Get out your Bible because everything that I'm
going to say today, I must substantiate with
the Word of God. And we're going to talk about
the person of the Holy Spirit. I am amazed at
how difficult it is for the average person to
think of the Holy Spirit as a person. How often
I have talked with those who... are members of
churches, even those who stand in the pulpit
in clerical robe, who can scarcely conceive of
the Holy Spirit being a definite person with
a definite personality. But He is. The Holy Spirit
is a person. I'll never forget. after I preached
a message on God and that God is a person in
bodily form, how many, many of you folk who listen
to me every day over the radio wrote to me thanking
me for having given the Scripture and for having
proven from the Scripture that God is a person
is in bodily form. So many expressed it like
this. They thought of him as the very essence
of all power. The great ruler. One who had unlimited
power. the great creator, something very mystical,
and yet not a person in bodily form. And yet
the Word of God clearly teaches, and I shall
just give you one instance in God's Word where
we have proof that God is... in bodily form.
One day, you know, the Lord and Moses were having
a heart -to -heart talk, and the Lord told Moses,
very frankly, how much he thought of him. And
he was in great favor with the Lord. So Moses
said, All right. Our fellowship is so wonderful.
And if you really like me that much, let me just
once see you. If I can just look into your face,
just for an instance, it doesn't have to be long,
I know exactly how Moses felt. Because many a
time I've just been human enough myself to have
thought, Now, if just for a minute I could see
my Lord, I could go through anything. If just
for a second I could look upon His face. And
when Moses made this request, this is what God
said to him. Thou canst not see. See my face.
For there shall no man see me and live. How often
I've read that. Think of the glory. Think of
the power. Think of the righteousness. Our poor
little minds cannot... what the face of God must
really be like. The full extent of his glory.
No wonder in the book of Revelation, in talking
about the city of the New Jerusalem, when it
says there'll be no need for the moon or the
sun because the glory of the Lord will light
the entire place. Think of it. Thou canst not
see my face, for there shall no man see me and
live. And the Lord said, Behold, there is a place
by me, and thou shalt stand upon a rock, and
it shall come to pass, while my glory passeth
by, that I will put thee in a cleft of the rug.
I will cover thee with my hand while I pass by.
And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt
see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.
What are you going to do with this? There it
is. God himself speaking of his own hand. And
he wasn't figuratively speaking either. You'll
never make me believe. Because the minute that
you take your penknife and start cutting out
and taking out of the scripture, you'll soon
find that you'll have nothing left but just two
covers. I believe the scripture even as the scripture
says that God said, I will... Put thee in the
cleft of the rock. I will cover thee with my
hand. I will take away my hand, and thou shalt
see my back parts, but my face shall not be seen.
And it was even as the word of God said. What
are we going to do with that portion of the Word
in Genesis when God said to the Son, to the Holy
Spirit, let us make man in our own image and
after our likeness. You and I, products of His
creation, Are made in the image and likeness
of God. I believe with every atom of my being.
That God has a body. That God has hands. God
has a face. He's not just. Something that is
mystical. unknown factor someplace. If that's
all that I had to base my faith on, I certainly
would not be giving my life as a living sacrifice
for what I believe. And you know, I'll be very
frank with you. I think the most wasted life
in the world is the man who stands in the pulpit
and has made preaching his profession And he
does not believe what's in the Bible. To me,
that's the most wasted life that I know anything
about. Barry is giving his life for something
that he really doesn't believe. If he thinks
that portions of the word of God, or nothing
more or less than a fable, I certainly wouldn't
be giving my life preaching fables. That's right,
let's be perfectly honest about this thing. If
I felt the Bible was made up of fables, if it
was not all that God said that it is, and if
Jesus Christ is not all that he said that he
was, then, believe me, I would get out of the
ministry. I would give my life for something
that I believed in with all of my heart. Now
we come to the person of the Holy Spirit. We
know that God is a very definite person and in
bodily form. We know that Jesus is a person,
that he left this earth in bodily form. When
Jesus left this earth, he did not go away as
just a spirit. He went away in bodily form, feet,
Hands, face, his body, ascend it, and he shall
so return in like. Measure as you have seen him
go away. That's what the angel of the Lord said.
The Holy Spirit is a person with a very definite
personality. And now we come to that which is
going to be the center of our heart -to -heart
talk today. The thing that is so hard for men
and women to cope with. The Holy Spirit. As a
person. Not just an attribute. Not just a great
influence. Not something that is so mystical
that we can have no understanding whatsoever
of his work. There's a portion of God's word
in the 14th chapter of John. And it's Jesus himself
speaking. And it's a great eye -opener regarding
this third person of the Trinity. And remember,
These are the words of Jesus. I will pray the
Father. He shall give you another comforter that
he may abide with you forever. And Jesus is talking
about the Holy Spirit. And watch the personal
pronouns through this entire chapter and every
time that Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit.
