Published: October 20, 2024 | Speaker: Mark Freitag | Series: The Person and Work of the Holy Spirit 1 - Part 5 | Scripture: Genesis 6:3; Luke 24:44-49
Transcript
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last week we looked at uh some Concepts or things related to the work of the Holy Spirit um in um in creation and U I guess I should have put
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uh this is what we're we're focusing on here uh in in the Old Testament specifically um
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specifically um today what I want to do is is look at some concepts of the work of the holy spirit in the Old Testament specifically um and this obviously covers most of the
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Old Testament but essentially
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from in general um we won't take um 12 hours to review all of these things
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um the spirit's work and how it's characterized one of the uh theologians that I looked at and I I didn't footnote it or or mark it but they they use the kind of the overall
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term for this as the the law of procedure and procedure and I'm going to try to spell it out as as I see
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it um and what I mean by that is the work of the holy spirit in from the fall um and I some of you garans I I like to
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capitalize the fall and the flood and the Holy the Holy Spirit because Spirit because it's God's word and when people say the
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flood they generally refer to um flood stories that appear in many different cultures
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different cultures but the flood the fall um those are big events to me and maybe I'm wrong to capitalize but um I know what I'm talking about what I'm referring to so
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when I capitalize these things uh some of you who are writers um can tell me I'm still working on one that Dr failer uh and I discussed some years ago um I
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still don't know when to use a semicolon um it's just one of those um and I'm not into emojis either so I don't know what when you type an emoji as a semicolon I have no idea what that
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is um I don't know how to use them but um I'm still working on that and working on capitalization when you title things what words get capit ize them what or not but anyway I
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digress the work of the holy spirit is partial in the Old Testament and we don't mean that it's incomplete but it's it's partial in that
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it is it is um not um not Universal in other words um correct me if I'm I'm wrong but what
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I see there it's not inclusive of all people and it's not even all inclusive of the nation of Israel that what we see is it's um
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it's selective and because it's selective also occasional it's there are events and I I
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struggled I was typing these uh notes last night and I don't I can't come up with a word I how to describe what God
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in in general how would you characterize what God is doing he's revealing himself and he's preparing us definitely for the Messiah but do you call them events or
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do you call them outcomes um certainly um the holy spirit is is looking to bring out um specific outcomes in working
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through uh through uh men um and as he reveals um God to us um so I ended up calling it
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um specific outcomes but there's probably a better English
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word um to use here but it's God revealing himself and using and to see the Holy Spirit as executing the will of God in these things but it's it's specific to certain occasions and
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certain people and it's so again not Universal and not
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you might say well this it's the holy spirit's work of course it's special but special but it's there are special works there are special messages that
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God wants to impart there are messages or perhaps uh we could use the word
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that the holy spirit is involved in working through people for these messages to be conveyed and it's also
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um obviously we see as we move forward through history prophetic that that God is
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using men using men to point out to um to um announce but also to prophesy too
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driving toward that um Paul in 2 Corinthians 5 is talking about reconciliation reconciliation of God reconciling the world to himself and
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in here he kind of summarizes it seems the the work of the spirit I'll read from 2 Corinthians 5 now all of these things are from God
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who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation namely that God was in Christ reconciling the world to himself
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not counting their trespasses against them and he has committed to us the word of reconciliation I I think in a sense the holy spirit is in the Old
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Testament foreshadowing for telling showing how that would happen where he says namely God in Christ is reconciling
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himself to the world forgiving trespasses that's what the Holy Spirit In the words of the prophet in again probably too simplistic
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but trying to nail down what I think is the the drive here um overall trying to look at the the whole work of the spirit
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leading us to that yes that's that's an excellent summary what's with charismatic movement and pism they still think that they think in
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those terms they think the work of the holy spirit is still occas okay locked in you just describe
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at least our experience in charismatic they don't recognize that the New Covenant the holy spirit's work is is really opposite to all what you written
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still think I don't think they could articulate it but that's that's a great
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Des that it's still there it's still those yeah okay well and then so to me again
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the it it's Preparatory and it's still powerful we we're going to see um going to try anyway to help you see how powerful the holy spirit is in the Old
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Testament but yes so so one of the things here is to look at okay just kind of a preview
