The work of the Holy Spirit -Stephen Bohr

father in heaven what a joyful day this has been it has been a high sabbath a sabbath where we felt your presence in so many things that have taken place and now as we near the end of this camp meeting in fact as we celebrate this last meeting we ask father that the spirit of camp meeting might linger with us as we return to our churches we ask father that this evening once more as before you will open our minds and hearts to receive the seed of truth give us understanding and even more importantly give us the ability to live in harmony with what we learn we thank you father for the privilege of approaching your throne boldly in prayer and we ask that you will answer us because we ask it in jesus name amen one of the doctrines of the seventh-day adventist church that is being seriously questioned today within the church is the doctrine of the trinity some people feel very uncomfortable even when i use the word trinity they would prefer that i use the word godhead i have no problems using the word godhead the word godhead simply includes the three persons that ellen white speaks of in the heavenly trio many people today are teaching in the adventist church that the only eternal god is god the father that jesus christ at some point in eternity past so far back that we can't even reckon it was brought forth into the universe by his father and they're teaching also that the holy spirit is not a person but the holy spirit is actually a force or god's breath or god's energy energy that energizes creation so basically the idea is that there's only one eternal god jesus christ who was brought forth by the eternal god at some point in eternity past and the holy spirit is a force and not a person i think that perhaps the reason why there is confusion in the adventist church about this issue particularly now of the holy spirit is because of the metaphors that the bible uses to refer to the holy spirit you see the bible compares the holy spirit to a dove it compares the holy spirit to rain it compares the holy spirit to oil it compares the holy spirit to fire and it compares the holy spirit to wind and so as a result because of the metaphors that are used to describe the holy spirit we get this impression that the holy spirit is some substance or some essence that kind of permeates everything and is present everywhere because after all oil is poured wind blows fire burns and so we say the holy spirit must be an essence or it must be a power or it must be a substance however the bible is very clear that the holy spirit is a person the holy spirit loves the holy spirit reasons the holy spirit helps the holy spirit guides the holy spirit reproves he speaks he can even be lied to the bible and the spirit of prophecy are both very clear that the holy spirit is a person we need to understand that when the bible compares the holy spirit to rain and to oil and to fire and to wind these are metaphors that describe the work of the holy spirit the holy spirit is not these things he is compared to these things ellen white was absolutely clear that the holy spirit is a person i'd like to read as we begin three statements from ellen white on the personality of the holy spirit and the veracity of the doctrine of the trinity the first statement is found in the book evangelism page 616 where ellen white is speaking to a group of students at avondale college and this is what she says we need to realize that the holy spirit who is as much a person as god is a person is walking through these grounds so she says the holy spirit is as much a person as god is a person in another statement which we find in the book evangelism page 617 she speaks in these terms the prince of the power of evil can only be held in check by the power of god now listen carefully in the third person of the godhead the holy spirit notice he calls the holy spirit the third person in the godhead which means that there must be the second and there must be the first now the final statement that i would like to read is also from evangelism page 615. here ellen white states the following there are three living persons of the heavenly trio did you get that for those who feel uncomfortable with the word trinity they say trinity is not in the bible neither is the word incarnation and the word millennium is not found in the scriptures and yet these are biblical concepts the word trinity simply means three in unity try unity and so ellen white here says there are three living persons of the heavenly trio in the name of these three great powers the father the son and the holy spirit those who receive christ by living faith are baptized and these powers will cooperate with the obedient subjects of heaven in their efforts to live the new life in christ now this evening i would like us to talk about the work of the holy spirit how does the holy spirit accomplish his work i'm not going to talk about the nature of the holy spirit because the nature of the holy spirit is a mystery we cannot understand what the holy spirit is in his essence we cannot understand what he is in his nature ellen white says that it's a mystery too deep for human understanding but we can understand what is revealed about the holy spirit we can understand the work of the holy spirit and i believe that when we finish our study this evening we're going to understand a little bit better how the holy spirit works and how it is that the holy spirit is a person i'd like to begin by reading a passage that we find in psalm 8 and verses 3 through 8. psalm 8 and verses 3 through 8. here we find two points that i want to underline and you'll see what those points are in just a few moments when we've read the passage here the psalmist says this when i consider your heavens the work of your fingers the moon and the stars which you have ordained what is man that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him this is speaking about the creation of man in other words the creation of adam notice what he continues saying for you have made him a little lower than the angels and you have crowned him with glory and honor who wears crowns kings wear crowns and so we're told here that when god created adam he crowned him with glory and with honor in other words god created adam to be king now every king has a realm of dominion every king has a territory over which he governs what was the territory or the realm that god gave to adam notice that this passage continues telling us what it