Let's open our Bibles tonight
to 2 Timothy chapter 1. 2 Timothy chapter 1. Paul, an apostle
of Jesus Christ by the will of God, According to the promise
of life which is in Christ Jesus to Timothy, my dearly beloved
son, grace, mercy, and peace from God the Father and Christ
Jesus our Lord. I thank God whom I serve from
my forefathers with pure conscience that without ceasing I have remembrance
of thee in my prayers night and day. Greatly desiring to see
thee, Be mindful of thy tears that I may be filled with joy.
When I call to remembrance the unfain faith that is in thee,
which dwelt first in thy grandmother Lois and thy mother Eunice, and
I am persuaded that in thee also. Wherefore I put thee in remembrance
that thou stir up the gift of God which is in thee by the putting
on of my hands. For God hath not given us a spirit
of fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. Be not thou therefore ashamed
of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner, but be
ye thou partaker of the afflictions of the gospel according to the
power of God, who hath saved us and called us with an holy
calling, not according to our works, but according to his own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began, but is now made manifest by the appearing of
our Savior, Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death and hath
brought life and immortality to light through the gospel,
whereunto I am appointed a preacher and an apostle and a teacher
of the Gentiles, for the which cause I also suffer these things. Nevertheless, I'm not ashamed,
for I know whom I have believed, and I'm persuaded that he is
able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that
day. Hold fast the form of sound words
which thou hast heard of me in faith and love which is in Christ
Jesus. The good thing which was committed
unto thee, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. I'm going to stop my reading
here and I have entitled the message tonight, The New Resident. The New Resident. I'm following
up on my message last Wednesday evening when I said that Our
experience of salvation begins with God the Holy Spirit bringing
us into new life, the new birth, which the Lord Jesus, speaking
of the new birth, said, so is everyone that is born of the
Spirit. Every child of God, every believer
in the Lord Jesus Christ is born of the Spirit, born again, born
from above. Paul, in Ephesians 1, gives us
this order, in whom, referring to Christ, in whom you also trusted
after, after you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your
salvation, in whom also after that you believed, you were sealed
with that Holy Spirit of promise. which is the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchased possession under the praise of
his glory. The Holy Spirit, who is the author
of the new birth, he seals every believer with his presence. He is the seal. The Holy Spirit
seals every newborn child of God with his spirit, he becomes
a new resident in the soul. Previous, before we are born
again of the spirit of God, the man was possessed by another
owner, that is Satan. But Satan has been dispossessed
of his house, the strong man armed. has dispossessed him of
the soul of his people. And now he comes, God, the Holy
Spirit comes to reside in us, in every believer. Notice what
Paul said to Timothy here in verse 14. That good thing which
was committed unto thee, keep, keep by the Holy Ghost, which
dwelleth in us. The new resident in the soul
of every child of God is God the Holy Ghost, God the Holy
Spirit, keep by the Holy Ghost which dwelleth in us. Now a person
might say, Well, that refers to preachers. That refers to
men like Paul and men like Timothy, apostles and preachers of the
gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. A person might say that, but
they would be wrong. They would be wrong to believe
that it is only preachers and apostles and men called to the
ministry in which God the Holy Spirit comes to live, because
we know that's not so. He comes to dwell in the house
and the soul of every believer, keep by the Holy Ghost, which
dwelleth in us. To the believers, the fact that
this doesn't just refer to preachers or apostles, to the believers
in the church at Corinth. And you know, the scriptures
well enough to know that Corinth, the church there, it had its
problems. And it had its problems. There were divisions in the church.
Paul said they were carnal. But even so, in first Corinthians
three and verse 16, he wrote to them saying, no, you not that
you are the temple of God and that the spirit of God dwelleth
in you. The spirit of God dwelleth in
you. And also in Romans eight in verse
nine. But you are not in the flesh,
but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit
of Christ, he is none of his. Now what does he mean, you are
not in the flesh, but in the Spirit? We still live in the
flesh, don't we? We're still in this world, we're
still in this body of flesh. But we've been born again, that's
what he has reference to. We've been born again of the
Spirit of God. And proof, proof of that new
birth is God the Holy Spirit, Christ in you, the hope of glory. The Lord Jesus, think about this.
