By My Spirit

After 70 years of captivity in the nation of Babylon, a handful of the people of Judah were given opportunity to return to their homeland under the reign of Cyrus, the Great of Persia in 538 BC. Actually, all the people were given an opportunity, but only a handful returned. They returned to begin building the temple of God, to begin rebuilding the beloved city of Jerusalem. Nearly 50,000 individuals made the long and dreary journey of four months to reach Jerusalem. As I said, it was just a handful. It was only about 10% of the number of individuals that had actually been carried out into captivity, into Babylon. This group was led by Zerubbabel, the recognized prince of Judah in the captivity and the now governor of Jerusalem. Upon their arrival, the first order of business was to erect and dedicate the altar to God on the exact spot where the altar had previously stood. Next, the people cleared away the charred piles of rubble and debris that were left of the temple complex as it had been burned. Jerusalem had been demolished and burned in that way, and so they cleared away the rubble on the temple complex site. In the second month of the second year of Cyrus' reign, 535 B.C., the foundations of the second temple were laid. If you go to read through that account, you'll see it was indeed a time of great rejoicing for that small remnant of the people of Judah. When word spread to the surrounding peoples that Judah and Benjamin were rebuilding the temple of God, the nations around them sought to derail the process. Ezra 4 describes how they worked to discourage the people of God in their efforts and to trouble them in the building process. They hired counselors against the people of Judah in order to frustrate their purpose. And they brought about evil accusations against Jerusalem in the inhabitants thereof, and even managed to get the building process stopped for all the days of Cyrus, King of Persia, even unto the days of Darius, King of Persia.

As a result, there was a long span of 20 years between the laying of the foundation for Zorubabel's temple, the temple that he led the process of construction. There were 20 years between that foundation laying and the consecration of the temple in spring of 516 B.C. I'd like to read to you an excerpt covering this period of time from the Smith Bible Dictionary. The Smith Bible Dictionary is published by Thomas Nelson Publishers, and this excerpt comes from under the heading of Zorubabel on page 763.

And it says, quote, The efforts of the Samaritans were successful in putting a stop to the work during the seven remaining years of the reign of Cyrus, and throughout the eight years of Canvasses and Smyrdis. It says, Nor does Zorubabel appear quite blameless for this long delay.

He says, The difficulties in the way of building the temple were not such as have needed to stop the work and the long suspension of 16 years. Zorubabel and the rest of the people had been busy in the building, or had been busy in building costly houses for themselves during that period of time. And so, in other words, when the nations around them frustrated their purposes, when obstacles and delays came before them, the people became distracted. They lost zeal. Their focus was removed from the temple construction.

They began building their own houses and walls outside their houses and fine establishments for themselves. But they forgot about the house of God. Continuing on with the quote, it says, In that year, it was the most memorable event in Zorubabel's life. The spirit of prophecy suddenly blazed up with the most brilliant light among the returned captives. Their words felt like sparks upon tinder. In a moment, Zorubabel roused from his apathy through his whole strength into the work.

After much opposition and many hindrances finding delays, the temple was at length finished in the sixth year of Darius and was dedicated with much pomp and rejoicing. And so, brethren, what we see is that God's people had started rebuilding the temple with zeal. They'd thrown their whole effort into it in the beginning. They built the altar. They laid the foundation. But then, when opposition arose and discouragement set in, they lost their focus. They lost their resolve to complete the house of God. And the attention in the zeal waned for years.

But then, as we read in this description, something happened. Something changed that ignited the fire under that group of people again. It ignited the fire and zeal in their life to again return to the work that God had given them to do. It gave them zeal and zest and drive to once again complete the house of God. What changed? What was the drive? What was the motivating factor behind that zeal? Well, we can find the answer to that in the book of Zechariah, chapter 4. If you'll turn over there, please. Zechariah 4. Zechariah was a prophet who was commissioned by God to encourage the people to pick up and again finish the responsibility God had given them. And through Zechariah, God gave specific visions.

He gave specific revelations. And many of the revelations contained in the book of Zechariah are dual in type, which means they apply to his day, but many of them also apply to the end time as well. But in these messages, God had a very specific message that he wanted delivered to Zerubbabel.

So let's take a look at that in Zechariah, chapter 4, beginning in verse 1. It says, Now the angel who talked with me came back and wakened me as a man who was wakened out of sleep. And he said to me, What do you see? And so I said, I am looking, and there is a lampstand of solid gold with a bowl on top of it. And on the lamp, or on the stand, seven lamps with seven pipes to the seven lamps.

Two olive trees are by it, one on the right of the bowl and the other at its left. And so I answered and spoke to the angel who talked with me, saying, What are these, my Lord?

