Experience the Power of God’s Holy Spirit

Why does this book make so much sense to you and to me, to us, when so many are very confused by it, and many others have rejected it completely? Obviously, the Holy Spirit has had a huge impact in your life and in mine. The power of God's Holy Spirit may not be overestimated. And I don't believe that we're humanly capable of fully grasping the mighty power of God's Holy Spirit. Of course, I wouldn't be talking on this subject if I didn't believe that we are capable of grasping at least some. Perhaps a great deal of what the Holy Spirit is doing, but I know we fall short, certainly.

The Bible says a lot about God's Holy Spirit, and Scripture tells us that God's Spirit will lead us into all truth. It is God's Holy Spirit that gives us understanding of God's way of life and His plan of salvation for us, for His creation, for mankind.

God's Spirit is all-powerful. There's not a single force anywhere that has the power of God's Spirit. Not even close. God is Spirit, and we are to worship Him in Spirit and truth. God is supreme, and His Spirit is the supreme power in the entire universe. This physical universe was created by the power of God's Holy Spirit. Let's talk about the mighty power of God's Holy Spirit. We will see from an overview of the biblical record that God has worked mightily by the power of His Holy Spirit with His chosen ones throughout history, and He is continuing to work through His church today.

I would certainly agree with what Mr. Porter said. Much of it goes unnoticed. God does work in many small ways. God's Spirit works in us in many, many ways. We're going to talk about some big ways, and we're going to talk about some small ways as well. God's Spirit has certainly been working throughout all of human history, and before that, of course. In 2 Timothy chapter 1, verse 7, we know this scripture, I believe, most of us do anyway, for God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind.

This scripture echoes through the Bible, and it will echo through all that I have to say today about the mighty power of God's Holy Spirit. We know that the concept of a trinity is false. We don't believe it. We know that God is spirit. There's not a third person in this trinity. Our belief that has been taken directly from the Bible in John 1 is that in the very beginning was God, and the word, the logos, the spokesman was with God, and the word was God.

So we believe in the beginning there were two beings in the God family. One family, two beings. Both composed of spirit, Holy Spirit, their very essence and their divine power. One of these two God beings became known as the Father, and the other ultimately, the Son. It is our long-standing belief in the Church of God that the being that became known as the Son, as Jesus Christ, was the word, the logos, the spokesman, in the Old Testament, and he was the one member of the God family, who interacted primarily with the children of Israel, with Abraham, with Isaac, with Jacob, on a more intimate level than the Father at that particular time in history.

Of course, today we pray to the Father, and we should all have a very intimate relationship with the Father, a close relationship. We pray to him daily. Scripture tells us that Jesus came to reveal the Father. That's why he came in the flesh, part of the reason he came in the flesh. Obviously, he came to die for us, to shed his blood for mankind, but he also came to reveal the Father. No one can come to know Jesus Christ unless the Father draws him to the Son. John 6, 44. And no one comes to know the Father except through the Son, revealing the Father.

And this drawing to the Son and this revealing of the Father is done through the power of God's Holy Spirit. That brings us into all truth. For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son to die for us. The Father gave up his companion, the one who was with him from the very beginning.

The Word became flesh and died for us by the will of the Father. And Jesus was completely obedient and submissive to the Father's will. Christ willingly gave himself for us. We have a very intimate relationship with the Father and the Son. And we should honor the Father every day in prayer as we use Jesus' name. These are truths that we understand because God's Holy Spirit has revealed them to us. We wouldn't understand this otherwise. We wouldn't be here today if God had not opened up our minds to this truth and this understanding because many fine people read the Bible and they don't see it the way we do. They see it a lot differently than we do. They're not gathered together as we are talking about the same things that we talk about with the same understanding. And that's because God has called us out of this world. He's opened our minds. He's given us this truth. The Father was deeply involved and no doubt intimately involved with the Word, with the spokesman, the One through whom He created the material universe and mankind. No doubt the Father and the Word interacted continually as the Word carried out the Father's will in regard to mankind. Again, this is a truth that was revealed to the Church of God many years ago and a truth that does make us unique and different from mainstream Christianity. The true believers of the Bible believe these things. Perhaps, in many respects, not with as much understanding as we have because we've come later and we can put all of it together and God continues to reveal truth to us. So this is a truth that was revealed many years ago and it is a truth that does make us unique and different from mainstream Christianity.

It is a truth to hold dear and precious and it is God's Spirit that reveals these truths to us. Let's go to John chapter 1 and just read a few verses here.

