Mark O’Grady – Born of the Spirit – Class 2 – The Spirit Creates

1
00:00:00,040 –> 00:00:02,760
Well, the study of the Spirit,
one of the wonderful things of

2
00:00:02,760 –> 00:00:06,400
the study of the Spirit is it
impresses us with the reality of

3
00:00:06,400 –> 00:00:11,000
God’s existence and the
closeness of his work in our own

4
00:00:11,000 –> 00:00:13,360
personal lives.
And in our last study, we’re

5
00:00:13,360 –> 00:00:17,480
struck by the diversity of ways
in which this idea of the Spirit

6
00:00:17,800 –> 00:00:20,000
is actually used.
And with the young people just

7
00:00:20,000 –> 00:00:23,440
now, we did one of those mind
maps or spider diagrams where we

8
00:00:23,440 –> 00:00:26,360
just have lots of tentacles
coming out and listing all the

9
00:00:26,360 –> 00:00:30,320
different ways in which this
idea of the Spirit is used in

10
00:00:30,320 –> 00:00:33,240
Scripture.
And we ask the question why?

11
00:00:33,520 –> 00:00:37,400
And the answer is it covers all
the different facets of the work

12
00:00:37,400 –> 00:00:40,320
of God.
So it starts with God’s actual

13
00:00:40,320 –> 00:00:44,680
power, himself brooding upon the
face of the earth, and he starts

14
00:00:44,680 –> 00:00:48,800
his creative process as man
corrupts the way of God and

15
00:00:48,800 –> 00:00:52,760
introduces the concept of an
unclean spirit or the mind of

16
00:00:52,760 –> 00:00:56,600
man, the things of flesh.
Then God’s Spirit word works

17
00:00:56,600 –> 00:01:01,120
with us through His Son as well,
illustrated by miracles, and he

18
00:01:01,120 –> 00:01:03,880
develops a spiritual way of
thinking through the Word, which

19
00:01:03,880 –> 00:01:06,120
is also described as being the
spirit.

20
00:01:06,120 –> 00:01:10,840
Christ’s words, my the words I
speak, they are spirit in life.

21
00:01:11,120 –> 00:01:14,760
It develops a spiritual way of
thinking for us ultimately to

22
00:01:14,760 –> 00:01:16,960
become spirit beings in the
Kingdom age.

23
00:01:16,960 –> 00:01:20,960
So it’s the journey of the
spirit in terms of how God works

24
00:01:20,960 –> 00:01:25,960
with each and every one of us.
And God’s spirit is the means by

25
00:01:25,960 –> 00:01:30,520
which God achieves his creative
work with you and with me.

26
00:01:31,000 –> 00:01:34,120
And of course, we can’t separate
the spirit from God because it

27
00:01:34,120 –> 00:01:36,760
is God.
It’s his energy, it’s his work

28
00:01:37,040 –> 00:01:41,280
being outworked.
And in Scripture, of course, God

29
00:01:41,280 –> 00:01:45,160
explains how His spirit
interacts with the human race.

30
00:01:45,720 –> 00:01:47,840
Now what we’re going to be
looking at this morning, and one

31
00:01:47,840 –> 00:01:50,800
of the things I just want to
start by by making this comment,

32
00:01:51,160 –> 00:01:56,760
at different times in history,
God has manifested or

33
00:01:56,760 –> 00:02:01,000
demonstrated his spirit in
different ways with the human

34
00:02:01,000 –> 00:02:03,080
race.
And I’m going to say that again,

35
00:02:03,160 –> 00:02:07,920
at different times in history,
God has manifested His spirit

36
00:02:07,920 –> 00:02:12,240
power interacting with human
beings in different ways.

37
00:02:13,240 –> 00:02:16,120
So as we start the journey of
the Spirit this morning, going

38
00:02:16,120 –> 00:02:20,000
through Scripture, we’ll see the
way in which God interacts with

39
00:02:20,000 –> 00:02:24,440
people in different ways at
different times through the

40
00:02:24,440 –> 00:02:27,160
Spirit.
So logical place to start.

41
00:02:27,840 –> 00:02:29,920
What are the opening words of
the Scriptures?

42
00:02:30,200 –> 00:02:32,680
In the beginning, God, because
it’s all about God.

43
00:02:32,800 –> 00:02:36,000
In the beginning, God created
the heavens and the earth.

44
00:02:36,600 –> 00:02:39,440
The earth was without falling,
void and darkness was upon the

45
00:02:39,440 –> 00:02:45,920
face of the deep, and the Spirit
of God moved upon the face of

46
00:02:45,920 –> 00:02:49,000
the waters.
So the third sentence of the

47
00:02:49,000 –> 00:02:53,560
Bible introduces the theme of
the ruach or the Spirit for us.

48
00:02:53,840 –> 00:02:58,760
The Spirit of God is moving upon
the face of the waters and the

49
00:02:58,760 –> 00:03:02,400
creative Symphony is about to
opening, about to open this

50
00:03:02,400 –> 00:03:06,520
crash of chords with this
enormous work, this explosion of

51
00:03:06,520 –> 00:03:09,200
creation.
Before that starts, we have

52
00:03:09,200 –> 00:03:13,440
this, this image in our minds of
of a round sphere with no, no

53
00:03:13,440 –> 00:03:16,040
shape apart.
Them being in a sphere covered

54
00:03:16,200 –> 00:03:20,000
in a mantle of water and wrapped
around that we have the Spirit

55
00:03:20,000 –> 00:03:23,680
of God which is moving or
brooding upon the face of the

56
00:03:23,680 –> 00:03:25,760
waters.
We’ll look at that a little more

57
00:03:26,280 –> 00:03:29,080
later this morning.
But look at this passage.

58
00:03:30,160 –> 00:03:33,360
Just think through the
implications of some of these

59
00:03:33,360 –> 00:03:38,480
words.
Psalm 33 verse 6 by the word of

60
00:03:38,720 –> 00:03:44,520
Yahweh were the heavens made and
all the host of them by the

61
00:03:44,520 –> 00:03:46,960
breath.
And it’s our words, Ruach or

62
00:03:46,960 –> 00:03:51,360
spirit of His mouth.
Now if you think about it

63
00:03:51,360 –> 00:03:54,480
literally, the heavens were made
by God’s power working through

64
00:03:54,480 –> 00:03:58,000
the angels.
And yet here in Psalm 33, verse

65
00:03:58,120 –> 00:04:03,240
6, it says the by the word of
Yahweh were the heavens made,

66
00:04:04,000 –> 00:04:07,920
and the host of them by the
breath or the spirit of His

67
00:04:07,920 –> 00:04:10,200
mouth.
So there’s some connection here

68
00:04:10,200 –> 00:04:16,680
between the idea of the spirit
of the breath and of the words.

69
00:04:17,320 –> 00:04:20,079
And that’s what we want to
explore now, this relationship

70
00:04:20,079 –> 00:04:25,440
between the spirit and the
breath and the words by which

71
00:04:25,560 –> 00:04:29,360
all things were actually made.
So let’s examine these in order.

72
00:04:30,440 –> 00:04:33,440
You may recall the definition of
ruach that we looked at

73
00:04:33,440 –> 00:04:36,360
yesterday from the theological
word book of the Old Testament,

74
00:04:36,840 –> 00:04:38,880
and I won’t go through that in
detail again, but just look at

75
00:04:38,880 –> 00:04:43,760
the first line.
The basic idea of ruach is air

76
00:04:44,080 –> 00:04:46,640
in motion.
We looked at that, the idea of

77
00:04:46,640 –> 00:04:50,120
the breathing out or the
exhaling of air, the concept of

78
00:04:50,120 –> 00:04:52,360
air in motion.
And he goes on to say the

79
00:04:52,360 –> 00:04:54,960
connotations of breath include
power and courage.

80
00:04:55,040 –> 00:04:57,960
And he keeps going.
He never spoke a truer word.

81
00:04:57,960 –> 00:05:01,040
Then he made the comment that it
actually gets used in multiple

82
00:05:01,040 –> 00:05:05,360
different actual ways.
OK, the ruach can exhibit a

83
00:05:05,360 –> 00:05:07,000
range of meaning.
Well, I think that’s an

84
00:05:07,000 –> 00:05:10,400
understatement, actually.
But it starts with this idea of

85
00:05:10,400 –> 00:05:15,520
being air in motion, Our word
ruach.

86
00:05:15,640 –> 00:05:18,880
It’s translated most frequently
as spirit, but it is also

87
00:05:18,880 –> 00:05:21,160
translated in the Old Testament
as breath.

88
00:05:22,040 –> 00:05:25,680
It’s actually translated
something like 90 times as wind

89
00:05:26,680 –> 00:05:29,520
and sometimes it’s literally
talking about wind and it uses

90
00:05:29,520 –> 00:05:32,800
the word ruach.
Now we can think of that and

91
00:05:32,800 –> 00:05:35,240
think, well, actually that’s
that’s quite logical.

92
00:05:35,240 –> 00:05:40,080
There are examples of wind being
used as a tool like God.

93
00:05:40,080 –> 00:05:43,240
Did you think of any really
spectacular examples as one that

94
00:05:43,240 –> 00:05:48,560
just leaps to mind straight away
where God used wind in the

95
00:05:48,560 –> 00:05:51,720
examples?
Yep, in the plagues.

96
00:05:51,720 –> 00:05:53,520
OK, so where do you use wind?
In the plagues?

97
00:05:53,520 –> 00:05:55,880
Actually, when you as soon as
you say plagues, actually the

98
00:05:55,880 –> 00:06:02,640
number of passes, they used it
to take away the locusts.

99
00:06:03,200 –> 00:06:06,240
Yep.
It’s also used in the crossing

100
00:06:06,240 –> 00:06:08,400
of the Red Sea fairly
spectacularly.

101
00:06:08,560 –> 00:06:10,920
It was a mighty wind that parts
the water, so it’s not

102
00:06:10,920 –> 00:06:15,280
surprising the idea of wind.
The word ruach is often

103
00:06:15,280 –> 00:06:19,320
translated as wind, but the
significance of it goes a little

104
00:06:19,320 –> 00:06:24,720
deeper than that.
God’s spirit power, it breathes

105
00:06:24,720 –> 00:06:27,080
out of Him.
So it’s like the movement of

106
00:06:27,080 –> 00:06:29,240
air.
So the analogy of a breath is

107
00:06:29,240 –> 00:06:31,720
quite a graphic way, isn’t it,
of explaining it.

108
00:06:31,720 –> 00:06:35,600
This is something which which
emanates from God Himself.

109
00:06:36,520 –> 00:06:40,520
And so therefore the word ruach
is translated as breath.

110
00:06:40,680 –> 00:06:42,680
Well, let’s go back to that
passage we just looked at

111
00:06:42,680 –> 00:06:46,840
before.
By the word of Yahweh were the

112
00:06:46,840 –> 00:06:50,960
heavens made and all the host of
them by the breath or the ruach

113
00:06:51,240 –> 00:06:55,200
of His mouth.
So it is translated as breath in

114
00:06:55,200 –> 00:06:58,480
a number of places.
All right.

115
00:06:58,480 –> 00:07:00,880
When we think about it, we say
we’re also the Spirit of God,

116
00:07:00,880 –> 00:07:05,520
which breathes out of them.
It’s also responsible for

117
00:07:05,520 –> 00:07:07,720
sustaining life.
We looked at that.

118
00:07:07,800 –> 00:07:11,120
In fact, it’s used of life
itself when someone gives up the

119
00:07:11,120 –> 00:07:14,160
ghost, as the phrase is used of
the Lord Jesus Christ.

