This transcript was generated automatically and may contain minor errors.

The clock just changed to 7:00. I haven't heard a bell, but y'all are all ready to go. Y'all are excited tonight. So if you wanna take out your bible and turn to Hebrews chapter one, Hebrews chapter one. Oh, I some technical difficulties, but I think we've got them worked out now.

Alright, let's begin as we customarily do with the prayer. If you'll bow with me, please. Our great God and Father in heaven, thank you for this day, thank you for these people, thank you for this quiet time of reflection and study. I pray that you'd be with us. I pray that we would know correctly what your will is, that we would apply it to our lives, that we would see you clearly, your son clearly, the holy spirit clearly, and that we would seek to be like you.

And it's in Jesus name we pray, amen. Okay. Hebrews chapter one verses one and two. We know that the holy spirit is working and the Holy Spirit has and is working indirectly. We know that he has worked directly and we know that he is working indirectly through other ways or means, and the most obvious of those other ways and means is the word of God.

Hebrews chapter one and verse one, God who at various times and in various ways spoken times past to the fathers by the prophets has in these last days spoken to us by his son whom he appointed heir of all things through whom he made the world. Then drop down to chapter two and verse one. Therefore, we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard, lest we drift away. For if the word spoken through angels prove steadfast and every transgression and disobedience received a just reward, How shall we escape if we neglect so great a salvation which at the first began to be spoken by the Lord and was confirmed to us by those who heard him? God also bearing witness both with signs and wonders with various miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will.

Now, the Hebrew writer's purpose here is saying, don't go back to the old law because what we have now is not delivered by angels, it was delivered, the very words of Christ were delivered by the Holy Spirit to these Apostles and prophets and, it was attested. There was witness to those things because of signs and wonders and miracles and gifts of the Holy Spirit according to his own will to confirm these things. And God did this through the work of the Holy Spirit who revealed God's words to the prophets, who in turn spoke those words. That happened in the Old Testament, but in the New we see it directly from Jesus through the spirit. And the book of Hebrews gives us a great example, of this concept that we could say, God said, the Holy Spirit said, or the prophet said, and it would be correct in any of those things that we did.

So this is where we left off last time. I know it's been a little while, We think about this working. I want you to look, and think about what not Psalm ninety five seven through 11 says. Today, if you will hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, as in the day of trial in the wilderness when your fathers tested me. They tried me though they saw my work.

For forty years, I was grieved with that generation and said, it is a people who go astray in their hearts and they do not know my ways, so I swore in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest. To whom the scriptures cited in the following verses attributed. So I want you to look in Hebrews chapter three verses seven eleven, Hebrews four three through four, and Hebrews four in verse seven. So this is the activity where we left off last time. I'll let you look at that.

So seven through 11 of chapter three, three and four of chapter four and then chapter four and verse seven. It's the same passage of text although shorter and longer versions, same passage of text that we just read but to whom is it attributed? Who said this according to the Hebrew writer? Okay. So Hebrews three seven through 11, the Holy Spirit, that's what he says there in verse seven, right?

Therefore, the Holy Spirit says, but in four, three and four, who is attributed with saying this? He and who is he there? So we think about God the father. Did God the father say it? Yes.

Did the holy spirit say it? Yes. What about Hebrews chapter four and verse seven? David. So who said it?

David? Yes. He wrote the words, right? Who inspired him to write those words? The Holy Spirit.

What was the source of those words? God the father. So God the father said this, the holy spirit said this, and David said this. How can that be true? Well, the words of the father revealed by the Holy Spirit to David who then wrote them down and it worked the same way through the son with the New Testament apostles and prophets as well.

Let's go back to John chapter 16. Now, you remember a few classes ago we talked about how, Jesus is addressing the apostles specifically and it's not that there aren't verses or parts of these chapters that apply to other Christians or even all Christians, but he's talking specifically to his apostles. And what is it that he says in verse 12 of John chapter 16? I still have many things to say to you, cannot bear them now. However, when he, the spirit of truth has come, he will guide you, who's the you?

The apostles. 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. Okay?

