Person & Work of the Holy Spirit
Mike Doyle · Oct 13, 2013
Holy Spirit (2013), No. 40
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/492643594210

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

We've been talking about the fact that men that serve in the body of Christ, that they must be dependent, men and women, that a talented man, who is just a man, not a believer, who has a lot of talents, isn't qualified to serve in the body of Christ. And then 11, we talked about the services that the Holy Spirit enabled Stephen to accomplish.

So Acts 13.52 and Ephesians 5.18 and 19. The question is, are these examples of natural exhilaration or something else?

Acts 13.52, and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Ephesians 5.18, be not drunk with wine wherein is excess, but be filled with the Holy Spirit, speaking to yourselves in psalms and hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in your heart to the Lord. It's interesting that the Holy Spirit uses wine as a contrast or an example because it does exhilarate the natural man. It's interesting, Rideout says it's a stimulant. What we found out since Rideout wrote this is not. Alcohol is a depressant.

But it's a type of joy and what he does is the spirit of God warns against just nearly earthly joy or exhilarating the natural man. It takes a while as we grow spiritually to be able to distinguish between spiritual joy and the joy of the natural man. Right? No? An example that Reitauf gives is kind of cool.

He talked about the apostles who had been preaching the gospel at Antioch and they got kicked out of the city. And that's what the servant of Christ may expect. If you're going to go to Antioch or wherever and preach the gospel according to as God has enabled you and called you to do, what can you expect? You probably should, if you were up to speed, you would expect some sort of persecution. How about Cairo, Egypt? Should we all go over there and preach the gospel? They'd probably welcome us with open arms, wouldn't they? But here's the point.

What was the effect of the persecution upon the minds of the servants of God at that point? Were they depressed? Or were they thinking, oh man, that was tough. Did they have a meeting and think about giving up because they weren't making any progress in going home? No. What was the deal with them? They were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit. Thus the night only causes a pillar of fire to gleam more brightly.

So tell me about how that works. You are involved in any way with the Lord's work and you have resistance. It didn't go as well as you thought or so and so. It wasn't receptive or you were aggressively opposed. Maybe it came from your own family, your spouse, kids. Good, I don't have to talk about it. That was good. Yeah, saved her a thousand dollars.

So, I mean, I know that if we're dealing with somebody, trying to lead them to Christ or trying to counsel them in some manner, and they resist, we're not happy about it. You know, it's kind of depressing. These guys were totally opposite. They were totally opposite. Why were they? Why were they filled with joy?

Because the Holy Spirit was stronger than their natural emotions. Okay, that's a pretty good answer. That the Holy Spirit is stronger than your natural emotions. There is a filling of the Spirit is for the work of the Spirit, right? We're all involved, but we're not all filled all the time. But when you're filled with the Spirit and you're about His business, there's a joy involved with that.

Because success is not the criteria for whether you feel good about it or not. I've talked about 1 Corinthians where Paul says it was his job to plant, it was Paul's job to water, but it was God's job to give the increase. So we have an outcome based education today? It's God's job to figure out how the outcome is going to be, not yours. So the joy of being involved in the work is the issue. And you have to understand, as I think these disciples understood, apostles, that they are doing their job right if they are getting resistance.

So when Paul spoke about being compelled to preach Christ without a spirit, Yeah, and that compelling is an interesting word because it kind of, it's not only pushing you forward maybe, or drawing you, but it also restrains you back in the front side. In other words, you're perfectly in the frame that he would have you in.

Paul was compelled to preach the gospel, but God wouldn't let him go to Asia. He wanted him to go to Europe instead. He's willing to go anywhere, but he's also as a dependent man, you know, he asked the Lord, you know, I want to go to Asia, and the Lord said, no, we're going over this way. And so it keeps you within the framework of how the Spirit of God would have you work.

You know, it's like he said, woe unto me if I don't teach, preach. I understand what he means. I have a friend I used to work with, the place Hal used to work. And he wasn't really into this sort of thing. And I gave him one of these little green New Living Bibles when they first came out. And he went off to Korea, came back two years later and he walks them off. He's got this tattered little Bible. You just don't know. Yeah, you really don't know. You really don't know. How do I say this? Being filled with the joy of the Holy Spirit is not a Hansen Horne's New Museum kind of an experience. But there's an exhilaration there that's quiet.