was he continues saying you have crowned him with glory and honor you have made him to have what ah that means rulership to have dominion over the works of your hands you have put all things under his feet that's an expression that means you have made him ruler over all things and then it explains what those things are all sheep and oxen even the beasts of the field the birds of the air and the fish of the sea that passed through the paths of the sea when the bible uses the expression beasts of the field birds of the air and fish of the sea it's saying everything concerning planet earth sky earth and waters in other words adam was created by god to be king and his realm of dominion which he was to rule over was planet earth but then we have the temptation satan comes into the garden of eden and he overcomes adam and now adam from king becomes a slave or a servant and the territory over which adam governed now passes into the hands of his conqueror notice the principle of this that we find in romans chapter 6 and verse 16 romans chapter 6 and verse 16. you see adam lost his position as king and he lost his realm of dominion or the territory over which he reigned when he was overcome by satan satan took over the rulership and he took over the territory of this world the principle is in romans 6 and verse 16. and the apostle paul says do you not know that to whom you present yourselves slaves to obey you are that one slaves whom you obey whether of sin leading to death or of obedience leading to righteousness in other words we are servants of the one that we choose to obey and thus adam from lord he became a servant and now satan became the ruler of this world and this became his realm of dominion or his territory this is the reason why on the mount of temptation satan said something very interesting to jesus we find his words in luke chapter 4 and verses five through seven luke chapter four and verses five through seven jesus is on the mount of temptation and notice what we find here then the devil taking him up on a high mountain showed him all the kingdoms of the world in a moment of time you see originally there was only one kingdom by this time there are many kingdoms on earth and the devil shows jesus all of the kingdoms of the world and notice what he says and the devil said to him all this authority i will give you and their glory for this has been delivered to me and i give it to whomever i wish therefore if you will worship before me all will be yours what is the devil after offering jesus all of the kingdoms of the world is the devil claiming to have dominion over this earth does he claim to be the ruler of this earth he most certainly does and by the way who delivered this unto satan it was adam now ellen white has a very interesting comment in patriarchs and prophets page 67. this is a phenomenal statement this is what she says at his creation adam was placed in dominion over the earth but by yielding to temptation he was brought under the power of satan and then she quotes ii peter 2 19 of whom a man is overcome of the same he has brought in bondage when man became satan's captive listen carefully now the dominion which he held passed to his conqueror thus satan became the god of this world he had usurped that dominion over the earth which had been originally given to adam but christ by his sacrifice paying the penalty of sin would not only redeem man but recover the dominion which he had forfeited all that was lost by the first adam will be restored by the second are you catching the picture and so now as a result of sin satan now becomes the ruler and this world becomes his realm of dominion now how many people in this world world became the slaves of satan every single person all have sinned and come short of the glory of god there is none righteous no not one so how many of us became slaves of satan every descendant of adam became a slave of satan a slave or a servant of his kingdom therefore the human race needed someone to rescue that which was lost because no one within the human race could recover the dominion because we all became slaves none no person on this earth could recover the territory which adam lost because we all became slaves or servants of satan the human race needed someone to recover that which was lost and so jesus in the heavenly council said to his father father i'll go down there you see i created all of these beings by the way do you know that jesus created us all you know every time i say that somebody says no no i was born from my mother and so i tell them and who was your mother born from well from her mother and where was her mother born from from her mother what happens if we go all the way back to the beginning all the way back to the beginning we end up with whom with adam and eve when jesus created adam and eve in them he created the entire human race jesus was responsible for the existence of the entire human race and only he who created all could offer to come to this world to take the place of all and so jesus said to his father father i'll go down there and i'll do battle with the devil he beat adam and took over domain but i will beat the devil i will live the perfect life that the law demands from all human beings and then i will suffer the death that all human beings deserve in other words i will live for all and i will die for all because they're my creatures i am responsible for their existence and once i have lived for all and i have died for all whoever receives me as savior and lord will recover in me the dominion which was lost and when jesus on the cross said it is finished he had lived a perfect life in place of all and he had died in place of all he was the victor this world now was his it was his realm of dominion and he was now king because he defeated the devil you know shortly before jesus death jesus spoke about this in john chapter 12 and verses 31 to 33 this is just a couple of days before the death of christ jesus said this now is the judgment of this world now the ruler of this world will be cast out what was he talking about jesus continues saying and i if i am lifted up from the earth will draw all peoples to myself this he said signifying by what death he would die so how was the devil going to be cast out as the ruler of this world through what through the death of jesus christ on the cross to redeem the failure of every person on planet earth to live the life that everyone on planet earth should live in the book desire of ages page 758 