Thursday Evening Bible Study

July 29, 2010

Introduction

Prayer Cards:  Swap with another person, pray.

We’ve talked about who the Holy Spirit is.  He is a person.  He is God.

We’ve talked about some of the things the Holy Spirit does like pointing to Jesus or guiding us.

We’ve talked about the role of the Spirit in our prayer lives. 

We’ve been trying to learn to wait more on the Lord and His leading.

We’ve talked about what the Spirit produces in our lives:  Holiness and to the fruit of the Spirit.

We’ve talked a little about the gifts of the Holy Spirit and spent some time focusing on the gift of tongues.

We prayed for some of you to receive the gift of tongues.

Encourage to practice and exercise the gift.  When you hear that voice telling you that you are “crazy”, we’ve all been there.

The Fragrance of the Holy Spirit

The Bible uses oil as a picture of the Holy Spirit.  Oil = Holy Spirit.

Look what happened when the prophet Samuel “anointed” David as king by pouring oil over his head:

(1 Sam 16:13 NKJV)  Then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him in the midst of his brothers; and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward…

You will hear Christians talk from time to time about someone who has an “anointing”.

They use this phrase to say that the Holy Spirit is working in a person.

The Bible the phrase “anointed” to indicate someone who has had oil poured or smeared on them, someone who has been picked out by God for a special task.  Kings and priests were considered “anointed”.

You will see oil being used in a symbolic, “religious” manner in other places:

(Jas 5:14 NKJV) Is anyone among you sick? Let him call for the elders of the church, and let them pray over him, anointing him with oil in the name of the Lord.

We see the anointing of oil as symbolic of asking God’s Spirit to help a person.

John refers to the Holy Spirit’s work of teaching us when he writes,

(1 Jn 2:27 NKJV) But the anointing which you have received from Him abides in you, and you do not need that anyone teach you; but as the same anointing teaches you concerning all things, and is true, and is not a lie, and just as it has taught you, you will abide in Him.

When we talk about the Holy Spirit and oil, it’s important that we realize what that “oil” was supposed to be like. We’re NOT talking about “Texas crude”

When God taught Moses how to set up the Tabernacle and start the proper worship of Yahweh, there was a recipe for this “oil”:

Exodus 30:22-33

:22 Moreover the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:

:23 “Also take for yourself quality spices—five hundred shekels of liquid myrrh, half as much sweet-smelling cinnamon (two hundred and fifty shekels), two hundred and fifty shekels of sweet-smelling cane,

:24 five hundred shekels of cassia, according to the shekel of the sanctuary, and a hin of olive oil.

:25 And you shall make from these a holy anointing oil, an ointment compounded according to the art of the perfumer. It shall be a holy anointing oil.

:23 myrrh – comes from the reddish brown dried sap of a tree.  It had various uses in the Bible – in this anointing oil, mixed with wine (Mark 15:22-23) to make a drug, used in embalming (John 19:39-40).

:23 cinnamon – qinnamown

:23 sweet-smelling cane – it’s kind of sounding like cinnamon toast!

:24 cassia – similar to cinnamon.

:25 the art of the perfumer

Lesson

Sweet Smell

When God designed this symbolic oil, He didn’t ask Moses to use stinkweed and skunks, but sweet smelling spices.

The work of the Holy Spirit is a thing of beauty.  There is a sweet fragrance to our lives when we are walking in the Spirit.

I know this sounds a little crazy, but for years I could swear there is a distinctive, sweet, “smell” down at Calvary Chapel of Costa Mesa? I’ve wondered if maybe it was just left over from the head usher’s strong cologne.  I wondered if perhaps they used a distinctive cleaning fluid to clean the place.  When Drew was main janitor for the church, I asked him about it.  I was wondering if there was a special smell they sprayed.  He said no.  I kind of wonder if it isn’t a hint of the smell of the Holy Spirit.

Sometimes though, our lives can get a little stinky

Illustration

A young pastor was making farewell visits to his congregation before moving to another church. Visiting a homebound member, whom he had called on regularly, the pastor carefully explained why he was leaving. The woman sighed deeply and said, “Well, we’ll never have another minister as good as you’ve been.” The young man blushed, scuffing his feet along the floor. “Oh, I’m sure your next pastor will be excellent.” The woman shook her head with determination. “You don’t understand,” she said. “I’ve been here through five pastors and each one has been worse than the last.”

