Let's see. We're on the work of the Holy Spirit and back after Christmas break and I heard that Paul Wagner did a very good job teaching on the minor prophets and heard some very good comments and so I was thankful thankful for that. We'll finish up that this plan to finish up this topic this morning. Definition on the work of the Holy Spirit. The work of the Holy Spirit is to manifest the active presence of God in the world and especially in the church. To manifest or show demonstrate the active presence of God in the world and especially in the church. And so in the first two weeks that we talked about the work of the Holy Spirit, we talked about the fact that the Holy Spirit empowers the Holy Spirit purifies. He empowers for giving us new life and empowers us for service. He purifies the Holy Spirit and his work is to convict us in and to work in us to make us progressively more holy, more Christ-like in our lives. He reveals the Holy Spirit reveals by inspiring the writings of the biblical authors and that way he reveals but also he teaches and guides us and reveals in that way. Now we're coming to point four and five that we finish up this morning. The Holy Spirit unifies and the Holy Spirit gives evidence of God's presence. Let's see, under the Holy Spirit reveals last time we were together that was November 25th or whatever it was. I touched on something at the end and so I'm just going to pick up on that as a matter of review and then go on to the Holy Spirit unifies. The Holy Spirit reveals number three. He guides and directs God's people. Galatians 5 says, walk by the Spirit and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh and then down a few lines. If you are led by the Spirit, if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. Romans 8, 14 for all who are led by the Spirit of God, our sons of God and the verb here is in the present tense. We could translate it for all who are continually being led by the Spirit of God, our sons of God. That looks to me to be something that Paul says is characteristic of the Christian life ordinarily or normally to be led by the Holy Spirit. That's going to come into play here in a few minutes as we talk about the Holy Spirit giving evidence of his presence. And then the Holy Spirit, this is just at the end last time, provides a God-like atmosphere when he manifests his presence, atmosphere of righteousness because he convinces the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. Atmosphere of love, Romans 5.5 because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. And that atmosphere, Romans 14, 17 of righteousness and peace and joy, that is when the Holy Spirit reveals or manifests God's presence, we should sense that we are in an atmosphere of love, of peace, of joy, of righteousness and holiness and justice and truthfulness. Those are just different ways of describing the way the Holy Spirit imparts a sense of the presence of God. And then his character, as the character of God becomes evident in the conversations that we have in the thoughts that we think in the feelings and desires that we have in our hearts and minds, the Holy Spirit provides a God-like atmosphere when he manifests his presence. And so with that background now, we go on to point four, the Holy Spirit unifies. That is the Holy Spirit comes on a community and in Acts 2, the disciples were gathered there at Pentecost and Peter explains that God had prophesied through Joel, I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. And the way the Bible sometimes reinforces the fact that everybody is included is it gives these pairs of opposites and by that it implies everybody. And so the pairs that are given here are sons and daughters, young men, old men, male servants, female servants. So it's just taking different classes or different groups of people and saying, look, this is for males and females. It's for people who are servants and people who are masters. It's for people who are old and young. And that's just a way of emphasizing that the Holy Spirit comes at Pentecost to be poured out on all of God's people. When Paul goes over in 1 Corinthians 12 to talk about spiritual gifts, he says to each is given to each one, to each person is given the manifestation of the Spirit for the common good. That means if you are a believer, the Holy Spirit has been given to you, has been put within you and will begin to show himself and manifest himself in some general ways through the Spirit becomes produced in us. And in a specific way, he gives you a desire to be involved in caring for people in this area. He gives somebody else a desire to be involved in another area of ministry. He gives someone else an area, well, Monty is talking about having the opportunity to minister or talk to a bear witness to someone who is riding the car with. There are different opportunities that open up. And the Holy Spirit provides those and guides those. And I'm looking at Ruth here, he's been involved in a women's ministry. And I think that probably what happened, I haven't talked to you about this, but before you got involved in the women's ministry here, there was probably a sense of maybe I should do