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March 7, 2022 7:00 am
The Holy Spirit is God the Holy Spirit is the third person of the Blessed Trinity and the question is going to be answered is what is the Holy Spirit doing in believers today. Do you believe in the work of the Holy Spirit that could be a loaded question is will see today on the truth pulpit as pastor Don Greene continues teaching God's people. God I feel right and were beginning an important series titled the Holy Spirit today beginning with a look at the Holy Spirit and the believer today so Don what led you to tackle this subject will bill.
I think this is one of the most important subjects.
It is facing the church on an ongoing basis in our age in which we are living were called to understand Scripture and to understand God and to understand the Holy Spirit in the work that he really does and it's so misrepresented today with so much superficial emotion rather than the deep theology of Scripture, regeneration, indwelling sanctification, my friend. I'm glad you're with us here on the broadcast.
Today were going to get started on a wonderful series that will give you clarity on these things right here on the truthful.
Thanks Don and Fred.
Let's join our teacher, like in the truthful.
What is regeneration mean regeneration is a secret act of the Holy Spirit regeneration is a secret act of the Holy Spirit in which he imparts divine life to a center regeneration is a secret act of the Holy Spirit in which he imparts divine life to a center so that the center will repent of sin believe in Christ and serve him in newness of life. Regeneration is a secret act of the Holy Spirit in which he imparts divine life to a center so that the center will repent of sin believe in Christ and serve him in newness of life.
Beloved that is the great work of the Holy Spirit in the age in which we live.
He does many many great things that we are going to do to describe but apart from the spiritual work of regeneration. Every one of us would still be dead instead and condemned by God. It is because the Holy Spirit comes with power through the word of God to the heart of man that anyone believes no one believes on his own power. No one comes to God on their own. It takes a work of the spirit of God inside the soul inside the heart of a man to give him understanding to awaken him to sin and to reveal to him the glory of Christ and the power of Christ to save him and deliver him from his iniquities. This act of regeneration. This work of regeneration is necessary. No one is saved, apart from it because the natural man does not have the capacity to respond to the gospel in faith. He does not have the power to come to Christ on his own, apart from the help and assistance of the spirit of God without little bit of introduction turn to the gospel of John chapter 3 with me.
John chapter 3 you'll remember this famous story is one of the great teachers in Israel interacted with Jesus. Chapter 3 verse one there was a man of the Pharisees, named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. This man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you have come from God as a teacher for no one can do these signs that you do unless God is with him. It's always kind of flattering Jesus he recognizes something about Jesus and he is a leading teacher in Israel. As you'll see later on.
But Jesus doesn't buy into the flattery.
Jesus immediately confronts him with something that the man did not see coming. Jesus said to him in John chapter 3 verse three look at it with me. Jesus answered and said to him, truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born again he cannot see the kingdom of God is an impossibility for a man to enter into heaven. It is impossible for a man to be saved unless he is born again verse four Nicodemus immediately recognized that his worldview had just been attacked had just been blown apart and he did not understand.
Nicodemus said to him in verse four. How can a man be born when he is old, he cannot enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born County. He saying what is this new birth, of which you speak. And Jesus said to him in verse five. Truly, truly, I say to you, unless one is born of water and the spirit he cannot enter into the kingdom of God. Water is a symbol of the cleansing from sin, the spirit is a reference to the Holy Spirit and less the Holy Spirit does a work in your heart and you are born again, you cannot enter the kingdom of God. You are excluded you are outside looking in. Now the one thing that this does among many others, I suppose the one thing that this does is that this crushes the pride of man. This humble man completely to be told that you cannot go to heaven on your own merit that you require a work of God from outside you upon you that you have no control over.
You must be born again verse six, Jesus says that which is born of the flesh is flesh, that which is born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you. You must be born again verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going so is everyone who is born of the spirit.
You can see the effects of the wind as the leaves of the tree. Russell but you can't see the wind you can't see its operation. You only see the fruit of it is invisible to the human eye. In like manner, Jesus says so is the work of the spirit that brings a man to new birth. It is work that is done by his power, you cannot control it. You cannot force it to happen. The wind blows where it wishes and that's what the Spirit does with the saving Gospel of Christ as he applies at the hearts when and where and to whom it pleases him. He says look in there again in verse eight, the wind blows where it wishes and you hear the sound of it, but do not know where it comes from and where it is going. So, in like manner, is everyone who is born of the spirit. You must be born again. One of the primary works of the Holy Spirit in the believer in the sage than what the primary work of the Holy Spirit among men today is this work of regeneration. Taking the word of God, applying it with power to the heart to humble us center that he might flee to Christ for salvation and that is a work that only the Holy Spirit can do. We don't have the power to do that on her own so question is do you believe in the work of the Holy Spirit hovered.