Doug Scott, Radnor, Pennsylvania. Christian Reader, "Lite Fare."

The problem is that we might kind of get used to our own smell.  We might not be quite as aware as others are that we need to apply a little more “deodorant” to our lives.

Have you been learning to open your lives up to the Holy Spirit?

Don’t forget that the work of the Spirit in your life results in “fruit”

(Ga 5:22–23 NKJV) —22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control…

Sometimes what happens instead is that a person can become “stinkin’” proud when they first start seeing God at work in their lives.

I understand that a few of you may have received the gift of tongues last week.

Guard yourself from pride.  Paul tended to put the gift of tongues at the bottom of the list of gifts.

I remember when I and some of my friends first got baptized in the Spirit and spoke with tongues.  We were convinced that everyone needed to be speaking with tongues.  We were even a bit obnoxious about it.

Churches have split because those who speak with tongues start thinking they are more spiritual than those who don’t.

Exercise the gift.  Practice the gift.  But continue to learn to “yield” to the work of the Spirit in your life and cultivate humility.

Instead of “stinky”, the work of the Spirit brings “fragrance” and “beauty”

Illustration

President Woodrow Wilson told this story.  He said: “I was in a very common place, I was sitting in a barber chair, when I became aware that a personality had entered the room.  A man had come quietly in upon the same errand as myself—to have his hair cut and sat in the chair next to me.  Every word the man uttered showed a personal interest in the man who was serving him.  And before I got through with what was being done for me, I was aware that I had attended an evangelistic service.  Because Mr. D.L. Moody was in that chair.

I purposely lingered in the room after he had left and noted the singular effect that his visit had brought upon the barbershop.  They didn’t know his name but they knew that something had elevated their thoughts and I felt that I left that place as I should have left the place of worship.

My admiration and esteem for Mr. Moody became very deep indeed.”

I’ll bet there was a sweet smell in that barbershop, and it wasn’t just the aftershave that the barber applied.

:26 With it you shall anoint the tabernacle of meeting and the ark of the Testimony;

:26 anoint – mashach (“Messiah”) – to smear, anoint, spread a liquid

:27 the table and all its utensils, the lampstand and its utensils, and the altar of incense;

:28 the altar of burnt offering with all its utensils, and the laver and its base.

:29 You shall consecrate them, that they may be most holy; whatever touches them must be holy.

:29 You shall consecrate them – qadash – to consecrate, sanctify, prepare, be holy, be sanctified, be separate

This is the root word for the concept of “holiness”.

Putting oil on these items in the tabernacle made them “holy”, pure, set apart for God’s special use.

:29 whatever touches them must be holy –

Some translations carry the idea that touching these items would make a person holy.

Other translations carry the idea that in order for a person to touch these things, they first must be holy.

It seems to me that this is probably the more correct translation.

Lesson

Holiness

The oil made things “holy”.  It set them apart for God’s use.

For someone to be qualified to use these items (like the table of showbread, the menorah, etc.), they too needed to be holy.

We’ve already talked about one of the things the Holy Spirit does in our lives, making us “holy”.

When we looked at Paul’s encouragement to live a holy life, we saw him say,

(1 Th 4:8 NKJV) Therefore he who rejects this does not reject man, but God, who has also given us His Holy Spirit.

The longer you are a Christian, the more you will become aware that there are some real problems among people who claim to be Christians and also among people who claim to be filled with the Holy Spirit.

From time to time you will hear about some charismatic, “Spirit-filled” leader who has led a secret life of sin.

Jim Bakker was a televangelist and head of the “PTL Club”.  He and his wife Tammy Faye oversaw a huge ministry.  He was a man who talked a lot about the Holy Spirit and were a part of the “prosperity/faith” movement.  In the 80’s, it was brought out that he had a mistress, Jessica Hahn, and had been misusing the millions that his TV show had brought in.  He was convicted in 1989 and sent to prison.  While in prison, he read through the Bible for the first time and has since changed his belief about the prosperity/faith movement.  He served 5 years and was released on parole.  He still owes the IRS $6 million in back taxes.

Ted Haggard had one of the largest churches in the nation and was head of the National Association of Evangelicals.  In 2006 it was brought out that he had been involved in a three year affair with a male prostitute and was using drugs.