So the Holy Spirit is declaring whose words? Jesus. And to whom is he declaring them? The apostles. And to whom then are the apostles sharing them?

Everybody else. Right? But we can take it a step further. Verse 15, all things that the father has are mine. Therefore I said that he will take of mine and declare it to you.

So God the father, God the son, God the holy spirit are all involved in this, but ultimately the holy spirit, that spirit of truth, he is the one who is coming that will reveal all of these things to the apostles. So, what what was it that we saw then as we think about this? The Holy Spirit did work directly on or through people, but it was never through just like a feeling. And we know that the Holy Spirit does work indirectly through the word as well. So how else does the spirit work?

I promised you, I was gonna talk about this, last class that we're gonna get here. We talked about the spirit working directly and indirectly last class and I said, okay, we're gonna talk about how the spirit works. I went through my list of 300 and however many references, to the spirit. I broke that down into the holy spirit and then I started looking for all of the verbs for what it was that the spirit was doing and I had a couple of 100. And so, here's the way I broke those down and what I'm gonna do is I'm going to, I'm gonna put some broad categories and then I'm gonna read out loud all of the specific words that are used in the New Testament to describe the Holy Spirit working in this way.

Some of these words are found in one passage. Some of these words are found in multiple passages, but these are all of the ways that we see the spirit working, the holy spirit working in the New Testament. Now, on some of those, am I making the judgment that I'm think this is talking about the holy spirit or I think this isn't talking about the holy spirit? Yes. So according to Reagan, as best I can tell in the New Testament, here are the ways that the holy spirit worked, in the New Testament in the first century.

In the New Testament, the holy spirit worked in Revelation. So here are the words. The Holy Spirit speaks, says, testifies, bears witness, reveals, guides, teaches, reminds, declares, makes known, tells future things, searches, knows, indicates, inspires, gives utterance, testifies concerning future events. That's a lot, right? Well, we see the holy spirit working in direction.

The holy spirit leads, guides, directs, sends, calls, forbids, does not permit, and appoints or makes overseers specifically is what that passage is talking about. The New Testament, in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit worked in salvation. The text tells us that the Holy Spirit gives life, produces new birth, renews, sanctifies, dwells, fills, seals, serves as a guarantee or a down payment, bears witness of adoption, helps, intercedes, strengthens, transforms, produces fruit, produces unity. And then we see in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit worked through miraculous gifts, signs and wonders. Right?

The Holy Spirit gives power, anoints, works miracles, distributes spiritual gifts, gives, and there's a long list of him giving. Giving wisdom gives knowledge, faith, healings, miracles, prophecy, discernment, tongues, interpretation. Was the holy spirit working in the New Testament? Absolutely. And I would go so far as to say, in many ways, though God the father, God the son, and the holy spirit were all working during all dispensations.

God the father was primarily working in the in the old testament. We see Jesus the son tabernacled with us in what we would call the gospels while he was here on earth. And then he sends the holy spirit and the holy spirit is primarily work when we think about the book of acts and the epistles and the work of God in that. So the question is not, if the holy spirit worked in those ways. The scriptures clearly say the holy spirit was doing all of these things in the new testament, that he did those things.

The questions that we really have to ask for ourselves as we think about the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit's work today is, how did he work? On whom did he work? And when did he work in these ways? We know in the New Testament he worked in all of those ways that I just said. The question for us then is, how did he work and how does he work today?

On whom did he work then and does that apply to us? And when did he work in those ways? Is this something that he did then but doesn't do now, or is this something that continues through today? Okay? Harold, your your finger is twitching.

Do you have a question or comment over there? Okay. So, who is here Sunday night? Raise your hand if you're here Sunday night. Okay, most of you were and so we covered blasphemy against the holy spirit on Sunday night.

If you didn't hear that, you can go back and listen to that. That question is answered, so I don't want it asked again, right? But if you have follow-up on it, that's fine. What was the primary role of the Holy Spirit in the first century? Two things.