that. I wonder if I should do that and he's thinking about it week after week. And then stronger, it keeps you can't get away from it. And I really want to do that. The Holy Spirit comes on us as believers. And then you start taking steps forward and say, this is right, this is what I should be doing. And I had that sense, although I wouldn't speak of that thing in England, kind of crowding that into those few days. But once I was there, it just seemed so right. And the Lord's guidance on the sessions and the way the taping went and everything. This is what God wants me to be doing. The Holy Spirit comes on a community and calls other people to serve in different ways. Maybe it's just caring for a neighbor or caring for a relative, or just however the Holy Spirit moves you and leads you. But that will be evident in some way in all of our lives. And then there is a caring for one another that comes about when the Holy Spirit brings this unifying, unifying influence to a community. And what happened in Acts 2 was all who believed were together and had all things in common. And the pouring of the Holy Spirit was so powerful that any need that people have, there were people just saying, well, here I can meet that need. I can meet that need. There was such generosity. They were selling their possessions and belongings, delivering, distributing the proceeds to all as any had need. And then day by day, attending the temple and breaking bread in their homes, they received their food with glad and generous hearts praising God. And having favor with all the people and the Lord is adding to their number day by day, those who are being saved. It's very interesting they weren't just going to the temple once a week. Day by day, they couldn't stay away. They were attending the temple together, they were eating together, they were praising God together. And I've read stories at times of revival where this happens. Christians just, they just want to get together and worship and pray more. And they long to be in that sense of fellowship where the Holy Spirit draws them together in a community. And then there's that joy of being in the presence of God, which the Holy Spirit gives. Paul talks about the unifying work of the Holy Spirit, the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all right at the end of 2nd Corinthians 13-14. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit, I think that means and that word fellowship is a Greek word coinonia, which you've probably heard before. It means a Holy Spirit inspired caring for one another, unity, desire to be together with one another, enjoyment of one another's presence. Philippians 1-2 Paul talks about this, if there's any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation and that's coinonia again. And it's variously translated fellowship, sharing, relationship it has to do with this one another sense that the Holy Spirit gives caring for one another. If there's any participation in the Spirit, complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Paul says, foul that out, foul out the implications of the Holy Spirit's work, be unified, be of one mind. What was the percentage vote to call Jamie Rasmussen here? 96? 96%. How can you get 96% of all these different funny people going here, Scottsdale Bible Church? How can you get 96% of people to vote for anything? Isn't that the Holy Spirit's work? Isn't that a sense of bringing the church to a sense of unity? It seems to me manifestation of that. And we're thankful. Ephesians 4-3 eager to maintain the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. And I think that there's another observation here, and that has to do with spiritual gifts. Sometimes there are controversies about spiritual gifts in the church. And they've sometimes been kind of divisive, those controversies. Different views on spiritual gifts. But that isn't what's supposed to happen. What's supposed to happen is that different gifts draw us together because they make us depend on one another. It was kind of funny when Monty said to Jack, are you going to come up here and sing? Jack said, no, I'm not going to sing. Kevin and Andrea already sang. We depend on Kevin and Andrea for singing. We don't depend on Jack for singing. But we're all touched and moved by the singing. Okay, so that's the Holy Spirit working in giving gifts to some people and not to us. And you guys are out in the field as missionaries. But we're depending on you to do that. You're kind of encouraged, hey, there are other people and the bockermons have gone out from us and others have gone out from us. And the Holy Spirit moves in different people's hearts in different ways. But we do different things. And so we depend on that. Depending on Trent and Darryl to be here and set up. And wouldn't you know it one week and three or four, they get here and something's wrong with the computer back there or the projector or the lights or something. But they're here early to get it fixed and we come in and think nothing of it. I depend on them to do that. And so Paul says that first Corinthians 1221, the eye cannot say to the hand, I have no need of you, or they can't say the foot, I have