirit?

> Did Jesus send the Holy Spirit to empower believers? Yes, but for the right

motive and purpose.

> In my experience I have noticed there are people who talk repeatedly about activating or tapping into the power of the Holy Spirit.

> These talk little about holiness or a godly life -- their emphasis is upon spectacular things such as healing - miracles - tongues or something conspicuously self-centered.

> To many people the Holy Spirit is an errand boy rather than Holy God.

Warning: Stay clear of any teacher, preacher, TV personality who encourages you to harness the power of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit's power cannot be harnessed. His power cannot be used to accomplish anything other than the Father's will. He is not a candy dispenser. He is not a vending machine, nor is he a genie waiting for someone to rub His lamp the right way. He is Holy God.

˜ There are people who are always looking for a way to direct or control the power of the Holy Spirit -- they are confused -- the Holy Spirit was sent to control us, not the other way around.

˜ But there is the right kind of desire -- for the right kind of power - the power of

the Holy Spirit in and through the life for God's glory and honor. (Acts 1:8)

Acts 4:23-31; Acts 6:1-7)

Lk 24:44-49; Acts 1:8; Jh 7:37-39;

A. They needed power, boldness, wisdom, ability. (we likewise)

C. Christ was going to carry on HIS work through these "unlearned and

ignorant men," who would normally have no impact on their age.

Acts 6:7

B. For many of them of whom we read in the Word of God -- life got worse when they had the power of the Holy Spirit -- they were persecuted, jailed, beaten, killed, because of their witness.

C. The Holy Spirit manifests His power in us and through us -- to make possible

a powerful effective witness of salvation. (Acts 4:31-33)

1. He desires to make us bold, to control our lives, to use us;

2. to take away fear -- that we might speak boldly for Christ,

3. He desires to accomplish one basic thing, and one thing only -- to make us powerful witnesses about salvation, that we might be Christ-like, and have a powerful influence because of righteous living.)

Consider Acts chapter two -- The Holy Spirit came -- why to bring healing?

could be slain in the Spirit -- so they could speak in an unknown tongue and enjoy some special personal fulfillment? NO! NO! (Acts 2:4-11, 17-18; 21-32)

What took place in Acts 2 -- what was Christ bring about? What was the Holy Spirit doing -- giving boldness to unlearned and ignorant men -- given direction and power to these who days before had fled, had denied, had despaired for

Christ was on the Cross, etc.

When we think of the power of the Holy Spirit -- we are prone to think about the blind being healed, the lame being made to walk, the miracles of Christ, or the Resurrection, or the Second coming, so forth -- Our minds are catapulted into the realm of the spectacular and miraculous... possibly for man's sake.... for man's selfish ends.

A. His power is not given for the performance of miracles.... but that souls

C. Being used to see someone saved -- is as great a miracle as someone being

healed.

1. We must not allow ourselves to get caught up in pursuing the more spectacular demonstrations of the Holy Spirit's power. To do is dangerous... Jesus warned the people of His day against this very thing... they became enamored with His ability to do the unusual -- they just right out and asked Him how they could get into the action. (Jh 6:28-35)

a. They were sidetracked by the unusual -- they wanted signs!

b. Jesus refused to use His power -- God's power -- to satisfy man's

vain curiosity.

c. Jesus point them back to the real reason why He came --

Who He was -- Why He came -- How to enter into eternal life.

2. People who are claim to be doing miracles in the power of the Spirit,

but who are doing it in such a way as to draw attention to themselves,

to the miracle rather than Christ -- are deceivers....

A. The Power of the Spirit enables us to witness;

1. The first priority in service is soul-winning... being a witness,

2. What is the great commission? Why do we send missionaries? Are we to be a missionary? (Matt 28:18-20; Mk 16:15; Lk 24:44-49; Jh 20:21)

3. The mightiest weapon is prayer, and the ruling motive is love... and the power for our Witness is the working of the Holy Spirit through us.

Here is the wonderful story -- Christ paid for sin, Christ went up, (Acts 1:9-11) the Holy Spirit came down -- and the disciples went out.

Are we witnessing as we ought? Those first disciples certainly did receive power when the Holy Spirit came upon them; and they turned the world upside down. He has come come upon millions since then -- transforming their weakness into power, making them "mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds."