ellen white talks about what jesus accomplished on the cross in the following words christ did not yield up his life till he had accomplished the work which he came to do and with his parting breath he exclaimed it is finished now listen carefully the battle had been won his right hand and his holy arm had gotten him the victory as conqueror he planted his banner on the eternal heights was there not joy among the angels all heaven triumphed in the savior's victory satan was defeated and knew that his kingdom was lost when did satan lose his kingdom he lost his kingdom legally at the cross because at the cross jesus had lived for all jesus had died for all and anyone who would accept him would be included in him in other words jesus when he died on the cross he defeated satan and he recovered the kingdom and the territory which he had been lost now he was the ruler and this earth was his dominion you know the apostle john many years after this probably between 60 and 70 years after jesus died on the cross reminisced about this experience or remember this experience and the reaction in heaven notice revelation chapter 12 and verses 10 through 12. revelation chapter 12 and verses 10 to 12 through 12. this is long afterwards but john inspired by the holy spirit is being shown as seen in the heaven of what happened in heaven when jesus won the victory it says there in revelation chapter 12 and verse 10 then i heard a loud voice saying in heaven now salvation and strength and the kingdom of our god notice and the kingdom of our god and the power of his christ have come for the accuser of our brethren who accused them before our god day and night has been what cast down did that happen at the cross according to what we read absolutely and now notice what we find and they overcame him by the blood of the lamb and by the word of their testimony and they did not love their lives to the dead now notice how heaven reacted therefore rejoice o heavens and you who dwell in them so what was the reaction of the heavens as a result of the victory of jesus oh heaven was to what rejoice oh heavens but now notice whoa see the contrast rejoice up there but on earth what whoa whoa to the inhabitants of the earth and the sea for the devil has come down to you having great wrath because he knows that he has what that he has a short time so at the cross of calvary jesus came the victory satan now knows that this earth that jesus is the legitimate king of this earth this is his territory and the devil knows that he has legally lost it now i would like us to transition to an event that took place 50 days after the resurrection of christ the day of pentecost there's an intimate relationship between the victory of jesus at the cross and what happened on the day of pentecost now prepare yourselves for some surprises hang on to your seats because now we're going to talk about some things that perhaps you haven't heard before but they're very biblical and very much in harmony with the spirit of prophecy about what happened on the day of pentecost go with me to acts chapter 2 and verses 1 through 4. and this is the pattern for what's going to happen under the latter rain at the end of our study this evening we're going to talk about the latter reign the final outpouring of god's holy spirit notice acts chapter 2 and verses 1 through 4 there are several points that i want to underline here it says there now when the day of pentecost had fully come they were all with one accord in one place and suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind what is the first phenomenon a mighty rushing what wind and it filled the whole house where they were sitting then there appeared to them divided tongues as of what fire second phenomenon is what fire wind and what else fire and now notice what it continues saying verse 3 then there appeared to them divided tongues as a fire and one sat upon each of them and they were all filled with the holy spirit and began to speak with other tongues now listen carefully they began to speak with other tongues as the spirit gave them utterance who gave the utterance of the gift of tongues to the disciples the spirit gave them utterance of these tongues now let me ask you this what is the first time in the bible well where god imparted the gift of tongues at the tower of babel now granted the purpose at babel was different than the purpose at pentecost you see the purpose at babel was that they had consolidated evil they were all on the same page they were all of one accord but for evil and so god said so that evil cannot consolidate i am going to make them speak different tongues so that they have to spread out over the earth and in this way it's very difficult for evil to become a worldwide rebellion and for them all to unite in rebellion against god and so you have all the nations that come as a result of what happened at the tower of abel now at pentecost you see after god confused the languages there was a problem for the disciples because you had all of these nations represented on the day of pentecost and the disciples probably could only speak aramaic so god had created a problem at babel says how are we going to reach all these people god says not a problem i'll just give my disciples the ability to speak all of these languages so that they can share the gospel and so he gave them the gift of tongues and it says here that it was the holy spirit that gave them utterance but now let me uh read a very interesting passage in scripture and then read what ellen white has to say about what happened at the tower of abel genesis 11 and verses 6 through 8 genesis chapter 11 verses 6 through 8 speaks about what happened at the tower of babel it says there and the lord said indeed the people are one and they all have one language and this is what they begin to do now nothing that they propose to do will be withheld from them come let us go down and they're confused their language who was going to go down god says let us go down would that include him would that include the lord who is speaking here yes let us go down and there confuse their language that they may not understand one another speech and now listen carefully verse 8 so the lord scattered them abroad from there over the face of all the earth and they ceased building the city who scattered them the lord scattered them who was it that they confused their languages the lord but now listen to this comment from ellen white it's found in the book story of redemption