no need of you. And that's to get us that's to encourage us to depend on each other and care for each other. If I had to get that projector going and get the work out all the glitches with the computer back there like they did this morning, I'd come up here to be teaching and I'd be full of stress and I wouldn't know if it's going to work again or not. And what I'm depending on Trent and Darryl to figure that out for me. And so it is in the church generally, other people do other things and we have to be thankful. And that's the way the Holy Spirit works, giving gifts to different people to do different things. That's, does that make sense? So different differences should unify us. That's not the way the world would think. The world would think, hey, you're different from me. I don't have anything to do with you. The church thinks you're different from me. I'm thankful for you. Am I making sense? I think that's a really healthy perspective. And you know, over the years that Scottsdale Bible church grew and grew and grew under Darryl Dell who says leadership. Look on what I at least saw that a little bit of that. I think it was because Darryl had a strong sense of this. Somebody came with an idea for a new ministry that Darryl wasn't involved in. He didn't have any interest in a ministry to the deaf, a ministry to divorce people, a ministry for mixed families, a ministry to homeless people, a ministry to the poor, a ministry, whatever kind of thing. And Darryl would say, thank you. I bless you. I want to encourage you. How can I help you? That is encouraging all kinds of different ministries rather than saying, as you know, some pastors can do, and they'll stifle the growth of a church. They can say, well, unless I'm in charge of it, it's not going to happen here. That's trying to control everything yourself, and that will be the bottleneck for the growth of a church. But instead of the Holy Spirit's given different callings and different ministries to different people, I bless it. I bless it. I bless it. And the mission work. Okay, you want to do that. I bless that. I'll support it. I'll be thankful for it. Comments on that. Unity comes through encouraging diversity, paradoxical. But it's the way God works. And then we can be thankful for each other. All right. Do we need to seek more of the Holy Spirit's unifying work in our ministries? What if you had no dissension or divisiveness in your ministry church? Actually, I think that's about where we are right now. It's got the Bible church. I hope it lasts. I know that it doesn't always last in churches. You go through periods of differences and divisiveness, and there are people pulling and tugging one way or another. But as long as it lasts, we can be thankful because a lot of ministry can go forward. And so that's anything. That's all. I'm the unifying work of the Holy Spirit, Pammy. Okay. Well, I'm just going to leave that off the tape. Some of you over here didn't hear this. It's a really good question, Pammy, but I'm going to translate it into more politically neutral terms. How is it that sometimes people in the world can be kinder to each other than Christians who beat up and criticize and not literally shoot each other, but character assassinate each other, things like that. There's something else going on. Because it's this deal where if you take part of the truth from the Bible and have it only the only thing you talk about, then you don't have the whole truth. And go back 15, 20 weeks, I talked about the danger of false doctrine in the church and how it leads people astray. And I think that the Lord wants us to work not only for the unity of the church, but also for the purity of the church. And there are some people who we just don't want to come and preach in the pulpit here, or who I would not want to teach this class on Sunday morning because I think that they would lead the levers astray. And then when we have responsibilities for leadership in an organization, as I talked about being on the executive committee of this evangelical theological society, then people come along and they start teaching God doesn't know the future. He doesn't know what we're going to choose to do tomorrow morning. And then people say, wait, isn't that harmful. So we have to protect the unit. There's a unity, but it also has to be coupled with the desire for purity. And when we seek that, there's a mistake that people can make of seeking unity and allowing all sorts of error, and then those churches is drifted into believing nothing eventually. But there's another mistake of being harsh and judgmental. And everybody who differs with me over some little tiny thing is I kick out or I criticize. And that's not being Christ-like or loving either. And I think people can make mistakes. And what you're saying is, how can Christians do that so often? There are people, and then the press loves to put them on where they're just angry and they hold signs criticizing everybody. And so this teaching should say, let's not do that. Okay. That was a cleansed version of politically cleansed version of how we mentioned specific political figures. And anyway, thanks. Anything else on unity of the Holy Spirit? I'm just holding back from saying it. Yes? What you said really because there's a purity that you're trying to maintain. Yeah. And in Cammy's example, where you're getting along, and the purity necessarily isn't trying to maintain. Yeah. Yeah. Where you allow wrongdoing to continue. That's right. