 This is symbols of the Holy Spirit part three of three, the uncommon symbols of the Holy Spirit. These are symbols that are not often talked about and I want to talk first about number one, oil. Acts chapter 10 verse 38 says this, and you know that God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power. Then Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil or God was with him. What does it mean to be anointed? That word anointing implies a smearing. Now in the Old Testament there was a ceremony, prophets were anointed, kings were anointed, priests were anointed. Really anyone that was set apart for service unto God was anointed. They would go through a special ceremony where oil was placed or poured on them and when the oil would come upon them it was symbolic for God's nature being smeared on them. In other words they were being marked by the nature of God. As I said kings were anointed, you can see 1 Samuel 16 1 and 13 for that. Prophets were anointed, 1 Kings 19 16, priests were anointed, Exodus 28 41. Even some of the special holy items in the tabernacle were anointed for their purpose. The oil or when someone was anointed with oil that ceremony would signify that the individual or the item that was being anointed was set apart for God's purpose, was positioned given authority in some cases. So the anointing represents position power and authority. It also represents consecration. God would consecrate items and people unto himself set them apart and say this is my chosen instrument. Now in the Old Testament as I said this was a ceremony and it was done literally with actual material oil. But as we just saw in Acts chapter 10 verse 38 Jesus was anointed but the Bible says he was anointed with the Holy Spirit and with power. And there we see the Italian. The shadow was the oil, the substance, the Holy Spirit. The symbol, the oil, the substance, the Holy Spirit. Now even though in the New Testament and in New Testament church practice we sometimes use oil and we still practice this ceremony to some degree, today you and I are not smeared just with oil. We're not touched just by a material substance. But we receive the nature of God smeared on us through the receiving of the Holy Spirit. When the Holy Spirit comes upon you that's the oil of heaven marking your life, the oil of joy, the oil of peace, the oil of prosperity, the oil of power, the oil of consecration, the oil of authority. That oil, the Holy Spirit, comes upon your life, marks you, sets you apart, consecrates you unto God's purposes. The anointing oil was a foreshadowing of the Holy Spirit. Just as oil was poured from above and onto the head of those appointed, so the Holy Spirit is poured out from above onto the head of the church who is Christ Jesus. Now Luke chapter 4 verse 18 says this, The Spirit of the Lord is upon me. For he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see, that the oppressed will be set free. Jesus received the substance, the reality of that oil which was symbolic, the power of the Holy Spirit, the presence of the Holy Spirit. Why? So that he could preach the gospel, so that he could heal the sick, so that he could drive out demonic forces when that oil marks you. You are being set apart for God's purposes. God induces you with his power and authority. Christ sits in power, you are seated in Christ. Christ is in authority, you are in him. When you step into the divine authority that God has given to us vicariously through Christ, when you step into that divine authority through the smearing of God's nature, you step into his office, you step into that power and he releases unto you the ability to do that which he did on earth. Everything that Jesus was anointed to do while he was here upon the earth, you and I in principle and in practice, are anointed to do today. He was anointed to preach, so are you. He was anointed to heal the sick, so are you. He was anointed to do miracles, so are you. He was anointed to drive out demons, so are you and don't let any religious ideology take away from that power. No man can explain away that oil, that substance of God's power on a life. Now I know that there are some believers who don't think that these functions are available today, but they are. The Bible doesn't say anywhere that at any point these things stop. It's not like God just picked some point on the timeline of history and said, here's where I'll stop working today or here is where I'll go quiet. No, that hasn't happened. Mark chapter 6 verse 13 says, and they cast out many demons and healed many sick people, anointing them with olive oil. This represents the Holy Spirit's ability to position you, to empower you, to consecrate you. Oil represents the Holy Spirit's empowering presence upon a life. I want you to write this in the comment section, whether you're watching live or on the replay. Two simple words, fresh oil. Write those two simple words and let that be a prayer. Ask God to anoint you afresh. Ask God to renew that touch of power on your life because the power of the Holy Spirit, yes, is received in fullness at salvation. He comes to dwell in you in the fullness of his power. You receive the Holy Spirit and all of his power at salvation and eternally so. But unless you are walking in obedience, unless you are making use of that which God has given to you, you're not really going to see the