The primary so, the Holy Spirit did all of these things, worked in all of these ways, but if we got to condense it down, what is the primary role of the Holy Spirit in the first century? Again, Sunday night we talked about this. What was the primary role of the Holy Spirit? Reveal and to prove or to confirm the word. To reveal the truth, to reveal the word, to guide the apostles into all truth.

As Paul says in Ephesians three three through six, he by revelation received these things whereby when you read, you may understand my knowledge. Right? So Paul says, I was given it by the Holy Spirit. I wrote it down so that when you read, you can understand my knowledge. And then as we just read, to confirm in Hebrews two one through four, to bear witness and signs and miracles to the truth.

That was that was the holy spirit's primary working in the old testament, in the new testament. And again, the holy spirit worked in a lot of other ways, but primarily that's what we boil it down to. So here's the question. Once that truth is revealed and confirmed, what does that say about the working of the spirit? Once that truth is revealed and confirmed, what does that say about the working of the spirit?

If that truth is completed, if that truth is fully revealed, then this primary job of the spirit would be fulfilled as well. Man. Alright. I want you to turn to first Corinthians chapter 13 for just a second. First Corinthians chapter 13.

So this whole section in first Corinthians, twelve, thirteen, 14 is all about gifts of the Holy Spirit. And so this church in Corinth, they had an abundance of gifts of the Holy Spirit. There were people who could speak in tongues, there were people who could work miracles, there were people who could interpret. We find these people who have gifts of healings, gifts of tongues, gifts of interpretation. There are people who are apostles and prophets and teachers and workers of miracles.

He talks about all of that in chapter 12. Then in chapter 12 and verse 31, this is what he says, but earnestly desire the best or the greater gifts and yet I will show you a more excellent way. So healings and tongues and interpretation and working of miracles, all of these things that he's talked about, he says there are better gifts than these miraculous gifts of the Holy Spirit. And then in chapter 13, he tells us what a greater gift is. And what's chapter 13 all about?

Love. And who can manifest that gift? Any and all of us who are Christians. Right? And so he talks about what love is, how if I don't have love.

Verse two, and though I have the gift of prophecy and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, though I have all faith so that I could remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. I might have these gifts of the Holy Spirit, but if I don't have love to go with that, it profits me nothing. So drop down to verse eight and notice what he says. Love never fails. Maybe your translation says, love never ends.

Well, that's true, isn't it? Is there ever gonna be a time in all of eternity where there is no love? Now there place where there's not a lot of love to be found. But there's never gonna be a time where there is no love. Love is gonna continue all through eternity.

Love never fails, love never ends. But whether, notice verse eight, there are prophecies, they will fail. Where there are tongues, they will cease. Whether there is knowledge, it will vanish away. Now, we think about prophecies and tongues, those are miraculous gifts of the holy spirit.

And so knowledge, I think that's exactly what we're talking about here with revealing the truth, right? That this is miraculous knowledge given by the holy spirit and the time is gonna come where there aren't prophecies, where there aren't tongues, where there isn't this knowledge, it's going to vanish away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part. But when that which is complete has come, then that which is in part will be done away. When I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood as a child, I thought as a child, but when I became a man, fully mature, I put away childish things.

Now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face. So we think about a mirror in the ancient world, right? A lot of times it was a piece of metal, that sort of thing And the shinier it was just like today, the better you could see yourself. But we think about the kind of mirror that we have, the glass where it's my face and I'm seeing my face flipped but exactly as it is. I'm seeing clearly, right, face to face.

Now we know in part, but then I shall know just as I also am known. Then verse 13, so what is he talking about? Is he talking about eternity? Is he talking about heaven? Is he talking about, when the earth is destroyed and all get to go and be with God?

Well, verse 13 I think tells us something, but now abide, remain. Faith, hope, love, these three, but the greatest of these is love. So here are these greater gifts that he's talking about at the end of chapter 12. Faith, hope, and love. And so after these other gifts pass away, what gifts are gonna remain?

Faith, hope, and love. Now, to me that's what makes clear that he's not talking about after the judgment. He's not talking about, the spiritual realm, when we have eternity with God. Will there be faith in God's presence? Think about it.

What is faith? We walk by faith and not by sight. Right? Yeah. It's things hoped for, not seen.

