Hope Sabbath School Lesson 4 - The Personality of the Holy Spirit (1st Qtr 2017)

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to Hope Sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the word of God I'm glad you joined us today because we're in the middle of an amazing series of studies on the Holy Spirit and spirituality our topic today the personality of the Holy Spirit there's all kinds of ideas about the Holy Spirit or no personality at all what does the Bible say it's going to be an exciting study and we have one of our team will be teaching hope Sabbath school I'll tell you a little more about that in just a minute but welcome to hope Sabbath school and welcome to our team great to be together isn't it and I'm so excited today because one of our team Jason can be teaching Hope Sabbath school and we're excited Jason because this is a vitally important topic and we're glad that you're here with us and we're always so happy to hear from you you can write to us at SS Hope at Hope tv.org and here's one from Enrique in Brazil I've noticed we're getting more and more emails from South America and Ricky says where I live there isn't an English Sabbath school but I have a dream to speak English fluently I'd like to thank you because I watch Hope sabbath-school every week and I'm learning a lot about Jesus and I improve my English too so that's a double win isn't it especially learning more about Jesus well Enrique we're glad you're part of our hopes Abbey school and God will bless you Farley going to send you as a missionary to North America or somewhere that really needs Jesus here's a note from Michael Michaels from Ghana anyone from Ghana wave Gloria and do you claim Ghanaian oh your father's from Ghana it got you okay well we just get let's get a shot we want to see you wave now wait to Michael and Gloria you wait - Michael - but but I have to tell you he said Ghanaian on the move just like you are right setting here he's in Germany and Michael writes he says I want to thank the hopes and the school team for the great job which inspires all of us who take part I'm at the Hamburg Ghanaian church in Hamburg Germany by starting watching coke Sava school and it really helps me with my studies and growing in Christ amen my request is if hope service school could be held translated in other languages well I have good news for you Michael you pray for us the good news is we've started offering closed captioning in English but we have a dream that that closed captioning in English which can help people who are hearing impaired and English second language could also be made available in all other languages around the world maybe including what are some of what to the languages in huh see I can't even save Gloria but I tried to get it right so it's not amazing we can have it in all these different languages so will you pray with us we believe the gospel of the kingdom about Jesus and God's love for us it's going to go to the whole world and then Jesus will come back here's a note from Sean in Florida in the United States anybody from Florida Oh Stephanie from Florida well I'm sure Sean would appreciate away from you he says I have struggled with addiction for 23 years and I was blessed with a restoration Center where I found God amen and I turned my life over to him a man who I've been since I've been trying to fill myself up with good things and this tells you a little about his past he says hope Sabbath school rocks well that's for those of you from another part of the world that's a way of saying hope Sabbath school is really good you guys are giving Jesus a high-five well that's another colloquial expression I think that's saying that Jesus finds joy in what's happening with Hope Sabbath school thank you you lift me up well Sean we're glad all the way from Florida you're part of Hope Sabbath school and God is obviously working by his spirit and transforming your heart we're so thankful for that one last note from Giri and I'm guessing be nekkid di N je de Nikki they are from Tasmania where's Tasmania that's an island off the south coast of the great continent of Australia right and they write and say dear hope Sabbath school team we are not seventh-day Adventists but we keep the Sabbath day of rest since finding you online we download hope SATA school every week in fact we follow the study daily we cannot wait for you to unpack the Bible study for the next Sabbath the input from the rest of the team is very rewarding helps us also to see things from a different angle and perspective as the Holy Spirit Guides our prayer is that this ministry will continue to reach people around the world no matter what denomination they are and that others will be blessed and encouraged to follow Jesus as their own personal Savior amen god bless you your families and your ministries well giri and doneck eh I hope you'll send me an email tell me how to say that name correctly but we're just delighted to see hope service crew members in the beautiful island of Tasmania and to know that Christians around the world are seeking for a closer understanding of the Word of God and a closer relationship with Jesus right now we're going to sing a scripture song it's taken from galatians chapter 5 if you've been joining us for this series on the holy spirit you've already learned it you can download the mp3 file and the sheet music from hope TV org slash hope SS our website but I know many of you learned it so let's sing it together [Music] [Music] join me - faithfulness [Music] Georgie's blocked arteries I miss goodness faithfulness gentleness self-control [Music] well I am excited about the study today on the personality of the Holy Spirit and Jason I'm excited that you're going to teach the study so why don't you lead us in prayer and let's see what the Word of God has to tell us today amen please bow your heads with me as I pray dear Heavenly Father Lord as we open your word Lord we embark on a topic that some people or many of us are confused about even those of us who have studied your word for many years Lord understanding more about who you are your character the personality of the Holy Spirit is something that we can only come to understand by knowing you and your word and having a relationship with you so lord please show