Would you turn with me to Exodus
chapter 13, verse 20. And they took their journey from
Sukkot and encamped in Etham in the edge of the wilderness.
And the Lord went before them by day in a pillar of a cloud
to lead them the way and by night in a pillar of fire to give them
light, to go by day and night. He took not away the pillar of
the cloud by day, nor the pillar of fire by night, from before
the people." I have entitled this message, The Holy Spirit
and the Believer. The Holy Spirit and the believer. Now, we're introduced to the
pillar of cloud and fire that led the children of Israel throughout
their journey in the wilderness. Now, you've probably heard of
their wanderings in the wilderness. They did not wander at all. They
followed this cloud all the time. When it would get up and move,
they would follow it. When it would rest, they would
rest. They followed this pillar of
cloud and this pillar of fire at all times. Would you turn
to Exodus chapter 40. Beginning in verse 34. Then a cloud covered the tent
of the congregation and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And Moses was not able to enter
into the tent of the congregation because the cloud abode thereon. The same cloud we just read of.
And the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. And when the
cloud was taken up from over the tabernacle, the children
of Israel went onward in all their journeys. But if the cloud
were not taken up, then they journeyed not till the day that
it was taken up For the cloud of the Lord was upon the tabernacle
by day, and fire was on it by night in the sight of all the
house of Israel throughout all their journeys. Now the pillar
of cloud and fire represent the Spirit of God who leads us and
who guides us. I think this will become apparent
by the end of this message. Scripture says as many as are
led by the Spirit of God. They are the sons of God. And
only those who are led by the Spirit of God. We read in John
chapter 16, He shall guide you. He shall guide you into all truth. As a matter of fact, if you're
a believer, your experience, what your experience is, your
experience is the Holy Spirit. Every view you have of the Lord
Jesus Christ comes through the Holy Spirit. Every word that
God speaks to you, it is through His Spirit. Now, God is one God. Hear, O Israel, the Lord thy
God is one God. He's not three gods. He's one
God revealed in three distinct persons. God the Father, God
the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Now, in the book of Exodus, God
reveals Himself as the Father, the covenant God, when He, in
His mercy, brought the children of Israel out of the land of
Egypt in answer to the covenant that He made with Abraham and
Isaac and Jacob. He promised them a land. He's
going to be good to His Word. He's going to be good to His
covenant. And He makes Himself known as the Father, the covenant
God, in delivering Israel for His covenant's sake. Now, he
makes himself known as God the Son in the paschal land. God said, when I see the blood,
I will pass over you. Isn't that a precious verse of
Scripture? I hold on to that. He passes me by in mercy because
he sees the blood. That's all he has to see. And
God the Spirit was made known as the pillar of cloud by day
and fire by night to lead them and guide them. Talk for a few
moments regarding this. It's a mystery that cannot possibly
be understood, only believed. God is one God revealed in three
distinct persons, Father, Son and Holy Spirit. And his salvation
is one salvation. This is very important. His salvation
is one salvation. It's not divided into different
parts. It's one salvation. It's the
work of the Father, the work of the Son, and the work of the
Holy Spirit. They each have, if you will,
their role in salvation, if that's the right word. I don't even
know if that's the right word to use. They each have their aspect in
salvation. God the Father elects. He's the
covenant God. God the Son redeems. He's the Redeemer. And God the
Holy Spirit regenerates. He gives life. And this is all
a part of what the Bible calls salvation. And all three of these
aspects of salvation, the aspect of the Father and election, the
aspect of the Son and redemption, and the aspect of God the Holy
Spirit and regeneration are equally essential for the salvation of
the sinner. There is no salvation without
any of these aspects of God's work and salvation. Now, just
as Christ is said to be the gift of God, the Holy Spirit is the
gift of God. We read in Acts chapter 2 verse
38 and in Acts chapter 10 verse 48 of the gift of the Holy Spirit. He is God's gift, the author
of spiritual life, and there is no saving grace without him. And let me show you that in the
scripture. Hold your finger there in Exodus. And would you turn
with me to the book of Titus. Titus. Chapter 3. Beginning in verse 3, For we
ourselves also were sometime or aforetime foolish, disobedient,
deceived, serving slaves of diverse lusts and pleasures, living in
malice and envy, hateful and hating one another. But after
that, the kindness and love of God our Savior toward man appeared,
not by works of righteousness which we have done, But according
to His mercy, He saved us by the washing of regeneration and
renewing of the Holy Ghost, which He shed on us abundantly through
Jesus Christ our Savior. He comes to us for Christ's sake,
that being justified by His grace, we should be made heirs according
to the hope of eternal life. Now, here's one thing I want
to point out to you about that passage of Scripture. He's talking
about being saved by the grace of God, not by works which we
have done, but according to His mercy, He saved us. But notice
he says, by the washing of regeneration and the renewal of the Holy Ghost. Now, when he mentions this in
this passage of Scripture, he doesn't mention election. He
doesn't mention redemption. Neither of those are even mentioned.
