Thanks for joining us on the Line of Fire. Our digital school is now in session here to infuse you with faith, truth, and courage to help you stand strong on the front lines.
Michael Brown, absolutely delighted to be with you. We are continuing our series now in the second week on getting to know the Holy Spirit. Getting to know the Holy Spirit.
You say, well why is that so important? Well, Paul wrote to the Ephesians that the Holy Spirit is our deposit, guaranteeing our inheritance. That means that the Holy Spirit plays such a strong and firm and clear role in our lives, such a powerful role in our lives that that serves as a down payment, a guarantee from God about what's to come in eternity.
That's pretty major. Jesus told his disciples in John 14 that he wouldn't leave them as orphans. You think just having Jesus there was everything. There is nothing you could ask for more than to have Jesus there with you. He said, I'm going to leave.
He actually said, it's better that I go. I'm going to send the Spirit. So, you better believe that the Spirit is not a cheap replacement for Jesus. That the Spirit is not just some theoretical thing in our lives. The Holy Spirit bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God. What does that actually mean? As many as are led by the Spirit, they are the sons of God. What does that actually mean?
Talk to me about the qualitative aspects of that in your own life. This is an invitation from God through the Word to get to know the Holy Spirit better. We spoke last week about the Holy Spirit being eternal God. We talked about the Holy Spirit's personhood, not just a being or thing that is poured out like water or blows like wind, but speaks and acts that we can grieve, that we can know, that we can commune with. And we emphasize that the Holy Spirit has a voice, that he speaks. Now we're looking at other aspects, going deeper into the personhood of the Holy Spirit. And we go to John chapter 14, excuse me, John chapter 15, verse 26 and 27. John 15, verses 26 and 27. Jesus has referred to the Holy Spirit as the Advocate.
So the Advocate, the one that pleads your case in court. When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth, that's how Jesus refers to him sometimes, he's the Spirit of Truth. He does not partner with lies. He does not partner with deception.
He does not partner with falsehood. He's the Spirit of Truth. He leads us into Truth. He anoints us with Truth. He confronts us with Truth. When the Advocate comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of Truth who goes out from the Father, he will testify about me.
And you also must testify for you have been with me from the beginning. Now let's take a look in Acts chapter 5. Acts chapter 5, the apostles have been told not to speak any more in Jesus name. And they are boldly continuing to preach.
And they are, they are now given ultimatums. And listen to what Peter says in Acts the fifth chapter as he speaks to the Jewish leadership. Peter and the other apostles said this.
Acts 5 beginning in verse 29. They said we must obey God rather than human beings. The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead. The God of our fathers raised Jesus from the dead whom you killed by hanging him on a cross.
God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. We are witnesses of these things and so is the Holy Spirit whom God has given to those who obey him. Let me also go to Revelation chapter 19 and look at what this says about the spirit of prophecy. Revelation 19 10 John falls at the feet of an angel to worship him.
The angel says don't do that I am a fellow servant with you and with your brothers and sisters who hold to the testimony of Jesus worship God. For it is the spirit of prophecy who bears testimony to Jesus. So the Holy Spirit comes to testify about Jesus. Everything the spirit does is to draw attention to Jesus. The miracles happen. The gospel is preached.
Lives are changed. That is the Holy Spirit at work drawing people to Jesus. The Holy Spirit testifies through us. The Holy Spirit testifies through the miraculous. God working in the name of Jesus. People being healed and set free. That is the Holy Spirit testifying.
Jesus has risen from the dead. Think of it like this. The old days of getting postcards. So you are traveling overseas and you tell a relative it is before satellite phones or anything like that long before cell phones. You tell a relative as soon as I arrive in such and such a country I am going to send you a postcard. And you wait a week or two and you get the postcard and it is stamped from that country. It doesn't matter. The postcard is a picture from that country. You can buy that anywhere.
But it is stamped from that country. That is saying we arrived safely. Here is the proof. Here is the proof. How do we know Jesus ascended to the Father? We know there are eyewitnesses that saw him go up.
How do we know he really ascended to the Father? Because he sent the Spirit. He sent the Spirit. Now I know some of you listening today and watching believe that God heals today just as he did in biblical times. That he speaks prophetically just as he did in biblical times. That the so-called sign gifts of the Spirit remain consistent in the norm for today.
And others don't believe that. You believe God can work a miracle whenever he wants however he wants. But prophecy and tongues and gifts of healing are not for today. Here is what I want to say to all of you.
To all of you. There must be something very real about the work of the Spirit in your life to serve as a proof that Jesus ascended to heaven and sent the Spirit. This is what Peter refers to in Acts 2. We know he ascended because he sent the Spirit.