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And I agree that's a, that's a. There's more so I should say, but it takes me a field on that. Okay. It's a judgment. It's a judgment call of when do we say this shouldn't be allowed hiring new faculty of a seminary? How much breadth do we allow? It's always a judgment call and a decision. How much breadth do we allow? Or that kind of thing? So what kind of things should we sponsor as a church and approve? Okay. I think what I was saying is that just because you see unity in a group, not being they are right. Good. Or that they have extraordinary love for one another. Okay. That's good. There could be something else. There's people are against us. So Pam is saying just because you see unity in a group that doesn't mean that everything's right because it can be unity on a wrong idea. And the al-Qaeda terrorists are unified. I think in evil. So that's it. Okay. That's a helpful point to me. Okay. This is not the only thing the Bible says, but it's one of the things it says. Good. Okay. Now, E, and this is kind of pay off to our lives, the Holy Spirit gives stronger or weaker evidence of the presence and blessing of God according to our response to him. Now, one example is Jesus himself where Jesus was without sin. And the Holy Spirit remained on him. John 132. I saw the spirit descend from heaven like a dog and it remained on him. John 334. God has sent others the words of God for. He gives the spirit without measure. I think Jesus means to himself. He was uniquely empowered by the Holy Spirit in a way greater than anyone has been. I think that's connected to the fact that he was always obedient to the Father. There was no sin in him. There was nothing in him grieving the Holy Spirit. So the Holy Spirit would depart from him. He was always doing things that were pleasing to the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit remained on him and filled him without measure. But with us, the situation can be different. The Holy Spirit can be grieved and cease to bring blessing to a situation. And so Stephen in X 751 goes back through the history of Israel in the Old Testament and summarizes it in not a very user friendly or a secret friendly way. He says, you stiff-necked people on circumcised in hearts and ears. You always resist the Holy Spirit as your fathers did so to you and they stopped their ears. They didn't want to hear what he was saying. But what was he doing? He was speaking in the power of the Holy Spirit to review their resistance of the Holy Spirit, these people who were not accepting Jesus as the Messiah, at least not at that point. Some of the hearers included Paul, or Saul of Tarsus who later became Paul, and I'm sure it had an effect on him. So there was a resisting of the Holy Spirit when throughout the Old Testament, when God's people turned away from him or disobeyed him, they were resisting the Holy Spirit. Stephen gave examples of that through history in Acts 7, that long speech. Paul says to the Ephesians, don't grieve, do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption. Earlier in Ephesians, he had said, oh no, it's Ephesians where he says, be filled with the Holy Spirit. That's later, the next chapter. So he wants them to be filled with the Holy Spirit, but here he says, don't grieve the Holy Spirit. That is, you can have times of blessing in your life and you know God's favour and you know that, oh, things are seeing answers to prayer and you read your Bible and it's meaningful and there's a sense of the presence of God. And then if you consciously do something wrong, you consciously do something that's contrary to Scripture, then you'll grieve the Holy Spirit and Paul says, don't do that. Don't do that because when you do that, then he withdraws a measure of his influence in your life, a measure of his presence and blessing. Or first, that's Loan in 519, Paul says, don't quench the Spirit, don't quench the Spirit. So that could happen. There's something worse that can happen. There are more serious offenses against the Holy Spirit. There is hardened disobedience where someone's rebuked, rebuked, rebuked and worn and keeps on in sin and Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to a lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? And apparently this was a very serious sin against this, the Holy Spirit had filled the community, there was a sharing with one another, there was a caring, there was a sense of joy and love and truthfulness no doubt. And in the midst of that wonderful situation, Ananias and his wife planned and conspired together to lie and say, hey, we sold this for so much and here's the whole proceeds and in fact they were lying about it and Peter said, why did you lie to the Holy Spirit and he fell down dead? Disciplined by God. Or Hebrews 1029, Paul, not Paul, but the author of Hebrews says, someone