Now, does that mean that somehow this is more important than election?
Absolutely not. Does this mean this is more important
than redemption? Absolutely not. He's just mentioning
this aspect right now, but the point I want to make is the aspects
are all equally important. There's no salvation without
the election of the Father. There's no salvation without
the redemption of the Son, and there's no salvation without
the regeneration, the work of God, the Holy Spirit in a man. This is all a part of what we
call God's salvation. Now, regarding this pillar, we
read of many occasions where the Lord spake through the cloudy
pillar. We read in Psalm 99, verse 7,
He spake unto them in the cloudy And that happens over and over
again throughout the scriptures. The voice of God would come through
this cloudy pillar. Let me show you a couple of times.
Look in Exodus chapter 33, verse 7, 8. And it came to pass when Moses
went out into the tabernacle, that all the people rose up and
stood every man at his tent door and looked after Moses until
he was gone into the tabernacle. And it came to pass as Moses
entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended. and stood at the door of the
tabernacle, and the Lord talked with Moses. And all the people
saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle, and all the people
rose up and worshipped every man in his tent door. And the
Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto
his friend." He spoke through the cloudy pillar. And everything
that you hear of God, when God speaks to you, is through the
cloudy pillar. It's through the Spirit of God.
Look in Exodus chapter 34, verse 5. And the Lord descended in the
cloud and stood with him there and proclaimed the name of the
Lord. He proclaimed His name through
the cloudy pillar. If you're a believer, God speaks
to you by His Spirit through His Word. And when you hear from
God and God speaks to you, He's speaking to you by His Spirit
as far as your experience goes. What you experience is by the
Spirit of the living God, the Holy Spirit. God, the Holy Spirit. Let me show you this in the New
Testament. Turn to First Thessalonians, chapter one. First Thessalonians,
chapter one. Verse four, Paul says to the
Thessalonians, knowing, brethren beloved, your election of God. Well, how do you know, Paul?