This is profound, but so many just read over what it really says here in John chapter 1 and verse 1. In the beginning was the Word and the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things were made through Him, through this Word, and without Him nothing was made that was made. That's pretty plain. To me it seems very plain. In Him was life and the life was the light of men. And the light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There's still a lot of darkness in the world today. The darkness does not comprehend these things. The Holy Spirit has not revealed these things to many. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness to bear witness of the light, capitalized because it's talking about Christ, the Word that became Jesus Christ that all through Him might believe. He was not that light, but was sent to bear witness of the light, of that light. John the Baptist came to reveal who Jesus was. That was the true light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through Him and the world did not know Him.

The world does not know Him today.

It's still in darkness in many respects. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God. He has given us the right to become children of God. He's revealed this to us through the power of His Holy Spirit.

To those who believe in His name, who were born not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man but of God. And the Word became flesh. It makes it very clear here. This Word, this Logos, the spokesman through whom all things were created, the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father, full of grace, full of truth. John bore witness of Him and cried out, saying, This was He of whom I said, He who comes after me is preferred before me, for He was before me. He was before. He existed, pre-existed. And of His fullness we have all received and grace for grace. And it goes on to say, verse 17, For the law was given through Moses, but grace and truth came through Jesus Christ, and no one has seen God at any time. Speaking of God the Father, no one has seen God at any time, the only begotten Son who is God, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has declared Him. So these are profound truths that we embrace, we believe, and we live our lives accordingly. And we go to church on Saturday and then again on Sunday, this Pentecost weekend, because we truly believe this is the truth of God, and God expects us to obey Him and follow His truth. So we see again, the One who became known as the Father was in complete unity with the Word. And together they devised the creation revealed in Genesis chapter 1. The Word spoke, and the world, the universe existed according to the plan of God. And the Word formed man of the dust of the ground. He did the actual creating according to the Father's divine plan. No doubt the Word, the Father, the One who became known as the Father, worked on this plan together.

So it would be accurate to say that the Father is the Creator. It would also be accurate to say that the Son is the Creator. The truth is, they are both creators through the power of the Holy Spirit. That they share and have in common, and that they have privileged us to receive as well. That's pretty awesome to consider that we can have a bit of God dwelling in us through the power of His Holy Spirit. The One who became known as the Father and the Word were in complete agreement. They were working together to bring about their Master Plan for the Kingdom of God, which included the creation of the material universe and mankind. And the Word who was to become the Christ was slain from the very foundations of the world. That's what the Scripture tells us. From the very foundations of the world of the material creation itself, it was all according to God's plan as revealed in His Holy Word, the Bible. And we treasure this Word, don't we? We treasure this. We read it. We study it. We contemplate it. We go over it and talk about it because in here are the words of life. But to many, this is just a book. To us, these are the words of life because God has revealed these things to us through His Spirit. And notice the force, the power that was used to create in Genesis 1. Let's go there. Genesis chapter 1.

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void. Darkness was on the face of the deep and the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. In other words, God was using His Holy Spirit to bring about this creation. And it goes on and God said, let there be light. And there was light. And we could read the whole chapter. We don't necessarily need to do that.

But we see that two God beings working together, the God family working together to create. And it was the Spirit of God that was the power that was being used to create. It was God through the power of His Holy Spirit who created all things. The Holy Spirit is God's power.

It's not a third person in the Trinity, but it is the divine essence and power of the Almighty God. Both beings and the God family from the very beginning are composed of Spirit, Holy Spirit. And it was by this power that all things were created, all things were made. In Colossians 1, verse 16. Again, these scriptures are clear to us, and we can put them together so that they do make sense. And to me, that was what really appealed to me as an 18-year-old. I had gone to the Methodist Church, and I really wasn't too sure about some of the things that I had heard there.

But this all made sense. It was all making sense to me as I would study the Bible, and I would read all the booklets that the Church produced. Every booklet was another piece of the puzzle to me. And God was revealing these things to me. So in Colossians 1, verse 16, we read a profound truth that we've already discussed this, but this just corroborates what we already know. Colossians 1, verse 16, it says, Who is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead.

Jesus Christ, the firstborn that lives forever. He's at the right hand of the Father. He's the firstborn among many brethren. This is God's plan. The beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he may have the preeminence. For it please the Father that in him all the fulness should dwell. And by him to reconcile all things to himself, by him whether things on earth or things in heaven, having made peace through the blood of his cross. So we see the Father and Son working together in perfect harmony in unison to bring about God's will.

