Our Conduct And The Comforter

"Our Conduct and the Comforter"

Acts 7:51 Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

Ephesians 4:30 And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.

1 Thessalonians 5:19 Quench not the Spirit.

Introduction: If you were here last week you will recall that we shared a message entitled "Christ and the Christian" where I laid out the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit in the life of the believer. This morning I'm going to add three more very important truths that deal with the Holy Spirit or Comforter as our Lord called Him in John's Gospel. What I'm about to share with you may make you uncomfortable but as one preacher said, "I'm here to afflict the comfortable and comfort the afflicted." My job is to feed sheep not entertain goats!

First, there is:

I. The Tragedy of Resistance

Acts 7:51 Ye stiff-necked and uncircumcised in heart and ears, ye do always resist the Holy Ghost: as your fathers did, so do ye.

a. The sinner's decision

The first point I made in last week's message was about the work of the Holy Spirit in convicting us of our sins which the Bible calls "reproof." God "draws" men to Himself through the work and ministry of the Holy Spirit as He reproves us of our sins. Our response to this reproof it what I want to focus on right now. When we are "drawn" in conviction we can turn to God or run from God. When we turn to God all is well but when we run from God something very serious happens. You can resist the Holy Spirit by making up excuses for not getting right with God but if you do know this; when you do your heart will get harder and harder. I can remember when doctors talked about hardening of the arteries but what I'm talking about is the hardening of your spiritual heart. When you are first drawn your heart is tender but when you resist it gets tougher and tougher. Satan wants you to have the impression that there are no consequences to this resistance but he is a liar and a deceiver. He wants you to think that you can come to God anytime you want to, that you can just decide, "God, come save me," but that is not true. Let me ask you this question. If it is necessary for the Holy Spirit to draw you to salvation, what happens if He no longer draws you or you can't feel His drawing? It is too awful to even think about but it is nonetheless a real possibility. Listen to this Scripture:

Genesis 6:3 And the LORD said, My spirit shall not always strive with man...

Proverbs 1:23 Turn you at my reproof: behold, I will pour out my spirit unto you, I will make known my words unto you. 24 Because I have called, and ye refused; I have stretched out my hand, and no man regarded; 25 But ye have set at nought all my counsel, and would none of my reproof:

That will bring a man to another stage which I will call:

b. The sinner's desolation

Proverbs 1:26 I also will laugh at your calamity; I will mock when your fear cometh; 27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me:

What does it mean to be desolate? It means to be left alone! In a spiritual sense God will say to the Holy Spirit, leave him or her alone. I believe that there are some examples in the Bible of what can happen when God says "leave him alone."

Hebrews 12:16 Lest there be any fornicator, or profane person, as Esau, who for one morsel of meat sold his birthright. 17 For ye know how that afterward, when he would have inherited the blessing, he was rejected: for he found no place of repentance, though he sought it carefully with tears.

c. The sinner's destruction

Proverbs 1:27 When your fear cometh as desolation, and your destruction cometh as a whirlwind; when distress and anguish cometh upon you. 28 Then shall they call upon me, but I will not answer; they shall seek me early, but they shall not find me: 29 For that they hated knowledge, and did not choose the fear of the LORD: 30 They would none of my counsel: they despised all my reproof.

Friend when you get to the Day of Judgment you can plead all you want to, you can plead for mercy, you can say that you didn't understand how important it was, that you want another chance but like the rich man in hell the answer will be no!