results that God designed for you to see. So when we neglect that power, when we ignore that power, when we act as if that power isn't there, then we fail to realize the fullness, the full benefits of what God has given to us to the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And so when you say, I want fresh oil, when you say I want a fresh touch of power, you're not asking for more of the Holy Spirit. Rather, you're giving more of yourself to him. When I talk about fresh power, fresh oil, a fresh touch of his presence and power, I'm not saying that he comes upon your life again because he never left in the first place. I'm saying that you surrender anew surrender in greater depths and therefore that influence of his power is allowed to permeate more of your being, your life, your influence, and everything about you. That's what it means to receive that fresh touch of power. So again, two simple words, fresh oil, let that be your prayer. Number two, the seal. And no, I don't mean the sea creature. I'm talking about like a stamp when someone would send a letter or still to this day, when people send letters, sometimes they will mark or seal that letter with a seal. Like sometimes we'll see it like a wax seal. And so that seal or that idea of a seal is a symbol of the Holy Spirit. Now, I often talk to fearful Christians who are constantly wondering about the state of their salvation. To put it simply, when someone has a religious or legalistic view, what they are actually believing is that they can earn salvation in their own strength and power. The heart of legalism, the message of legalism says you must earn your salvation. You have to perform to be accepted by God. Now, we all understand that those who truly have put their faith in Christ Jesus are receiving new desires, are being worked on. They are a work in progress. When you're born again and truly born again, your desires begin to change. It's one of the marks of the spirit is that the spirit in you begins to resist the flesh, resist the sin nature. So we are saved when we place our faith in Christ. We're saved by grace through faith. But that doesn't mean that God doesn't require of us holiness. We live holy not to earn salvation, but to demonstrate it. Holiness, good works, do not earn you salvation. They are a demonstration of salvation. We don't work to be saved. We do good works because we have been saved and we have to understand that otherwise we fall into this trap of legalism. And you know you're under the trap of legalism. Let me just give you this one test. Do you constantly fear that you've lost your salvation? If you answered yes, you're under legalistic bondage. The way you view salvation needs to be adjusted according to the scripture. Now, I know that may seem very direct, but I want to help you with this because I struggled with this heavily. This was something that plagued me for several years, just this constant fear. Now, me if I don't put my flesh in check, I'm more prone to anxiety than probably the average person. My mind immediately, if I don't guard my thoughts, will go right to the worst case scenario. That's just my, if you will, my flaw, my inclination. That's how my flesh begins to behave if I don't put it in check. And so I battled with this kind of thinking for a long time. And the way I viewed my relationship with God was, if I do good, I climb up the ladder. If I do bad, I take a few steps down. If I pray enough, God loves me. If I miss one day of prayer, he loves me, but he doesn't like me. And that's how I saw it. I really did think that it was all based on my performance. Now, again, just so you don't hear what I'm not saying, and just so you don't accuse me of saying something I'm not saying. Let me be very clear. Sin has consequences. Compromise has no place in the life of a true believer. And in fact, if you are truly saved, you will gain these new desires from the Holy Spirit to resist sin, to resist compromise. So I'm not saying that you can just go on sinning and live however you want without any consequence. On the contrary, if that's the way you're living, I would question if you were actually saved to begin with. But once you've placed your faith in Christ and you truly believe in His finished work and you truly have accepted that free gift to salvation, well, the work is on Him. And so what begins to happen, if we're not careful, is we live in this constant state of tension and torment. Now, please hear me because I think this can set a lot of people free. Many believers live in a constant state of tension and torment. They pray not because they want to spend time with God, that it means that they've lost their salvation. They think that if they make a mistake that God's going to say, you know what, that was your last mistake. I'm finally done with you. I'm going to abandon you now. Good luck with whatever it is that you're doing. No, God is not reluctantly forgiving us. God is not hanging over the balcony of heaven, His head and with His arms folded and looking at you saying, well, you know, you're just on your last leg there. Many of you imagine that God's patience is just this thin thread and that you're about to break it by your next mistake. Now, again, I emphasize I'm not saying we should just go on sinning. I would never say such a thing. In fact, Paul wrote that. What I am saying is that