120
00:07:14,160 –> 00:07:17,520
He gave up the Spirit.
He died Jairus’s daughter whose

121
00:07:17,520 –> 00:07:21,120
spirit revived or came back to
her again because Christ

122
00:07:21,120 –> 00:07:23,840
restored life.
So we think actually this idea

123
00:07:23,840 –> 00:07:27,400
of spirit sustains life and it
starts to be used almost as a

124
00:07:27,400 –> 00:07:30,160
synonym for life.
So the word spirit starts to be

125
00:07:30,160 –> 00:07:34,200
used of this idea of being the
life force itself.

126
00:07:34,640 –> 00:07:38,920
That’s why then we find in
Scripture that those two ideas

127
00:07:38,920 –> 00:07:43,240
start getting joined together so
that so it starts being

128
00:07:43,240 –> 00:07:46,440
translated as the spirit or the
breath of life.

129
00:07:46,720 –> 00:07:49,440
I’d like you to come back with
me to Genesis chapter 6 and

130
00:07:49,440 –> 00:07:50,840
verse 17.
We’re going to look at 2

131
00:07:50,840 –> 00:07:55,040
examples, one in Genesis 6 and
the other in Genesis 17 where

132
00:07:55,040 –> 00:07:58,720
this ruach is described as being
or translated as being the

133
00:07:58,720 –> 00:08:04,480
breath of life.
Genesis 6 verse 17 we read and

134
00:08:04,480 –> 00:08:07,440
behold, I even I do bring a
flood of waters upon the earth

135
00:08:07,440 –> 00:08:11,680
to destroy all flesh, wherein is
the breath of life from under

136
00:08:11,680 –> 00:08:13,920
heaven.
Everything that is in the earth

137
00:08:14,040 –> 00:08:17,000
shall die.
We turn over the page to Genesis

138
00:08:17,000 –> 00:08:21,080
Chapter 7, verse 15.
They went in unto Noah into the

139
00:08:21,080 –> 00:08:25,160
ark, 2 into two of all flesh,
wherein is the breath of life.

140
00:08:25,640 –> 00:08:28,400
And sometimes it’s useful to
write in the margin to slide

141
00:08:28,400 –> 00:08:31,920
both of those places.
The word breath there is the

142
00:08:31,920 –> 00:08:35,679
word ruach.
So in Genesis 6, verse 17, the

143
00:08:35,679 –> 00:08:39,400
word breath is the word ruach.
And again, in Chapter 7, verse

144
00:08:39,400 –> 00:08:42,400
15, the breath of life, the word
breath is ruach.

145
00:08:43,760 –> 00:08:46,840
It probably would have been
helpful if the translators had

146
00:08:46,880 –> 00:08:50,960
actually used the phrase spirit
of life rather than the breath

147
00:08:50,960 –> 00:08:55,240
of life there.
Why come back with me to Genesis

148
00:08:55,240 –> 00:08:57,960
chapter 2?
Because there’s a trap here for

149
00:08:58,000 –> 00:09:00,920
young players.
Because in Genesis chapter 2,

150
00:09:00,920 –> 00:09:03,560
there’s a phrase breath of life,
which we’re very familiar with.

151
00:09:03,840 –> 00:09:07,080
It’s a completely different
expression neighbor.

152
00:09:08,480 –> 00:09:12,680
So Genesis chapter 2, verse six,
sorry, verse 7, Yahweh Elohim

153
00:09:12,680 –> 00:09:16,480
formed man of the dust of the
ground and breathed into his

154
00:09:16,480 –> 00:09:21,560
nostrils the breath of life and
man became a living soul.

155
00:09:21,880 –> 00:09:25,080
And that is a completely
different expression there.

156
00:09:25,080 –> 00:09:27,720
The word breath is neshima, the
idea of air.

157
00:09:27,720 –> 00:09:31,440
So if I put these two up, just
be careful.

158
00:09:31,600 –> 00:09:33,640
There’s a little trap here for
us in the English.

159
00:09:33,640 –> 00:09:38,040
The phrase breath of life in
Genesis 6:00 and 7:00 is quite

160
00:09:38,040 –> 00:09:41,160
different from this breath of
life that we have in Genesis

161
00:09:41,160 –> 00:09:43,800
chapter 2.
So in Genesis chapter 2, on the

162
00:09:43,800 –> 00:09:46,040
right hand side of the screen
there, when he sees, he breathes

163
00:09:46,040 –> 00:09:47,760
into his nostrils the breath of
life.

164
00:09:48,000 –> 00:09:52,680
It’s Nishama or Nishamet, the
breath, the air of life, as

165
00:09:52,680 –> 00:09:56,120
opposed to Genesis 6 and Genesis
7 where the phrase breath of

166
00:09:56,120 –> 00:09:59,760
life is actually the ruler claim
the spirit of life.

167
00:10:00,720 –> 00:10:04,520
So what’s the difference?
Well, the air of life is

168
00:10:04,520 –> 00:10:05,760
literally the air that we
breathe.

169
00:10:06,960 –> 00:10:11,160
All living things need air.
If we take a living person and

170
00:10:11,160 –> 00:10:14,360
we stop them from having air
for, I don’t know, make it safe?

171
00:10:15,000 –> 00:10:16,800
Safe’s not the right word.
Make it permanent.

172
00:10:17,200 –> 00:10:20,120
Take air away for an hour, and
what have you got?

173
00:10:20,360 –> 00:10:23,800
A dead carcass.
If you take that dead carcass

174
00:10:23,960 –> 00:10:26,040
and you pump it full of air
again, will it live?

175
00:10:27,000 –> 00:10:31,920
No, because something’s missing
life, and that’s the real work.

176
00:10:33,440 –> 00:10:36,280
And the best way to actually
understand the difference

177
00:10:36,280 –> 00:10:40,040
between the two is to see where
they’re both used together.

178
00:10:40,040 –> 00:10:41,280
And there’s a number of
passages.

179
00:10:41,880 –> 00:10:46,360
So Job 34, verse 14 to 15.
If God set his heart upon man,

180
00:10:46,360 –> 00:10:50,280
if he gathered unto himself, his
spirit relaxed, that’s life and

181
00:10:50,280 –> 00:10:53,400
his breath, that’s the ability
to breathe, all flesh would

182
00:10:53,400 –> 00:10:57,280
perish together and man would
turn again to dust.

183
00:10:58,320 –> 00:11:03,480
Isaiah 42 verse five, He that
giveth breath, Nishima, the air,

184
00:11:03,800 –> 00:11:08,080
the ability to breathe air unto
the people upon earth, and

185
00:11:08,080 –> 00:11:14,720
spirit ruach life to those that
walk therein, or Job 33 verse 4.

186
00:11:14,720 –> 00:11:18,880
The Spirit of God hath made me,
and the breath of the Almighty

187
00:11:18,880 –> 00:11:23,040
hath given me life.
And the last one there I think

188
00:11:23,040 –> 00:11:26,520
will turn up because this is
another one of those traps for

189
00:11:26,520 –> 00:11:29,560
unweary players where the
translators haven’t helped us.

190
00:11:29,800 –> 00:11:33,720
Let’s turn up.
Genesis Chapter 7 and verse 22.

191
00:11:34,600 –> 00:11:39,440
I’ll just read that Genesis 7
verse 22 all in whose nostrils

192
00:11:39,440 –> 00:11:43,240
was the breath of life of all
that was in the dry land died.

193
00:11:44,160 –> 00:11:48,440
So the question is in Genesis 7
verse 22, when we have the word

194
00:11:48,440 –> 00:11:52,400
breath, is it ruach or is it
neshima?

195
00:11:55,360 –> 00:12:00,000
That’s a trick question because
the answer is in the Hebrew of

196
00:12:01,880 –> 00:12:04,080
the translators haven’t helped
us by just putting the one

197
00:12:04,080 –> 00:12:07,240
phrase breath in there.
But both Ruach and Nishima are

198
00:12:07,240 –> 00:12:10,520
both there in the original.
So Robert’s translation, all in

199
00:12:10,520 –> 00:12:13,640
whose nostrils was the breath of
the spirit of life?

200
00:12:13,640 –> 00:12:15,120
Because actually it was both
elements.

201
00:12:16,280 –> 00:12:18,360
OK.
So actually seeing the way in

202
00:12:18,360 –> 00:12:22,960
which it’s used in Scripture
makes this reasonably clear for

203
00:12:22,960 –> 00:12:27,840
us as we go through because of
course, both those elements are

204
00:12:27,840 –> 00:12:31,200
required.
All right, well, while we’re

205
00:12:31,200 –> 00:12:35,600
talking about this idea of of
breathing out, and it’s a close,

206
00:12:35,960 –> 00:12:39,400
close association with the idea
of the Spirit and the mouth,

207
00:12:40,280 –> 00:12:44,200
what else is breathed out of the
word of God?

208
00:12:45,600 –> 00:12:47,360
Sorry, I just gave it away,
didn’t I?

209
00:12:47,840 –> 00:12:49,720
What else is breathed out of the
mouth of God?

210
00:12:49,800 –> 00:12:53,640
Is is word.
And when you think about it,

211
00:12:53,640 –> 00:12:56,640
actually someone that’s
speaking, there’s an exhaling

212
00:12:56,640 –> 00:13:00,280
from the lungs through the voice
box, and it’s very closely

213
00:13:00,280 –> 00:13:02,280
associated with the movement of
air.

214
00:13:02,560 –> 00:13:05,520
If there was no movement of air
in and out of your lungs, you

215
00:13:05,520 –> 00:13:07,280
would find it very difficult to
speak.

216
00:13:08,480 –> 00:13:11,280
So there’s this close
association between breathing

217
00:13:11,720 –> 00:13:15,600
and the mouth.
And now the idea of the voice or

218
00:13:15,600 –> 00:13:19,800
the words which also breathe out
of the mouth of God, There’s

219
00:13:19,800 –> 00:13:23,440
something which is being
expressed or exhaled out of the

220
00:13:23,440 –> 00:13:28,560
mouth of God.
So, and we won’t turn it up, but

221
00:13:28,600 –> 00:13:33,880
in Paul’s epistle to Timothy,
first of Timothy, sorry, second

222
00:13:33,880 –> 00:13:36,680
of Timothy, isn’t it?
Second of Timothy 3, verse 16,

223
00:13:36,960 –> 00:13:38,400
What does he say about
Scripture?

224
00:13:38,920 –> 00:13:42,160
He said all Scripture is given
by and you want to finish that

225
00:13:42,160 –> 00:13:46,600
given by inspiration of God.
You know what the word

226
00:13:46,600 –> 00:13:49,080
inspiration is?
I’m not going to get the

227
00:13:49,080 –> 00:13:54,880
pronunciation right, but it’s
Theo Neustos and the new is the

228
00:13:54,880 –> 00:13:58,640
same as a pneuma.
So Theo is God.

229
00:13:59,160 –> 00:14:06,480
Literally it means God breathed.
So all scripture is breathed out

230
00:14:06,480 –> 00:14:09,280
of God.
It’s God breathed, and that

231
00:14:09,280 –> 00:14:12,760
really highlights for us the
beauty of this idea here of the

232
00:14:12,760 –> 00:14:16,920
Word being associated with God’s
spirit power and His Spirit

233
00:14:16,920 –> 00:14:19,720
being.
All Scripture is breathed out by

234
00:14:19,720 –> 00:14:23,000
God and it’s profitable for
doctrine, for a proof, for

235
00:14:23,000 –> 00:14:26,320
correction, for instruction,
righteousness, that the person

236
00:14:26,320 –> 00:14:29,280
of God may be perfect or
complete, thoroughly instructed

237
00:14:29,280 –> 00:14:34,000
to all good works because it’s
been breathed out of the mouth

238
00:14:34,200 –> 00:14:36,480
of God.
So we think about our passage

239
00:14:36,480 –> 00:14:41,520
again by the word of Yahweh,
where the heavens mark, and all

240
00:14:41,520 –> 00:14:43,440
the host of them by the breath
of his mouth.

