KNOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT – PART 2: DR. MENSA OTABIL – SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE, 5TH JUNE, 2022.
SPECIAL SUNDAY SERVICE BY DR. MENSA OTABIL (GENERAL OVERSEER INTERNATIONAL CENTRAL GOSPEL CHURCH (ICGC) CHRIST TEMPLE, ACCRA GHANA)
TOPIC: KNOWING THE HOLY SPIRIT – PART 2
DATE: 5TH JUNE, 2022
TEXT: GENESIS 15:17
Let’s rise up together as we take our DECLARATION OF INCREASE in this Year of Increase:
Are you ready? Say with me:
I confess today that Jesus Christ is my LORD and Saviour. In Him I have life, His Abundant Life.
The Lord is my Light and Strength. As He is, so has He made me. By His Spirit I Increase in Word and in Wisdom. In Faith and in Favour.
The Lord has said: “In Blessing, I will bless you. In multiplying I will Multiply your Seed.”
So, I can boldly say: My God shall Increase me more and more. What I Place in God’s Hands grows into Overflow.
Though I begin small, my end shall Greatly Increase.
In this Year of Increase, I grow in Grace and in Strength. To be all that God wants me to be.
In Jesus’ Name – AMEN!
Today is Pentecost Sunday, and throughout the Christian world, we recognize today as Pentecost Sunday.
The word Pentecost come from the Greek – Pentecoste – Pentecoste mean fiftieth (50th).
And the reason why it is called fiftieth (50th) is because the Pentecost Sunday happened fifty (50) days after Passover.
Passover is when we have Good Friday and Easter. And Pentecost Sunday comes fifty days after Easter.
In the Old Testament, Pentecost Sunday was called the Feast of Weeks or the Feast of Firsfruits.
And the reason why it is called the Feast of Weeks is because it happens Seven (7) Weeks after Passover.
As you know, a week is made up of seven (7) days. So seven (7) weeks and 7 x 7.
Today I will be Teaching on: THE HOLY SPIRIT PART 2.
As you know, last week (29th May, 2022); I started teaching about the Holy Spirit. And we said a few things about the Holy Spirit. And we will continue today, talking about the Holy Spirit.
Let’s go back to where we were, when we started talking about the Holy Spirit. We started with Genesis 1:1-2. And it reads:
In the beginning God created the Heavens and the Earth. The Earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.
This is the first time the Holy Spirit is indicated in Scripture – He is just right there at the opening of the Bible.
I said last week (29th of May, 2022) that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit of God. And I said that because He is the Spirit of God, He is God.
And in the Passage we find out that the Holy Spirit is Present. He is always there! He is right there at the beginning of the Story. Also, we said that the Holy Spirit moves!
So, these are the things we said about the Holy: He is the Spirit of God, He’s always there and He moves.
In addition, we said that the Holy Spirit is the Breath of God and He is also the Wind of God.
… These are Metaphors used to represent the work of the Holy Spirit.
It doesn’t mean that the Wind is the Holy Spirit; or air is the Holy Spirit; or Breath is the Holy Spirit. But it is used to explain to us, His work in our lives.
Just like breath gives us Life, the Holy Spirit gives us Life. Just like Wind moves things, the Holy Spirit also moves things.
DMC NOTES: We can get to read the Full Text of the Part 1 of this Message on this Link:
Today we are talking about the HOLY SPIRIT AS FIRE – The Holy Spirit is the Fire of God.
Now, what do we mean when we say,the Holy Spirit is the Fire of God?
When you read the Bible, you come to appreciate some Truth, or get some Understanding as you read the Bible. You find out that generally, Fire is used to denote so many things.
I want going to talk about Four (4) Main Ways in which Fire is Presented in the Bible:
- FIRE REPRESENTS LIGHT.
Light comes from where!
Our Primary Source of Light on Earth is the Sun. That is what gives us all the Light.
Daylight is from the Sun. And the Sun is basically a ball of Fire.
