Hi my name
is Brenden and I Pastor the ROC in Rathdrum Idaho. I wanted to take a moment to
talk to you about a subject of utmost importance, The Holy Spirit, you see for quite some time there has been a war
going on and it still rages today. This war is against the Holy Spirit and
sadly the greatest opponents of the Holy Spirit, or the greatest perpetrators
of wrongs against Him in this war are, by in large, the people who call
themselves the church. There are far too many churches today teaching from the
Holy Scriptures but refusing to acknowledge the Holy Spirit with more than
subtle occasional references. Many avoid the subject entirely.
When Jesus said to Peter,
Upon
this rock I will build my
church; and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it. Mat
16: 16-19
He was not referring to Peter but to the revelation that
Peter had at that moment, the one given to him by the heavenly Father, the
revelation that Jesus is the son of the living God. The rock upon which Jesus
builds His church is the foundational truth given by the very Spirit of God
where we receive that Jesus is the Christ, the son of the living God. Once we
receive the depth of this revelation we come to follow Him without question or
compromise. Jesus said, “Heaven and earth shall pass away: but my words shall not pass away. Mat. 24:35. His word is unchanging undying.
He said,
If a man love me, he will
keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will
come unto him, and make our abode with him. John
14: 23
In
the Love of Christ Jesus we receive Him and His word as gospel truth, without
compromise.
He said,
If ye love me,
keep my commandments. And I
will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may
abide with you forever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with
you, and shall be in you. John 14:
15-17
These things have I spoken unto you, being yet present with
you.
But the Comforter, which is the Holy
Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and
bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you. John 14: 25-27
He
said,
Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient
(it is good) for you that I go away: for
if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will
send him unto you. John 16:7
You
see, The Holy ghost is our God given guide, teacher and comforter. He is the
gift that Jesus gave His church to help prevent the gates of hell from
prevailing against it. He is the guide to all truth. He is the spirit of truth.
He is the very Spirit of liberty Without Him you the saints fall to deception
and all sorts of bondage.
Jesus
said,
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come,
he will guide you into all truth: for
he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall
he speak: and he will shew you things to come. He shall glorify me: for he shall receive of mine, and shall
shew it unto you. John 16: 13
Paul reveals in 2 Corinthians 3:17 “where the Spirit of the
Lord is, there is liberty.” Without Him you risk walking in great
deception you risk walking in confusion double mindedness and bondage.
Now
many in the church, for whatever reason, will seek to convince you that the
Holy Spirit was Given to the original disciples only, for a time such as then
but that is a false teaching. It is true that Jesus preached to the disciples
and delivered to them the Holy ghost but it is also true that the disciples, being
led by that same spirit, preached to the masses the existence of the Holy Spirit
and how it was important they/ we receive Him.
Paul the apostle who was not of the original twelve
disciples preached the gospel of Christ Jesus by an infilling of the Holy
Spirit. By the scriptures we know that Paul was once known a Saul, a Pharisee
and destroyer of those who followed Christ Jesus. In Acts 9 verse 17 the bible
shows us that After Jesus visited Saul he sent him to meet Ananias. The bible
says,
Ananias went his way, and entered into the house; and
putting his hands on him said, Brother Saul, the Lord, even Jesus, that
appeared unto thee in the way as thou camest, hath sent me, that thou mightest
receive thy sight, and be filled with the Holy Ghost.
Paul
was filled with the Holy Ghost and the Lord did many special miracles through
Paul. He became an apostle of Christ
Jesus and even went on to write nearly 2/3rds of the New Testament in your
Bible. And again, Paul was not of the original 12 disciples
In acts 2 we read, “And when the day of Pentecost was fully
come, they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came
a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house
where they were sitting. And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like
as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with
the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them
utterance.” According to the Apostle Luke, There were about 120 men in the
upper room that day plus ladies. These others were not of the original 12 disciples
yet were filled with the Holy Ghost.
Yes
Jesus did speak to His disciples and convey that they were going to receive the
Holy Spirit however, Long after Jesus ascended to the father, after the Lamb
was on the mercy seat, The Apostle Peter addressed the multitude and taught
them that they too were to receive the Holy Spirit. He said to them.
Repent,
and be baptized every one of you in the
name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift
of the Holy Ghost. For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and
to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. Acts,
2: 38-39
For
the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even
as many as the Lord our God shall call.
As
many as the lord our God will call,
not man. It is not for man to decide it is not for man to govern over or
dictate who receives the Holy Spirit but to whom God will call.