Then the angel who talked with me answered, and he said to me, Do you not know what these things are? And I said, No, my Lord. And so he answered and said to me, This is the word of the Lord to Zerubbabel. Not by might, nor by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. Here God is saying to Zerubbabel that the completing of the temple project would not be by human might or human strength in that way.

It wasn't going to be by the ability of the craftsmen or the skilled laborers in that sense that it would ultimately be finished. But it was going to be completed by the motivating power of God's Holy Spirit. He said, Not by might, not by power, but by my spirit, says the Lord of hosts. By mere human strength and might, the project had been halted for years. Now it was under way again, but you see it was at risk of being derailed once again by just simply the physical obstacles that get in the way.

And God's message to Zerubbabel was that the temple would be completed. But it wasn't going to be completed by human means alone. Only by the means that God, through His Spirit, would provide for His people to fulfill His will. Carrying on in verse 7, it says, Who are you, O great mountain? Before Zerubbabel, you shall become a plain.

And so no obstacle would be able to stand in their way. No obstacle before Zerubbabel. God would see that He was ultimately able to accomplish His purpose, and that all opposition would be leveled. Carrying on in verse 7, it says, About Zerubbabel, He shall bring forth the capstone, with shouts of grace, grace to it. And so Zerubbabel is guaranteed that He would be the one to complete the process.

He would bring that capstone and see that it was put in place. He'd laid the foundation. He would finish the project. Verse 8, Moreover, the word of the Lord came to me, saying, The hands of Zerubbabel had laid the foundation of the temple, His hands also shall finish it. Then you shall know that the Lord of hosts has sent me to you. He says, For who has despised the day of small things? And you'll recall, brethren, that this temple was very small.

Compared to the glory and the magnificence and the splendor of Solomon's temple, and the great decoration and array of that temple, this temple under Zerubbabel was very small. It seemed very insignificant by comparison. And when you go back and read the story of the laying of the foundation, it said that there were many there who actually wept. They were weeping for joy. These were people who had seen the previous temple in its glory.

And they wept because of the comparison in the small scale of what they were now able to accomplish. But God says, For who has despised the day of small things? He says, For these seven rejoice to see the plumb line in the hand of Zerubbabel. They are the eyes of the Lord, which scan to and fro throughout the whole earth. And so it was God who rejoiced to see the completion of this small thing, to see it take place, because He had provided, through miraculous means, the deliverance of His people from Babylon, to go back, to rebuild Jerusalem, to rebuild the temple.

This was God's will. It was no small thing. In the eyes of some, it may have been a small thing, but in the eyes of God, it was His will, and it would be accomplished. God declared to Zerubbabel that the temple would be completed. And again, it wasn't because the people were so strong or dedicated, but it is because God was leading them. By the power of God and the Spirit of God, it would be done.

Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts. Brethren, this is the day of Pentecost, and as such, we're reminded of a number of things that this day portrays. Two significant events that come first and foremost in my mind is, number one, that God has called us to be first-roots of His spiritual harvest. That's called us to be first-roots of His spiritual harvest. And secondly, God poured out His Holy Spirit upon His church on this day. Now, as you stop and you reflect upon those two points, do you not believe that they are connected?

You know, I'm sure if we asked each one of you, you would say, yes, absolutely, these two are definitely connected. God is calling us to be part of His first-root harvest, and He has given to His church His Holy Spirit. In fact, these two points are inextricably linked together.

God's called us to be first-roots, to overcome this world, to be conformed to the image of His Son Jesus Christ, as we heard in the first message today. But the only way that that is going to be accomplished in His people is not by power, it's not by might, but only by the Spirit of the Lord of hosts. The title of my message today is, By My Spirit. By my spirit. Because, brethren, this is the only way that God's work in us will be accomplished. There's a basic biblical principle I'd like to reinforce in our minds as we begin the message today.

And it's a principle that was introduced in the example of Zerubbabel, and it's one that we see that runs through the thread of the Old Testament, through individuals that God worked powerfully with. And that principle is that God doesn't call His people to fulfill a specific purpose without giving them the ability to accomplish it. God doesn't call His people to fulfill a specific purpose without giving them the ability and the means to accomplish it.

God doesn't call His people to destruction. He doesn't give them some great task to do that is so huge and monumental that they couldn't possibly accomplish it on their own, and that they would stumble and fail. God doesn't do that. When He commissions an individual for a specific purpose before Him, He provides the means necessary to complete the work He's given them to do.

