The Gift of the Holy Spirit

The Day of Pentecost is especially significant to Christians because of the first Pentecost after Jesus's death, God established the New Testament Church through the gift of the Holy Spirit.

As the Church of God, we have received a commission from Jesus to preach this gospel message, the good news of the kingdom, and to care for those disciples that he calls. In the book of Acts chapter 1, we have captured the last conversation Jesus had with his disciples right at the very beginning, Acts 1 and verse 1. His disciples were gathered together and just a few days before the giving of the Holy Spirit, Jesus shared some insightful words as a reminder of promises that he had already explained to them and words he'd already shared with them, but he didn't want them to forget.

This was critical. This was that mission critical objective because God knew what he was about to give to his people, not only those who would be gathered there on that day of Pentecost, but to all the generations that would follow and to us even today were recipients of this blessing that Jesus reminded them about and encouraged them to go forward in. Acts 1 and verse 1, it says, the former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to do and to teach until the day in which he was taken up after he through the Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom he had chosen, to whom he also presented himself alive after his suffering by many infallible proofs being seen by them during 40 days and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God.

This mission that you and I continue to preach today, this kingdom of God that we will not stop preaching, this kingdom of peace, this kingdom that this world desperately needs and this is what Jesus was teaching them.

What we have recorded is what we continue to teach today. It says, in being assembled together with them, he commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father which he said you have heard from me. For John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.

Therefore, when they had come together, they asked him saying, Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? Where was their vision? Their vision was on the returning Christ. The vision was on the conquering king. The vision was on what Mr. Shudy shared this morning, this vision that's always been in the hearts of God's people, the return of our Lord and Savior to put away the challenges and the problems in this world and to establish his kingdom here on the earth. And so, this yearning that you and I have, this desire for this kingdom is the same desire that has been through generations of God's people.

And we see that this was their question. This was what was on their mind here in their last moment with Jesus before he ascended again to his Father. And he said to them that in verse 7, it is not for you to know the times or the seasons which the Father has put in his own authority, but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be witnesses to me in Jerusalem and in all the Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

And now when he had spoken these things, while they watched, he was taken up and a cloud received him out of their sight. Talking about a mic drop moment, final words from their Lord and Savior, the marching orders that they were given, and then they went and fulfilled as we see recorded in the New Testament. The same marching orders that we've received, the same marching orders that we go by as we go forward.

Jesus referred to a promise that he had shared with the disciples saying that they would receive a power unlike anything else that exists on this planet or in this universe. The power would allow the apostles to do mighty and powerful works as they went forth preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ. And the same power is what you and I have within us as God has given and offered those who have committed their lives to God, who have accepted the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who have gone through the process of baptism and had hands weighed on them.

This gift of God's Spirit. The same spirit that has transformed the lives of the apostles and empowered them to do on their mighty journeys is the same transforming power that continues to do mighty works today in the lives of mankind. But there's a problem and let me just be clear, the problem is not on God's side of things. There's a problem with us. And so today we're going to look through some scriptures of why God needed to give his Spirit. Why there was a problem that man had from within that needed help.

God has always deeply cared about humanity. From the moment that mankind was created in God's own image, God had a desire for a deep and intimate relationship with his creation and those he wanted to be part of his spiritual family. This is why he gave us instructions, why he gave mankind instructions on how we are to love him and how we're to love our fellow brothers and sisters.

He has not left us alone just to figure things out, to figure out the meaning of life or this plan that we should have. As good parents, we didn't just leave it to our kids to figure out how to make dinner. The first time they decided to cook on the stove, we didn't just decide to go on a trip and go leave them there and say, well, I hope the house is still intact and not burned down when we get back home. No, the first time we taught our kids how to start cooking, we stood next to them. We got them a chair. We pulled it over. We showed them how to use maybe a whisk, how to maybe get a scoop of cookies. Because that was a fun thing in our house is like kids want to make desserts. We don't want to make a gourmet meal or something with brussel sprouts or broccoli.

We want to make cookies. I remember my mom letting us have the kitchen to make a mess at times, but also to try to learn. But she was right there to offer guidance and help. And when we goofed up, she knew the way to fix those things. Our father and his love has given us a plan, a direction to go with their lives. He's given us instructions on how to interact with one another. He's not just left us to figure out this life on our own. This is how intimately he cares about us, how much he loves us. And he has loved all of mankind in this way. And that's why his plan isn't just for us today.