us today and help us to understand new insights into this topic we ask this all in your precious and your Holy Name Amen amen the topic that we said is the personality of the Holy Spirit and so before we actually go to the word I want us to sort of think a little bit about what words what phrases what ideas come to mind when you hear hear the words personality and Holy Spirit the words or phrases what things come to mind when you hear those words you hear those phrases personality and Holy Spirit does anyone have an idea of what comes to their mind Joshua powerful powerful all right I want to hear the personality I think of a person and we all have different personalities yes and so you think of a very personal person like some people are more extroverted or introverted exactly you know or they're they're very much a part of people and in anyone else Nancy yes well in the King James Version it says it's the Holy Ghost and so some people may think of ghosts what does that have to do with the Spirit of God and so yeah so the idea of the personality of a ghost dome also as you can see this could be a topic that could be very confusing and a lot of people could get some funny ideas and so we have these ideas about personality and Holy Spirit what should we do whenever we have any ideas that we're not clear about where should we go the Bible go to the Bible go to the Word of God and so that is where we are going to go right now we're going to go to the words of Jesus in John chapter 14 verses 15 through 18 and Stephanie if you could start us out here let's see what Jesus says when he gives us a little bit of an introduction into the Holy Spirit the personality about them Stephanie John chapter 14 verses 15 through 18 all right and I'll be reading from the New King James Version if you love me keep my Commandments and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he may abide with you forever the Spirit of Truth whom the world cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him but you know him for he dwells with you and will be in you I will not leave you orphans I will come to you now there's a lot in those verses that we can unpack but before we even get into this idea of the spirit I like sort of verse 15 which tells us who who Jesus is speaking to what is who is he talking to and what is this command that he's giving to us he's giving us this command to love and to keep his Commandments now who is he saying this to is he saying this to just anyone his disciples the disciples yes and his disciples and that also applies you could say to the offering of the type of us yet the Christian Church those who are believers in him and so this is something Jesus is telling us about the Holy Spirit but he begins by saying first of all I'm giving this to those of you who are believers so that you can understand Who I am what my ministry is what my witness is and then he introduces us to this new individual and how does he describe this individual comfort another comforter another comforter and someone here hasn't understood of the Greek because the Greek word here is a louse and aloes is it means numerically distinct so they're different numbers and yet it's of the same character so there's something about it that is same but different and and there's another Greek word heteros which could have been used which means different so so this is same character but distinct and that to me I mean tells me so much because the more I learn about the character of Jesus because the other helper if I understand correctly first John - first one is Jesus he's saying in essence amazing thing he's sending someone like me right or the character of Jesus and the character the Holy Spirit they distinct but they're of one purpose yes and we and we get that idea also in verse 16 because Jesus is saying he'll bide with you forever what has Jesus been doing with the disciples at this time he's been abiding with them and even says in other places abide with me as I and you and so now he's saying this is how I can abide with you forever bringing to you this person this another comfort of the Holy Spirit Kyle I was just going to say I'm not a Greek scholar so I'm not gonna even try but tarik Latos i think is the word for comforter am i right i say looking to you eh yeah yes so okay and I think para means come alongside yeah and I like that picture because it's like it's like a person who comes alongside you to strengthen you and comfort you it's a very personal picture of like Jesus or the Holy Spirit coming right alongside to help us through the Christian walk amen and Jason if I could if I get to read one text I think it's really important in first John 2 and verse 1 yes because I grew up hearing this verse but but you use the word Parakletos Kyle that's the same word that's used here translated advocate okay it's the same word so I'm reading from the New King James Version from first John 2 verse 1 my little children these things I write to you so the you may not sin and if anyone sins we have an advocate that's Parakletos with the father but then it tells us who that Parakletos is Jesus Christ the righteous others so that's why he uses in John 14 another another because he is the first and the Holy Spirit is another comfortable and that's where we get this idea of the helper and what are some of these things that this helper does that we see in the verses here and one of the places let's go next is to the next chapter John chapter 15 verses 26 and 27 Alex if you could read that for us John chapter 15 verses 26 and 27 we're going to look through and we're going to see how Jesus describes this Parakletos this no other how another helper comforter what he does so Alex top read for us those verses fleece sure and I would be reading from the King James Version today but when the comforter is come whom I will send them to you from the father even the Spirit of Truth which proceedeth from the father he shall testify of me and he also shall bear witness because he have been with me from the beginning all right so what do we see there what is what is Jesus described this helper is doing testifying and yes Tricia Lee same thing that he did right so he said I don't come to speak my own words I come to testify of the father and similarly the Holy