This miraculous manifestation of languages that you just saw. And then as the sick are healed in subsequent chapters. This is the living proof that Jesus ascended. That he sent his Spirit. As we go somewhere to preach the Gospel for the first time, I hope we would all agree, whether it's with healings or miracles or not, I hope we all agree that the Gospel would come with the power of the Spirit.
I believe we all say that must be the case. Even putting aside baptism of the Spirit, tongues, healing, even putting that all aside, we would all agree that that word must come backed by God in a supernatural way to say, this is really God's Word. This is the Holy Spirit testifying through the Word and through the preaching of the Gospel. And as I and hundreds of millions of others believe, also through supernatural signs following. Yes, the signs have transformed lives, but signs of healing and deliverance indicating that Jesus is alive. I had once heard that Harry Houdini, the famous magician and escape artist, had made an agreement with his wife that he would communicate with her from beyond the grave.
I said, you say to me, I never heard anything about it. Yeah, well, nothing happened because he can't communicate from beyond the grave because he died. How do we know that Jesus rose? Because he sent the Spirit. In my own life, the work of the Spirit is real and rich and vibrant and beautiful. And I'm not even talking about laying hands on the sick or having a prophetic word. I'm talking about the reality of his work and the reality of his leading and the reality of his speaking in my heart and my life.
It's wonderful and it's beautiful. And I hope that you're experiencing that as well. And if you're not, just say, God, I want everything that you have for me through your Spirit to be through your Spirit to glorify Jesus. Can we all pray that prayer? Isn't that a safe prayer to pray? Lord, give me everything you have for me through your Spirit to best glorify Jesus.
That's our heart. So the Holy Spirit does not draw attention to himself ever. But when he works, he draws all attention to Jesus. And then this way, all praise and honor go to Jesus.
And then he directs attention to the Father. Philippians 2, God gives him a name higher than any other name, that at the name of Jesus, as he lowered himself to die on the cross, at the name of Jesus, every knee would bow in heaven, on earth, under the earth, and every tongue would confess that Jesus the Messiah is Lord to the glory of the Father. So the Holy Spirit works in us mightily to the glory of Jesus. The Spirit of prophecy is ultimately pointing to Jesus and drawing attention to Jesus. And then Jesus in turn draws attention to the Father.
It's a beautiful cycle. John 16, 7. I hope you're enjoying this. I'm thoroughly enjoying opening the Word with you.
I hope it's contagious. John 16, 7. Jesus says, But very truly, I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him to you. So it's like having Jesus there without him being physically present. And it's better that he goes away, because this way the Holy Spirit is now working in us and through us by the hundreds and hundreds of millions around the world. Whereas Jesus would have to leave a village, more people want to be healed, more people want to hear the Word, we've got other people further out.
Well, now I've got to get to the next village. And he had to go and go and go, and there were only so many villages he could get to. And then he had to leave this world. Well, now he sends the Spirit, and the Spirit continues to do the works of Jesus. The Spirit continues to do the works of Jesus through us. Look in Acts chapter 1, the way things are written there. Acts chapter 1, in my former book, Theophilus, so this is Luke talking, who wrote the Gospel of Luke, I wrote about all that Jesus began to do and to teach until the day he was taken up to heaven after giving instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. So notice this, this is what Jesus began to do and to teach. Now I'm going to give you part two in the Acts of the Apostles. So this is what Jesus is continuing to do and to teach how, through the Holy Spirit. Oh friends, it's not my ministry, your ministry, it's not the effectiveness of my life or your life, it's the effectiveness of the Holy Spirit working in us and through us.
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Go to thelineoffire.org, thelineoffire.org, and click subscribe. All right, back to the words of Jesus. John chapter 16, beginning verse 12. Jesus says, I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear, but when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. Jesus has said this to us already, that he will guide us into all truth. He's the spirit of truth, he guides us into truth. If there is anything in Congress, anything that does not fit, it is the idea of counterfeit works and the Holy Spirit.
That is an impossible mix, because the spirit is the spirit of truth. And ultimately, if there is counterfeit, the spirit of truth will expose it. Ultimately, if there is a counterfeit life, the spirit of truth will expose it.
What do I mean by counterfeit life? Oh, every one of us, sins, false shortcuts, forgiveness from God. I'm talking about someone leading a double life, a hypocritical life, claiming to be something and someone they are not. The Holy Spirit will ultimately expose that. If that person claims to be a believer, the spirit of truth will expose it. He doesn't go to uncover sins where we've repented and ask God for forgiveness and things are under the blood, we've made things right with other people.
