We've been having some good discussions regarding
the third person, the Trinity. And by now, I
am sure, I am very sure that many of you have
gotten well acquainted with the Holy Spirit.
Aren't you sorry that all of these years you
only thought of him as being a mystery? Someone
that you and I were not to understand? Aren't
you sorry that you overlooked this wonderful
personality, the third person, the Trinity, not
knowing that he was just as real as Jesus, just
as real as God the Father? Think what you've
missed all these years. Think. Just pause a moment
and think what thousands and thousands of professing
Christians are missing today by not seeking to
know the person of the Holy Spirit. And I am
speaking not only of Christians, but that servant
of the Lord in the pulpit. I beg of you, my brother
in the Lord, I beg of you, please, if you have
not yet become acquainted with the Holy Spirit,
I ask you, please go deep in the Word and then
present Him to your people. We are now talking
about the personality of the Holy Spirit. And
we saw that he teaches, he reveals, he communes.
We have wonderful fellowship in the Spirit. And
he is a person. He has intellect. He has sensibility.
Oh, sure. And then we learned that you and I
are personal. to the Holy Spirit. I am personal
to Him. My needs are personal. I am an individual
when it comes to the Holy Spirit. Now I want
you to see something that is just as thrilling,
and that is the fact that the Holy Spirit also
defends. I don't mind telling you. That gives
me a sense of security. That gives me a protection.
That gives me... Now, how should I put it? I
feel so relieved. I don't have to defend myself.
He defends his children. He has come to my defense
thousands of times. I may not have been aware
of his defense at that moment, but he was there.
As long as you and I are living in the center
of his will, as long as we're living consecrated
lives, he will be our defense. Now, I cannot
expect his defense. I cannot expect him to defend
me. If I deliberately take my life out of the
hands of God, if I deliberately go against that
which I know is right, if I deliberately, knowingly
sin, then I cannot claim his defense. I have
no right to ask him to defend me. to protect
me. But as long as I am living up to all the
light I know, as long as I am living a daily,
surrendered, consecrated life, as long as I know
that I am not knowingly committing sin and am
living in the center of His will, He will defend
me. Turn, if you will, please, to 59th chapter
of Isaiah, the 19th verse. So shall they fear
the name of the Lord from the west and his glory
from the rising of the sun, when the enemy shall
come in like a flood. Oh, and he does sometimes.
Sometimes the enemy comes in from the east, the
west, the north, the south, all at the same time.
You know, we could kind of brace ourselves once
in a while if you'd only come from one direction.
Mm -hmm. But you've had the same experiences
that I have had. Sometimes he comes at you from
all four directions, and there you are in the
middle. And we'd all be sunk. We would have gone
down in defeat over and over again had it not
been for you. Spin for the Holy Spirit, the Spirit
of the Lord. Why? Watch this glorious portion
of the promise. When the enemy shall come in
like a flood, the Spirit of the Lord, the Holy
Spirit, shall lift up a standard against him.
That gives me security. Why can I be a secure
person? I have reason to be a secure person.
Because my security, my defense is in Jesus.
And he has made provision for the security for
his children through the person of the Holy Spirit.
And the enemy, now watch this very closely. I
don't care how deeply spiritual you may be. You
may be filled with the Spirit. You may have gifts
of the Spirit. You may be the most deeply spiritual
person living this hour. Yeah. As long as you're
in this old body of the flesh, the enemy of your
soul will be right on your tail. There'll be
temptations. He'll fight you. He'll never forget
you. Not because he thinks so much of you. Not
because he thinks so much of me. But because
he is trying to get at the heart. of the one
that he really hates, Jesus Christ, the Son of
God. Jesus is his enemy. And if he can get me
to yield to temptation, if in striking at me
he can bring a reproach on the gospel of the
Lord, if in striking at me he can cause me to
bring a reproach on the Lord Jesus Christ. He's
happy. He's thrilled. He has won a victory. But
I don't care what our temptations may be. I don't
care what your temptation is. Jesus has made
provision for you and for me. In that not one
of us needs be defeated not on a single score.
Our defense is the Spirit of the Lord. And when
the animation come in like a flood, the Spirit
of the Lord shall lift up a standard against
him. I don't have to go to my own defense. I
don't have to be my own lawyer. I don't have
to be my own attorney. I don't have to fight
for myself and fight for my rights and fight
the enemy and fight those who do evil against
me. No. It is my place to follow my master and
be... perfect in love, even as the Father is
perfect in love. And if I am perfect in love
toward those who hate me and do evil against
me, the Holy Spirit will fight my battles for
me and come to my defense. He will lift up a
standard against me. Doesn't that do something
to you? Say, don't you ever apologize for being
a Christian. Not on your life. If you are a Christian,
if you are standing on the promises of the Lord,
if you know the things of the Spirit, filled
with the Spirit, enjoying the things of the Spirit,
you have no cause for worry, for you do not...
have to fight your own battles. You are secure
in him. Now then, see another side of his personality.
And this is just as exciting as any other part
of the personality of the Holy Spirit. If you
don't think that this thing of being a Christian
and living a Christian life isn't exciting, it's
just because you haven't gone into it for everything
that there is. Uh -huh. All right. Turn, if you
will, please, now, and we go to the New Testament,
Acts, the eighth chapter of Acts, and we find
a very interesting incident that happened. It
just really happened. This was not a parable.