There's many scriptural examples along that line, many powerful examples of individuals whose God has called to do a great work, things that would have been physically impossible by the man or woman themselves. By human means, apart from God, the things they accomplished were not possible. But with God there guiding and directing them, He granted them the power to fulfill the commission He'd given. Moses is an example of one such individual. Let's go back to Exodus 3.

Exodus 3. Here we know the context of the passage. Moses is out in the wilderness. He's tending the sheep of his father-in-law Jethro, and he comes up to the base of the holy mountain of God, and he looks up and he sees a bush that's burning. It's a rather fascinating event because the bush is burning, but it's not consumed by the fire. As the story goes, Moses turns aside to go see this great site, see what it was that was taking place, and he approaches the bush.

He comes into the presence of God, who is in the midst of that burning bush. As we know, God has a special message for him. Let's pick it up in Exodus 3, beginning in verse 7. God said to Moses, He says, I have surely seen the oppression of my people who are in Egypt, and I have heard their cry because of their taskmasters, for I know their sorrows.

So I have come down to deliver them out of the hand of the Egyptians, and to bring them up from that land to a good land, a large land, to a land flowing with milk and honey, to a place of the Canaanites and Hittites, the Amorites, the Pericytes, the Hivites and the Jebusites. Moses is probably thinking, you know God, that's a good plan. Because 40 years ago when I was Prince of Egypt, I saw the suffering of our people.

He's probably thinking, that's a good plan. I wonder who you're going to find to pull that off. Verse 9, it says, Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel have come to me, and I have also seen the oppression which the Egyptians oppress on them. God says, Come now therefore, and I will send you to Pharaoh. I'll send you that you may bring my people, the children of Israel, out of Egypt. You know, I can just sort of maybe, this is just my imagination in my mind, but I can kind of envision Moses maybe glancing around.

Is there somebody else here that God's talking to? You know, me? Who am I to bring God's people out of Israel? I mean, what a calling. What a calling. Here, Moses is called by God, the leadest people out of Egypt, and yet, let's see what his response was here in verse 11. It says, But Moses said to God, Well, who am I that I should go to Pharaoh? Who am I that I should bring the children of Israel out of Egypt? You know, Moses said, I'm nobody.

Or, you know, as the Scripture says, he was heavy of tongue. He probably said something like, I am nobody. You know, I said, Moses stuttered. He was heavy of tongue, and he says, Well, God, who am I?

I've been out here talking to sheep for 40 years. I noticed when I'm out working all week and have my headphones on and just running to power equipment, somebody comes up to talk to me and I open my mouth to speak and I'm tripping over my tongue because I haven't even warmed it up for the day. You know, Moses is out for 40 years to the sheep. I imagine, you know, maybe your speech comes a little impaired after that many years.

But you know what? Compared to Pharaoh, compared to the armies of Egypt, compared to the power of Egypt, Moses said, I'm nobody. I'm nobody, God. You know it, and I know it. Well, verse 12, so God said, I will certainly be with you. And that's the key, isn't it?

I will certainly be with you. And this shall be a sign to you that I have sent you. When you have brought forth the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain. So God said, Moses, you will accomplish the purpose for which I've called you. That's not going to be by your own power. It's not going to be by your own might and strength and ingenuity that you'll bring my people out of Egypt.

You're going to fulfill that calling because of my power, working with you and being in you. So, brethren, we know the story. Moses went down to Egypt. And through God, through Moses, worked many powerful miracles to bring his people out of bondage. He leveled the nation of Egypt through plagues. He opened the Red Sea so that the people of Israel could walk across on dry ground.

He brought the sea back in on the army of the Egyptians and destroyed them. That wasn't by the power of Moses. That wasn't Moses' might. But it was by the power and the strength and the Spirit of God, working very powerfully through him.

Now, apart from God's Spirit and power working in his life, Moses would have been way in over his head in his calling. Wouldn't he? I think we would agree in that. He would have been way over his head. There's no way that a physical man could go down, just raise up a ragtag group of slaves, take on the greatest army of the world at that time, and walk out of Egypt.

By Moses' own power and might, it was an impossibility, but not with the power and the help of God. Not by might, nor by power, but by God's Spirit, is the way that the work and his servants will be accomplished. Now, Joshua was the example of another individual that God charged with a great responsibility. You can be turning over to Joshua, chapter 1. Joshua was Moses' successor, and it was his responsibility to lead God's people into the Promised Land.

You recall, Moses led them out, led them up to the brink of the Promised Land, the spies went in, and all of them, except Joshua and Caleb, gave a negative report. They said, we've seen the land, it's a great land, truly, that's for sure, but there are great armies there. There's giants there. There are cities walled up to heaven. It would be better to go back to Egypt. There's no way we can move forward in this way. So we know the story. They wandered 40 years through the wilderness, till that generation died, till their children now were able to enter into the land. Moses as well now have died, and Joshua is the successor.