And if you will also know that, every Light Source is Fire. The balls we have, they are all Fire. The Candles, the Lanterns, they are all Fire.
Fire represents Light. And it is one of the Primary ways in which the Holy Spirit is represented in the Bible.
- FIRE ALSO DENOTES JUDGEMENT.
So you read the Bible, you find out that sometimes Fire speaks of Judgement.
Particularly in the Story of Sodom and Gomorreah, where Fire is used as Judgement.
And also in the future Judgement, where there will be God to judge.
So Fire is Judgement.
- FIRE ALSO STANDS FOR PURIFICATION
It is used to make things Pure!
Of course, it makes gold better. Fire burns the chaff so that the wheat is known. Fire is used for Purification.
And in the Old Testament, the Offerings were Purified with Fire.
So they would lay an Offering on the Altar, it will be burned with Fire – It’s a form of Purification.
… So Fire means Light, Judgement, Purification, and finally;
- FIRE ALSO DENOTES EMPOWERMENT
It stands for Power – Where People are empowered to do things for God.
Isaiah has a coal of fire put on his tongue so that he would be empowered to do the work of God.
So Fire stands for Empowerment.
And all of these Symbol of Fire also speak about the work of the Holy Spirit.
And today we will look at Four (4) of the works of the Holy Spirit as Fire:
- HE IS EVIDENCE OF GOD’S PRESENCE.
How can we know that God is Present in a Place?
Sometimes it is through Fire! And you find that many times in the Bible.
In Genesis 15:17, we read:
And it came to pass, when the Sun went down and it was dark, that behold, there appeared a smoking oven and a burning torch that Passed between those Pieces.
Now, this is when God was putting a Covenant with Abraham. And He told Abraham to lay down some animal Pieces. And when Abraham put the animal Pieces together, God put him to sleep. He went into a Trance!
He was in a trance but he could see what was happening. And whilst in the Trance he saw what is described here – A touch of Fire, walking through the Path. And in that day, God made a Covenant with Abraham.
This is the first time Fire is used to represent God in the Bible.
The Holy Spirit’s Presence is to show Abraham, God is here; God is Present in this Place.
And so, many times in the Bible, the Fire of God shows that God is Present in a Place – That God is here.
Of course now, we don’t need to see Fire to know that God is Present because we have Christ inside of our heart.
And so in the New Testament, the Holy Spirit is the evident and the Seal of our Salvation in Christ Jesus.
The Holy Spirit’s Presence is the One Who makes us know that we belong to Jesus Christ. He is the evidence of God’s Presence!
In the Old Testament it was Physical Fire showing. Now it is His Presence within that is evidenced that we are saved, and we are Born Again; we are Children of God.
- HE REVEALS GOD’S GLORY.
Now that word “Glory” is a very heavy word literary. Because the word Glory comes from a Hebrew word that means: “Heaviness” or “Weight” – Something that is heavy.
You know, sometimes you see some People and when you Stand in their Presence all your thoughts disappear. And people would say “their Presence is heavy.”
I remembered a friend of mine who spoke about an encounter he had with a certain Head of this Country at the Point. And he said they were workers, they all had issues with that Particular President of this Country.
One day they heard News that this President was coming to their Company. So they all went. He thought he was a very Confident Person: they were going to speak their grievances and you know, confront the President.
And he said, when this President showed up, everybody kept quiet! And later he came and said, “his Presence is heavy!” So they couldn’t talk.
Now, if a Human Being can be that heavy for rebellious Souls not to talk. Can you imagine the Presence of the Almighty God? His Presence is Heavy.
… And that Heavy Presence is called the GLORY OF GOD.
So anytime you find in an Old Testament that, “the Glory of God…” It’s God’s heaviness. And when that happens, sometimes People’s attitude Change. People would fall down as if they are dead;
Even when that Glory shows up, the Priest couldn’t Minister: because they have come into this Heaviness. And that Heaviness is the Presence of God. And that’s one of the works of the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit reveals God’s Glory: He makes us aware of the Heaviness of God.