Spirit is not speaking to of lift himself but it's pointing to Christ who's pointing to the father so it's this very dissemble this humble attitude of always pointing back to the father I think it's a good point did Jesus also said I came from the father but he's not the father they're distinct and yet they are one he said if you've seen me you've seen the father and the father and I are one so this is this is mystery but but like you said numerically distinct but as the same character another another helper another comfort is coming and these three they all defy of one another as Trish Elise pointed out the Holy Spirit testifies of the Sun and and vice versa so they're all sort of in this relational component together which is another interesting point and personality because personality very much relates to relations and personalities often how you relate to others and so we see this relational component here that Jesus is speaking of and let's go on to the next chapter in John because Jesus again he speaks quite a bit here about the Holy Spirit and tells us a little bit more I John chapter 16 verses 13 and 14 Nicole if you could read that for us we're going to see what Jesus declares even more in John chapter 16 verses 13 and 14 about this other comforter another comforter this the Holy Spirit so John 16 verses 13 and 14 readings in the New International Version and it says but when he the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth he will not speak on his own he will speak only what he hears and he will tell you what is yet to come he will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you so whose authority is the spirit speaking in God's yes right so we have this this understanding that the God is this relational component and the Holy Spirit it doesn't have his own authority it's somehow it's part of this relational aspect with the son here because this is Jesus speaking and talking about the Spirit of Truth doesn't speak on his authority and it doesn't say Jason he doesn't have any authority right exactly speaking on his own authority actually he's he's pointing to Jesus and the authority of Jesus yes they all have authority but this Authority it seems to be some kind of relational component that continues and how it goes back and forth between them and that's why Jesus is saying here he doesn't speak on his own authority because what is his purpose his purpose is in revealing more about who Syd's want to make a point yes Trisha and I think anyone that works in an organization where you have multiple leaders or put or hierarchy and management you had those instances where you're confused you get one direction or directive for one boss then someone goes on vacation and then the assistant or the deputy says something different and then you're trying to figure out well who are we listening to or who's who who's really in charge was it the first thing we heard or the second thing we heard and so I appreciate hear that as you mentioned Pastor does everyone has authority here in the Godhead but that it's very clear as to the Spirit is specifying the Christ and in Christ has loves only testifying of things I got from the father and so it's very clear we don't have to be confused that the father told us one thing then Christ came and showed us something different and now the spirits moving me to do something completely different and so I think it's wonderful that we don't have to be confused they're all working together to just help us see a very different view of the same purpose that God has for us and that's a perfect example we have we have this heavenly leadership but unlike our earthly leadership they're perfect and they're infinity that's awesome which is not something that we have all the time in our earthly leadership so you have leadership but it's perfect and mission and purpose and it's United different we get a really neat picture of this unity in Matthew right towards the end of Jesus ministry he sort of gives a reference to this unity Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 Jamie if you could read that for us Matthew chapter 28 verses 18 through 20 we get this beautiful picture of how this unity operates sure the New Living Translation says Jesus came and told his disciples I have been given all authority in heaven and on earth therefore go and make disciples of all the nations baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit to teach these new disciples to obey all the commands I have given you and be sure of this I am with you always even to the end of the age Amen now we all heard their baptizing them then who the Father the Son and the Holy Spirit you have the perfect three the Trinity the unity right there referenced and what is the purpose of that what what is what is the verse say why are we baptizing them what what are they to go out and do disciples make disciples so this perfect unity is all about witness and mission and revealing the character of God that three and one to the world now some people have had an understanding where they think of the Holy Spirit and we mentioned this earlier as sort of not so much a being but rather this force that's not really so personal it's impersonal doesn't not very relational but when you look through these verses is that what you see here certainly not from Jesus Jesus was very much of a person and he says I'm going to ask the Father he's going to send someone like me so much are the Holy Spirit and Jesus in harmony that he says I will come to you which is kind of a mystery and even the Spirit is called the Spirit of Christ and yet the Holy Spirit would be the first to say I am NOT Jesus I am NOT being kind of son of God but there is this this is unity that is super natural yeah there's beyond us it's quite wonderful and drew some of those verses we see some behaviors in some examples that do not seem like the actions of an impersonal force and we read through the verses are there any sort of actions that you guys saw in those verses what was some Adrian you're nodding your head on one that one stood out to me was when it says the Holy Spirit would testify of Jesus an impersonal force can't testify because that requires speaking and in personal forces don't speak yeah and that's why for testify it's often a legal