And in Ephesians chapter 3, let's go there. Ephesians chapter 3. Here we're going to see that again all things were created through Jesus Christ. Paul mentions this again here in Ephesians chapter 3. He adds a bit more in Ephesians chapter 3 beginning in verse 9.

Let's go back to verse 8. To me who am less than the least of all the saints, Paul says, this grace was given that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ. And to make all see what is the fellowship of the mystery, which from the beginning of the ages has been hidden in God, who created all things through Jesus Christ.

These things are hidden to most people. They remain hidden to most people. It's been hidden in God who created all things through Jesus Christ to the intent that now the manifold wisdom of God might be made known by the Church. We can know these things to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places according to the eternal purpose which he accomplished in Christ Jesus, our Lord, in whom we have boldness and access with confidence through faith in Him. And we should live our lives with boldness because we have the Spirit of God dwelling in us to guide us, to direct us, to lead us. We should not minimize the power of God's Holy Spirit that dwells within us.

We should have a certain boldness, not a haughtiness, not a pride because that's not what God's all about, but a godly confidence and a faith that God can work miracles in us according to your faith, be it unto you. Perhaps we need a little more faith. God grants us faith. It's a gift that God gives us. But perhaps if we all walked a little more boldly, believing and knowing that the power of God's Spirit is ever-present for us, perhaps that would make a difference. So I would encourage all of us to do that.

Let's go to Genesis 2. We'll go back. Genesis 2. We see another important creation that took place in the book of Genesis. And we shouldn't minimize the importance of this truth. This understanding, it's integral to who we are. Let's look at Genesis 2, verse 1. Thus the heavens and the earth and all the host of them were finished. Mankind was created, created in the image of God. And on the seventh day, God ended his work, which he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work, which he had done. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, set it apart, made it holy, because in it he rested from all his work, which God had created and made. Setting an example for all of us, that every Sabbath, from Friday sunset to Sabbath sunset, we would observe this day in honor of the creation, in honor of the Creator. And it is a sign between God and his people, and yet how many people really observe the Sabbath in the way God intends? Not many, not of the six and a half billion people, or whatever the number is now, that live upon the earth. Very few have this wonderful sign. And why do we have this sign? Is it because we're smarter? I don't think so. I don't think so. It's because God has revealed it to us through the power of his Holy Spirit. So today we should be ever grateful for this wonderful gift of the Holy Spirit. The one who became Christ created the Sabbath by resting. This is certainly one of the reasons why Christ calls himself the Lord of the Sabbath.

Because he was the being and the God family who created the Sabbath by resting. The Father, obviously, along with him. Again, there was complete unity with the one who became known as the Father. There has never been, nor will there ever be, any ungodly competition between the two beings in the God family. And for that matter, all who are born into the God family will work together in perfect harmony for eternity. That's what I understand the Bible teaches. So we have an awesome future ahead of us.

God the Father and Jesus Christ truly are one, and they show us what type of unity is possible by the power of God's Holy Spirit. That is something for us to attain, to look to, to strive to become like Christ and like the Father. Having that unity as brothers and sisters in Christ, I think we fall a bit short, don't we? We do. We can do better. We're to become a church without spot or wrinkle or any such thing. That's what we're striving for. Again, let us all strive to do better, to be in greater harmony together as we follow God and Christ, as we follow their lead through the power of God's Spirit. So the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people. We have entered into covenant with God by keeping His Sabbath and His Holy Days. And thankfully, we have a Sabbath every seven days to help us stay on track. You've heard me say that I don't know what kind of a mess I would be if I didn't have the Sabbath. Every week is a course correction to help me see what I need to do and how I need to live. And the Holy Days are the same. Every year they have these annual days to help us as well. The truth of the importance of the Sabbath and annual Holy Days is revealed to us by God's Spirit. Adam and Eve had an opportunity to choose to obey or to disobey God in the Garden of Eden. They chose to disobey, and they both ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. They chose to disobey rather than to obey God and continue eating of the tree of life. Instead, they ate of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and they were cut off from the tree of life. They yielded to Satan's lie and his temptation. They did evil. They sinned by transgressing God's perfect law. As a result, God drove them out of his garden, and they were barred from access to the tree of life. They would not live forever in their current state. They were now subject to death because of sin. The wages of sin is death. The gift of God is eternal life to our Savior, the Messiah, Jesus Christ. Now Cain and Abel were Adam and Eve's sons. They were given free moral agency to choose to obey or disobey, to choose to follow God and yield to the Holy Spirit, or to disobey God and yield to Satan's temptation and to their own carnal human nature. Let's go back to Genesis 4. Read a verse here. Genesis 4.