We all love that story, that history, when the Lord Jesus
Christ spoke to that woman at the well, recorded in John chapter
four. And he told her this, among other
things. But he said, the water that I
shall give him. Remember, he said, if you would
have asked of me, I would have given you living water. What
kind of water is that? Living water. He said, the water
that I shall give him, and here's my point, shall be in him, the
water that I shall give him." The water there, of course, refers
to God, the Holy Spirit, and the grace of God. The water that
I shall give him shall be in him, a well of water springing
up unto everlasting life. So the point is, a new resident
in the soul when a person is born again of the Spirit of God. Now, I have three parts to the
message this evening. First, I want us to see an Old
Testament type of this truth. An Old Testament type of this
truth that God the Holy Spirit comes to dwell in every believer. And the Holy Spirit comes to
dwell in every believer on the ground of the redemption by the
blood of Jesus Christ. Now, this type that we're going
to look at, this type was in the cleansing of the leper. Remember
a leper, which pictures, of course, sin. Leprosy pictures sin. a leper who was cleansed. There
was a certain ceremony. You had to go to the priest.
If you thought you had leprosy, you didn't go to the doctor.
Even though it was a physical infirmity, but you went to the
priest. The doctor didn't examine you
to say whether it was leprosy or not. No, you went to the priest
and the priest examined to see if it was leprosy. And if it
were, then there were certain things that a man who had leprosy
had to experience. And one thing that I always think
of is he had to get out of the camp. He had to leave his family. It caused separation, in other
words. And that's what sin does, right?
It causes separation. When Adam and Eve were in the
garden as God had created them, there was communion. There was
communion between man and his God. But when Adam sinned, when
man sinned, then there was that separation, that wall that kept
man apart from God. And it was sin. It was sin. And a leper, he had to go out
of the camp. He was separated from the temple. He was separated from the tabernacle
before they had a temple. He was separated from his wife,
he was separated from his children, he was just separated. That's
what death is, isn't it? It's separation. That's what death is. When the
soul is separated from the body, we have physical death. And eternal
death is being separated from God throughout all eternity. But turn back with me, if you
will, to Leviticus chapter 14. All that we have in the law of
God concerning leprosy is found in Leviticus, which we recognize
that refers to the priest, doesn't it? Leviticus, the tribe of Levi. And it's all given to us, all
the law concerning leprosy in chapters 13 and 14. But I want us to look here in
chapter 14 at the cleansing of the leper. What a picture we
have here, a type we have of God the Holy Spirit who comes
to live in every believer. And it is because of the blood,
the blood of Jesus Christ. Here, let's begin reading in
verse 14. Leviticus 14 and verse 14. And the priest shall take
some of the blood of the trespass offering and the priest shall
put it upon the tip of the right ear of him that is to be cleansed
and upon the thumb of his right hand and upon the great toe of
his right foot. And the priest shall take some
of the log of oil. He's got a handful of oil. He'll
take some of the log of oil and pour it into the palm of his
own left hand and the priest shall dip his right finger in
the oil that is in his left hand and shall sprinkle of the oil
with his finger seven times before the Lord, that is before the
tabernacle, and of the rest of the oil that is in his hand shall
the priest put upon the tip of the right ear of him that is
to be cleansed, and upon the thumb of his right hand, and
upon the great toe of his right foot, upon the blood of the trespass
offering. What comes first? The blood,
right? It's never put the oil on the
tip of his right ear, or his thumb, or his big toe. First,
first the blood. The coming of the Holy Spirit
is based upon The blood, the redemption of Christ, the atonement
of Christ that the Holy Spirit takes up residence in those who
are born again. That's a beautiful type, isn't
it? That's a beautiful type. The blood comes first. Brother
Bill quoted that scripture in Revelation just a little while
ago before we sang that hymn, O Happy Day. who loved us, Christ, who loved