this is no way for a Christian to live. To live in the constant fear of losing your salvation. To live with this constant tension hanging over you. I missed two days of prayer or I missed the day of Bible reading or I didn't go to church on Sunday and now I must be backslidden. Surely the Lord has rejected me. No. I think I think sometimes we have too much confidence in our own ability. And by the way, if you're afraid that you're going to lose your salvation because you missed a day of prayer, then it's not the finished work or the cross that you trust. It's your ability to discipline yourself to pray. It's in your own works. It's in your own ability. And for the third and final time, I may have emphasized it more, but I want to say this again because I really need to I need to make sure this balance is clear. I am not saying you can compromise. I am not saying we should go without prayer. I am not saying we should neglect the reading of the word. Listen to many of my other messages. I really hammer those points home and I emphasize holy living. I emphasize repentance from sin. But what I am saying is that God is not going to reject you because you made a mistake. God is not going to turn his back on you just because you're not fulfilling what you think is your Christian obligation. Many of you have this list that you keep near you at all times and you think you have to check everything on the box. God will only love me if I check everything on the box. And my goodness, that's the difference between Martha and Mary. Martha was so worried about doing things for God that she didn't do what Mary did, which was to spend time with God. He finished the work. He saved you. When you believed, you were saved. And now we live holy as our thanks back to God. We live holy because we're saying thank you God for saving me. We live holy because that's our reasonable service. We're living sacrifices. We live holy because that's our act of worship back to a merciful God who redeemed us from sin and self and from hell. 2 Corinthians chapter 1 verse 22 says this, and he has identified us as his own how by placing the Holy Spirit in our hearts as the first installment that guarantees everything he has promised to us. Like the down payment on a home. You make that down payment. It's a promise that you're going to make the other payments. This is what I wrote in my book, Encountering the Holy Spirit in every book of the Bible. Here's an excerpt from that book. In Jewish wedding culture, the father of the groom would usually be the one who picked the bride for his son. After the father of the groom found whom he believed to be the choice bride, he would approach the bride and her family. There would be a written marriage agreement made. After the written agreement was finished, it was customary for the father of the groom to give a gift to the father of the bride. That gift acted as a deposit for the bride. Now, I know some might be offended at that. That's just the way it was. That gift acted as a deposit for the bride. It was a promissory note, a guarantee of the groom's intention to marry. Once that deposit was made, the intent to marry would become official. The Jewish wedding traditions, like many of the Jewish traditions, mirror the spiritual realm. Just as the father of the groom selects the bride, so God the father has chosen to give the church to his son. And just as the father of the groom leaves a gift representing a promise, so God fills you with his Holy Spirit, his divine promise. The Holy Spirit in you is the seal of your salvation. The Holy Spirit in you is God's promissory note saying, I will redeem this one. This one is mine. I've called them. I've set them apart. I've taken them as my own possession. That's mine. And he does this by placing his Holy Spirit within us. That is the promissory note. You see, we imagine that salvation is like, like I said, climbing a ladder. You do good, you climb up the ladder, you do bad, you step off the ladder, and that at any moment you're one step away from just completely falling off the ladder. Well, I would liken it more unto mixing two glasses of water. If I take two glasses of water and pour each one of those glasses into a single cup together, the waters would merge to become one to such a degree that you wouldn't be able to tell them apart. The Bible says he that is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him. Now, those who are truly born again will repent of sin. Those who are truly born again will have a new desire to live holy, and God will help us progress. For the Bible says that he who began a good work in you is faithful. He will finish it. That's the promise of Scripture. He's going to finish that work. And so we are all works in progress, but don't misunderstand. Don't get it confused. Where you are in the process of sanctification is very different than what you have been declared with the legal declaration of justification. When you were born again, you were justified. Justified how? Really by faith. You're justified by faith. So the Holy Spirit comes to make his home in you. He becomes one with you, his spirit joining with your spirit. And here's what the Bible says. The Bible teaches that the Holy Spirit is God's seal of promise in you, guaranteeing that you will eventually receive it all. Watch this now 2nd Corinthians chapter 5, verses 3 