Listen absolutely. I believe in the Holy Spirit, or I wouldn't do what I do. I would close the Bible and go all is I don't have the power to reach into any one of your hearts and change you. I don't have the power to impart to you new life. I don't have the power to humble your pride. I don't have the power to assault your love of sin I don't have the power to cause you to believe that is totally outside the human realm, but it is fully within the work and power of the Holy Spirit and that is one of his primary works today. Look over the book of Titus toward the end of your New Testament prior to the book of Hebrews in Titus chapter 3 just to review the utter lostness of man will start in verse three you don't, you don't have to read Scripture to deeply to see these things. You'll have to read Scripture to deeply to realize that it makes a frontal assault on the condition of man and humbles us in Titus chapter 3 verse three you see this. The apostle Paul says we also once were foolish ourselves, disobedient, deceived, enslaved to various lusts and pleasures, spending our life in malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. Paul says we were enslaved to a dark manner of life to be a slave is to have a master over you, to be enslaved to sin, to be enslaved to your lust is to say that you are not free, that these things own you that they dominate you that they direct the course of your life and sometimes that's expressed in great dark behavior and in drunkenness and gross immorality and things like that beloved I should tell you the same time remind you of things we said in the past that enslaving desire for sin that enslaving rebellion toward God is often also expressed in utter spiritual indifference and you just say what ever that your truth, that's fine. It's not my truth.
I'm going to go on. You understand that even if that person is outwardly moral with the air quotes around it for the benefit of the transcript later on.
Even if you're outwardly moral that that kind of indifference is a blatant act of rebellion against the truth and revelation of God. How can you be in different to the fact that God, the creator has spoken God, the judge has spoken the holiness of God has been revealed in the heavens and in the word. How can you be indifferent to that that indifference that passive resistance that complete lack of openness to what the word of God says is just a mark of spiritual slavery is anything else. And so, don't deceive yourself.
Don't think just because I'm outwardly moral.
I must be okay.
That's not true. The question is are you alive to Christ by the power the Holy Spirit are not.
Paul says in verse three we were foolish enslaved and on it goes.
Look at what he says in verse four, into that darkness into that spiritual nightmare that is the existence of all humanity. Paul writing to believers writing to Titus for the benefit of the church accrete. He says in verse four but when the kindness of God our Savior and his love for mankind appeared what he do he saved us he saved us he delivered us from that spiritual slavery he read deemed us from that spiritual slavery he bought us out of the slave market and brought us into a new place where there was darkness in your mind and soul. Now, light appeared. How did that happen. Must've been something you did right no verse five he saved us, not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness. Paul just delivers a crushing blow to the idea of human merit. He says if you are in Christ.
It's not because of anything that you did to deserve it. There is no righteousness in you to prompt a response from God as if God needed some kind of futile feeble moral effort from you that that somehow gain something to him that obligated him to give something back to you. It doesn't work that way.
That is not the economy of the kingdom of God at all, it's not. Look at verse five with me again. It is not on the basis of deeds which we have done in righteousness.
How is it then that he saved us, how was it that this gift came with power to our souls look at it here, but according to his mercy.
According to that kind compassion of God to you and your need. There you were in in spiritual darkness. There you were in spiritual slavery and God had mercy on you and by what means did he deliver that great gift of salvation to you by the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit, the washing of regeneration and renewing by the Holy Spirit. In other words, the Holy Spirit came upon you washed your filthy soul renewed your dirty mind and imparted new life to you.
This was an act of spiritual power that belongs only to God.
No man has the power to do that for you are no priest that can can awaken your soul to sin by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit did this work of regeneration. Jesus said, you know, it's like the wind, he says your work comes from.
You don't know where it's going. There's a certain element of of of mystery to how this happens in each individual heart.