For our gospel came not to you in word only, but also in power. and in the Holy Ghost, and in
much assurance. That's how our Gospel came to
you. In power, you heard it as the Word of God, not just the
Word of man. If you just hear the preacher speaking, God didn't
speak to you. But if you see this as the Word
of God and it came to you in power, it's because of the Holy
Spirit. All the communication God has
to you is through the Holy Spirit, for Christ's sake, through the
Holy Spirit. The cloud was always directly
over the tabernacle, and most especially over the mercy seat,
the lid of propitiation. As a matter of fact, we read
in Leviticus 16, verse 2, I will appear in the cloud upon the
mercy seat. Now, this represents the person
and work of the Lord Jesus Christ. You can't separate God, the Holy
Spirit, and Jesus Christ. He is essentially the Spirit
of Jesus Christ. This cloudy pillar, whether it
was the cloud or the fire, it was always directly over the
tabernacle. And the tabernacle would move
in answer to the Holy Spirit moving. It would move and it
would stop right in its place. And it always represents the
Lord Jesus Christ. And he said essentially that
the Holy Spirit, this cloud, this this tabernacle was over
the lid of propitiation. And that's talking about the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. Remember the mercy seat, the
blood of Christ, the broken law was placed within that arc of
the covenant. Blood was placed on it, the mercy
seat over the broken law in there, and the Holy Spirit was always
identified with the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. And every
apprehension I have of the power of the blood of Jesus Christ,
every drop of comfort I get of knowing that God is appeased
because of the blood of Christ. He's satisfied with me. He doesn't
have a reason to be angry with me. I'm accepted for Christ's
sake. The Holy Spirit is always associated with that, and every
drop of faith I have is what he gives me. It's his gift. It's what he does for me. So
this cloud, this pillar, it was always directly over the tabernacle,
most especially over the mercy seat. Now, notice this in our
text. Turn back to Exodus chapter 13. Exodus chapter 13, verse 21. And the Lord went before them
by day in a pillar of cloud to lead them the way, and by night
in a pillar of fire to give them light to go by day and night. God the Holy Spirit is our light. Now, isn't Christ the light of
the world? Absolutely. Who shows you that? Who gives
you the grace to see it? Who gives you the grace to believe
that there was a time when you didn't see that? It didn't mean
anything to you. You thought light was something like that. It didn't
mean much to you. But now you see Christ as the
light of who God is. You see who you are through the
light of the Lord Jesus Christ. You see your own sinfulness,
but you also see His all-sufficiency. How is that? That's God the Holy
Spirit giving you that light. He is the light that shows us
the light. Now, yes, the Holy Spirit shows
you that. Light is what we see by, and
this book, you listen to this, this book we're studying right
now, the Bible, is a closed book without the light of the Holy
Spirit. It's impossible for you to understand
it. It's impossible for me to understand
it. You can have the IQ of Einstein.
You can have a perfect knowledge of Greek and Hebrew. You can
have the entire Bible memorized from cover to cover, page to
page. You can know everything in it. And you can give the definitions
of all the words. And you know how much life that
is spiritually? Zero. That's no true understanding.
The only way you and I can understand this message, this book, the
gospel, is through the light of God, the Holy Spirit. And
understanding the gospel doesn't come by education, my dear friends.
It comes by revelation. Now let me show you this in 1
Corinthians chapter 2. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. This
is such a powerful passage of scripture regarding this issue.
Let's begin verse 7. But we speak the wisdom of God
in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom which God ordained before
the world unto our glory, which none of the princes of this world
knew. For had they known it, they would not have crucified
the Lord of glory. But as it's written, I have not
seen, nor ear heard, neither hath entered into the heart of
man the things which God hath prepared for them that love it."
Now, most folks stop there and say, let's talk about heaven,
and nobody knows what heaven's going to be like. Well, I don't suppose
we do, but that's not what he's talking about here. He's not
talking about heaven. He's talking about the things
God has prepared on the cross of Christ for them that love
it. Remember, our Lord said, I go
and prepare a place for you. Now, listen, but, now, no, I
have seen these things, But God hath revealed them unto us by
His Spirit. For the Spirit searcheth all
things, yea, the deep things of God. For what man knoweth
the things of man, save the Spirit of man which is in him? Even
so, the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.
Now, how can you know what's going on in my mind? You can't. The only one who knows what's
going on in my mind is me. I know what's going on there.
You can't know what's going on in God's mind. God, the Holy
Spirit does, because He's God. He knows what's going on in God's
mind. He's the one who makes it known. Let's go on reading.
He says in verse 12, Now we've received not the spirit of the
world, but the spirit which is of God, that we might know the
things that are freely given to us of God. Which things also
we speak. We talk about this. Not in the
words which man's wisdom teaches, but which the Holy Ghost teaches.