4. It fulfills the highest of all functions to our fellow mankind. Rom. 1:14-16

5. It brings us to obedience to the last and most sacred of all our

Lord's commands.

6. The winning of souls receives the highest of all rewards --

Dan. 12:3; I Cor. 9:19, 22

7. Indeed, we are to be witnesses... study the following:

Lk 24:46-48

Jh 15:25-27

Jh 16:8-11

Acts 1:4-5, 22

Acts 2:4-8, 11

Acts 2:32, 36-38

Acts 3:14-16, vs 15

Acts 4:32-33

Acts 5:32, 40-42

˜ They send him in camouflaged uniform, some kind of helmet or head gear and heavy boots.

˜ They do not send him out in a T-shirt, blue jeans, and tennis shoes.

˜ They also send him out equipped to engage the enemy; they give him whatever weapons they think are necessary for his particular assignment.

˜ Then they also equip him him in ways to communicate with his fellow soldiers.

˜ Depending upon on his mission, they may even send him with food rations and water and first aid kit... they do not send him out ill-equipped, or unequipped.

In a similar fashion, God has equipped believers for spiritual warfare -- (Eph. 6:10-12; We have the armor of God (vs 13), includes truth (v. 14), righteousness (v. 14), feet shod with the preparation of the gospel, (vs 15), shield of faith (v 16, helmet of salvation, and the Word of the Spirit, the Word of God. (vs 17.

God has equipped us for service, too -- He has given each of us at least one gift, or ability, that we are to use. Without such supernatural enabling, we cannot grow as we should or plant Churches or fill the earth with the gospel.

We will look at the Holy Spirit's giving of spiritual gifts that are ours today!

˜ the way in which the gifts relate to ministry of God's Word,

˜ the way in which they relate to church life, and the exercise or use of spiritual gifts.

˜ As we study about some of the spiritual gifts listed in the New Testament, one thought should strike us -- they were all given to enable a Christian to DO something -- to serve others.

˜ God never gives spiritual gifts merely for believers to enjoy or admire them, for He gives them to build up the Body of Christ.

A foot soldier on the ground does not receive a parachute or a life vest as part of his equipment.

˜ A fighter pilot uses a plane, not a tank.

˜ In addition, he stays in his plane for only a few hours, not for days on end.

˜ A sailor, on the other hand, lives on his ship at sea for a long time.

˜ The ordinance officer provides for the soldier, pilot, or sailor based on the person's particular assignment and specific needs.

A. God, the Holy Spirit, Has Gifted Believers in a Similar manner:

1. He gave some temporary gifts for a designated assignment, that is, for the establishment of the church.

2. When the foundation of the Church had been laid, those gifts were no longer necessary, and they ceased.

3. The fact that some gifts to believers were temporary, however, does not imply that all were that way.

4. That God still gives spiritual gifts to believers seems evident both from Scripture and from the confirming evidence of experience.

5. Three major passages deal with this subject -- Eph. 4, I Cor. 12,

B. Gifts Are Sovereignly Given:

1. Both God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit are involved in giving spiritual gifts.

2. The distribution of spiritual gifts is under the sovereign direction of the

Holy Spirit, according to His divine purpose (I Cor. 12:11, 18)

3. This should strip us of any pride concerning the possession or exercise

of our gifts.

4. Any abilities we possess as believers, we received from the Lord. We are to use our gifts, recognizing each as the "ability which God giveth," (I Pet. 4:11), "For who maketh thee to differ from another? and what hast thou that thou didst not receive? now if thou didst receive it, why does thou glory, as if thou hadst not received it." (I Cor. 4:7) Whatever we have, we received from Him, the Head of the Church. (Read I Pet. 4:8-11.

C. Gifts are Given Severally, and Separately, as He Wills:

1. These gifts are spiritual gifts given to every man, (I Cor. 12:7,11); meaning

the saved, the term is also generic -- both men and women receive spiritual gifts.

2. Every believer is given some ability for service by the Holy Spirit. Many may possess more than one gift, but everyone possesses at least one. Therefore, no Christian can claim he is unequipped to serve God.

3. Paul illustrates the truth of the spiritual body by comparing it with our physical body ... the human body has many "members," or "parts,"

(I Cor. 12:20), but not all members have the same function.

4. Some organs are more prominent and perform more vital functions

(vvs. 14-25). Nevertheless, every part is necessary to form the whole body.