term and so when you want something or someone to testify you have to actually have them come in and say or show what they have seen and so we have that right here the Holy Spirit is testifying Tricia Lee I think about the aspects of being a comforter and I'm it's hard to comfort someone from a distance I mean sometimes you can't apply the phone but to comfort someone you have to just be there and touch them and you're close to them and I appreciate that aspect of the whole sports personality and comforting us and you know reinforces an important point Jason if you just read one text like you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you you could say well if that's just like electricity or something but we should look at the whole Council of God and as we do that we see very clearly that he's a person and a divine person Kyle and just I think was mentioned in a previous study that when is said that we baptize in the name of the Father Son and the Holy Spirit not the names so it's not three names for the same God it's the name of these three distinct personal beings and and so that is another indication that the Holy Spirit is his own first just like Jesus is just like God the Father Gloria I want to say that I think all hinges on the relationship we have with the Holy Spirit because when Gina was describing the Holy Spirit on what the Holy Spirit would do for us she was talking on a personal level because he's one with the Holy Spirit and so when we read the text father's things we identify with because of the experience we have the horse race others we don't identify because we haven't yet done they'll have a weak expression with the Holy Spirit will convince S or access to testify so it's just having that relationship with the whole issue in order to be able to speak of the Holy Spirit or it's a classifier poetry in a way that we resource okay another important point so we understand the Holy Spirit at the level of which we've had a relationship and an experience and some people may be newer in their walk and they may not have had that same length of time that same depth of experience but as they grow as they read as they encounter God more they will have a better understanding of the Holy Spirit and his personality amen now there are a lot of places in Scripture and I think it's good for us to look at several of these that real magnify the personal aspects of the holy spirit so we can see who the Holy Spirit is what he does how he acts and one of the first places we like to go to Paul both the Old Testament and the New Testament rymus but Paul particularly writes a lot and the book of Romans in Chapter 8 he gets into this this understanding about some of the personal aspects of the Holy Spirit and trishul II if you could read for us Romans chapter 8 verses 14 through 16 and then also read for us verse 27 we're getting here we're not focusing on these personal aspects of who the Holy Spirit is and how he interacts with us I'll be reading from the New King James Version for as many as are led by the Spirit of God these are sons of God for you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out Abba Father the Spirit Himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God verse 27 now he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is because he makes intercession for the saints according to the will of God so what do we see there what what what part of personality do we see from the Holy Spirit Elita Eric Aleta a leader RA will be led by the Spirit of God being led by the Spirit of God and I see a personal interest it says he intercedes for the Saints so again he has a relationship he's inviting us into relationship and by his action he's saying I love you like the father loves you and the son loves you and I'm interceding on your behalf and yes Joshua office and also just to add to that it says that he intercedes but only according to the will of God so the Spirit will not intercede for you if it is not the will of God you see so I know that previous in a previous lesson we discussed the idea of someone saying oh the spirit told me that I should do this well if that's not according to the will of God the spirit would never tell you to do that yes so it's again this unity of purpose you need to focus especially I like where it mentions the spirit of adoption and it sorry caller you're going to say that serious yeah I didn't I just thinking about orphans right I mean it it is the adoptive parents that go looking for a child at the orphanage it's a loving ask to go find a job that needs of parents and you know we were lost in our sins we didn't even know where to turn and here's the spirit and and and in concert with the son and the father looking for us calling us children and welcoming us and if that's not personal I don't know what else is Nicole well I thought I should be interceding because the verse before 27 was for 26 talks about even though we pray we may not even pray what we're supposed to be praying or we ought to say he translates for us so that's not personal I mean someone was coming to explain what you're trying to say there's nothing so we have a translator we have an adoptive father we have interceding all of these are very active type verbs that you would not that an impersonal force does not do these are relations of a personal being and now let's let's move on to another verse I really own at Nancy you say something real quickly right so I'm hearing all these verses and I see how he's such a personal God and he does all these wonderful things for us but I guess as an artist I would say if I were going to draw the Holy Spirit how what would he look like I mean it does he have his face can he hold my hand can he you know so I guess that sparked the humanity in us is well but what do they actually what this is look like you know Jesus I know came you know in the flesh and I could you know he held us in eager you know but when I think of the father and the Holy Spirit it's just kind of a mystery to me as to what the actual physicality regarding we might say the same thing Nancy about the son but the son to reveal Emmanuel God with us into your humanity in the person of Jesus of Nazareth so that not only would we know that the son loves us but the father and the spirit