Ghost God     1. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS GOD   ·         Lying to the Holy Spirit is equated as lying to God “You have not lied to man but to God” (Acts 5:4).   ·         We are baptized in his Name as the third person of the Trinity “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.” (Matthew 28:19)   ·         The Holy Spirit is called Lord “Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom” (2 Cor. 3:17).   ·         Blasphemy of the Holy Spirit is considered the worst of all sins “Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven” (Matt. 12:31).   ·         He has all the same attributes of God the Father and God the Son   -His Name is Holy   -He is All Powerful   “And the angel answered her, “The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.” (Luke 1:35)   -He is Ever Present “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence? If I ascend to heaven, you are there! If I make my bed in Sheol, you are there! (Psalm 139 7-8)   -He is All Knowing “these things God has revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who knows a person’s thoughts except the spirit of that person, which is in him? So also no one comprehends the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.” (1 Corinthians 2:10-11)       2. THE HOLY SPIRIT IS A PERSON   “It is of the highest importance… that we decide whether the Holy Spirit is a Divine Person worthy to receive our adoration, our faith, our love, and our entire surrender to Himself, or whether it is simply an influence emanating from God or a power or an illumination that God imparts to us.  If the Holy Spirit is a person, and a Divine Person, and we do not know Him as such, then we are robbing a Divine Being of the worship and the faith and the love and the surrender to Himself which are His due.” R.A. Torrey     10 Reasons to Believe that the Holy Spirit is a Person   -Personal Pronouns are used for the Holy Spirit  “Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. 8 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; 10 concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; 11 concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged. 12 “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 13 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. 14 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 15 All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you.” (John 16:7-15)   ·         He is our helper (Paraklete) “when the comforter comes.” (John 14:16)   ·         He speaks “He who has an ear let him hear what the Spirit says to the churches” (Rev. 2:7).   ·         He prays on our behalf “The Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words.” (Rom. 8:26).   ·         He leads our life “For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, these are sons of God” (Romans 8:14).   ·         He teaches us truth “And when the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth” (Jn 16:13).   ·         He raises up leaders in the church “…The Holy Spirit has made you overseers, to shepherd the church of God which He purchased with His own blood” (Acts 20:28).   ·         He can be lied to (Acts 5)   ·         He can be blasphemed “…but whoever shall speak against the Holy Spirit, it shall not be forgiven him, either in this age or the age to come” (Matthew, 12:31, 32).   ·         He can be grieved “And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God…” (Eph. 4:30)     3. WHAT IS THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT?   -The Holy Spirit convicts the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment “And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment.” (John 16:8)   -The Holy Spirit Produced our Scriptures “No prophecy was ever produced by the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.” (2 Peter 1:21)     -The Holy Spirit is a vital part of our salvation “He saved us, not because of works done by us in righteousness, but according to his own mercy, by the washing of regeneration and renewal of the Holy Spirit.” (Titus 3:5)   -The Holy Spirit gives us assurance of salvation  “The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God.” (Rom. 8:16)   -The Holy Spirit gifts us “All these (gifts) are empowered by one and the same Spirit, who apportions to each one individually as He wills.” 1 Cor. 12:11   -The Holy Spirit empowers our lives “If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you.” (Romans 8:11)   -The Holy Spirit baptizes us into the body of Christ “For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body—Jews or Greeks, slaves or free—and all were made to drink of one Spirit.” (1 Corinthians 12:13)   -The Holy Spirit Fill us   “And do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit.” (Eph. 5:18)             -The Holy Spirit produces spiritual fruit in our lives “But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit.” (Galatians 5:23-26)     4. A CHALLENGE TO WALK IN THE HOLY SPIRIT “But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.” (Galatians 5:16-25)     5. SPECIAL VISITATIONS BY THE HOLY SPIRIT     Discussion Questions:   What stood out to you from today’s message? Why is it vitally important to the health of the church for the ministry of the Holy Spirit to be visibly present? Spend a few moments in prayer together inviting the Holy Spirit to fill you and to work powerfully through us as a church family.