It's for all of mankind.

God, in his loving way, established house rules on how this family should operate at a high level. And then again, what our individual personal responsibilities are as part of this larger family.

But since the Garden of Eden, there has been a problem. And the problem is us.

In God's desire to grow his family, he wanted individuals who would who appreciated the opportunity to be part of his family and those who wanted to be part of his family.

This means he had to give mankind a choice that we get to make if we want to be in his family or not.

And because of this ability to have free moral agency, mankind has battled back and forth in desiring a full and complete relationship with God, what we would call and consider oneness with God, and the opposite, the desire to do things our own way. And when we really consider the depth of the holy days we are observing, this day is unique to God's people. I want to take a step back and kind of go through the spring holy days and then we'll jump to the fall holy days. But when we think about this day that we are observing, who's it for? What does this day picture? Who gets to be the first fruits? I'm seeing some smiles because I think some of the ministry, and we've been talking a little bit about the uniqueness of this day. I know I talked to Mr. Shudy about it yesterday.

We know that we have a Savior who came and gave his life for the world. So that's everybody. That's us. That's the entirety of humanity. And we know that God brought Israel out of Egypt. He's brought us out of our sins. He's going to bring others in their time out of their sins too to give them a new direction to go, a new way to live. But this day is for God's people. This day symbolizes those who in this earthly flesh battling Satan the devil daily, right, will have an opportunity of eternal life in the first resurrection. There's so much about what we heard about this in the messaging this morning about those loaves being offered, about the wheat bowing down, that beauty of God's harvest. And we are that harvest. This day is for you and for me, for those who've come before us, those who are resting in their graves, those who will come later and continue to take up the mantle and continue to give their life to God, continue to say, I'm going to let God live within me so I can battle Satan and the impacts of this world. This this holy day is special to us here and those online because of what it means for our future. Because as we fast forward to the fall holy days that will be here before we know it, right, they always come quick as summer winds down and which symbolizes those fall holy days of Jesus Christ returning, Satan being banished in the millennial reign of our Lord and Savior when those still alive on the earth will be taught God's way and then later those who have lived and died and never knew God would be given a chance, their first chance at salvation. We see that God encompasses everyone. Nobody's left out, but there's a group, there's a set of firstfruits that God says you get to do something different.

I'm going to work in your lives today and you're going to make some tough choices and you're going to battle through some really hard times because I've got something special in mind for you. What an amazing day that this is. What a unique day that this is that we're remembering as we continue forward and as we consider to this message and as we consider this day.

And this is what brings us back to our concept today of human nature versus God's Spirit and that's what we're going to focus as we continue through this message. Human nature versus God's Spirit. And here is the scripture that details out exactly our problem. There is a way that seems right to a man dot dot dot right. Let's turn there. Proverbs 14 and verse 12. This is the problem. We often just stop right here at this verse and it's a great verse to read and stop at, but we're going to jump ahead to verse 14 through 16 as well, but Proverbs 14 verse 12.

There is a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death. Verse 14. The backslider in heart will be filled with his own ways, but a good man will be satisfied from where? Above.

The simple believes every word, but the prudent considers well his steps.

A wise man fears and departs from evil, but a full rages and is self-confident.

Right here in the wisdom that we have, we see the challenge that you and I have in our lives, right? This isn't a surprise. Nobody's going to say, wow, I've never considered that before, that I'm the problem, that I'm the weak one, that I'm the one that needs fixing, right? Because we are all broken in different ways. But even with mankind's weakness and the weakness of wanting to be selfish, our desire to be prideful of heart, God still kept his promise to Abraham when he told him his descendants would be an innumerable multitude. God redeemed his people from Egypt's captivity and began working with them to show them a better way to walk and to lead their lives. He pulled them out of their misery, out of their bondage, to a type of sin, but they were still a problem. Let's look at Deuteronomy 5 in verse 1.

Deuteronomy is a book written by Moses going over the history of God's plan for them as he brought them out of Egypt, out of through the wilderness, and before they go into the Promised Land. He's going back through and recounting the things that they need to keep on the forefront of their mind, so they would not forget their God. Notice Deuteronomy 5 in verse 1, it says, And Moses called all Israel and said to them, Here, O Israel, the statutes and judgments which I speak in your hearing today, that you may learn them and be careful to observe them.