through 5. For we will put on heavenly bodies. We will not be spirits without bodies. While we live in these earthly bodies, we groan and sigh. But it's not that we want to die and get rid of these bodies that clothe us. Rather, we want to put on our new bodies so that these dying bodies will be swallowed up by life. God himself has prepared us for this. Now watch this. So this is talking about that beautiful day when we receive our heavenly bodies. We're going to have actual heavenly bodies and we're going to interact and we're going to know one another. Heaven has described like a city. We're going to spend time with people. I'm going to, Steve, I'll see you in heaven. Tim, I'll see you in heaven. Your loved ones that have gone home to be with the Lord, you're going to see them and you're going to interact with them. You're going to know them. This is what the Bible teaches. Now watch. That's one of the benefits. That's one of the many things we have to look forward to. But watch this now. God himself has prepared us for this. And as a guarantee, he has given us his Holy Spirit. So when God places his Holy Spirit in you, he's telling you, I guarantee this is yours. I guarantee your new heavenly body. I guarantee you will experience this new nature. I promise it. God's promising that. He's guaranteeing that by saying, here's the Holy Spirit. Ephesians chapter one versus 13 and 14 say this, in whom ye also trusted, after that he heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, in whom also after that ye believed, watch this, ye were sealed with the Holy Spirit of promise, which is the earnest of our inheritance or that deposit until the redemption of the purchased possession unto the praise of his glory. The Holy Spirit is that seal, that promise, that guarantee. Now again, I'm going to say this a fifth or sixth time because we have to clarify this. I mean, this is why Paul said, what shall I say? Shall we go on sinning then? By no means. How can we who are dead to sin live any longer therein? So no, this is not a license to sin. No, this is not an encouragement to compromise. No, this is not for you to sigh relief and say, oh, so I can do anything I want. Well, the truth is, if you are born again, you won't desire those things. Maybe you are tempted with them, but there will be another part of your nature. There will be another part of you that desires holiness. You will gain new heavenly desires. You will begin to become frustrated by the sin nature in you. And in fact, let me encourage someone right now. There may be someone watching this live or on the replay who feels like an absolute fake. You feel like an absolute hypocrite because you're struggling in one area. Well, let me ask you something. People in the world who sin, people who don't know the Lord. Are they working to resist their temptations? Do they have desires in them to be rid of the sin nature? Do they wake up thinking, how can I please the Lord today? Do they even give a regard or thought to him, his presence, the breath that he gave them to breathe? Do they even think in that manner? No. So you may be discouraged by the struggle. And yes, the Holy Spirit wants you to live holy. And yes, the Holy Spirit is going to help you overcome sin. And yes, the Holy Spirit is going to work with you to break free from those bondages. But think about the fact that your struggle against sin is proof that the Spirit lives in you. You saw it maybe as this proof that you were being rejected by God. But if the Holy Spirit doesn't dwell in you, then who in you has the desire to resist the sin in the first place? If the Holy Spirit doesn't dwell in you, then who is it in you that's becoming frustrated with the sin nature? My friend, the very fact that you are frustrated with the sin nature shows you're moving closer to God. Well, think about this, Isaiah chapter six, when Isaiah saw that heavenly vision and the glory of God was displayed before him. What did he say? Tell me right now in the comment section if you know, what did he say when he saw the glory of God? When he saw the train of God's rope filled the temple, what did Isaiah say? The moment he saw the manifestation of that glory, he said to himself, he said aloud, Woe is me for I am undone. The fact that he experienced the glory, his moving closer to an awareness of God immediately brought to his attention the fact that he was flawed. You know, if I shine a light, you'll be able to see. Obvious, I know. Simple analogy. The brighter the light becomes, the more details become revealed. It's the same thing in the spirit. The closer we get to God, the closer we get to him in his nature and his will, the more that glory shines brightly upon our lives, the more aware we become of his likes and dislikes of his nature, the more aware we become of his word, the more sensitive we become to that part of us that's undone. So the fact that you're frustrated with something in your life, the fact that you're working to overcome something, and you're just saying, Lord, I need to get rid of this, that's proof that he's drawing you closer. Because if he wasn't drawing you closer, you'd have no desire to be rid of it. The Holy Spirit isn't going to abandon you because you've made a mistake. I say this often, how would it make any sense for God to remove from you the only power you have to be holy as a punishment