The Holy Spirit Is Real!

Good Monday Morning To You!

I hope you had a good week since we visited last. Thank you for allowing me these few minutes with you. My week was one of those normal weeks that believers have. God blesses you, then satan comes along and starts his nonsense, then you have to deal with the negativity and wild notions he plants in your mind, then as you compare what God has given you to what the devil tells you God has given you, the peace of God settles over you and joy reigns supreme once again. Did you also notice that the greater the blessing from God, the worse the assault from satan? Think about it: the food you eat is a blessing from God, but rarely does the devil aggravate you over it. Why? He doesn’t have to. Most people in America simply take it for granted. Even those Christian believers who do pause to pray before they eat, often do it mechanically, without much thought. They do not mean to, but the pre-meal prayer has become just a ritual. The person means what they are saying, but they give too little thought as to Whom they are saying it. Whenever these things come your way, Dr. Vic’s prescription is take a good healthy dose of the Psalms. Don’t worry about an overdose. With this prescriptive, the more the better. As you look into God’s word, the Holy Spirit begins to speak, and soon that joy returns. As a side note, you will notice that I used satan’s name above. You will also see that I did not capitalize the first letter of his name as is proper when using a proper noun. The reason: his name is too vile and wretched to be counted as proper. He is not worthy to have his name capitalized, so I do not.

Yesterday was another great day at Friendship Harmony. The services just keep getting better and better. I so enjoy preaching at this Church. For the past twelve years I took no pleasure in preaching; it had ceased to be fun. I had no freedom in my ministry and had to weigh every word I said. However, back on August 29 of 2010, the date Friendship Harmony began, preaching became pleasurable again. No longer was it just, “part of the job.” It has become my passion once again. When a Pastor has a congregation as fine as I have, he can experience the freedom, joy, and excitement of ministry. I cherish it and thank the LORD for it.

The sermon continued the “What if” theme. We started several weeks past with “What If There Is A God? Last week was, “What If Jesus Is Who He Says He Is?” Next week will be, “What If The Bible Really Is The Word Of God?” Yesterday I preached “What If The Holy Spirit Is Real? The notes are below.

What If … The Holy Spirit Is Real?
Various Scriptures
By Victor W. Cooper
What If Series 02/26,26/11

I. Who is He?
A. Spirit of Truth
John 15:26 (KJV)
26 But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:
Luke 1:35 (KJV)
B. The Holy Spirit
Luke 1:35 (KJV)
35 And the angel answered and said unto her, The Holy Ghost shall come upon thee, and the power of the Highest shall overshadow thee: therefore also that holy thing which shall be born of thee shall be called the Son of God.
Psalm 51:11 (KJV)
11 Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.
C. Spirit of judgment
Isaiah 4:4 (KJV)
4 When the Lord shall have washed away the filth of the daughters of Zion, and shall have purged the blood of Jerusalem from the midst thereof by the spirit of judgment, and by the spirit of burning.

II. What does He do?
A. Indwells
Ezekiel 36:27 (KJV)
27 And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes, and ye shall keep my judgments, and do them.
1 Corinthians 3:16 (KJV)
16 Know ye not that ye are the temple of God, and that the Spirit of God dwelleth in you?
B. Guides believers
John 16:13 (KJV)
13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
C. Convicts sinners
Isaiah 63:10 a(KJV)
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit….
Mark 3:29 (KJV)
29 But he that shall blaspheme against the Holy Ghost hath never forgiveness, but is in danger of eternal damnation:
1 Thessalonians 5:19 (KJV)
19 Quench not the Spirit.

III. What happens when the Spirit is resisted?
A. He becomes your enemy ie your worst nightmare.
Isaiah 63:10 (KJV)
10 But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.
B. He stops convicting.
Genesis 6:3 (KJV)
3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man, for that he also is flesh: yet his days shall be an hundred and twenty years.

