Embracing the Holy Spirit in Trials and Suffering

I have often taken heart from the sixth that the Holy Spirit would rest upon me in such a way that what seemed impossible sitting in my chair would be possible even at age 72 suddenly perhaps miraculously so let's read it beloved first Peter 4:12 beloved do not be surprised at the fiery trial or the ice-water trial when it comes upon you to test you as though something strange were happening to you but rejoice insofar as you share Christ's sufferings that you may also rejoice and be glad when his glory is revealed. [00:09:45]

If you are insulted for the name of Christ it might only be an insult or fire or ice you are blessed because the spirit of glory and of God rests on you that may be a repeated experience of your life or it may be the one final work of the Holy Spirit before you die the final manifestation of the spirits Christ exalting power in your life the spirit of glory and of God rests on you as you endure your final sufferings. [00:10:44]

The question before your soul is not essentially different whether it's persecution or cancer here's the question will I turn against Jesus in anger or will I trust him it's the same issue same principles are at stake will I trust him or become angry and despairing at the way he is either treating me or letting me be treated as a sovereign Savior who can do otherwise if you receive your suffering with the prayer and the hope of magnifying Christ in it whether persecution or cancer. [00:13:23]

And according to this text the answer that God Himself will give you is I am here resting on you in your death throes with glory and God what we will feel in that moment and the shame of it the degradation of it the misery of it the utter non-romantic moment of it what we will feel is the furthest thing imaginable from glory you all feel like glory it will look like glory the cross didn't look like glory it's not glorious it's ghastly but the Spirit of God will not let that be the last word because he's not only the Spirit of God but the spirit of glory. [00:14:38]

He is the Spirit of Truth according to John 14 17 15 26 1613 and he brings to our minds whatever truth we need little or much he will bring it to your mind all the forces of darkness will seek to confuse you and obscure the light of truth in that hour all the proportions of power in the world will appear to make God look distant and small and ineffective like nothing that's the goal of Satan always that's the goal of sin make God look useless make him look worthless in this hour and the work of the Spirit of Truth the work of the Holy Spirit the Spirit of Truth in that hour is to lead you into truth. [00:17:56]

The essence of the Ministry of the Holy Spirit is to magnify the beauty of Jesus Christ in the hearts and minds of human beings that's the essence of his work without that nothing else that he does counts because we're gonna be hell bound without that jesus said I will be with you always to the end of the age Matthew 28:20 always always I will be with you including the final hour of testing and the work of the Holy Spirit is to cause you to remember him and with the eyes of the heart if he's into 1:17 with the eyes of the heart see him there that's the work of the spirit of glory and of God resting upon you causing the fulfillment of Matthew 28:20 be real for you I'm always with you. [00:18:34]

The spirit of glory and of God rests on you I think it means at least two things one he causes us to feel that the glory we are losing in this shame filled ghastly moment isn't worth keeping second the glory you are about to gain in a few minutes or hours is infinitely better that's the work of the Holy Spirit and if you don't feel it right now that's why you came to this conference our prayer is that you would taste it here and grow in your confidence that whenever you need to taste it fully you will and set you on a course of seeking its fullness till the day you die. [00:22:00]

In the hour of trial the Holy Spirit the spirit of glory will cause us to feel all the glory we lose is not worth keeping and all the glory we're about to gain is infinitely better the spirit of glory will cause you to experience the reality of first Peter 5:10 listen to these words 1st Peter 5:10 and after you have suffered a little while the God of all Grace who called you to his eternal glory in Christ will restore confirm strengthen and establish you to him be the Dominion for ever and ever amen as the spirit of glory rests upon you he will give you a taste of that eternal glory a taste of it just around the corner if you don't come up out of the water conscious you go there go to the glory you come up out and regain consciousness you'll rest upon you you'll have enough you will be if you're torn restored if you're crushed you will stand in triumph if you die in utter weakness you will be given unshakable strength if you sink in quicksand you will find you are on into her eternal foundation. [00:24:25]