love us too so that's the gift of the Incarnation isn't in German death all right Romans 15 verse 30 and Samee so if you want to read that for us we're going to look at another quick aspect here of the Holy Spirit Romans 15 verse 30 reading from the New International Version I urge you brothers and sisters by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love of the Spirit to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me what word was associated there with the spirit love love love love that's one of the most personal emotions that can be shown and we have here that the Spirit has love let's continue on we're going quickly here through the verses 1st Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10 and Gloria if you could read that for us first Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10 we're looking a little more about the personal aspects of the Holy Spirit okay I'll be reading from the New King James Version but God has revealed them to us through his spirit for the spirit searches all things yes the deep things of God amen all right so we have they're searching deep things this can be psychological this can be intellectual so we understand God better through the spirit including the deep things again something an impersonal force would not do and now let's go to some some sort of biblical stories we've looked at them in a previous lesson but in the book of Acts there's this story of Ananias and Sapphira and there's a sad situation where there's some deception involved but it's it's interesting to look at some of the language there Acts chapter 5 verses 3 and verse 9 and Adrienne if you could read that for us Acts chapter 5 verses 3 & 9 listen to the language of how its described in relationship to the Spirit sure I'll be reading from the King James Version but Peter said Ananias why has Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost and to keep back part of the price of the land and verse 9 then Peter said unto her how is it that you have agreed together to tempt the Spirit of the Lord behold the feet of them which have buried Daihatsu are at the door and shall carry thee out so we have there lying to the Holy Spirit the version there said tempted or tested basically that you can actually engage in some sort of behavioral way with the Holy Spirit something you wouldn't be able to do with an impersonal force and then I really like this quick verse Acts chapter 8 verse 29 and Nancy if you want to read that for us Acts chapter 8 verse 29 what does the spirit do in this verse okay and it reads I'm eating from the New King James Version the spit then the spirit said to Philip don't near and overtake this chariot did you guys hear there what does the spirit do Oh Oh still evoke yes can an impersonal for speeding no it's a personal being speaking language communication is a very personal aspect and we have there the spirit speaking and then there's other verses - for the sake of time we won't go through every single one but there's an interesting part another verse is Acts chapter 28 verse 25 because so far all these verses had been from the New Testament but we know that the Spirit is not just the New Testament God is regarded the Old Testament as well as the New Testament so Acts chapter 28 verse 25 Kyle if you could read that for us what do we have here about the spirit okay acts 28 25 I'm reading from New King James Version so when they did not agree among themselves they departed after Paul had said one word the Holy Spirit spoke rightly through is isaiah the prophet to our fathers i see so what is the spirit doing here thinking he came on speaking to our father and which profit were we referencing Isaiah Isaiah and Isaiah is Old Testament prophet before about 700 years before so we can see here the Holy Spirit is speaking through the prophets of old as well as in that present time so you have you have this understanding this personal being in the Old Testament and the New Testament speaking to people prophets and all of that and I like a few other verses that really talk about the role of the Holy Spirit one in particular is 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11 and Stephanie if you could read that for us 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11 we're looking here about the spirit and the personal aspects of the Spirit what is the spirit doing here Stephanie in 1st Corinthians chapter 12 verse 11 now I'll be reading from the New King James Version but one and the same spirit works all these things distributing to each one individually as he will what is the spirit doing here distributing gifts yes oh and these are the spiritual gifts these are special blessings you could say that God has equipped people to fulfill his work and who's the one doing it the spirit the spirit from God not an impersonal being at all and distributing is a very active word so we can see here I mean if someone distributes something to you gives you something you would consider them some kind of being right some not just a force we don't really have forces that give things I mean we might see the effect of them but if you actually get some kind of gift you have a relationship with that person and it's a tailored gift it's a personal library yeah yes it's not just the same gift to everyone like you know line up and you all get the same thing because the Spirit knows us and searches the hidden things of our hearts he knows exactly what you need and exactly what I need and he gives it to us and that's a neat important point I think of you know birthdays or Christmas different holiday celebration and I know for me and maybe for you when you got a gift that you really appreciate it it was for you it meant so much more than if someone just you know gave all of you the same gift I mean it's nice you know like say when you all get some amount of money but then when you get a gift that was thought about for you and someone went that far that means something more right yeah and that's Trisha Lee's point about it's personalized it's it's tailored to you and this is got God we've read in previous lessons other verses how God has known us before we were formed and so god knows what gifts to give to us here it knows what gifts to give to us amen and we see that here and then now