Abel also brought of the firstborn of his flock and of their fat, and the eternal respected Abel and his offering.

Abel brought something good to the table for the offering. God was pleased with that. Abel was the one who gave a proper sacrifice to God and showed some evidence of being led by the Spirit of God.

No doubt, did he have the Holy Spirit dwelling in him? In Hebrews 11, it talks about Abel. Let's go there. Hebrews 11. We'll just read verse 4 here. Hebrews 11. We know this as the faith chapter. Hebrews 11 is a good thing to be named in the faith chapter. Hebrews 11 verse 4. By faith, Abel offered to God a more excellent sacrifice than Cain, through which he obtained witness that he was righteous.

He was yielding to the power of God's Holy Spirit. Perhaps the Spirit of God was dwelling in him at this time? God testifying of his gifts. Is that the gift? The gift of the Spirit. And through it, he being dead, Abel still speaks to us today. I'm speaking of him. Abel speaks to us. He was righteous. God sanctified him and set him apart by his Spirit. Hebrews 12 verse 24 says, And to Jesus the Mediator of the new covenant, and to the blood of sprinkling, that speaks better things than that of Abel.

Going beyond Abel, it speaks better things than that of Abel. God is revealing more and more truth to us as time goes along. Now we know that Noah was a righteous man. No doubt, one who was given the gift of the Holy Spirit. Noah had faith. He built the ark. Took him a long time. Took a lot of faith. 120 years he built the ark.

According to God's instructions, he was obedient and faithful and filled with the Spirit and the power of God. He wasn't perfect. He was a righteous man. He was a righteous man. We know he had his shortcomings, but he was a man within himself, dwelt the Spirit of God. And God used him mightily to save mankind at that time because every thought of man's heart was wicked. Evil continually. That's a scary thought. Just how literal was that? Abraham had faith. Abraham had great faith to sacrifice Isaac. He was willing to do that through the power of God's Spirit that dwelt in him. Remember, God's Spirit is not the spirit of fear, but of power and of love.

And Courtney sang about that love in the special music. It's a powerful love. God is love. And also of a sound mind. We aren't crazy, even though people think we are. We're really not crazy. A lot of people think we're crazy, don't they? It's crazy religion. No, we have a sound mind. God has given us a sound mind through the power of his Holy Spirit.

Abraham loved God and did not show his willingness to sacrifice Isaac out of an ungodly fear, but out of love, which is the keeping of the commandments of God and a proper fear and respect of the Almighty to keep his commandments, to do those things that are pleasing in his sight. Abraham showed real sound-mindedness and self-control in his willingness to obey God's command to sacrifice Isaac. Now, how hard would that be?

Abraham was a man like you and me. He was flesh, but he did have great faith. And God's Spirit dwelt in him, and God's Spirit dwells in you and me. So let's not cut God short by cutting ourselves short.

The Bible says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. So I hope we are stirred up today to believe, to have greater faith, to become more like Abraham. It wasn't an easy thing for him to do, but it was the right thing to do. It was the right thing to do because it was what God commanded, what he required. Abraham had faith that God would keep his promises, and by his faith in God and by the gift of God's faith in him, through the power of the Holy Spirit, he was willing to obey and to sacrifice his only Son of Promise.

Abraham knew that God promised that his inheritance would go through Isaac. He had that faith. He believed God. And so, he was willing to obey and to sacrifice his only Son of Promise. Abraham knew it was going to be okay.

We need to know it's going to be okay when we step out in faith. When we allow the Spirit of God to guide and direct us in his power, God's Spirit is not the Spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

righteous Lot made some bad choices, and he suffered the consequences of those bad choices because he chose to settle in Sodom. A bad place. A really bad place. But God spared him because at crunch time, he was obedient. Lot's wife was not so obedient. She longingly disobeyed. She looked back toward Sodom. She was turned to a pillar of salt by the power of God's Spirit. God's Spirit is powerful. It can do miracles.

Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph, they were all led by God's Holy Spirit. It was clearly God's Spirit that gave Joseph the character, the wisdom, the sound-mindedness, the power to resist Potiphar's wife's temptations. Sometimes men think they can't resist. No, with God's Spirit, certainly, you can resist. Some people do it without God's Spirit. So, let's not make excuses for ourselves, men. We can overcome. In fact, we're called to overcome. To he who overcomes will I grant to sit with me on my throne. So, we have to be overcomers. Thankfully, God is merciful and he gives us some time to grow and to overcome.