The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. This is in reference to Moses being at Mount Sinai when the Ten Commandments were given, that the Old Covenant being established.

Which in Jewish, respected Jewish traditions occurred on the Feast of Pentecost in the wilderness, that very first Pentecost in the wilderness. And Moses said, The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive. The Lord talked with you face to face on the mountain from the midst of the fire. I stood between the Lord and you at that time. What? To declare to you the word of the Lord for you were afraid because of the fire and you did not go up to the mountain. And starting in verse six, which we're not going to read through, he starts recounting the Ten Commandments as a reminder, going through the Ten Commandments again, the these this law of God, the law of loving God, loving our neighbor. And in verse 22, Moses continues saying, These words, the Lord spoke to all of your assembly in the mountain from the midst of the fire, the cloud and the thick darkness with a loud voice. And he added no more. And he wrote them on two tablets of stone and gave them to me. So it was when you heard the voice from the midst of the darkness while the mountain was burning with fire that you came near to me, all the heads of your tribes and your elders. And you said, Surely the Lord, our God has shown us his glory and his greatness. And we have heard his voice from the midst of the fire. We have seen this day that God speaks with man, yet he still lives. And then they were saying, But Moses, I'm paraphrasing a little bit here, we don't want to see God. We don't want to talk to him. You be our intercessor. You talk to God. And notice verse 28 says, Then the Lord heard the voice of your words when you spoke to me. And the Lord said to me, I have heard the voice of the words of these people, which they have spoken to you.

They are right in all that they have spoken. And notice verse 29, the problem, Oh, that they had such a heart in them, that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments, that it may be well with them and with their children forever. And now we get to the heart of the matter.

Do you see what I did there? I was, I was, I've got to make sure you guys are awake. Okay.

We get to the heart of the matter. What did God say? What did he recognize? What did he see? Oh, that they had such a heart in them.

I can only imagine God design. I mean, think about it. Like we have children, we have nieces and nephews. We have people that we deeply love. And when we see them go astray, it hurts our heart.

We wish there was some kind of wisdom we could grant them some kind of like just if I could say the perfect words. Here, God looked at his people. He looked at humanity and recognized there's a heart problem. It's not a surprise to God. He already knew there was a heart issue. He already knew that this was the problem, but he vocalized it. Moses heard it when God said, Oh, that they had such a heart in them that they would fear me and always keep all my commandments. God knew there is a weakness inside of man that would forever challenge our ability to fully follow God. It was a weakness, not in the law, but in the flesh. And it was a weakness that was at the core of their innermost being a problem with the heart. We know the history of the old testament accounts of God desiring that his people would walk with him as their God. We know the times when they murmured and they asked questions of God saying, why is he bringing us out in this wilderness just to kill us?

Or why is he having us do this or to do that? And we know there's times where God's people did the right things. They followed him as best as they could. They obeyed. They kept his commandments. They reaped tremendous blessings only to last a short while before they go off the rails again.

We see that through the books and then the book of Judges. We see the accounts with the kings, the good kings, the bad kings. God didn't want them to have a king. He actually tried to do everything he could to discourage that, right? He went through the account saying, if you get a king, they're going to take your men and your women. They're going to put your men in the armies and they're going to take your women and make them serve in the palace. He said, they're going to take your horses. They're going to take part of your crops. They're going to do all these things. Look around. Look at the kings of the world. Is that what you want? And what was their response? We want a king. Have you ever given advice to someone and thinking, okay, they have to see the wisdom in this. And what did they say? We want a king. And you're just like, man.

So he gave them a king. He gave them what they wanted and they went off and they served that king and they gave their honor to that king and that king did what? Let them down. Went off the rails, created armies, fell into false worship at times. And God's people suffered because of the things that continue to go on. Generation after generation struggled to follow God because they had a heart problem. And as God always does, he already had a solution to this problem and a plan which would transform mankind's relationship with their God.

Notice Jeremiah 31 and verse 31.

Jeremiah 31 and verse 31. And this is well into Israel's walking contrary to God's way.

He gives a prophecy not only here, but we'll look at Ezekiel here in just a moment as well.