Imagine what it's like to be absolutely convinced that at this moment you're doing what God had called you to do. It's really a cool thing. and that you are being filled with the spirit to accomplish it. So it isn't Yahoo, jump around. It's just like, wow, that's really cool that the Lord would even consider me part of the work. And so that's why I think he contrasts wine with the joy of the spirit.

Any questions about that? You guys aren't too joyful this morning. You need to get with it. that God knows every single thing we do and whether we don't look to the right or left to see what men are thinking, but God knows that we are trying to share the gospel. Sure. Oh, absolutely.

And I think you find, if you've been down the road a little bit, Maybe you are the kind of person that is called to be in an evangelistic environment where your heart is for the lost. Which I think is a minority position. There aren't as many evangelists as there are other gifted people within the body of Christ.

But if you're called to be involved with what I would call growth truths, identification, position, condition, grace, you learn over time, and more by making mistakes than by successes, that you wait. You learn to wait for God to bring the right heart to you.

You understand what I mean by that? He's preparing you all along for what work he has for you. But you learn over time that, especially with some of these growth troops, you just don't go running off at the mouth with everybody. You wait until there's a need in their life. Then they're willing to listen. And it's hard to keep your mouth shut sometimes because you think, boy, you've got this special information that nobody else has. If they would just listen, it would be really cool and I could take all the credit. So you find, you learn that going, that the Lord is about his business within his body of growing believers up. The other thing you learn is the time it takes. There's a lot of time involved. You don't do 25 Sunday schools and then all of a sudden somebody sticks a label on you and says you're spiritual now. That's not the way it works. So question 13.

What is the only thing that produces praise in believers? Now, it's because of the holiness of God who cannot endure sin that he was compelled to forsake the spotless sin bearer. That's the father forsaking the son. But another thought is that if God inhabits and dwells amid the praises of his people, he must be known in such a way that his very presence produces praise. Isn't that a cool line? He must be known in such a way that his very presence produces praise. So if you're all about praise this, praise that, praise this, praise that, I'm one of those guys that are going to say, well talk to me about how well you know the Lord Jesus and then we'll talk about praise.

One of the things I think that is most concerning within the I'll say the pop culture version of worship in the church today is that nobody knows the word and they don't know the Lord but they sure know what kind of music they like to praise him with but they don't understand the spirit is the root of it. They think it's a cultivated experience.

Yeah, you know yesterday we had a really cool homecoming celebration for Bertha. It was really neat. And we sang two or three hymns that were really cool hymns because they were apropos for what we were doing. One of them was beholding face to face. And still I made the comment that we sang all is well with my soul.

And I made the comment to the audience that well that's a song, that's a hymn that we would sing not being in front of the Lord beholding him. We would sing that, but Bertha wouldn't. Not now. Not now at all. And then we sang after that beholding, or face to face, and that's more appropriate as to who we are.

I mean the fact that we have the privilege and the capacity to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus face to face, that's where the praise comes from. It's not like American Bandstand has a good beat and you can dance to it. That's not what it is. It's beholding the glory of the Lord. And we should teach more around here that the reason you get out your Bible and open it up and read it is to behold the glory of the Lord in it.

And the praise results from that. Right out says, Our Lord was forsaken in order that redemption might be accomplished. And as a result, praise issues forth from hearts forever delivered by that grace. That's another reason that grace is so important. As you begin to understand what God's grace is and you live in it, you can't help but respond with praise to God. Because of what he's doing and done.

God must have a willing and a joyful people and it is only as this is the case that there can be power within the body of Christ. Do you see that? Kind of cool isn't it? Next question. There are two passages that demonstrate power to speak boldly. I had a couple there, do you remember them?

Acts 2.4. Somebody go to that and read it.

And the other one was Acts 2.8 and 10.

Somebody read Acts 2.4.

And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues as the Spirit was giving them utterance. So the time had come, the promised time had come, when they would be filled, when the spirit would be poured out. And his presence was visible and it was audible. Though, more yet, it was personable and abiding. Okay, Acts 2, 8, 9, and 10. And how is it that we each hear them in our own language to which we were born?