page 73 remember we're talking about how the holy spirit accomplishes his work how can he be a person and yet apparently be poured out and and permeate everything and be present personally everywhere how is that well let's notice how the holy spirit works story of redemption page 73 ellen white says they had built their tower to a lofty height listen carefully now when the lord sent two angels to confound them in their work what was that the lord what sent two angels to confound them in their work men had been appointed for the purpose of receiving word from the workmen at the top of the tower calling for material for their work which the first would communicate to the second and he to the third until the word reached those on the ground as now listen carefully as the word was passing from one to another in its descent the angels confounded their language who interesting the angels confounded their language and when the word reached the workmen upon the ground material was called for which had not been required and then ellen white makes this very telling statement she says lightning from heaven as a token of god's wrath broke off the top of their tower casting it to the ground so who gave the gift of tongues it was god through the ministration of what through the ministration of two angels now you're saying what does this have to do with the day of pentecost well let's pursue this a little bit more go with me to psalm 104 and let's read verses 1 through 4 and i'm going to read this first in the king james version in the new king james version and before i read it i need to tell you something about bible translations there are those who say that we must use only the king james translation after all if it's good enough for christ it should be good enough for me now let me tell you that i believe that the manuscripts that were used for the king james translation are the best manuscripts i believe the texas receptus is the best manuscript trail but i do not believe that the king james translation is always the best translation of those texts are you understanding me i have great respects for the king james uh translation tremendous respect it's a poetic version it's a beautiful version it's a literary masterpiece but there are many times in the king james version where there are mistranslations the translation was not inspired are you understanding my point for example the state of the dead the niv is far better when it comes to the state of the dead than the king james virgin let me give you one example acts chapter 2 when peter is preaching he says and he's quoting jesus it's a quotation from psalm 16 and jesus is speaking prophetically he says you will not leave my soul in hell nor will you allow your holy one to see corruption so when you use that text they say see clear as day jesus had a soul and it went to hell do you know how the new international version translates it it translates it correctly we've always said that the soul is what the person right and the word hell there the word hades really means grave and so the niv translates it you will not leave me in the grave is it easier to use that translation with non-adventist it most certainly is much easier we say it's in your very own bible in the new international version which is the most common version used today and there's example after example of the fact that some of these modern versions have a better translation than the king james even though the manuscripts that are used for the king james are the best manuscripts am i making myself clear now with this in mind let me read you from psalm 104 verses 1 through 4 from the new king james version and then i'm going to read from the niv which is a more accurate translation here it says bless the lord o my soul o lord my god you are very great you are clothed with honor and majesty who cover yourself with light as with the garment who stretched out the heavens like a curtain he lays the beams of his upper chambers in the waters and now listen carefully who makes the clouds his chariot what do clouds represent in scripture angels so what is god's chariot his angels i wish i had time to amplify that point it would take me 15 minutes to go through the material to go to ezekiel 1 and other passages that we find in scripture but we don't have the time so i continue saying here who makes the clouds his chariot who walks on the wings of the wind and here comes the key portion who makes his angels spirits his ministers a flame of fire now i believe that this is a mistranslation let me explain why in hebrew as well as in greek the word that is translated spirit is the identical word that is translated wind the hebrew word is translated in the old testament spirit but it's also translated wind it means basically the same thing the new testament word pneuma is also translated spirit but in john chapter 3 when jesus spoke to nicodemus he used the word panuma to speak about the wind in other words the word spirit or the word ruach and panuma can very legitimately be translated not spirit but wind and most modern versions have caught this nuance in their translation of psalm 104 and verses 3 and 4. now let me read from the new international version which i believe is a better translation it says there he wraps himself in light as with a garment he stretches out the heavens like a tent and lays the beams of his upper chambers on their waters he makes the clouds his chariot and rides on the wings of the wind and now listen to the last part he makes wins his messengers flames of fire his servants now you're saying well how do you know that that's talking about the angels that the angels are being compared to winds and the angels are being compared to tongues of fire or to flames of fire simply because the book of hebrews tells us so go with hebrews chapter 1 and verse 7 hebrews chapter 1 and verse 7. very important verse and once again i'm going to read from the new international version because really the best translation is not he makes his angel spirits that's not the best translation the best translation is the whole he makes his angels what winds and tongues of fire or flames of fire notice hebrews 1 7 in speaking of the angels he says he makes his angels winds his servants flames of fire so who is compared with wind and fire the angels question what were the two phenomena the two natural so-called natural phenomena that took place on the day of pentecost wind and what and fire and the ability to speak other