241
00:14:43,440 –> 00:14:46,680
So there’s this enormous
association, very strong

242
00:14:47,000 –> 00:14:51,640
association between God’s Spirit
and his words.

243
00:14:53,720 –> 00:14:58,120
So the power of God emanating
from God that’s contained in his

244
00:14:58,120 –> 00:15:00,520
words should never be
underestimated.

245
00:15:01,400 –> 00:15:05,000
And it’s closely looked with
this idea of his power or his

246
00:15:05,000 –> 00:15:07,520
ruach.
I mean, I love those words of

247
00:15:07,520 –> 00:15:09,320
Scripture.
How did the creating creation

248
00:15:09,320 –> 00:15:15,880
process start?
And God said, let there be light

249
00:15:16,400 –> 00:15:21,200
and there was light.
So when God spake, or as the

250
00:15:21,200 –> 00:15:26,040
Psalm 33 goes on to say, he
spake in verse 9 and it was

251
00:15:26,040 –> 00:15:29,280
done, He commanded and it stood
fast.

252
00:15:29,560 –> 00:15:32,800
And you see, the Psalm is just
emphasizing for us the fact that

253
00:15:32,800 –> 00:15:37,320
actually it’s God’s Word which
embodies his meaning, His

254
00:15:37,320 –> 00:15:41,520
purpose, His intention that
created the heavens and the

255
00:15:41,600 –> 00:15:45,160
earth.
So words from God are not just

256
00:15:45,480 –> 00:15:47,760
sound waves traveling through
the air.

257
00:15:48,400 –> 00:15:51,120
They express His purpose and His
intent.

258
00:15:52,000 –> 00:15:54,600
There’s that beautiful section
which we’ll all be familiar with

259
00:15:54,600 –> 00:15:58,200
from the Gospel of John, John
chapter 1, where he draws on the

260
00:15:58,200 –> 00:16:03,200
whole creation process and then
he emphasizes the importance of

261
00:16:03,200 –> 00:16:06,320
the Word.
In the beginning was the Word

262
00:16:07,320 –> 00:16:11,000
and the Word was with God and
the Word was God.

263
00:16:11,400 –> 00:16:13,240
The same was in the beginning
with God.

264
00:16:13,320 –> 00:16:16,960
All things were made by him.
Without Him was not anything

265
00:16:16,960 –> 00:16:20,520
made that was made.
So we see the way in which this

266
00:16:20,520 –> 00:16:24,200
idea of the words of God and
God’s own existence are actually

267
00:16:24,200 –> 00:16:27,280
tied together.
You know, as an aside, brothers

268
00:16:27,280 –> 00:16:32,080
and sisters, it’s value the word
of God that we have on our laps,

269
00:16:32,200 –> 00:16:37,600
the ability to read it.
It is the power of God that is

270
00:16:37,600 –> 00:16:42,840
able to transform us and change
us to be made after the image of

271
00:16:42,840 –> 00:16:47,200
his glorious Son.
So always in our mind, just

272
00:16:47,280 –> 00:16:51,920
always value the opportunity we
have every day of being able to

273
00:16:51,920 –> 00:16:56,040
drink, drink deeply from the
word of life because it is the

274
00:16:56,080 –> 00:16:58,400
embodiment of God’s thinking
process.

275
00:16:58,800 –> 00:17:01,240
And that’s the way the new
creation works.

276
00:17:01,240 –> 00:17:07,800
God said let there be light.
The entrance of thy word giveth

277
00:17:07,800 –> 00:17:10,720
light.
And it’s the power of the word

278
00:17:10,720 –> 00:17:14,520
that works that creative process
with you and with me.

279
00:17:15,200 –> 00:17:18,280
And in Scripture, words are
always very closely related to

280
00:17:18,280 –> 00:17:20,440
the individual.
I mean, even in a human sense,

281
00:17:20,839 –> 00:17:26,119
out of the abundance of the
heart, the mouth speaks.

282
00:17:26,920 –> 00:17:32,200
So the words, our incredible
revealer of what sits inside our

283
00:17:32,200 –> 00:17:34,320
hearts, that’s Matthew 12, verse
34.

284
00:17:34,680 –> 00:17:37,280
And so as the Gospel of John
says, you can’t separate the

285
00:17:37,280 –> 00:17:41,600
Word from God because it’s an
expression of his thoughts, of

286
00:17:41,600 –> 00:17:44,080
his purpose, of his intent.
That’s what the word logos

287
00:17:44,240 –> 00:17:47,600
actually means.
Well, it’s the same as a spirit

288
00:17:48,880 –> 00:17:52,600
because the word expresses its
purpose, the spirit accomplishes

289
00:17:52,600 –> 00:17:54,680
it.
So there’s this very strong

290
00:17:54,680 –> 00:17:57,920
Nexus between them.
So Brother Thomas puts it rather

291
00:17:57,920 –> 00:18:03,000
well.
The ideas and the thoughts of

292
00:18:03,000 –> 00:18:07,840
the deity are as much spirit as
his physical power.

293
00:18:09,080 –> 00:18:13,640
God’s thoughts are a moral power
breathed forth in His words, and

294
00:18:13,640 –> 00:18:15,720
that is spirit.
In the same way that the

295
00:18:15,720 –> 00:18:19,800
lightning or any energy source
is also spirit breathed forth or

296
00:18:19,800 –> 00:18:25,400
radiant from His substance.
God’s thoughts breathe forth or

297
00:18:25,400 –> 00:18:29,120
revealed in any way He may
determine constitutes the truth.

298
00:18:30,520 –> 00:18:35,800
And therefore Scripture says the
spirit is truth or the truth is

299
00:18:35,800 –> 00:18:38,160
the Spirit.
And that’s why the Lord could

300
00:18:38,160 –> 00:18:42,440
say my words are spirit, and the
apostle John could say the

301
00:18:42,440 –> 00:18:47,040
spirit is the truth because it’s
actually an expression of what

302
00:18:47,040 –> 00:18:51,080
God wants to have achieved.
So to produce physical results,

303
00:18:51,080 –> 00:18:54,960
such as raising the dead, he
said, a material power or spirit

304
00:18:54,960 –> 00:18:58,760
is required.
But when purely moral results

305
00:18:58,920 –> 00:19:03,520
are the things desired, the
truth is the Spirit that

306
00:19:03,520 –> 00:19:08,480
operates upon the heart.
So now we understand why Christ

307
00:19:08,480 –> 00:19:12,160
said in John 6, the words that I
speak to you, they are Spirit

308
00:19:12,200 –> 00:19:15,080
and they are life.
And it’s this beautiful blending

309
00:19:15,080 –> 00:19:19,080
together of God’s purpose with
us as it’s expressed in His

310
00:19:19,080 –> 00:19:22,480
Word.
Now, as you look at what’s

311
00:19:22,600 –> 00:19:25,240
there, you start reading it
carefully.

312
00:19:25,240 –> 00:19:28,080
You’ll find that actually what
He’s starting to do is give us

313
00:19:28,080 –> 00:19:32,800
the hint that there are two
different ways in which this

314
00:19:32,800 –> 00:19:34,960
concept of the Spirit is
operating here.

315
00:19:36,280 –> 00:19:38,920
You could say there are two
different operating spheres.

316
00:19:40,280 –> 00:19:43,680
So if just read those words
carefully and see if you can

317
00:19:43,680 –> 00:19:48,280
spot what he’s actually showing
us about the two different ways

318
00:19:48,280 –> 00:19:51,240
in which the Spirit is operating
and he contrasts and together.

319
00:19:51,240 –> 00:19:55,360
I’m going to go to the last
paragraph.

320
00:19:56,720 –> 00:19:57,840
Oops.
What have I just done?

321
00:19:59,280 –> 00:20:07,120
Actually, you know what I’m.
That hasn’t come up there.

322
00:20:07,120 –> 00:20:13,280
Actually, I had changed that.
I just wonder if I’ve got an old

323
00:20:13,280 –> 00:20:15,160
reversion up there.
All right, I’m going to do this

324
00:20:15,200 –> 00:20:20,080
manually as we go through.
Have a look at this little

325
00:20:20,080 –> 00:20:23,720
phrase here.
For physical results, such as

326
00:20:23,720 –> 00:20:27,600
raising the dead, material power
or spirit is required.

327
00:20:28,240 –> 00:20:31,080
What’s he suggesting there?
What he’s saying there is that

328
00:20:31,080 –> 00:20:35,280
when the Spirit is given as a
Holy Spirit power to someone,

329
00:20:35,760 –> 00:20:39,000
they can do things that were
otherwise not possible.

330
00:20:39,680 –> 00:20:42,000
So raising the dead is not
possible.

331
00:20:43,200 –> 00:20:46,720
Speaking in tongues without
having learned the language is

332
00:20:46,720 –> 00:20:50,160
not possible.
Healing someone that’s blind is

333
00:20:50,160 –> 00:20:54,960
not possible to a natural human
being, and so God’s power or

334
00:20:54,960 –> 00:20:57,680
energy has to be given to
someone to do that.

335
00:20:58,000 –> 00:21:01,840
So he refers to that as being
material power or spirit.

336
00:21:02,440 –> 00:21:06,200
But when moral results are
required, well, it’s the truth,

337
00:21:06,480 –> 00:21:10,240
or as he says up here, the ideas
and thoughts of God.

338
00:21:11,320 –> 00:21:15,720
So he said the idea and thoughts
of God, this spirit as is, is

339
00:21:15,760 –> 00:21:18,880
physical power.
God’s thoughts are a moral power

340
00:21:18,880 –> 00:21:22,160
and that is spirit.
He said in the same way that the

341
00:21:22,160 –> 00:21:24,840
lightning breathed forth and
energy is spirit.

342
00:21:25,040 –> 00:21:27,840
So he’s saying there’s two,
there’s two different ways,

343
00:21:27,840 –> 00:21:31,920
they’re both spirit, but one is
God’s spirit power and the other

344
00:21:31,920 –> 00:21:35,440
is a spirit mind.
Now why is that important?

345
00:21:35,760 –> 00:21:37,120
We’re going to see that
increasing.

346
00:21:37,120 –> 00:21:40,680
These studies go on because we
have the responsibility to

347
00:21:40,680 –> 00:21:45,280
develop the mind of the spirit.
Now, in that sense, God’s Spirit

348
00:21:45,280 –> 00:21:51,280
must dwell in us, but what we
haven’t been given is the Holy

349
00:21:51,280 –> 00:21:55,200
Spirit power in terms of the
ability to do supernatural

350
00:21:55,200 –> 00:21:57,600
things.
So let’s see how Brother Roberts

351
00:21:57,600 –> 00:22:01,120
picks this up.
So Brother Roberts writes an

352
00:22:01,120 –> 00:22:03,760
article in 1883 in The
Christadelphian.

353
00:22:04,320 –> 00:22:09,080
He said spirit is firstly the
substance, that’s the power, and

354
00:22:09,080 –> 00:22:12,880
secondly, the character is the
moral power of divine and holy

355
00:22:12,880 –> 00:22:16,920
bears of the first.
That’s God’s Holy Spirit power.

356
00:22:17,600 –> 00:22:19,160
We know little or nothing in
that.