Moses was led by God's Spirit. Moses was one of the most faithful men who ever lived. He loved too, didn't he? He loved so much that he was willing to die for those stiff-necked Israelites. He said, don't blot my name out if you're going to blot all of them out. He stood up. God was going to start all over with Moses. Maybe I would have said, yeah, that's a good idea. I'm tired of these people! Now, God is love, and Moses was reflecting that love, speaking up with boldness to God himself.

That takes boldness, doesn't it? Let us find the courage to do the right thing, whenever we're called upon to do the right thing. Moses was the human instrument that God was using to deliver his children Israel through the power of his Spirit. It was the power of God's Spirit that allowed a bush to burn, but not burn up. It was the power of God's Spirit that was behind the plagues that struck and decimated Egypt. It was the power of God's Spirit that drowned the Egyptians in the Red Sea.

I believe that happened. I believe it's the truth. It happened. The Scripture tells me it is. It was the power of God's Spirit that protected, fed, and watered the children of Israel in their 40 years in the wilderness. God miraculously sending manna, day by day, not on the Sabbath, but every other day. God faithfully sending manna, providing. God's Spirit is a miracle-working Spirit. And God has given his Word to us. We don't have to see all the signs, because they're right here!

The signs are in this book. Let's believe what the book tells us. And let's not look after signs. God chooses to show us some signs. So be it. But we don't have to have the signs. We've got plenty of signs already.

God's Spirit was active during the time of Joshua. God's Spirit was with Joshua, and he personally displayed the courage. He said, as for me in my house, I'm going to obey God. I'm going to serve the Eternal. And he did that. God's Spirit was with Joshua, and he personally displayed the courage that came from God's Spirit as he courageously stood up against the unfaithful spies. And then, also, Caleb along with him.

Caleb was also righteous and had the Spirit of God dwelling within him. And then, together, they led the children of Israel faithfully after Moses' death. It was the Spirit, not of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind that resulted in Joshua's long day. Now, that's a miracle. When God held up time through the power of his Spirit. I don't know exactly how he did that, but he did it. I believe it. He gave Joshua the victory over his enemies. The Holy Spirit was, perhaps, active to a lesser degree during the time of the Judges. As most everyone was leaning to their own understanding and not yielding to the Holy Spirit.

But it was active in some cases, even in the Book of Judges, and God would raise up a deliverer. Time and time again, the miracle of Gideon's Fleece and the power that delivered Gideon and the children of Israel were both due to the power of God's Spirit. God's Spirit was active during the time of Samuel. As a little boy, God was talking to him. And throughout his life, the Prophet Samuel, for a time with King Saul, certainly King David, Elijah, Elisha, and many miracles are recorded in the Bible.

Too many to rehearse today, obviously. All done through the power of God's Spirit. God's Spirit, working in people, as the Scripture reveals. The power of the Holy Spirit is what delivered the children of Israel many times from their enemies. God delivered them through His Spirit during the time of King Josiah. There were great reforms because Josiah turned his heart to the Lord. Hezekiah turned his heart to the Eternal. And God worked with him in mighty ways. Sennacherib, and they were turned away because Hezekiah had faith.

He spread things out before God. He prayed fervently before God. He fasted, and they fasted together. And God's Spirit was powerful. And victory was given to God's people at that time. Because of their unwillingness to yield and to submit to God's Spirit, the children of Israel did have little power at times. In fact, most of the time, in many ways, and eventually, they were taken captive by their enemies. By Assyria and Babylon. But God was not done with the children of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was not done working in power.

There was great power with Daniel, with Shadrach, with Meshach, and Abednego. Men of faith. Men who stood up, stood in the gap, did the right thing. They yielded to God's Holy Spirit during the time of captivity. Some of us may be called to do that as well. We don't know what lies in store for us in the future. We do to some degree, we just don't know when it's happening and who's going to be alive. When it happens. But I know this. If we don't yield to God's Spirit, we will be found greatly wanting and lacking during that time. Now is the time to stir up the Spirit of God and draw nearer to God and pray that God will grant you more faith.

The Bible says we should pray for greater faith. Pray that God will strengthen you. That's something we should be doing on a regular basis. Praying for more faith. Through the leadership and direction of the Holy Spirit, guiding Ezra, Nehemiah and Zerubbabel, some returned to the land of Israel after their captivity.