languages which ellen white explains in genesis chapter 11 god sent to angels to give the gift of tongues now let me pursue this do you know that ellen white understood this this is so interesting that ellen white would capture this thought you know some many people are critical of all and white and i found that those who criticize ellen white fit in one of two categories number one they never read ellen white or number two they read ellen white with the purpose of proving her wrong if you don't read ellen white you can't criticize her because you don't know what you're talking about and if you read ellen white with the purpose of criticizing and finding defects you'll find them because as they say you can prove anything you want to prove from from the bible now that doesn't mean that the bible teaches it but it means that you can make the bible teach what you believe and what you think and you can make it sound pretty reasonable people who keep sunday as a day of rest do that very frequently don't they they use all of those first state texts to see to say see jesus resurrected on sunday we're supposed to keep sunday but of course the bible doesn't teach that ellen white understood that the angels were involved powerfully on the day of pentecost i'm going to read several statements now from the spirit of prophecy the first of them is in my life today page 58 my life today page 58 and by the way i'm not leaving anything out of the quotation i'm going to read it exactly as she wrote it there's no dot dot dot this is what she says when the truth and its simplicity is lived in every place what what does she say when the truth in its simplicity is lived in every place listen carefully now then god will work through his angels as he worked on the day of pentecost and hearts will be changed so decidedly that there will be a manifestation of the influence of genuine truth as is represented in the descent of the holy spirit isn't that interesting if that was the only one you might say well you know you can interpret that in different ways but there's more selected messages volume 2 page 57 listen carefully to what she says when the angels of heaven come among us when who comes among us when the angels of heaven come among us and work through human agents there will be silent substantial conversions after the order of the convergence after the day of pentecost notice once again she says that when the angels haven't come in our midst and worked through human agents that is through us as the holy spirit works through the disciples there will be solid substantial conversions after the order of the convergence after the day of pentecost in manuscript releases volume 10 page 112. manuscript releases volume 10 page uh 112 ellen white says this all heaven is interested in your salvation and listen carefully now and angels of god are waiting to do for you what they did for the early disciples on the day of pentecost who's waiting to do for us what they did for the disciples angels are waiting to do for us what they did for the disciples on the day of pentecost one more in the book that i may know him listen carefully to what ellen white says about angels by the way i've been studying this for over 30 years this particular topic and you know what led me to to study this topic i took a denominational history class with a c mervin maxwell ever heard of c mervyn maxwell tremendous church historian i remember was sitting in class one day and dr maxwell speaking about the holy spirit he says i want to share with you what i think about the personality of the holy spirit and how the holy spirit operates he says the holy spirit is in the command and control center of the universe he is in a certain place but he knows everything he's aware every of everything that happens on the battlefield everything that happens on planet earth and he now that jesus has assumed a human body and illinois corroborates this point now that jesus has a human body now the holy spirit has become the representative of the commander of the lord's host and now the holy spirit from the commandment control center commands the angels go do this go do that do the other thing etc in other words the holy spirit is a person who is in a certain location and he's aware of everything because he's omniscient and therefore he uses the angels to keep an active communication with every part of god's dominion ellen white says this that i may know him page 57 through the ministry of the angels now this is powerful the holy spirit is enabled what does that mean the holy spirit is enabled what does that mean he's able he has the he has the ability the ability right she says through the ministry of the angels the holy spirit is enabled to work upon the mind and heart of the human agent and draw him to christ who has paid the ransom money for his soul that the sinner may be rescued from the slavery of sin and satan you see god has a certain way that he administrates the universe and we're talking about the work of god don't ask me to explain how the holy spirit knows everything that's happening all over the universe at the same time and he's known this since eternity i can't explain that it's impossible it's his nature how can the holy spirit be omniscient and omnipotent and omnipresent that's beyond our understanding but we can't understand how the holy spirit works you see god the holy spirit has or god has a modus operandi god has a mode of operation god is the great delegator what did i say god is what the delegator god delegates responsibility revelation chapter 1 explains how it works god the father gave the message of the book of revelation to whom to jesus whom did jesus give it to oh there's a missing link there no he gave it to the holy spirit first he who has an ear let him hear what the spirit says to the churches that's repeated with every church and so the father gives it to his son the son gives it to the holy spirit and the holy spirit gives it to whom to the angel and then the angel gives it to whom to john and then what does john do he writes in a book and he sends it where to the seven churches and what is the purpose of sending it to the seven churches so the seven churches will share it with what with the world so god's chain of command functions wonderfully the father works to the son the son works through the spirit the spirit works to the angels and then the angels give the message to john and the church sits on the message the place where the chain of command breaks