357
00:22:19,160 –> 00:22:22,440
We don’t possess it.
We don’t have that as part of

358
00:22:22,440 –> 00:22:25,880
our daily experience.
Now we know of it, that the

359
00:22:25,880 –> 00:22:28,440
owner of it has eternal life,
the power of an endless life.

360
00:22:28,440 –> 00:22:33,520
God is a spirit being full of
power in this life, but of the

361
00:22:33,520 –> 00:22:37,840
seeker, that’s the character of
God, the mind of God.

362
00:22:37,880 –> 00:22:43,920
Spiritual things we know, and we
must know much because it’s upon

363
00:22:43,920 –> 00:22:46,880
our manifestation of the
character of the Spirit.

364
00:22:47,080 –> 00:22:50,160
It’s the mind of the Spirit, the
spiritual things.

365
00:22:50,640 –> 00:22:52,360
Our eternal future depends on
that.

366
00:22:52,640 –> 00:22:56,120
If any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he’s none of his.

367
00:22:56,960 –> 00:22:59,160
He goes on to say.
So we conclude that in the

368
00:22:59,160 –> 00:23:02,840
question of the Spirit in
relation to whether men and

369
00:23:02,840 –> 00:23:08,760
women possess it, now it must be
either in the character or the

370
00:23:08,760 –> 00:23:11,200
power.
And these aspects are widely

371
00:23:11,200 –> 00:23:15,080
different in themselves and
their operation and connection.

372
00:23:16,200 –> 00:23:20,920
So in terms of the Holy Spirit
power, you said the power is

373
00:23:20,920 –> 00:23:24,520
that which is beyond the
capability of the flesh to

374
00:23:24,560 –> 00:23:27,880
perform of itself.
It has to be bestowed upon

375
00:23:27,880 –> 00:23:30,800
someone.
So the apostles were given the

376
00:23:30,800 –> 00:23:34,840
Holy Spirit power.
It descended upon them in the

377
00:23:34,840 –> 00:23:37,120
New Testament times.
That could be passed on by the

378
00:23:37,120 –> 00:23:41,200
laying on of the apostles hands.
That’s the giving of the power

379
00:23:41,320 –> 00:23:43,840
of the Holy Spirit.
And that enabled them to do

380
00:23:43,840 –> 00:23:47,680
things which were actually not
natural for men and women to

381
00:23:47,680 –> 00:23:50,920
normally do.
And so he says that power, being

382
00:23:50,920 –> 00:23:53,280
that which is beyond the
capability of the flesh to

383
00:23:53,280 –> 00:23:56,760
perform itself, must be bestowed
upon the person.

384
00:23:57,000 –> 00:24:00,600
He has to be invested with it.
He’s utterly capable of

385
00:24:00,600 –> 00:24:07,320
bestowing it upon himself or
producing it, but the character

386
00:24:07,680 –> 00:24:11,160
was never bestowed.
God doesn’t come along and say

387
00:24:11,520 –> 00:24:14,720
I’m going to come along and make
you a godly person.

388
00:24:17,520 –> 00:24:20,200
It’s a process, process that
comes from the word of God,

389
00:24:21,480 –> 00:24:24,440
whereas when it’s the Holy
Spirit gift, the power to do

390
00:24:24,440 –> 00:24:28,800
miracles that was bestowed.
So hopefully, brothers and

391
00:24:28,800 –> 00:24:30,160
sisters.
You can see the difference

392
00:24:30,160 –> 00:24:33,720
between those two things because
that becomes fundamentally

393
00:24:33,720 –> 00:24:37,520
important in our understanding
of the subject of the Spirit.

394
00:24:38,320 –> 00:24:42,080
So he says we now have no case
where the character was given in

395
00:24:42,080 –> 00:24:43,920
such a manner.
It’s something which has to be

396
00:24:43,920 –> 00:24:46,760
involved by the individual.
It is not a gift.

397
00:24:46,960 –> 00:24:48,560
It’s not something which is
bestowed.

398
00:24:48,720 –> 00:24:55,960
The development of a godly mind
is be ye transformed by the

399
00:24:55,960 –> 00:24:59,640
renewing of your mind.
It’s a process that takes place

400
00:25:00,320 –> 00:25:05,880
over the course of time.
Now what that simply means then

401
00:25:05,960 –> 00:25:09,880
is that in Scripture this idea
of the of the Spirit is used in

402
00:25:09,880 –> 00:25:11,760
these two different spheres of
operation.

403
00:25:12,440 –> 00:25:16,080
On one hand, the Spirit is used
of the power of God, which was

404
00:25:16,080 –> 00:25:19,960
given to men and sometimes to
women on specific occasions to

405
00:25:19,960 –> 00:25:22,520
do things they otherwise could
not do.

406
00:25:22,800 –> 00:25:25,440
It enabled them to do literally
supernatural things.

407
00:25:25,720 –> 00:25:29,840
On the other side, we have the
spiritual character of God which

408
00:25:29,840 –> 00:25:35,080
develops inside a transformed
mind and that is never

409
00:25:35,280 –> 00:25:39,360
spiritually injected into a
person to make them a better

410
00:25:39,360 –> 00:25:41,400
person.
A different brethren have

411
00:25:41,400 –> 00:25:43,680
written about this and they all
seem to use different phrases to

412
00:25:43,680 –> 00:25:45,800
describe it.
You will have seen there Brother

413
00:25:45,800 –> 00:25:49,720
Roberts talks about the moral
character of God versus the

414
00:25:49,960 –> 00:25:53,320
substance or the power of God.
Brother Fred Pearce in his book

415
00:25:53,960 –> 00:25:57,240
on the Holy Spirit talks about
God’s supreme power, the ability

416
00:25:57,240 –> 00:26:01,040
to do miracles versus the
qualities of the divine mind, a

417
00:26:01,040 –> 00:26:03,640
way of thinking.
Our brother John Thomas talks

418
00:26:03,640 –> 00:26:06,920
about physical power.
This is a moral power.

419
00:26:07,160 –> 00:26:10,320
But they’re only just using
different words to explain this

420
00:26:10,320 –> 00:26:14,760
concept, this, this, this, this
way, in which the spirit works

421
00:26:15,080 –> 00:26:18,880
in two different ways.
Now why am I laboring this?

422
00:26:20,520 –> 00:26:24,200
Because.
All all wrong doctrine on the

423
00:26:24,200 –> 00:26:28,480
Spirit comes from a muddling
together of those two things.

424
00:26:30,040 –> 00:26:31,320
That’s a big statement, but
it’s.

425
00:26:31,320 –> 00:26:34,280
Actually true, when you boil the
whole thing down to the essence

426
00:26:34,280 –> 00:26:37,080
of it all.
Wrong doctrine on the subject of

427
00:26:37,080 –> 00:26:40,680
the Spirit comes down to
muddling up those two things.

428
00:26:42,120 –> 00:26:45,840
So when people talk about.
Having the Holy Spirit power of

429
00:26:45,840 –> 00:26:49,280
God, and they say, oh, you’ve
got to have the Holy Spirit come

430
00:26:49,280 –> 00:26:52,840
down into you to help you
believe or to enable you to

431
00:26:52,840 –> 00:26:55,800
resist sin.
They’re merging those two things

432
00:26:55,800 –> 00:26:58,560
together.
Well, when people talk about the

433
00:26:58,840 –> 00:27:02,800
Holy Spirit giving in the New
Testament as a power to work

434
00:27:02,800 –> 00:27:05,760
miracles and wonders and say,
oh, those passages all apply to

435
00:27:05,840 –> 00:27:10,280
us to develop the mind of the
Spirit, they’re implying that

436
00:27:10,280 –> 00:27:13,120
the mind of the Spirit is
developed when God just injects

437
00:27:13,120 –> 00:27:16,560
it into you and you now have the
Holy Spirit and therefore you

438
00:27:16,560 –> 00:27:20,160
think in certain ways.
And hopefully you can see where

439
00:27:20,160 –> 00:27:21,800
that leads in terms of
accountability.

440
00:27:23,200 –> 00:27:25,400
And the phrase is if you.
See someone saying, oh, all we

441
00:27:25,400 –> 00:27:29,160
have to do is just surrender to
the Holy Spirit and allow it to

442
00:27:29,160 –> 00:27:32,840
come into us to make us holy.
When you hear phrases like that,

443
00:27:33,120 –> 00:27:35,560
you realize that they are
merging those two together.

444
00:27:36,200 –> 00:27:39,400
And what does that do?
It removes accountability.

445
00:27:40,360 –> 00:27:43,520
It takes away the emphasis from
needing to read the word.

446
00:27:44,320 –> 00:27:47,440
It removes responsibility to
have our minds renewed or

447
00:27:47,440 –> 00:27:50,680
transformed through the power of
God’s Word.

448
00:27:51,120 –> 00:27:54,280
And it means, frankly, I just
let God do it all for me.

449
00:27:55,400 –> 00:27:57,680
And it removes the
accountability to say, actually,

450
00:27:57,720 –> 00:28:00,560
I need to acknowledge my mind
needs to change.

451
00:28:00,760 –> 00:28:04,000
And God’s given us the ability
in the Spirit Word to make that

452
00:28:04,000 –> 00:28:07,400
transition.
So when you think about it, it

453
00:28:07,400 –> 00:28:11,280
underpins the Catholic Church
with their whole claim for the

454
00:28:11,280 –> 00:28:15,000
hierarchy of the church and the
infallibility of the Church.

455
00:28:15,000 –> 00:28:17,480
Why?
Because we’ve had the Holy

456
00:28:17,480 –> 00:28:21,400
Spirit of God come into us to
give us knowledge and therefore

457
00:28:21,400 –> 00:28:24,920
we can speak with authority.
Interesting thing is you read

458
00:28:24,920 –> 00:28:29,000
Christian self help books and
often brothers and sisters say I

459
00:28:29,000 –> 00:28:31,680
found this really good Christian
book on bringing up children or

460
00:28:31,680 –> 00:28:34,040
on marriage.
And it’s fine approach with

461
00:28:34,040 –> 00:28:39,400
caution because this is one of
the central tenets of all of

462
00:28:39,400 –> 00:28:42,960
their books and they write with
authority and clarity.

463
00:28:43,120 –> 00:28:45,720
That’s great because you read
the preface and they think

464
00:28:45,720 –> 00:28:48,520
they’ve been guided by the Holy
Spirit to be able to say these

465
00:28:48,520 –> 00:28:51,280
things.
So be very careful with those

466
00:28:51,280 –> 00:28:53,360
things because they merge those
two together.

467
00:28:53,520 –> 00:28:56,400
And it’s a characteristic of
basically all false Christianity

468
00:28:56,880 –> 00:28:59,560
where it leads to with with the
with the Pentecostals, of

469
00:28:59,560 –> 00:29:02,320
course, is the Spirit of God
comes into me and I’m now saved.

470
00:29:03,040 –> 00:29:06,080
Once saved always say because
the Spirit of God’s going to

471
00:29:06,080 –> 00:29:09,920
make sure fact, it’s really the
equal and opposite of the theory

472
00:29:09,920 –> 00:29:12,840
of the devil.
With the devil if I do.

473
00:29:12,840 –> 00:29:17,400
Bad stuff, it’s not my fault,
it’s I can blame the devil when

474
00:29:17,400 –> 00:29:20,040
it comes to doing good stuff.
It’s not my responsibility.

475
00:29:20,040 –> 00:29:22,440
The Spirit will come in and will
help me believe, help me have

476
00:29:22,440 –> 00:29:24,400
faith, help me resist, and help
me be a good person.

477
00:29:24,400 –> 00:29:27,320
In fact, it saved me.
So it’s actually quite

478
00:29:27,320 –> 00:29:28,920
interesting.
To see the way in which they are

479
00:29:28,920 –> 00:29:31,160
equal and opposites when they
way that they actually work.