He is leading them into the land. Again, it's an accomplishment that would take more than the abilities of a mere man. Joshua 1, beginning in verse 1, it says, After the death of Moses, the servant of the Lord, it came to pass, that the Lord spoke to Joshua, the son of Nun, Moses' assistant, saying, Moses, my servant, is dead. Now therefore arise and go over this Jordan, you and all this people, to the land which I am giving to them, the children of Israel. And every place that the sole of your foot will tread upon, I have given you, as I said to Moses.

From the wilderness of this Lebanon, as far as the great river, the river Euphrates, all the land of the Hittites, and to the great sea, toward the going down of the sun, shall be your territory. He says, no man shall be able to stand before you all the days of your life, as I was with Moses, so I will be with you. I will not leave you or forsake you.

God says, I am the power by which you will go forward and accomplish these things. Verse 6, he says, be strong and of good courage. For to this people you shall divide as an inheritance the land which I swore to their fathers to give them. Only be strong and very courageous, that you may observe to do according to all the law, which Moses, my servant, commanded you. Do not turn from it to the right hand or to the left, that you may prosper wherever you go. He says, this book of the law shall not depart from your mouth, but you shall meditate on it day and night, that you may observe to do according to all that is written in it.

For then you will make your way prosperous, and then you will have good success. Verse 9, God says, have I not commanded you be strong and of good courage, do not be afraid, nor be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.

It would be, brethren, only by God's hand working in the life of Joshua, that he would have the ability to courageously go forward against such an obstacle, that he would have the ability to accomplish what the God of Israel had given him to do. Now, if we go back just one page in my Bible to Deuteronomy chapter 34 verse 9, we see how some of this power comes about. Deuteronomy 34.9, it says, now Joshua, the son of Nun, was full of the spirit of wisdom, for Moses had laid his hands on him, so the children of Israel heeded him, and he did as the Lord had commanded Moses.

And so, Joshua had the spirit of God working with him and through him powerfully. He'd received that laying on of hands, which is setting someone apart before God for a special purpose. In this case, it was for the leadership that Joshua would provide the children of Israel. Again, it was not by physical might or power, but by God's Spirit working in his servant, that his calling would be fulfilled. One other example I'd like to look at here for the start is Elijah. Elijah was another servant that was used mightily by God, a man full of the Spirit of God.

Elijah is one of my favorite prophets of the Old Testament. He was commissioned by God to confront Baal worship and drive it out of Israel. That involves standing up to King Ahab and his wife Jezebel. It involved the defeat and the destruction of 450 prophets of Baal. As we recall, Elijah prophesied before King Ahab that there would be no rain or dew for three years, apart from his word, and it was so. In Zarepath, Elijah cried out to God, and the widow's dead son was raised back to life. On Mount Carmel, Elijah prayed, and fire came down from heaven and consumed the burnt offering, the wood, the altar, the dust, the water, all before the people and the prophets of Baal.

Was that accomplishment? Was that life that Elijah left and the powerful things he was able to do? Was that by his physical might? No, it wasn't, was it? It was by the Spirit and the power of God working mightily through him. I'm just going to go to one scripture, 1 Kings 18, because it contains one of my favorite demonstrations of Elijah's miracles. If you follow me, 1 Kings 18.

You know, it may not seem to be one of the bigger miracles, but for some reason I kind of like it. And to me, it actually contains a little bit of humor. 1 Kings 18 and beginning in verse 44. Here, the drought of Israel had been going on for three and a half years.

And if you can really imagine that, it's incredible. Three and a half years, no rain, no dew. It was a rather miserable place in that regard. But Elijah had now declared that the rain would come. And so as the story progresses, he sent his servant out seven times to look for the rain. And in 1 Kings 18, verse 44, it says, And so he said, Verse 45, And it says, Elijah outran Ahab's horses to Jezreel.

Jezreel was 13 miles from Carmel where Elijah was. And if you think about this, Ahab's horses weren't, you know, it's not what you see on Little House on the Prairie. These weren't plow horses pulling a covered wagon. These were the King's horses pulling the King's chariot. And they were trying to outrun the rain. And Elijah tucked in his garments, and he outran them. What an incredible miracle. You know, I've kind of always looked at that example, and I've wondered, what would that look like if you could see it? You know, what would it be to see Elijah running? Was it kind of like the roadrunner?