This really happened. And it happened to Philip
and the Ethiopian. And remember now, this is
the same Holy Spirit that existed from the beginning
of time. The same Holy Spirit that is spoken
of by the prophets in the Old Testament. The
same Holy Spirit that Jesus spoke of. the same
wonderful person who came on the day of Pentecost,
the same Holy Spirit of whom Peter said, and
ye owe this wonderful promise, this glorious
promise. Repent and be baptized, every one of
you, in the name of Jesus for the remission of
your sins, Peter said, and ye shall receive the
gift of the Holy Spirit for the promise. This
wonderful promise that I've been talking to you
about is unto you. Now, he was referring to those
to whom he was speaking, and to your children,
and to all that are afar off, even as many as
the Lord our God shall call. That's the reason
I can sit here and tell you this promise is still
in effect. everything that I've been talking
to you about regarding the personality and the
person of the Holy Spirit is still in effect.
And all of these things are a part of our inheritance
as members of the body of Christ. All right,
now back again, if you will, please, to the Bible.
And if you've been following me, you know that
everything that I've been telling you, I backed
up with the Word of God. Now, this actually happened.
Begin with the eighth chapter of Acts. And the
angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying,
Arise. Now, when you talk about the angel of
the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, I have wondered
too just how he spoke. I'm not sure. I do not
think it was in an audible voice. I have my doubts
whether it was audible or whether he heard an
audible voice. I'm not sure. I would rather think
not. You see, I could say to you, now, the Lord
spoke to me regarding something. And yet, it
wouldn't be an audible voice. And you ask me
how I know? I would be as sure of it as though
it had been an audible voice. There are things
that I know that I know that I know. There are
things that he tells me to do, I know I've got
to do them. Even though it may not be reasonable,
even though on the surface of things, when it
comes to logic and reason, it would be neither
logic nor reason to do such a thing, yet I know
that the Lord has spoken to me. I know the Holy
Spirit has told me to do it, and I've got to
do it. And when He tells me to do something,
and I'm, oh, I tell you, he's right there to
meet me. And the thing is always as he said it
would be. He's never disappointed me yet. Never.
But be dead sure it's the Holy Spirit who tells
you to do it. Be very sure. Mm -hmm. I'm always
leery of these people who will say now, Miss
Cooman, the Lord told me to tell you so -and
-so. Oh, no. You're off the track right now.
Do you want to know why? Because he never gives
a message secondhand. He'll tell me directly.
First hand. I'm always leery. And I've got to
keep in contact with him. I've got to do it.
Every hour of every day and every night. The
two to before. If I should lose contact with
him for one hour, I'd be sunk. I would absolutely
get myself into more trouble. I'd get myself
in a mess. To keep in constant contact with Him.
Every minute. And it's just like that. So don't
try to give me a message and tell me it's from
the Lord. Because if He wants me to know something,
the Holy Spirit will tell me. We're in close
fellowship and communion. And it's like that.
And... If it is a message for two people or more,
he will give each one of them the same message.
And the whole thing will fit together perfectly.
Mm -hmm. You understand? Oh, sure you do. All
right. Here is an example. And the angel of the
Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise. and go
toward the south unto the way that goeth down
from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert. And
he arose and went. He knew he had gotten his
instructions. There was no doubt. It was a positive
message. He had received directions. He didn't
hesitate one minute. And he arose and went. And
behold, a man of Ethiopia, the eunuch of great
authority and the queen of the Ethiopians, who
had charge of all her treasure and had come to
Jerusalem for to worship, was returning, sitting
in his chariot, and read Isaiah the prophet.
Please get this picture. Then the spirit said
unto Philip, Go near. Join thyself to this chariot.
And Philip ran thither to him, heard him read
the prophet Isaiah, and said, Understandest thou
what thou readest? And he said, How can I? Except
some man should guide me. And he desired Philip
that he would come up and sit with him. And the
place of the scripture which he read was this.
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter. And like
a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he
not his mouth. In his humiliation, his judgment
was taken away. And who shall declare his generation?
for his life is taken from the earth. And the
eunuch answered Philip and said, I pray thee,
of whom speaketh the prophet this? Of himself
or of some other man? Then Philip opened his
mouth and began at the same scripture and preached
unto him. Jesus. And as they went on their way,
they came into a certain water, and the eunuch
said, See, here's water. What doth hinder me
to be baptized? Oh, there you are. He had really
been born again. And Philip said, If thou believest
with all thine heart, thou mayest. And he answered
and said, I believe that Jesus Christ... is the
Son of God. And he commanded the chariot to stand
still, and they went down both into the water,
both Philip and the eunuch, and he baptized him.
And when they were come up out of the water,
the Spirit of the Lord caught away Philip, that
the eunuch saw him no more. and he went on his
way rejoicing. There's no longer reason for Philip
to tarry because the job was done. He'd done
his work. The will of father had been taken care
of. The Holy Spirit knew that the eunuch had
been born again. It was all taken care of. The
Holy Spirit knew that in that eunuch, there was
a man who was ready for Jesus, but he had no
one to teach him. So the Holy Spirit sent Philip.
Philip was obedient, and the result was another
man brought into the kingdom of God.