God’s Holy Spirit

Beth Bucheit

August 5, 2023

Sometimes in a sermon, we will hear something repeated. And as we listen we may think, did the speaker realize that they are repeating themselves? Depending on our age, like me, maybe we did repeat ourselves and not know it. However, there are times that we do repeat ourselves and the reason for that is because God wants us to. He wants the one speaking and the one listening to hear what He is saying.

After all, doesn’t God repeat Himself to us every year when we celebrate God’s Holy Days? He reveals more and more of His plan to us. He is wanting us to get that right? And the best part is we continue to grow every year through the ministry, through the sermons. The listening is up to us.

So, in today's sermon if you hear me repeat something a few times, please keep in mind I am aware of it, and it is deliberate because I prepared the sermon, and it was inspired to be that way. I questioned it at first, and then it hit me, no, this is for a reason. So, let’s get started.

In the book of Galatians, Paul, God’s apostle, is addressing the Churches of Galatia. He starts off by reminding the Galatians in his introduction that Joshua gave himself for them, for their sins, and that he wants to deliver them, the Galatians, from their present evil age, and this is according to the will of God the Father.

So, let’s start today by turning over to Galatians 1 and read this. Galatians 1:1—Paul, an apostle (not from men nor through man, but through Joshua the Christ and God the Father who raised him from the dead). I want to stop there for just a second and ponder that statement. Paul is stating he is an apostle, and it’s not through men. No man selected him to be an apostle, but he tells us it was through Joshua the Christ and God the Father that he is an apostle.

Because of Paul, we know that if you are an apostle it is because Joshua by the instruction of God the Father, the living God, gave it to him. No man has anything to do with this. We need to remember that always. Not just about Paul, not just about Mr. Armstrong, but all of God’s apostles up to and including the present day.

Continuing now in verse 2—and all the brethren who are with me, To the Churches of Galatia, Grace to you and peace from God the Father and our Lord Joshua the Christ, who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Paul could make that same introduction to us today, the end-time Church, if he was here. We need to be delivered from this evil age. The age we live in is the most evil time mankind has ever lived. We have surpassed Sodom and Gomorrah and the times of Noah.

The technology of this day has been used for good and evil and unless you have God’s holy spirit you cannot discern that easily. We in God’s Church should understand this and know better and use it for the good, making sure to protect self by our own personal choices from the evil.

So, can we be delivered from this evil age? We know we cannot do it on our own. We need help. We know at this end-time God is cleaning up His Church and Joshua will return to a clean Body, one without sin, and I mean unrepented sin. As a whole, we all want to be a part of that clean Body, but we need help.

Let’s turn over to John 14:26—But the helper, the holy spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you. Joshua made this statement to the disciples. The holy spirit that comes from God Almighty is the only way we can be delivered from this evil age. It is the help that we need to be saved from self, our selfish human nature.

So, today I want to bring into remembrance some things. I want to ask five questions and then answer them. They are simple questions that carry a weight of knowledge. God’s word tells us the answers and that is where you always want to seek soundness. You will not find it on the internet or diving into conspiracy theories; you will only find it only in the inspired word of God.

So, the questions I want to ask pertain to the holy spirit, our helper. It does not hurt us to be reminded of these things. Life can start to drag us down. Sometimes temptations can be strong. We need to remember we are not going this alone.

So, today the questions that we’re going to ask are: What is the holy spirit? How do we get the holy spirit? When does the holy spirit enter us? How can we lose the holy spirit?  And then ending with, what are the fruits of the holy spirit that should be so very evident in our lives?

The title of today’s sermon is God’s Holy Spirit.

We will jump right in and start with the first question. What is the holy spirit?

Let’s turn over to Acts 2:38 and start there. Acts 2:38—Then Peter said to them, Repent, and let every one of you be baptized in the name of Joshua the Christ for the remission of sins; and you shall receive the gift of the holy spirit. God’s holy spirit is a gift, a gift from God. We only receive it because God gives it to us, but only after we are baptized and have repented of our sins.

We just read that the holy spirit is God's helper in John 14:26, and I’m going to read that scripture again, so if you want to turn over to John 14:26 we’ll start to break it down a little bit starting with “But the helper, the holy spirit.” We see clearly that Christ is referring to the holy spirit as “the helper.” Another word to use for help is “aid” or “assist.” I think that more clearly states what it means to be a helper.

So, God’s holy spirit is an aid to us. When I read the word “aid” it makes me think of what an aid in this world is or what an aid does. My mind goes to a nursing home. We call those who help the elderly “aids.” They are offering a service to someone who cannot take care of themselves alone anymore.

So, in comparison, we cannot take care of ourselves spiritually alone. We can reflect back on what a mess our lives were without God’s holy spirit.

Continuing: “Whom the Father will send in my name.” The Father being God Almighty is who gives it in Joshua’s name. And remember – a gift.

Going on: “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all things that I said to you.” The holy spirit was going to help, aid, assist the disciples as they went out to teach God’s truth. The holy spirit would help them to remember all things that Christ had said.

The books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John show us that. God through the holy spirit inspired the words we have today to know of Christ's life and teachings. The whole Bible is inspired by the holy spirit bringing remembrance to those doing the writing. It is also what inspires us to understand it.

Let’s turn over to Mark 13:11—But when they arrest you and deliver you up, do not worry beforehand, or premeditate what you will speak. But whatever is given to you in that hour, speak that; for it is not you who speak, but the holy spirit. Christ let the disciples know that what was in front of them and after he was gone, and he was letting them know that they had nothing to worry about. They may not have completely understood the moment that this was said, but by the very writing of this scripture shows they came to see it clearly.

The disciples came to receive the holy spirit, and therefore, the help of the holy spirit. God and Joshua were inspiring them every step of the way. We do not have to fear anything. If we are yielding to the process you can be assured if you need help, it will be there. Just ask.