But Jeremiah 31 verse 31 says, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers and the day that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, my covenant, which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the Lord. But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, I will put my law in their minds and write it on their hearts and I will be their God and they shall be my people. How would God accomplish this? Let's turn to Ezra 11 verse 19. It's another Old Testament prophecy that provides the answer.

Ezra 11 and verse 19.

Through inspiration and through a prophecy from God, he says, then I will give them one heart and I will put a new spirit within them and take the stony heart out of their flesh and give them a heart of flesh, that they may walk in my statutes and keep my judgments and do them and they shall be my people and I will be their God. Have you ever ran into a stubborn person?

No show of hands, no pointing to your mates, no pointing to somebody else that's in the congregation where you attend either. We don't need any of that today. You ever met a stubborn person?

Would you consider them a a gentle or a pliable person? Someone with a soft heart?

Or would you say they're like a rock? They're like a loaf of bread left out in the sun for about a week. That thing is hard. No use for it. That's that heart of stone that God was going to transform into a heart of flesh. Have you ever tried to take a loaf of bread and transform it in something that would be edible again? I don't even know if it's possible. Ladies, is that even possible? I'm seeing a couple yeses. I didn't think you're going to soak it in milk or water or something. I don't know. You can't, some things you can't transform back the other way. But God, He can do those things.

Ezekiel, let's look forward to Ezekiel 36 and verse 22, staying here in the same book.

I know I'm going to get correction after the sermon saying, oh yeah, there's a way to soften bread.

Some of you ladies are very smart.

You've done these things before. But there's some things you just can't transform. I guess I should use something like a clay pot that's been fired, right? Once you have a pot that's been fired in the kiln, there's no going back. You're not going to make it into clay. I'm getting some head nods, much better analogy. So that's the one I'm going to add into my notes for if I ever give this sermon again. A clay pot, not a loaf of bread that you try to make edible again. But notice Ezekiel 36 and verse 22. Therefore say to the house of Israel, thus says the Lord God, I do not do this for your sake, oh house of Israel, but for my holy namesake. Who made the promises? God did. And God was not going to break his promise. So he's saying, I didn't do it for you. I did it because I have to remain holy and I will not ever break my promises. So he said, I did not do this for your sake, oh house of Israel, but for my holy namesake, which you have profaned among the nations wherever you went. And I will sanctify my great name, which has been profaned among the nations, which you have profaned in their midst. And the nation shall know that I am the Lord, says the Lord God, when I am hallowed in you before their eyes, for I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries and bring you into your own land. Then I will sprinkle clean water on you and you shall be clean. I will cleanse you from all your filthiness, from all your idols.

I will give you a new heart and put in, put a new spirit within you. I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. Notice, is there symbolism to baptism here? I think there is sprinkling with clean water, being clean, being washed, being cleansed of all of our filthiness, all of our sins, and then what? That transforming of our heart from that stony heart to a pliable soft heart. And God putting his spirit within us, verse 27, I will put my spirit within you and cause you to walk in my statutes and you will keep my judgments and do them.

Then you shall dwell on the land that I gave to your fathers. You shall be my people and I will be your God. This is a prophecy of the new covenant God would enter into with mankind, a covenant made of better promises and a greater significance. And studying these scriptures like we are doing today shows that there's a spiritual message of the Old Testament, a message and concept little understood in nominal Christianity today. Misled by teachers who themselves do not understand the truth, many think that the words of the Old Testament belong on a dusty shelf somewhere, just part of the archives of history, right? Not really for us today, some would say, but nothing could be further from the truth. Not only does much of the New Testament draw from the language as we know, events and spiritual direction of the Old Testament, we know these things as well, but also the New Testament Church of God believed and practiced the same laws that we hold to today. The point of receiving God's Spirit is to help us develop and grow in his character, which is expressed through his laws and expressed through his love. This is not possible any other way than through God's Spirit dwelling in his people.

But it would be about another 600 years until this prophecy from Ezekiel would be fulfilled in the lives of man. Let's skip ahead to Galatians and pick up the timeline of events from Paul's writings. Galatians 4 and verse 4. Galatians 4 and verse 4.

Up to this point, we've been focusing on mankind's error, mankind's hard heart, the stony heart, but we see a transition here that Paul talks about in Galatians 4 verse 4. He says, but when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth his son, born of a woman, born under the law to redeem those who were under the law that we might receive the adoption as sons.