Parthians and Medes, Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judah, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia. You gave me a good one. Is that where you want me to be? I want you to ask to a. That's where I was. Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, you rulers of the people and elders of Israel, if we this day be examined of the good deed done in the important infinite man, Peter had healed the guy. Is it maybe Acts 8? It might be. Who's got the book? I took it out of the book. Well, I got the right quote here, so let's do it.

By what means he is made whole, be it known unto you all, and to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, even by him does this man stand here before you whole. What's interesting is, look at the courage of Peter. You know to stand up in front of and these are Jews that probably want to get rid of him. It says now when they saw the boldness of Peter and John and perceived that they were unlearned and ignorant men they marveled.

That means all of you in this room qualify. Even the wizards. They recognized that as Galileans and companions of Jesus, but where did this power come from that they had? They knew not the presence of the Holy Spirit who fills the faintest with the boldness none can deny.

Now who's going to the Bronco game today? Anybody here? Do they still have the, oh no that's the Rockies game where you walk out and there's a guy with a megaphone telling everybody they're going to all die because they went to the Rockies game and they need Jesus. Oh, that's not the same thing. This doesn't work in Iraq. The Broncos family, the versus acts for eight or eight to ten acts for eight to ten. So what's the deal?

The deal is that you can't cow the Holy Spirit. You can't knuckle him under. You can't out shout him. You can't intimidate him. If he wants to do something, he's going to do it. And if you're speaking and led by the Spirit of God, you have all the power of God on your side. Same thing happened with Stephen when he spoke in the Sanhedrin. They could not debate with him. So even all the chief priests and the scribes and all of those people couldn't debate with Stephen. They had no chance because he was filled with the spirit.

Last question, 15. Is it proper to pray and ask to be filled with the spirit? You sure? No need. You'll notice, what should you pray for then? That we can speak the word of God with boldness. Okay, do you hear that? Everybody hear that? No. It isn't proper to pray to be filled with the Spirit, but it is proper to pray that you might speak the word of God with all boldness. That's good. What page is that of?

71. Right out says he thinks that this is of great importance in keeping with the entire subject. We never find the disciples waiting for an endowment of the spirit or anything of that kind even at Pentecost. They did at Pentecost. They had the spirit, he dwelt in them, they were full of the spirit so to speak, and needed but to realize the necessity consistently for the power of God. Then, as an occasion arose, the spirit took possession of them and used them as instruments of his mighty energy. Is there not much instruction for us here?

Absolutely. So what do you do? How do you prepare? How do you prepare? Let's say so and so is in your life and they're in maybe a crisis situation or their little world is falling apart around them. Somebody took the air out of their tires and you're sitting there and you know and you can observe and you can see what's happening. So what do you do? Knowing that at some point you're probably going to have an opportunity to sit and talk with them. What are you going to do?

We want to grow ourselves. You want to grow yourself? Understand our knowledge, understand the grace, because you can't, I don't think you can teach what you don't know. That's true, you can't teach what you don't know. So all of a sudden they're in front of you. And now you've got to say something. What do you do then? Pray for boldness. Right. I think that's exactly what you do. What? You pray for boldness. That you might speak the word of God to them. Because you know that your opinion isn't going to move anybody's mind. Randy?

The amazing thing from 1 Peter 3 Verse 15 where Peter has just said, okay, you should be able to give an account. But sanctify Christ as Lord in your hearts, always being ready to make a defense to everyone who asks you to give an account with the hope that is in you, yet with gentleness and reverence, and keep good conscience.

The fruit of the Spirit is part of what the presentation of the Gospel is. If the presentation of the gospel comes across as a two-by-four, that's really generally not the fruit of the spirit. It's not the gospel. Yeah. The only wooden fault should be the cross, right?

Picture this scenario. You're in this chair and they're in that chair, and you're face-to-face. They're looking at you, hoping that you have something to tell them that's going to help them. What's your attitude as you look at them? The first part of your attitude better be, I'm really dependent here.

I am not the genius. I'm not the guy with the advice. I'm dependent on the Spirit of God to speak to them through the Word as He would do it. And I ask that He would make me bold to speak the Word of God. Because if you're sitting there thinking that you're the guy with the answers, then it's going to be about you and your ego. It's not going to be the Spirit of God who does the talking. It just won't be. Is it true to say that as the Spirit of God is active in our lives and working through us, that those people will be drawn to us? Yes.

