I hope you have become personally acquainted
with the Holy Spirit. Oh, sure, you've known
Jesus so long. He's been your Redeemer, your
Savior. And you can honestly say that all these
years you have loved Him with all of your heart.
God is your Heavenly Father. All that wonderful
security that we have in him. And you know that
you passed from death unto life. You know that
God is more than just your creator. You know
he is your heavenly father. There's that wonderful
relationship. And he's real to you. And the person
of Jesus is real to you. He's no stranger to
you. But lo, these many years, you have really
never gotten acquainted with the third person
of the Trinity. And this third person is just
as real as Jesus and just as real as God the
Father. His work is just as important as the
Father and as our Savior. You don't know what
you've been missing. all these years by not having
gotten acquainted with him. And remember, he
is a person. Always whenever Jesus spoke of the
Holy Spirit, he always used the personal pronoun,
he, the Holy Spirit. He has intellect. He has
sensibility. He is a person. And in just this
moment, I'm going to show you that you and I
are personal to the Holy Spirit. There has always
been so thrilling to me to know that I am personal
to the Heavenly Father. I don't know of anything
that affects me more deeply than when I just
am quiet and remember. That he knows me. That
he's interested in me as an individual. Not as
a great universe filled with people looking down
just as a great mass of human beings. No. He's
as interested in me and my needs and my desires.
As though I was the only person in the whole
world. Oh, if only you could recognize that.
This relationship would be so much more thrilling
if only I could get you to see that the Heavenly
Father is interested in you as an individual.
That Jesus is interested in you as though you
were the only person in the whole world. And
it's like that. It makes this relationship so
different because it is so personal. Now, when
we come to the Holy Spirit, we find that we are
personal to the Holy Spirit in exactly the same
sense. Because in 1 Corinthians, the 12th chapter,
where we have the gifts of the Spirit, the gift
of knowledge, the gift of wisdom, the gift of
faith by the same Spirit, to another the gifts
of healing by the same Spirit, to another the
working of miracles, to another prophecy, to
another discerning of spirits, to another divers
kinds of tongues, and to another the interpretation
of tongues, and so on and so forth. Sure, these
are all manifestations of the Holy Spirit, but
don't stop there. Do you see what that... 11
first says and this is what follows the giving
of these gifts by the holy spirit but all these
worketh that one and the self same spirit there
is only one holy spirit just one and he is the
giver of these gifts that's the reason i say
that if one has received A gift of the spirit.
He will never boast of it. He'll never use it
for selfish purpose. Never. Never. It'll be something
so sacred to him. He'll not discuss it. He'll
not brag about it. There'll not be any spiritual
pride because of it. That one will recognize
that it is the... power and the person of the
Holy Spirit. Dividing to every man severally
as he will. We're personal to the Spirit. We
are individuals when it comes to the Spirit and
the giving of the gifts. He doesn't give these
gifts out promiscuously. These are Precious,
special gifts. They're treasures. And he only
gives these to folk that he feels will use them
rightly. There are many folks going around talking
about the fact that they have all the gifts of
the spirit. All a certain special gift of the
spirit. I do not believe that the Holy Spirit
will entrust a man or a woman with something
as priceless as a gift until that one has proven
himself and the Holy Spirit knows that he will
rightly use that gift. He's not just passing
out something promiscuously and throwing these
things around. Precious. And he knows the one
that he can trust with something as sacred. And
a gift is something that's sacred. It's a trust.
Dividing to every man severally as he will. We're
personal to the spirit. All right. Now. Oh, that
means an awful lot to me. I don't know whether
the same things that mean so much to me mean
the same to you or not. Some of these things
almost overwhelm me. They feed my soul. They
are almost like an injection to me. They are
priceless. They're jewels. To me, they are the
most priceless... Jews in the whole world. I
pray you shall feel the same about the things
of the Spirit. Now we come to the activities
of the Spirit. He guides us. I never leave my
home any morning, any day of the week. But what
before I walk out of that kitchen door, I pray
that I shall be led of the Spirit in all things.
I'm just telling you something that I do every
day of my life. Because I know that I do not
have the wisdom. I know that I cannot depend
on my own judgment. I know that I must be led
of the spirit, be led of one who has perfect
knowledge, perfect wisdom. And if he leads me,
I don't care where it is, it isn't always in
the sunshine. It isn't always on the smooth land.
