#TheHolySpirit #salvation #Miracle #Jesus #faithfulness #redemption #bibleteaching #history #christianity #christian #PhilHowe #God #doctrine #ChartridgeMissionChurch #chesham #thefriendliestfellowship #RickmansworthBaptistChurch
Rickmansworth's Phil Howe returns to Chartridge with a sermon all about The Holy Spirit. The Bible describes The Holy Spirit as our helper, comforter, and protector in times of trouble. The Holy Spirit is a topic close to Phil's heart and he intersperses his sermon with very personal accounts from his forty years of being a Christian.
Phil's Testimony: https://youtu.be/JVkxvfOAH8k?si=ILOa4_A83_GofX6F
Chartridge Mission Church was founded in 1844 and remains in the village of Chartridge, just outside Chesham, in the picturesque Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
We are a friendly fellowship and would love you to visit us in person. Join us for our Sunday service at 6 pm, followed by refreshments.
Our Church is wheelchair friendly, with an accessible toilet.
Chartridge Mission Church, Chapel Lane, Chartridge, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 2TH
Support our work at Chartridge Mission Church:
Donations via Stewardship.org.uk:
https://www.stewardship.org.uk/partners/20005300
Cheques can be made payable to Chartridge Mission Church and sent to the above address for the attention of Pastor Barry Kempson.
Filmed on Sunday, 1st June 2025.
Join us for our Sunday service at 6 pm.
www.Chartridge.UK
The Friendliest Fellowship.
Rickmansworth's Phil Howe returns to Chartridge with a sermon all about The Holy Spirit. The Bible describes The Holy Spirit as our helper, comforter, and protector in times of trouble. The Holy Spirit is a topic close to Phil's heart and he intersperses his sermon with very personal accounts from his forty years of being a Christian.
Phil's Testimony: https://youtu.be/JVkxvfOAH8k?si=ILOa4_A83_GofX6F
Chartridge Mission Church was founded in 1844 and remains in the village of Chartridge, just outside Chesham, in the picturesque Chiltern Hills of Buckinghamshire, England, UK.
We are a friendly fellowship and would love you to visit us in person. Join us for our Sunday service at 6 pm, followed by refreshments.
Our Church is wheelchair friendly, with an accessible toilet.
Chartridge Mission Church, Chapel Lane, Chartridge, Chesham, Buckinghamshire, HP5 2TH
Support our work at Chartridge Mission Church:
Donations via Stewardship.org.uk:
https://www.stewardship.org.uk/partners/20005300
Cheques can be made payable to Chartridge Mission Church and sent to the above address for the attention of Pastor Barry Kempson.
Filmed on Sunday, 1st June 2025.
Join us for our Sunday service at 6 pm.
www.Chartridge.UK
The Friendliest Fellowship.
Category
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LearningTranscript
00:00To Him who left the throne of hell, to shame and life, all praise be given.
00:11To God the Father, for Jesus' grace and Holy Spirit, let us praise Him.
00:25I love that hymn. When I came to Christ in 82, 83, something like that, I went to Clarkson Street Free Church, the Old Town Mission,
00:36and that song often used to be sung there, and it's a long, long time ago, but I still love singing it. It reminds me of those days.
00:45Right, you have to park my eyes on what they was, so I have to hold things up.
00:50I'm going to read now from John's Gospel, chapter 16. I think we'll read the first 15 verses.
01:01Okay.
01:02These things I have spoken to you, that you should not be made to stumble.
01:08They will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God's service.
01:16And these things they will do to you, because they have not known the Father nor me.
01:21But these things I have told you, that when the time comes, you may remember that I told you of them.
01:26And these things I did not say to you at the beginning, because I was with you.
01:34Now I go away to him who sent me, and none of you ask me, where are you going?
01:40But because I've said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart.
01:45Nevertheless, I'll tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.
01:49For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you.
01:54But if I depart, I will send him to you.
01:57And when he has come, he will convict the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment.
02:04Of sin, because they do not believe in me.
02:07Of righteousness, because I go to my Father and you see me no more.
02:11Of judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged.
02:14I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
02:20However, when he, the Spirit of truth, has come, he will guide you into all truth.
02:25For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak.
02:31And he will tell you things to come.
02:34He will glorify me, for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you.
02:39All things that the Father has are mine.
02:42Therefore, I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you.
02:48The disciples had spent three years with Jesus.
