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That's connectwithskip.com. Now let's get started with today's message from Pastor Skip Heitzig. In modern times, and I think more accurately, reflecting the truth of scripture, he is the Holy Spirit, a divine person. You should also know that throughout history, those who have denied the personhood of the Holy Spirit, that the Spirit of God has also been denied deity by some. In AD 200, an individual from Libya, actually, a priest by the name of Sibelius, taught that God is not three persons in one, but just one God that goes by three different names to serve his own purpose. That God is sometimes the Father, the same being is sometimes the Son, the same being is sometimes the Spirit. These three names are three forms of God.
It's known as modalism, three different modes of God. But we read here when Jesus speaks, verse 26, as an example in chapter 15, he speaks of the Spirit of God as coming from the Father, simultaneous, not in modes, but simultaneous, from the Father, sent by the Son, and then in verse 8, dispatched to the world, and he is active within the world. The Holy Spirit is divine. The Holy Spirit is God. He's active in the world. He comes from the Father.
He's sent by the Son. Now, there is some doubt among some about this. Oneness Pentecostals, for example, teach the idea of Sibelius, that God is one being in three different modes. But let's just kind of put a seal on it and move on. Turn with me to Acts chapter 5. There's a scripture tucked away there that is sometimes not really noticed, unfortunately.
I want you to notice it. Acts chapter 5 will seal the deal on this. And if you have a pencil out and you're not opposed to writing in your Bibles, all the better, because I'm going to have you circle two things. Verse 1, but a certain man, this is the early church now, a certain man named Ananias with Sapphira, his wife, sold a possession, and he kept back part of the proceeds, his wife also being aware of it, and he brought a certain part and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit? And keep back part of the price of the land for yourself. While it remained, was it not your own? And after it was sold, was it not under your own control? Why have you conceived this thing in your heart?
Watch this. You have not lied to men, but to God. Now if you were to draw a circle around, you've lied to the Holy Spirit in verse 13, or excuse me, verse 13, verse 3, and then in verse 4, lied to God and connect the two, it's easy to see the appositional connection. When you lie to the Holy Spirit, you lie to God, because the Holy Spirit is God, and Peter had no problem putting those two things together. The Holy Spirit is God. He's a divine person, part of the Trinity. Do I understand it completely?
Do I get the Trinity? No, I don't. I will admit that to you freely.
But I also want you to know I don't lose any sleep over it. Because I cannot unravel all the mysteries of the Trinity, so what? How do you describe the indescribable?
How do you fathom the unfathomable? You know, it delights me that there is so much of God I don't understand, because it makes me realize how much higher and transcendent He is than me. Yeah, I suppose if I could understand God and you could understand God, we would be God.
So I get what it says. I don't completely get how it works, but the Bible describes one God manifest in three persons, all of them being God, co-equal and co-eternal. The Holy Spirit is a person. The Holy Spirit is a divine person. Here's the third thing that emerges from our text I want you to look at. The Holy Spirit is a discrete person.
Or here's another word, inconspicuous. The idea of He doesn't draw attention to Himself, but He is pointing people to someone else, and that is Jesus. I want you to notice that. In verse 26, again, a key verse. When the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, watch this, He will testify of Me. And then when the Holy Spirit is in the world, verse 9, He'll convict the world of sin and righteousness and judgment, verse 9, of sin, because they don't believe in Me, Jesus. In verse 14, He will glorify Me.
He will take what is Mine and declare it to you. The Holy Spirit is sort of like a stage director for a play. He's got the spotlight, and He doesn't shine it on Himself.
I'm the director, you ought to know me. He rather shines it on the main character, Jesus Christ, and wants all the applause to be given to the main character. As if to say to the audience, ladies and gentlemen, meet Jesus Christ. That's what the Holy Spirit does. It's all about Jesus, not all about Himself. You never read about the Holy Spirit saying, well, wait a minute, I want a little more FaceTime.
I want a little more notoriety here. He always discreetly points the way to Jesus because He's about glorifying Jesus. On our building here on this campus, as well as buildings around the city, at night we have lights. And we have lights so you can see your way around when it's dark. But the way the lights were designed were not so that you would really be drawn to the light fixture. I haven't yet met many people who have said, yeah, that's a really cool light fixture.
Maybe an electrician might do that or an architect. But the purpose of the light is to shine on the building. And I've had people say, oh, I love the entrance to this building. That's what they notice.
That's the purpose of the light, to get you to focus on what the light is focused on, not itself. So the Holy Spirit is like the floodlight that makes Jesus plain to people, understandable to people. So they can see Him and glorify Him. So the Holy Spirit is a discreet person. By the way, here's a good test of any group, any person, any church to find out, are they really filled with the Spirit?
What do they emphasize? Do they emphasize Jesus? Is it all about Jesus in that group, in that church with that person?
Good indication they're filled with the Spirit. If, however, there is undue attention given to the Holy Spirit over and above Jesus Christ, might be an indication it's out of balance. See, if a person walks up to you and the most important thing on his or her mind is, do you speak in tongues?