I guess I've had that in my own life. A friend of mine was a Christian. I knew he was. It showed very plainly. And I was having a hard time in my life. And I just called him up out of the blue. I knew he was a Christian. I didn't know him that well. And I said, hey, can you help me? And I was drawn to that. I think everybody in this room has done that at some time in their life. They may not even have known the person very well, but they saw Christ in him, so they called him.

Probably the guy that did this the best was Hal Malloy because here's what he did. All the way when this dynamic started and this person laid out their issue, you know what his answer always was? Let's open up the word and see what God has to say about this. He always did that. So you never go into one of those things without your holster, the gun in your holster, which is the word of God.

It's there and if you refer to the words and you let the word do the work, it's the spirit of God doing the work. It's cool. I'm my own biggest critic. I'm full of opinions. Just ask me. I think the secret to sitting with somebody is having that word right in front of both of you and looking and finding where And the spirit will direct you to verses and stuff and let the word do the talking. Because it's the thing that's powerful. It's sharper than any two-edged sword. You're not. It is. See? Of course. I have.

Are we having an opinion here? It's more of what you said before, and I thought I'd bring it up again. You've said it a couple of times, and it's where I think, what's your phrase? You've said the right thing to the wrong person at the right time, whatever your... My whole life. Your whole life. And then you're saying, Mary Gwinn, thinking about all this. I disagree with that. What a surprise.

You know, I keep thinking that You know, if you do that, if you think about it, it has to be the right time. And you put a lot of just, you know, I'm going to tell you, I'm going to justify that I shouldn't say anything anytime because it's not the right time. And I'll always justify that it's not the right time. And I think even if you don't, even if you, if you feel led to share with somebody, anytime, anywhere, anyplace, it may not be the right time in your eyes. But that's a seed that may be planted 5 years from now, 20 years from now, 5 minutes from now. We don't know. If I have to justify and think that it's the right time or the wrong time, I'll never say anything.

Because I'll justify it every time that it's not the right time. I don't have the right verses. He's not ready. I think when you get to that point, the issue becomes I think I'm going to go to the Lord and say, what would you have me do? I'm dependent on you. And I've actually experienced that where I didn't want to talk to him. And it's very clear to me, I have to. And other times though, it's like, no, don't talk to me. Yeah, but I don't think there's ever a wrong time.

I think the dependent man, who as best he knows how walks in the spirit refers all of that judgment to the spirit who will, I'm convinced if you trust him he'll put you in the circumstance or keep you from the circumstance. I know he does. And that's my point.

You're there. You shared. The Holy Spirit never had you there at that time for that and you shared. Or I'm there and I'm sharing and I get to a point where I've got a lot more to say but I know I can't say anymore because they won't understand me. That's being sensitive to the Holy Spirit, the moving of the Holy Spirit. I just think when we say you have to be at the right time, right spot, right place. It will never be the right time, the right time. If I'm making the decision, I'm not making the man. You're moved, and you're there, and you're with somebody, and you say something, and you think it was a wrong thing to say. Well, no, God had you at that point, that time. He's in control, and I'm making the judgment call that it was the wrong time, wrong place. God didn't. He had you right there at that time.

Sure. I do know, though, as I turn around and look behind me, there's a lot of bodies laying Well, the other is, as I always say, you know, you may be thinking that that time was for him. Yeah. It was for me. Sure. I understand. So, I mean, it's a two way street. God's using it all. Sure.

I was going to say, when I was a brand new Christian, I mentioned this before, when the guy said, you know, Russ, if you try to tell me one more thing about the Bible, I'm going to take your Bible and kill you with it. So then it was like, oh, wow, maybe, maybe you do kind of let God lead you. I don't want to die right now. OK, we're going to move on to the lesson.

I started out. Everybody have a copy of 20. No, I had so many. I don't have one to two. Alright, the first thing I'm going to ask you to do, let's see how we can do this. I want you to compare two verses. So somebody on this side read Ephesians 1, 19 and 20. And somebody on this side read 2 Corinthians 4, 7. Hopefully I got the right verses. Ephesians 1 19 and 20 And what is the surpassing greatness of his power toward us who believe?