And because you are sons, God has sent forth the Spirit of his son into your hearts, crying out, Abba, Father, the Spirit of his son into your hearts. Therefore you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ. God's perfect and complete plan of salvation was established before the foundations of the world and was made possible through the sacrifice of his own son, Jesus Christ. We know, but let's go ahead and turn there. John 3 verse 16.

I remember being a kid going to baseball games and seeing somebody holding up a John 3 16 sign in the outfield with nothing else on it. And I knew it had something to do with the Bible.

I'd spent enough time in church congregations. I know that there has to be something there.

But let's turn John 3 16 and verse 17 as well. For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son that whoever believes in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. We've already talked about this in the symbolism in the holy days, but he goes on, for God did not send his son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world through him might be saved.

This brings us to the crux of our lives today as Christians and disciples of Jesus Christ. God, in his abundant mercy and steadfastness to keep his promises, poured out his own spirit to those observing the Feast of Pentecost on 31 A.D. He established his church and forever changed the course of mankind's ability to internalize God's way and law into their own hearts. No longer would we be weak on our own physical states, but we would be empowered from above. Let's look at Luke 24 and verse 44. Luke 24 and verse 44. We're going to look at a few passages from Jesus' own teaching himself to his disciples and others who were able to hear this message because he taught them about this future that was coming, this hope that would be placed in them. And we see this transforming in the scriptures. I'm so thankful my account's not in here, right? We get Peter denying Christ, we get Peter saying boldly things to Christ where he says, get behind me. And then we later see Peter give that amazing sermon inspired by God on Pentecost. We see this transformation. Notice Luke 24 verse 44. Then he said to them, Jesus did, these are the words which I spoke to you while still with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses and the prophets and the Psalms concerning me. Remember, he said I'd put a new spirit within them. I would take out that stony flesh, these prophecies that he gave. Christ is saying these will be fulfilled. Verse 45. And he opened their understanding that they may comprehend the scripture. So he taught them what this meant, broadening their knowledge of future events and the prophecy being fulfilled.

Then he said to them, thus it is written and thus it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead the third day. And that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in his name to all nations beginning at Jerusalem. And you are witnesses of these things. Behold, I send the promise of my father upon you. Notice in my Bible promise is capitalized, symbolizing God's spirit, that promise, the promise of my father upon you. But tarry in the city of Jerusalem until you are endured with the power from on high. This power from God. Let's go back to John 14 and verse 15 because Jesus again described in another gospel account in detail what this power would be. John 14 and verse 15. Again, Christ's own words, John 14 verse 15. If you love me, keep my commandments.

What was the problem with Israel? They were given God's commandments, right? There's no question about that. They were given God's law, but they couldn't keep his commandments. And so Christ says, if you love me, keep my commandments and I will pray the father and he will give you another helper that he or God may abide with you forever. The word helper here from the complete word study dictionaries, of course, periclitos, which means to comfort, to encourage, to exhort.

The King James, if you have a King James Bible on your lap, it says comforter.

The amplified says comforter or advocate or intercessor. The New Living says advocate.

God's saying, I will give you a helper, a comforter, an encourager that will encourage you to go on a better path than you'd be able to go on alone. And he goes on to say in verse 17, the spirit of truth, which the world cannot receive. This is why today is so special for you and for me and for all of God's people through time, because God is saying, I have not offered this to everyone yet.

And I think we could all come kind of like in like the wheat kind of bowing our heads saying, I haven't done anything to deserve this either.

It's the truth. We haven't done anything so great or so perfect or so wonderful to deserve this ourselves.

But God has given us the spirit of truth.

Again, which the world cannot receive because it neither sees it nor knows it, but you know it.

And isn't that like just it hits you like right to the court, Mike almost gives you chills sometimes right that we understand God, we understand his word. And we've sat here for for decades, some of us, right? This isn't anything new that we're going over today, but this is why every year God says, come my children come together. I want to talk to you about what these days mean and don't ever forget it and go and tell others about it and tell your children about it because we've got littles. I love it. We got littles in our midst and someday they're going to grow up knowing that this is what they've heard from these stages and from these lecterns for all those little years that they had. So that when we turn to John, we turn to the other gospels, we turn to Paul's writings, they're going to say, yep, I've heard those things before.