480
00:29:31,160 –> 00:29:35,440
In fact, if I put up a diagram.
The truth.

481
00:29:35,840 –> 00:29:37,880
Talks about us developing the
mind of God.

482
00:29:37,880 –> 00:29:40,000
We have to have the Spirit of
God on us.

483
00:29:40,000 –> 00:29:43,800
There is no question, but it’s
talking about the mind of God

484
00:29:44,000 –> 00:29:47,360
and it’s a response of faith to
what God has said in His word.

485
00:29:47,800 –> 00:29:52,200
Faith comes by hearing and
hearing by the word of God.

486
00:29:52,600 –> 00:29:55,520
Whereas the churches teach that
you have to have the Holy Spirit

487
00:29:55,520 –> 00:29:57,440
power come into you and give you
the gift of faith.

488
00:29:59,440 –> 00:30:02,080
Then on.
Occasions in the 1st century was

489
00:30:02,080 –> 00:30:05,480
a great example of it.
The Holy Spirit power is given

490
00:30:05,480 –> 00:30:09,040
to men and women to do certain
things and we’ll see why as we

491
00:30:09,040 –> 00:30:12,040
go through our studies.
The false teaching on it is that

492
00:30:12,080 –> 00:30:14,360
all believers are given the Holy
Spirit power.

493
00:30:14,400 –> 00:30:16,800
It’s an external influence that
comes into US.

494
00:30:17,160 –> 00:30:19,360
I hear a few people had the
ability to do miracles, but

495
00:30:19,360 –> 00:30:21,320
that’s pretty minor.
No, really.

496
00:30:21,320 –> 00:30:23,480
Actually, you’ll have to have
the Holy Spirit power that comes

497
00:30:23,480 –> 00:30:25,400
in and it helps us to
understand.

498
00:30:26,040 –> 00:30:28,680
What does that tell you?
Well, don’t expect to read the

499
00:30:28,680 –> 00:30:30,680
Bible and believe it and
understand it.

500
00:30:30,920 –> 00:30:33,360
It’s too hard.
People with the Holy Spirit will

501
00:30:33,360 –> 00:30:36,800
be able to explain it to us.
It’s a very dangerous philosophy

502
00:30:36,960 –> 00:30:40,480
because it closes the Bible to
people’s ability to say, oh,

503
00:30:40,520 –> 00:30:43,520
read the Bible, you believe.
It’s really simple.

504
00:30:43,520 –> 00:30:47,720
Abraham doesn’t say in Genesis,
Abraham received the Spirit

505
00:30:47,720 –> 00:30:49,520
coming down and it made him
believe.

506
00:30:50,320 –> 00:30:53,480
It says God spoke.
Did Abraham believe them?

507
00:30:53,760 –> 00:30:55,960
It’s that simple.
And God counted that for

508
00:30:55,960 –> 00:30:59,040
righteousness.
So the concept of faith comes to

509
00:30:59,200 –> 00:31:02,000
us believing what God actually
says.

510
00:31:03,640 –> 00:31:08,000
OK, let’s move on.
I’ll just keep an eye on the

511
00:31:08,000 –> 00:31:10,080
time there.
What time, brother Danny, do we

512
00:31:10,080 –> 00:31:14,400
have to finish on the hour?
Is it 11:00?

513
00:31:14,400 –> 00:31:17,080
Oh, yes.
OK, good.

514
00:31:17,240 –> 00:31:19,200
Thank you.
Brother Daniel pointed out that

515
00:31:19,200 –> 00:31:22,000
there’s a clock sitting on the
chair there, which is quite

516
00:31:22,000 –> 00:31:24,680
helpful to actually see as
opposed to tapping my watch a

517
00:31:24,680 –> 00:31:27,960
few times to to see what it was
actually telling me.

518
00:31:28,520 –> 00:31:31,440
OK, so when we hear confusion on
the subject, it’s actually

519
00:31:31,440 –> 00:31:33,360
because people merge these two
together.

520
00:31:34,040 –> 00:31:37,040
Now once we get that right,
there’s a whole lot of things

521
00:31:37,040 –> 00:31:40,560
start dropping into place, quite
simply in Scripture, and we

522
00:31:40,560 –> 00:31:43,920
start to realize that there are
spheres of operation or time

523
00:31:43,920 –> 00:31:48,840
periods when God’s Holy Spirit
power was active to do certain

524
00:31:48,840 –> 00:31:50,960
things at specific points in
time.

525
00:31:52,280 –> 00:31:55,800
So there are some aspects of the
work of the Spirit which are

526
00:31:55,800 –> 00:31:59,280
continuing, which have been
working all through history.

527
00:31:59,800 –> 00:32:03,200
So, for example, we talk about
God’s Spirit that sustains life.

528
00:32:03,960 –> 00:32:07,160
Well, thankfully that’s been a
continual process.

529
00:32:08,080 –> 00:32:11,560
So when we read in Job 34 verse
14, if He set his heart upon man

530
00:32:11,560 –> 00:32:14,520
and gathered to himself, his
Spirit or ruach, all flesh would

531
00:32:14,520 –> 00:32:17,600
perish together.
Thankfully, God’s Spirit has

532
00:32:17,600 –> 00:32:21,600
continued its work down through
history of keeping men and women

533
00:32:21,600 –> 00:32:24,720
like us alive.
So it’s a continual application

534
00:32:24,920 –> 00:32:28,360
of God’s Spirit.
Similarly, the obligation to

535
00:32:28,360 –> 00:32:31,600
walk after the spirit rather
than after the flesh is an

536
00:32:31,600 –> 00:32:35,000
obligation that sat there with
all the faithful from Adam all

537
00:32:35,000 –> 00:32:38,600
the way onwards through till now
to be spiritually minded.

538
00:32:38,600 –> 00:32:41,520
Romans 8 has has some beautiful
passages.

539
00:32:41,520 –> 00:32:44,040
We’ve already looked at some of
those and we will again in our

540
00:32:44,040 –> 00:32:47,960
studies which talk about the
being led by the Spirit of God.

541
00:32:48,680 –> 00:32:51,760
But in contrast, there’s been
other manifestations of God’s

542
00:32:51,760 –> 00:32:55,440
Spirit which have been for
particular periods of time for

543
00:32:55,440 –> 00:32:58,880
particular purposes.
Now that should be intuitively

544
00:32:58,880 –> 00:33:02,720
self obvious.
We don’t have a Tabernacle.

545
00:33:04,240 –> 00:33:07,560
Where God’s?
Presence and Glory actually

546
00:33:07,560 –> 00:33:12,720
dwells in the Most Holy place,
and where His power is seen in a

547
00:33:12,720 –> 00:33:16,960
pillar of fire and a pillar of
cloud to lead us in the way.

548
00:33:17,840 –> 00:33:22,040
Likewise, we don’t have the Lord
Jesus Christ full of the Holy

549
00:33:22,040 –> 00:33:25,680
Spirit personally walking
between the towns of this

550
00:33:25,680 –> 00:33:30,480
country, preaching and doing
miracles as a witness to the

551
00:33:30,480 –> 00:33:34,800
veracity of His words.
For both of those were very

552
00:33:34,800 –> 00:33:39,200
powerful manifestations of God’s
Spirit at specific times in the

553
00:33:39,200 –> 00:33:41,720
past.
We’ll take the example of the

554
00:33:41,720 –> 00:33:45,040
prophets now.
The prophets clearly spoke under

555
00:33:45,040 –> 00:33:47,880
inspiration.
They had the Holy Spirit power

556
00:33:47,880 –> 00:33:51,240
of God, the ability to do things
which was not naturally

557
00:33:51,240 –> 00:33:54,560
available.
And not only did they actually

558
00:33:54,560 –> 00:33:58,680
teach in Israel and explain to
them the word of God, but they

559
00:33:58,680 –> 00:34:01,400
were also used by God to
complete the Canon of scripture.

560
00:34:01,680 –> 00:34:04,400
Where would be be if the words
of Isaiah hadn’t been written

561
00:34:04,400 –> 00:34:08,320
down, or Ezekiel, or Daniel, or
Jeremiah or any of the prophets.

562
00:34:08,560 –> 00:34:12,520
So they were also used by God
under inspiration to actually

563
00:34:12,520 –> 00:34:16,639
complete the Canon of Scripture.
You know, after the prophet

564
00:34:16,639 –> 00:34:21,920
Zechariah in Malachi, there was
a period of some 400 years.

565
00:34:22,080 –> 00:34:25,199
It’s called the inter Testament
period between the Old Testament

566
00:34:25,520 –> 00:34:28,320
and the New where there were no
prophets.

567
00:34:29,920 –> 00:34:32,560
Now that shouldn’t come as a
surprise to us because Israel

568
00:34:32,560 –> 00:34:35,840
had been told that that would be
the case.

569
00:34:36,199 –> 00:34:42,280
So Micah 3 verse 6 Therefore
night shall be unto you, that

570
00:34:42,280 –> 00:34:46,960
you shall not have a vision, and
it shall be dark unto you, that

571
00:34:46,960 –> 00:34:51,159
ye shall not divine.
And the sun shall go down over

572
00:34:51,159 –> 00:34:54,960
the prophets, and the day shall
be dark over them.

573
00:34:55,440 –> 00:34:56,719
And that’s exactly what
happened.

574
00:34:57,560 –> 00:35:01,840
So there’s a 400 year period
where there were no prophets

575
00:35:01,880 –> 00:35:06,600
speaking under inspiration.
Yet 400 years later.

576
00:35:07,280 –> 00:35:10,960
In the 1st century, suddenly
once again there were prophets.

577
00:35:11,480 –> 00:35:15,120
Actually the gift of prophecy
was one of the specific gifts of

578
00:35:15,120 –> 00:35:18,120
the Holy Spirit that was given
and as we’ll see probably

579
00:35:18,120 –> 00:35:22,000
tomorrow, it was actually the
second highest ranking role, if

580
00:35:22,000 –> 00:35:24,840
you could use that expression.
In the 1st century ecclesias,

581
00:35:25,040 –> 00:35:31,840
God hath said over them first
apostles, secondarily prophets.

582
00:35:32,240 –> 00:35:34,840
That’s in first of Corinthians
12 verse 28.

583
00:35:35,600 –> 00:35:39,400
And yet somewhat obviously we
don’t have spirit guided

584
00:35:39,400 –> 00:35:42,560
prophets today.
So you can see the way in which

585
00:35:42,560 –> 00:35:46,680
those powers from God were given
to people at specific periods of

586
00:35:46,680 –> 00:35:49,560
time for certain things.
Now the same applies of course

587
00:35:49,560 –> 00:35:51,840
to power of miracles.
They were seen in the life of

588
00:35:51,840 –> 00:35:54,280
Moses.
We have prophets like Elisha

589
00:35:54,320 –> 00:35:58,040
able to do miracles and Elijah.
There were no miracles in the

590
00:35:58,040 –> 00:36:00,600
400 year period between the Old
and New Testament.

591
00:36:00,920 –> 00:36:03,720
Suddenly in the days of the Lord
Jesus Christ and the apostles,

592
00:36:03,800 –> 00:36:06,880
there was an enormous number of
miracles because the power of

593
00:36:06,880 –> 00:36:10,360
the Holy Spirit was given to men
and women to speak in tongues

594
00:36:10,360 –> 00:36:13,160
particularly, but also to men to
do these miracles in their

595
00:36:13,160 –> 00:36:17,400
preaching of the truth.
And it’s powerfully self-evident

596
00:36:17,440 –> 00:36:22,520
that the Spirit power to do
miracles is not even today.