His legs are going so fast, they're just a blur, you don't see it. Or maybe it was something else. Maybe he was taking great long strides, as if he'd only hit the ground every 20 or 30 feet. I don't know what that looked like. I tend to imagine when I was a kid that was sort of like the six million dollar man.

He ran in slow motion, and yet he got everywhere very, very fast. But we know, brethren, it was not by might. It was not by power. But again, it was by the Spirit of God working mightily in his servant. I'd like to bring us back now to the modern day of Pentecost and the two points of this day that we looked at earlier. Number one, God has called us to be firstfruits of his spiritual harvest.

And secondly, God gave his Spirit historically to his church on this day of Pentecost. And as I mentioned, those two are inextricably linked together. You really can't have one without the other. And when we understand the meaning of this day in God's plan of salvation, we understand that it's God's intent to call all mankind to salvation, all man to partake in a glorious destiny, but not all of this time. God has a plan, and he has an order in which he's carrying out that plan.

And all those who have been called and faithful to God between the creation of mankind and the return of Jesus Christ will be in God's first fruit harvest at Christ's return. You can read about the resurrection in 1 Corinthians chapter 15. We won't turn there, but it's an incredible and important part of our foundation and our faith. The first fruit harvest, as we know, is a small harvest. In ancient Israel, agriculturally, the first harvest was a very small harvest. You had the broader harvest of the grains and the various crops that were brought in, but the first fruit harvest was a small harvest, and thus it is spiritually as well.

Now, the fall harvest is much broader, it's much bigger, and we look forward to that time where God's calling in his spirit will cover this whole earth. And those who respond and desire to live dedicated lives according to God's calling will be saved, each in his own order.

Now, brethren, as first fruits, we've been called to overcome this world. We've been called to overcome the ways of the world around us, society's trends, the way that this world functions. We've been called to overcome Satan and his devices and the things he tries to use to trip us up in opposition to God. And, frankly, ultimately, we've been called to overcome ourself, come to overcome our carnal self. That carnal self is that nature which is hostile and enmity against God. God's calling to us is also to become conformed to the image of his son, Jesus Christ.

And, brethren, that's no small calling. It's no small calling at all. God's Holy Spirit is the power that he gives his people to accomplish those things, the power he gives them to grow and to mature, to fulfill the calling that he's given us to do, just as the people of old who God was working with and gave a special calling to had his power and his might on their side.

God gives us his spirit as well to fulfill this calling he's given us. On our own, we could not accomplish this. On our own, it would be too much for us. It would be out of our grasp. Jeremiah 10, verse 23, I'll just quote it for you. It says, It says, So what Jeremiah is saying is that, you know what is not possible for man on his own to find his way, to find his way to righteousness, to find his way on the path of their calling before God. Ultimately, we need God to direct our steps.

We need him to take us by the hand and to guide us and lead us onto that path of righteousness. And the interesting part is that's what the Holy Spirit does. It guides us. It leads us. It directs us. It doesn't grab us by the arm and drag us where it is we need to go. We have to be a willing contributor to this calling. We have to have a desirous and a willing heart to fulfill what God has given us to do. But the Holy Spirit is there to guide and to lead and to direct.

God's Spirit is referred to in Scripture as a helper, as a comforter, and as an advocate. And the Greek word for those descriptions is paracletos. Paracletos. P-A-R-A-K-L-E-T-O-S. And it essentially means one who comes alongside, one who guides, one who leads. And I tend to imagine that in terms of, you know, a winter day in an icy parking lot. You see an elderly lady making her way across the icy parking lot. How you would come up beside her, take her arm, give her support and stability, and help to lead her across. That's very much how God's Holy Spirit is with us and guides and helps us.

God's Spirit is essential in our calling. God's Spirit leads us to a deeper understanding of God, leads us to an understanding of who He is, what He's called us to, reveals to us the mind of God, the purpose of God. The Holy Spirit guides us into a deeper relationship with Him, in His Son Jesus Christ, and enables us to see the changes that we need to make in ourself if we're going to become conformed to the stature of the fullness of Christ.

Brethren, from the point of our journey, when we're first called in our infancy, it's a long journey that we take to becoming conformed to the stature of the fullness of Christ. Again, we can't do it on our own. We need God's guidance. We need His lead in our life. Just as the men of old needed God's presence to be with them, we need God's Spirit as well in our life to accomplish our calling. Because without God's Spirit, you and I would simply be in over our heads. There's simply no way we could accomplish the calling, the awesome responsibility, and the joy and opportunity to be a first-root and to return to Jesus Christ. On our own, there's no way. Trying to be a first-root without God's Spirit, I would say, would be like Moses, trying to lead the people of Israel out of Egypt without the help of God. Again, it's an impossibility. That's why we need God's Spirit so much.