But we know enough to declare and to understand what it is that the spirit does when you come under the sound of the word of God the Holy Spirit attends the word blesses the word sends it forth to your mind and heart with power to open up what previously had been closed to open up your mind so that you can understand and not only understand but he breaks that dominant power of sin in your heart and imparts new life to you so that you could go forth and willingly respond to Christ in repentance and faith. The spirit of God, metaphorically speaking, went and took those massive chains around your heart. The massive chains around your mind the massive block that kept your soul from exiting and going to the kingdom of God, the Spirit of God broke that through the power of the word of God and enabled you and put you in a position were now you were able to repent and believe. Apart from that work of the Spirit of God. No one is saved at all. First John 419 says we love because he first loved us men lack spiritual power to reach out to God Charles Spurgeon said this and I quote, it's a little bit of the long quotes will stay with me. Speaking of this regenerating work of the Holy Spirit. He says the gospel says repent, but the unregenerate man loves his sins and will not repent of them. He presses them to his bosom and until his nature is changed he will never look upon those sends with abhorrence and sorrow. The gospel says believe cast away all confidence in your own merits and believe in Jesus but the carnal mind is proud and says why should I believe and be saved by the works of another. I want to do something myself that I may have some of the credit of it either by good prayers are good works of some kind. Continuing the quote just a little bit longer.
Charles Spurgeon says this brethren we must be born again because the truth of the gospel cannot be understood in the commands of the gospel cannot be obeyed, except where the Spirit of God works regeneration in the heart."
That's the work of regeneration that the spirit of God does.
He imparts new life to sinners. According to the will of the spirit.
According to the will of God according to the plan of God. The Spirit of God imparts new life into dead hearts and spiritual changes produced as a result, and he does that in connection with the word of God, the Spirit of God takes the word of God and applies it to the soul with power in a way that produces salvation in Romans chapter 1 Paul said, I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes.
So the spirit does this work of regeneration in the believer today secondly want to talk about the spirits work of indwelling spirits work of in dwelling. What else does the Holy Spirit do. Here's one of the blessed things about the nature of the work of God in salvation is that he comes to us with power through the word, but he doesn't then just abandon us to leave us to sort it out on our own. The spirit of God comes and indwells every true believer permanently as their guide as their resident presence of God in a way that results in various spiritual changes that will look at in a moment. First of all, let's just see this work of indwelling stated as it is attributed to the Holy Spirit in Romans chapter 8 look at it with me. Romans chapter 8 Scripture describes the Holy Spirit is indwelling. Every believer and in chapter 8 verse nine of Romans, the apostle Paul says you are not in the flesh. You're not in that human realm of rebellion against God.
But in the spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the spirit of God. He does not belong to him. So there's two classes. There are those who are not Christians who do not have the spirit of God, and there are Christians who do have the spirit of God in the spirit dwells within them.
The spirit indwells every true believer. First Corinthians chapter 3 verse 16 says, do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you talking to true Christians. There by one Spirit we were all baptized into one body, whether Jews or Greeks, whether slaves or free, we were all made to drink of one Spirit. And so the spirit of God.
Does this remarkably personal work in the heart of every true Christian the spirit of God comes and indwells them the spirit of God comes and somehow inhabits them in a way that makes him a permanent part of their lives. He abides with us. He guides us in the truth. In first John chapter 4 in over kind bouncing around a few different texts here in first John chapter 4 verse two you see the mark of the spirit of God.
First John four verse two it says by this you know the spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, and every spirit that does not confess Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist and then in verse four you are from God, little children, and have overcome them, because greater is he who is in you that is greater is the spirit of God, who is in you than he who is in the world and so we have this abiding indwelling of the Holy Spirit.
What's he doing that for well with the spirit of God is doing is he is mediating he is the. The instrument of communicating the presence of Christ to your life. He abides with use of the Christ. As Jesus said in Matthew 28 he said I'm with you always, even to the end of the age. The spirit of God abides in us and thereby we are abiding in the presence of Christ through the working power and ministry of the Holy Spirit.
Scripture describes believers as being in union with Jesus Christ that we are in him and the spirit is the one who mediates that to us in a way that cannot be broken in a way that guarantees your salvation one it's it's is really received cannot be lost.
Spirit of God, go save you and then cast you aside as if God were changeable in response to your cave. Note the purpose of God was to save time before time began, chose us in Christ before the foundation of the world. Now, in time, the spirit of God makes that a reality. A great invisible work that no man regeneration and indwelling are two works of the Holy Spirit.
Today Pastor Don Greene will look at 1/3 work as well as fruits of the Holy Spirit on our next broadcast were just beginning this vital series titled the Holy Spirit today and we hope you'll join us each day here on the truth pulpit right now though Don's back your in studio with some closing words, my friend, if you enjoy these broadcast. I am sure that you would enjoy the live stream of our church services from truth community church we meet Sunday morning at 9 AM Eastern time and Tuesday evening at 7 o'clock you'll find the live stream link prominently displayed at the top of our website. The truth pulpit.com friend. Just visit the truth. Pulpit.com you can also learn more about podcast and free CDs of Don's teaching bill right inviting you back next time.
As Don Greene continues in his ministry of teaching God's people.
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