When we're in God's presence, will there be faith in God? We won't have to have faith because it will be sight. When we're in God's presence, will there be hope? No need. Why?

Because hope is realized, right? It's a and hope in a biblical sense is not just, well I hope it happens, it's desire and expectation. No, I believe it is going to happen, but in the presence of God it has happened. Right? But which one of those three will remain forever?

Will there be love in the presence of God? God is love. Love like we have never known before. So here's what I want you to think about. The holy spirit was super active.

In fact this, of the Godhead, the holy spirit is the primary person who is working and his work is primarily to reveal the truth and to confirm that truth. So when that truth is revealed and confirmed, then his work in this way, is completed. All right. Thoughts or questions? Yes.

Is binary? Is faith binary? Either you have it or you don't. I think we can grow in our faith. I think we can grow in our faith.

I think there's a sense in which either we believe in God or we don't. We know that faith includes a whole lot more than just, hey, I believe in this. Right? So that sense would be binary and occasionally, the New Testament does use faith in the sense of just belief that I believe something. But usually, it includes a lot more than that.

So faith is something that we can grow in. Okay? So I'm a call you Joe Smitherman. You've asked the question, where are you going with it? Is our growth in faith purely result of an intellectual exercise, or can we grow without the aid of the Holy Spirit?

Those aren't the need for us. Maybe I misphrase that. In I faith do not believe we can grow in our faith without the aid of the holy spirit. Now how does the holy spirit aid us in growing in our faith? That's, again, that's the question.

Yeah. The holy spirit has to be involved for us to grow in our faith. The question is how? Where I'm going with this, and this isn't a fully formed thought, me being proved wrong is Jeremy, you can just cut that. If me being proved wrong helps us in understanding, happy to be that sacrificial.

Okay. Has the mystery been revealed, or will the mystery be revealed? Well, I think you have to define your terms on what you mean by mystery. Well, the mystery of the gospel. I think the mystery has been revealed.

Yes. Do you think we will understand more at the end of this life? I think we will understand much much more. Yes. I agree.

But the mystery in terms of what it was that God set out to do in bringing about salvation in Jesus Christ, That mystery has been revealed and it's been fully revealed and we're able to see it and know it. Now, will we know a bunch more? Obviously, will. And there are lots of things that belong to God that we don't know and won't know until we're in his presence. But in terms of so I'm just trying to be specific about what you're meaning by mystery because in terms of the New Testament, the mystery has been revealed.

And I'm not down. My mind is going this way. It feels like to me that every time I study, every time my faith has an opportunity to grow, that the mystery is revealed more. And I feel like if my faith if my growth in faith is aided by the Holy Spirit, and therefore the mystery of the gospel is continually as I study and live and work and pray, then the Holy Spirit is operating and is continuing to reveal the truth, as I agree, is the primary purpose of the Holy Spirit in the New Testament. And I don't know if we can communicate with God by prayer without the aid of the Holy Spirit either.

That's another question. Yeah, that's another To me, it goes to the point of continual working of the Holy Spirit in our lives right now. Again, I agree that the Holy Spirit is working in our lives. And where I'm gonna get to in all of this, we'll just skip ahead to what I think. Do I have the boxes next?

Heyo. What I know, what I think I know, and what I don't know. I know and we're gonna demonstrate this. I know that the holy spirit is working today through the word of God and that the truth that has been revealed, revealed to the apostles and prophets that was written down, that truth was there and it's being revealed to you in the sense of, I'm learning it and I'm applying it and I'm making it mine and it is changing my heart and I am being more conformed to the image of Christ and I am I'm having the holy spirit in me in a greater degree. So those things are being revealed to me but in terms of the revelation to the world, those things have already been revealed.

That truth was there waiting to be discovered by me or anybody else with a good and honest heart a long long time ago. That makes sense? Does. Truth was revealed. So this is what I know, right?

That's what I know. I know that. Is the holy spirit working in other ways? Can well, let me ask everybody, can the holy spirit work in other ways? Well, can because he has.