That's the devil that brings that up, not God. But the spirit of truth will not dwell together with error and with lies. So, when the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth. When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.
He will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. Now, you say this was specifically for the apostles.
Yes, but the gospels were written for us, not just for the apostles. And I have no reason to doubt that the Holy Spirit works in us in these very same ways. So, he does not speak on his own.
This is not some independent entity, but as much God as the Father and Son are God and all working in perfect harmony. So, he will not speak on his own. He will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will tell you what is yet to come.
How many of you in your own lives have just had a clear sense from the Holy Spirit about a major change coming in your life? And maybe you can pair notes with your spouse or with your colleagues and man, I'm sensing the same thing. I didn't want to say anything, but I've been sensing the same thing. And then you get even more specific. I believe we're supposed to go in this direction. Yes, I've been sensing that same thing. The Holy Spirit in a personal way will show us what's to come.
And if he shows us what's to come in the political scene, in the world scene, it's not simply to give information. Who's going to win the Super Bowl? No, no, no.
That's not why the Holy Spirit is here. All right, what's coming? Let's get the 20 new items for the new year. No, that's like horoscope stuff. That's like go to the fortune teller kind of stuff. But if the Holy Spirit shows us what's to come, it's to be prepared. It's to be ready.
It's to know. It is to be ready to live today in light of what's coming tomorrow. He will show you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive, what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me and he will make known to you.
All right, so here's a question for your friends. And I mean this by way of invitation, not criticism, not condemnation, not comparison to anyone else. Are these things I'm reading to you about the Holy Spirit real to you? Or do you say, I really don't know the Spirit. I really can't identify what the Holy Spirit's doing in my life. I really don't understand the work of the Spirit. It's all kind of nebulous to me.
Okay, well, there's something wonderful and beautiful waiting for you beyond what you've known. Ask God, read through John 14, 15, 16. Get on your knees if you're able. Read them through.
If you have it on audio, just listen over and over. Lord, open my eyes. Show me more about your Spirit. Give me a greater revelation of your Spirit. Show me how the Spirit's working in my life. What does this mean?
How does it affect my life? Make yourself more real to me through your Spirit God. And think, Jesus is saying everything that the Father has is his. Jesus is saying that everything he has is the Spirit's, and the Spirit's now at work in our lives. One more verse.
One more verse. 2 Corinthians 13, verse 14. This is Paul's benediction to the Corinthian believers.
Some churches close their services with this benediction. 2 Corinthians 13, 14. May the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, so we associate Jesus with grace, the expression of God's grace through the cross. May the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, and the love of God. So, fundamental revelation of God, 1 John 4, God is love. So, God here, meaning the Father.
If you see in the New Testament, God and Lord, it's really meaning God the Father and the Lord Jesus. So, may the grace of the Lord Jesus, the Messiah, be yours. May the love of God be yours. And then look at this, and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit. May this be with you all. May this be with you all. The fellowship, the communion, the koinonia of the Holy Spirit. This is a very personal participation. Again, just like you can't lie to a rock, you can't have fellowship with a rock.
There's a computer keyboard here. I can't lie to it. I can't have fellowship with it.
I can't have communion with it. This is something you have with a living, intimate being. And this is not just casual relationship. This is an active participation in someone's life.
That's what koinonia is referring to. So, what we have, what's the the utmost expression of what we receive from Jesus? Grace. What's the utmost expression of what we have from God? Love. What's the utmost expression of what we have from the Spirit? Communion. Friends, this is when you're praying and you have that real sense of God speaking or moving or acting.
This is as you just know that you know certain things on the inside. Maybe everything around you is is dire and dark and hopeless and suddenly this joy rises up within you. It's God saying, I'm going to get you through this.
Everything is going to be all right. Yes. Yes.
The communion of the Holy Spirit leading you. Lord, you want me to go? No, don't go in that direction. Danger. I've warned. Don't go.
No. Or this tremendous peace in the midst of a storm. This is intimate.
This is personal. Lord, help us to enjoy greater communion with the Spirit. Help us, whatever our background, to walk in the fullness of the life of your Spirit, to truly understand what it means to be led by your Spirit, to have the witness of the Spirit, the deposit of the Spirit. Lord, to truly know and understand what it means to have koinonia. May we have the koinonia, the fellowship of the Spirit.
This is Dr. Michael Brown. Thanks so much for tuning in. Just a reminder that we are listener supported. If we have been a blessing to you, if you're being enriched in the Word and prayer and your own walk with God through this broadcast, then stand with us so that we can reach many, many more and bless many, many more. Together, friends, we're making a difference. So go to thelineoffire.org, thelineoffire.org, and click donate.