Every time that he talked. of the Holy Ghost.
He always referred to him as a person. Personal
pronoun was always used. Continue. Even the Spirit
of Truth, whom the world cannot receive, because
it seeth him not, neither knoweth him, but ye
know him. for he dwelleth with you and shall
be in you. Now, this is what I want you to see
because it's most important, very significant.
And that is the fact that the unregenerated,
the unconverted man or woman can have no knowledge
or conception. Of the person of the Holy Spirit.
Because she has no eye for him. She has no interest
in him. I read it again. This is God's word.
Whom the world cannot receive. Because it seeth
him not. Tis no eye for him. None. Neither knoweth
him. But ye know him, for he dwelleth with you
and shall be in you. His indwelling is essential
to a true knowledge of him. I repeat that. This
is important that you and I... Understand this.
Because we're living in an hour, we're living
in a time when so much emphasis is being put
on the Holy Spirit, and He is giving of Himself,
He is pouring out of Himself in these last days
in a greater measure than ever before. We are
seeing the manifestation of His power around
the world. Thousands and... Thousands of people
are becoming interested in the Holy Spirit who
were never interested in this doctrine before.
There are hundreds and hundreds of men who are
standing in their pulpits, both Catholic priests
and Protestant ministers, who are becoming so
interested in the Holy Spirit because they are
seeing the results of His power. You cannot get
away from the fact that we are seeing miracles
today as we've never seen miracles. We cannot
close our eyes to the fact that there are literally
hundreds and hundreds of people who are being
filled with the Holy Ghost. We're living in a
day when the things that happened in the early
church are again happening in our midst. The
fruits and the gifts of the Spirit are again
being restored to the church. Time is running
out. The Holy Spirit is about to leave. We're
coming to the end of this dispensation. Even
as Jesus left, one of these days the Holy Spirit
is going back again. And he knows his time is
short. He knows that very soon now, the church
will be raptured. And literally, he's working
overtime. And I do not mean to be sacrilegious
when I say it, but that's exactly what's happening.
And so, men and women are looking around and
saying, something is happening. Men in our pulpits
are saying, what's happening? Looking about me,
great changes are being made. And the answer
comes back. It's the moving of the Holy Spirit.
And then they begin to take notice and begin.
begin to inquire regarding the Holy Spirit. But
it's the hardest thing in the world for them
to recognize the fact that the Holy Spirit is
a person. It's the hardest thing in the world
for them to understand the deep truths regarding
the person, the power of the Holy Spirit. because
his indwelling is essential to a true knowledge
of him, and you cannot have a true knowledge
of the Holy Spirit until, first of all, you've
had a true knowledge of Jesus Christ, the Son
of the Living God. You can't do it. It's impossible
for... any man or woman to have a true knowledge
of the Holy Spirit if they have not, first of
all, had a true knowledge of Jesus Christ. Deity.
Divinity. How in the world can a man standing
in the pulpit conceive of the Holy Spirit as
being a person if in his own heart and mind,
he has not wholeheartedly accepted the virgin
birth of Jesus Christ. And it's just like that.
And you'd be amazed how many men standing in
our pulpits today do not wholeheartedly heartedly
believe with every atom of their being that Jesus
was conceived of the Holy Spirit. Oh sure, a
wonderful example. A glorious example for all
mankind. But to accept and believe that he was
conceived of the Holy Ghost, born of the Virgin
Mary, God in the flesh, dwelling amongst us,
absolute deity, absolute divinity, believing
that Jesus is all that he said that he was, you'd
be amazed how few really believe that with every
atom of their being. That's a man's first step.
There it is. Right there. And I'm... Until he
can accept that, until he'll believe that with
all of his heart, he has never been born again,
there's been no regeneration, then how in the
world can he go any further and have any spiritual
knowledge of the Holy Spirit? You can't. You
just can't. His indwelling is essential to a
true knowledge of him, and it's got to be like
that. That's exactly what Jesus was talking about
when he said, referring to the Holy Spirit, whom
the world cannot receive, because it seeth him
not, neither knoweth him. I'll tell you, when
you get into the scripture, when you go into
the deep things of the spirit, these things are
only spiritually revealed. They're not things
that you can get from a seminary. These are not
things that you get out of a book. Spiritual
things are different than anything else in the
whole world. Oh, God forbid that we should ever
get to the place where religion is just a profession.
God forbid if you're listening to me now and
you consider yourself a minister of the gospel,
that all that it is to you is just a profession.
All that you can bring on Sunday morning is that
which... You've gotten out of the book. If you
can't give from God's Word and preach it under
the anointing of the Holy Spirit, if you do not
have a personal experience with the very Son
of the Living God, then get yourself an experience.
For you can never give to another more than you
have received. Yourself.