We see him working directly in other ways. We see the Holy Spirit working in other ways. So he can do that. Does he do that? It's not where I expected to go with class but that's great.

I think a great parallel to this would be James chapter one where we pray for wisdom. Right? Let's just turn there really quick. Let's turn there quick. Let's read two through eight.

Okay. James one two two through eight. My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance, perseverance, patience. But let patience, endurance, perseverance, habits perfect work that you may be perfect and complete lacking nothing. If any of you lacks wisdom, I'll raise my hand.

Let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without reproach and it will be given to him. But let him ask in faith with no doubting for he who doubts is like a wave of the sea driven and tossed by the wind. For let not that man suppose that he receive anything from the Lord, a double minded man, unstable in all his ways. Does the Lord promise Does God promise to give us wisdom if we ask in faith? How does he give us that wisdom?

Well, I know three ways from James that he gives wisdom. I know that he gives wisdom through his word. I know from the book of James that he gives wisdom through our experiences, through our life experiences, and so it produces patience in me because I've learned from my mistakes. And then number three, I know that he gives wisdom through wise people that I can learn from their mistakes and their successes. The book of James is very clear that God gives wisdom in those three ways.

So the book of James is also clear that faith without what works is dead. And so if I'm asking in faith, then what do I need to be doing? What work do I need to be doing if I'm asking for wisdom from God? I need to be searching his word, learning from my mistakes, and seeking out wise counsel from other people. Can God give us wisdom just using those three things?

Can he do that? Absolutely he can. So when James says, if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God who gives to all liberally and without approach and it will be given to him. Does that mean that that is the that those three ways are the only ways that God can give wisdom? It doesn't say that.

And so what do I have to do? Well, I know that I'm gonna receive wisdom if I'm seeking out those three ways that James specifies. I don't know if God is giving wisdom in other ways. I kinda hope that he is because I lack wisdom a lot of times. And I'm asking in faith that God can give wisdom in whatever way that he chooses.

Now, can I explain that? Can I say, this is what he's done and what he hasn't done? No, that's unrevealed to me. But I'm still gonna pray and I'm gonna ask for wisdom. We pray a lot of prayers like this.

I'm grateful every single time. I don't care if it is vain repetition. It's not vain repetition to me. Somebody before the sermon gets up and says, may the preacher have a ready recollection of the things that he is prepared to say. Well, what are we asking God for?

Are we asking God to, you know, mess with my mind so that I'm able to recall things that I would not recall otherwise? I'm not sure exactly what we're asking, but you know what I want when I get up to preach? I want a ready recollection of things that I've prepared to say. Now, I'm not asking God if I've, you know, if I've been slacking and I hadn't been studying to get up there and give me words that I, you know, that I haven't worked on, but sometimes you get up and I've got I'm almost a manuscript preacher, not quite, but I but I write things out really detailed and then I just try and preach and sometimes what comes out of my mouth is way better than what I wrote down. Well, all glory to God.

And sometimes what comes out of my mouth is way worse than what I wrote down and I should have just read what I wrote. Do I do I blame God for that? No. And so there's a lot of the working of God that I don't know and that I don't understand. And so for this class at least, to answer your question Mark, I know what the spirit is doing in revealing things to me through his word as I study.

If he works in another way today, I'm not convinced from the New Testament that we have that revealed to us. That's where I am. That's my position on that. Does that answer your question? Yeah.

It may not be a completely answerable question. You know, I know that as well. When I think about passages and scriptures, they say, God hardened their hearts or softened their hearts. I believe it's plausible that he did that by the Holy Spirit, and so what I think I know is that the Holy Spirit can harden my heart or open my mind and make me malleable to understanding and a receptiveness to overcoming my sin and repenting of that sin. But what I don't know is the mechanics behind that nor do I seek to know.

I think that's a great comment and what you said there I think is really kind of impactful and powerful because you talked about the spirit hardening my heart or softening my heart. We just studied what on Sunday morning? The parables of Matthew 13. And what was the purpose of the parables that Jesus told? That's the word of God, right?

