ACCESS TO GOD

 

Photo taken by B Smith from the Patio

 

274 - ACCESS TO GOD

May 3, 1964

Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 5: 1 - 5 Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

God starts this chapter out by talking about justification, and I wonder if you realize that justification is everything. When you have justification, you have all that an individual needs. You might say, what is justification? Justification is the Lord Jesus Christ calling you something that you are not. You are not holy, but God calls you holy. Justification is God accounting to you be in possession of something you do not have. You do not have holiness, but   God counts you as being holy. 

1/   Then we have another word, the first word is justification, the second word is peace—justification by faith we have peace with God. This is not the peace of God, this is the peace with God. 

When the Lord Jesus had finished His work on the cross of Calvary he was received back into Heaven. Then God held nothing against the human race. Jesus Christ died for every man. God is not standing over man as a great judge, waiting to whip him. God, right now, has His arms outstretched, and He says come to me in the Name of the Lord Jesus Christ. There is peace with God. Jesus Christ made this peace. 

Colossians 1: 20 And, having made peace through the blood of his cross, by him to reconcile all things unto himself; by him, I say, whether they be things in earth, or things in heaven.

Notice the word, made. He made it by the shedding of His blood on the cross of Calvary. There on the cross, God put your sins on Him, He paid the price of redemption. It is all done. 

Now notice the 22^nd verse In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

In the body of His flesh through death to present you how? Holy. That is justification. We poor, miserable, sin-stained, lost and undone, presented to God Holy. That is justification.

2/   I want you to recognize something. Since the blood flowed on Calvary, God is not charging sin to man, He is inviting man to come to salvation. There is a great deal of difference in that. You can go to any man, women, or child on the face of  the earth, and tell him that Jesus Christ died for him, and if he will believe, instantly, he will be made a child of God. We don’t have the right to go around charging man with sin—our business is to invite them to Christ. The very worst of sinners can be saved. This is the Gospel.   

3/   Notice our ministry today, and God presents it so clearly to us. 

II Corinthians 5: 19 To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation.

Here is a truly remarkable thought. You may not have noticed it before but notice it now. To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto Himself. Not imputing their trespasses unto them, and hath committed unto us the word of what? The word of condemnation?  Are we to go around and rail on sin? No, notice, He hath committed unto us the word of reconciliation. We have no right to come to any man and condemn him. For that man is in the place where you were if you are saved now.  And God didn’t condemn you, but you have a right, a duty, to go to that man and plead with him to be reconciled today. That is the ministry that we have. It is the ministry of reconciliation. Anyone who is saved can exercise this ministry. God’s arms are outstretched, and invites every man to come. 

4/ Hebrews 4: 16  Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

That Jesus Christ is upon the throne of grace—not the throne of condemnation. We do not have a ministry of condemnation—we have a ministry of reconciliation, and all who believe, have peace with God, for Christ has made this peace.         

5/   You say that is something that it causes you to go out and live the way you want. No, it doesn’t. Not if you really understand. Not if you appreciate in your heart what God has done for you—it should be a motivating force for you to live for Jesus Christ. Let us show you something else here. 

Colossians 1: 22 In the body of his flesh through death, to present you holy and unblameable and unreproveable in his sight:

In the body of His flesh, through death, to present you holy and unblamable. 

Do you realize that Jesus Christ even takes your blame? I wonder, do you ever praise Him for that? You might say, I want to be blamed for what I did. But the Lord Jesus Christ was blamed for what you did, and what if you go out and do it again? Don’t do it again, because if you do it again, He’ll be blamed for that too. You are unblamable. Jesus Christ has taken your blame. What a wonderful thought this is.

6/   Notice, Romans 5: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

You see, by Jesus Christ we have access, we have access to the Father by the Lord Jesus Christ, and only by Him. This access into the holy place is by the blood of Christ. I want to show you that. 

Let us go to Hebrews 10: 19 Having therefore, brethren, boldness to enter into the holiest by the blood of Jesus, 

All of these words are connected with blood. We are justified by blood. The price of justification is the blood of Jesus Christ. And if we want  access with God the Father, and boldness to enter into the holiest, it is by the blood of Jesus Christ, and the modernists want to do away with this blood—they ridicule it. They say we don’t want that slaughter-house religion, but here it is—if you want to have access with God the Father, it must be by blood. Blood is the important thing—there is nothing else beside that.