Now, let’s turn over to Luke 12:11. Luke also records the holy spirit as an aid. Luke 12:11—Now, when they bring you to the synagogues and magistrates and authorities, do not worry about how or what you should answer or what you should say, for the holy spirit will teach you in that very hour what you ought to say.

Luke is saying the same thing as Mark in describing how the holy spirit will help, how it is an aid. He is just saying it a little differently. Two accounts of inspiration telling us the same thing. The same but different. That sounds familiar.

Now let’s turn over to John 16:5—But now I go away to Him who sent me, and none of you asks me, Where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you.

We would not have the holy spirit, the helper, our aid if Christ had not died. I think how encouraging this is. He knew that his disciples were saddened to hear he was going to God. They did not completely understand yet. They did not want Christ to leave.

Christ was explaining the plan of God, but they did not completely understand. He, Christ, had to die as our Passover so God’s plan could move forward. Because of Christ's death, we are able to have sins removed from us and have the begettal of God’s holy spirit come into our minds. This is the only way that this can happen.

Let’s turn over to Acts 1:8—But you shall receive power when the holy spirit has come upon you. The power of God’s holy spirit opens our minds to remembrance, to know what to do and what to say. It gives us strength to stand up for what we believe, and not be afraid.

For those who attended the Worldwide Church of God. Remember the song, God Speaks to Us that we used to sing? The first line states: “God speaks to us, by His great power we’re led.”

That great power is God’s holy spirit. By His spirit we are led in truth, a way of life that brings happiness and true peace. It is by the power of God's holy spirit we are able to recognize and repent of sin, keeping the flow of God's spirit flowing. A beautiful circle of life, a spiritual life.

Now let’s turn over to Romans 8:14—For as many as are led by the spirit of God, these are sons of God. For you did not receive the spirit of bondage again to fear, but you received the spirit of adoption by whom we cry out, Abba, Father.

If we are led by God’s spirit we will not fear. As the scriptures says, “What can man do to me?” We have received the opportunity to be gods for eternity. We are led by God’s spirit. That is God's plan for mankind.

God inspired his apostle, Mr. Armstrong to write Truth #15.

15 (12) The holy spirit coming into us only begets us. God’s holy spirit opens our minds so we can understand the coded book, the Bible, which is otherwise locked from understanding. Without that spirit, we cannot understand the Bible.

We just read in Acts that we receive the power of the holy spirit. We see here the power of God's holy spirit opens our minds so we can understand God’s word and without it we cannot. We understand that we are a few and that there are only a few of us that truly understand God’s word. Remember, 1 in 14 million. How blessed are we to know this? It is the power of God's holy spirit is why we understand the truth, and that would be all 57 Truths.

Continuing with Truth #15:

Spiritual knowledge comes from the Bible through the revelation of the holy spirit that God grants a portion of as He calls someone.

God’s spirit is why we understand spiritual things, and only because He called us. Think of the plan of God. Israel did not have God’s holy spirit as they kept the Holy Days. They killed and roasted a lamb on Passover.

But because of being impregnated by God’s spirit we now understand why Christ had to die as the Passover and part of which was so we could receive God’s holy spirit. The Israelites removed physical leavening from their homes; we remove sin from our lives. Our picture is so much brighter. I love how Johnny refers to things as the picture God has painted. He has painted it and it is so very clear to see with His spirit.

Continuing with Truth #15:

Once baptized, this holy spirit then continues to dwell in those who have been begotten of God’s spirit, so that a person can continue to grow in knowledge and the understanding of God.

We understand that the holy spirit will continue to dwell in us if we repent of our sins. If not, we are cut off from God and His help and we will not grow in knowledge and understanding. Instead, we will die a spiritual death. That is why God's apostle reminds us always to repent of sin quickly so that we are not cut off, using the armor of God, staring the lion down.

I want to read now, Truth #16 (also inspired to Mr. Armstrong).

16 (13) We are only begotten now, not born again. We are not yet inheritors, but only heirs of God. The holy spirit begets us as children of God, but we are not yet born of the spirit of God—spiritual in composition. Those in God’s Church can only be begotten of God’s spirit and born into God’s Family in a resurrection to spiritual life.

Because of God’s spirit in us we belong to God. Joshua, our elder brother, has already inherited. He sits at the right hand of God Almighty eagerly waiting for his brothers and sisters. He eagerly awaits with the Father. The Father eagerly awaits too. All of creation waits. Remember, Joshua is the first of the firstfruits, and if we can continue our journey the way God has mapped it out for us then we too will be born into Elohim.

I now want to read part of what is within Truth #41:

… It also makes it evident that such people have been part of the true Church of God but have left the truth and have worked against Joshua the Christ’s purpose of “living in” those in the Church, through the power of the holy spirit, in order to complete God’s work in them.

Within this truth, we understand that God and Christ are “living in” those in the Church through the power of the holy spirit. And the purpose for this is so that God can complete a work in them, in us. The final work being born into Elohim. This is the only way this is possible.

In Truth #42 it also states:

… The truth is, what earlier had been translated into scripture as the “Holy Ghost,” which is supposed to be one of the beings of the Godhead, is misunderstood and is not a being at all. The correct translation should be “holy spirit,” which is simply the spirit that comes from the One Eternal God—Yahweh Elohim. There are not three beings in the Godhead as this doctrine of the Trinity teaches.

I have just read four truths in regard to the holy spirit, each one stating something a little different but all being what the holy spirit is. So, let’s answer that first question, what is God’s holy spirit?

Here are a few things: It is our helper, our aid; it is to assist us. It comes from God and it is a gift, nothing that we can earn. It teaches all things through remembrance. It will give us what to speak when necessary if we are yielding. It will help us answer in times of need and inspire us. It will help us not to have a spirit of fear but to have boldness in who we are. It is the power that opens our minds to the true revelation of God’s word, God’s truth, God’s wisdom. It begets us so that someday we can be born into the Family of God, Elohim.

It is through God’s spirit that God and Christ dwell in us, and if we yield, to dwell in us for eternity. It is what keeps us connected to God, and it is our hope.