In 1 corinthians chapter 12 where Paul teaches us of the
Spiritual Gifts, we find we are to manifest these gifts, the gift of words of
wisdom, words of knowledge, faith, the gift of healing, the working of
miracles, the gift of prophecy, the discerning of spirits, speaking in divers
kinds of tongues, and the interpretation of tongues. Paul makes it clear that no man can say that
Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost and that the gifts are given to every
man according to whom the Holy Spirit wills, not man. Some in denial may try to
marginalize the teachings of the disciples as they pertain to receiving the
Holy Spirit and the gifts of the Spirit but remember these things that Jesus
himself said.
Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature. He that believeth and is baptized shall be saved; but he that
believeth not shall be damned. And these
signs shall follow them
that believe; In my name shall they cast out devils; they shall speak
with new tongues; They shall take up serpents;
and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall not hurt them; they shall lay
hands on the sick, and they shall recover. Mark 16: 15-18
(And these signs shall follow them that believe, this is
plainly for anyone who believes in the teachings of Christ Jesus and that He is
Lord, the son of the living God and that empowered by Him through the Holy
Ghost you can and will do great and mighty things)
Let no one ever again try to convince you that the Holy
Spirit was sent for a time such as then only. He is here and now, ready to be
received by you, to teach you to guide you, to comfort you, to lead you into
all truth to show you things to come. And to bring in to remembrance all things
that Jesus has said. I believe even things that were not recorded in the bible those
things which Jesus did mentioned in John chapter 21 verse 25.
The “many
other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I
suppose that even the world itself could not contain the
books that should be written.”
This is no small matter; your eternity is at stake.
Receiving the Spirit is essential Jesus clearly tells us in John chapter 3.
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
again, he cannot see the kingdom of God. John 3:3
Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born
of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. That which is born of the flesh is flesh;
and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born
again. John 3: 5-7
To deny the
existence of the Holy Spirit is to deny the powerfully perfect God given guide
sent to deliver us from deception. To deny the Holy Spirit is to deny the gift
of Christ Jesus, to deny the Holy Spirit is to deny the very spirit of God
Himself. To deny the Holy Spirit is to deny the Spirit of truth and liberty,
the Rock solid foundation upon which Jesus builds His church. To deny the Holy
Spirit is to ensure the prevailing of the gates of hell against your
fellowship.
Jesus once asked,
So
How can you call Him Lord if you are not willing to surrender to Him. How can
you call Him Lord if you are not willing to obey Him and truly allow Him to be
your lord, to rule and reign in your Life.
There
is great power and security in unity. The word of God calls His people to unify
having love and compassion for one another and to be of one mind in the Spirit.
How can this unity this oneness be achieved if the Spirit is rejected?
The Holy
Spirit should be recognized, celebrated, desired, and invited into your life.
If your Church is not encouraging you to seek guidance from the Spirit, If the leadership is not themselves seeking
guidance from the Holy Ghost if they aren’t
preaching, teaching, professing, confessing and praying for the indwelling and
leading of the Holy Spirit then go to them in Love and speak to them about the
scriptural evidence presented to you. If they hear and receive you regarding
this then you have won brethren. If they refuse to hear and discourage you from
a relationship with the Spirit, leave immediately and find fellowship with
those who will, your eternity is at stake. (Shake the dust off your feet, Matthew 10:14, Mark 6:11, Luke 9:5) It is vital that you now seek with
haste the Spirit for there is coming a time of great confusion brought on by
the mixing of truth and deception and it is by the Spirit that you will be led
into truth it is by the Spirit that you will receive power from on high Love
and a sound mind.
Jesus
makes it clear who His people are. They are those who hear His voice and will
not answer to the voice of the stranger. His friends, brothers, sisters and
mothers are those who do whatever He asks
and those who hear the word of the Lord and do it.
The bible tells us, As a gift to the people, The Lord gave apostles,
prophets; evangelists, pastors and teachers; For the perfecting of the
saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ: Eph
4
We are talking about His church. He is the Chief corner
stone. Remember no man can say Jesus is Lord but by the Holy Spirit.
No church nor
any Apostle, prophet, evangelist, pastor or teacher can claim to be of Jesus the
son of the living God, the Christ child of Nazareth if they abstain from
recognizing the Holy Spirit and teach others to do so.
John tells
us that If you say (Jesus) abides in you, then you ought to walk as He walked.
Jesus was led by the Spirit and inarguably He desires that you are led by the Holy
Spirit too.
Be blessed and
know that Jesus Christ himself prayed to the Father so that you might receive the
Holy Spirit.