Now, we may look at the example of Moses and Joshua and Elijah, and we may think that, you know, those are pretty extreme compared to our life, compared to our calling. I mean, those men did great and wonderful things. They had mighty power of God on their side, and we may say, that's an extreme comparison. But, brethren, I don't believe so. The greatest miracle that can take place in the life of a Christian is the converted heart. It's the change from the hardened, stony heart to the heart of flesh, a heart that is willing to receive God's Spirit to take on God's nature. Conversion is the greatest miracle in our life. And if you think about it, that is something that is even greater than parting the Red Sea, or bringing plagues upon Egypt, or shaking down the walls of Jericho. The converted heart is an incredible miracle in our life before God.

Now, ten days before Pentecost, Christ told His disciples that the Holy Spirit would come. And He expressed to them the fact that it would be a spirit of power, and that it would guide and lead them, enable them to fulfill their calling in that way. Let's go to the book of Acts, chapter 1.

Acts, chapter 1, beginning in verse 4.

See the words of Jesus Christ? This is before He returned to heaven. Once again, He was here with His disciples shortly, again, ten days before Pentecost. Acts, chapter 1, beginning in verse 4.

And it says, Being assembled together with them, Jesus 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 and they asked Him, saying, Lord, will You at this time restore the kingdom to Israel? And He said to them, It is not for you to know the times or seasons which the Father has put into 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 all Judea and Samaria and to the end of the earth.

The Holy Spirit that the apostles, Jesus Christ, would receive would be a spirit of empowerment, and it would empower them to fulfill their calling and service to God. It would give them strength. It would make them bold. And probably the greatest example of that that we see in Scripture is in the life of Peter.

You know, when Christ was arrested before His crucifixion, Peter was confronted, and they said, Well, you're one of His disciples, aren't you? And Peter said, No, I'm not. And they said again, Well, I think we've seen you with Him. Aren't you one of His? And Peter said, No, I'm not Him. And finally, Peter Kirsten said, I do not know the man. He denied Christ three times.

Peter had good thoughts, good intentions. He loved Jesus, but he had weakness in that regard.

But what did we find following the receiving of the Holy Spirit? What did we find on the day of Pentecost? Well, we find that Peter preached boldly. He preached in the streets of Jerusalem before the Jews that were there. And he carried Jesus Christ's gospel and the witness to all that would hear. Remember, Peter was called before the council. He was told to quit preaching in the name of Jesus, because now the Jews in Jerusalem, it was turning into an uproar, at least in the eyes of the Pharisees and the council there, and they said, quit preaching in His name. And Peter said, we ought to obey God rather than men.

God made him bold. He and the rest of the disciples, they were powerful. They continued forward. They were beaten and turned out, and they rejoiced in the fact that they were able to suffer for the gospel message that they spread.

It was God's Spirit, by His power, that the apostles fulfilled their calling, with great power and might and boldness in that day.

So, brethren, what is the Holy Spirit?

You know, this is probably a basic question for us to answer, but it's essential that we have it down in our mind as we proceed forward.

The Holy Spirit is essentially the essence of who and what God is.

And the simple terms I've heard it put in is simply this way. God is Holy. God is Spirit. God is Holy Spirit.

And a portion of God dwells in us.

What God has put into our heart and mind of the repentant Christian is none less than a measure of Himself.

It's a measure of His mind. It's a measure of His power.

Paul asked the Corinthian church in 1 Corinthians 3, 16. He said, Do you not know that you are the temple of God, and that the Holy Spirit dwells in you?

And so just as that Shekinah glory, the very presence of God came down and filled the tabernacle in the wilderness, and later the temple with God's presence, which was in the Holy of Holies above the mercy seat, we are the temple of God, individually and collectively as a church. We are that spiritual Holy of Holies, and God's presence has come down into His people.

The Holy Spirit is the power of God actively working in His servants.

It empowers them to accomplish the purpose that He's given them, the purpose that He's called them, and for us, the Holy Spirit is the power to become a first fruit.

The Holy Spirit is the power to become a first fruit.

In the book of 2 Timothy, Paul reminds Timothy of the value of possessing the Holy Spirit. Let's go there. 2 Timothy 1.

Beginning in verse 6.

2 Timothy is a fascinating book to me because not only was it written to the young minister, Timothy, by the Apostle Paul, you understand the time set at 2 Timothy, Paul was in his second imprisonment in Rome. He was probably simply months away from being executed.

Persecution had come across on the Christians from Nero. They were being killed and martyred.