for not being holy? Oh, you made a mistake? You compromised in holiness? Well, now as a punishment, let me remove from you the power to be holy. That just doesn't make any sense. That's why the Bible tells us we're sinabout, grace much more abounds. It's not saying that God winks at sin. It's not saying God doesn't judge sin. That doesn't mean that there are no consequences to sin. It means that the weaker we are, the more of God's grace that we need. And the closer we get to that glory, the brighter that light shines in our lives, the more sensitive we become to our sins and flaws and wrongdoing. And we begin to recognize that doesn't belong here. So instead of seeing yourself as a fake, well, I say you should see yourself as a fake, and that's actually good news. But you're not a fake Christian. You are a fake sinner. You are not a wolf in sheep's clothing. You are a sheep in wolves. You're a sheep who's trying to put on wolves clothing. And that's your true nature. Inwardly, you are a sheep. Inwardly, you belong to God. Inwardly, you are a child of God. And so when you act in sin, you're acting against your true nature. You're acting outside of who you really are. 1 John 3, 24 says, those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with him and he with them. And we know he lives in us because the spirit he gave us lives in us. Let me show you something else. I'm going to pull this up. I don't have it in my notes, but I want to show you something. This is important for us to get. I'm going to show you something about the Holy Spirit that I think is beautiful. Let me scroll down here. Again, this wasn't in my notes. But I want you to see this. Romans chapter eight, let's go to, let's go to verse 23 to start. And we believers also grown, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as the foretaste of future glory. Think about that, that the presence of the Holy Spirit in our lives is just a taste of what's to come. For we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he's promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. If we already have something, we don't need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don't yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently. And the Holy Spirit helps us in our weakness. For example, we don't know what God wants us to pray for. But the Holy Spirit prays for us with groanings that cannot be expressed in words. And the Father who knows all hearts knows what the Spirit is saying. For the Spirit pleads for us believers in harmony with God's own will. There we see this pooling, this shaping, this transformation that takes place when the Holy Spirit's nature begins to clash with our nature. And he's praying for us, and he's pleading for us, and he's causing us to be inclined toward God's will and nature. That's the Holy Spirit. Let's jump up a few verses. I believe verse, let's go to 14 and 15. Let me scroll up here. There it is. For all who are led by the Spirit of God are children of God. Watch this now. So you have not received the Spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Well, isn't that how many Christians live? They live like fearful slaves. I understand that we, before Christ, are sinners. I understand that when we sin against God, and when we sin against God, we're violating His holy nature. I understand that God is right and just to punish eternally the wickedness of sin within us. I understand that God is glorious and we are not, that He is holy and we need His mercy. But this idea that after I've come to Christ and become a child of God, that I need to live with this self-hatred is just so religious. Let me just, let me just, let me just park it here for a moment because I see this being said and it sounds so right. I think we, I don't think we realize who the Pharisees are today. I don't think we realize who the hypocrites are because, because Pharisees can sound so convincing, so right, so, so self-righteous. They're, they're, they're virtue signaling hypocrites. That's what Pharisees were. It's a Pharisees are today. And, and they teach this doctrine of self-hatred. Now, yes, you should hate the sin in your life. Yes, you should absolutely recognize that you are helpless, that you are weak, that you are, you are nothing without God. That's the fact of the matter. But after you've placed your faith in Christ and He's redeemed you, He's forgiven you, and He's given you a new identity, you, you are a new creation. You, you, you're hating yourself based upon who you used to be. And some preach this like it's holiness. Holiness, my friend, is not self-hatred. Holiness is not discussed with who you are. Now, you can be disgusted by your sin. You should be. You should hate your sin. You absolutely should hate your sin. You should absolutely be tortured by the fleshly nature in you and, and frustrated with it and desire to be rid of it. That's a part of the Christian life. Yes, we should, we should be frustrated with that side of ourselves. It's not, I wouldn't even say it's us. Paul says, if I sin, it's, I'm not the one doing wrong, but sin living in me. He's not saying he's not responsible for sin. We're all responsible for sin. We're all responsible for the choices that we make. Rather, Paul is choosing to not identify with that nature. That's not us anymore. If any man be in Christ, he's a new