Comparing spiritual things with spiritual, but the natural man
receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness
unto him. Neither can he know them, because
they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual. Now
that word there is not the way people use it. Well, I'm a spiritual
person. No, you're not. You wouldn't even say that if
you were. This is somebody who has the Holy Spirit. All God's
people are spiritual people. But he that spiritual discerns,
judges, has an understanding of all things. Yet he himself
is judge of no man. The natural man can't understand
him. For who has known the mind of
the Lord that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of
Christ. Now, back to our text. While
he was a light to his people, look what he was to those who
did not believe. Exodus 14, verse 19. And the angel of God, which went
before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them. And the
pillar of cloud went from before their face and stood behind them.
And it came between the camp of the Egyptians and the camp
of Israel. And it was a cloud and darkness to them. Same cloud, but it was darkness
to them. They couldn't see. They could
see no light. But what was it to Israel? It gave light by night to thee,
so that the one came not near the other all the night. Now,
if you have some understanding, it's because he gave you that
light. And if you don't see, that's what he is to an unbeliever.
He's darkness to an unbeliever. It doesn't even make any sense.
Now, in our text, this cloudy pillar was a guide to lead them. When he moved, they moved. And
when he stopped, they stopped. They would follow this pillar
when it moved. That is the walk of faith, and
they would rest when it rested. That is the rest of faith. As
many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of
God. Now, look back there in Exodus
14. Let's read these verses again, verses 19 and 20. And the angel of God, which went
before the camp of Israel, removed and went behind them. And the
pillar of the cloud went from before their face and stood between
them. And it came between the camp
of the Egyptians and the camp of Israel. And it was a cloud
and darkness to them, but it gave light by night to these,
so that the one came not near the other all that night. He
was the difference. He was the difference between
the Egyptians and Israel. Now, I want you to think about
this. It may be, I don't know, it may be that person beside
you doesn't know the Lord, and you do. It may be you have a
sibling who was raised up in the same home, had the same raising,
had the same set of values brought on him. You believe the gospel
and they don't. What's the difference? It's God
the Holy Spirit. He gave you life. He gave you
a heart to believe. He gave you eyes to see. He birthed
you into the kingdom. You're a partaker of the divine
nature. As many as are led by the Spirit
of God, everyone that's born of the Spirit, if you think about
being born of the Spirit of God, this is a supernatural thing.
This is an almighty thing, and He Himself is the difference.
The reason you believe and the other fellow doesn't is not because
you're smarter than them. It's not because you're more
intelligent. It's not because you're more spiritual. It's because
God, the Holy Spirit, gave you life. He didn't give that other
one life. He is the difference. You see, Christ is altogether
lovely. And that other person doesn't. Why is that? The difference is
God, the Holy Spirit. Remember that passage of Scripture.
Look in Exodus chapter 11. Verse 7, But against any of the
children of Israel shall not a dog move his tongue, against
man or beast, that you may know how that the Lord doth put a
difference between the Egyptians and Israel. And certainly a part
of that difference is the work of God, the Holy Spirit. I have
the Spirit of God. What's that scripture? No man,
it's in 1 Corinthians 12, no man speaks No man says that Jesus
is accursed, speaks by the Spirit of God, but everybody who says
that Jesus is Lord, he says so by the Holy Spirit. That's just
not talking about audibly saying it. That means in your heart
you believe it. If you believe that Jesus Christ
is Lord, if you really believe that, and you're happy it's that
way, that's because of the Spirit of God. He Himself is the difference. As many as were led by the Spirit
of God, as many as are led by the Spirit of God, not everybody
is led by the Spirit of God, but as many as are, they are
the sons of God. Now, notice something else in
Exodus chapter 14 verse 19. I like thinking about this in
relation to the Holy Spirit. And the angel of God which went
before the camp of Israel, he was right out in front of them,
he removed and went behind them. pillar of cloud went from before
their face and stood behind them. If all I have him as is a guide
to lead me, I'm in trouble. If that's all he is, as a guide
to lead me, I'm in trouble. You see, I need him behind me.