The spiritual application is clear: more-gifted believers should not despise less- gifted believers, and less-gifted ones should not envy more gifted ones.

5. Each has his or her place in the work of God. "And the eye cannot say unto the hand, I have no need of thee: nor again the head to the feet, I have no need of you." (I Cor. 12:21).

6. None of us can arbitrarily dismiss someone whom we consider unimportant, because the Spirit has placed that person, with his particular function, into the body. (I Cor. 12:13; I Cor. 6:19-20)

7. A point of clarification is also needed here -- although a person possesses spiritual gifts, or gift, that fact never guarantees spiritually. Look at the Corinthian church -- many excess and wrongs ( divisions, strifes, party spirit, taking other Christians to court-- suing them; immorality among them, etc. ) (See I Cor. 13:1-8; 1:10; 3:1-10)

8. Understand also that there are diversity of gifts; God made us different, we serve in different ways... we have various gifts, but all who are saved serve the same Lord. (To be used in love, I Cor. 13.)

(I Cor. 12:9-10; Rom. 12:9-10)

Some of the spiritual gifts related specifically to the Word of God... these are gifts are evangelism, pastoring, teaching, and exhorting.

A. The Gift of Evangelism Eph. 4:11

1. Some believers have been given a special ability to present the gospel of Christ effectively and to encourage others to reach people for Christ.

2. This is called a gift of evangelism (cf Eph. 4:11). Philip possessed this spiritual gift. From an examination of his ministry we can conclude that this gift can have two aspects -- that of public preaching (Acts 8:5-12) and that of personal witness (Acts 8:26-35).

3. All of us are called to witness, to sow the seed the Word of God, but not all of us possess a special gift of evangelism, the extraordinary ability to present Christ to others.

B. The Gift of Pastor-teacher -

1. Some have the gift of pastor-teacher, and have been given as a gift to

the church. (Eph. 4:11-16; Acts 20:28-32)

2. A man with this gift will be able to teach and to shepherd.

3. The terms, shepherding and pastoring -- are reminiscent of the love and

4. These men will lead their flocks into the green pastures and beside the still waters of God's Word -- as a result, the believers, or flock, will grow and be refreshed.

The primary responsibility of a pastor is to feed the church of God (Acts 20:28).

C. A Gift of Teaching -- (Rom. 12:7; Heb. 5:11-14)

1. The gift of teaching involves the ability to explain spiritual truth clearly.

2. Apollos apparently had this gift, for we are told that he was "mighty in the scriptures and that he spake and taught diligently the things of the Lord." (Acts 18:24, 25, 27)

3. So good was he at teaching that the Scriptures states that "he helped them much which had believed through grace."

4. Some people have divinely bestowed ability to teach the Word of God accurately, powerfully, and practically.

The exercise of this gift involves three things -- 1) study of the Word, 2) knowledge of the Word and 3) communication of the Word.

D. The Gift of Exhortation - Rom. 12:8

1. This gift, mentioned in Rom. 12:8, involves the ability to apply truth and to encourage and motivate people.

2. God knew that simply knowing the truth would be insufficient. They

would need to apply it and live it. They would need persons who could show them how to do this.... exhorters fill this need.

The Holy Spirit imparts gifts for the ministry to the church and through the church. God in His all sufficiency desires to meet the need of every member through those whom He has put into the Church -- sharing, working, praying, evangelizing -- etc., altogether in Christ.

E. Gift of Giving -- Rom. 12:8

1. This gift is mentioned in Romans 12:8. Every believer is to communicate in giving, or to give of his substance" (I Cor. 16:1; Heb. 13:16).

2. However, God has given some believers a unique ability to make money and a burden to distribute their funds for the glory of God, for the benefit of His work and the provision of other's needs.

F. The Gift of Ruling, or administrations (or of governments)

1. Rom. 12:8; I Cor. 12:28 The word rule means to preside over something.

God has given such the ability to organize, to administer, and to expedite matters.

2. This ability has not been given for personal exaltation or control, but for the benefit of God's work... rather than resenting such people (who by temperament may appear to be bossy) wise believers thank God for them and recognize without organization, most spiritual work could come to an end.

3. This gift must be utilized in proper humility - and a spirit of Christlikeness.

A church suffers without these gifts of giving and ruling --

A. I Peter 4:10 and 11 emphasize the point that spiritual gifts are given to benefit the Body of Christ, not self, and to bring glory to the Savior, not self.