[Delivered 2/27/11/a.m. @ Friendship Harmony Baptist Church]

As you can see, the Holy Spirit is very real. He is not a wisp of wind nor is He a symbol or a thought. He is called the Spirit of God and the Spirit of Christ, therefore, He is God. (Genesis 1:2; Acts 2:17; Romans 8:9; 1 Peter 1:1) Since the Spirit is God, his wise advise and counsel must be followed. Note of theology: Although He is called the third person of the Godhead, never relegate Him to third place. Do not think that He has a lesser role or place of importance than does the Father or the Son. There is no rank within the Divine Trinity; all are co-equal because all are the same except in function. The ministry of Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is different but totally compatible.

Thanks again for our visit together. I hope you have a tremendous week wherever you are. As you go about normal everyday living, be sure you devote some private and quiet time to be with the LORD. Doing so does not guarantee that adversity might not come, but it will arm you with the tools to navigate these waters we call life. Be sure to pray for my family and me, and rest assured I pray for you as well.

I’ll see you next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic!

Monday Morning 6/6/10

Good Monday Morning to you!!!
This past week rolled by so quickly. I guess with a holiday, it seemed shorter. Still, summer is in full swing here in S.W. Florida. It has been hot --- very, very hot. The June heat is as hot as the January cold was cold: all the way to extremes. Do you remember the frigid winter we had here in Florida? It sure is hard to please us earthlings. When it's hot, we pray for cooler days. When we get them, we pray for warmer ones. Aren't you glad you aren't God, having to placate fickle humanity?

Last night in our evening service we looked at 1 Thessalonians 4:1-12. In these verses Paul is encouraging a church who was working hard at pleasing God and doing right by each other. He admonished them to continue doing so. He told them in verse 10, "...we beseech you, brethren, that ye increase more and more..." I feel kinda like the great Apostle, and please forgive me for mentioning myself in the same breath as his. I know most of you and have had the opportunity of watching you as you live your Christian life. I tell you as Paul told the Thessalonians: keep it up, you're doing just fine! As you please God, you actually become a blessing to our Lord, Jesus Christ. If there are some of you who know your life is not quite where our Lord desires it to be, no problem. Rejoice that it has been revealed to you and do something about it. James 4:8 tells us, "Draw near unto God, and He will draw near unto you." Quite simple, actually. These words of James are good words for all of us to follow.

Miss Bessie says hello to each of you. She thanks you for your prayers. Her surgical wound is healing ever so slowly, but is healing. Dr. Bass says these things have to heal from the inside out, and he is pleased with her progress. She has to repack and change her bandages every day, but she does so without complaining. She's a trooper and takes it all in stride. I'm very proud of her, but don't tell her I said it. I wouldn't want her to get the big-head.

The car problems remain. I did get the brakes fixed as well as the tire that was losing air. The mechanic, Chuck, told me a screw had punctured the tire and it couldn't be in a worse place. They plugged it, but said it could "pop" any time. I need two new tires, so I hope it will hold until I can replace them. The intake manifold remains the big story. It will cost nearly $800. to replace. I probably should trade it; it has 160,000 miles - I just cannot. I know the Lord will provide, and in a future Monday Morning With Pastor Vic, I'll be able to tell you about how He did. I'm thrilled just to get to watch what God will do! He takes such good care of the Pastor Vic family.

Also, my laptop went home to be with --- wherever dead 'puters go. I know there are no computers in Heaven. My Dad, Howard Cooper, hated computers. He went to Heaven in 2003. Believe me, if there was even one up there, Dad would have come back. Be that as it may, Teri Clementi's daughter, Lisa, is attempting to perform a resurrection on mine, but it doesn't look too good. That computer has served me well for ten years, so I have no room to complain. I did my sermon prep on it and I confess (sorry Dad) it did make doing so much easier and much more efficient. I did not realize how much easier until I lost it. Wow, what a fantastic tool it was. I'll have to get reacquainted with the old way of doing things again! Oh well, this too shall pass. Have a good week and drop me a line if you care to. See ya next Monday Morning With Pastor Vic.