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of the New Testament but explaining first of all so he does this but there are things that this work
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does not include so I'm going to erase this and
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the holy spirit in the Old Testament does not create a church um he does and we we'll see language that you kind of say well maybe it is it
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um we'll see that he comes upon people and that he does fill men that's Old Testament language there but he's not creating a church by Abiding and
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so one of the authors said just simply he doesn't create a church and it's like okay that that works for me that that
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um it also does not include administrating because there's not the body of the church we don't see him specifically administrating gifts in
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the body which
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um can I capitalize the body um again God I my capitalization just to me is just remind me how great God is and his revelation of these are his works
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and the body is is his and it's his idea um and this one um one of the authors used this and
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I was trying to find corroborating uh passages get to a proof text for this but um so this is not from
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me but me but um the Holy Spirit not being spoken of as and I'll quotation mark it
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here as as a sanctifier we we um we talk about justification in Christ sanctification in the Holy Spirit glorification in God the father but I I looked at 1 Corinthians chapter
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6 and um I'll read this to you uh from Paul's pen um he's talking about um who they
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were um he says or do you not know that the unrighteous will not inherit the kingdom of God do not be deceived neither fornicators nor idolators nor
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adulterers nor Emin nor homosexuals or thieves or covetousness Covetous nor drunkards nor revilers nor swindlers will inherit the kingdom of God such
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were some of you but you were washed but you were Sanctified but you were justified in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and in the spirit of
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God it's almost as as if Paul is saying there's something new now this this is part of the New Covenant
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this is part of the work of the Holy Spirit but whether this is definite um I looked at some other passages in the Old Testament and I
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don't see it but I think at least in my mind there is it it makes sense that until we get to the New Testament we don't see the work of the Holy Spirit
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quite spelled out that way um but maybe I'm wrong on that one but
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so the statement is that of Moses that that unless the heart is circumcised unless they are are changed and renewed then uh the the work is still to be done on the
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heart it does seem that the holy spirit's role in the with regard to the word is that's not the sanctify right
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it's not as though he was completely absent from the process that there was a process of sanctification yeah you read about it in Psalm 119 according to the
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ordinance according to the statutes but also that it's his spirit that gives life so it's difficult to to to distinguish but I think you're right
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that until the circumcision of heart is not spoken of asan yeah yeah I guess um in that vein I I've
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still um over the weeks have meditated on Genesis 1 verse2 let and three let there be light but the spirit brooding
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and then John one and it says uh of Jesus um let me read it before I mangle it um but the idea of
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of the light of men um in the beginning was the word and the Word was with God and the Word was God he was in the beginning with God and he came into be all things came into being by him and apart from him nothing came
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into being that has come into being in him was life and the life was the light men it's the spirit of
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Christ as we'll see in the New Testament
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giving us that light and in in us but Christ I don't know I'm still how does Genesis 1 and John 1 how do that the idea of the light really can you illuminate us no it's
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actually something else I heard this we Genesis L I wasn't able to confirm it we didn't have internet okay
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but apparently the the word used in the Greek for Spirit overshadowing Mar is the same
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yeah yeah I think Luke again as John Luke was intending us to think yeah what's happening here is the new creation and the work power of the Holy Spirit yeah
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um too little word too much I don't know um Jewish people were people set
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apart and there being set apart there was a difference in lifestyle F theye circum I don't I don't know possibly the clothing they I don't
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when you meet two men down the street how do you know one and the other one's a gentile in that time I me I think they
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looked okay um where where are we heading there heading there was there there was something about the Jewish is supposed to
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be um visible I guess to others set yes they are but
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know okay so okay let me just re reiterate the question the Jews the Israelites were to be different they were to be set apart how were they distinguished from others around
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them part of their sanctification being set apart from others around was Hebrews describes law the body until
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the time of reformation the characteristic sanctification of the people of Israel was in large part outward whereas the question of how do you tell a Christian
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from a non-Christian is is going to be somewhat more problematic because we we profess that our sanctification is inward when the two men went the one