sort of to show that the spirit it's not just all the positive emotions Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 and Gloria if you could read that for us Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 there's another aspect of the holy spirit here that we see and what is what is the spirit here in Ephesians chapter 4 verse 30 well I stand up as we as we look at this again we're looking at different aspects of the holy spirit yes I'll be reading from the New King James Version and do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God whom you were sealed for the day of redemption what was the key word there we grieve now what what is what is grief or what it what is the action of grieving to cause sadness to someone else to hear somebody create sorrow in someone else's heart I grieve them and who's the one who can be grieved in this case the whole Holy Spirit now have we ever thought much about God whether it's God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit have we ever thought about God grieving yes we we think about God often in a very positive happy form but in this case we have here Joshua yes absolutely we can definitely grieve the Holy Spirit and grieve God all the same there's one verse in particularly that sticks out more than any in the Bible in relation to exact this it's found in Revelation chapter 14 if we could go there sure we'll add that verse right in yes you can go there and tell us the verse and then give us a minute to find it so it's Revelation chapter 14 verse 13 Revelation chapter 14 verse 13 and we're looking at this idea of the Holy Spirit of God grieving stars feeling sorrowful and the Bible says then I heard a voice from heaven saying to me write blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on yes says the spirit that they may rest from their labors and their works follow them when I read this I think about the fact that the Spirit has our best interest in mind and the decisions and the choices that we make in this life not only affects you know Jesus who we've seen throughout you know God the Father who is seen throughout but also also the Spirit who God puts within us in order to do good works is the one who also says you know choose the right way and always could be follow us now we've seen all these aspects of the Holy Spirit as a personal being divine but also personal and why is it important that we understand the Holy Spirit is a divine person instead of just a divine force what does this mean to us Gloria you had something you want to share mean to me the distinction between of understanding that the hosters is a divine person instead of a force is that now I can relate to listen I know that the Holy Spirit is reasonable but sometimes we just talk with okay the Holy Spirit can add a mascara me they don't know what I'm going to and sometimes we translate that to God and Jesus but then if you understand that the host is a divine person then you know the gel working towards the goal of salvation but they understand who you are as a person - yes Kyle I just want to add to that that's a great point sometimes when when and I don't want to say anything about a particular Christian group but some people seem to think that they can manipulate yes the Holy Spirit to do what they want and really if the spirit is just a force then I can kind of maybe control this force or make it kind of I don't know get this feeling or this experience but the Holy Spirit is so much deeper and more than that the Holy Spirit being a person is someone that I yield my life to something that works in me and so and so it's very different from a force that I can kind of try to tap into her manipulate the Holy Spirit as a personal a personal being that that I relate to and you know Jason not only like glory can I have a relationship with with the person but I can also say thank you hmm I can say I love you Holy Spirit mmm I appreciate you okay I don't know that we've done that very much especially if you view the Holy Spirit some kind of impersonal voice of God but you know when I when I hear my my child say Jesus I love you you know that brings joy to the heart of the Son of God right who came in humanity as Jesus of Nazareth to say Holy Spirit I love you thank you for your minister thank you for bringing conviction to me when I was in prison or thank you for bringing conviction to me when when I was in a terrible argument with my spouse I I just think it it just opens up a whole new depth of relationship when I recognize he's a divine person alone amen Jamie very quickly and then we'll move on oh I was actually Derek covered it I was just going to emphasize the fact that if the Holy Spirit is a being then that is someone we can have a relationship with someone we can trust someone we can speak to and guide us and spend time with yeah amen now there's so much biblical evidence here and yet some people still have a hard time accepting the Holy Spirit as a divine person why might this be is it maybe we just don't have that relationship Alex you had a thought on that yeah I think you know we think of God is some sort of tangible for stretch out there you know we pictured in the beginning of time Jesus we have a more personal feeling of him because he was on earth and he you know walked and talked with people so in our minds in people's minds we you get that picture but the Holy Ghost we don't have you know we were very much those where I raged with that you know picture of the spirit the holy spirit being such an active force in our lives and so much of a personal being so the in charge a lot of people to take grasp at some of the ways were raised some of our understandings maybe we need to really go back to the word and and see what does what do the scriptures actually describe the Holy Spirit as all right we're going to move on to another important idea of who the Holy Spirit is and we're going to go back to the words of Jesus to the book of John John chapter 16 verse 13 and Jamie if you want to read that for us and we're looking particularly at the first part here you can read the whole verse John chapter 16 verse 13 but listen to the first part here about how Jesus describes the comforter the helper the Holy Spirit well the New Living Translation says when