02:52He had been their mentor and their guide.
02:55They had been on an amazing journey with Jesus.
02:58They had seen him raise Lazarus from the dead.
03:00They had seen him turn cripples into dancers and cast demons out.
03:06And in one case, he sent them into a herd of pigs.
03:10They had even seen the wind and waves obey him.
03:14Jesus is about to depart from them.
03:17He had warned them of his impending death on the cross and the departure to heaven.
03:22But he encourages them with the promise of the Holy Spirit.
03:26Let me just quote you John 14, 15 to 18.
03:31If you love me, keep my commandments.
03:34And I pray the Father, and he will give you another helper, that he may abide with you forever.
03:40The Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him.
03:46But you know him.
03:48He dwells with you and will be in you.
03:50I will not leave you orphans.
03:52Notice the word another in verse 14 of this text.
04:00In my Bible, I picked up on the Greek word allos, which means one of the same kind, same character, same everything, or duplicate.
04:09The other Greek word for it, apparently, is heteros.
04:14The word heteros means another of a different kind.
04:17It's often used as a prefix in English words, indicating a difference or something that is not the same.
04:24The point of this is the Holy Spirit is the same as Jesus in essence.
04:30That is the essence of the Trinity, the triune God.
04:33The best illustration is ice, water, and mistyne.
04:37I'm sure you've all heard it.
04:38Three different forms, one essence.
04:41And it's almost like Jesus is saying, it's as if I've never left you when the Spirit comes.
04:47When the Holy Spirit comes, you will not feel alone.
04:50And it's almost like I've never left.
04:53Here we see Jesus promising the Holy Spirit, it will not come to us, but will actually live in us.
05:01As Paul said, do you not know your body is the temple of the Holy Spirit?
05:05What an amazing privilege.
05:08Absolutely mind-blowing that we could become temples of the Holy Spirit.
05:13The Holy Spirit is referred to as a person at least 13 times in John 16.
05:20And I picked up a word in my Bible, ekinos.
05:24It's a masculine pronoun and is used to describe the Holy Spirit.
05:291 Corinthians 6.18, which states that our bodies are temple of the Holy Spirit.
05:33This idea signifies that the Holy Spirit resides within us, and we should treat our bodies as sacred spaces, reflecting God's presence in our lives.
05:46If I asked you what makes Christianity unique from all other faiths and religions, I'm sure you would answer the resurrection.
05:56And you would be perfectly correct.
05:58Neither Buddha or Mohammed was ever seen after their deaths, or any other founder of any religion.
06:06But I would add the fact that the Holy Spirit lives within us, and that in itself makes Christianity unique.
06:17As I'm aware, no other faith or religion has anything like it to offer.
06:24Listen to some of these quotes by people just before they die.
06:28That is quite a claim, and has serious implications on all the other faiths around the world.
06:52John the Baptist, for example, knew he baptised with water, but Jesus will baptise with the Holy Spirit.
06:59John the Baptist was the last of the Old Testament-style prophets, so to speak.
07:07John was still living in an old covenant experience of the working of the Holy Spirit.
07:12It wasn't mentioned much in the Old Testament, but Joel prophesied that the Holy Spirit will come in new covenant fullness, which was fulfilled in Acts 2.18.
07:24As Jesus returned to heaven, and then was given authority to pour out the Holy Spirit in its fullness and power.
07:33Acts 2.33
07:34Therefore being exalted to the right hand of God, and having received from the Father the promise of the Holy Spirit, he poured out this which you now see and hear.
07:45The disciples experienced the transition from the Old Covenant experience of the Holy Spirit to the New Covenant experience of the Holy Spirit.
07:57And indeed, they received much greater power for living the Christian life and carrying out the Christian ministry, according to Acts 1.8.
08:07The disciples were devastated at the prospect of their teacher, Jesus, leaving them.
08:15But Jesus reassured them, telling them that while he knew they were grief-sticking, nevertheless, Jesus said,
08:22I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away.
08:26For if I do not go away, the Helper will not come, but if I depart, I will send him to you.
08:32It must have been quite profound for them, knowing they were going to lose Jesus.
08:39But what Jesus said was, it is to your advantage.
08:42They couldn't see it at the time, but Jesus knew it very clearly.
08:47It was to your advantage that I go away.
08:50And I can see it on their faces.
08:52But how has he worked that one out?