7/   Among men they have secret societies, and you have to know how to get into these secret societies. Sometimes it is just a sign, sometimes it Is just a word, sometimes to get into the place, you have to know a secret entrance, but whatever the entrance or access into this secret society is, you have to know it. We also have to know how to have access to God, and there is only one way—that is access into the holiest by the blood of Jesus Christ. 

John 16: 7 - 9 Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you. And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: Of sin, because they believe not on me;

Jesus Christ said, when the Holy Spirit is come, He will convict, reprove the world of sin, not sins. It is singular, and of righteousness and of judgement. Of sin, singular, because they believe not on Me. It is not a sin question today, it is a Son question. What are you doing with God’s Son? He has made peace, if you will believe on Him.

8/   I wonder if you appreciate this wonderful privilege of having access to God. Did you ever read in the Bible and study how access to God was under the Old Covenant? Under the Law? And then compare it to what you and I have in Christ today. When God prepared Israel for the coming of the Law, He revealed to them that He was holy and could be approached only one way. Read the Books of Moses and see how carefully God revealed the access to Him was to be in only one way. 

Exodus 19: 12 - 13 And thou shalt set bounds unto the people round about, saying, Take heed to yourselves, that ye go not up into the mount, or touch the border of it: whosoever toucheth the mount shall be surely put to death: There shall not an hand touch it, but he shall surely be stoned, or shot through; whether it be beast or man, it shall not live: when the trumpet soundeth long, they shall come up to the mount.

When God came down on Mt Sinai, He warned Moses that the people must be far from the mountain. And thou shall set bounds for the people round about saying, Take heed that ye do not go up into the mountain, nor touch the border of it. Whosoever shall touch the mountain shall be put to death. No hand shall touch it, but he shall be stoned, whether beast or man, He shall not live. 

So you notice the only one who had access to God at that time was Moses, and the people were down at the base of the mountain, and this evidently did not satisfy them, so when Moses didn’t come down in what they thought was a reasonable time, they went to Aaron and said, Make us gods that they may lead us. They were not satisfied with this access up to this time. Their access was in a man by the name of Moses, but today, our access to God is in Jesus Christ. 

Then, when the law came, have you ever thought about access then? Did you ever realize that of the Levites, the tribe of the priests, only the descendants of Aaron could touch the sacrifices. Their cousins supplied music and other parts of the priestly service. Then at the hour of sacrifice, the priests slew the lamb brought by the sinner, while the sinner leaned over the gate, his hand on the animal’s head, and confessed his sins before God. After confessing his sins, the sinner watched the priest offer the sacrifice for him. First the priest went to the altar, offered the sacrifice, then walked a few steps to the lever (lay’ ver) where he washed his feet. Returning to the altar, he took the blood of the animal in a bowl and placed it on the North side of the altar toward the tabernacle itself. Taking a censor filled with sweet-smelling incense, he walked into the tabernacle, but only into the first room, the holy place, and there he offered the incense, at its special altar. The altar stood just before the great vail, the one that was torn in two, when Christ died on the cross. At that point the priest could proceed no farther. 

Then, finally, once a year, one man, the high priest could go beyond the veil of the temple on the great day of atonement when he went in with the blood. This was the climax of their access to God. But now all this pageantry taught that man cannot come to God in his own way. He must come to God in God’s revealed way, the divine way. 

And today it is the same thing—there is only one way to have access to God, and that is in Jesus Christ and through His shed blood. Do not think that you can come to Him in any way you feel is right. God has set down the conditions under which you can have access to Him.   

9/  Romans 5: 2 By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God.

Now we have another word in this verse that is very important—it is in the word, stand. By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand. The word, stand, is the word, FIXED, and of course, this is eternal security. I think I won’t spend a lot of time on this, this morning, but I want you to see that we are saved forever. We are fixed in this grace forever. I don’t understand why some people who claim to love the Lord Jesus Christ don’t want to believe in eternal security. They all want social security, and I think this is far better, much better. I think it is a thousand times better—a million times better. Eternal Security is to know that when you are in Christ, you are in Christ forever. Notice, this grace wherein we stand, or are fixed.