I did not read that many scriptures—and think about that list. God’s holy spirit is so much more to us.

Now let’s move on to question two. How do we get the holy spirit?

Before we can receive God’s holy spirit He must call us, He must choose us, and start to reveal Himself to us.

If you would turn over to John 6:44 and let us be reminded of this. We have heard so many times how precious this is. We know there are few that have been called, and then even fewer who stay faithful to the calling. Again, brethren, remember 1 in 14 million. That should ring loudly to us.

Verse 44—No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at that last day. John 6:44 says that God calls us, and this is the only way we can come to Christ. This is not our choosing. This too is spiritual. We know from previous sermons that means that sometimes we do not come easily, but we come kicking and fighting, being dragged.

But once God calls us, do we just get the holy spirit? We know the answer to that is no. It is a process, and the process is led by God. There are steps that must be taken for us to receive God’s holy spirit. We must first repent of our sins, repent of the works of the flesh. We must put the leaven out of our lives.

John 3:22 is a very simple statement made by John the Baptist and we are very familiar with it. It says Repent, for the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand! We understand that to repent means to change, to become something different. So, we are to repent of our sins, the transgression of God’s laws.

Always remember Romans 6:23—For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in our Christ, our Lord. The transgression of God’s law is death. Not a physical death, but unrepentant sin means a spiritual death, never to live again.

But we do not just read “the wages of sin is death,” we also read God wants to give us the gift of eternal life, and that is only possible through Joshua. We understand that it is only possible through Joshua because he is our perfect Passover and he laid his life down for us, for all mankind.

Let’s turn over to Ezekiel 18:30—Therefore I will judge you, O house of Israel, every one according to his ways, says the LORD God. Repent, and turn from all your transgressions, so that iniquity will not be your ruin.

God Almighty will judge us. His judgment is righteous and perfect. He will judge us for our ways. And remember, it is the works of the flesh that we are trying to get rid of. If we repent, change the way we think, the transgressions, the act of going against God’s laws and statutes, then our immoral behavior will not destroy us. And that is because we are now yielding to the holy spirit and growing in the fruits of the spirit. And then we can see the results talked about in Romans 12:2. So, let’s turn over there.

Romans 12:2—And do not be conformed to this world. We are not to be anything like this world. We are not to participate in the sickness of this world. When someone sees us they should not see the same behavior that is in the world. It is okay to stand apart and be different. This includes the workplace, and if younger in school. We do not have to be part of the office gossip or demeaning of the boss. We do not have to be disruptive to the teachers and show disrespect.

This can be challenging sometimes, because frankly, sometimes it is just easier to conform and not draw attention. But that is not what God wants us to do, is it? No, He said, “Do not conform to the world.”

Going on—but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Our minds are to be renewed. Part of the repentance process is no longer wanting to conform to this sick world. There is only one way our minds can be renewed or washed clean, and that is by yielding to God’s spirit.

God called us and started a process. We just read that in John 6:44; He chose us. We know that we no longer want to conform to the world or be like the world, again, not wanting to give into the works of the flesh.

To be transformed. To become different. So, to repent is to think differently. To transform is to put those thoughts into motion and into practice. Our minds are renewed and made fresh, no longer dwelling on the sick things that we did before but thinking of God and His ways first. Putting God first in our lives.

Going on—that you may prove what is that good and acceptable and perfect will of God. The only way we could prove anything is good or acceptable is to know what God desires of us. The world is cut off from God and they have no idea. So, we pretty much can just approach life doing the opposite of what the world does.

Nothing in this world is good or acceptable to God, because only those who are God’s knows that this is because He gives it to us, gives it to us through the power of His holy spirit that we have already covered. So, we are nothing acceptable to God apart from God.

Let’s turn over to Mark 1:14—Now after John was put in prison Joshua came to Galilee preaching the gospel of the Kingdom of God, and saying, The time is fulfilled, and the Kingdom of God is at hand. Repent, and believe in the gospel.

We learned from Joshua that a part of the gospel and believing in it is to repent and then believe in the gospel, the good news of the coming Kingdom of God. And there is only one way that that can happen. Again, God first calls us, leads us to the understanding that we must be forgiven of our sins. Once we receive the holy spirit, this is the process of which we can continue to receive, is to repent. We know that if we are cut off from the holy spirit because we have sinned, we must repent quickly so the flow can start up again.

We know once we repent of our sins, the transgressions of God’s laws, the next step is we are baptized. We understand to be baptized is to be completely immersed under water into a watery grave. We are putting the old man down that lived the works of the flesh, putting it down and coming back up a new man, able to receive God’s holy spirit.

I want to read a few comments Mr. Armstrong wrote in the booklet, All About Water Baptism.

Becoming converted means being CHANGED. When one receives the Holy Spirit of God, his whole viewpoint, his outlook, his purposes, goals, ways of thought -- everything -- becomes CHANGED! It is a renewing of the MIND -- the Spirit of a sound mind.

Those who are familiar with Mr. Armstrong's writings also know his style of writing, how in the middle of a sentence he would capitalize and bold a word. He wanted your attention because God was leading him to get our attention. In the paragraph I just read the words “changed” and “mind” are capitalized.

The word “mind” is capitalized. He states our minds are to be renewed, changed, again, “changed” capitalized. The renewing of our mind is becoming a sound mind. The world is void of sound minds. We say all the time there is no sanity in this world. Sanity is soundness. The only way to have a sound mind today is if you are blessed enough to have God’s holy spirit dwelling in you.

Going on in the booklet:

For one cannot be rightly baptized except he believe (Acts 8:37). Baptism is an ordinance symbolizing FAITH in the death, burial, and resurrection of Christ.

So, when we are baptized we are saying to God, “I believe in the death, burial, and resurrection of our elder brother.” We are showing this by our actions. We are giving our lives to God.