08:54But of course, when the Holy Spirit came, ah, now we understand.
08:58It certainly was to their advantage in ours that the Holy Spirit come.
09:04Jesus described the Holy Spirit as the Helper.
09:07The Greek word in my Bible used here is parakletos, Strong's 3875.
09:13I use Strong's quite a bit.
09:16He's a Greek scholar, but he's also a Baptist church minister.
09:20And I found he's really helpful in understanding when I pick up these bits.
09:26Breaking down this word, parakletos means besides, and kalio is the call.
09:32Hence, call to one side.
09:35Isn't that a comfort?
09:37Whatever troubles we're in, we can just call the Holy Spirit to our side.
09:41And I don't fully understand it, because he lives in us.
09:45Why do we need to call him to our side?
09:48I'm afraid I can't explain it, because I don't understand it.
09:51But that's what scripture says.
09:53We can call the Holy Spirit to our side.
09:57In non-biblical literature, parakletos had the technical meaning of an attorney who appears in court on another's behalf.
10:05I'll just share something with you.
10:12I used to be friendly with an elder of the Kingdom Hall, and his name was Ron.
10:17He came to our house a number of times, and I discussed many things with him.
10:22But I used to talk about the Trinity, you see, quite a bit with him.
10:29And actually, we became very good friends in the end.
10:34And he said to my wife one day in the town,
10:36I like Phil, he'd make a good witness, because he doesn't care what anyone thinks of him.
10:41And he said, with Phil, what you see is what you get.
10:43He'd make a great witness.
10:45But as I said to him, Ron, you've got more chance of growing a second head than you ever see me in your Kingdom Hall.
10:52But we can carry on discussing things, can't we?
10:55Now, apparently I used Colossians 1.15 as one of the verses to substantiate that he was God's first created act.
11:03So I had to look into that.
11:06And it says, here's the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation.
11:11But a close examination of this verse, I found that the word used is prototokos.
11:18And it would appear that this word signifies preeminence.
11:23And the designation in no way indicates Christ was created by God.
11:29It certainly does not mean first created.
11:34The JWs argued with me, of course, but I used to share these things, and I still do if I see them in town.
11:41And I have a great love for them.
11:42They're so jealous, but so wrong.
11:45But sadly, Ron died a year ago, which is really sad, because we were quite good friends, even though we had totally different points of view.
11:53And he died a year ago.
11:56And within myself, I thought, he now knows what he didn't believe before.
12:00And I used to pray for him so much.
12:03And this is one of these things that I don't understand.
12:07We pray and pray and pray for people to have their eyes open.
12:11But only God knows.
12:13And I do tend to swing a little bit towards Calvinism.
12:17Because, and I'll tell you why, because in John 15, verse 16, it says,
12:22You did not choose me, I chose you.
12:25And I know, beyond any doubt, that God chose me.
12:30And I am so grateful for that.
12:34The Holy Spirit leads believers to a greater apprehension of gospel truths.
12:40In addition to general help and guidance, he gives strength to endure the hostility of the world system.
12:46It is the Holy Spirit that strengthens us and helps us to endure to the end.
12:53The Bible says, those that endure to the end will be saved.
12:58And I don't hear a lot about endurance these days.
13:01But certainly, it is clear from Scripture that we have to endure to the end.
13:08John 14, 6.
13:10But the helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.
13:20And I'm sure it must have been wonderful when the New Testament was written, as the Holy Spirit brought back to our minds all the things that Jesus taught.
13:30And I love debating it with some of my friends.
13:32I come from Leatherhead in Surrey.
13:34And they always quite cynically say to me, who wrote the Bible?
13:40But it doesn't stump me.
13:42I say, the author is the Holy Spirit, but he used men to get it written.
13:47That's my answer to them in the pub.
13:49So I always pray.
13:51After all these years, I'm still in touch with them.
13:54And I sometimes organize a get-together for us.
13:58And there's still a lot of affection between us.
14:01And I remember Trevor one night said, we shall thank Phil for organizing this meeting.
14:07Now, we all know Phil's a religious nut, but we still love him anyway.
14:11So I thought, oh, as long as I can be a witness, that's great.
14:14I remember a vicar once preaching and saying he did not believe the Bible was all God's word.
14:20So when I got home, I sat on the sofa with my Bible.
14:25And I hadn't been a Christian that many years at the time.
14:29It was back in the early 90s.