10/   Now notice the rest, And rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. The word, glory, is the word, EXULT, is a better translation than simply, rejoice. And exult, is a sort of bubbling over, when you exult over something, you are bubbling over inside. It is a nice word, I like it, and we exult in hope of glory. In other words, we are bubbling over inside in hope of glory. We have come to that place where Heaven is so real to us, that we rejoice.  We bubble over inside every day in the fact that very soon we will be in Glory. I recognize we don’t all get to this place, but we should. 

Someone told me the other day of a Christian who went to a doctor because of a very severe pain. After all the examinations and tests were in, the doctor had to tell this person that they had cancer. This person said, Praise the Lord! and the doctor hasn’t gotten over it yet. Heaven was so real to this person, Glory was so real that they were exulting in it—they were bubbling over inside because of it.      

11/   Let me show you a verse that brings this out so clearly. 

Hebrews 10: 34 For ye had compassion of me in my bonds, and took joyfully the spoiling of your goods, knowing in yourselves that ye have in heaven a better and an enduring substance.

These people were persecuted. Their goods were taken, their homes were broken up, they had to go into dens and caves to worship the Lord Jesus Christ, and they were glad in the midst of it. They were glad, first of all that they were permitted to suffer. They were glad they could share in the sufferings with other believers, because they had a testimony for Jesus Christ. They were willing to have everything spoiled. Why? Because they weren’t interested in today, they were interested in the future.

12/   Every time I think of this, I think of the time I read of the French kings who had some of Christians as prisoners in the middle ages. I think it was the Huguenots, but I’m not really sure. They were Christians in France. They had to meet in dens and caves, but they got so numerous that the king said he would do something. He sent word to warn them that they would be slain. His soldiers came back to the king and told him, You know, O king, these Christians don’t care anything about your edict so go ahead and kill them, because, they said they will go right to glory. Well, he said, go back and tell them they are going to suffer the most intense persecution I can think of. They came back and said they didn’t care for that either, because they say, the Lord Jesus Christ died and suffered for them, and they are glad to suffer for Him. What are you going to do with that kind of individual? What could you do with these folks? There wasn’t much this king could do. But that was the early Christians. I know we are not like that in this 20^th Century. I wonder if you rejoice, if you exult in the hope of the glory of God.  

13/   Starting with Romans 5: 3 and running into the 5^th verse we have four words that follow each other logically. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Four words, let me show them to you. Tribulation, patience, experience, hope. These are four words that follow each other in God’s plan and method. 

The first is, we glory in tribulation. Remember, he said in the 2^nd verse we rejoice in our hope of glory. But look at the 3^rd verse and see how it begins—not only so that, but there is something else—what is it? We glory in tribulation. But do we? That word, glory, is the same word as exult, we exult in tribulation. And I’ll give you another word of tribulation—it is the word, trouble—that is what tribulation is—it is all sorts of trouble, and we rejoice in that, we exult in that, we bubble over inside because of that? Yes, you say, but I don’t. I am sure I don’t know many people who do. I know early Christians did, and I wonder what is the matter with us in this day and age, for we do not rejoice in tribulation. 

I wonder if you recognize that God has a plan. When God wants to give you something, we’ll say, a great blessing, He has to wrap it up in trouble, and I wonder if you realize that when God permits trouble to come into your life there is something wonderful in it. And when you see that, you will be able to glory in that thing that is so hard.  

        

AMEN

Ref: 05/31/1964 / 274 - ACCESS TO GOD / 08/14/2020

TALKING BACK TO GOD

Kasuku...Richard's African bird

 

 

TALKING BACK TO GOD 

November 14, 1965

Pastor Henry F. Kulp

 

Romans 9: 19 - 21 Thou wilt say then unto me, Why doth he yet find fault? For who hath resisted his will? Nay but, O man, who art thou that repliest against God? Shall the thing formed say to him that formed it, Why hast thou made me thus? Hath not the potter power over the clay, of the same lump to make one vessel unto honour, and another unto dishonour?