597
00:36:24,400 –> 00:36:26,680
So if we step back it.
Simply tells us that there are

598
00:36:26,680 –> 00:36:30,200
elements of God’s Spirit which
were manifested in different

599
00:36:30,200 –> 00:36:34,240
ways in different epochs and
time for particular periods.

600
00:36:34,600 –> 00:36:38,280
And that’s key to understanding
the work of the Spirit through

601
00:36:38,280 –> 00:36:42,240
Scripture and through history.
And one of our objectives in our

602
00:36:42,240 –> 00:36:45,960
next few studies is to
understand why the Holy Spirit

603
00:36:46,000 –> 00:36:49,720
power was given at particular
times in history.

604
00:36:50,920 –> 00:36:53,840
Now this is just for.
Illustration purposes, but here

605
00:36:53,840 –> 00:36:58,120
are some examples of times where
there were spectacular

606
00:36:58,360 –> 00:37:01,800
outpourings of the work of the
Holy Spirit, power, obviously

607
00:37:01,800 –> 00:37:04,040
creation and we’ll look at that
again shortly.

608
00:37:04,840 –> 00:37:08,480
But the birth of the nation was
an extremely important time, the

609
00:37:08,480 –> 00:37:12,880
time of Moses and the setting up
of of Israel as a as a, as a

610
00:37:12,880 –> 00:37:14,800
nation.
We’ll look at that again in a

611
00:37:14,800 –> 00:37:17,320
few minutes.
The time of the birth of Christ

612
00:37:17,320 –> 00:37:20,320
and the establishment of the new
ecclesias was again a time where

613
00:37:20,320 –> 00:37:24,200
there was this burst of activity
of the Holy Spirit power for

614
00:37:24,200 –> 00:37:27,440
particular reasons, obviously,
the return of Christ in the

615
00:37:27,440 –> 00:37:29,960
Kingdom.
We will see that on earth again.

616
00:37:30,320 –> 00:37:32,480
That doesn’t mean, by the way,
that there weren’t prophets

617
00:37:32,480 –> 00:37:35,280
through that time period that
had the Holy Spirit by way of

618
00:37:35,280 –> 00:37:37,200
inspiration or Elisha and so
forth.

619
00:37:37,440 –> 00:37:41,520
But these are epochs in history
where there were spectacular

620
00:37:41,760 –> 00:37:45,240
manifestations of the Holy
Spirit, and one of those was in

621
00:37:45,240 –> 00:37:48,920
the 1st century, and they were
told explicitly that that

622
00:37:48,920 –> 00:37:52,720
manifestation of the Holy Spirit
was going to be withdrawal.

623
00:37:52,960 –> 00:37:55,520
So I just want to try and convey
to us, brothers and sisters, the

624
00:37:55,520 –> 00:37:57,480
fact that there are the Holy
Spirit.

625
00:37:57,480 –> 00:38:00,880
Power of God is given
selectively to enable

626
00:38:00,880 –> 00:38:04,760
supernatural or unnatural things
to be done when God has

627
00:38:05,000 –> 00:38:08,080
particular purposes in mind.
And hopefully as we go through

628
00:38:08,080 –> 00:38:12,720
our studies, we’ll see why that
was necessary at these these

629
00:38:12,720 –> 00:38:16,440
fulcrum points of history, these
enormously important turning

630
00:38:16,440 –> 00:38:19,160
points in history.
All right, let’s start with the

631
00:38:19,160 –> 00:38:23,360
first of those, Genesis.
Genesis Chapter.

632
00:38:23,360 –> 00:38:27,560
One, we talked about the Spirit
of God moving upon the face of

633
00:38:27,560 –> 00:38:30,880
the waters and I used the
expression yesterday, the Spirit

634
00:38:30,880 –> 00:38:35,600
of God brooding upon the face of
the waters, the ruler or the

635
00:38:35,600 –> 00:38:39,360
Spirit of God.
The word movement is the spirit

636
00:38:39,360 –> 00:38:43,680
moved upon the face of the
waters is the Hebrew word rakaf,

637
00:38:44,720 –> 00:38:53,800
RACHAPH rakaf and it means to
shake or to flutter like a Boo.

638
00:38:55,120 –> 00:38:56,240
It’s.
OK, that’s.

639
00:38:56,240 –> 00:38:58,600
Interesting.
So what’s being conveyed when we

640
00:38:58,600 –> 00:39:02,600
think of this, this sphere of,
of the round globe with no

641
00:39:02,600 –> 00:39:06,560
structure, no shape, it’s just
round ball and we think of the

642
00:39:06,560 –> 00:39:11,000
water and we think of this, this
energy field of God’s Spirit

643
00:39:11,000 –> 00:39:15,040
that’s just just brooding or
hovering over the face of the

644
00:39:15,040 –> 00:39:16,720
waters.
Now, I don’t know about you, but

645
00:39:16,720 –> 00:39:20,880
in my mind that looks like this,
this really incredible latent

646
00:39:20,880 –> 00:39:24,920
scene of energy ready to explode
into the creative work.

647
00:39:25,200 –> 00:39:28,520
And I can just see this in the
darkness of the inky blackness

648
00:39:28,520 –> 00:39:33,040
of space, the sphere upon which
the Spirit of God is just

649
00:39:33,040 –> 00:39:35,120
sitting there, hovering, ready
to move.

650
00:39:36,320 –> 00:39:41,880
But the word rakaath is next
used in Deuteronomy 32, and it’s

651
00:39:41,880 –> 00:39:46,280
Speaking of God himself.
As the eagle.

652
00:39:46,440 –> 00:39:51,280
Stirs up her nest and fluttereth
Rakaath over her young,

653
00:39:51,920 –> 00:39:55,920
spreading abroad her wings, and
takes them and bears them on her

654
00:39:55,920 –> 00:39:58,560
wings.
God says that’s what he does

655
00:39:58,760 –> 00:40:03,520
with his people, Israel.
So what’s now being?

656
00:40:03,520 –> 00:40:09,120
Covered is this idea of a bird
that’s protecting its young.

657
00:40:09,280 –> 00:40:13,160
That’s the next use of this word
rakaf, that’s used of the

658
00:40:13,160 –> 00:40:16,520
spirit.
And so then we have.

659
00:40:16,520 –> 00:40:20,320
A theme that develops in
scripture of God as the eagle

660
00:40:20,640 –> 00:40:23,720
caring for the young.
So we have a series of beautiful

661
00:40:23,720 –> 00:40:25,960
passages.
Exodus 19.

662
00:40:25,960 –> 00:40:30,960
He bare them on eagle’s wings.
Or Psalm 91, He covered them

663
00:40:30,960 –> 00:40:34,240
with his feathers, and under his
wings they came to trust.

664
00:40:35,120 –> 00:40:40,800
Or Ruth came to trust under the
shelter of his wings in Ruth 2,

665
00:40:40,800 –> 00:40:45,240
verse 12, or in Psalm 17.
Those who put their trust in God

666
00:40:45,960 –> 00:40:50,200
can hide under the shadow of His
wings.

667
00:40:52,000 –> 00:40:56,480
And when we say they?
Actually make that we.

668
00:40:58,360 –> 00:40:59,360
Because when we’re talking about
the.

669
00:40:59,360 –> 00:41:02,160
Spirit of God, which was wrapped
around the earth, about to

670
00:41:02,160 –> 00:41:05,040
create that creative process and
start that process.

671
00:41:05,040 –> 00:41:09,720
That’s the way in which God
cares for His creative beings.

672
00:41:10,680 –> 00:41:13,960
It’s the work that He’s doing
with His creation.

673
00:41:15,080 –> 00:41:16,400
You know, we looked the other
day, brothers.

674
00:41:16,400 –> 00:41:19,040
This is the fact that God is
everywhere present by His

675
00:41:19,040 –> 00:41:22,160
Spirit, Brother Robert said.
Oh, as the releasing that comes

676
00:41:22,160 –> 00:41:23,480
from that, we say, well, yes
there is.

677
00:41:23,760 –> 00:41:26,640
He can see every thought.
I think he, he’s there all the

678
00:41:26,640 –> 00:41:28,160
time.
We’re never hidden from God.

679
00:41:28,160 –> 00:41:30,240
He, he hears and sees
everything.

680
00:41:30,520 –> 00:41:33,400
And that’s true.
But what else does it say?

681
00:41:36,560 –> 00:41:44,400
It says we’re never alone.
We’re never alone in times of

682
00:41:44,400 –> 00:41:51,800
sadness or loneliness, in times
of anxiety or hurt.

683
00:41:52,960 –> 00:41:56,160
If God’s everywhere present, why
His Spirit?

684
00:41:56,760 –> 00:42:01,360
We are never alone.
And here in the.

685
00:42:01,360 –> 00:42:05,080
Way in which the Spirit is
described as hovering like a

686
00:42:05,080 –> 00:42:07,240
bird upon the face of the
waters.

687
00:42:07,240 –> 00:42:12,640
What it conveys to us is the way
in which God was going to work

688
00:42:12,640 –> 00:42:16,240
through the creation process to
create men and women and earth,

689
00:42:16,560 –> 00:42:19,720
which would be full of the
knowledge of the glory of Yahweh

690
00:42:19,720 –> 00:42:22,520
in the same way that the Lord
has covered the seas.

691
00:42:24,080 –> 00:42:26,480
And as we see, the way in which.
These things are developed in

692
00:42:26,480 –> 00:42:27,960
Scripture.
We start to realize that

693
00:42:27,960 –> 00:42:32,560
actually the Spirit of God is
not just an abstract force.

694
00:42:33,360 –> 00:42:37,240
It’s guided by God.
It is him at work.

695
00:42:38,440 –> 00:42:41,920
And therefore what we actually.
See is the care and the work of

696
00:42:41,920 –> 00:42:46,120
the Almighty.
All right at that point.

697
00:42:46,160 –> 00:42:49,920
It’s worth pausing to consider
the character of the Spirit.

698
00:42:49,920 –> 00:42:52,840
When we talk about the Spirit
hovering like an eagle and and

699
00:42:52,840 –> 00:42:56,560
we see that it’s an attribute of
God actually caring, it raises a

700
00:42:56,560 –> 00:43:01,280
question about the Spirit.
Is the spirit a caring thing?

701
00:43:02,560 –> 00:43:05,400
Does it have its own independent
character?

702
00:43:05,800 –> 00:43:10,200
Is it a moral power?
Does the spirit itself feel?

703
00:43:10,920 –> 00:43:14,120
Look at these couple of
passages, Ephesians 4 verse 30,

704
00:43:14,120 –> 00:43:17,720
Grieve not the Holy Spirit of
God, whereby you sealed

705
00:43:17,840 –> 00:43:21,320
redemption, or Acts 5 verse 9
And Peter said unto her, How is

706
00:43:21,320 –> 00:43:24,560
it that you’ve agreed together
to tempt, which obviously means

707
00:43:24,560 –> 00:43:27,400
an necessary idea to test the
Holy Spirit.

708
00:43:28,840 –> 00:43:30,120
So does that mean that the
Spirit.

709
00:43:30,120 –> 00:43:32,760
Has feelings that it can
actually be grieved.

710
00:43:34,520 –> 00:43:37,760
And that’s where it’s really
important for us to come back to

711
00:43:37,800 –> 00:43:41,200
our fundamentals again.
And shortly we’ll see why this

712
00:43:41,200 –> 00:43:44,600
is absolutely essential.
Remember the instructor

713
00:43:44,600 –> 00:43:50,160
question, is God separate and
different from the Spirit of

714
00:43:50,160 –> 00:43:51,920
God?
And the answer is no.