Paul, nearing his death, I read 2 Timothy with the understanding that these are some of the final words that he's trying to convey to the minister that will carry on his legacy and the vision that God has given him. So there's much in 2 Timothy. But in 2 Timothy 1.6, Paul says to Timothy, Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God which is in you through the laying on of my hands. For God has not given us the spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind.

Now, the word here translated power is dunamis in the Greek. D-U-N-A-M-I-S, dunamis. And it's the same Greek root word from where we get English words like dynamic, dynamo, dynamite. It's the words of power. Through God's spirit of dunamis, there is a great might and strength and ability to live this life and to fulfill a calling that has come to the people of God. Now, it also says that God's spirit is a spirit of love. And that's not any ordinary kind of love. That is agape love. It is the abiding, deep, meaningful love that comes from God.

And finally, you said it's a spirit of a sound mind, which is a disciplined mind, a mind that's rational, self-controlled. It's a mind that is measured in spirit. That's the mind of God and Jesus Christ. That's the mind that they put in us through their spirit. And it's a mind that helps us to overcome this world, to overcome Satan the devil and our carnal self. And it's the mind and the power that allows us to achieve righteousness. Having the Holy Spirit of God enables us as well to understand the things of God, to understand the mind of God and to begin to then think like God. Because that's ultimately what we're called to do. If we're going to come out of this world, if we're going to recognize the evils of Satan the devil, if we're going to recognize within ourself the changes that need to take place, we need to have the mind of God in us in order to be able to see us as God sees us. It's an important part of our calling. 1 Corinthians 2 reinforces the need to have God's spirit and to have His mind. 1 Corinthians 2, beginning in verse 6. Here's the apostle Paul writing.

You know, as humans, brethren, we understand the human condition very well. We understand what it means to live in this fleshly life, the trials, the triumphs, the defeats, the joys. We know all about this physical life because we are physical. But carrying on in verse 11, it says, Even so, no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. And so you can't truly discern who and what God is, what He is doing, what is His plan, what is His calling. You can't discern those things apart from the Holy Spirit of God dwelling in you. They are things that are spiritually discerned. Verse 12, it says, Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit which is from God, that we might freely know the things that have been freely given us by God. He says, These things we also speak, not in words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, nor can he know them because they are spiritually discerned. You know, to the average man out on the street, what we're doing here today is foolishness. What we're talking about, what we're bringing before God in terms of our offering, what we're presenting in terms of the offering of our Spirit, our rejoicing today in the plan of God, it's all foolishness. You know, man's science, man's wisdom, it doesn't recognize those things. It's business as usual to everyone else. But again, as we understand this plan in each and its own time, this is not their time by and large. God has to open a person's mind and bring them to the understanding, which he has done in this day and age through his church.

Verse 12. We've gone through verse 12. Brethren, the Holy Spirit gives us understanding again, and we need that to live according to God's calling and to understand his words, his words of wisdom that he has for us. Another point to consider is without the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, we cannot be a part of the first fruit harvest. That's why I say the Holy Spirit is the power to become a first fruit. Without it, we cannot be a part of the first spiritual harvest of mankind at the return of Jesus Christ at the end of this age. Let's look at Christ's own words in the book of John, chapter 3.

John 3, beginning in verse 1.

It says, There was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a ruler of the Jews. And this man came to Jesus by night and said to him, Rabbi, we know that you are a teacher from God, but no one can do the things and the science that you do unless God is with him. In verse 3, Jesus answered and said to him, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.

Nicodemus said to him, How can man be born when he is old? Can he enter a second time into his mother's womb and be born? And Jesus answered, Most assuredly I say to you, unless one is born of water in the spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God.

And so it takes repentance and baptism for the remission of our sins. It takes the receiving of the Holy Spirit and the indwelling of that spirit in order for us to be a first fruit, in order to be able to participate in the first fruit harvest. Verse 6, it says, That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of spirit is spirit. And so, as we know, kind begins kind. Flesh begins flesh. Horses beget horses, birds beget birds, humans beget humans. But the Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life. The Holy Spirit gives birth to spiritual life.

That which is born of flesh is flesh, and that which is born of the spirit is spirit. Now, if we turn just a few pages to John 6, verse 63, just read one verse here. John 6, verse 63. In the words of Jesus Christ, and he says, It is the spirit which gives life.

The flesh profits nothing. The words I speak to you are spirit, and they are life. And so, without the Holy Spirit dwelling in us, number one, there's no way to understand the words and the truth and the calling of God. And number two, there is no way to have eternal life. It is the spirit that gives life. Romans chapter 8 is an important chapter as well in helping us to see this principle. Romans 8. Beginning in verse 1.