could outrage the Spirit of grace and then the Holy Spirit's work can be removed. I have seen instances where we're thriving, prospering churches went down to 30 people, then 20 people and then they sold it, sold the building because why some there was some sin that was not dealt with. I remember speaking in church like that, I had gone from 300 to 30 and they asked me to come and speak and I spoke and I heard a little bit about the history of the church and I said to one of the leaders, I said, is there some, was there something that happened here that there should have been church discipline exercised and it wasn't, I just made a stab in the dark. And he said, yes, and it never was dealt with and the result was there, there was a grieving of the Holy Spirit that persisted and he just, the Holy Spirit just said, you resist me so long, I'm going to depart. So that's a warning to all of us in our church and our individual ministries don't grieve the Holy Spirit. And then there's something even worse and that is blasphemy against the Holy Spirit. Matthew 12, 31 to 32, every sin and every blasphemy will be forgiven people but the blasphemy against the Holy Spirit or against the Spirit will not be forgiven says Jesus, whoever speaks the word against the Son of man will be forgiven but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven either in this age or in the age to come. I know people differ on this, there's been a discussion of what this means and I think in another class session we maybe dealt with this in the area of sin more fully but I think what it is is willfully and maliciously attributing to Satan the powerful work of the Holy Spirit and it comes from a very deeply evil hard-hearted resistance to the work of the Spirit and the message of the gospel. I think if anybody is worried that he or she has committed that sin, well you haven't because worrying that you have still indicates there's some softness in your heart from some desire to come to God and when someone is this hardened against the Holy Spirit as committed that willful malicious blasphemy against the Holy Spirit then there is no sense of sorrow or desire to come back to God at all. So those are degrees of resisting of the Holy Spirit. By contrast there's a positive emphasis. By contrast in the life of Christians whose conduct is pleasing to God the Holy Spirit will be present to bring great blessing and this is where I want to end up and this is the application to our lives that I want to emphasize today. If we walk in a way that's pleasing to God and seek God's presence and seek the Holy Spirit's presence and empowering and direction guiding in our lives and in our ministry I believe the Holy Spirit will bring great blessing. Acts 278 I think this verse is setting the stage for the entire history of the church until Christ returns. I will pour out my spirit on all flesh in the last days and I think the last days began there at Pentecost and they continue until the day Christ returns and there's a promise that God will pour out his spirit on us. First Corinthians 316 do you not know that you are God's temple and God's spirit dwells in you all right that to the Corinthians I can say that on the authority of God's word to all of you who have trusted in Christ you are God's temple God's spirit dwells in you. So shouldn't we expect the Holy Spirit then to bring great blessing to our lives. The fellowship of the Holy Spirit will be with us the spirit of the second Corinthians 13 14 first Peter 414 if you're insulted for the name of Christ you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you and and so I think that means that these verses mean that there is a work of the Holy Spirit that that we can expect to bring these truths to bring empowering. 1 or point a of the outlet to bring purification in our lives to reveal or guide us in our daily activities to unify us. I think we can expect that and as we walk in obedience and seek his blessing those evidences should become stronger we should see more power more effectiveness in our prayers and our witness more purity in our lives more desire for purity more guidance effectively. So we're guided into what the Holy Spirit wants us to do and more unity shouldn't we then seek that that happens shouldn't we seek for all our ministry and by ministry I don't just mean leading a youth group or you know working with the women's ministry or working with children or leading a small group I mean by ministry all of your interaction with your neighbors or your relatives or other believers that you're caring for and your prayer time personally at home is a kind of ministry too. You're praying for others shouldn't we seek that all our ministry be done in the Holy Spirit to consciously dwell in the God like atmosphere created by the Holy Spirit to be continually in an atmosphere of God's manifested presence. It's surprising to me how many activities the New Testament tells us can be done in the Holy Spirit. So Jesus rejoiced in the Holy Spirit there can be a joy maybe you put a worship tape on in your car when you're driving or at home and all of a sudden you've got this unusual sense of joy. I was seeing some