14:30And I said, Lord, is this book all your word?
14:34Just show me.
14:36Teach me.
14:37Open my eyes.
14:38I just need to know this is all your word.
14:41And for some reason, I opened it at 1 Samuel 3, where he was calling the young boy.
14:47Samuel, Samuel.
14:48And he was running over to Eli.
14:51And he said, I'm not calling you.
14:52Go back, lay the back down.
14:54And it happened three times.
14:56And Eli said to him, if you hear it again, say, speak, Lord, your servant is listening.
15:00Now, in verse 7 of that reading, it really jumped out at me when I read it.
15:07Now, Samuel did not know the Lord, nor was the word of the Lord revealed to him.
15:12I thought, ooh.
15:13But at the end of the chapter, it says in verse 21, then the Lord appeared again in Shiloh.
15:19For the Lord revealed himself to Samuel in Shiloh by the word of the Lord.
15:25And then the Lord spoke to me.
15:26It wasn't audible, but it nearly was.
15:29It was a very strong, very strong.
15:32He really spoke.
15:32I knew it was the Lord straight away.
15:35And he said, this is my word.
15:37This is what you believe.
15:38Don't worry about him.
15:39You just believe my word.
15:41And that, to me, is a clear example where the Holy Spirit will teach us and lead us and really speak to us in a moment we're not expecting it.
15:53And I wasn't going to read Samuel that night.
15:54That was the funny thing.
15:56I just opened it there.
15:57After I read this chapter, I really felt the Lord speaking to me.
16:05The Holy Spirit continued to lead me in other verses to confirm the authority of Scripture.
16:11That was a clear leading for me by the Holy Spirit.
16:14He is our ultimate teacher to teach and strengthen us.
16:20Ephesians 3, 16 says that he would grant you, according to the riches of his glory,
16:26to be strengthened with power through his Spirit in the inner man.
16:32These are the words that Paul preached and prayed, I should say, for his followers.
16:38And it really does strengthen.
16:40If you've ever been in a bad situation and you're wondering, what's the way forward?
16:45This is not good.
16:46And you just pray and it's almost like you feel strength coming in you from the Holy Spirit, just saying, trust me.
16:53Trust me.
16:56Looking at verse 48 in our reading, the authorised version says,
17:01And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin and of righteousness and judgment.
17:08Notice that Jesus said the Holy Spirit would reprove the world of sin.
17:12It's an old word and I looked it up and it's the Greek word.
17:17I don't think I can say this word.
17:19Electio.
17:19It means to expose, to convict, to cross-examine for the purpose of conviction,
17:26as when convicting a lawbreaker in court of law.
17:29In this case, it is the image of a lawyer who brings forth evidence that is indisputable and undeniable.
17:37The accused person's actions are irrefutably brought to light and as a result, the offender is exposed and convicted.
17:45I know when I came to Christ, going along, I was taken back to so many things that I'd done that I had to repent of and say sorry for.
17:59And I knew the Holy Spirit was starting to work inside me.
18:03And I suppose it's a bit humorous, really.
18:06I was brought up with no father and I hardly saw me mother, so I had no real moral guidance.
18:12And it's funny, really.
18:14I remember one day me and my mate needed a starter motor and I was only 17 years old, you know.
18:21We found one in this scrapyard, so we nicked it.
18:25And on the way home, would you believe it, I bumped into a policeman.
18:29He said, where did you get that?
18:31Oh, I just bought it, I said, in the scrapyard.
18:33Right, I'm going down there later on this morning, I'll check up on that.
18:37Oh, blah, I thought.
18:38So I went back and I found the guy in the end.
18:42I said, how much do you want for this?
18:43Because I said to the policeman, I paid five bob.
18:45And I went back to the guy and I said, how much do you want for this starter motor?
18:48He said, five bob.
18:49So, but he took me back to these things that I had done and I had to repent of.
18:56But at the time, I couldn't see anything.
18:58You know, you just took things, didn't you?
19:00I had no moral guidance.
19:03And to me now, I look at it, that the Holy Spirit guides me.
19:07And when you're going to do something wrong sometimes, I can feel it strongly.
19:10Don't do it.
19:11Walk away.
19:12Don't do it.
19:42John 16a expresses this idea as a sort of paraphrasing of it.
19:47But when he, the Holy Spirit, is come, he will present such convincing evidence about the world's sin that the entire world will stand guilty and convicted, so exposed that they will feel they have nowhere else to hide from the facts.