is with us am i right absolutely the angels have their have their arms crossed see the holy spirit is saying i want to be able to work down there but nobody wants to work and so they're waiting for us the holy spirit is waiting to work through the angelic host with us and to empower us in the preaching of the gospel of jesus christ to the world but we are indolent you know it's kind of like uh you know when isaiah caught this beautiful view of the holiness of god and isaiah says i'm undone for my eyes have seen the the holy king of the universe then an angel comes and an angel touches his lips and forgives his sin and cleanses his sin and then he hears a voice in heaven that says who are we going to send to tell israel about this so that israel knows the same thing that isaiah has seen in isaiah here's this conversation in heaven whom shall i send and isaiah immediately blurts out here am i send him what does he say here am i send me now allow me to read you an interesting statement from ellen white see the little old lady had this clear when we read her writings carefully i'm amazed at the insight that ellen white had it's it's mind-boggling you know somebody who uh was a critic of ellen white within the church once came to me and sarcastically said you know illinois says that jesus uh you know before uh he comes to this world he's gonna change his garments from his priestly garments to his kingly garments ellen white says that where is that in the bible i looked at him and i smiled i knew him well i said listen if you just use a little bit of the gray matter that god gave you you would be able to figure it out he says what do you mean i said okay how is jesus what is jesus doing today he says well he's a high priest he's interceding first i said good answer and how is jesus clothed right now if he's high priest he must be clothed as what as a high priest and then i asked him this question i said when jesus returns again how is he clothed according to the book of revelation now he knew he was up a creek without a paddle he says well revelation 19 says that he's going to come clothed as king of kings and lord of lords i said sophie he's going to he if he's clothed as a high priest now and when he comes he's clothed as king of kings and lord of lords at some point in between he must have changed it's a food for thought who performed the miracles of jesus christ desire mages page 143 listen to this i know that this is a new view but is the biblical view and it's the view of the spirit of prophecy folks there are millions upon millions of angels just waiting to help us in the work of proclaiming the gospel under the command of the holy spirit desire of ages 143 listen to this the angels of god are ever passing from earth to heaven and from heaven to earth and then she says this the miracles of christ and i must clarify that in spirit of prophecy volume 2 pages 67 and 68 ellen white does not say the miracles of christ she says all the miracles of christ so i feel at liberty to say all the miracles of christ for the afflicted and suffering were wrought by the power of god through the ministration of the angels how are the miracles of jesus performed by the power of god through what through the ministration of the angels she continues saying and it is through christ by the ministration of his heavenly messengers notice it is through christ through the ministration of his heavenly messengers that every blessing comes from god to us let me give you a biblical example you remember the story of the centurion whose servant was ill this gives us a biblical example let's read it matthew 8 and verses 5 through 10 matthew chapter 8 and verses 5 through 10. this is a fascinating story it says there now when jesus had entered capernaum a centurion came to him pleading with him saying lord my servant is lying at home paralyzed dreadfully tormented and jesus said to him i will come and heal him the centurion answered and said lord i am not worthy that you should come under my roof but only speak a word and my servant will be healed you and i used to think that when jesus spoke the word you know the word went some mystically flying through the air and healed him but now notice the centurion understood this better than the jews themselves did notice what it continues saying in verse 9 for i also am a man under authority having soldiers under me and i say to this one go and he goes and to another come and he comes and to my servant do this and he does this when jesus heard it he marveled and said to those who follow assuredly i say to you i have not found such great faith not even in israel now it's interesting to read the inspired interpretation of this event that is given by the spirit of prophecy in desire ages page 316 we find exactly how it was that this took place the healing of the servant of the centurion she's actually quoting this centurion as if the centurion is speaking and this is what she says as i represent the power of rome and my soldiers recognize my authority as supreme so dost thou represent the power of the infinite god and all created things obey thy word now listen carefully thou cast command the disease to depart and it shall obey thee thou canst summon thy heavenly messengers and they shall impart healing virtue speak but the word and my servant shall be healed when jesus spoke the word you know what happened an angel was already on his way and through the power of god that angel brought healing to that servant now you're probably wondering what does this have to do with adam having dominion being a ruler over the earth and losing his position of rulership over the earth and jesus coming to recover that position of rulership and the territory that adam lost let's go back to our original uh thoughts on this issue in the old testament jesus did not intervene in the events of history very frequently when you look at the total of four thousand years of history he did intervene now and then and every time that jesus intervened what did the devil do he accused jesus i'm going to give you an example he said you have no right to come here and and interfere everybody on this earth has chosen me as their lord and this is my territory how dare you come and interfere and intervene in the affairs of my territory and you know the devil to a certain point was correct because everyone on planet earth had chosen him as the ruler every time that jesus intervened satan contested the right of jesus to do it let me give you one