COUNTDOWN TO PENTECOST3

· Last week we were learning how when God gives His promise or His word, it has it’s power in the promise itself.

· The Holy Spirit will take the promise and the word and begin to bring it to pass. This itself is aprocessthat takes place over time. It took God six days for creation to take place.

Genesis 1:1-5MEV In the beginning Godcreated the heavens and the earth. 2 The earth was formless and void, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was movingover the surface of the water. 3 God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and God separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So the evening and the morning were the first day.

· God the father is known as Elohim. This is a plural form, which we can see the Trinity. Elohim God is the Creator and Judge of all.

· Elohim is the plural name of El meaning “Strong One”

· In the first chapter of the bible we see the Father, Son (Word) and the Holy Spirit working together

The sages believed:The Throne of Glory was suspended in the air and hovered over the face of the water with the breath of the mouth of the Holy One, blessed be He and with His word, like a dove, which hovers over the nest, to cover,

John 1:1-3 MEV In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2 He was in the beginning with God. 3 All things were created through Him, and without Him nothing was created that was created. 4 In Him was life, and the life was the light of mankind.

When you look at the ministry of Jesus we can see the hovering of the dove.

Mark 1:10-11MEV 9 In those days Jesus came from Nazareth in Galilee and was baptized by John in the Jordan. 10 Coming up out of the water, He immediately saw the heavens openedand the Spirit descending on Himlike a dove. 11 And a voice came from heaven, saying, “You are My beloved Son in whom I am well pleased.”

WATER BAPTISM WAS AN ACT OF FAITH AND OBEDIENCE BY JESUS TO DEMONSTRATE HE WAS A MAN SUBMITTED TO GOD’S AUTHORITY.

BAPTISM WAS A TYPE OF CROSSING OVER LIKE ISRAEL WHO CROSSED THE RED SEA WHEN THEY LEFT EGYPT AND WHO CROSSED THE JORDAN TO TAKE THE PROMISED LAND.

Matthew 3:11-16ISV11 I am baptizing you withwater as evidence of repentance but the one who is coming after me is stronger than I am, and I am not worthy to carry his sandals. It is he who will baptize you withthe Holy Spirit and fire. 12 His winnowing fork is in his hand. He will clean up his threshing floor and gather his grain into the barn, but he will burn the chaff with inextinguishable fire.” 13 Then Jesus came from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. 14 But John tried to stop him, saying, “I need to be baptized by you, and are you coming to me?” 15 But Jesus answered him, “Let it be this way for now, because this is the proper way for us to fulfill all righteousness.”At this, he permitted him to be baptized.16 When Jesus had been baptized, he immediately came up out of the water. Suddenly, the heavens opened up for him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to reston him.

Jesus received an anointing from John who was Jesus cousin and also a son of Zacharias a priest. This means most likely John was from the tribe of Levi the ones chose and anointed by God to serve and work in the temple.

Acts 10:38ISV38 God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power,and because God was with him, he went around doing good and healing everyone who was oppressed by the Devil.

· Jesus needed to have the anointing of the spirit

Anoint means to rub or smear with oil. The oil was a type of the Holy Spirit, which needed to be present in order for the lights to shine from the temple lamp.

We too need the Holy Spirit to be the oil in our lamp so we can shine His light in a dark world.

Exodus 27:20 HCSBYou are to command the Israelites to bring you pure oil from crushed olivesfor the light, in order to keep the lamp burning continually.

· When Jesus dies He will become the crushed olive that will sustain and forever cause light to be seen.

· So when Jesus walked the earth in the flesh He talked much about the Holy Spirit.

John 14:25 NKJV25 “These things I have spoken to you while being present with you. 26 But the Helper, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in My name, He will teach you all things, andbring to your remembrance all thingsthat I said to you.

Parakletos: called to one's side," i.e., to one's aid is primarily a verbal adjective, and suggests the capability or adaptability for giving aid. It was used in a court of justice to denote a legal assistant, counsel for the defense, an advocate; then, generally, one who pleads another's cause, an intercessor, advocate,.In the widest sense, it signifies a "succorer, comforter."

John 15:26 NKJV26 “But when the Helper comes, whom I shall send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father, He will testify of Me.

· The Holy Spirit is the spirit of truth.

John 18:37Pilate therefore said to Him, “Are You a king then?”

Jesus answered, “You say rightly that I am a king. For this cause I was born, and for this cause I have come into the world, that I should bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth hears My voice.”

Psalm 33:4For the word of the Lord is right,

And all His work is done in truth.

Psalm 43:3 Oh, send out Your light and Your truth! Let them lead me; Let them bring me to Your holy hill And to Your tabernacle.

Psalm 51:6Behold, You desire truth in the inward parts,

And in the hidden part You will make me to know wisdom.

Psalm 119:142, 160 Your righteousness is an everlasting righteousness,

And Your law (Torah) is truth.The entirety of Your word is truth,

And every one of Your righteous judgments endures forever.

· The Holy Spirit will always lead us in perfect alignment to the Truth of God’s word, His ways and His plans.

John 16:5-15 NKJV5 “But now I go away to Him who sent Me, and none of you asks Me, ‘Where are You going?’6 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 7 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 depart, I will send Him to you. 8 And when He has come, He will convict the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment: 9 of sin, because they do not believe in Me; 10 of righteousness, because I go to My Father and you see Me no more; 11 of 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 However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. 14 He will glorify Me, for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. 15 All things that the Father has are Mine. Therefore I said that He will take of Mine and declare it to you.

· The Holy Spirit gives scheduled downloads of what has been given to Jesus to you!

· The Holy Spirit is the one who show you the things written and planned for the future.

Ezekiel 36:27 27 I will put My Spirit within you and cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

This scripture is given to the House of Israel who had not obeyed but greatly rebelled against the word and commandments of Yahweh.

· It is going to take the Holy Spirit to restore them and cause them to live in the truth.

Ezekiel 36:24-27 NKJV24 For I will take you from among the nations, gather you out of all countries, and bring you into your own land. 25 Then I will sprinkle clean water on you, and you shall be clean; I will cleanse you from all your filthiness and from all your idols. 26 I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; I will take the heart of stone out of your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 27 I will put My Spirit within youand cause you to walk in My statutes, and you will keep My judgments and do them.

· Ezekiel prophesied this over 600 years before the time of Jesus and the day of Pentecost.

· The same God who created the earth is now going to create a new man by giving him a new heart and put a new spirit within him.

Acts 1:4-54 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; 5 for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

· The Holy Spirit is going to come like the Father had promised.

The Holy Spirit would baptize “ It is he who will baptize you withthe Holy Spirit and fire.

Next week we will learn more about this Holy Spirit fire and what it could possibly mean. In the meantime we need continue to allow God to continue His process to purify and prepare us for what is to come.

· Don’t be afraid of the Holy Spirit.

· Don’t quench the Spirit

· Don’t grieve the spirit

· Don’t blaspheme the spirit

· Make room and welcome the Holy Spirit