Today’s message summary of June 30, 2019 from Pastor Gus Brown:
The Holy Spirit may be the most neglected in our studies of the Trinity. It is the Holy Spirit that directs the work of God. He is the One who is applying all of the goodness of God to our lives.
The Holy Spirit is the One who leads us when we go out before others. If He is not involved in this, then it is all being done on our own strength.
Lord, let us not focus on ourselves…let us focus on You.
We want to rely upon Scripture to reveal the will of God in our life. Our purpose is to do what is pleasing in His sight.
Going to church is not enough. People can get to church, but never get into the Scriptures.
We want the Scriptures to live inside of us.
Please follow this closely (and bear with me) as I make this point: Scripture, in and of itself, is a unfinished product. By itself, it is insufficient for the life of the believer and the Church. By itself, Scripture contains a small part of the truth that God wants His people to know.
The Scripture is made complete because of the presence of the Holy Spirit.
None of us know the true paths that our lives will take, but the Spirit does know, and He provides this direction.
The Spirit has to provide the direction with His provision of wisdom and understanding of the Word to the reader.
John 16:12
“I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.”
John 20:30-31
Now Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book; but these are written so that you may believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and that by believing you may have life in his name.
The Spirit gives us enough information to make a decisive choice to follow Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior.
John 21:25
Now there are also many other things that Jesus did. Were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself could not contain the books that would be written.
We get a condensed view of Jesus Christ in the Holy Bible, but the Spirit gives us what we need for understanding as He guides us and teaches us.
We need to be able to discern His voice.
1 Corinthians 2:6-14
Yet among the mature we do impart wisdom, although it is not a wisdom of this age or of the rulers of this age, who are doomed to pass away. But we impart a secret and hidden wisdom of God, which God decreed before the ages for our glory. None of the rulers of this age understood this, for if they had, they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. But, as it is written, “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, not the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him”–these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. Now we have received not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might understand the things freely given us by God. And we impart this in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual. The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned.
The Holy Spirit gives you the heart of God in what you are to do. He goes beyond what is written in the Bible. He will speak to you, and you will know with all certainty the deep things of God.
God does not want you in darkness. He wants you to know how to live in the manner that is pleasing to Him. He wants you to understand life as the Spirit opens up the Word of God and provide you with what you need.
We exist to please God–not the other way around.
When you are born again, the Spirit speaks to you about all of the things that you once rejected, and He gives you the ability to live in such a way that glorifies Him and makes you victorious.
When you labor over Scripture throughout the week and then on Sunday–with conviction–with some insight–with some depth–and with some application to life, the Holy Spirit gives power to know what you know.
Do you have the desire to labor over Scripture?
You should have this desire if your heart is burning for His Word.
The life of the believer and the Church should be under the control of the Holy Spirit, who knows the very will of God and places His will before the believer and the Church.
Romans 12:2
Do not be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewal of your mind, that by testing you may discern what is the will of God, what is good and acceptable and perfect.
Galatians 5:25
If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is a person working on our behalf:
- He dwells in the believer. John 14:17
- He teaches and brings to remembrance. John 14:17
- He testifies about Jesus. John 15:26
- He convicts of sin. John 16:18
- He guides into all truth. John 16:13
- He inspires Scripture and speaks. Acts 1:16; 2 Peter 1:21
- He talks to us. Acts 8:29
- He calls us to ministry. Acts 13:2
- He sends us forth to the assigned work. Acts 16:4
- He forbids certain action. Acts 16:6-7
- He intercedes. Romans 8:26
The Christian who is in ministry and on assignment recognizes that he or she is moving according to the direction and power of the Holy Spirit.
Acts 8:26-39
Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Rise and go toward the south to the road that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is a desert place. And he rose and went. And there was an Ethiopian, a eunuch, a court official of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians, who was in charge of all her treasure. He had come to Jerusalem to worship and was returning, seated in his chariot, and he was reading the prophet Isaiah. And the Spirit said to Philip, “Go over and join this chariot.” So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: “Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, so he opens not his mouth. In his humiliation justice was denied him. Who can describe his generation? For his life is taken away from the earth.” And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. And as they were going along the road they came to some water, and the eunuch said, “See, here is water! What prevents me from being baptized?” And he commanded the chariot to stop, and they both went down into the water, Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him. And they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord carried Philip away, and the eunuch saw him no more, and went on his way rejoicing.
We are to learn, grow and depend on the Holy Spirit to be the One who teaches, guides and matures us in our faith.
Akron Alliance Fellowship 