Mr. Armstrong has Acts 8:37 written within that paragraph, so I would like to turn over to Acts 8, but I want to start with verse 35.

Acts 8:35—Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this scripture preached Joshua to him. Now, as they went down the road, they came to some water, and the eunuch said, See, here is water. What hinders me from being baptized? Then Philip said, If you believe with all your heart, you may. And he answered and said, I believe that Joshua the Christ is the Son of God.

Continuing in the booklet:

The apostles understood this as a divine Commission and Command. They carried it out. They always baptized repentant believers.

This is exactly why Phillip baptized the eunuch. The eunuch with his actions showed he believed in Christ's teachings; he believed Christ was the Son of God and he wanted to repent and change his ways.

Continuing in the booklet:

The CHURCH OF GOD is the Household of God- -composed of GOD'S CHILDREN. We do not become His children until begotten of Him -- until we receive His Spirit -- His Nature -- His Life. When we receive His Spirit, therefore, we are automatically PUT INTO His family -- HIS CHURCH!

In that statement, we have, “The Church of God is the Household of God.” Think of what a household is. That is referencing a family. Later it states, “Put into His Family, His Church.” With the begettal of God’s holy spirit we become a part of the Church of God and God sees this as a family. This physical family today will someday be a spiritual family and this family should be first.

Today the Church of God, God’s family is only one place, Church of God-PKG.

God’s holy spirit is God. The only way we can put God on, God’s life, is to repent and receive His holy spirit. How awesome is it that God Almighty wants to share His very nature, His life with us, His end-time Church. We are His children, and He is a loving merciful Father.

Let’s turn over to Matthew 3:5—Then Jerusalem, all Judea, and all the region around the Jordan went out to him, and him being John the Baptist, and were baptized by him in the Jordan, referring to the Jordan river, confessing their sins.

Dropping down to verse 13—Then Joshua came from Galilee to John at the Jordan to be baptized by him. Joshua showed by example we are to be fully immersed (baptized), by having John the Baptist baptize him. It is Christ's example that we are to follow.

And as a reminder, Truth #15 states:

Once baptized, this holy spirit then continues to dwell in those who have been begotten of God’s spirit, so that a person can continue to grow in knowledge and understanding of God.

The key statement is, “once baptized.” The holy spirit cannot start to dwell in us until we are baptized.

So, now we can answer the question, how do we get God’s holy spirit? We are called by God. He personally chooses us and then we start to understand His truths and see we must repent of our sins and be baptized by being fully immersed underwater – drowning or killing the old man and coming up fresh and new.

Now let’s go to question three. When does the holy spirit enter us?

We are called, we respond, we repent, and we are baptized, immersed completely under water. Then once we come up from the watery grave, a minister of God Almighty lays hands upon us and we receive His holy spirit.

Let’s turn over to 1 Timothy 4:14. Paul is talking to Timothy in regard to the holy spirit. Do not neglect the gift that is in you. We are not to neglect the gift, and the gift is the holy spirit. We were told earlier in the sermon it is the best gift that you are ever going to get. Do not neglect or could be said do not fail to care properly for something. And one way to fail to care properly for the gift of the holy spirit is to cut yourself off from it. The result being you are no longer able to receive the truth from God and grow in the fruits of the holy spirit, God’s nature. We know that to stop the flow of the spirit will cause the tree to die.

Going on—which was given to you by prophecy with the laying on of the hands of the eldership. God through Christ inspired the early apostles to understand it was by the laying on of hands after baptism an individual would receive the holy spirit. The eldership is God’s ministry.

Another way that God is able to give us an example of how His government works, it is by the laying on of hands that we are able to receive the holy spirit. The ministry is the tool in which God uses for this to happen. There is no other way you can receive God’s spirit.

Verse 15—Meditate on these things. So, think about it. Don’t take it for granted. Make sure you understand how great that this is.

…give yourself entirely to them. We are to give ourselves to God at baptism. We give Him our lives to use however He thinks is best. We are part of His plan, His temple.

Going on—that your progress may be evident to all. And we already know how that is evident to all. It is by us exercising and growing in the fruits of the holy spirit. If there is growth there, then it is evident to all we are different, and it all comes from God.

Paul goes on in 2 Timothy to remind Timothy again of God’s spirit. It seems evident that Paul wanted Timothy to get this. So, let’s turn over to 2 Timothy 1:6—Therefore I remind you to stir up the gift of God. Paul is talking to Timothy again. He is telling Timothy again to stir up the gift of God. Again, the gift of the holy spirit, the gift of being able to bear the fruit of the holy spirit. Again, a gift is not something you earn, a gift is freely given.

Going on—which is in you through the laying on of my hands. Paul reminds Timothy again how he received the gift of the holy spirit. It was by the laying on of his, Paul’s hands, Paul, an apostle of God Almighty.

This is personal to Paul. He understands that Timothy has a job to do, and he wants him not to forget he needs to stir up the holy spirit just like we do. God’s end-time apostle tells us the same thing week after week. This is very important to God. It is the only way we are going to be able to “get behind this thing” and to do what we have to do in front of us.

I will remind you again part of Truth #15 states:

Without that spirit (the holy spirit) we cannot understand the Bible. Spiritual knowledge comes from the Bible through the revelation of the holy spirit that God grants a portion of as He calls someone.

We can only “get behind this thing” if we have the revelatory word of God. That is what inspires us, encourages us, gives us the zeal for God.

So, to answer the question, how does the spirit of God enter us? There is only one way and that is by the laying on of hands by God’s ministry.

Now let’s talk about the question, how can we lose the holy spirit? I’m going to start off by reading part of Truth #56.

Once begotten of God’s holy spirit, the flow of the holy spirit can be suppressed and completely removed (cut-off) from a begotten person’s life.

God dwells (abides, lives) IN the life of a spirit-begotten person (a person of the holy spirit) and they therefore dwell IN Him. Through the power of the holy spirit, the life (nature, truth, Word, way of life) of God begins to dwell in a begotten person’s life (in the spirit essence given to the human mind), helping to change the very way one thinks and lives, from that of selfishness and pride to that of outgoing concern and love toward others. This power, however, is suppressed and sometimes cut-off because of sin, as God will not dwell in sin.