creation, all things, not some things, all things become new. So this doctrine of self-hatred, it sounds right. It sounds good. It sounds persuasive. It's a form of false humility wrapped in pseudo-intellectual dogma. It's not the gospel. Yes, before Christ, we were wretched, absolutely depraved, absolutely. But after you've repented of your sins and you've put your faith in him and he causes you to become a new creation, now here's what the Bible says, you have not received a spirit that makes you fearful slaves. Instead, you received God's spirit when he adopted you as his own children. I mean, again, I understand why it's so persuasive because it can sound so right, these doctrines of self-hatred. I understand it sounds so, oh, you know, I'm just humble. I just, I'm just, I'm this worm before God and, and, and they live in that misery. And, and no wonder people who believe that are so angry all the time. No wonder people who believe that claim Christ alone, but actually believe Christ plus all the right doctrines plus all the right practices plus all the right methodologies plus a bunch of other things they add. That's the work of Pharisees, my friend. That's who Jesus rebuked. Those are the ones Jesus called hypocrites and vipers. And those are the ones that Jesus spoke harshly again. That's hypocrisy. That's religion. That's legalism. And Christ came to fulfill the law that we might live by the spirit. Now we call him Abba Father, not a fearful slave. Oh Lord, I'm just a little worm. Oh Lord, I belong in the dirt. Oh Lord, I don't even, and I get it because even Jesus used the parable of the man who wouldn't even look up, but he was comparing genuine repentance to self-righteousness. And today it's become its own form of self-righteousness. This look at how much I hate myself. And that's not even, that's not just indicative of some of the false doctrine we see posing as sound doctrine. That's also indicative of the culture. It's like this competition for who suffers more, this competition for who hates themselves more, and it's not biblical. Now again, let me emphasize this because I don't want anyone twisting my words. Hate the sin. Be frustrated with that part of you or who you used to be that rears its ugly head every now and then. But to approach God like you're this fearful slave, well no wonder so many Christians are dealing with anxiety. No wonder so many Christians are so angry all the time. No wonder so many Christians lack power and joy and most importantly love. They don't understand the gospel. I find it ironic that those who claim to have the greatest grasp of the gospel miss it more often than anyone else. Why? Because they're thinking as fearful slaves. And the Bible says we call them Abba Father. For watch this now. His spirit joins with our spirit. Well wait a minute. If I'm one spirit with him, what does that mean about me? I'm a new creation. Not because of anything I've done. I didn't deserve it. I didn't earn it. God should have judged me. I should have received the full wrath of God. Everyone who's ever sinned deserves hell. We understand that. We get that. But I'm talking about once you've come to Christ, do you still think in those terms? Yes, we're thankful for what he redeemed us from. And yes, we understand that will always have been a reality. But now we need to start thinking like sons not slaves. Like children of God. For his spirit joins with our spirit to affirm that we are God's children. We must avoid the extremes of pride and self-hatred. Because neither of those produce the fruit of holiness in our lives. And since we are his children, we are his heirs. In fact, together with Christ, we are heirs of God's glory. But if we are to share in his glory, we must also share his suffering. Now, of course, there's suffering in the life of the believer. But suffering in the life of the believer. But even in our suffering, we're not separated from God. Now, the Holy Spirit is the one who causes us to cry Abba Fabb. This is perhaps one of the greatest works that he does. Now, I know that everything the Holy Spirit does is important. And I don't mean to rank his ministries and his roles. But I would say this is probably one of the more important things that he does for us. Probably because it's the most often needed. In my opinion, the Holy Spirit causes us to cry Abba Fabb. When your mistakes and your past call for you to think like a slave, the Holy Spirit says cry Abba Fabb and think like a son. The Holy Spirit affirms our salvation. The Holy Spirit is that inner witness causing us to recognize who we are in him. This is the work of the Holy Spirit. He is the seal. The Holy Spirit is the seal. So, number one is oil. Number two is the seal. Number three, wine. Ephesians chapter five, verse 18 says don't be drunk with wine because that will ruin your life. Instead, be filled with the Holy Spirit. Here we see that the Bible instructs us to stay away from wine and then speaks of the Holy Spirit as a spiritual and better alternative. This is where we get the symbol of wine to represent the Holy Spirit's influence in our lives. Now, think about the fact that in Acts chapter two, verses 13 through 15, that those who saw the Holy Spirit's influence on the believers assumed that they were drunk. Watch this beginning at verse 13. But others in the crowd ridiculed them saying they're just