I need Him behind me to protect me from behind the things I don't
see. But not only do I need Him behind me, I need Him behind
me to push me to follow His lead. I won't even follow His lead
unless I have Him behind me pushing me in that direction and causing
me to do that. Aren't you thankful for God's
watchdogs? Surely goodness and mercy shall what? Follow me. Follow me. Isn't that
wonderful? You can't even see when you're
being followed. You might be aware of it sometimes, sometimes
you're not. But you know, He's always following the believer. And He's
always pushing us in the right direction. I'm so thankful for
the Holy Spirit in that sense. I'm thankful for His lead, no
doubt. And I want to keep my eyes on
Him and never look anywhere else. But thank God, He's behind me,
protecting me. I can't see the wolves coming
in that direction, but He's there protecting me. He's not only
before us, He's behind us, He's around about us. He's completely
covering. Thank God for God, the Holy Spirit. You know, the Holy Spirit is
called several times in the New Testament, a seal. A seal. We're sealed until the day of
redemption. Now, what's a seal? Well, if
you've ever canned, what happens when you can? You know, when
that sealing noise, whatever it is, some of you know more
about canning than I do. I don't know anything about canning. I've watched my grandma
do it, but I don't know anything. But I know it puffs when it's sealed.
It pops, and you know what that means? What's in that can is
now preserved. It's preserved. God, the Holy
Spirit, is my preservative. The reason I'm preserved, the
reason I continue all the way to the end, is because of His
Spirit within me, His nature in me. God, the Holy Spirit,
is the preservative. He's the earnest. He's called
the earnest of our inheritance. What's an earnest? An earnest
is a down payment. I've already got the down payment.
I've got God, the Holy Spirit in me, and that's why I'm going
to be brought into glory. The down payment's already been
given. I'm secure in God, the Holy Spirit. I'm secure in the
Lord Jesus Christ. God, the Holy Spirit gives me grace to see
that. He's the one who preserves me and keeps me looking to Christ.
Look over in Exodus chapter 14, verse 24. I love this. Verse
23, Exodus 14, verse 23. And the Egyptians pursued and
went in after them in the midst of the sea, even all Pharaoh's
horses, his chariots, and his horsemen. And it came to pass
that in the morning watch, the Lord looked unto the host of
the Egyptians through the pillar of fire and at the cloud. Notice God looks through this
pillar. And he troubled the host of the Egyptians. And he took
off their chariot wheels. He knocked the wheels off their
chariots while they're down pursuing. And all of a sudden, the wheels
come off their chariots. You reckon they were scared to
death? Who did this? It was the Lord who did it. He
looked at them through this cloud. It was the Lord who defeated
their enemies. Now, before we go on reading, look up in verse
13. of Exodus chapter 14. God the Father fights my battles
in His covenant of grace. Everything's already been decreed.
My salvation was decreed by God the Father. God the Son fought
my battle for me on Calvary's tree. He put away my sin. He
accomplished my salvation. And God the Holy Spirit fights
my battles for me right now. He empowers me and enables me
to believe on Christ. He defeats my enemies for me.
He is God, the Holy Spirit. He's just as much God as God
the Father and God the Son. Now, he's got a different...
He's subordinate to God the Father and God the Son. He's equal to
God the Father and God the Son, but he is subordinate in his
office. He's the Spirit of Christ. The
Son is subordinate to the Father. The Spirit is subordinate to
the Father and the Son, but equally God. And just as much a part
of salvation as the other persons of the Godhead. Now, according
to Psalm 105, verse 39, he was a covering to the children of
Israel. Now, evidently, this cloud, it
came up like a mushroom, like those explosions, an atomic explosion
where mushrooms out. This cloud came up as a mushroom.
And here those people were out in the wilderness, out in the
desert with the hot sun. But you know, that sun didn't
beat on them. They were protected by this cloud. They were comforted
by this cloud. Now, what is the name that the
Lord Jesus Christ gives to the Holy Spirit? The Comforter. The Comforter. I can't express
how much it comforts me to know that all my sin is put away by
the blood of Christ. I've got no sin. You know who
gives me that comfort? God the Holy Spirit. It's not
me figuring this out. It's God the Holy Spirit. I can't
express the comfort it gives me that I have the very righteousness
of Jesus Christ. That comforts me so much. I can
come into God's presence with boldness. I can come into God's
presence with confidence, not afraid, knowing that I'm accepted
for Christ's sake. I know that God hears my prayer.