So, Truth 56 makes it clear. The power of the holy spirit can become suppressed, and we can be cut off from the flow of the holy spirit in our lives if we sin. And this is something we do not want to let happen. Being cut off from the flow of God’s spirit is no small thing. It is no small matter. If you were called out of this world think of what you were prior to the flow of God’s holy spirit. Is that really what you want to return to?

And if you were raised in the church or came up in the church at a very young age, do not think that you were something special. You were given a different opportunity, but you were still born with human nature. I would hope that you could reflect on how different you would be without the flow of God’s holy spirit too.

Those of us who came through the Apostasy should be able to reflect and see clearly how you can have God’s spirit and then be cut off and fall asleep. Thank God the next time you pray that He gave you the opportunity to be awakened. We have thousands of brothers and sisters that God has not given that opportunity to yet. Do not disappoint your Almighty God.

God has equipped us with tools we need to fight sin and then He gave us a way to go to Him and ask for forgiveness. Joshua the Christ made that way with his death. Repentance needs to be done immediately upon recognizing the sin. We must have forgiveness and then change, become something different. We know the reality is we will sin some sins over and over. We are just that weak. But as long as we are repenting and giving it our all, God understands that we’re weak and filled with human nature. He made us. He will forgive us and forget it and then the spirit will flow in us again.

Going on with Truth #56

Once given spirit life in a resurrection from death (or resurrection from physical life) to spirit life, this process of God dwelling in a “born” person’s life (no longer begotten), and they in Him, will never cease nor be interrupted, but will be perpetual and continuous into everlasting life.

That is an awesome statement of hope. It lets us know that if we fight we know what we’re fighting for. We know what the fight is all about. This sentence is telling us once in Elohim the flow of God’s spirit will never stop.

So, to answer the question, how we can lose the holy spirit? Is to sin and not repent. Unrepented sin brings us death. Remember again Romans 6:23 states it very, very clearly, For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Joshua our Lord.

Now let's ask the last question we are going to answer today. What are the fruits of the holy spirit that should be so very evident in our lives?

The fruits of the holy spirit, the nature of God, are the complete opposite of what we are naturally. We, unfortunately, demonstrate the works of the flesh, human nature (Satan’s nature), way too much. We know we do not automatically have the fruits of the spirit. We know that it comes from the flow of the spirit in our lives and to understand we must yield to it, to fight what we are. We have covered that the only way to have that is to repent, be baptized, have hands laid upon you and then constantly repent of the sin as we see it.

In the book of Galatians Paul talked to the Galatians about the works of the flesh first and then he talked about the fruits of the holy spirit. He showed the Galatians and us what we are and then he told the Galatians and us what we should be.

So, let's turn over to Galatians 5:19. I want to start by reading about the works of the flesh first remembering the works of the flesh describe Satan’s nature. It describes our selfish human nature. It describes “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

So again, that’s Galatians 5:19—Now the works of the flesh are evident, which are: adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lewdness... In the first few items Paul lists we can see two items that are so prevalent in the world today. That should come as no surprise to us since this world belongs to Satan, the prince of the power of the air.

We have heard over and over how strong the pulls of sex are and that that is the number one reason why people leave God’s truth. We all know the incredible destruction that adultery does to a family unit. It is a selfish act. Fornication is the same. It is a selfish act. It is the fulfillment of the lust of the heart and the lust of the flesh.

Let’s continue now, verse 20—idolatry, sorcery, hatred, contentions, jealousies, outbursts of wrath, selfish ambitions, dissensions, heresies… Let’s reflect on a couple of these.

Idolatry — putting something before our Great God. We have covered this many times. We know that this is putting something, anything, before serving God and obeying His commands. It can be a job, a mate, a parent, a desire for something we want instead of giving God what is His; we rob from Him and use for ourselves.

Hatred — loving less, which can so many times be because of jealousy. Jealous because someone has something we do not.

Outbursts of wrath — having no control. Just read some news. This is so prominent also in the world today. More so than it ever has been. And it is not just adults, it is our children. Teachers today actually fear for their lives in a lot of situations because of children.

Some of the stories that my daughters share with me lead me to pray for their safety more. Sometimes I feel like teachers and school admins are on the front lines fighting for their lives because the children are so angry and out of control. That is crazy but it’s true. Satan and the demons know they have a short time, and they are stirring things up terribly.

Now verse 21—envy, murders, drunkenness, revelries, and the like. Envy falls right there with jealousy – wanting something we do not have.

Murders. In today’s world, it is nothing for someone to take a physical life. There is no value in life anymore because mankind has become so insensitive. It is because of what they see on TV, in movies, the glorification of war, and the video games that people play.

Drunkenness is not just alcohol, but also drugs. It means not being clear-minded and in control. We live in a world with no hope and people are looking for a release. They turn to what we call self-medicating through the misuse of alcohol, and it starts at a young age. Others turn to illegal drugs for their escape and then some abuse legal drugs. We cannot allow this to happen in God’s Church.

Verse 21—of which I tell you beforehand, just as I also told you in time past, that those who practice such things will not inherit the Kingdom of God. So, there we have it. Those who practice such things will not be a part of Elohim.

Now the scary part of reading verses 19 through 21 is that we know that Paul is describing the works of the flesh, and if we are honest with ourselves, we can identify with some of these things. We know we have work to do. This message is to us because the world does not see it; it cannot. We need to examine ourselves and make sure we are not giving in to the works of the flesh.

I want to back up to verse 16—I say then: Walk in the spirit, and you shall not fulfill the lust of the flesh. Great instruction from Paul. In other words, put the fruits of God’s spirit in action and we will not be walking in the lust of the flesh. We will not let “the lust of the eyes, the lust of the flesh, the pride of life” rule us.