nods you know I'm saying that's the Holy Spirit imparting God's joy to you and and I'm just saying that to say let's be aware of that okay to rejoice it's possible to rejoice in the Holy Spirit that's a better deeper richer fuller kind of rejoicing than rejoicing that your favorite sports team one or that your candidate one or in the primary or something like that or that your business did well or that you got an extra check. Extra check from something at the end of the there's joy and sort of good things like that or joy in a good meal but there's joy in the Holy Spirit I mean maybe even all those things when they come and you have a sense of this is God's answer to prayer or God's blessing then there's a rejoicing in the Holy Spirit that's deeper or fuller than any worldly rejoicing. Acts 1921 Paul resolved in the spirit to pass through Macedonia and go to Jerusalem he made up his mind what he was going to do. Isn't that interesting you can make decisions about the future in the Holy Spirit and then Margaret and I sat down with a calendar for 2008 just a few nights ago and we looked over what we're what kind of plotted out what we have what we're going to do. And there were two things that I'd been asked to travel to and speak at in March and Margaret first and I second had this sense that I should say no to both of those invitations go out of state. And as we talked about it and we prayed to ask God's guidance there was a sense no but that isn't what God wants us to do and so I in fact there were three of them and so I sent emails just politely declining those three and that's why I could say looks like I'm going to be here for the entire four months just seems like there was a resolving in the Holy Spirit that that's what God he wanted us to keep those times for. I'm not sure that I understand all of what that's about I have some sense of it but you can do that or other times you have is there another example you're deciding whether to do something and you sense the Holy Spirit guiding that decision. I'm giving all my examples help me moving where oh you mean from one place to another yeah great example because that's a big life decision yeah can you say anything more about it happened in your or is it right now what you're thinking about when did you move. Two years ago from California to here you prayed about it and it didn't happen in one day it was a decision that took place over time maybe I would expect yeah but when you kind of made the decision then it's you had a sense that was right it was what God wanted you to do and as it turned out that way yes okay great example what's your name. Vince okay and Berta Vince and Berta good good example yeah deciding to move here resolving something in the Holy Spirit okay yeah yeah over time praying about it increasingly having a sense this is right as it's what God wants us to do I think that's what Christian should do I think that's the way decision should be made. You think about a whole bunch of factors you know cost location people job or what you're going to be doing but there's also this inward sense of the Holy Spirit's giving direction and encouragement it's a combination resolved in the Holy Spirit yeah name. I'm ill and I would say that selecting a church where where where you want to be part of the church and and you want a Bible based church that that really teaches God's word yeah good good and I think God want some people here and some people in other churches and I can't decide that for them but I want them to pray and have a sense of being able to resolve in the spirit when you come to make the decision yeah the Holy Spirit's guiding this good good good couple of good decisions there good choices Romans 9.1 Paul says I'm speaking the truth in Christ I'm not lying my conscience bears me witness in the Holy Spirit he is saying I am telling the truth and I'm so convinced of that that my conscience is saying this is right and I'm sensing the Holy Spirit's presence in saying that is that interesting sense of the Holy Spirit's favor or Colossians 1.18 he's made known to us your love in the spirit the love of the Colossian church for Paul wasn't just human love it was empowered by the Holy Spirit revelation 110 I was in the spirit on the Lord's day what does that mean John I think he was just in prayer meditation on God's word probably worship and there was a sense of the Holy Spirit's presence that was just it was strong I was in the spirit on the Lord's day does that ever happen to you I see sense of God's presence when you're praying maybe sense of peace yeah I want to say yes yeah what can you give word you don't want me to call on you you're way in the back okay you want to say anything more about that no okay that's fine no pressure I think we should spend time every day reading the Bible and then quietly waiting on God and talking to him about things that he brings to mind okay and if some of you are just going like this you don't want me to call on you but you know what I'm talking about that's that's that's being in the spirit I think and I think we can grow in a sense of having that persist through the day being guided by the Holy Spirit and when to