715
00:43:52,560 –> 00:43:55,000
God and his spirit cannot be
separated.

716
00:43:55,400 –> 00:43:57,440
They’re both one.
It’s the sun and the light that

717
00:43:57,440 –> 00:44:00,320
comes from the sun of 1.
So God and the spirit that comes

718
00:44:00,320 –> 00:44:05,000
from God are both 1.
So what’s that actually telling

719
00:44:05,000 –> 00:44:07,480
us?
Well, it’s telling us that when

720
00:44:07,480 –> 00:44:11,600
we speak of the Spirit hovering
like an eagle, when we speak of

721
00:44:11,600 –> 00:44:15,800
the Spirit being grieved, we’re
actually talking about God

722
00:44:15,800 –> 00:44:17,960
himself.
It’s not like the Spirit is a

723
00:44:17,960 –> 00:44:21,040
separate being running around
with its own feelings like some

724
00:44:21,040 –> 00:44:24,000
separate creature, which, by the
way, is what the Trinity

725
00:44:24,000 –> 00:44:27,600
teaches.
No, it’s actually an expression

726
00:44:27,880 –> 00:44:31,720
of God’s thinking himself.
And so Brother Edward Whitaker

727
00:44:31,720 –> 00:44:34,480
and Brother Reg Carr in their
book on the Spirit, talk about

728
00:44:34,560 –> 00:44:36,400
autonomy.
You know what autonomy is?

729
00:44:36,400 –> 00:44:38,720
It’s when, when?
Well, in fact, let me read it.

730
00:44:39,400 –> 00:44:43,240
Since the Holy Spirit is not a
person, it could not, of course,

731
00:44:43,240 –> 00:44:47,560
be grieved in a personal sense
by the figure of speech, an

732
00:44:47,560 –> 00:44:51,120
autonomy, the phrase the Holy
Spirit stands for God.

733
00:44:52,360 –> 00:44:56,040
So when the Holy Spirit guides
them to do something like the

734
00:44:56,040 –> 00:44:59,200
Holy Spirit LED Jesus into the,
it’s the work of God.

735
00:45:00,320 –> 00:45:03,840
When I talked about don’t grieve
the holy, don’t grieve God.

736
00:45:03,840 –> 00:45:06,320
So the phrase the Holy Spirit
there, it’s talking about God

737
00:45:06,400 –> 00:45:09,440
and his energy.
You can’t separate the two from

738
00:45:09,440 –> 00:45:11,480
them.
And so the phrase Holy Spirit

739
00:45:11,480 –> 00:45:16,080
stands for God himself, whose
spirit power was the medium of

740
00:45:16,120 –> 00:45:18,520
miraculous ministry in the
ecclesia.

741
00:45:18,720 –> 00:45:22,680
So we can’t actually separate
between the Spirit and God

742
00:45:22,680 –> 00:45:24,880
himself.
It is not some sort of material,

743
00:45:24,880 –> 00:45:30,440
mysterious, independent spirit
which works independent of God,

744
00:45:30,440 –> 00:45:34,960
and that’s critical.
Because the subject.

745
00:45:34,960 –> 00:45:38,680
Of the Spirit.
Every few decades it raises its

746
00:45:38,680 –> 00:45:42,360
head again in the Brotherhood.
And it is again today.

747
00:45:42,480 –> 00:45:46,320
In different parts of the
ecclesial world we see people

748
00:45:46,320 –> 00:45:49,320
starting to write more about how
God’s Spirit needs to come into

749
00:45:49,320 –> 00:45:51,480
me, to help me understand, to
help me believe.

750
00:45:52,320 –> 00:45:54,600
In fact, it’s interesting and
it’s quite, it’s quite.

751
00:45:55,080 –> 00:46:00,040
It slips in very quickly, so we
ask for God to bless our

752
00:46:00,040 –> 00:46:04,200
meeting.
Should we ask for God?

753
00:46:04,200 –> 00:46:08,800
To give words of wisdom to the
brother giving the exhort, no.

754
00:46:10,960 –> 00:46:13,400
Because God’s not going to.
Inject words of wisdom.

755
00:46:14,880 –> 00:46:17,400
What we’re asking for.
Is for God’s blessing to be upon

756
00:46:17,400 –> 00:46:21,200
the meeting and for our brother
to be speaking to us from the

757
00:46:21,200 –> 00:46:23,360
Word and for the Word to open
our hearts and mind.

758
00:46:23,360 –> 00:46:27,640
But God is not going to put
extra words into the brother

759
00:46:27,640 –> 00:46:31,400
that he wouldn’t naturally have
said because that is the Holy

760
00:46:31,400 –> 00:46:35,160
Spirit power.
So you can see how we’ve

761
00:46:35,240 –> 00:46:38,840
actually got to be quite careful
about this the subject and where

762
00:46:38,840 –> 00:46:41,960
it starts creeping in us as our
community uses more and more

763
00:46:41,960 –> 00:46:46,840
Christian songs or Christian
song books, you find the stuff

764
00:46:46,840 –> 00:46:49,320
is rife.
So the Praise the Lord’s

765
00:46:49,320 –> 00:46:51,400
Songbook is being used by a
number of ecclesias in New

766
00:46:51,400 –> 00:46:54,040
Zealand for worship in the
Sunday morning meetings.

767
00:46:54,040 –> 00:46:57,280
The Praise the Lord’s Songbook
is a conglomeration of Christian

768
00:46:57,280 –> 00:47:01,320
songs, and some of them are
truly terrible.

769
00:47:02,600 –> 00:47:05,120
Because they openly.
Speak about the Holy Spirit

770
00:47:05,120 –> 00:47:06,680
coming in and doing various
things in us.

771
00:47:06,920 –> 00:47:09,880
They’re being still quiet, but
the Holy Spirit’s moving in this

772
00:47:09,880 –> 00:47:12,400
place to heal and restore us.
The minister is Grace.

773
00:47:14,040 –> 00:47:16,280
So actually we.
Need to be vigilant on this

774
00:47:16,280 –> 00:47:18,600
particular topic.
Very, very careful about the

775
00:47:18,640 –> 00:47:21,720
origins of our music.
And so with our hymn book, which

776
00:47:21,720 –> 00:47:24,360
has its origins with the
Brotherhood over the last 150

777
00:47:24,360 –> 00:47:29,200
years, our Brotherhood has been
extremely careful in.

778
00:47:29,200 –> 00:47:31,600
Terms of the hymns.
Which they would accept from

779
00:47:31,880 –> 00:47:35,080
from society as a whole.
In effect, they modified a

780
00:47:35,080 –> 00:47:39,640
number of them exactly to remove
some of these specific elements.

781
00:47:39,640 –> 00:47:41,760
So it’s something we actually
need to be careful of.

782
00:47:42,080 –> 00:47:45,280
Don’t, don’t take it for granted
and just ignore it.

783
00:47:45,400 –> 00:47:48,160
It’s something we need to be
vigilant on in terms of our

784
00:47:48,160 –> 00:47:51,960
meaning and understanding.
All right, OK, we’ve got a few

785
00:47:51,960 –> 00:47:54,000
minutes left.
I’d like to look at this next

786
00:47:54,000 –> 00:47:58,640
epoch of the of this outpouring
and an extraordinary way of

787
00:47:58,640 –> 00:48:02,600
God’s Holy Spirit power.
And that was the time when the

788
00:48:02,600 –> 00:48:05,280
nation was brought together as a
whole.

789
00:48:07,560 –> 00:48:08,920
Because if you think.
About it.

790
00:48:08,920 –> 00:48:11,680
The bringing of Israel out of
Egypt was one of those

791
00:48:11,680 –> 00:48:14,080
extraordinary turning points in
history.

792
00:48:14,600 –> 00:48:18,360
It’s when the purpose of God
moved from working with a man of

793
00:48:18,360 –> 00:48:22,240
faith, Abraham and his immediate
family, Isaac and Jacob, Jacob’s

794
00:48:22,240 –> 00:48:26,200
twelve sons, to now incorporate
a whole multitude and to

795
00:48:26,200 –> 00:48:30,560
constitute them as a nation.
So, So God’s work with the human

796
00:48:30,560 –> 00:48:34,240
race is now working with an
entire nation of individuals.

797
00:48:35,320 –> 00:48:38,920
It’s the point in time where
God’s purpose with the land of

798
00:48:38,920 –> 00:48:41,200
Israel began to come to
fruition.

799
00:48:42,360 –> 00:48:45,560
A place that Yahweh.
Thy God has chosen to set his

800
00:48:45,560 –> 00:48:48,440
name there, and yet it had been
full of the Amalekites and the

801
00:48:48,440 –> 00:48:51,200
Amorites full of iniquity.
He was going to cleanse that

802
00:48:51,200 –> 00:48:54,560
land and establish His covenant
people in that land.

803
00:48:54,840 –> 00:48:58,000
An incredibly important time
period in the history of the

804
00:48:58,000 –> 00:49:00,120
world.
This was the point when the

805
00:49:00,120 –> 00:49:03,480
Mosaic system of things, the
whole Law of Moses and all of

806
00:49:03,480 –> 00:49:06,360
the worship associated with the
Law of Moses was to be

807
00:49:06,360 –> 00:49:08,440
instituted.
You know, the Law of Moses

808
00:49:08,440 –> 00:49:12,880
lasted for more than a millennia
in terms of defining worship

809
00:49:12,920 –> 00:49:16,240
with Israel, over 1200 years or
thereabouts.

810
00:49:16,800 –> 00:49:20,120
And so the concept of
establishing a whole system of

811
00:49:20,120 –> 00:49:25,320
worship also took place in the
time of the Exodus.

812
00:49:26,480 –> 00:49:29,480
The Mosaic heaven and earth was
going to then run until it was

813
00:49:29,480 –> 00:49:32,840
replaced by the the new covenant
in God’s own Son.

814
00:49:33,080 –> 00:49:37,080
So truly this was one of those
fulcrum points of history.

815
00:49:37,400 –> 00:49:41,400
And so, not surprisingly, it was
a time when the spirit power of

816
00:49:41,520 –> 00:49:44,520
God was revealed in spectacular
ways.

817
00:49:46,120 –> 00:49:48,800
Now I.
Asked the young people if they

818
00:49:48,800 –> 00:49:52,720
could think of different ways in
which God’s power was revealed

819
00:49:52,720 –> 00:49:54,240
at that time.
And of course, they came up with

820
00:49:54,240 –> 00:49:56,720
all sorts which I hadn’t thought
of in my list.

821
00:49:56,960 –> 00:49:59,440
They mentioned the burning Bush
that wasn’t conjuged, I think.

822
00:49:59,480 –> 00:50:01,600
Well, yeah.
Another one of them, one of the

823
00:50:01,600 –> 00:50:04,200
young girls mentioned, oh,
sandals that never wore out.

824
00:50:04,960 –> 00:50:07,160
Think, well, yeah, that’s not
normal.

825
00:50:08,560 –> 00:50:11,640
I mentioned many parents would
be delighted if they could put

826
00:50:11,920 –> 00:50:14,240
shoes on their children that
were never going to wear out for

827
00:50:14,240 –> 00:50:17,760
decades.
So these were unusual things

828
00:50:18,080 –> 00:50:19,640
where God’s spirit power was
involved.

829
00:50:19,640 –> 00:50:22,600
We think of of miracles, you
know, not too many people can

830
00:50:22,600 –> 00:50:25,040
take a stick and throw it on the
ground and have it become a

831
00:50:25,040 –> 00:50:27,960
serpent and then pick it up
again and suddenly it’s a rod

832
00:50:27,960 –> 00:50:29,720
again.
Or put their hand inside their

833
00:50:29,720 –> 00:50:32,640
cloak and pull it out and it’s
now full of leprosy and put it

834
00:50:32,640 –> 00:50:34,720
back in again and bring it out
and now it’s not.