In this chapter Paul has been showing that God has the right to do what He wants, but whatever He does, it is right, for remember, Hosea 14: 9 Who is wise, and he shall understand these things? prudent, and he shall know them? for the ways of the Lord are right, and the just shall walk in them: but the transgressors shall fall therein.

The ways of the Lord are right. This is a big key as we consider this chapter. The Jews were upset. He was upset with Paul, because Paul has said, God has set aside the KINGDOM program, has postponed it for a season, and is now dealing with the Gentiles, taking out of them a people for His name. And Paul points out that God is righteous, He is just in what He is doing. He shows that the nation Israel deserves to be turned aside. They had not obeyed God, they had rejected His grace, and so God set them aside for a season, and is now dealing with the church, the Body of Christ.   

1/  Here in these verses that we read for you, we have men finding fault with God. It is man talking back to God. Here we have man criticizing God…what a foolish thing to do. But in every man, because of his sin nature, there is this tendency to find fault with the program of God. 

2/  If we go to the Book of Job, we find that Job finds fault with God. Job becomes very self-righteous, Job 29: 11 - 17 When the ear heard me, then it blessed me; and when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me: Because I delivered the poor that cried, and the fatherless, and him that had none to help him. The blessing of him that was ready to perish came upon me: and I caused the widow's heart to sing for joy. I put on righteousness, and it clothed me: my judgment was as a robe and a diadem. I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was a father to the poor: and the cause which I knew not I searched out. And I brake the jaws of the wicked, and plucked the spoil out of his teeth.

We have Job bragging and bragging. He said, when the ear heard me, it blessed me, when the eye saw me, it gave witness to me, He said, I delivered the poor, the fatherless, and he that hath none to help him. He said, I put on righteousness and it clothed me. 

He is really fond of himself. He said I was eyes to the blind, and feet was I to the lame. I was father to the poor. Yes, Job certainly was self-righteous. But let us go to Job 38: 1 Then the Lord answered Job out of the whirlwind, and said,

God stop him and says to Job out of out of the whirlwind. Who is this that darkeneth counsel by words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man; for I will demand of thee, and answer thou me.

Who is this that darkeneth council with words without knowledge? Gird up now thy loins like a man—answer thou me. 

Job has been laying upon an ash mound in dumb misery, ever since he attempted to vindicate himself. So God says, Come Job, rouse yourself and give me your attention. Put your mind upon the questions I ask you, and answer me. And the Lord put Job in his right place as a creature before his creator. Where were you when God created earth? Were you there? Did you help me? Did I not make a pretty good job of it without you? And if I had asked you how to do it, would it have been a good job? 

So God says to Job—where were you when I created the earth? And He says to all who would find reason to criticize God, to talk back to God. Where were you when the earth was created, did you help? Could you have done a better job? Would God have done a better job if He had had you to help Him? Of course the answer is ”no”. 

Then look at Job 38: 12 Hast thou commanded the morning since thy days; and caused the dayspring to know his place? 

In other words, did you help make the sun come up that first morning? Did you do that? No, Job, has to admit he didn’t have a thing to do with it.  

 

And God says, Was it good? And, of course, it has been good. And He puts us all in our place, He doesn’t need our help. And whatsoever God does, it is right. Creation shows that very clearly.

3/   But now it is important to see the answer from Job to Jehovah. 

Job 40: 4 Behold, I am vile; what shall I answer thee? I will lay mine hand upon my mouth.

He says I am vile. He does not need to be told of his corruption, and then notice, Job 42: 3 Who is he that hideth counsel without knowledge? therefore have I uttered that I understood not; things too wonderful for me, which I knew not.

God’s ways are too wonderful. Job is amazed that he would ever dare raise a cry against the One Who is perfect and also did the right thing. Yes, we cannot always understand the ways of God, but we can know His ways are right.

4/  Let us just stop and think of God’s dealing with man. Even though God did what He wanted. Was it right? Of course. Take for instance, Adam and Eve. Was God arbitrary with Adam when sin first entered the human race? Did God very hastily bring heavy penalties upon Adam? Were Adam and Eve flung off into hell so God could begin with another creation? Of course not, He was full of love and compassion toward Adam and Eve. 