Sometimes, before the day is over with, it gets
pretty stormy. Sometimes right out of the clear
blue sky, we have a tornado, you know. And I'm
faced with some things that had I known before
I got out of bed in the morning, I would have
just stayed in bed all day. Because in myself,
I would have been afraid to face the things that
I was going to have to face that day. But I know
that when I pray to be led of the Spirit, Then
nothing, absolutely nothing can come into my
life but what He will be my strengthener and
He will give the victory. And it's like that.
Read, if you please, in the 8th chapter, Romans.
And let's begin with the 14th verse. For as many...
as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the
sons of God. I know this thing of eternal security
has been batted around for generations. The thing
has been debated. And it has split many a church.
Precious saints of God, oh, and believe me, they're
saints of God. I would not for one minute judge
them. I would not say that they were not Christians.
And yet, they have split churches, have split
assemblies over this one thing of eternal security.
I'm telling you the best way in the world to
settle this thing once and for all. Regarding
this thing of once saved, always saved. This
doctrine of eternal security. You have it right
here in the 8th chapter of Romans, the 14th verse.
For as many as are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God. If you are being led
by the Spirit of God, then you know that you
know that you know that you're secure. As many
as are led by the Spirit of God. Now, if you
are being led by any other spirit, and after
all, let's face something. There are only two
forces in the universe, just two. There's not
a third party. We're coming to the day, you know,
when that third party is becoming so popular.
But I'll tell you, when it comes to things of
God, there'll never be a third party. No, ma
'am. There will always remain the two forces.
The forces of righteousness and the forces of
evil. The forces of God and the forces of Satan.
And if you are not led by the Spirit of God,
then you automatically are being led by the forces
of the evil one. And how in the world can you
be a child of God and be led by the forces of
the devil at the same time? You can't. If you're
being led by the spirit of the devil, then you
are a slave to Satan and he is your master. You
understand what I mean? If you have been born
again, if you are His child, then you will be
led by the Spirit of God. It's so simple. There's
no room for controversy. It's just like that.
And the Spirit itself beareth witness with our
spirit that we are the children of God. And if
children... Somebody said, where is that in the
Bible? It's the 8th chapter of Romans, beginning
with the 14th verse. And read right on down.
All right. Let him search your heart. He guides
us. Let me ask you very confidentially. Are you
being led of the spirit? Are you? I see some
folk who profess to be Christians. who are found
in some places that I'm dead sure. The Holy Spirit
never led you into that place. Let's just come
on, get right down and face facts. You say, is
this wrong? What is the sin in it? Is it wrong
for a Christian to do this? And then, before
anyone can answer, you try to talk God out of
something and yourself into something and make
up his mind that it's right for you to do certain
things. All you have to do is to stop and think.
Did he lead me into this thing? Was I guided
into this place by the Spirit? Many a time, a
saint of God has suddenly stopped and said, how
did I get in here? What am I doing here? Did
you ever feel sometime that after you were in
a place for a few seconds, how did I ever get
in here? What am I doing in here? What in the
world am I doing in a place like this? The Lord
isn't in here. The Holy Spirit didn't lead me
in this place. I pray that this 14th verse of
the 8th chapter of Romans will become very real
to your heart. It's dynamite. It is any doubt
in your mind as to whether or not a thing is
wrong or right to stop and think. Will he lead
me into this place? Mm -hmm. He guides us. Now,
in the 16th verse, the Spirit itself bears witness
with our spirit that we are the children of God.
He confirms this wonderful relationship. How
can I know that I've passed from death unto life?
I must be sure. That's right. When you realize
that everything in the world is at stake, nothing
is more important to you, absolutely nothing
is more important to any human being than to
know they have security for their soul. The old
physical body. That which is temporal goes back
again to the dust of the earth from whence it
came. Do anything that one may with the body
so far as the flesh is concerned. It's temporal.
It goes back to the dust. Man is that strange
combination that's temporal and eternal. You
may destroy the body. But there is a soul in
that body that is eternal. You may deny him with
the very powers of life that he gives you. You
may deny his reality or the fact of an eternity.
You may deny the very word of God, but it doesn't
change the fact one iota. that you will be you
forever and ever and ever. And that which is
of the spirit is eternal. And when you've had
that wonderful experience of being born again,
regeneration, will you accept the pardon? His
spirit. will confirm that transaction. There
will not be a doubt there. The Holy Spirit himself
puts his own seal upon that transaction. The
Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit
that we are the children of God. And there'll
never be adult regarding it. God bless you.