He says, because it neither sees it talking about the world nor knows it, but you know it, for it dwells with you and will be in you. God's Spirit of truth, verse 20, at that day you will know that I am in my father and you and me and I in you. He who has my commandments and keeps them is it is he who loves me and he who loves me will be loved by my father and I will love him and manifest that big word manifest to show to indicate to disclose to declare. I will manifest myself to him these things I have spoken to you while being present with you, but the helper, the holy spirit which the father will send in my name, it will teach you all things and bring to remembrance all things that I have said to you. And thus there we go. God's Spirit was poured out to those who believe who who would believe on and accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ and in doing so would receive God's Spirit to live within them and forever change their lives. No more would a person ever sin, no more would a person transgress God's law. Oh wait, that's not how the story goes, is it? Going back to the beginning of God's relationship with mankind, he wanted to have a relationship with those who wanted to have a relationship with him. And again, he gave us the ability to have free moral agency and to choose if we wanted to forsake our own broken ways and to follow him and his much better plan for our lives. But he would not make mankind enter into this relationship with him nor would he force us to no longer make our own choices. The Apostle Paul understood this and he understood the conflict that would not that would now war within him. Let's turn to Romans 7. I've shared before and I'll say it again, I'm appreciative that God not only inspired Paul to to write this but Paul was willing to be open with the church in Rome to write this about himself, right? Because it's hard to go through and acknowledge to other people that we fall short, that we have weaknesses, that we mess up. Paul did this for you and for me and God says, my people need to hear this. Because we look at Paul, like he, you know like when we talk about someday being living forever, being eternal spirit and the big family reunion we're going to have in the kingdom, we all have that list of people we want to go talk to, right? I want to go meet this person and I think Paul's probably on all of our lists. I feel like I'm going to be intimidated by Paul. I give, okay, I'm viewing this from like another earthly standpoint, right? When we're spirit, we're going to have God's heart, we're going to have all knowledge and things. But if I had to go up and meet Paul today, if he was in our presence or if he was someone who was going to travel through, I think I'd be pretty nervous because here's Paul, full of God's spirit, zealous, educated. He knew scripture forward and backwards. He did things boldly. He was stoned and said, I don't care. I'm going to go someplace else and if I get stoned there, he was shipwrecked, bitten by a snake. He had so many things happen in his life, amazing. I mean, could you imagine these things happening and then you're like, you just keep on going. It's like nothing's going to stop me because God's behind me. People he healed, being taught by Christ personally.

There's so many things that are just amazing about Paul. And then he shares this.

Romans seven and verse 14, for we know that the law was spiritual. And I could only imagine he takes a deep breath at this point as he continues to write this letter, but I am carnal, sold, understand for what I am doing. I do not understand for what I will to do that I do not practice, but what I hate. You know what? That I do. If then I do what I will not to do, I agree with the law that it is good, but now it is no longer I who do it, but sin that dwells in me.

For I know that in me that is in my flesh, neither good, nothing good dwells. For to will is present with me, but how to perform what is good I do not find. For the good that I will to do, I do not do, but the evil I will not to do, that I practice. Now if I do what I will not to do, it is no longer I who do it, but the sin, but sin that dwells in me. It is just Paul being transparent. This person that if I met today would be really, I feel like I would be really intimidated by just poured his heart out to everybody that he struggles still with sin. That there is this war going on. And I do not know, I have never thought about it until just now standing here, so correct me, anybody online, anybody in the room. Did this war exist inside humanity before God gifted his spirit? I do not know, something to ponder, something to think about. Because while Israel would have sinned, they did not have God's spirit. While they tried to keep the law, they could not. Did a war not exist? I do not know. Maybe we can have a discussion afterwards. You can point out some scriptures, help me, help me, it just kind of hit me.

When God gave his spirit, Paul is going through and describing a war that started within him.

A war that you and I have within us today. And there is no question, I am not again sharing anything new to anybody, but this is the challenge that we have before us, this challenge that Paul talks about. We know what we should do, but we are doing the opposite. We hate the opposite, but we seem to be doing it. This is that challenge that we have within us. And then going on in verse 22, Romans 7, 22, he says, for I delight in the law of God according to the inward man.