You know, that comforts me. I've got the very ear of God.
God hears what I've got to say. Was that the pleasure of the
preacher? It has nothing to do with it. He hears my prayer for
Christ's sake. And it's God the Holy Spirit
who teaches me that. He comforts me. Oh, the comfort
of the gospel. He is the divine comforter. He shielded the children of Israel
from all the discomfort they would have had from those hot
rays. And He would never leave them. Turn with me to the book
of Nehemiah. Nehemiah. Chronicles, Ezra, Nehemiah
9, verse 16. But they and our fathers,
Nehemiah 9, verse 16, but they and our fathers dealt proudly,
and hardened their necks, and hearkened not to thy commandments,
and refused to obey, neither were mindful of thy wonders that
thou didst. among them, but hardened their
necks, and in their rebellion appointed a captain to return
to their bondage. But thou art to God ready to
pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to and of great kindness,
and forsookest them not. Yea, when they had made them
a molten calf, and said, This is thy God that brought thee
up out of Egypt, and had wrought great provocations, yet thou
in thy manifold mercies forsookest them not in the wilderness. The
pillar of cloud departed not from them by day, to leave them
in the neither the pillar of fire by night to show them light
and the way wherein they should go. In spite of all that they
were, he was not taken away." Have you ever worried about grieving
the Holy Spirit to the point that he would leave you? For
whatever reason, I have feared that. I can remember times where
I thought he was gone for good. I can remember The horrible,
empty feeling of that, feeling that I'd send away the day of
grace. I'd grieve the Holy Spirit, and
there was no hope for me. He'd never come back. I can remember. You know what? Even when I felt
that, He was still there. He has promised to never leave. And the reason you continue to
believe the Gospel is because the cloudy pillar will not leave
you. You see, God is a gracious God,
slow to anger, pitiful of great kindness. And that's the reason
you persevere in the faith. It's not because of any strength
of your part. You know that. It's because of God, the Holy
Spirit. The Holy Spirit and the believer.
He's a gift. Aren't you thankful for Him as
the gift of God? He is the one by whom God speaks. He's taken to them in the cloudy
pillar. Psalm 99, 7. He's the one who
rests over the mercy seat. He always brings us back to the
blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. The lid of propitiation. He's
our light. He's our guide. He is the difference
between the saved and the lost. He is our covering. He is the
one behind us. He is the one who fights for
us, and He is the one who will never leave us. Let's look at
one last scripture. Luke chapter 11. Verse 11. If a son shall ask bread of any
of you that's a father, Dad, I'm hungry. Will he give him
a stone? Of course not. If he asks for a fish, will he
for a fish give him a serpent? Of course not. If he shall ask
an egg, will he offer him a scorpion? Of course not. Now if you then,
being evil. What truer words ever said. This
Lord speaking to his people. He says, if you then, being evil. That's me. Shoe fits wear it. That's me. If you then, being
evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much
more shall your Heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them
that ask Him. You know what I'm going to do
right now? I'm going to start asking. Let's
pray together. Lord, our Father, in Christ's
name, we give thanks for Your blessed Spirit the Spirit of
God. And, Lord, we ask in Christ's
name that we might have the Holy Spirit, that we might be filled
with the Holy Spirit, speaking to ourselves in psalms and hymns
and spiritual songs, singing and making melody in our hearts
unto Thee. Lord, grant us, graciously bestow
us Thy Spirit, that we might trust Thy Son alone. Lord, by
His grace and power, enable us to glory only in the cross of
the Lord Jesus Christ. Lord, how we thank You that Your
Spirit abides on the tabernacle, the person of Thy dear Son, and
the mercy sees His precious blood. Lord, we delight, we rest in,
we have confidence in Thy dear Son, and Lord, we confess that's
the work of Thy blessed Spirit. Now bless this message for your
glory and for our good. In Christ's name we pray. Amen.