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of that was their disting feature you know it's interesting circumcision is not a visible they had to have they they did have different they were not allow well
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and the the men did not shave their beards and didn't cut their
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hair old well I could in my where my brother and sister-in-law lived in pic Maryland you could tell the Jews because Saturday morning they were all walking to the synagogue and all of the men had a hat and the the hair was braided yeah
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sorry I
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that people of God not really Inward and their Reed for San ification ever moving right right I mean in every generation there were people who were
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being changed that I mean salvation didn't change there were people who were being changed by the spirit of God and and knew the Lord so yes an inward
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change is change is required and just the outward things would not have been for everyone a change your heart no
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yeah right right and yeah so to me it's another continue to meditate on that and search the Old Testament are you know what do you see there um certainly I need to do some more digging on that one
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but I thought that was an interesting you know kind of a with head scratcher that is is worth scratching your head over trying to understand um so I erased
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the not here um and this is where we're headed probably today and continuing next week but we'll see U the holy
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spirit's work did include the
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phrase Came Upon right Came Upon men uh filled men he was filled with the Holy Spirit but not in the same way
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again as we see before again specific or erase now but special work special messages um and
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important at least for me it was important to kind of think of this
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thought we see the Holy Spirit using men with again without reference to their character he's he's exercising the will of God but he's moving men to say things and do things
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[Music] um without respect to them being somehow Holier um or more righteous or or whatever they were they were chosen for
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God's purposes um and quite and quite frankly that hasn't changed we we have no merit of our own
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and we were not um I I I guess I what echoes in my mind is John and I remember was five or chapter five but he says um you did not
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choose me but I chose you and I appointed you that you should go and bear fruit um
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count them 88 Old Testament passages that speak of the kind of work that we're going to look at here and
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um I found them in one of the uh theologians divided into four subdivisions and there's it's probably
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like any subject you depend depending on your perspective or how you kind of turn that gem you kind of see how it
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outlines itself or looks um in a in a certain light so I'm going to use these as as my headings and then try to flush out um what I see
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here but here but um we're going to look at four subdivisions
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of Hebrew words they're the Hebrew words that kind of show the work of the spirit in in these four categories but um what we'll see here if
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I kind of give a little summary of again another way to kind of look at from the fall to the flood to the prophets to the Messiah
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okay under these things that he's doing here is
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um we we see uh the language in Genesis is Genesis 6 I think he says and and the spirit will not always strive with men forever but from the fall to the flood
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that's what we see is the spirit is striving with man and so there's there's kind of a a a spirit of and and again I'm
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not sometimes the language that I see written and I can understand how some people want to move that that the spirit is a an Impulse or he's an influence or he's a power or something along that
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line yes that that is the action result that we see but but he is a I can't get away from that we know that he is a
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person but here he seems to be from this time a spirit of convicting Spirit of showing men their sin man was
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continually um corrupt and forgotten exactly the language of of Genesis but um he he was uh continually uh
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doing his own
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very wide open here I guess you would say and I don't mean to be simplistic but just trying to characterize what what do we see there um
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we see the spirit working with with men and raising up people within the tribe of of Israel and Beyond the
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Kings um and there is a sense I think we see a spirit of of
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strength um perhaps in in some of the examples we'll look at it's it's a physic physical strength to do stuff if I could say it that way
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um that he was given and was doing was not of not of himself and himself and then perhaps we could
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U empowering men who were devoted to the will of God but also in many under very trying
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and bad circumstances devoted to the will of God and carrying that out and carrying the message speaking the decrees of God but what do we see underlying
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that um is it not the hope they they're carrying the hope of the nation they're carrying the hope of
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the world as we see as the spirit illuminates lighten enlightens us of the coming of the of the
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Messiah so this kind of okay what is he doing but how does he do it and that's we want to perhaps we'll get to the
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first one of these um and I'll admit that the I haven't studied all the the Hebrew words and all their their
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connotations and things um but I'm reading the the English
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words and theologians helping me kind of understand the difference between this phrase in English and this and the meaning from the the Hebrew and the first one I will admit I'm just trying