And the first time that Israel had this encounter with the Glory of God, it was just an awesome sight recorded in Exodus 19:17-18:
And Moses brought the People out of the Camp to meet with God, and they stood at the foot of the Mountain. Now Mount Sinai was completely in smoke, because the Lord descended upon it in fire. Its smoke ascended like the smoke of a furnace, and the whole Mountain quaked greatly.
And then we go to Exodus 24:17-18, a similar experience: The sight of the Glory of the Lord was like a Consuming Fire on the top of the Mountain in the eyes of the children of Israel. So Moses went into the midst of the Cloud and went up into the Mountain. And Moses was on the Mountain forty days and forty nights.
… That’s when Moses went to receive the Law.
On the Mountain, when the children of Israel gathered, they saw this awesome Fire. And the Fire descended upon the Mountain. It didn’t come up upon the Mountain, it went into the Mountain.
There are People who have said, the Israelites saw a Volcano, and they said: “This is God.”
Two (2) Things that shows it wasn’t a Volcano:
I. First, when there is a Volcano, Nobody stays around the Mountain – Everybody runs.
II. Secondly, this Fire was not coming from the Mountain, it was descending on the Mountain.
In Volcano you have Fire going to the Mountain; you have Fire going out of the Mountain.
So this is not a Volcano. This is something else!
As the children of Israel gathered on the Mountain, Moses said: you are going to the God Who delivered you from Egypt; the God Who brought the Plagues upon Egypt;
Now He has set you free, He has opened the Red Sea, you have come through. Now come meet your God. And they got to the Mountain – Mount Sinai is enveloped with Smoke. He saw Fire from above hit the Mountain.
Very similar to what Moses himself had seen in the burning bush, where he saw the Fire. He saw a small part of it but a tree; but this one is upon the Mountain. And everything was shaking.
And the Bible calls that, the Glory of God!
When the Glory of God appears in a Place; that appearance is the work of the Holy Spirit. Because He executes, He brings to Life; He brings into reality that which God intends to be.
So, what they saw there was a Manifestation of the Holy Spirit – The Holy Spirit in Manifestation.
And this morning or as you read now on the Label of DMC, that same Fire that descended upon the Mountain is Present in our midst – Amen.
We don’t need to go to a Mountain; we don’t need to go to Mount Sinai to see that Fire. Because the For is with us and the Fire is in us and the Fire is Present.
So what the Holy Spirit does, He makes us Spiritually Sensitive. He makes us aware of God’s Presence. He makes us recognize the Presence of God. He makes us recognize that the Place we are Standing is a Holy Ground.
You know, God can be in a Place, His Glory can be in a Place; His Power can be in a Place, and we would not know it.
You can actually be in a Place where God is moving and you would be joking, you would be having fun.
It’s Possible to be in a Service, like to be in Church – When the Spirit of God is moving and you would just be totally oblivious. Probably on your phone WhatsApping somebody. And the Spirit of God is moving right before you.
The things that you Prayed for has been brought close to you, but you are WhatsApping. Or you are reading some crazy Story on your feed and God is moving.
One of the things the Holy Spirit does is to make us sensitive to the things of God: so when the Glory of God is in a Place, we recognize it.
Of course, we may not see the Glory of God, as the children of Israel saw on Mount Sinai. You are not going to come to Church and see Fire on this building. That may not be what you’ll see.
… Although it’s not impossible; but that may not be what you’ll see.
The Presence of God is real – Whether we see Fire or not!
So you don’t want to wait to say, “I want to see the Fire before I know the Presence of God is real.” The Fire is there! But the One who makes us recognize it, is the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit connects our Spirit with the Spirit of God.
And this morning or as you read now on the Label of DMC, may He connect your Spirit to the Spirit of God – Amen.
- THE HOLY SPIRIT GUIDES GOD’S PEOPLE.
Exodus 13:21-22 – And the Lord went before them by day in a Pillar of Cloud to lead the way, and by night in a Pillar of Fire to give them light, so as to go by day and night.