drunk. That's all. Then Peter stepped forward with seven or with the 11 other apostles and shouted to the crowd. Listen carefully all of you, fellow Jews and residents of Jerusalem. Make no mistake about this. These people are not drunk as some of you are assuming. Nine o'clock in the morning is much too early for that. Now, what made them think that they were drunk? I don't think that they were being senseless. I think that it was their boldness and their joy that caused others to think that they were drunk. Think about that they were able to stand up in the middle of the day and just proclaim such things. That boldness comes upon some of those who are drunk. Think about why people drink in the world. They drink because they're trying to escape their sorrows or they're trying to gain what they call their liquid courage. People drink because they want to be bold. They want to lose all fear. That's what alcohol does. It causes you to lose your inhibitions. Of course, they also drink it to escape that pain. They want to feel good. But you don't need wine. You don't need to be drunk. Why? Because the wine of heaven has been poured out upon our lives. With that wine of heaven comes boldness and joy. He makes you different. He makes you stand out. Even those who consider themselves to be passive or introverted, even those can be empowered with boldness. Boldness is not a personality. It's a fruit of the spirit that comes when his presence abides and that influence is allowed to permeate your life. Just as people receive wine in celebration, so are we to receive the Holy Spirit with gladness. His presence, like wine, marks the occasion. Wine represents the Holy Spirit's influence on us that causes us to be released from fear and given joy. Maybe you've been lacking joy for some time. Maybe you're timid about your faith. You need to surrender to the Holy Spirit. Being an introvert is not an excuse for not being a bold witness. Even those who are introverted must be bold because that's a mark of the spirit. It's a mark of the influence of the spirit. I'm not saying you need to be loud, obnoxious. I'm not saying you need to be talkative. But you do need to be bold. There's a big difference in what I just described and boldness. Boldness is that courage that comes when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. The courage to speak truth when truth needs to be spoken. The boldness to do what is right, even when all the pressures against you are trying to influence you to do what is wrong. So number one, oil. Oil represents the Holy Spirit's empowering presence upon our lives. Number two, the seal. The Holy Spirit affirms that we are the children of God. He is that inner witness of the security we have in His finished work. And number three is wine. The presence of the Holy Spirit brings both boldness and joy. In fact, let's pray that right now. I'm going to pray that the Holy Spirit would give you boldness and joy, because some of us need that. In fact, I believe there are many watching who it's been a while since you've sensed any kind of joy in your life. And you've just been on this path lately, possibly, maybe I'm describing you, where there's just been this real heaviness. You need the wine of heaven. You need the presence of the Holy Ghost. Come on, just begin to agree with me right now. I want you to write your prayer requests in the comment section. Let's go before the Lord. Father, in the name of Jesus, I thank you, Lord, that you're touching your people and causing them to be emboldened by your power. I pray, Lord, that now they would be marked as they surrender anew. Holy Spirit, take even more influence in our lives than before. Help us to surrender in greater measure. Give us that boldness that comes only by your spirit. Give us the courage to live righteously and speak truthfully. We thank you, Father, now that you are pouring out that wine of heaven and causing your people to receive joy. Just receive that now. Joy is coming over you. We come against those burdens. Be lifted in the name of Jesus. Chains of bondage be broken in the name of Jesus. Heaviness be broken in the name of Jesus. Depression be broken in the name of Jesus. Lord, fill us now to overflowing with the wine of heaven. Just lift your hands. Receive that. Come on, right now. It's flowing from heavenly places. Father, I thank you that your people are receiving a fresh touch of joy. We honor you. We bless you for it. In the mighty name of Jesus we pray. I want you to type it because you agree. Say amen. Well, if you enjoyed this message, if you enjoyed this series, this by the way is part three of three on my series, Symbols of the Holy Spirit. There's two other parts that preceded this one. But if you enjoyed this, make sure you leave a like on the video, not just because we're collecting likes and we like to point to the number. It's because when you leave a like, it actually helps to spread the teaching even further. I'm not even sure quite how that works, but that is the way it works. So do your part, leave a like. Also, if you haven't done so yet, make sure you subscribe to this channel and click the notification bell when you do so that you can receive alerts whenever we release new content. Subscribe now to learn more about the Holy Spirit prayer and spiritual warfare. Let me read you this verse, Matthew 633. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. It takes faith to put the kingdom of God first. You see, by nature, humans make decisions based on fear. We make decisions based on self-preservation. We often ask, well, what's in it for me? How does this benefit me? Well, how's that going to affect me? And because of that, many of us miss out on some of the most powerful benefits of operating in faith. You see, when we choose to put the kingdom of God first, all these things, what's Jesus describing there? He's describing material needs. When you put the kingdom first, He adds unto you your material needs, but you put God first as an act of faith. You see, many of us say, God, I'm waiting for the day when you bless me. And when you really bless me, then I'll really help support your kingdom. Or one day in the future when this circumstance changes, or when I get that job, or I finish that goal, or I get that degree, well, then I can start putting your kingdom first. We have it backwards. You see, intellect says, God bless me, and then I will support. But faith says, God, I will support, and then I know you will bless me. We have to be the ones to take action first. We have to be the ones to step out. God has already given the command. God's already done so much for us. He's never withheld from us. And now He calls us to act in faith. Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and then all these things shall be added unto you. And of course, you seek His righteousness. You will stay stuck if you don't pass your tests. You will stay stuck where you are. And if you never learn to step out in faith, you'll never go any further in this specific area. I'm talking about the area of finance. You have to learn to grow. And if you don't take steps of faith, you can't grow. So I want to challenge you right now to fight the flesh. I know, in fact, some of you right now, the urge is to click off the video or go find another teaching or get on with something else or maybe even watch something that probably is considered entertaining instead of edifying. I understand that that could be, I'm not saying it definitely, is it could be the pull of the flesh trying to get out of what the Holy Spirit is saying to do. And I'm challenging you now to fight that urge to say no. I'm telling you now, I want to challenge you to fight that urge to withhold. When you release in faith, you're showing God that you're a good steward of the resources He's given you. And then that is grounds for an increase in resources, not for our own benefit, but so that we can continue to support the kingdom. This is the principle I've applied, I've learned, and I know it works. And so I want to challenge you now. Fight that urge. I know there might be that inner battle, should I, shouldn't I? And you might even be imagining, well, you know, I have this in the account. And if I give that, it might affect me this way or what's in it for me, or what will I get out of this? All you need to know is that when you support this ministry, you're helping us to spread the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Holy Spirit all around the world through events and media. It's quite simple. Your gift helps expand the ministry. Your gift helps us to do our work. We give it away for free. The gospel is free, but the means to deliver it on a mass scale, that takes resources. So I'm challenging you now. Go to davidhernandezministries.com slash donate. I'm going to ask you to consider giving a one-time gift, becoming a monthly supporter, or possibly doing both. Many people do that. They'll give a one-time gift to start off their partnership, and then they'll do something on a smaller amount on a monthly basis. Some people sow one time, some monthly, some small, some large. And let me remind you, there are no actual small gifts, but I know sometimes we label things as smaller than others, and relatively that's true. But in the Kingdom of God, it's just about faith and obedience. So whether it's one time or monthly, large or small, I want you to do something now to help this ministry go forward. Help us complete this task of global evangelism. Really, it's a generational task, but help us do our part. davidhernandezministries.com slash donate. A one-time gift or monthly support will go a long way. Don't count yourself out. Don't think it doesn't matter. If everyone who watches this video gives something, partners at some amount, then we will see a massive expansion of this ministry and therefore the Kingdom of God. And as you give, I can see some of the gifts coming in. I'll be able to see some of the names come in from the gifts. You go to davidhernandezministries.com. So davidhernandezministries.com slash donate to give a one-time gift slash partner to become a monthly supporter. I see we have a partner, Max. Thank you for partnering. Darian, thank you for your gift. Omar, thank you. Kenneth, thank you. Teresa, thank you for becoming a partner. Rachelle gave a one-time gift. Donna became a partner. Christopher became a partner. Thank you to Lisha for your one-time gift. Awele, thank you for becoming a partner. So much generosity from all around the world. Thank you for standing with me. I surely do appreciate that. And don't forget also remember one more time to subscribe to this channel if you haven't already. And remember, nothing is impossible with God.