20:01The Holy Spirit convicts us of sin, not to condemn us, but to lead us to Christ.
20:09That is why he convicts us of sin.
20:13He points to Christ.
20:15As we saw in our chapter, he will glorify me, Jesus said.
20:19And that is the reason.
20:20I mean, a person that lives in sin has no idea what sin is.
20:24He doesn't even know he's sinning.
20:26But when the Holy Spirit comes and opens his eyes, he then gains a deep realisation.
20:32And I remember years ago, someone was teaching children about a fellow at sea, a young boy wouldn't behave.
20:42So they put him in the hold where it's all dark.
20:45And when they opened the lid, he said, I ain't worried.
20:49Just don't bother me, you know.
20:51So he got a lamp, and he lowered the lamp down.
20:54And when the light came and lit up the hold, he saw rats and spiders.
20:59And he said, oh, I'll behave.
21:01And they took him out.
21:02And I thought that was a good illustration of what the Holy Spirit does.
21:05When he comes into your life, he starts illuminating things to make you feel uncomfortable.
21:13Do you remember times as a child when you did something wrong and thought no one was watching,
21:18but then you got caught?
21:20Do you remember how it felt to realise that someone had been watching you all along?
21:25What horror and dread to be caught in the middle of the act.
21:29You couldn't lie your way out of such a situation,
21:32especially when someone was watching you the whole time.
21:35You were unmistakably guilty and couldn't escape facing your sin.
21:40You remember what it was like to feel so exposed.
21:43This is what a sinner feels like the first time the Holy Spirit convicts him of sin.
21:49Before that happens, it is amazing how long the sinner can live without conviction or sorrow for his behaviour,
21:56almost numb to any sense of the wrongness of his action.
21:59When the Lord's after you, he won't give up on you.
22:05He will not give up.
22:06And I did do a few years as a choir boy in All Saints Church.
22:11And I left that and got into drugs and all sorts of bad things.
22:15And I went through detox.
22:17But in the end, I went in the army.
22:19And it was great for sport.
22:21The only drug I took then was adrenaline.
22:23Because I was always working out.
22:25And I left the army and I wanted to travel.
22:29So I was going in the Merchant Navy.
22:31And one day, I met a guy called Bimmy.
22:33He'd grown up with me.
22:35And he looked all smart.
22:36He had a suit.
22:38I said, well, what's happened to you?
22:39He said, I've come to Christ.
22:41I've just been two years at a Bible college.
22:43I couldn't believe the transformation was amazing.
22:47And he said, what are you doing with your life?
22:49I said, well, I've just come out of the army.
22:51But I'm going for an interview at London.
22:52I'm trying to get in the Merchant Navy.
22:55I think I'm more or less in.
22:56I'll be getting on the ship to New Zealand soon.
22:59He said, you're always running around doing this and doing that.
23:02And do you know what he said to me?
23:04He said, you will never find peace until you come to Christ.
23:08And it's sad.
23:09Later on, he got killed.
23:10He got hit by a car.
23:12But it was a seed planted.
23:14It was planted.
23:16And I went forward to a David Watson.
23:18I didn't even know who David Watson was or what it was about.
23:21But I managed to get in.
23:23And he preached what he was saying really hit a nerve with me.
23:28He was talking about sin.
23:30And you don't need religion.
23:34You just need Christ.
23:36Religion will not cure you.
23:37It will not help you with your sin.
23:39Only the blood of Christ can wash it away.
23:42And that was the night I went forward and saw a counselor and came to Christ that night.
23:47You see, that's what the Holy Spirit does.
23:51And, you know, when I did get on that ship, before that happened, I went round to New Zealand.
23:55And I was in the seaman's home there.
23:57And the old fellow there was a Christian.
24:00And he gave me a book, Good News to Modern Man.
24:03Now, coming home across the Pacific Ocean, there's nothing to do but drink or read a book.
24:09So I'd done both.
24:11And right across the Pacific Ocean, I read both those books, the New Testament.
24:19It was good news to modern man in those days.
24:21And the seeds were sown.
24:23And that's why, after I left the Merchant Navy, that was it.
24:27I heard the gospel preach.
24:29And I thought, I've tried everything else.
24:31I said, the council, I've tried everything.
24:33You name it, I bet I've tried it.
24:34But that got through to me the night, and I want to become a Christian.