It says, There is therefore now no condemnation to those who are in Jesus Christ, who do not walk according to the flesh, but who walk according to the spirit. Jumping down to verse 5, it says, For those who live according to flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the spirit, the things of the spirit. For to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded is life and peace, because the carnal mind is enmity against God. For it is not subject to the law of God, nor indeed can be.

So then those who are in the flesh cannot please God. He says, So what it's saying, if you don't have the spirit of Jesus Christ dwelling in you, the Holy Spirit comes from God and Christ, if you don't have that spirit dwelling in you, you can't be Christ's. You can't be the Son of God.

You can't be the first fruit in the harvest at the end of the age. Without God's Spirit, this is not your time. Carrying on, verse 10, it says, and I'll go back just a quick moment to what I just said a moment ago, because I said, if you do not have God's Spirit in you, this is not your time.

God is still fulfilling a work. God is still calling people. And so, according to His will and His plan, this will be fulfilled. So there are still yet more to be called to the first fruit harvest towards the end of the age. But again, as we see the vast majority of mankind, it's not received that calling. So back to verse 10, it says, but if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit, which dwells in you.

Verse 12, Therefore, brethren, we are debtors, not to the flesh, to live according to the flesh. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die. But if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, these are the sons of God. And isn't that what the life of the first fruit is about?

It's to put the death, the deeds of the body, it's to be conformed to the image of Jesus Christ, and ultimately to be sons of God for now and all eternity. That takes the Spirit transforming us, transforming the way that we think, the way that our mind processes just what we face on a daily basis.

Don't be conformed to this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. That takes God's Spirit working in us and through us. It's only by that that we can put out our carnal nature and live as the one-day immortal children of God. Verse 15 says, For you did not receive the Spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the Spirit of adoption, by whom we cry out, Abba, Father. The Spirit itself bears witness with our spirit that we are the children of God, and if children then heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ.

If indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together. Those who are led by the Spirit of God will be part of the spiritual harvest as sons of God and the family of God at the end of the age. One final thought here as we begin to wrap up. Something for us to consider. I was sitting out here this last week and walking around the property, looking around the house, and I looked at the garden, and to me a lesson kind of struck me.

If we're going to grow into mature firstfruits for the harvest, we must stay connected to the spiritual vine. If we're going to grow into mature firstfruits for the harvest, we must stay connected to the spiritual vine. In our spiritual calling as firstfruits, the truth is we're not fully there yet. We haven't fully matured. We haven't fully come to the harvest. As long as we live this physical life, we're still growing, we're still ripening, and the time of the harvest has not yet arrived.

We're sort of like what I noticed as I was walking around, which is the firstfruits that will come in from our garden, and that's the strawberries. We're sort of like the green strawberries that are out there in the garden right now. Those will be the firstfruits, but you know what? At least what we have at home are still small, green, hard strawberries. They haven't spent enough time in the sun.

They haven't had a long enough growing season yet to be ready for harvest. They need more time connected to the plants if they're going to come to maturity and be harvested. Likewise, brethren, you and I need to stay connected to the spiritual vine if we're going to mature and ripen unto the harvest. What would happen if you were to cut yourself off now from the vine? Well, it would be just like me going out and picking one of those small, green, hard strawberries.

It's of no use. It's no use as food. And if you were to move that from the vine at this point, it would simply wither and die. Scripture describes Christ as the vine, His Father as the vine dresser, and we are to be connected to that vine. Through the vine comes nourishment for growth.

Through the vine comes protection. You have the shade that the leaves provide the fruit as the fruit is growing and maturing. It offers protection in that way. The vine provides the living water of God's Spirit that gives life.

In order for us to mature to our full potential as God's first roots, brethren, we must stay connected to the vine until the day of harvest. We must stay connected to the spiritual vine for the rest of our physical life. Just as the temple in the day of Zerubbabel was built by power and the inspiration of God's Holy Spirit, His church today is being built in the same manner. Our ability to participate in the process is not determined by our physical might, not by our physical power or what we can accomplish under our own inspiration. It's God who is called the weak of the world, as He not. God's called to base things that His glory might be magnified.

As such, brethren, as the weak of the world, what makes us mighty is God's Spirit dwelling in us. It's the Spirit that gives us the heart and the ability to accomplish our calling as the first roots of God's harvest. So again, what I'd like to ask you, what I'd like to leave you with today, is how will the work that God is doing in us be accomplished? Again, brethren, it's not by might nor by power, but it's by my Spirit, says the Lord of Hosts.