1. The Holy Spirit (who gives overseers) leads pastors to build up the saints for the saints work of the ministry (Eph. 4:12-16). Literally "to prepare God's people for works of service."

2. Ministry is not a vocation for a few special people, but it is for all believers.

3. Pastors equip you for your work of the ministry -- for the perfecting of

the saints -- for the reaching of the lost, discipling the newly saved, etc.

4. As believers sit regularly under the ministry of gifted pastor-teachers,

they will be repaired, strengthened, and enabled to perform the work God has given them.

B. Ministry through gifts is extremely important!

1. If all believers will use the spiritual gifts or gift that the Spirit has bestowed upon them, the Body of Christ will grow.

2. The increase of the Body is said to depend on "that which every joint supplieth." (Eph. 4:16)

3. A church grows spiritually and numerically as every believer takes his or her place and functions as the Holy Spirit has gifted him.

4. The exercise of various spiritual gifts is a reflection of the "manifold grace of God," (I Pet. 4:10). God's grace is dispensed to us that we might serve

Him and serve His people.

˜ Why should every one in all the world hear the gospel?

˜ All missions... in the Word of God... was carried out by the local church... The local church was involved in the preparation of the workers, the sending, the worship and work of the church was closely interrelated.

˜ Every local church ought to be involved in missions as the church at Antioch was... how joyous it would be if every church had their own going to the fields of the world. Matt. 9:38

˜ The message of missions is ever and only the Word of God...

˜ While the local church is to be separated from the world (II Cor. 6:14-18; Jh 15) Yet it has a great responsibility to the world. It is not to endeavor to entertain, or to control it.. but is to witness to the world while remaining separate from it.

˜ The Christian's responsibility is world-wide... sin covers the whole world.. Christ died for the whole world... we are consequently under solemn responsibility to bring the gospel to the whole world.

˜ We have been saved out of the world; taken out of the old realm of sin and translated into a completely new sphere (Col. 1:13; I Cor. 5:17; Eph. 2:10) Yet at the same time we are to maintain a very definite ministry to those outside of Jesus Christ.... The Christian is to be a "light in the world," (Matt. 5:14;

Phil. 2:15) for we have been sent into the world, (Jh 17:18) to tell of Christ.

"As they ministered to the Lord, and fasted, the Holy Ghost said, Separate me Barnabas and Saul for the work whereunto I have called them." (Acts 13:2)

A When Worship Takes Place, vs. 2

1. While they were worshiping the Lord;

2. It is in the church that the Holy Spirit comes to find those who are

consecrated and willing to carry the glorious message of the gospel to

the ends of the earth.

3. Barnabas and Paul did not pursue their larger and wider ministry independent of the Church and its corporate life and activity.

God gives no place for free lance... exercise of gifts - within the church!

4. This is not a picture of a local church discussing the qualifications, or

decisions of a certain man to perform a definite work for the Lord.

5. The church was not called upon to make a choice... this was the choice

of the Holy Spirit...( See Mark. 13:34... "For the Son of man is as a man taking a far journey, who left His house and gave authority to His servants, and to every man his work." Cf Acts 1:1-2; Acts 20:28-32; Acts 9: 15-16; 9:6). It is not a work -- but his particular work, a work appointed to him which he is called to do... all of us have his place of work.

6. The church was called upon and expected to be involved in spiritual exercise of worshiping, fasting, prayer..."... then the Holy Spirit can choose, for many are called, but few are chosen.

a. This was a case of worshiping Him in Spirit and in truth. Jh 4:24

b. Fasting meant more than missing meals... but literally a spiritual exercise when God's children have made up their minds to forego food because of their spiritual burden and desire...seeking God's face.

c. We cannot know the sending of the Spirit without the worship in the Spirit. ... Ministering means offered service!

B. When Given Opportunity, vs 2

"The Holy Spirit said... Barnabas and Saul for the work..."

1. Barnabas and Saul were clearly set apart and chosen by the Holy Spirit

because the Holy Spirit could call them-- they were willing, ready.

a. He sends, we simply release them to go; He chooses and we simply cooperate. He selects and we subscribe to His leadership.

b. It is the Holy Spirit who alone can relate the person to the region.

Livingston wanted to go to China, but the Lord send him to Africa.

Here is a principle-- the