24:38So he led me to Christ that night.
24:41As the Holy Spirit convicts, man becomes aware of his sinful condition and his need for God.
24:50Have you ever tried to share Christ with family members or friends,
24:54and it felt like you was hitting a brick wall?
24:57You shared, talked, and invited them to receive Christ.
25:00Yet it seemed like they just couldn't hear what you were saying.
25:04Even though they knew they were sinners, they didn't seem to be convicted by this knowledge.
25:09Ignoring that horrible fact, they pressed on as though they were numb or ignorant to the degree of spiritual decay in their lives.
25:18And I can remember, in the 80s, that's a long time ago, someone said to my brother and his wife,
25:26they said, where's Phil now?
25:28They said, oh, he's still up in Rickmansworth.
25:30He's become a Christian.
25:31And they said, oh, another fad is in there.
25:33That won't last long.
25:35Well, it's been a very long fad, because it's been 40 years.
25:39And it's amazing, though, that they don't see any need to come to Christ.
25:45And it's just what I felt like sometimes when I've witnessed to them.
25:48The Bible says that the lost person is dead in trespasses and sins.
25:53Ephesians 2 verse 1.
25:55How can you make a dead man see or feel?
25:58How can you convince a dead man that he needs to change?
26:02It is impossible for a dead man to respond because dead people don't feel anything.
26:08They especially don't feel the conviction of sin.
26:12It requires a special supernatural work of the Holy Spirit to rouse the human consciousness to its sinful condition.
26:22As you begin to share Christ with your family and friends, first stop and ask the Holy Spirit to go ahead of you.
26:29First stop and ask him.
26:32Ask him to touch their eyes and open their hearts.
26:35That's what I did share with you last time I was here about Kate, who lives on the barges.
26:41You know, she's an airline stewardess.
26:43I was witnessing to her.
26:45But I knew her conversion was nothing really to do with me.
26:49I did witness to her, but it was the Holy Spirit.
26:53I just got a text one night.
26:54She was over in America.
26:57I looked and it said,
26:59Phil, this is Kate.
27:02I came to Christ last night.
27:03I give me heart to Jesus.
27:04I went, wow, that was the Holy Spirit.
27:08Only he could have done it.
27:10For all my talking, I just sowed seeds.
27:12That's all I could do.
27:13But the Holy Spirit, he was the one that opened her eyes.
27:18And that was two years ago.
27:20And now she's completely fired up.
27:22There's a little community of Christians on the canal.
27:25And she's part of that.
27:27And she's giving the gospel to people on the canal.
27:30I think, wow, it puts me to shame.
27:32She's fired up.
27:33There is no greater miracle than the sinner who sees the light for the first time, then receives Jesus Christ into his life.
27:43And there is no greater blessing than to know that with the help of the Holy Spirit's convicting power.
27:49You help a dead man see.
27:51And I can remember, even now, he's in glory now, the preacher at the town mission, Tom Patterson, his name's Scottish.
28:00And he said, I remember it just after I came to Christ.
28:05And he said, there is no greater miracle than the salvation of a man's soul.
28:09And I can still see him now saying, look, over there is a door marked death.
28:15And if you intend going through that door without Christ, I wouldn't be in your boots for all the money in the world.
28:22And I thought, yeah, thank goodness I've come to the Lord.
28:26Moving on to verse 12 of our reading, Jesus say, I still have many things to say to you.
28:31Jesus frankly admitted that his own teaching was incomplete and anticipated the further instruction of the church by the Holy Spirit.
28:40This statement of Jesus leads us to anticipate the formation of the New Testament.
28:46He will guide you into all truth.
28:50In one sense, this was fulfilled when the New Testament writings divinely inspired by God were completed.
28:56In another sense, the Holy Spirit continues today to personally lead us into truth.
29:03But never in opposition to the scriptures because God's supreme authority, revelation is enclosed within the scriptures.
29:13The Greek means all truth, apparently.
29:17The specific truth about the person of Jesus and the significance of what he said and did.
29:23Jesus said, you must be born again.
29:26You must have the spiritual birth.
29:29It is absolutely essential.
29:32Without the spiritual birth, you cannot go into the kingdom of God.
29:37Now, I don't fully understand the baptism of the Holy Spirit, but I did look into it to try and understand.
29:44I looked in the Wayne Grudemans.
29:46I looked the subject up, the spiritual birth.