835
00:50:34,720 –> 00:50:39,240
But we think of the plagues
themselves and then we think of

836
00:50:39,240 –> 00:50:42,760
the parting of the Red Sea, that
these were enormous outpourings

837
00:50:42,920 –> 00:50:46,160
of God’s spirit power in an
extraordinary way.

838
00:50:47,560 –> 00:50:50,040
But it also happened more.
Personally, in terms of the Holy

839
00:50:50,040 –> 00:50:54,000
Spirit gifts being given to
people, actually just before we

840
00:50:54,000 –> 00:50:57,960
go to those, listen to this
Exodus 15.

841
00:50:58,240 –> 00:51:00,520
Exodus 15, verse 8 is the song
of Moses.

842
00:51:01,160 –> 00:51:04,960
So this is the song recording
the triumph of going through the

843
00:51:04,960 –> 00:51:07,680
Red Sea.
Exodus 15, verse 8.

844
00:51:07,840 –> 00:51:10,840
With the blast of thy nostrils,
the waters were gathered

845
00:51:10,840 –> 00:51:13,440
together, the flood stood
upright as in heap, and the

846
00:51:13,440 –> 00:51:15,640
depths were congealed in the
hearts of the sea.

847
00:51:15,840 –> 00:51:20,080
When it sees with the blast of
thy nostrils, the word blast is

848
00:51:20,080 –> 00:51:22,880
ruach.
With the breath of.

849
00:51:22,880 –> 00:51:27,040
Thy nostrils, or again that its
blow with thy wind.

850
00:51:27,240 –> 00:51:30,680
Ruach and the sea covered them.
They sank as lead in the mighty

851
00:51:30,680 –> 00:51:33,240
waters.
Exodus 15, verse 10.

852
00:51:33,480 –> 00:51:36,920
So yes, the Holy Spirit power
was revealed in some spectacular

853
00:51:36,920 –> 00:51:40,760
ways, but I’d like you to come
with me to Numbers 11 because

854
00:51:40,760 –> 00:51:43,760
what we find is, is what we
think of as more convincingly.

855
00:51:43,760 –> 00:51:48,480
The Holy Spirit gifts were also
given out to people as well.

856
00:51:48,760 –> 00:51:51,800
Numbers Chapter 11.
So it’s, it’s very similar to

857
00:51:51,800 –> 00:51:55,520
the 1st century in that there’s
some, some extraordinary things

858
00:51:55,520 –> 00:51:59,080
being established here, a major
change in how God worked with

859
00:51:59,080 –> 00:52:01,480
his people.
And so the Spirit gifts were

860
00:52:01,480 –> 00:52:03,920
poured out rather extraordinary
as well.

861
00:52:03,920 –> 00:52:08,280
So Numbers 11, Moses is
complaining about the enormous

862
00:52:08,280 –> 00:52:11,200
burden of carrying all of the
children of Israel.

863
00:52:11,200 –> 00:52:14,920
And God says, that’s fine, I
want you to take 70 elders.

864
00:52:15,160 –> 00:52:18,960
And then he says, Numbers 11
verse 17, I will come down and

865
00:52:18,960 –> 00:52:22,000
I’ll talk with you there.
He said, And I’ll take up the

866
00:52:22,000 –> 00:52:28,040
Spirit which is upon thee, and
we’ll put it upon them, and they

867
00:52:28,040 –> 00:52:31,080
shall bear the burden of the
people with thee, that thou bear

868
00:52:31,080 –> 00:52:35,280
it, not thyself alone.
Over to verse 25.

869
00:52:35,280 –> 00:52:39,520
Yahweh came down in a cloud and
spake to Moses and took of the

870
00:52:39,520 –> 00:52:44,800
Spirit that was upon him, and
gave it unto the 70 elders.

871
00:52:45,000 –> 00:52:47,880
And it came to pass that when
the Spirit rested upon them,

872
00:52:48,080 –> 00:52:50,760
they prophesied and did not
cease.

873
00:52:51,440 –> 00:52:56,360
So there is the Holy Spirit
power of God which Moses had

874
00:52:56,880 –> 00:53:01,480
being shared from Moses to the
70 elders who then had the

875
00:53:01,480 –> 00:53:05,000
Spirit of Yahweh in them for the
work that they were to do.

876
00:53:05,320 –> 00:53:07,920
And it was also illustrated by
the fact that they prophesied

877
00:53:07,920 –> 00:53:11,000
and did not cease.
So we can see there’s a very

878
00:53:11,000 –> 00:53:15,080
specific outpouring of the
spirit power of God.

879
00:53:16,000 –> 00:53:19,400
Later that spirit power was
given to Josh, to Joshua,

880
00:53:19,920 –> 00:53:23,000
Numbers 27, verse 18.
Yahweh said to Moses, Take thee,

881
00:53:23,000 –> 00:53:28,240
Joshua the son of Nun, a man in
whom is the Spirit, and lay thy

882
00:53:28,240 –> 00:53:31,320
hand upon him.
That’s Numbers 27 verse 18.

883
00:53:31,800 –> 00:53:36,120
And then by Deuteronomy 34 verse
9, Joshua the son of Nun was

884
00:53:36,120 –> 00:53:40,880
full of the spirit of wisdom,
for Moses had laid his hands

885
00:53:40,880 –> 00:53:43,680
upon him, and the children of
Israel hearkened to him.

886
00:53:43,960 –> 00:53:48,240
As Yahweh commanded Moses, so
the spirit of wisdom, again,

887
00:53:48,240 –> 00:53:51,880
that’s one of the gifts of the
Holy Spirit that’s mentioned in

888
00:53:51,880 –> 00:53:54,920
first of Corinthians 12.
And so we can see the way in

889
00:53:54,920 –> 00:53:59,600
which this the spirit power was
specifically given to men to do

890
00:53:59,600 –> 00:54:02,040
certain things at those points
in time.

891
00:54:02,360 –> 00:54:04,560
You know, the work of the Spirit
didn’t just end there.

892
00:54:04,960 –> 00:54:07,760
Another time period that was
extremely important was the

893
00:54:07,760 –> 00:54:12,240
building of the Tabernacle, the
house for God to be able to

894
00:54:12,240 –> 00:54:15,400
dwell or the tent for God to be
able to dwell in.

895
00:54:16,160 –> 00:54:21,720
And so in Exodus 31, God says,
see, I have called by name

896
00:54:22,040 –> 00:54:24,880
Bezaleel, the son of you, right,
the son of her, of the tribe of

897
00:54:24,880 –> 00:54:29,880
Judah.
And I have filled him with the

898
00:54:29,880 –> 00:54:34,040
Spirit of God in wisdom and in
understanding and in knowledge

899
00:54:34,040 –> 00:54:37,800
and in all manner of workmanship
to devise cunning works, to work

900
00:54:37,800 –> 00:54:41,280
in gold and silver and brass.
You know, it wasn’t just that

901
00:54:41,280 –> 00:54:44,640
Bezaleel had done a really
clever apprenticeship.

902
00:54:46,080 –> 00:54:50,120
And learned to be clever.
He was actually given a special

903
00:54:50,160 –> 00:54:53,720
gift by God to enable them to do
that work.

904
00:54:54,520 –> 00:54:57,760
Verse 6 And behold, I’ve given
with him the holy of the son of

905
00:54:57,760 –> 00:55:01,600
a Heisman.
And in the hearts of all that

906
00:55:01,600 –> 00:55:06,040
are wise hearted, I have put
wisdom that they may make all

907
00:55:06,200 –> 00:55:11,200
that I have commanded thee.
And so God actually gave Spirit

908
00:55:11,400 –> 00:55:16,880
guided abilities specifically to
a group of people to build the

909
00:55:16,880 –> 00:55:19,480
Tabernacle and the furniture
that was in it.

910
00:55:19,480 –> 00:55:23,000
It’s not surprising when we
think of of the beauty of what

911
00:55:23,000 –> 00:55:24,560
was there.
I would love to have been able

912
00:55:24,560 –> 00:55:28,680
to see the Caribou.
We’re just the thought of the of

913
00:55:28,680 –> 00:55:32,960
the mercy seat and the Caribou
figures all beaten out of one

914
00:55:32,960 –> 00:55:36,480
piece of gold.
How do you do that just truly

915
00:55:36,480 –> 00:55:39,640
extraordinary work.
Well that’s because those men

916
00:55:39,920 –> 00:55:43,920
were given the gifts by God of
wisdom and skill and

917
00:55:43,920 –> 00:55:47,680
understanding to be able to
actually create those rather

918
00:55:47,680 –> 00:55:52,120
extraordinary things, The hearts
of all who were wise hearted.

919
00:55:53,480 –> 00:55:55,440
We get that confirmed in Exodus
36.

920
00:55:55,440 –> 00:55:58,840
Then wrought easily on holy
heaven every wise hearted man in

921
00:55:58,840 –> 00:56:03,120
whom Yahweh put wisdom and
understanding to know how to

922
00:56:03,120 –> 00:56:07,000
work or manner of work.
Exodus 36 and verse one.

923
00:56:08,520 –> 00:56:11,760
And then the presence.
The Angel of the Presence dwelt

924
00:56:11,880 –> 00:56:13,960
there.
It was, it was visible in the in

925
00:56:13,960 –> 00:56:17,320
the pillar of fire, in the
pillar of cloud that led them

926
00:56:17,320 –> 00:56:19,560
there.
And also the glory of of this,

927
00:56:19,760 –> 00:56:22,400
of the presence of Yahweh filled
the holy place.

928
00:56:22,680 –> 00:56:27,400
So much so that it was fatal for
the high priests to go in there

929
00:56:27,600 –> 00:56:30,800
apart from the Day of Atonement.
And then there was a special

930
00:56:30,800 –> 00:56:34,320
process of ceremony they went
through before a high priest was

931
00:56:34,320 –> 00:56:37,640
allowed to go into the Most Holy
Place.

932
00:56:38,840 –> 00:56:44,000
It’s obvious this was an era of
a special outpouring of the Holy

933
00:56:44,000 –> 00:56:49,240
Spirit in all sorts of ways
because of God’s purpose at that

934
00:56:49,240 –> 00:56:53,080
particular time.
There was of course, themed.

935
00:56:53,080 –> 00:56:57,240
To be a further time in history
where God’s Holy Spirit was to

936
00:56:57,240 –> 00:57:02,320
be visibly and very directly
demonstrated on a significant

937
00:57:02,320 –> 00:57:05,840
scale.
Once again, it was going to

938
00:57:05,840 –> 00:57:11,280
involve the ushering in of a new
era because the Mosaic system of

939
00:57:11,280 –> 00:57:14,960
things was to be removed.
The Mosaic heavens and earth

940
00:57:14,960 –> 00:57:18,360
were going to be removed.
A better covenant, as it’s

941
00:57:18,360 –> 00:57:23,960
described in Hebrews 8 verse 6,
was going to replace the Mosaic

942
00:57:23,960 –> 00:57:27,120
covenant, and this was then
going to incorporate the

943
00:57:27,120 –> 00:57:30,880
greatest work of salvation of
all time as the Holy Spirit was

944
00:57:30,880 –> 00:57:33,760
manifested to Israel in the work
of His Son.

945
00:57:34,840 –> 00:57:37,280
And God willing, that will be
the subject that we look at in

946
00:57:37,280 –> 00:57:38,360
our study tomorrow.