These are in accordance with the working of the strength of his might which he brought about in Christ when he raised him from the dead and seated him at his right hand in heavenly place. Okay, hold that. Now somebody over here read 2 Corinthians 4 But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not of ourselves. By contrast, what Braga says, these are stupendous statements and I agree with them. We see that Christ in this tomb raised and elevated to the throne of God from Ephesians.

Could there be any greater power? The greatest demonstration, listen to me, the greatest demonstration of God's power was to raise Christ from the dead. Greater than creation, greater than anything He ever did, was to raise Christ from the dead. It took the combined power of all three members of the Godhead. So that is the greatest display of power ever. It's a greater display that when God is going to blip this creation out of existence and bring a new one in. The resurrection of Christ is the greatest display of power ever, ever.

And yet the same power was brought towards us, not merely on our benefit in Christ, but we too have been quickened and raised with Christ as the second chapter shows the power that brought in him has brought in us. So the next time you start whining about I don't have the power to do good but really that isn't what the word of God says. Would you say the difference, you wanted the contrast, the only contrast I could see is that the one in Ephesians is subjective and the one in 2 Corinthians is objective, would that be? I think the contrast is this, the Lord Jesus Christ was raised, the first born of the new creation with a resurrected body He's assumed up into heaven and he's glorified as a man. This same power is resident with us but what kind of a vessel is it in us?

That's the contrast. What kind of a vessel are you? You're one of these clay pots and in the ancient world there were people that made these things by the hundreds. They were like going and buying Tupperware. and they broke easily and people put stuff in them and they have no value, really. That's the contrast.

That this power exists in you and me and the vessel has no value. It's the power that's in us that has the value. Where with the Lord Jesus Christ the value is Him. Does that make sense? If you think you're anything more than one of these vessels, these earthen vessels, then you think too much of yourself. Right off says, look next at the vessel which this power is displayed.

And I want you to notice that it was necessary for the display of the excellency of the power did not adorn the pitcher, did not adorn the clay. Not a surrendered pitcher, not a discarded pitcher, but a broken pitcher. You see that? A broken clay pot. So Paul treated himself as an earthen vessel that was broken because he wanted to make sure that what was inside the pot was visible, not the pot.

It's really important. So, as you are moving along in your Christian life and you kind of experience this breaking program going on, that's good. That's good. So, what did the Apostle Paul learn from the thorn in his flesh? Oh, by the way, he had to learn this breaking of the crown thing. What did he learn? What did Paul learn from the fact that he had this thorn in the flesh? Because you know what's cool about him? When he first realizes that he's got this thorn in the flesh and he has just returned from the third heaven and the things he saw there, he couldn't talk about.

Because I don't care what culture you grow up in and what language you know, there wasn't a language that could describe what he saw. Yet when John goes there, in Revelation, the Lord tells him, you write down what you see. But he didn't let Paul do that. So Paul not only says, I was forbidden to write it down, but I don't have the words to do it. I don't know how to explain it.

But you kind of get back from one of those experiences and your ego starts to inflate. Because you're special. And so God gives him a thorn in the flesh. An agent from Satan. I love that. If you're going to get a thorn, where do you go to get it? Our boy Bilzy, he's got them all. And the first thing that Paul does is ask God to get rid of it. Wouldn't you? I would. Yeah, we do. Yeah, I'd go with him and say, hey, you know, this hurts. We don't want this anymore. Maybe you could do something about this. How many times did he go? Three. He went three times. So what happened in those three encounters? Do you think, is he really persuasive to get God to change his mind? Who got persuaded? Paul did. Well you have to be in agreement with God for your persuasion to do anything. If you're not in agreement, there's going to be no cord. Well, God said that it was better for his weakness was... I've forgotten exactly. No, I think you're on the right track. He said, you're more powerful when you're weaker, and I've been worse.

Do you think Paul understood that concept when the thorn in the flesh first showed up? I have no idea. No. So when your thorn shows up, I know what you're going to do. You're going to go out and say, hey listen, I'm cooler than this. I can't serve you the way I should if I've got this thorn.

And if you go three times, you get your mind changed to God's perspective. You see that? That's what the going does. And maybe you have to go three times, or four, or five. And you aren't going to persuade God, but he's going to persuade you. and persuade you exactly along these lines that it is you, Paul says, lest I should be exalted above measure, he understood his own ego, his own sin nature, above measure through the abundance of the revelations, he really understood, boy, can you imagine what that would be like? There was given to me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan thus I should be exalted above nature. So you guys with the big egos, get ready. How about with the small egos too? Here is a man who has seen the glories of heaven. He comes to earth and what does he find? No glories, no honors, but the thorn in the flesh. That's what he gets.