29:49And he says that the baptism of the Holy Spirit occurs at conversion.
29:54He says, he's a Greek scholar, he says there won't be a second experience of the Holy Spirit.
30:02There's not two baptisms of the Holy Spirit.
30:05Others, I'm sure, would disagree strongly with me.
30:08But when I looked into it, that is what I found.
30:10The spiritual birth, when man's dead spirit comes alive, when the scales are taken away from his eyes,
30:17only the Holy Spirit can do that.
30:20That is what happens when a man dead in sin has the spiritual birth.
30:27He will tell you things to come.
30:29The promise, therefore, refer to the main features of the Christian dispensation.
30:34The Holy Spirit will guide him in what new economy,
30:37in which they would no longer have the visible example and help and counsel of their master.
30:42He will not speak on his own authority.
30:45He will glorify me.
30:47The Holy Spirit's ministry is revealing Jesus to us to bear testimony of Jesus.
30:54He uses many different ways and many different gifts to accomplish this.
30:58But the purpose is always the same, to reveal Jesus.
31:02One may speak of dreams, visions and experiences and revelations and say they came from the Holy Spirit.
31:10But many of those supposed revelations of the Spirit say nothing almost sometimes about Jesus.
31:18We have to be careful.
31:20We have to be careful about dreams and visions.
31:23I'm not saying that they don't happen and they're not from God.
31:26That's not what I'm saying.
31:27But what I am saying is you have to test things very, very carefully.
31:33I remember someone did have a dream.
31:35I mean, it's come back a lot of years.
31:38And I didn't know how to test it.
31:40But the Lord took me to Jeremiah 23.
31:44I can't remember all the words, but I can remember it clearly.
31:47He that has a dream, let him have a dream.
31:49But let him who has my word, let him declare it.
31:53He said something like, my word is a rock that shatters things.
31:57And I thought that was my answer.
32:01Dr. Martin Law and Jones said this.
32:04The most wonderful thing of all is not that our sins have been forgiven, nor that we may enjoy certain experiences and blessings as a Christian.
32:14The thing that should astonish me and overwhelm me is that I am a child of God.
32:19One of God's people.
32:21The certainty that we are God's adopted children should be uppermost in our thoughts.
32:26Selwyn Hughes also said this.
32:29A major ministry of the Holy Spirit is to make us constantly aware that we are God's children.
32:36The Holy Spirit is at work in us to accomplish this task.
32:41Whatever other aspects of the Spirit's ministry are available to us.
32:45He says, empowerment, enlightenment, sanctification.
32:49This is one of the most important ministries.
32:53He deepens our consciousness of our relationship with the Father.
32:57Even when the perverse and molest side of our nature rises up, he counters the idea.
33:04We sometimes do, don't we?
33:06We battle with the flesh sometimes.
33:08But as Paul said, for those of us in Christ, we have crucified the flesh.
33:13And I'm constantly praying, Holy Spirit, crucify my flesh.
33:18Crucify it.
33:19And that time in the mornings, that quiet time with the Lord, reading his word, is marvellous.
33:26Because if I don't do that, the day never really goes as well as it should do.
33:31And I've learnt, get up in the morning and pray.
33:35Read your Bible.
33:36Those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.
33:41It says, for you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear.
33:46But you received the spirit of sonship.
33:49And by him we cry, Abba, Father.
33:51The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God.
33:58We've been learning on the Freedom in Christ course
34:01that our perception of ourselves is crucially important.
34:07Satan can do nothing about our position in Christ.
34:11But he can do a great deal of harm
34:13if he can cause you to doubt your position in Christ and who you are.
34:18He can't change that.
34:20It's unchangeable.
34:21But sometimes he can put thoughts into your head.
34:24And by your body language, he can tell whether you've taken the bait.
34:29But quoting the Word of God dispels it all.
34:35It says in James 4, 7,
34:36Submit to God, resist the devil, and he will flee.
34:40And saying things out loud are really important and crucial.
34:46And I was reading about, let's see, I remember, Hebrews 4, verse 12.
34:51The Word of God is powerful, sharper than any double-edged sword.
34:57And I looked up a commentary on that verse.
35:02And it said that the Greek word it said for the double-edged sword was dystamos.
35:08And it really means, apparently, double-mouthed.
35:12It comes out of God's mouth, comes into us, and comes out of our mouth.