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to understand exactly what this means but we see this
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language so this is one of the four out of the 88 or the four subdivisions from 88 that the holy spirit is coming upon men
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um one translate that has clothed himself with himself with men so we're not talking about anointing we're not talking about the New Covenant sense
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of um that the holy spirit is in man but the Holy Spirit clothes himself with man in order to
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have something done or to carry out the will of God so you would say they were made instruments to accomplish the work of God so again not in the New Testament
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sense of the Holy Spirit within man but um the contrast in in Luke if I could read um from
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Luke um 24 Jesus said uh he said to them thus it is written that the Christ would suffer and Rise Again from the dead on the third day and
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the repentance for forgiveness of sins would be proclaimed in his name to all the nations beginning from Jerusalem you are witnesses of these things and behold
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I am sending forth the promise of my father upon you but you are to stay in the city until you are clothed with power from on high that's the New
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Testament but here it's the coming upon men seems to be um as I said um made
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purposes um some again uh the language is people see a Divine energy in the examples here um a moving
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out not only in Deeds but also in speech so that the will of God was made known and God's power was seen by men and
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what's the purpose of this was uh to announce God's presence among men but it was achieved by causing men to do
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special Works causing them to deliver a special message so the examples here and I've got about four minutes here so
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we'll uh we'll look at these and finish
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here um yeah just judges
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Gideon he says now um so Gideon built an altar to the Lord named it the Lord is peace and he says now the same night it came about that the Lord said to him take your father's bowl and a second
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bowl seven years old and pull down the AL alar of Baal which belongs to your father and cut down the Ashira that is beside it and build an altar to the Lord
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your God on top of this stronghold in an orderly manner and take a second bowl and a burnt offering offering with wood of the Ashira which you shall cut down
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Gideon took 10 men of his servants and did as the Lord had spoken and it came about because he was too afraid of his father's household and the men of the city to do it by day that he did it by night when the men of the city arose
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early in the morning behold the altar of Baal was torn down and the Ashira was beside it and it was cut down and the second bowl was offered on the altar
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which had been built and they said to one another who did this thing and when they searched about and inquired they said Gideon the son of joash did this thing that then the men of the city said
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to joash bring out your son that he may die for he has Dorn down the altar of baale and indeed he has cut down the Ashira which was beside it but joash
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said to all who stood against him will you contend for BA or will you deliver him whoever will plead for him shall put be put to death by mourning if he is a God let him contend for himself because
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someone has torn down his altar therefore on that day he named him Jobo that is to say let beo contend against him because he had torn down the altar
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then all the midianites and all the amalekites and the sons of the East assembled themselves and they crossed over and camped in the valley of jezrael so the spirit of the Lord Came
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Upon Gideon and he blew a trumpet and the abizer ites were called together to follow him and he sent Messengers throughout manessa and they were called
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together to follow him and then so forth and so on the spirit of the Lord came upon him he had a special task that he was
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assigned to do to tear down these altars as a protest to the idolatry that was rampant in the land and yet when it came
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time to lead the people to actually instruct them and be the the example of leading them from this time it says the spirit
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of the Lord came upon him um and my marginal note says um was clothed with him that this is
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again not in the New Testament thing that way that we think but a way as make he was made an instrument for God's purposes of demonstrating to the people
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the the idolatry and the the wrongness of that but also being able to stand up as leader to these men that he obviously feared so um that's the first example
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and I need to stop here but we'll look at a couple more where this language of of the spirit coming upon men um in a powerful way to accomplish the purposes
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of God um again in this case um conviction of their their sin and their wrong application of
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worship let's go ahead and and pray um as we run out of time our father we do thank you for the scriptures we thank you for the way in
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which you used men and use them to leave your revelation of yourself to us that we
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might read and study that we might meditate upon these things and we ask again father that you would help us to um hear The Echoes of the Old
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Testament but we would also rejoice in the way in which we have seen through the scriptures and now know to be our
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own legacy that the Messiah has worked in us and the Holy Spirit has come upon us to give us the strength in showing us and
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guiding Us in the way that we ought to go and again father we ask that your people would glorify you we ask in Christ's name amen