Experiencing the power or baptism of the Holy Spirit does not automatically make you “holy”.  Speaking in tongues does not make you “holy” if you continue to do fleshly things in your life.

Yielding to the Spirit’s prompting in the impure areas is what makes us holy.

:30 And you shall anoint Aaron and his sons, and consecrate them, that they may minister to Me as priests.

:30 anoint Aaron

Lesson

Everything gets anointed

The pieces of furniture in the Tabernacle all got anointed.

Aaron the priest and his sons all got anointed.

There is nothing we do in ministry that is not to be led by the Spirit of God.

(John 4:24 NKJV) "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

I think it helps to acknowledge this by praying before we have church.

Whether it's a Bible Study, band practice, or an elders' meeting, when we stop to pray first, we ought to be taking time to acknowledge that this is God's church, and we want Him to be in control.

When you teach a Sunday School class or help with the Second Harvest Food outreach, pray first.

Even the sink the priests were to wash in (the laver) was to be anointed.

How about things at home?  Should they be anointed too?  Do we want God involved in our whole life?

Lately one of the biggest items in the news has been the Gulf Oil Spill.

When the spill is made up of “crude” oil, it’s an ugly thing.

Wouldn’t it be cool if there was another kind of “oil spill”?  How about an outpouring of the Holy Spirit right here?

:31 “And you shall speak to the children of Israel, saying: ‘This shall be a holy anointing oil to Me throughout your generations.

:32 It shall not be poured on man’s flesh; nor shall you make any other like it, according to its composition. It is holy, and it shall be holy to you.

:33 Whoever compounds any like it, or whoever puts any of it on an outsider, shall be cut off from his people.’ ”

:32 nor shall you make any other like it

The Holy Anointing Oil was not supposed to become the latest fad in perfume.  It was not supposed to be one of your choices in air fresheners for your bathroom.  This fragrance was meant for one purpose and one purpose only – to anoint the things of God, to set those things apart for God.

This particular mixture of spices were to remind your nose of one thing only, God.  They were to remind you that something touched by God was in the room.

Lesson

No imitations

This mixture wasn’t to be copied.

It’s not uncommon for people to see what the Spirit is doing, and to try to conjure up some way of packaging it, and duplicating it in some way.

In Acts 8, a magician named Simon saw what happened when Peter and John laid hands on people and they were baptized in the Holy Spirit.

(Ac 8:18–21 NKJV) —18 And when Simon saw that through the laying on of the apostles’ hands the Holy Spirit was given, he offered them money, 19 saying, “Give me this power also, that anyone on whom I lay hands may receive the Holy Spirit.” 20 But Peter said to him, “Your money perish with you, because you thought that the gift of God could be purchased with money! 21 You have neither part nor portion in this matter, for your heart is not right in the sight of God.

I get concerned when church meetings are manipulated to create an emotional, pseudo-spiritual response in people.

Illustration

A traveling evangelist always put on a grand finale at his revival meetings. When he was to preach at a church, he would secretly hire a small boy to sit in the ceiling rafters with a dove in a cage. Toward the end of his sermon, the preacher would shout for the Holy Spirit to come down, and the boy in the rafters would dutifully release the dove. At one revival meeting, however, nothing happened when the preacher called for the Holy Spirit to descend. He again raised his arms and exclaimed: “Come down, Holy Spirit!” Still no sign of the dove. The preacher then heard the anxious voice of the small boy call down from the rafters: “Sir, a yellow cat just ate the Holy Spirit. Shall I throw down the yellow cat?”

Illustration

Years ago when Johnny Carson hosted the Tonight Show, he had a guest on named James Randi, a skeptic and a magician who has made it his calling in life to expose frauds, people who claim to have supernatural powers but are really just using magician’s tricks. One of his investigations was of a televangelist named Peter Popoff.  He attended one of Mr. Popoff’s crusades with a radio scanner…

View the clip from The Tonight Show.

What do you think about the “anointing” that Popoff claims to have?  Does it make you think that all healing is a fraud?  Does it make you think that the supposed work of the Holy Spirit is just a trick?

God wants us to be real people.  He needs us to be examples of what He is really doing.  He doesn’t need our help.  Don’t try and help God out with your fake perfume.

Laboratory

Prayer for Russia, for missionaries

Waiting on the Lord