35:16So this is why it's important when you're suffering temptation
35:20or whatever it is to speak out loud God's Word.
35:23It's the best way to defend yourself.
35:25Have you ever read the Bible and suddenly a verse leaps out
35:28and really has a strong meaning to you?
35:31That's the Holy Spirit.
35:33That's what he does, as I shared earlier when I read Samuel.
35:37One verse that encourages me in that way is Ephesians 8, verse 5.
35:42I love this verse.
35:44For once you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord.
35:47Live as children of the light.
35:49I love that because I was darkness at one time, full of darkness.
35:54But when the Holy Spirit comes and leads you to Christ,
35:57he just fills you.
35:59And it's amazing.
36:00The last bit, it says, live as children of light.
36:03You cannot live as a child of light unless you see yourself as a child of God.
36:09Unless you see yourself as a child of God,
36:12you will struggle to live as a child of light.
36:18It doesn't just say you're in the light.
36:20It says you are light.
36:22That's what you are.
36:24And in Ephesians 2, 6,
36:26And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms.
36:32These are verses the Holy Spirit has illuminated me over the years.
36:36As I come to a close, permit me to say one last thing.
36:47God's love for us is so great that not only did he send Christ to take the punishment for our sins,
36:53commonly known as the doctrine of penal substitution,
36:57he wants to live in us and share every part of our lives.
37:00The supreme achievement of the cross is that Jesus had placated the wrath of God
37:13which would burn against me were I not converted by the sacrifice of Christ.
37:19And Paul Washer, another good preacher on the internet,
37:21he's a bit fiery, but he's very good.
37:24One of the main ministries of the Holy Spirit is to convict the world of sin.
37:28So if your church does not talk much about sin,
37:31the Holy Spirit is not necessarily in your ministry.
37:35I thought that was a very challenging verse, I thought.
37:39It is a major ministry of the Holy Spirit to lead you to repentance and lead you to Christ.
37:45Romans 2, 4,
37:46Or do you despise the riches of his goodness, forbearance and longsuffering,
37:51not knowing that the goodness of God leads you to repentance?
37:54There's so much more I could say about the Holy Spirit,
37:59but I think I've given you enough to get along with.
38:02We perhaps need to ask ourselves,
38:04how well do we know the Holy Spirit?
38:07You know, we talk about our personal relationship with Jesus,
38:11which is super,
38:12but do we really know the Holy Spirit?
38:16Are we being led by the Spirit?
38:18What did he say to the Galatians?
38:20Walk in the Spirit and you will not try to satisfy the desires of the flesh.
38:26Walk in the Spirit.
38:28Peripatio.
38:29Walk in the area of the Holy Spirit.
38:33And with that, we'll close.
38:34On Jordan's bank, the battle's cry announces that the Lord is nigh.
38:46Come then and listen, for it brings the tidings of the King of kings.
38:57For you are our salvation, Lord,
39:26God, our refuge and our great reward.
39:32Without your grace we race the way,
39:38like clouds and we look and be gay.
39:45To heal the sick, stretch out your hand,
39:50make all sins flow at your crown.
39:55Sin's devastation now restore,
40:01first one, true love be as one's soul.
40:08To Him who left the throne of heaven,
40:14to save my life, all praise be given.
40:19To God the Father, voice is raised,
40:25and Holy Spirit, let us pray.
40:31Amen.
40:32Amen.
40:32Amen.
40:32Amen.
40:33Amen.
40:33Amen.
40:33Amen.
40:33Amen.
40:34Amen.
40:34Amen.
40:35Amen.
40:35Amen.
40:35Amen.
40:36Amen.
40:36Amen.
40:36Amen.
40:37Amen.
40:37Amen.
40:37Amen.
40:37Amen.
40:39Amen.
40:39Amen.
40:39Amen.
40:39Amen.
40:41Amen.
40:41Amen.
40:41Amen.
40:43Amen.
40:43Amen.
40:43Amen.
40:44Amen.
40:45Amen.
40:45Amen.
40:47Amen.
40:47Amen.
40:48Amen.
40:49Amen.
40:49Amen.
40:50Amen.
40:50Amen.
40:51Amen.
40:51Amen.
40:54Amen.
40:54Amen.
40:54Amen.
40:56Amen.
40:56Amen.
40:57Amen.
40:57Amen.
40:57Amen.
40:58Amen.
40:58Amen.
41:00Amen.
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