us and washed us from our sins in his own blood. Blood comes
first, redeemed by blood, the atoning blood of Jesus Christ,
and then comes oil, which is a picture of God the Holy Spirit
who comes to dwell in the hearts of his people. Now, the second
thing, The second part of this message, the Holy Spirit indwells
believers, and this reminds us of three things, three very simple
things. Number one, closeness. The Holy
Spirit dwells in us, and it reminds us of the closeness. A person
dwelling in a house is closer, and I'm not talking about location
either. When I say this, a person dwelling
in a house is closer than a person dwelling somewhere else. Not
just the distance, but closer, the intimacy, intimacy that exists. I mean, everyone that lives in
my house, I know, and they know me. The same is true of you,
right? You wouldn't like to live in
a house full of strangers. The Holy Spirit, Him dwelling
in us, reminds us of His closeness. Now, as God, He's omnipresent. The psalmist said, if I make
my bed in hell, thou art there. He's everywhere present, as is
the Father and the eternal Son of God. But the scriptures teach
us that There are certain places where God manifests His presence,
His glory, His power. In fact, the throne room, as
we talk about, let us come boldly to the throne. Well, we know
that that's not a literal throne that we come to, but heaven is
a place where God manifests His presence in a special way, even
though He's everywhere. You can't say, well, he's just
in heaven. Nobody's there in a special way, right? He manifests
his presence in that home, that place. In my father's house are
many dwelling places. In the father's house, God Almighty
is there in a special way. And the same is true of God the
Holy Spirit. But where he manifests himself,
He's there in a special way. He's close. God, the Holy Spirit,
lives in you. He comes to dwell in us, in every
child of God. I think of this verse in Isaiah
57, which says, For thus saith the High and Lofty One that inhabiteth
eternity, whose name is Holy. Now listen. I dwell in the high
and holy place. God says, I dwell in the high
and holy place, but that's not the only place he says he dwells. With him also that is of a contrite
spirit, to revive the spirit of the humble. The closeness,
think of him dwelling in you tonight the closeness of God
the Holy Spirit. Yes, He's everywhere. I understand
that. But He's in every child of God
in a special way. Look with me in John 14, just
a moment. John chapter 14 and verse 17,
the words of the Lord Even the spirit of truth, whom the world
cannot receive because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him,
but you know him, for he dwelleth with you and shall be in you. The world, that is the world
of lost men and women, they do not know him. They've never experienced
his saving grace. But you know him. He's talking
to his disciples. You know him. You know him. He's begun a work of grace in
you. You've been born again. You know him for he dwelleth
with you and shall be in you. So the first thing that we are
reminded of when we think of the Holy Spirit in dwelling believers
is that closeness. He said he would never leave
us nor forsake us. The second thing, permanency.
I'm sure that it's just me, but the word dwell, dwell. means even more than just to
say that he lives in us. I know it's just saying the same
thing, but just the way I, I don't use that word dwell that much
to begin with. And it just seems like to read
that he dwelleth in us, it means even more than just to say that
he lives in us. He doesn't come as a visitor,
but he comes as a permanent resident. He's the earnest of our inheritance
until the redemption of the purchase possession. And that's a wonderful
promise when we think about the purchase possession as more than
just a soul and spirit, it includes a body. And this body that's
buried out of our sight, buried into the ground, turns back to
the dust, but the Holy Spirit is still watching over those
molecules or whatever's left, whatever's left. He's earnest. He's earnest that
that body, and I think about some of the mortars we've read
about, some of the men like, was it, I think it was William
Tyndall. They hated him so much, the religious
people, hated him so much for or translating the Bible into
English so people could read it and understand it. They had
him killed, and then a few years later, they dug up his bones,
burned them, and threw them in the Danube River. I think it
was the Danube. You say, where are those remains?