Verse 17—For the flesh lusts against the spirit, and the spirit against the flesh; and these are contrary to one another, so that you do not do the things that you wish. We have a war going on. But we know that, right? We know that God and Satan are contrary to one another. When we talk about the works of the flesh we know that this is Satan and Satan’s nature, and we know when we talk about the fruits of the spirit we are talking about God’s nature. We have a real battle on our hands, and we know which side we want to come out on.

Verse 18—But if you are led by the spirit, you are not under the law. We need to be led by the spirit of God. We do not want the death penalty, eternal death; we want eternal life with God.

If we ended the sermon here how depressed would you be? To think that this is what we are without the hope of knowing what we can be. But God does not want His children to be depressed or down.

On the contrary, God wants His children to be happy and fulfilled, so now let's read about the fruits of the holy spirit, the spirit of God, the Living God, the Creator of all things, and end on a very positive note. Because if we have God’s holy spirit, these fruits can be evident in our lives.

So, I will say it again, if we have God’s holy spirit we can be growing in the fruit of the holy spirit, and by doing that it means that we should be seeing less and less of the works of the flesh, our human nature, “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life.”

Now that we have seen how disgusting we are capable of being, let’s turn over or drop down to verse 22 and talk about the fruits of the holy spirit, God’s spirit, God’s nature of perfection, what we truly aspire to be.

We talked about this at the Feast. We talked about if we have God’s spirit within us we should be growing in the fruits of the spirit. To grow in something is for that something to get larger or greater to maturity. The fruits of the holy spirit are spiritual, so that means something spiritual getting larger or greater or maturing.

Let’s read Galatians 5:22-23 remembering the fruits of the holy spirit and again, describing God’s nature, His love, agape. The complete opposite of the works of the flesh, Satan, and our nature. The fruits of the holy spirit are God. We cannot say that enough. What is holy and perfect? God. God is all nine fruits listed. All the fruit is perfect.

Joshua lived a life filled with the fruit of the holy spirit and Joshua was perfect, no sin found in him.

Verse 22—But the fruit of the spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control. Against such, there is no law.

The first fruit listed is love but I am going to save that one for last. We will start with the fruit of joy. One meaning is “a feeling of great pleasure and happiness.” One of the synonyms I found was “warm fuzzies.” I love that. A statement of contentment.

Matthew 13:44 states—Again, the Kingdom of Heaven is like treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and hid; and for joy over it he goes and sells all that he has and buys that field.

So, if we use the synonym I found it is saying, the Kingdom of Heaven will give us the warm fuzzies, a state of complete contentment. Remember what we refer to as “our first love?” When we were first called and we understood what that meant, was that not joy, was there not a state of contentment? God’s spirit was starting to work with us, and once baptized and impregnated with God’s spirit did we not feel even more contentment?

The next fruit is peace. Peace is “a state of quiet or free from disturbance.” You know, the opposite of drama. One of my favorite scriptures in the Bible is Psalms 119:165—Great peace have those who love your law, and nothing can make them stumble.

I think about this scripture like this: when you are doing what you are supposed to do and obeying God and all His commandments and statutes you are on good solid ground. If you are not and you understand the truth and who we are, you are consumed with guilt. Guilt because you have not repented of what you have done yet, the wrong, the sin. But then once you repent of that sin and you know you are forgiven and God has forgotten it, you get back on track and you are not stumbling around in the dark. You are at peace. So basically, if you do sin, repent, and you are at peace if you have real faith in what God tells you.

Let’s turn over to Titus 3:2—to speak evil of no one, to be peaceable, gentle, showing all humility to all men. This is another way to think about peace.

First, we do not speak badly of others. And then to be peaceable means you are avoiding an argument. You know, not shoving your opinion in someone’s face, not trying to push your thoughts to the point of an argument, not thinking you are better than someone else. Being humble and having a contrite spirit, one that can be taught.

We’re now going to move on to longsuffering or patiently enduring lasting offense or hardship. In other words, suck it up and take it. In life there are many scenarios we could talk about where we need to exercise longsuffering or patience. When dealing with a mate, our children, our employers, and for me, driving.

Someone being patient is someone who is calm. They are dealing with whatever comes their way. The one thing we must learn to be patient about is God’s plan. Remember, this is God’s plan. We know Christ will return, but we don’t know exactly when, only God does. We must patiently wait.

Let’s turn over to James 5:7—Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.

This captures what I just said. If a farmer is impatient and he plucks the apple before it is ripe, it is not as sweet as it could be. Most people do not eat green bananas. We must be patient and wait on God. Let Him mold and fashion us to the perfect stone we need to be.

The next fruit mentioned is a fruit which I wish I used more. Kindness. Kindness is a sympathetic or helpful nature. To be kind, to show sympathy towards others is a beautiful thing. It is not natural to be this way. We are selfish and selfish is anything but kind. So, kindness is sympathetic.

Let's look at a few words that you could replace the word sympathetic with and see what kindness might be. A few words are sensitive, thoughtful, or supportive. Sensitive – being understanding to each other and what someone might be going through. Thoughtful – not necessarily putting yourself first, but thinking of someone else's needs. Supportive – helping someone in need.

The opposite would be unkind, unforgiving, and hard. If I am honest, more times than not I am unkind, unforgiving, and hard. My kids would be the first in line to say I am hard.

I cannot move on to the next fruit without saying, “In thy loving kindness Lord, be merciful to me.” We sing that after every Passover. We know this was a time in king David’s life that king David wanted and needed God’s mercy. He needed God’s kindness, and so do we.

Following kindness is goodness. This is a state of being good, to have integrity. In this world can you even find integrity anymore? There is nothing good in this world because there is nothing good in our human nature. The only way someone can have true integrity is if they have God’s holy spirit. And if we are honest with ourselves, we have to prod ourselves to continue to have strong moral principles.

When we sin, and we will, our strong moral principles are backsliding. However, we are different from the world in that we can fight this and do a much better job at it.