As I read the story in Genesis, one of the most touching lines in all of the Bible is the question that came from a loving voice of God after man had sinned. 

Genesis 3: 9  And the Lord God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?

Adam, where art thou? God, of course, knew where Adam was, and He could have appeared before him in the brightness of His majesty, but instead, knowing the sin had brought fright to Adam, God sent on ahead His voice, given as it were, time for Adam to calm his fears. And then, notice, before any word of judgement was pronounced against the man, the loving God pronounced judgement against Satan and He comforted man by giving to him the first promise in the Bible. This always thrilles my heart as I read the story in Genesis, I say, yes, Hosea, the ways of God are right.

5/  Genesis 12: 1 - 3 Now the Lord had said unto Abram, Get thee out of thy country, and from thy kindred, and from thy father's house, unto a land that I will shew thee: And I will make of thee a great nation, and I will bless thee, and make thy name great; and thou shalt be a blessing: And I will bless them that bless thee, and curse him that curseth thee: and in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed.

The Lord said unto Abram, get thee out of the country and from thy kindred and from thy father’s house, into a land I will show thee. 

I wonder if you realize that when God spoke to Abraham He was bowing down to sticks and stones like all of the rest of the people around him. God didn’t have to call him, but He did. Then notice, when He called him He said, I will bless thee, in thee shall all families of the earth be blessed. 

Yes, I cry out, Hosea, you know what you are talking about. The ways of the Lord are right.

6/   Now let us turn to Romans 9: 25 As he saith also in Osee, I will call them my people, which were not my people; and her beloved, which was not beloved.

The subject here is God made certain promises in the Old Testament, and He has been bringing them to pass, and they come to pass just exactly as God said they would. The Jews said to Paul, God promised us, the Jews, everything, and now you are giving everything to the Gentiles. And Paul says, there is a reason for this. God also made certain plans in the Old Testament by which He is going to set the Jews aside and bring the Gentiles in. 

Paul refers to the Prophet Hosea – Hosea 2: 23 And I will sow her unto me in the earth; and I will have mercy upon her that had not obtained mercy; and I will say to them which were not my people, Thou art my people; and they shall say, Thou art my God.

Now when Israel was God’s beloved, God said, I am going to bring in some folks and call them my beloved and they will not be Jews, they will not be Israel. And God has done just that. We have seen how the time came when God let the Jews be scattered over the face of the earth, and God has another people, another, beloved. 

Now go to Ephesians 3: 1 - 5 For this cause I Paul, the prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, If ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given me to you-ward: How that by revelation he made known unto me the mystery; (as I wrote afore in few words, Whereby, when ye read, ye may understand my knowledge in the mystery of Christ) Which in other ages was not made known unto the sons of men, as it is now revealed unto his holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit; 

Notice this, For this cause I Paul, a prisoner of Jesus Christ for you Gentiles, if ye have heard of the dispensation of the grace of God which is given to me to you-ward. God has a dispensation of grace, and is sending it through Paul to the Gentiles. He did just what He said He would do in the Book of Hosea. I will call a people that are not my people, I will make them My people, I will call a people that were not beloved, and I will make them beloved. 

All that God said in the Old Testament was that He would make a people that were not His people, and make them His people, and He would make them beloved. He didn’t say how He would do it, He didn’t say who these people would be. He didn’t give an outline of the church at all. He said nothing about that. It was all in the mind of God. This is the mystery.

7/   Notice, Romans 9: 27  Esaias also crieth concerning Israel, Though the number of the children of Israel be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved:

Isaiah also crieth concerning Israel. The number of the children of Israel will be as the sand of the sea, a remnant shall be saved. 

I think this very definitely that you could put the word, only, in there. That is what He means. Of all the children of Israel, only a remnant shall be saved. That is a very sad thing for Israel, very, very sad thing. We have not seen the full persecution of the Jew yet. The time is coming in the tribulation period when the Jews will persecuted down to a remnant…so sad.