the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all truth he will not speak on his own but will tell you what he has heard he will let tell you about the future spirit of what word do we have their truth all right so when I think of truth I can go back I think of you know when you're in fifth grade and you have this exam and you've got those true and false questions so you didn t percent chance either way is true or it's fall back and forth but is that really what Jesus is saying here that this is simply just a checklist true and false is that what the Holy Spirit is no Adrienne and if we think about it Jesus is the one speaking here he's already identified himself as the wave the truth and the life so the reference back to the fact that the Holy Spirit is always pointing us back to Jesus and all that is true about him and about God Tricia we build on Adrienne's point there is a great controversy going on as a battle between good and evil and we've been told through Scripture that the devil is a father of lies and there's no truth in him and so since the very beginning that the enemy has been trying to plant lies and error throughout the universe to distract us away from who God truly is what he's like and so he cannot be trusted in so the Ministry of the Son and the Holy Spirit are to bring us back to the truth that God can be trusted and that every other lie out there are things that we should not be paying attention to and those lies manifests themselves in many ways it's not just in the spiritual things that we study through theology and doctrines but also in the individual choices we make in our life that could potentially lead us away from knowing God in the way that we should and so I think the Holy Spirit helps us not just in spiritual things the Holy Spirit wants to help us in our practical everyday lives being helped me so we can actually have a relationship with God and be prosperous no types of things but I think that when he says all truth he really means all of it because everything bad that happens in this world every single error has its source in Satan and it's from that moment that the spirit and the son had been working to get us back to that truth so when Jesus is speaking here perhaps he could even be speaking on the character of God and attritional II may reference to the great controversy the battle about the identity of who God is his character and whether he's a God of love or something else and we're seeing here these verses through the Holy Spirit we can better understand God and his character and particularly the personality and the personal being of the Holy Spirit and Adrian and some others made a reference to John chapter 14 verse 6 where Jesus is the way the truth and the life so we already we we can see there that we get to understand God and understand the character through the son let's look at one other verse in Philippians Philippians chapter 1 verse 19 and Erich if you could read this for us Philippians chapter 1 verse 19 we're looking here about the spirit of truth and revealing God what is this first day of Philippians typical one verse 19 New King James Version and says for I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through the through your prayer and the supply of the spirit of Jesus Christ alright so the supply of who there the Spirit Irit and he just right so we have this that's another reference to how the Spirit in Jesus Christ we're going back to that you know that unity that unity that relational unity you have it right there and what are they doing in this case this is praying to them to help them Paul in this case and various struggles they're going through and we know that the Spirit of Truth has a particular special ministry and so let's go back to the book of John and let's see what this special ministry is John chapter 16 verses 13 through 15 and Joshua if you could read that for us we want to see more about this special ministry of the holy spirit this spirit of truth what is the purpose what is the Spirit of Truth do as it being what is its role and purpose and I'll be reading from the New King James Version the Bible says however when he the Spirit of Truth has come he will guide you into all truth for he will not speak on his own authority but whatever he hears he will speak and he will tell you things to come he will glorify me for he will take of what is mine and declare it to you all things that the father has are mine therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you so what is the Ministry of the Spirit of Truth the glorified were legends glorify Jesus yes and and and how else is he doing that how is he doing that in relationship to us how is he guiding us in some of those early verses we just might hear such a truth guiding us into all truth so by guiding us to Jesus he guides us into truth Nicole yes I was going to say that I think the word guide is very interesting because when you go to when you visit another country and you want to go on a tour you go with a guide usually to say we are going you trust that person so I think it's it's important to us a real - so you hope they trust us if I think it's important to use the word guide because guide for me means trust and so trust the Spirit is going to take you to where you need to be and follow the truth that God has set before you so I just put them practical to think about an example and we're going to go back and we're going to sort of magnify this point there's another verse John chapter 15 verse 26 going back to the chapter just before there and Alex if you could read that for us John chapter 15 verse 26 we have this concept of guide and what else is this the spirit doing ok I'll be reading from the King James Version but when the comforter has come whom I will send unto you from the father even the Spirit of Truth which shall proceeded which receives from the father he shall testify as me so we'd go back what's that word again testify so he's our guide he's testifying what if he testifying to Jesus and to the plan which is to save us you know and again I come back to the beautiful words the love of the Holy Spirit I think that's a breakthrough for me in this study Jason the Holy Spirit loves us and he loves us so much he's working just in a synchronised way with God the Son