Or is it, do you love Jesus Christ? Because that, as I read it, is what the Holy Spirit is all about, pointing people to Jesus. Here's the fourth thing I want you to notice, and I draw your attention now to verse 7, chapter 16. The Holy Spirit is a helpful person. Jesus calls him twice in our passage, the Helper. I want you to notice it in verse 7. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, because He said, I have a lot of things to tell you, but you can't handle them, and I know that you're sorrowful. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it's to your advantage that I go away, or if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.
Now, we've looked at that word before in previous studies a couple weeks back, actually a few months back, not far away from here, but it's been a while. The word Helper, Paracletas, one who is called alongside to help is the idea. He's a helpful person, the Paracletas. This is Connect with Skip Heitzig Weekend Edition. Before we get back to Skip's teaching, God desires to work in and through your life as a believer, and He does this through the Holy Spirit, who lives in everyone who places their trust in Jesus. We want to help you better understand the Holy Spirit by sending you The Holy Spirit Then and Now, a resource featuring two books by Chuck Smith, the Book of Acts commentary, and Power, a biblical balance on the person and work of the Holy Spirit, with an introduction by Skip Heitzig. This resource is our thanks for your gift of at least $50 today to help share biblical teaching with more people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig.
Go to connectwithskip.com slash offer or call 800-922-1888 and request your copy when you give at least $50 today to reach people around the world through Connect with Skip Heitzig. Let's continue with today's teaching with Pastor Skip. I looked this up in the Amplified Version, Amplified Bible, and when it came to the word helper, this is how it translated.
I think it's so beautiful. One who is called to stand by you constantly and take part in anything in which his help is needed. Isn't that a beautiful description of how the Holy Spirit works?
One who is called to stand by you constantly and is ready to take part in everything in which his help is needed. God knows that you and I need all the help we can get, and he's dispatched the helpful person, the helper, the parakletas, the Holy Spirit. Do you ever feel like I need help? Do you ever feel like this world is so overwhelming sometimes, the temptations and the trials, the pressures that I receive, or that sin is just so massive I can't handle it? What's the key? What's the secret? I believe it's this, it's the Holy Spirit. Be filled with the Spirit. Let me give you an example.
It's actually not original. Dwight L. Moody, I've told you about him 100 years ago, he was speaking about the Spirit of God, and he held up a glass to his congregation, empty glass. He said, how could I get the air out of this glass? And someone in the audience said, you could suck all the air out. You could pump it out with a vacuum. Moody said, that won't work because in creating a vacuum, it'll shatter the glass.
And a few other ideas were proposed. Finally, Moody said, actually, it's quite easy to get the air out of this glass. He took a pitcher of water and filled it up with water. And then he applied it, and he said, the secret to a victorious Christian life isn't trying to suck out one sin at a time, but to be filled to the brim with the Holy Spirit.
There's not room for anything else. Beautiful example. He's a helpful person. He will be our helper. Look at verse 13.
This is how he helps. When he, the spirit of truth, has come, he will guide or direct you into all truth. For he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak, and he will tell you things to come. You know, you and I cannot understand scripture unless the Holy Spirit unlocks the meaning, opens the meaning of the scripture to us.
I venture to say that when you started John, what, two years ago now? There were some things about John's gospel you did not know, that you know today. And the reason you know them, whether God used a book or a sermon or not, is the Holy Spirit, by whatever gifts it means, unlocked the meaning of the passage to you. He illuminated it to you. He gave you bite-sized chunks of truth, and you go, I get it.
Have you ever read through a scripture that you've read through before, but then suddenly at this time, you get it? You go, I understand that. You know what that's called? Illumination. There's two words you need to know. One is inspiration.
The second is illumination. Inspiration is what happened when a select group of men were filled with the Holy Spirit, and God enabled them to write down, exactly what God wanted to say in scripture. That's over.
That ain't happening anymore. The scripture is complete. But illumination is going on even today. When you read the inspiration, and the Holy Spirit unlocks it to you, Martin Luther said, the Bible will forever remain a closed book unless God opens and explains to us the scripture. The two on the road to Emmaus said, our hearts burned within us as he spoke to us and opened up the scripture to us. That's illumination.
They got it. He'll guide you into all truth. Now, a little point I want to make before we go on to the last description of the Holy Spirit. There's an article that is missing from your Bible and mine.
Probably most versions have it missing, and I think it's unfortunate. Look in verse 13, and you'll notice it says, he will guide you into all truth. Right? Is that what yours says? All truth. That could be interpreted as generic truth. All truth.
Any kind of truth. But in the original language, there is an article. It's a definite article before the word truth, which is the word alatheos in Greek.
And in Greek, it reads, teis alatheos. He will guide you into all the truth. Not just generic truth, but specific truth that is centralized on the person of Jesus Christ. I believe that's a reference to the New Testament.