The next fruit is faithfulness – to be loyal. I found this definition: “Faithfulness is the concept of unfailingly remaining loyal to someone or something, and putting that loyalty into consistent practice regardless of extenuating circumstances. It may be exhibited by a husband or wife who does not engage in sexual relationships outside of marriage.”

Now for those in the Church, that’s a no-brainer. For the world not so much. However, can you imagine how much better this world would be if we all just lived by that one principle? Think of all the pain and drama that would cease.

King David speaks of God’s faithfulness throughout the book of Psalms. I’m going to read a couple of the scriptures to you today and you can just jot them down. The first one is going to be Psalms 36:5—Your mercy, O Eternal, is in the heavens; Your faithfulness reaches to the clouds.

Psalms 71:22—Also, with the lute, I will praise You— And Your faithfulness, O my God! To You, I will sing with the harp, O Holy One of Israel.

And one more: Psalms 89:8—O LORD of hosts, Who is mighty like You, O Eternal? Your faithfulness also surrounds You.

God is faithful to His promise He made to us. Think how content you feel about that and then remind yourself the fruit of the holy spirit is the nature of God. King David understood that, and he saw God’s nature, and part of that was being faithful.

Moving on to the next, gentleness. Being gentle is having an agreeable manner. Gentle and kind are very similar. If someone is gentle they are not shoving their opinion on you or pushing their ways on you. If someone is gentle they have compassion and are considerate. They are skilled in the art of listening.

Next is self-control. One definition of self-control would be “restraint exercised over one's own impulses, emotions, or desires.” We are to prevent from action our own impulse resulting in something not rational. We cannot let our emotions get out of control and take something out on another human being. We cannot let our desires, something we want rule us. You know, the fulfillment of “the lust of the flesh, the lust of the heart, and the pride of life.” Satan.

Self-control is also about other things. We are to exercise self-control over such things as drinking, eating, and drugs. We are not to drink and eat in excess, and just because a drug may be prescribed we know we are not to abuse them. So, if we exercise self-control in any situation we will not sin, we will be in subjection to God’s law. We will diminish the works of the flesh and grow in the fruit of the holy spirit.

Now that we have covered all of the fruits of the holy spirit except love, let’s talk about that. God’s love, agape, the first fruit that Paul mentions. God’s love is perfect. And to show how perfect it was He gave His son for all mankind. He gave us a perfect example to follow so we can understand a little deeper what God’s love is about. We should really understand exercising God’s love after being blessed with the recent sermon series we had this summer, Exercising God’s Love.

Let’s turn over to John 13:34—A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another; as I have loved you, that you also love one another. And what was Christ's example of God’s love for us? He died for us. So we understand this is what we are to do. We are to love each other, putting each other above self. Agape is a true self-sacrificing love.

I want to turn over now to 1 Corinthians 13. We’re all very familiar with this. We refer to this as the love chapter.

1 Corinthians 13:1—Though I speak with the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I have become sounding brass or a clanging cymbal. And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. And though I bestow all my goods to feed the poor, and though I give my body to be burned, but have not love, it profits me nothing.

Paul is making it very clear love is where it is at. We can think that we are something but without God’s love we are nothing. Paul then describes a few aspects of what God’s love is. Now we, of course, cannot understand this to its fullest because we are still human, flesh and blood. We will never fully understand what it really is until we are spirit. But that does not mean we just accept that. No, we should be trying now to have more of God’s love and less of the works of the flesh, Satan’s nature.

Now dropping down to verse 4—Love suffers long and is kind. That means give up your way and do it with a smile on your face. We are not to make sure everyone notices that we are giving up something either, giving someone else what they want instead of what we want. If we make a big production out of it, we are doing it in vain.

Love does not envy. Envy is a feeling of being discontented and being resentful towards someone and what they have and think that we should have it. We are to be truly thankful for others', other’s fortunes, and it’s with a glad heart.

Love does not parade itself, is not puffed up. We are to have a contrite heart, one that is humble, and be shown where we are wrong and change so we become more productive to God. Having the attitude like king David had when the man threw a stone at him. He was willing to stop and look to see if there was something he could learn. And he was a king.

…does not behave rudely. In other words, be aware of those around you. One of the rudest things in todays in society is the cell phone. How rude is it when you are talking to someone and they cannot take the time to put their phone down and look you in the face, but instead play on their phone? Or you are at a store, and someone standing next to you is having a conversation with someone on their speaker. It’s just rude.

Love does not seek its own. Not trying to always have your way. Giving to others genuinely. Wanting others to be happy before self.

Love is not provoked. We do not let things around us allow us to get angry and we certainly do not want to cause someone else to become angry.

…it thinks no evil. We should not be jumping to conclusions without facts and thinking badly of someone. Give others the benefit of the doubt. Don’t have an attitude of condemning others.

Love does not rejoice in iniquity but rejoices in truth. We are to be happy and content with the truths we have, all 57 truths and all that expounds from them.

Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things. It carries the weight of what life gives us and we do not take it out on others when things are not perfect. Those who exercise love believe God and all He has given and lives life knowing all things will come to pass as we have been told. Love remains strong through it all.

Love never fails. Our love should be constant and firm like God’s love. We should always be able to always depend on each other.

And the latter part of verse 13—but the greatest of these is love. Just as Paul said in the first verses, without love we are nothing. We understand if there is love then the rest of the fruits of God’s holy spirit are going to be there too.

Let’s turn over to Colossians 3:12—Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience. I love this scripture. Paul is talking about the fruits here. I think about if I could live each day with this scripture in my mind all day long how much better that day would be.

Put this scripture into action. I desire my whole being to have compassion. Not always looking through the lens based on what I think it should be. Have compassion on where people come from, what they have been through. Understand why they may be reacting the way they are. But shamefully, I do not always do this.