Straight from the lips of Jesus. What were the what what is the primary purpose of the parables? I wouldn't teach in this class in here but my junior high kids would be right on this. So what is the primary purpose of the parables in Matthew 13? Discern the heart and really to soften somebody's heart or to harden somebody's heart.

To him who has, more will be given and he'll have abundance. That heart will get softer and he'll get more and more knowledge of who God is and relationship with God. To him who does not have, his heart is hard, even what he has will be taken away from it. Right? And so, Holy Spirit works.

I believe to soften my heart or to harden my heart. How does he do that? Well, know one of the ways he does that is through the word of God because that's what we just studied Sunday morning and there are lots of other passages that that go along that same way. I'm sorry for derailing your class. Was that okay.

May maybe I'm really putting everybody on the spot. Now, that helpful? That discussion helpful? Say what? Oh, money.

I don't know. Okay. Sure. Yeah. Like, we failed if there's no application.

I don't think there's anybody in here at that has studied the word of God for any length of period of time with sincerity that has not read a passage and then come back and read that passage again and said, man, I never I never seen that before. Yeah. Now did that make Let me stop you right there and then you can make it Did that become truth in that moment when you see it for the first time? It became revealed.

It became something that that That you had never seen before in life. Yeah. Revealed to who? Wow. I'm a push you.

Yeah. Revealed to you. Correct. When was it revealed? When I Not believe to you.

When was it revealed? Oh, when it was written. When it was written, it was revealed. But it was revealed to you when? When I believe when the Holy Spirit worked within my spirit to open my eyes because you pray for a sincere heart, an open heart, a heart that's willing to listen to gain understanding and wisdom, etcetera.

I don't think there's anybody in here that they can't say that that has not happened and so that the spirit will not work within you to lead you to a maturity. You know this first Corinthians 13 is a love chapter. Right? Yeah. But down there, he says, when I became a when I was a child, I spoke as a child, I understood things as a child, but when I grew up, when I matured, when I gained an understanding, when I developed I put away childish things.

Think the app one of one application is that you sincerely study the word, you sincerely study what God laid out for us and the spirit will lead and guide you into a better understanding and an application for wisdom. And however the spirit chooses to do that, that's his business. Yeah. But what I don't see in my bible is somebody, well, just give me this knowledge without me going to the word of God and seeking it. At least not among Christians in general.

Okay? Alright. So think about it this way. We think about the spirit and the word. I wanna think about that just a little bit.

Actually, I've got a question that I wanna ask first. So we talked about using ways or means last time. I wanna I wanna give you some examples of this. I want you to turn to Jeremiah 23. Jeremiah 23 for just a second.

Okay. Now I'll tell you the verse here in just a second. With apologies to the Jenkins who asked for these boxes, sorry, the burn ban was lifted and the boxes were burned. So Stephanie burned the boxes. What did she use to do so?

Fire. She used fire to do so. Jesse, how many bells is that? Two bells? Good grief.

That says seven thirty eight. Y'all are my witnesses. That says seven thirty eight. Jesse says come on. Jesse is coming over and he's helping me on some stuff I really appreciate.

Jesse drove the nail. What did he use to do so? He used a hammer to do so. Jeremiah twenty three twenty nine, is not my word like a fire says the Lord and like a hammer that breaks the rock in pieces. So the word of God is compared to a fire or a hammer.

And, Stephanie did the burning but it was the fire that actually burned the boxes. Jesse did the driving but it was the hammer that actually drove the nail. We think about a knight blocked a blow and then stabbed an enemy. What did he use to do so? Well, the knight did it but he used his sword to do so.

Sandy saw her reflection clearly. What did she use to do so? A mirror. And all of these are images that are used for the word God. Fire, hammer, sword, mirror.

And so the spirit uses the word in these same ways. And so we think about the spirit using the word. The spirit is working. And I and I think this is something that's difficult sometimes is we so separate the spirit from the word that it's either either the word working or the spirit working. When so often what we see is spirit working through the word.

And so that's where we're gonna have to pick up next time. Thank you so much for the good comments and questions. We might just have to continue on in some forum as we go through this. But thank you for your good attention tonight.