In the hour of trial the Holy Spirit will overcome your doubts and give you the assurance that you need you struggle with doubts of course you do you're a liar if you die everybody walks through seasons of greater or lesser shaking and you wonder then what will it be like at the end what if they assailed me at the end you did not receive the spirit of slavery to fall back into fear but you have received the spirit of sonship when you cry Abba Father and that may be the only truth you can get out of your mouth Oh father when you cry Abba Father it is the Spirit Himself bearing witness with your spirit that you are the child of God if children then heirs heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ provided you suffer with him in order that you may be glorified with him the work of the Holy Spirit in the hour of trial is to preserve you from faith destroying doubt and to give you the sweet gift of assurance. [00:26:32]

In your hour of trial the spirit of glory and of God will give you himself and in himself he will give you the father and the son you will taste with no pressure to have a quick articulate doctrine of the Trinity ready to hand no pressure you will taste in that hour the living experience of second Corinthians 13:14 the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the Fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you in other words may you experience the precious personal presence of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit the father and the Son and the Holy Spirit are one God we know that but there are three persons and each of them will be experienced in the hour of trial the father's care and tenderness for his child the Savior's redeeming love covering all your sins that Satan is throwing at you in that hour and the spirits sustaining and upholding of your faith you may not be articulating the complexity of the Trinity error you just enjoying the father's care the sons covering the spirit sustaining and it will be so if God promises in verse Peter 4:14 that the spirit of glory and of God is going to rest upon you with that much personal precious helpfulness in the hour of trial why wouldn't you want to seek him why wouldn't you want to spend all of your life getting as near to him and as much of him as you possibly can. [00:30:05]

We know from John 3 that it's the Holy Spirit that causes us to be born again truly truly I say to you unless one is born of water and the spirit he can't enter the kingdom of God we know from first Corinthians 12:3 no one can say Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit we know from Romans 8:13 that you must put to death the deeds of the body by the spirit or perish we know from 2nd Thessalonians 2:13 that all our efforts to pursue holiness will be hopeless because sanctification is by the spirit we know from Ephesians 1:17 that the Holy Spirit is the spirit of wisdom and that without him you will live lives of absolute foolishness look around the world insanity because the holy spirit inhabits so few and he's the spirit of wisdom we know from 1st Corinthians 12:7 that to each believer is given a manifestation of the spirit for the common good we know from Romans 8:11 if the spirit of him who raised Jesus dwells in you then he who raised Jesus from the dead will raise your mortal bodies through the spirit that dwells in you no spirit no resurrection no spirit no new birth no spirit no confession of the lordship of Jesus no spirit no victory over sin no spirit no progress in sanctification no spirit no spiritual wisdom no spirit no spiritual gifts and no resurrection why would you not seek Him why would you not day after day cry out for him. [00:32:40]

Meditate on what God has said in his spirit inspired scriptures God established if that sounds simple and wrote to you God has established a life-giving connection between his spirit and his word you don't make this happen this is God's design try this verse out and spend a lifetime thinking about it John 6:63 it is the spirit who gives life the flesh is of no help the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life what the words are spirit and life do you want him listen you want a taste listen you want to live listen in the morning in your chair with your arm sweater on you t desperate or another connection between spirit and word why is it that in Ephesians 5:18 and Colossians 3:16 the same thing is said so similarly and so differently listen be filled with the spirit addressing one another in Psalms and hymns and spiritual songs singing and making melody to the Lord with your hearts and his Colossians let the word of Christ dwell in you richly teaching and admonishing one another in all wisdom singing Psalms and and spiritual songs with thankfulness in your hearts why does he say be filled with the Holy Spirit in Ephesians 5:18 and let the word dwell in you richly in Colossians 3:16 surely it is because the words that I speak to you are spirit and life that the word of Christ dwell in you richly. [00:39:47]