biblical example of this you remember when jesus came down he's called michael the archangel when he came down to resurrect moses listen to the inspired comment of ellen white in confrontation page 26 she says this christ resurrected moses and took him to heaven this enraged satan and he accused remember the accuser of the brethren in what we read and he accused the son of god of invading his dominion by robbing the grave of his lawful prey so you came and you took away what belonged to my dominion moses sin he's mine how dare you infringe on my territory jude says the resurrection of moses yet michael the archangel when contending with the devil he disputed about the body of moses durst not bring against him a railing accusation but said the lord rebuked thee you see after the cross the devil could no longer argue why couldn't he argue why couldn't he say to jesus now how dare you infringe on my realm of dominion why couldn't he say it because jesus was now the king and the territory was his he had won it back and so now jesus says hey i can unleash upon planet earth anyone i want to because this is now my dominion and so do you know what jesus did on the day of pentecost jesus unleashed all of the hosts of the heavenly angels upon the earth to help the disciples in the work of proclaiming the gospel and the devil can say how dare you unleash your angels upon the earth because he says hey this is my territory now listen even though the devil lost at the cross do you think the devil is going to roll over and play dead then they'll say okay you beat me take it it's all yours are you kidding the devil says okay you say that this earth is yours you legally want it that this is your dominion he says come and get it and jesus says you want me to come and get it okay so he commands the holy spirit to unleash all of the angel holes to go all over the roman empire to proclaim the victory of jesus christ do you know what evangelism is it's very simple evangelism is telling other people that they belong to the army of a loser [Laughter] it's simple you're with a loser this is he's not king and this is not his dominion jesus won the dominion over this world it's his so i call you to leave the army of the loser and join the army of the winner nobody likes a loser everybody wants to be with the winner so we invite people to come over to the side of the winner now let me ask you why was jesus through the holy spirit able to unleash all of the angelic hosts upon the earth to help the disciples in the proclamation of the gospel folks there was a very special reason and that is that the disciples had prepared themselves to be used they were totally emptied of self they were united in prayer they were united in bible study they were emptied itself they had no personal agendas all of their possessions they placed at the disposal of god's work in other words everything they were and everything they had was now at the disposal of the lord and god said now i can use you and so he unleashes all of the heavenly hosts upon the earth to help the disciples in the proclamation of the gospel because they are prepared to receive the power of the holy spirit through the ministry of the angels listen to this statement from illinois desire of ages 352 this is powerful she's speaking about the first evangelists which is the disciples she says they are to contend with supernatural forces but they are assured of supernatural help all the intelligences of heaven are in his army and more listen carefully and more than angels are in the ranks the holy spirit now listen listen the holy spirit the representative of the captain of the lord's host who is the captain of the lord's host jesus and who is the representative of the captain the holy spirit see jesus is not able because he assumed humanity to do this work and so he delegates it to the holy spirit who then uses the angels to accomplish the word so she says the holy spirit the representative of the captain of the lord's host listen carefully comes down to direct the battle is that good news praise the lord it's wonderful news in other words there is a link between the angels and us they're waiting they're waiting for us ellen white is a very interesting statement which all of us know it's talking about the youth an army of youth at the end of time have you read the total statement let me read the total statement it's found in the the book a call to stand apart page 66. this is a powerful statement she says this there is no line of work in which it is possible for the youth to receive greater benefit than working then working for others she says all who engage in ministry are god's helping hand now listen carefully they are co-workers with the angels rather they are the human agencies through whom the angels accomplish their mission now here's this is powerful angels speak through their voices and work by their hands and the human workers cooperating with heavenly agencies have the benefit of their education and experience as a means of education what university course can equal this and then comes the statement with such an army of workers as our youth rightly trained might furnish how soon the message of a crucified risen and soon coming savior might be carried to the whole world how soon the end might come the end of suffering and sorrow and sin how soon in place of a possession here with its blight of sin and pain our children might receive their inheritance where the righteous shall inherit the lamb and dwell therein forever where the inhabitants should inhabitants shall not say i am sick and the voice of weeping shall be no more heard now let's talk very briefly because time is up very briefly about what's going to happen under the outpouring of the latter rain are you praying for the latter ring what do you suppose the latter rain is it's the power of the holy spirit working through whom what is the link between the holy spirit and us the angelic hosts see ellen white had this right listen to this statement in the book maranatha page 212. remember there's no dot dot dot here this is a continuous statement maranatha page 212. ellen white says this before the work is closed up and the sealing of god's people is finished we shall receive the outpouring of the spirit of god angels from heaven will be in our midst what are we going to receive the outpouring of the spirit of god and then she explains immediately angels from heaven will be in our midst reviewing harold january 20 1891 she says after