AMEN

Ref: 11/14/1965 / 306 - TALKING BACK TO GOD / 08/16/2020

THE LIMITING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

 

Photo taken by B Smith's from Patio

 23 - THE LIMITING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

July 14, 1963

Henry F. Kulp

 

 

I Thessalonians 5: 16 - 23 Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus concerning you. Quench not the Spirit. Despise not prophesyings. Prove all things; hold fast that which is good. Abstain from all appearance of evil. And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly; and I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be preserved blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Now as Paul closes this wonderful epistle, he first of all, wants us to watch our testimony towards Christians leaders, verses 12,13 And we beseech you, brethren, to know them which labour among you, and are over you in the Lord, and admonish you;

Then he gives us our testimony to Christian brethren, verses 14,15 Now we exhort you, brethren, warn them that are unruly, comfort the feebleminded, support the weak, be patient toward all men. See that none render evil for evil unto any man; but ever follow that which is good, both among yourselves, and to all men.

Then in verses 16, 23 he gives us our testimony toward God. 

Last week we talked about rejoicing evermore, praying without ceasing, and in everything give thanks. 

This week we want to start with verse 19 Quench not the Holy Spirit. 

Of course, the question immediately comes back—who is the Holy Spirit? Of course, He is God. He is one of the persons of the Godhead. How often we hear Christians refer to the Holy Spirit as ”it”  but the personal pronoun, He, is what we should use. He is a Person, just as much a person as God the Son, or God the Father. Yet I am amazed that we hear believers giving praise to God for the gift of the Son but rarely do we hear the child of God praising God for the gift of the Spirit.  

1/  Now let us notice the Holy Spirit is omnipresent. This is one of the attributes of the members of the God-head. 

Psalms 139: 7, 8 Whither shall I go from thy spirit? or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there.

Here David said, whither shall I go from Thy Spirit, and where shall I flee from Thy Presence? If I ascend up into Heaven, Thou art there. If I make My bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. And I want you to see that the words, Thy presence, the Spirit is spoken of as God, and yet also is one of the divine attributes, Omnipresence, and is attributed to the Holy Spirit. 

2/  Now notice, David said, It is impossible to find a place where the presence of God is not felt, that is God the Holy Spirit, for if he ascends up into Heaven, He is there, and even a skeptic is ready to agree that God dwells in the heavens, but then he said, if I make my bed in hell, behold, Thou art there. And here even in death there is no escaping God. This is the other side of the grave—some men commit suicide believing that they can thus get away from a disturbed mind, and an over-worked conscience. But what an awakening they will have when they discover that after death God is everywhere, making their bed in the other world, does not relieve their mind nor their conscience as far as guilt is concerned.  

3/  The thing I want you to see is you cannot flee from God the Holy Spirit, Who is a person. You can never get away from him.

4/  But in the New Testament, we have many passages that clearly set forth the personality of Deity of the Holy Spirit. When Ananias and Sapphira sold a possession, and kept back part of the price. Paul said, Ananias, why has Satan filled thy heart to lie to the Holy Ghost? Thou has not lied unto man, but unto God. 

Acts 5: 1 - 4 But a certain man named Ananias, with Sapphira his wife, sold a possession, And kept back part of the price, his wife also being privy to it, and brought a certain part, and laid it at the apostles' feet. But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land?Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God.

We can clearly see that the Holy Spirit is called God. Men cannot deceive or lie to a mere influence. But Ananias had lied to none other than God the Holy Spirit. 

5/  Hebrews 9: 14 How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?

Hebrews tells us that the Holy Spirit is the Eternal Spirit, He is without beginning and He is without end, just the same as God the Father, and God the Holy Spirit.  He is the Eternal Spirit. 

6/  Now, I want you to see the Holy Spirit’s work in salvation, I Corinthians 12: 3 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

When you made a decision to receive Jesus Christ as Saviour and Lord, in conjunction with Romans 10: 9 Wherefore I give you to understand, that no man speaking by the Spirit of God calleth Jesus accursed: and that no man can say that Jesus is the Lord, but by the Holy Ghost.

It was not in your own strength, but by the Spirit’s power, for no man can say that Jesus is the Lord but by the Holy Spirit. Any true confession of the Saviour-hood and Lordship of the Lord Jesus Christ, is possible only by the Spirit of God. He is the one that enables you to cry out, Lord Jesus, I want you as my Saviour. 