They came back to the Promised Land. They again observed the Sabbath and the annual Holy Days for a time, at least to some degree. And in the course of time, we know that the Word became flesh. Born miraculously of a virgin, conceived by the Holy Spirit.

By God's divine power. Great power was given to Christ as He yielded to God's Holy Spirit throughout His physical life. Many miracles, many healings were performed everywhere He went. People flocked because they wanted to see the miracles. They wanted to see thousands fed by a few loaves and by a few fishes. They wanted to see the crippled man no longer crippled. The blind man no longer blind. That was by the power of God's Holy Spirit. The Book of Joel speaks of God pouring out His Spirit. Let's go to Joel 2. Joel 2. Joel 2.

Joel 2. Joel 2. Joel 2. And it shall come to pass afterward that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh, prophecy, that Amos gave. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your old men shall dream dreams, your young men shall see visions, and also on my men servants and my maid servants I will pour out my spirit in those days.

If we go back to Acts 2, or go ahead to Acts 2, verse 16, we see a fulfillment of this. Acts 2, verse 16.

But this is what was spoken by the prophet Joel. And it shall come to pass in the last day, says God, that I will pour out my spirit on all flesh. Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, your young men shall see visions, your old men shall dream dreams, and on my men servants and on my maid servants I will pour out my spirit in those days, and they shall prophesy. I will show wonders in heaven above and signs in the earth beneath, blood and fire and vapor of smoke.

The sun shall be turned into darkness and the moon into blood. Not all of this was fulfilled. It's talking about the heavenly signs that the book of Revelation talks about. The first part of this was fulfilled and will be fulfilled again. It's a dual prophecy. In Acts 2, it shows that this prophecy of Joel was fulfilled at that time on the day of Pentecost after Christ's death and resurrection that year.

But we know too there will be a dual prophecy of this during the terrible day of the Lord. That has not yet come. That day is coming. Heavenly signs will take place. And it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the Lord, verse 32 of Joel 2, and it shall come to pass that whoever shall call on the name of the eternal shall be delivered.

For in Mount Zion and in Jerusalem shall be deliverance, as the Lord has said, and in the remnant whom the Lord shall call. God is calling a remnant. We are a part of the remnant. We're a small flock. We have little power in some ways. We have tremendous power in others. So let us conclude with 1 Timothy chapter 3. This will be the last, the final scripture. I need to wrap this up. 1 Timothy chapter 3.

Let's tie it together to some degree. Here Paul says, these things I write to you in 1 Timothy chapter 3 verse 14. These things I write to you, though I hope to come to you shortly, but I am delayed. I write so that you may know how you ought to conduct yourself in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth. This is the pillar and ground of the truth. That's what we're speaking about today.

This is the truth, revealed to us by God's Holy Spirit. The church of God is the pillar and ground of the truth. And without controversy, great is the mystery of godliness. God was manifested in the flesh, justified in the spirit, seen by angels, preached among the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up in glory. Christ was resurrected and is now at the right hand of the Father, acting as your high priest, as my high priest.

We have great power because we have a great high priest and we have the Spirit of God. The Holy Spirit worked mightily in the early church. You can go to the book of Acts. We don't have time to rehearse all the things that happened there. But it was said, silver and gold have I none, but what I do have, I give you. And people were healed as God's Spirit worked mighty wonders and miracles. I believe that we are the servants of God. We've been sealed by the Spirit of God. Those of us who've been baptized, who had hands laid upon us, who received the Spirit of God.

If we die before Christ returns, we're sealed. We will be in the first resurrection. In fact, we'll rise first. And those of us who may be alive, in whom the Spirit dwells, shall be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye at the last trumpet. Now is our day of salvation. We await the seventh trumpet. In a sense, Pentecost, between Pentecost and trumpets, is the time that it's our day of salvation.

It's important that we use this time wisely, redeeming the time. Because when Christ returns, it's going to be too late. Remember the ten virgins. Remember the parable. Now is the time for us to utilize the Spirit of God, to stir up the Spirit of God, and to have faith that God will work through us in mighty ways as it's required in the days ahead. So, brethren, God's Holy Spirit is the most powerful force in the universe. Bar none. As God created the universe through the power of His Spirit, God's Spirit lives in us today through the Father and His Son.

Father and Son live in us today through the power of the Spirit. Will you allow God's Spirit to guide you and direct you and to give you real power from on high?