the outpouring of the holy spirit thousands were converted how did that happen she continued saying after the outpouring of the holy spirit thousands were converted angels of god that excel in strength clothed with the brightness of heaven came to the help of the church and swept back the forces of satan and then she says the work of the holy spirit was not limited to apostolic days it is not confined to any church large or small the field of administration is the world he will convince the world of sin and of righteousness and of judgment but now notice but the instrumentalities through which the holy spirit works are the members of the christ body those who believe in his name it is through these light bearers that the gospel is to be carried to all the nations of the earth allow me to end by reading a couple of a couple more statements from the spirit of prophecy powerful statements the first is from signs of the times november 17 1898 listen carefully the lord is in active communication every part of his vast dominion the lord is what in active communication with every part of his dominion best dominions he is represented as bending toward the earth and its inhabitants he is listening to every word that is uttered he hears every groan he listens to every prayer he observes the movement of everyone he approves or condemns every action the hand of christ draws aside the veil which conceals from our eyes the glory of heaven and listen carefully and we behold him in his high and holy place where is god well jesus taught us to pray our god which are everywhere our father which art everywhere now we're to pray god is in heaven sitting on his throne but now notice what you continue continues saying we behold him in his high and holy place not in a state of silence and indifference to his subjects in a fallen world but surrounded by all the heavenly hosts ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands all waiting to go at his biddings on errands of mercy and love the other statement is similar but it has some differences ministry of healing page 417 she says the bible shows us god in his high and holy place not in a state of inactivity not in silence and solitude but surrounded by ten thousand times ten thousand and thousands of thousands of holy beings all waiting to do his will and then notice what she says through these messengers he is in active communication with every part of his dominion how is god in active communication with every part of his dominion through what through these messengers then she says by his spirit he is everywhere present through the agency of his spirit and his angels he ministers to the children of men above the distractions of the earth he sits enthroned all things are open to his divine survey and from his great and calm eternity he orders that which is providence sees best folks what is jesus waiting for more earthquakes more signs in the sun the moon and the stars is he waiting for the sunday long god isn't waiting for any of those things god is waiting for us he's waiting for us to get serious about him so that we can see the return of jesus christ he's waiting for us to be united as a praying people as a bible studying people as an empty of self people as a people who take the resources that god has given us and place them at the disposal of the work a hundred thousand dollars is a pittance a drop in the bucket for all you rich people you should raise three hundred thousand half a million dollars don't we have much more than what we really need shouldn't we put that at this disposal of god's word we have our own agendas we just want to be comfortable we want to have our toys you know somebody said to me well you know i have a very nice house and i say is it made of gold well i have a late model beautiful lexus i say does it fly nothing that we have on this earth is going to be as good as what we're going to have in the kingdom but we have to believe in the kingdom i think sometimes our problem is we say i believe jesus is coming and i'm going to have an eternal inheritance but just in case we hang on to what we have here because we believe it up here but we don't believe it here and the evidence of that is that we are we are with our arms crossed and god to the holy spirit is waiting to unleash the angels like he did at pentecost because the disciples were ready to receive it to finish the work on this earth so my challenge to the constituency of the northern new england conference as well as all of those who are visiting here is that when we go home we get serious about the lord that we pray to the lord to see what god wants us to do and that we will be willing to do it because i'll tell you what i'm tired of living this in this world of sin sorrow sickness suffering and death there's nothing worth living for here except reaching souls for the kingdom so about it do you want to accept this challenge and say to the lord jesus lord jesus i want pastor boar to pray so that when i go home i will receive a special outpouring of the spirit so that i can dedicate all to the lord and proclaim the gospel in my neighborhood in my city and in the world if that's the desire of your heart i want to pray for you this evening and i ask you to please stand because i'm going to have a special prayer for god to empower the members of this conference to go out and do god's work let us pray father in heaven thank you that you spare no resource of heaven to pour upon your children this evening father we ask we beg your forgiveness for our laziness our spiritual laziness we ask your forgiveness lord for dedicating so much time to watching and listening to that which does not edify we ask your forgiveness for sitting around and doing nothing to enlarge your kingdom father we come before your throne repentance asking that you will forgive us but we ask for more than forgiveness we ask father that through the ministration of the holy spirit that representative of the commander of your host as your people are ready to receive it the holy spirit will send his angels to this world so that there can be a revival of primitive godliness such as has not been seen since apostolic times father we plead for the outpouring of your holy spirit i ask father that you will empower each of those who have stood this evening that you will speak to each sincere heart and to each sincere mind lord

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Length: 71min 30sec (4290 seconds)

Published: Sun Nov 22 2020