Even as Jesus promised his disciples that the Spirit of God would bring to their remembrance everything Jesus said, which enabled them to write it down. The Spirit will guide you into all the truth that is central to the person and work of Christ. Here's the fifth and final remark on the Holy Spirit. Not only is he a person, not only is he a divine person, not only is he a discreet person, not only is he a helpful person, but finally, he's the dynamic person. He gives you and I the dynamic, the power to pull off, to live a way that would be impossible otherwise. He gives you a dynamic above and beyond what is naturally afforded to you. I take you back again to verse 26.
If you'll indulge me, look at it a little more carefully. Verse 26. When the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will testify of me. He's going to speak to you about me. He's going to reveal to you who I am. That's what the Holy Spirit's going to do.
He's going to bring testimony into your life about me, Jesus. That's just step one. That's phase one. Look at the very next verse. We don't want to Skip that. And you also will bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning.
That's phase two. The Holy Spirit is going to bring testimony to you about me. Then the Holy Spirit's going to bring testimony through you about me to other people. Now, when that happens, when by the power of the Holy Spirit we're able to represent Jesus to this world, it's not going to be a pretty picture. As seen by the very next thought, verse one of chapter 16.
You see, in the original, these chapter headings were not there. These things I have spoken to you that you will not be made to stumble, they will put you out of the synagogues. Yes, the time is coming that whoever kills you will think he offers God service. And these things they will do to you because they have not known the Father nor me. The hatred of the world will be a direct result of your testimony, but the ability for you to give a testimony with any kind of power, with any kind of togetherness is because of the Holy Spirit testifying in you and then through you. Okay, here's the promise.
I'll expand on it a little bit. Chapter one of Acts. Jesus now has died, risen from the dead. This is before he ascends into heaven. This is what he says to his disciples. John truly baptized you with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now, and you shall receive power. Dunamis is the Greek, a dynamic, you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and to the end of the earth. If that were in modern times, we would say you'll be my witnesses in Albuquerque and Rio Rancho and Santa Fe, New Mexico, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, New York, Europe, wherever ever you go and whatever your face will see. You'll receive power. Now Jesus gave them marching orders. Remember the great commission? Go into all the world.
But when he gave that commission according to Luke in the last part of the gospel of Luke, he said, but wait in Jerusalem until you receive power from on high. So here's the message. Go, but don't go yet until you get power. Then go. Wait first, and when you got the equipment, then go. Don't go without it, otherwise you'll be like the guy with the chainsaw. It was hard.
Wait, get the power, and then go into all the world. Years ago there was a captain, a valiant captain. His sword was dreaded by his enemies. The king wanted to know why the sword was dreaded by his enemies, so he demanded to see the sword so that he might examine it. He looked it over and said, I don't see anything great about this sword.
I don't know why anybody would be afraid of it. It's just a sword. I've seen thousands like it, and he gave it back to the guy to take it back to the captain, and he told the captain what the king said.
The captain smiled and said, king made an error. He only examined the sword. If he would have looked at the arm that wields the sword, he would then understand its mystery. Sometimes you look at people that God uses and you go, I don't get it.
I saw one internet posting that said, I don't get Skip. You're only looking at the sword, dude. A lot of times it's not that sharp. But you fail to look at the arm that wields the sword. I'd say the perfect example from scripture is Peter. Here's Peter before Pentecost, before the resurrection.
Peter was a timid fisherman. He couldn't even give his testimony before a servant girl. I imagine all the other guy disciples just said, dude, you caved in before a girl. You couldn't even stand up for Jesus in front of a servant girl. Compare that, Peter, to Peter boldly preaching in Jerusalem in the book of Acts.
What happened? Two things, the resurrection and Pentecost. And the Bible says as much. It says, and Peter filled with the Holy Spirit. You are baptized by the Holy Spirit into the body of Christ. If you're a believer, that has happened.
That will never change. If you're a believer, the Holy Spirit is living inside of you. But Paul says, and he uses the present tense, be filled with the Spirit in Ephesians. Be constantly being filled with the Spirit.
You're listening to Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. We hope you've been strengthened in your walk with Jesus by today's program. Before we let you go, we want to remind you about this month's resource that will help you understand the person and work of the Holy Spirit.
Our two-book bundle, The Holy Spirit Then and Now, with two books by Chuck Smith, is our thanks for your support of Connect with Skip Heitzig today. Request your copy when you give $50 or more. Call 800-922-1888.
That's 800-922-1888. Or visit connectwithskip.com slash donate. And did you know that you can find full message series and libraries of content from Skip Heitzig on YouTube? Simply visit the Connect with Skip Heitzig channel on YouTube and be sure to subscribe to the channel so you never miss any new content. We'll see you next time for more verse-by-verse teaching of God's word here on Connect with Skip Heitzig, Weekend Edition. Make a connection, make a connection at the foot of the cross and cast your burdens on His word. Make a connection, connection. Connect with Skip Heitzig is a presentation of Connection Communications, connecting you to God's never-changing truth in ever-changing times.