So we pray all the time, Lord that I may know you and the power of your resurrection. We want to stop there. The next phrase is, in the fellowship of your sufferings. Oh, can't we skip that part? Being made conformable unto your image? Sure. So you have to learn that the vessel is of such a value that it must be broken so that what's inside would shine forth. That's the principle here. That's what Paul learned. And you'll see in all of his teaching he's coming down that road with that mentality all the time.

There's such a great danger lest the precious truths appropriated by men in Christ may simply feed our natural pride. I've been so guilty of that sometimes. When you get exposed to some new truth, a heavenly truth or a growth truth and boy you have got a message that nobody else in your Christian influence has and you're going to make sure they know that you know it.

So who's it really about? You. So what does the Spirit of God do? Here comes the thorn, somehow, it may not be physical, but it's coming, so that you can find out that this abundance has to be of God and not of you, that you're just a vessel. And that takes time. Ridell says, hence in order to rightly enjoy and truly give out these truths, there must be that which answers to the thorn in the flesh. The vessel must be broken and it is the cross learned in it's reality that breaks the vessel. Well you guys usually when I'm teaching you smiling, you're not smiling now. That's what it's like when you get caught. So, what are the conditions under which divine power may be given us?

You just answered it. A broken vessel. Right out makes an interesting point here. I want to probably take issue with him. He says, We are to make a complete surrender of your will, strength, time, talents, all that you are, and have to be put on the altar. Now, if we do not have an understanding of identification of our co-crucifixion with Christ, then you can read a sentence like that and say, no problem, I can do that. Understand what I'm saying? That I myself, my old man, is going to crucify my old man. That's not what he's talking about. This is a growth issue and a realization that, wait a minute, I can surrender because I haven't been crucified. I can surrender because I have been buried and resurrected. It's like Romans 6, 18, 19.

You are to yield your members as instruments of righteousness. Most people stop there and say this is what you are supposed to do, but they forget the next little phrase, as those that are alive from the dead. If you don't know about this, death and being alive from the dead, then all of the yielding you are going to do is out of your flesh. You have to understand that the resurrected man in Christ is the one who does the yielding.

Does that make sense? So, as Courtney says all the time, you cannot move forward spiritually. unless you have a really good understanding of the identification truth. You were crucified with Christ, you were buried with him, and you were resurrected to the newness of life. The entire Paul's epistles speak to the man who is resurrected, not the old man in the flesh.

It's this new man that does all of this kind of thing, and that's the guy who's the cheap vessel, who's broken. who the life of Christ comes through, that's the guy that submits his will. You see that? He does it willingly, not from force. Because he knows it's the only way it's going to work.

2 Corinthians 12 about worries. I talked about the three times concerning this. I implored the Lord three times that it might leave me. And he said to me, my grace is sufficient for you for power is perfected in weakness. Now, this is the part that I always joke on. Most gladly. Yeah, most gladly. Therefore, I would rather boast about my weakness so that the power of Christ may dwell in me. Therefore, I am For when I am weak, then I am strong.

What scripture is that? 2 Corinthians 12, 9 through 10. Yesterday's Hungry Hearts was about trials. I'll read just a little snippet. By trial, our Father reveals whether we can suffer His will as well as do it. draws us to his son, drives us to the word, and to prayer, and shows us our hearts, and makes us humble. We are to learn to be patient in the days of darkness. Our trials are not meant to do us harm, but good. Our Father chastens us for our profit, that we may become partakers of his holiness."

Hebrews 12, 10. Imagine we are partakers of God's very holiness. I don't know if it was from yesterday or the day before or the very end, It was this phrase that just knocked me over. The phrase went, it is the Father himself that loves you. John 16, 27. Alright, let's go to Father.

Our guest today, Father, we thank you for our trials and our suffering and our difficulties because we know that you use all of those. to weaken and break the vessels so that the power and the life of your son the Lord Jesus may come forth. We trust you with what you are doing in every aspect of our life and we pray in your son's precious name. Amen.