God knows. God knows. He's the earnest of
our inheritance. Permanency. He'll never leave
us. He'll never forsake us. The Lord
Jesus purchased us with his blood. And he remains the earnest until
our bodies are also redeemed from the grave. And then a third
thing that his dwelling in us reminds us of ownership. I say
this because turn with me to 1 Corinthians 6. Ownership. In verses 19 and 20, What? What? No, you're not. That your body is the temple
of the Holy Ghost, which is in you, which you have of God, and
you are not your own. You're not your own. You've been
bought with a price, or you're bought with a price. The fact
that God the Holy Spirit lives in us, the fact that our bodies
become His temple, reminds us that He owns us. He's bought
us. His dwelling in us means that
our body is His temple. And then, you're not your own,
for you are bought with a price. Therefore, glorify God in your
body and in your spirit, which are God's. glorify God not only
in our soul, but in our body. Arthur Pink, in his book on the
Holy Spirit, he considered, or he gave several marks that he
considered, or several things that he considered to be marks
of those in which the Spirit of God dwells. And two of the
marks that he gives are these. You may know if the Spirit of
God dwells in you by these two marks. Number one, a spirit of
prayer. And number two, a spiritual frame
of mind. And he gives two verses for this. Let's look at them. For spirit
of prayer, look in Romans chapter eight. Well, actually both of
these are found in Romans eight. For a spirit of prayer, he cites
Romans 8 and verse 26. Likewise, the spirit also helpeth
our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as
we ought, but the spirit itself maketh intercession for us with
groanings which cannot be uttered. Where God the Holy Spirit dwells,
there is a spirit of prayer. God's people pray, don't they?
God's people pray. Remember what the Lord told that man, I can't think of his
name right now, that he sent to Saul of Tarsus? The man told
the Lord, he said, I've heard of that man. I've heard of Saul.
He's quite a guy, you know. He's imprisoned people. He's
beat people. And the Lord just said, he's
praying. He's praying. In other words,
he's changed. He's now praying. God the Holy
Spirit in him, a spirit of prayer. And then, A spiritual frame of
mind, he quotes verses five and six here, Romans eight. For they
that are after the flesh do mind the things of the flesh, but
they that are after the spirit, the things of the spirit. For
to be carnally minded is death, but to be spiritually minded
is life and peace. Now, the last part of my message,
a cause of encouragement. Turn back with me to 2 Timothy.
where we began just a few minutes ago, 2 Timothy chapter one. You look at the context in which
verse 14 is given in which we see the Holy Ghost which dwelleth
in us. If we look at the context here,
it seems that Timothy Even though he was Paul's son in the faith
and he was used of God, but he seemed to be somewhat dismayed
by the treatment that the gospel and the ministers of the gospel
received in this world. But Paul reminds him, God hasn't
given us a spirit of fear and we must not be ashamed of the
gospel. And Paul refers to the gospel
here in this passage, first of all, in verse eight, as the testimony
of our Lord. And then in verse 14, that good
thing. In times of discouragement, in
times of discouragement, let's not forget that God the Holy
Spirit lives in us. A word of encouragement, a cause
for encouragement. times of discouragement, let's
not give up and throw in the towel and say, well, what's the
use? No, let's remind ourselves, God, the Holy Spirit, indwells
us. And John wrote, you are the children
of God, little children, and have overcome them. Now listen,
because greater is he that is in you than he that is in the
world. Who's he talking about there?
Talking about Satan, isn't he? He that is in the world. Greater
is he that is in you. Who's that? God, the Holy Spirit. He lives in us. When tempted
to discouragement or despair, let this truth, this truth of
the fact, you say, well, I don't feel it. We hadn't read anything,
any verse here that said anything about feeling. Have we? We haven't. No. By faith, we
believe what the word of God tells us. So I just don't feel
like he's living in me. Whether you feel it or not, if
you are born again of the spirit, he lives in you. And there's
no passage of scripture, there's no text in the word of God that
tells you that if you feel a certain way, that means God, the Holy
Spirit lives in you. No, we walk by faith, not by
sight. Well, I pray that the Lord would
bless this truth to all of us here tonight. Wonderful truth,
isn't it? Wonderful truth to think that
our bodies, that Christ lives in you, that he lives in me,
lives in every believer. God the Holy Spirit dwells in
us. What a tremendous blessing. Brother
Bill, if you will come.