He did not take away the Pillar of Cloud by day or the Pillar of Fire by night from before the People.
The Holy Spirit leads us; He leads us!
And in the New Testament, He leads us through our Spirit – Not through a Pillar of Fire and a Pillar of Cloud; but through our Spirit.
… And finally – and I am going to end with this, and we will Pray.
- THE HOLY SPIRIT SIGNALS GOD’S APPROVAL.
In the Old Testament, you find out that Sacrifices would be made with Fire. But once in a while, a Sacrifice would be made and before the People could light the Fire, God Himself lights the Fire.
So you would see the Fire of God would come and consume a Sacrifice, without the People Lighting the Fire.
And anytime that happens, the People would know that God approves of the Sacrifice; God is in this Place; God is aware and God likes what is going on.
And I’m going to show you Two (2) Instances, then we would pray.
I. The first instance is in 1 Kings 18:38-39.
Then the Fire of the Lord fell and consumed the burnt Sacrifice, and the wood and the stones and the dust, and it licked up the water that was in the trench. Now when all the People saw it, they fell on their faces; and they said, “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
This is talking about Elijah’s Sacrifice.
When he made a Sacrifice, challenged the Prophets of Baal, who also made a similar Sacrifice. And he said, the God Who answers by Fire, He is the God. And God showed up with His Fire.
II. And then 2 Chronicles 7:1-3.
… This is after the first Temple of Israel had been built.
David was the one who wanted to build the Temple. But he couldn’t build it. He laid up resources, laid up materials (money).
And Solomon took over from David and he built the Temple. And it was a Grand Day in Jerusalem. For the first time they had built a Habitation for the Lord. It had been David’s desire!
And Solomon gave such Profuse Offering unto the Lord, and then lifted up his hands and began to Pray in the Temple, to Dedicate it. And this is what happened when he Prayed.
2 Chronicles 7:1-3 – When Solomon had finished Praying, Fire came down from Heaven and consumed the burnt Offering and the Sacrifices; and the Glory of the Lord filled the Temple. And the Priests could not enter the house of the Lord, because the Glory of the Lord had filled the Lord’s House. When all the children of Israel saw how the Fire came down, and the Glory of the Lord on the Temple, they bowed their faces to the Ground on the Pavement, and Worshiped and Praised the Lord, saying: “For He is Good, For His Mercy endures forever.”
In the first instance, when the Fire came and Picked that Offering, the People said: “The Lord, He is God! The Lord, He is God!”
And this is including Idol Worshippers who saw that – “This is the doing of the Lord.”
In the Second instance, it was in the Temple. They bowed and said: “For He is Good, For His Mercy endures forever.”
There is something about Encountering God, that causes Worship to swell up inside of you!
You don’t even need anybody to tell you what to say. Your heart just responds to the Glory of God and to the Power of the Holy Spirit.
This morning or as you are reading now on the Label of DMC, for the few minutes that we have left, I just want your heart to register the Presence of God in your Life. I want you to just allow God swell you up by His Spirit through you.
We don’t need too much time for the Holy Spirit to do a Complete Work in our lives.
I believe this Morning or as you are reading now on the Label of DMC, He will do a Complete Work in our lives, in the Name of Jesus – Amen.
… Everybody just rise up wherever you are now and lift up your Holy hands to the Lord.
And say LORD; You are here and I know it. Your Spirit is here and I know it. Holy Spirit You are here and I know it.
I feel Your Presence and I sense Your Presence. Your Glory is all over this Place.
And I receive from Your Glory, from Your Fire, from Your Presence. Thank You Holy Spirit!
Touch my Life and do a Special Work in me!
… Begin to talk to the Lord in Prayer!
Holy Spirit show Yourself to Your People:
I. If you want Him to fill you, ask Him to fill you.
II. If you want Him to touch you, ask Him to touch you.
III. If you want Him to move in your Life, ask Him to move in your Life; for He is here!
We worship You Lord! Because You are Good and Your Mercy endures for ever!!!!
Thank you so much for staying all through to read.
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