and with God the Father for the salvation of all of their creation and now we've looked through the lesson I think it's time for us to go back and think and reflect a little bit we talked about how some people they have a little bit of a less than clear conception on who the Holy Spirit is and they have this understanding that maybe he's not really being but he's an impersonal force what are some of the problems what are some of the dangers that come if you have this concept of the Holy Spirit Eric I think I'll go back to what he said that um when you think of him as an impersonal as an impassable being a platform it means that we are weave we can put other than our might in a mindset where we can think of someone we can money people something a force that we can manipulate and that we can use to our own advantage as opposed to how in or letting him guide us to the Father you know I think that unfortunately we see that like Kyle said earlier that that people this is a story in the book of Acts of a man who wants to buy the power yes sir yeah and and and and Peter says let your silver perish with you know what an offense this is not power that can be used and manipulated this is this is a member of the Godhead wanting a relationship wanting to save us from it so I think the biggest shortcoming with that is if it's an impersonal force then you cannot grieve an impersonal war and then many times you have the tendency of not getting that conviction because you just feel as if this is just inanimate force and yet it's something it's a personal being so they all have a level of feelings Jesus wept when God created at some point he regretted created and then the Holy Spirit can be grieved so they all have an element of so this relational language shows us that God is very emotional and we don't really understand God unless we recognize that God including the Holy Spirit our relational beings and that we can relate to them and if I this is a chance if you feel convicted people have been led different ways by the Holy Spirit and I know some of us here we've experienced the Holy Spirit in a way that changed our lives when we had a personal relationship and so if any of you has a testimony that you want to share about how the Holy Spirit has changed your life as you've understood more his personality Tricia Lee I was just going to make a comment on the first question alright but I'll say it quickly you don't want to go brains testimony time but I do think the danger is to the question just asks if we believe the Holy Spirit's just an impersonal force they're not a being that we can relate with then we can fall into the danger focusing more on the gifts and the miracles and the physical manifestation of his power as opposed to the real miracle of a changed heart to change life and if we're focusing on seeking the gifts of tongues and this and prophecy in this and where we don't have we have we lack love then we're just sounding brass and tinkling cymbals and I think the real miracle and the power of the Holy Spirit in our lives that we need to be seeking is him convicting us of sin and changing our hearts to be more like Christ which means we're being more like the father what means we're being you know brought into that relationship within and so I think that's a real danger if we don't realize peace of being trying to change our hearts Cal you have a comment or a testimony um yeah I just wanted to give a brief testimony go ahead very brief here but you know I think all of us all of us has struggled with sin at different points in our life and I definitely struggled with sins in my life you know even even as a pastor I've struggled and I will just say that you know I think that the Holy Spirit working in our hearts and and and we talked in the previous lesson about recreating you know Psalm 51 says created me a clean heart O God take not your Holy Spirit from me that verse is very special to me because the Holy Spirit is in the same way she helped create the world he can recreate in me a new heart and give me a new life and it's only by His grace and so that's just that's my testimony is that God has in his and is still working in my heart I know to recreate everyday so that I will be close to him and be more like the Lord but and so may that be our prayer amen that he will create enough a new heart and very quickly we have one last verse to look at how do we get the Holy Spirit Luke chapter 11 verses 13 Stephani it looks like you're getting there so please read for us Luke chapter 11 verse 13 how do we get the holy spirit I'll be reading from the New King James Version if you then being evil know how to give good gifts to your children how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him so what's the word what will we do to get the holy spirit ah there we go yeah thank you Jason and and ask not as in getting to control but but ask to have a relationship amen the divine being who can change your hearts thank you for that testimony thank you for being with us for hope service cool what an amazing journey our time went quickly in our study today but crucial topic not only the personality of the Holy Spirit but that this divine being along with the father and the son loves you and what's a life-changing relationship with you let's pray that we can have hearts to be open to receive him today father in heaven thank you that you love the world so much you sent your son and thank you that you also sent the Spirit to bring conviction to draw us to Jesus to change our heart yes and also to reveal the fullness of your love thank you for your word which gives us truth in the midst of a world full of error and deception may we hear the truth and be changed I pray in the name of Jesus amen well thanks for joining us for Hope Sabbath school today after you never imagined what a life-changing study would be as we look at the Holy Spirit and how we can have a life-changing relationship with him take to the lessons you've learned don't keep them to yourself go out and make a difference in the lives of those around you [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause]

Channel: Hope Sabbath School - Official

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Length: 58min 15sec (3495 seconds)

Published: Sun Jan 22 2017