speak and when not speak when I mean what to say what not to say to be in the spirit comes from by reading comes from prayer comes from worship but it's a discipline that we can grow in work of the Holy Spirit Ephesians 5, 18 don't get drunk with wine that is debauchery filled with the spirit having a sense of the Holy Spirit's presence that's something we should seek and can grow stronger in our lives and I just I really strongly believe this doesn't just apply to Sundays when we're in church it applies to Mondays when we're out in the job or in the neighborhood or visiting relatives or traveling or whatever therefore our Christian lives it's important we depend on the Holy Spirit's power Zachariah 4, 6 how does any great work come about not by my not by power but by my spirit says the Lord and I think I should say this isn't just church things this is for your work too okay to pray that the Holy Spirit would guide because if he's calling you to do that work then he would guide in that we should walk according to the spirit set our minds on the things the spirit and this comes by hearing with faith part of why I'm reading these verses again and again is God's word when you hear it take it into your mind it penetrates your heart and God's word builds up faith and Paul says the Holy Spirit comes to you by hearing with faith so I want you to hear these words and say yes that's true okay it's true in my life okay I believe it's going to be true this afternoon so that's hearing with faith I'm going to expect the Holy Spirit will make his presence known to me okay hearing with faith reading about it that this is true what the Bible says and then thinking okay I believe Lord this this could apply to my decision making process today all right do you want to live in the spirit shouldn't we be aware of and recognize the manifested presence of the Holy Spirit somebody on the search committee said to me we're listening a bunch of different sermons but we kept coming back to these sermons by Jamie Rasmussen well that's I think that's of evidence of the Holy Spirit's leading see we just kept coming back to there's something about them trying to give examples somebody else help me hear or question we're about at the end name Dottie my question is we talk about being filled with the Holy Spirit and we talk about having the Holy Spirit but my question is do we have all of the Holy Spirit that we're going to have when we see him when we see him or do we just become more responsive to him as we grow it's both him and us yes we can become more responsive but I think that the Holy Spirit I mean on the negative sense he can be grieved and and with drawings presence the Holy Spirit with Drew's presence from Samson didn't Lord had left him the Holy Spirit with Drew from Saul but annoying to David but then there can be times of being filled with the spirit empowered by the Holy Spirit so I know I hear people say well when we believe we have all the Holy Spirit we're going to get it over that teaching overlooks something and that is the Holy Spirit can work more or less strongly he can manifest his presence more or less clearly in our lives don't grieve the Holy Spirit don't quench the Spirit Paul is saying that but walk by the Spirit okay he's saying that to encourage them be filled with the Spirit that there's an intensification of the relationship so the Holy Spirit can work more strongly in our lives not just be there yes okay there's we're born again we're believers but that isn't where God wants to leave us he wants us to have more evidence and more results of his presence more of his power more answers to prayer more guidance in prayer look if you're saying here's one simple way if you're saying I don't know what you're talking about way it doesn't make any sense to me take five more minutes this afternoon or tomorrow then you normally would five more minutes in your regular time reading the Bible take five more minutes just say okay I'm going to wait quietly in God's presence and see what happens okay or you could even say Holy Spirit if there's something you want to show me if there's something you want to bring to mind then please do that and then just wait that's that's one just simple thing to do what I find is sometimes I rush through the day and don't do that but when I stop and do that that oftentimes the Lord's presence will become a there will be a stronger sense of peace stronger sense of just I'm in the presence of God and I think that that just should be part of our Christian life I think I'm making sense to most of you and you're just I don't want to I want to do too much but yeah okay back here what's your name what's your name there are gifts that we have identified and exercise yeah is it appropriate to pray that we might have some other gifts that we desire deeply and that we know could be used is it appropriate to pray for other gifts Paul encouraged the Corinthians in one case it's the one verse I know of where he said he was talking about this speaking in tongues and he said he who prays in a tongue should pray that he might interpret and so where is that first Corinthians I'm not finding it's in 12 to 14 some place but