Today’s message summary of May 26, 2019 from Pastor Gus Brown:
The Holy Spirit is indeed God. It is our challenge to recognize His presence and be convicted of our own fleshly desires and have the desire to walk in His obedience.
Our prayer, according to Scripture, is to die to self and live for Jesus Christ.
What are the things that stop us or keep us to learn more about the Lord Jesus Christ? What is it that there are things more important than following Him? This is why the Holy Spirit comes into play. The Spirit must give is the desire to be obedient to Him.
The sin against the Holy Spirit is the refusal to allow the work of the Holy Spirit in salvation to work within one’s life.
There are certain characteristics that make up a person. Look at the types of people represented here.
John 12:36-43
“While you have the light, believe in the light, that you may become sons of light.”
When Jesus had said these things, he departed and hid himself from them. Though he had done so many signs before them, they still did not believe in him, so that the word spoken by the prophet Isaiah might be fulfilled:
“Lord, who has believed what he heard from us,
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
Therefore they could not believe. For again Isaiah said,
“He has blinded their eyes
and hardened their heart,
lest they see with their eyes,
and understand with their heart, and turn,
and I would heal them.”
Isaiah said these things because he saw his glory and spoke of him. Nevertheless, many even of the authorities believed in him, but for fear of the Pharisees they did not confess it, so that they would not be put out of the synagogue; for they loved the glory that comes from man more than the glory that comes from God.
Some people make the choice not to believe in spite of the evidence.
John 5:39-47
You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me, yet you refuse to come to me that you may have life. I do not receive glory from people. But I know that you do not have the love of God within you. I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not receive me. If another comes in his own name, you will receive him. How can you believe, when you receive glory from one another and do not seek the glory that comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you to the Father. There is one who accuses you: Moses, on whom you have set your hope. For if you believed Moses, you would believe me; for he wrote of me. But if you do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?”
Note how often Jesus refers to the people who refuse Him. Many will compliment and glorify others, but they choose to not love God.
The Holy Spirit is the One who sets truth before us. He convicts one of their own sin, and provides what is needed for a person to make up his or her own mind. The Spirit will teach and give you the desire to seek after Him.
There are six different types of people that the Spirit deals with:
1. Those who will not repent or choose not to believe.
2. Those who want to believe, but struggle with it (Mark 9:24).
3. Those who have no desire to grow in their salvation (Hebrews 5:11-14).
4. Those who think that they are too bad to be saved (Luke 5:8). (There is no such person on earth, for God desires for all people to be saved – 1 Timothy 2:4.)
5. Those who are confused and don’t understand the gospel (Acts 13:42; 18:25-26).
6. Those who understand but will not acknowledge God’s claim upon them. (See Jonah and Jeremiah. Both men knew that the Lord was in their life, but both also fought against it.)
Ask yourself this question: Are you running from the Lord or towards Him? Is it not better to work with someone who still needs refining of their thinking or with someone who does not want to think about God at all?
The Holy Spirit only desires to help us. He is building us in spite of where we are. He is always willing to teach us.
We grieve Him when we choose to be carnal and fleshly, rebellious, stubborn and ignorant.
Ephesians 4:30
And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.
Hebrews 3:7-10
Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says,
“Today, if you hear his voice,
do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion,
on the day of testing in the wilderness,
where your fathers put me to the test
and saw my works for forty years.
Therefore I was provoked with that generation,
and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart;
they have not known my ways.’
Do you desire to know the ways of God?
Acts 7:51
“You stiff-necked people, uncircumcised in heart and ears, you always resist the Holy Spirit. As your fathers did, so do you.
Do you deliberately resist His will?
2 Corinthians 6:17-18
Therefore go out from their midst,
and be separate from them, says the Lord,
and touch no unclean thing;
then I will welcome you,
and I will be a father to you,
and you shall be sons and daughters to me,
says the Lord Almighty.”
Do you refuse to follow His teaching? Notice how the Spirit brings back His Word as a reminder.
1 Corinthians 10:14-15
Therefore, my beloved, flee from idolatry. I speak as to sensible people; judge for yourselves what I say.
Are you running to Jesus Christ through the Spirit or running away from Him?
John 7:24
“Do not judge by appearances, but judge with right judgment.”
The Spirit wants to teach you good judgment for what you need in your life.
1 Timothy 6:11-12
But as for you, O man of God, flee these things. Pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, steadfastness, gentleness. Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called and about which you made the good confession in the presence of many witnesses.
The Spirit guides you to the proper pursuits in life.
2 Timothy 2:22
So flee youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, along with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart.
The Spirit empowers you to run away from youthful and fleshly desires and seek His will in godliness. Look to the Spirit for love, peace and righteousness.
We can certainly quench the Spirit (1 Thessalonians 5:19).
We are not to vex the Holy Spirit.
To vex is to be contentious and rebellious. To be rebellious is to be disobedient. It is to make His work unpleasant and bitter. It is to provoke the Spirit into action that He no longer wants to take. To vex the Spirit is to produce a result that you really do not want.
Isaiah 63:10
But they rebelled and grieved his Holy Spirit; therefore he turned to be their enemy, and himself fought against them.
When the Holy Spirit is vexed, He fights against it.
1. It is not a vengeful fight.
2. It is not a punitive fight.
3. It is not a fight to gain respect.
4. It is a fight to gain our attention in order that we might be brought to our senses.
The Spirit has to stop the wrong in our lives.
God doesn’t eliminate our will. He merely brings circumstances to bear in the effort to change our minds about who He is.
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