7/  Then notice, Romans 8: 9 But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. 

If any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His. In other words, you are not saved unless the Holy Spirit has taken up His abode within your heart.

8/  Not only does the Holy Spirit enable you to cry out to the Lord Jesus Christ, that you want Him in salvation, but the moment you do this you are sealed by Him. 

Ephesians 1: 13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,

Believing and sealing are simultaneous. You have been sealed by the Holy Spirit, and your eternal salvation depends upon Him. 

9/  I Corinthians 3: 16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?

Paul tells us, Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you. This means more than the Spirit’s incoming. It indicates a residence a permanent residence. He stays within your body.

10/  Then also, the Holy Spirit helps your praying. 

Romans 8: 26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.

It is impossible for you to pray correctly unless you pray in the Holy Spirit.

11/  Romans 5: 5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Here where we read, the love of God is shed abroad in your hearts by the Holy Spirit which is given unto us—If the love of God is operational in our life, it is by the Holy Spirit. Man is by nature, selfish. In each of us, even though we are still saved, there is an urge to advance our selfish interest, enlarge our own prestige, defend our own rights, promote our own prosperity. This strain of self-love runs in all of us. There is a branch of science that is called sociology, or rather the science of living together, and this is a foolish teaching for the simple reason that man can’t live together unless they have the Lord Jesus Christ, because all of us are dominated by our own interests, but when the Holy Spirit comes, he advances the interest of God, He sheds abroad in our hearts the love of God and we become interested in God and in others. 

12/  There is so much that is lacking in the hearts of men. Take the Russian Czars—they let over 4 million peasants starve in order to force millions more to submit to their rule, to their dominion. Then you take in Nazi Germany where millions of Jews were tortured and slain. Then take the Bataan death march—that proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that the Japanese who were educated in our own American schools and colleges did not find the science of sociology sufficient to overwhelm or subdue their passion for power. This wonderful Holy Spirit sheds the love of God abroad in our hearts and makes the truth of sociology a reality.

13/  Our Scripture says, quench not. And we have over in Ephesians 4: 30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

Grieve not. What does this mean? This wonderful one, the Holy Spirit that indwells our bodies—how do we grieve Him, how do we quench Him? 

First of all, it is necessary for us to see, Romans 12: 1 I beseech you therefore, brethren, by the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your reasonable service.

God says we are to present our bodies a living sacrifice. Now remember, our bodies are the dwelling place, the sanctuary, of the Holy Spirit. And the word, present, contains the idea of sacrifice. And it is used in connection with the offering of Jewish sacrifices in the Old Testament. When a Jew would bring his lamb, or his bullock to the tabernacle, he would present it to the priest to be offered to God. This sacrificial offering, after having passed a very close and rigid inspection, would be presented to God at the altar, so that God could say in Exodus 29: 37 Seven days thou shalt make an atonement for the altar, and sanctify it; and it shall be an altar most holy: whatsoever toucheth the altar shall be holy.

Whatsoever touches the altar shall be holy. 

But now God says, in contrast to these dead sacrifices that Israel offered that they and their children turn their bodies over to Him, to present themselves upon an altar, a living sacrifice. And how does one do this? It is very clear in the Word of God.

14/  However, before we go on and study this, it is necessary to realize that the worldly individual has to cater to the body. The world advertises the body today more than it has ever done. The human body, especially the feminine body is exposed, exploited, it is appealed to on billboards, magazines, and newspapers. The body has been subjected to a slow, but sure suicide. Poisoned by alcohol, nicotine, and abused by wrong eating, improper rest, and not the correct exercise.

15/  But God says we are to present our bodies to Him, How? By being subjected to the Holy Spirit. How is this possible? BY TWO AVENUES, AS I SEE IT THIS MORNING. 

16/  The first avenue in Ephesians 5: 18 And be not drunk with wine, wherein is excess; but be filled with the Spirit; 

As we have told you in days gone by, to fill, is a passive verb, it is followed by the dative, it means action. And it indicates that the Holy Spirit is a Filler, not the one who is used to be filled with. If it was a passive verb, followed by the genitive case, which is possessive, it would indicate with what the vessel was filled, and it would be the Holy Spirit, but God is not telling us to fill ourselves with the Holy Spirit, but rather to let the Holy Spirit fill us with something. What is that? 