yes I but the short answer is yes I think if you see need for a gift of encouragement or gift of mercy or I think there are all sorts of gifts or gift of prayer or or gift of evangelism or something Lord would you gift me in this way if he's calling you to something pray that he gives you in it sure yeah okay over here name on I'm Greg Greg yes is it's like we are conditioned to do it ourselves and the more we yield ourselves or die to ourselves yeah the more we allow the Holy Spirit to work so as we go through the daily activities now if we come across something that we do not know we're trying to just do it ourselves the way we think it should be done yeah maybe the more we yield to ourselves and say okay Christ you move forward as I move forward then I'm not doing it you're doing it the work for me yep yeah this really helps with one by one moment to moment yeah that's good yeah and it might just take it might be just think I'm not more than there too of just just stopping and saying okay Lord I'm not going to do this in my own strength will you I need you will you help me now just just quietly before we just plow ahead being aware and asking the Lord's help could be that good yeah over here to Carol Carol good to see you here Carol had surgery next surgery and then a really severe pain and we've had this on the prayer list in your shoulder which my love shoulder my arm and I am feeling better about 40% better and I thank you all for prayers the second time I put on makeup and come out and I'm praise the Lord but I just want to share that my daily prayer and often more times than once I just pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit and love joy peace patience goodness kindness faithfulness and through that I mean the Holy Spirit helps me to live and guide me and if we have the Holy Spirit I think we're missing a big part of the Trinity I really good anyone that doesn't understand I encourage him to come to you or are me and I'll I'll help them because that's such an important part of my life as I mentioned to you last night I really want to hear the rest of this lesson thanks Carol thank you okay good thanks for that comment part of what I'm trying to do here is say this is not a big secret mysterious unusual thing it's ordinary Christian living and my guess is it's in varying measures part of where most all of you live from time to time but I'm wanting I'm trying to encourage that aspect of your life of being consciously aware of the Holy Spirit's presence is that is that making sense I'm not sure after coming back from being gone five weeks or so if that's all getting through but I think I think it is last comment and then we have a song somebody over here okay name Rosemary Rosemary and step five you have in the life of Christians whose conduct is pleasing to God and the Holy Spirit will be present to bring great blessings what about the times that we don't get blessings are we doing step two grieving the Holy Spirit I don't know Job reminds us there are times when we go through times of testing that are not the fault of our own sin but just because God allows them somehow to strengthen us and for his own purposes so Rosemary it's not there's no one answer in that situation and it can happen in different areas I mean Margaret and I went through a time ten years ago when it seemed like again and again and again we'd pray for someone for physical healing and there would be healing but now Carol just talked about the pain that she had and and we stood in the back of the room here and prayed for Carol and prayed for two or three times and there's still no reason why I don't know I see the Lord guiding me in other areas but somehow those answers to prayer that were there in one area are not there right now and not as often anyway it's not that there's no answer so ultimately that's up to God but what my responsibility is to keep myself as free from any conscious sin that I know of so I'm ready for him to work in me keep reading his word and praying and being faithful day by day and wait to see what he will do I think also if you're you say I'm doing that I'm doing that and I just and just stuff's not going right in my life then be good to find a friend or or someone here in the class or in the church to to talk with and pray with and see let's see if there's a way to move forward okay good good good honest question yeah I said we're going to sing I think I'm going to real quick what does he oh when you can't find the answer wait the answer isn't there okay good Holy Spirit we come to you and I I don't know if what I've said and these verses from your word have really made things clear but would you Lord would you Holy Spirit make yourself known and guide each of us and teach us and fill us and change our hearts and power us and direct us and unify us and purify us increasingly through this week let this fellowship with you become just a regular and ordinary and usual and common part of our Christian lives so that for each of us you will guide us into the paths of obedience that you have for us so that you would fill our hearts with joy in you and worship and praise we pray in Jesus amen see you next week