Being kind and gentle, giving an ear to someone that needs to talk or who is looking for help in a matter, having humility in all things, remembering, again, that we are to have a contrite heart just as king David had. And just as king David said, “Maybe we have something to learn about self.” If we do not take the time to listen and really hear we may have missed an opportunity.

I would love to live a day with patience. And I do not mean just a few seconds, I mean all day. On the rare occasions I find myself exercising patience, I reflect on how great it feels. With patience, there is no drama. I need to patiently wait.

As we end the sermon, I want to remember and reflect on this: The only reason why we can move forward and exercise the holy spirit is because Joshua, our Passover, died willingly for us.

Let’s turn over to John 7:39—But this he spoke concerning the spirit, whom those believing in him would receive; for the holy spirit was not yet given because Joshua was not yet glorified. We understand that the only reason why we can have God’s spirit flowing through us after repentance and baptism is because Joshua died and is now with God Almighty, the Father. Joshua is now glorified, the first of the firstfruits sitting at the right hand of God Almighty.

I want to read again John 16:5-7—But now I go away to Him who sent me. Joshua of course is referring to God. …and none of you asks me, Where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. The disciples were sad and had sorrow because they could not understand yet what Christ was saying. They did not understand Christ was the Passover for all mankind.

Then in verse 7—Nevertheless, I tell you the truth. It is to your advantage that I go away; for if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you. But if I depart, I will send him to you. The disciples did not know by Christ going away he had to die. Christ knew what he was going to have to go through so they, so we, could have a helper.

Brethren, what an incredible elder brother we truly have. Reflect on the sacrifice, his physical life, and not just laying down his life, but he had to be brutally beaten and hung on a pole and died.

And because of this, because of Joshua, we can be forgiven of sin, of the works of the flesh that we so easily do. It is our human nature to be selfish and to exercise the works of the flesh. We must fight our human nature. We must grow in the fruits of the holy spirit. And again, the only way we can do this is because of Joshua and his sacrifice. I’ll say this again, can you ever repeat that enough?

I want to turn over now to Philippians 2:1—Therefore, if you have any encouragement from being united with Christ… We are united with Christ through the flow of God’s holy spirit. We are encouraged by this because that means our elder brother is there helping us. God to Christ to the Church through God’s apostle, to us. United.

Going on: if any comfort from his love, if any common sharing in the spirit, if any tenderness and compassion… Absolute comfort from His love because it is God’s love, agape, a fruit of the holy spirit, the outcome being tenderness and compassion.

Verse 2—then make my joy complete by being like-minded, having the same love, being one spirit and of one mind. I love that Paul tells us how to make his joy complete and that is that we be like-minded.

God’s end-time apostle tells us the same thing all the time. It is a message that God wants us to get. We are a Body, and we are to be like-minded. Everything is to be 100% in agreement with the teachings of the Church. If you are not in complete agreement then there is no place for you in the Body of Christ and you should leave. You are living a life of hypocrisy and you are not in agreement with God Almighty.

Verse 3—Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit. Again, you do not have to have it your way. Be a living sacrifice for the whole Body. Put yourself second.

Continuing… Rather, in humility value others above yourselves, not looking to your own interests but each of you to the interests of the others. Remember the fruits of the holy spirit. If we are living the fruits of the holy spirit every day we will always put the Body first, and that means before self.

When the Body is clean we have the same love, we all are one spirit and one mind. No one is going astray with something they think or believe. Basically, no conspiracy theories and no drama. No wrongful judgments. Everyone wants to help each other win.

God’s end-time apostle stated this in a sermon from December of 2018, Strengthened In Might, in Part 1:

“That’s why it was difficult for many, even ministers, to understand what Mr. Armstrong was saying when he talked about the greatest kind of love we can see as a human being, in one respect, was his example of that, was a mother’s love for her child. That’s not enough. But we can grasp that to a degree within human life. But to go beyond that you have to have God’s spirit.

God works with us within an environment, worked with Philadelphia within that environment of a fraternal kind of love and we had many good experiences in that, great friendships and closeness that was incredible. There was God’s love too, but what overshadowed it was the fraternal love because we’re physical, carnal human beings and being called out of a period of time from Sardis where things were just totally gone, going into a period of Philadelphia where we could begin to grow and draw closer as an organization.

As God worked with the Church and began to multiply it by tens of thousands of people we were exceedingly blessed.”

And in the same sermon:

“But what an incredible thing to understand that there is a kind of love that is so hard for us to grasp and comprehend that’s from Almighty God that He desires for us. I wish we could see ourselves in this light clearly for what it is, but we just can’t fully. We learn to appreciate it through scriptures like this, through things that God says and gives to us. But even by knowledge that should lead to greater understanding that should lead to wisdom. We should grow in this thing of understanding of God’s love and what our desires are and the relationship that we’re able to have with Him.”

And then this as well:

“If you take anything away from this sermon today it be far better to take this than anything else – that God greatly loves each and every one of us. It’s up to us to respond to that love, to that favor, to that mercy. To think that we can come before God and ask for forgiveness of our sin every day of our life, for wrong thinking, for wrong speech, for wrong actions, for whatever is wrong in our life and ask God to help us to change and become something different, more in unity and oneness with Him? How blessed are we? That’s all about God’s love, what He wants to give to us. He’s called to give us these things.”

I want to end by reading Jude :20. So, let’s turn over to Jude :20—But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the holy spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Joshua the Christ unto eternal life.

If we believe in God Almighty, and we believe that because of the sacrifice of our elder brother, Joshua, our Passover, the Christ, then we are led by the spirit of God. We are not under the law, not under the penalty of eternal death. We have been freed because we can acknowledge our sin and repent and continue moving forward to our final destination.

We can end on the most powerful positive note ever today. I’m going to read part of Truth #56.

56 (35) Through the power of the holy spirit, Almighty God will “dwell” IN His Family into everlasting life, and they will always dwell IN Him. This will be accomplished through the power of the holy spirit that emanates from God and it will never cease to be “coming into” the lives of those who are in the God Family.