I enjoy God's way. I want to follow God's way, but I see another law in my members warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity to the law of sin, which is in my members, O wretched man that I am, who will deliver me from this body of death?

And then at the beginning of the next chapter, Paul continues his thought, Romans eight and verse one, he says, there is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Christ Jesus, who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit for the law of the spirit of life in Christ Jesus has made me free from the law of sin and death for what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh. The problem with man God did by sending his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh on the account of sin. He condemned sin in the flesh that the righteous requirement of the law might be fulfilled in us who do not walk according to the flesh, but according to the spirit could walk off the stage right now. And that would be a beautiful conclusion, right? That's what we yearn for. That's why we committed our life to God. That's why we recognize when we fall short that we are not being condemned by God when we turn back to him and we continue to walk according to his way, when we recognize and we apologize to one another, when we recognize and we apologize to God for transgressing his law for the evil thoughts, the bad attitude, the things we do that we shouldn't do that Paul described this war going on inside of us. There's now no condemnation because our sins have been forgiven and we remain under the grace of God. The law could not do that.

Those stony hearts could not do that. So God gave his spirit and we now are empowered. Again, the weakness of this algorithm was not with the law as Paul says here, but the weakness rested solely with us. It rested on our stony hearts, but I love that part, but God, right?

But God intervened, but God changed the algorithm, but God put us on a better path forward. Again, bringing back to this day that we're celebrating, this day we're observing with our Father in heaven as his presence is here with us through his spirit, we have been changed.

In God's abundant mercy and faithfulness to his promises, he sent his son to become our high priest, our Lord and master and our soon coming King. Let's move over to Hebrews 8 and verse 1.

I felt inspired to share this message because I hope you can see kind of the thought process as we've worked through kind of history of man, right? From the beginning in the garden when man chose to go a different direction than God instructed, mankind has been challenged with this stony heart. But God knew it. Before the foundations of the earth were established, he said, I'm going to have to intervene for these people. We've got a plan. He's thinking, he's talking to the word. We're going to change this. We're going to go a new way for them, but they have to see that without me, it's hopeless. Without my spirit, there is no future.

And so as we walk through and we see our Lord and Savior coming to this earth, living as God in the flesh, living, being tempted in all ways, but without sin, being tortured to his final death, giving his life for you and for me and for the world, and then seeing what transformation looks like in the New Testament, what they were able to do, but yet what they still were challenged with, like Paul talked about. You and I are still challenged because of this war that is inside of us, but God, again, has not left us just to be miserable, unable to overcome. Notice Hebrews 8 and verse 1 as we begin to move towards the end of the message. It says, now this is the main point of the things we are saying. We have such a high priest who is seated at the right hand of the throne of the majesty in heaven, a minister of the sanctuary and of the true tabernacle, which the Lord erected and not man. Verse 6, but now he has obtained a more excellent ministry inasmuch as he is also mediator of a better covenant, which was established on better promises. This is that covenant that we have the opportunity to be part of. If you're not baptized, if you do not have God's Spirit, this is that better covenant. One that there is not a renewed covenant, it's not a bridge between the... This is a better, this is a new covenant because our Lord and Savior is mediator of this better covenant.

For if that first covenant, verse 7, had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Again, the problem wasn't with the covenant, the problem wasn't with the law, right? We know that, we've read through this. The problem was us, the problem was mankind, because finding fault with them. He said, behold, the days are coming, says the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah, not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, because they did not continue in my covenant, and I disregarded them, says the Lord. For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord. I will put my laws in their mind and write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. And then let's flip ahead to Hebrews 10 and verse 22. The writer leaves us with some let us statements that I always love to read. It's our marching orders, and as we exit this holy day at sunset tonight, let this be our marching orders as we continue to go forward. Hebrews 10 and verse 22, let us draw near with a true heart, right, not that stony heart, not that hard heart, with a true heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from an evil conscience and our bodies washed with pure water. Let us hold fast the confession of our hope without wavering, for he who promised is faithful, and let us consider one another in order to stir up love and good works, not forsaking the assembling of ourselves together as is the manner of some, but exhorting one another, building up one another, and so much the more as you see the day approaching.

May we all continue to praise God in his abundant mercy and the gift of his amazing and ever-present spirit in our lives.