Colossians 3: 16, 17 Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly in all wisdom; teaching and admonishing one another in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing with grace in your hearts to the Lord. And whatsoever ye do in word or deed, do all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God and the Father by him.

It is the Word of God. If you refuse to study the word under the direction and the power of the Holy Spirit, you are quenching the Holy Spirit. He can’t work in your life, for He only works through the Word of God. It is necessary that you study the Word. The Holy Spirit can’t work in your heart unless it is through the Word.     

17/  The second thing is you can study the Word under the power of the Holy Spirit, and then quench Him by saying, “No”, I’ll not obey what the Word tells me to do. And this is a very common sin in the lives of believers. Let us go back and get an illustration of what it means to say, “No” to the Holy Spirit when He has revealed truths from our Bible. 

Ephesians 5: 19, 20 Speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord; Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Here, first of all, we are to be singing Christians. If we are sad, and despondent and out of sorts, not singing and making melody in your hearts, you are quenching the Holy Spirit.  

18/  Ephesians 5: 20 Giving thanks always for all things unto God and the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ;

Then if we fail to give thanks always for all things unto God and the Father through the Lord Jesus Christ, we are just disobeying Him. And so it goes. We know that we should do these things, but if we do not do them, then we are quenching the Spirit. We are saying, “No” to Him.

19/  Ephesians 4: 29, 30 Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers.  And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

First of all, notice the 30^th verse. And grieve not the Holy Spirit of God. 

The word, grieve, here carries with it the idea of causing pain. Believers are forbidden to do or say anything that will cause the Holy Spirit of God to become grieved, to have pain, and I want you to notice, what will give grief or pain to the Holy Spirit. In the 29^th verse Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth. It is with your mouth that it is so easy to grieve or give pain to the Holy Spirit. 

20/  The Old Testament word for grieve, is vex, and it appears only once, but they rebelled, and vexed or grieved His Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah 63: 10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.

Then we read, therefore he was turned to be their enemy and he fought against them. In the verse preceding this, the prophet Isaiah presents us with a most graphic view of God’s love for the nation Israel, in all their affliction, He was afflicted. 

Isaiah 63: 9 In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old.

But then the day came when the compassion, and forebearance, and the mercy of God was exhausted.

Isaiah 63: 11 - 15 Then he remembered the days of old, Moses, and his people, saying, Where is he that brought them up out of the sea with the shepherd of his flock? where is he that put his holy Spirit within him? That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? That led them through the deep, as an horse in the wilderness, that they should not stumble? As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest: so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name. Look down from heaven, and behold from the habitation of thy holiness and of thy glory: where is thy zeal and thy strength, the sounding of thy bowels and of thy mercies toward me? are they restrained? 

Believe me, He didn’t cease to love them, but they themselves had limited Him by grieving His Spirit, and instead of using their voices to praise God, they murmured, they complained, until they so vexed the Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God that He was compelled to fill their lives with hardship in order to break their rebellious and complaining Spirits. 

I believe this is exactly what happens today. When we grieve the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit has to lay tasks upon us, hardships upon us, so that our rebellious hearts will be broken.

21/  Now the word, quench, and that verse should be translated, the Spirit, do not extinguish—in other words quench the Holy fire that He kindles in our hearts, and I believe Holy Spirit here  produces enthusiasm and fervor for the things of God. I have seen many get saved and have a real enthusiasm, real fervor for the things of God, and then slowly that is lost. Oh, they don’t lose their salvation, they don’t get deep into sin, but they lose that enthusiasm, that fervor that they once had, they don’t have that fire, that the Holy Spirit gives.

22/  I believe with all my heart, soul, and mind, that God wants us to be on fire for Him. 

Philippians 2: 15 That ye may be blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke, in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among whom ye shine as lights in the world;

So it is necessary that you look into your life and see whether you have quenched the Holy Spirit, whether you have grieved the Holy Spirit.

He loves you with an Everlasting Love.

AMEN

Ref: 07/14/1963 / 23 - THE LIMITING OF THE HOLY SPIRIT / 08/20/2020