Holy Spirit and Power #6
$1.00
Discover how the Holy Spirit within you is God’s greatest down payment, sealing your eternal value and empowering you to fulfill your divine purpose.
Description
Holy Spirit Power Overview
In this sixth installment of his extended series on the Holy Spirit, Pastor Dr. William of NTC Ministries delivers a rich and doctrinally grounded message titled Holy Spirit and Power #6, recorded on August 31, 2020. Building on previous sessions, this message focuses on the Holy Spirit dwelling within the believer, confronting a troubling Barna Group survey revealing that nearly 60 percent of professing Christians do not believe the Holy Spirit is a living person. Pastor Dr. William firmly establishes the co-equal, co-eternal nature of the Holy Spirit within the Trinity and explains His distinct role as the divine Governor sent to earth after Christ’s ascension. Drawing from Ezekiel 36:25-27 and Ephesians 1:13-14, the message unpacks the powerful truth that the Holy Spirit is God’s earnest payment, a down payment of divine inheritance placed within every born-again believer. Using a compelling real estate illustration, Pastor Dr. William shows how God’s redemptive purchase sets the eternal value of every human soul. The session also draws from the book of Esther, using King Ahasuerus’s lavish feast as a type and shadow of God inviting His people into His royal court. Listeners are called to yield not to willpower but to the empowering presence of the Holy Spirit to fulfill their God-given purpose.
Holy Spirit Power Outline
- 0:00:00 – Opening Worship and Congregational Praise: The service opens with extended congregational worship, lifting up praise to God and preparing hearts to receive the Word.
- 0:18:00 – Tithing, Announcements, and Kingdom Generosity: Pastor Paul addresses the congregation on faithful giving, Malachi 3, missions support, and upcoming school announcements, framing generosity as kingdom advancement.
- 0:35:00 – Introduction to the Series and the Holy Spirit Survey: Pastor Dr. William introduces the sixth message in the series, citing the alarming Barna Group statistic that nearly 60 percent of Christians do not believe the Holy Spirit is a living entity.
- 0:45:00 – The Holy Spirit as Co-Equal Member of the Trinity: A theological foundation is laid establishing the Holy Spirit as fully God, co-equal with the Father and Son, distinct in person, omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal.
- 0:55:00 – Ezekiel’s Prophecy and the Spirit Within: Ezekiel 36:25-27 is opened to show God’s redemptive promise: a new heart, a new spirit, and the indwelling Holy Spirit who empowers believers to walk in God’s statutes.
- 1:05:00 – The Holy Spirit as Earnest Down Payment: Ephesians 1:13-14 is expounded to reveal the Holy Spirit as the earnest of our inheritance, the greater portion of God’s redemptive guarantee sealed within every believer.
- 1:15:00 – The Real Estate Illustration and Divine Value: Pastor Dr. William shares a personal story of selling a church building to illustrate how the buyer sets the value, just as God set the infinite value of every soul through redemption.
- 1:25:00 – Esther Chapter One and the King’s Feast: King Ahasuerus’s 180-day feast and his invitation to all people into his royal garden are presented as a type and shadow of God inviting the redeemed into His throne room of grace.
- 1:35:00 – Yielding to the Spirit Rather Than Willpower: Pastor Dr. William closes by contrasting will worship with Spirit-empowered living, calling believers to yield to the Holy Spirit rather than rely on personal strength to fulfill God’s call.
Scripture References
Ezekiel 36:25-27, Ephesians 1:13-14, Romans 8:11, Malachi 3, Judges 21:25, Psalms
Key Takeaways
- The Holy Spirit is not a symbol or force but a living, co-equal, co-eternal Person of the Trinity who dwells within every born-again believer.
- God gave the Holy Spirit as the earnest, or down payment, of our inheritance, representing the greater portion of His redemptive guarantee rather than a lesser one.
- The Holy Spirit was given to make it possible for believers to walk in God’s statutes, not through human willpower but through divine empowerment.
- Just as a buyer sets the value of a property by what they pay, God set the infinite value of every human soul through the blood of Jesus Christ.
- King Ahasuerus inviting all people into his royal garden is a type and shadow of God inviting the redeemed boldly into His throne room of grace and mercy.
- Refusing the Holy Spirit or denying His personhood is an antichrist spirit that robs the believer of purpose, power, and the fullness of redemption.
- Believers are called not to will worship or self-reliance but to yield daily to the Holy Spirit, trusting Him to perfect everything that concerns them.
Holy Spirit Power Notes
The Holy Spirit Is Fully God
Pastor Dr. William opens the doctrinal core of this message by directly addressing the dangerous misconception that the Holy Spirit is merely a symbol. Citing the Barna Group survey showing nearly 60 percent of professing Christians do not believe the Holy Spirit is a living being, he firmly establishes the biblical truth that the Holy Spirit is co-equal and co-eternal with God the Father and God the Son. He possesses His own will, His own emotions, and distributes spiritual gifts as He wills. He is omnipotent, omnipresent, and eternal, and to reject Him is to operate under an antichrist spirit, since the word Christ itself refers to the anointing of God.
Ezekiel’s Promise Fulfilled in Every Believer
The prophetic passage of Ezekiel 36:25-27 serves as the theological anchor for understanding what happens at the moment of salvation. God promised to sprinkle clean water on His people, give them a new heart, remove the heart of stone, and place His Spirit within them. The Message Bible paraphrase reinforces this beautifully: God makes it possible for believers to do what He commands. This is not a call to try harder or pray louder through personal strength. It is a divine enablement, the Holy Spirit within the believer working to accomplish what no amount of human effort could ever achieve on its own.
A Down Payment Worth More Than the Debt
Using a vivid real estate illustration drawn from personal experience, Pastor Dr. William explains Ephesians 1:13-14 in a way that reframes how believers understand their worth before God. Just as a buyer’s purchase price sets the legal value of a property, God set the eternal value of every redeemed soul through the blood of Jesus. The Holy Spirit given at salvation is the earnest money, the down payment, and Pastor Dr. William argues it is the greater portion, not the lesser. If God gave the Holy Spirit as the down payment, what awaits in the fullness of the inheritance is beyond comprehension, not less than what we already have.
King Ahasuerus as Type and Shadow
The opening chapter of Esther provides a rich typological illustration. King Ahasuerus ruled 127 provinces and threw a feast lasting 180 days, inviting everyone from servant to prince into his own royal garden. The gold, silver, marble, and linen of his courts paint a picture of unimaginable splendor. Pastor Dr. William uses this image to represent God’s open invitation to the redeemed, calling them boldly into His throne room of grace. Many believers, distracted by news cycles and cultural chaos, fail to enter that place of expectancy. Yet the King has issued the invitation, the door is open, and the court is more glorious than anything the world can offer.
Willpower Versus Spirit-Empowered Living
One of the most practically challenging sections of this message deals with the trap of will worship, the self-reliant effort to perform for God through personal determination. Pastor Dr. William points to Israel’s repeated pattern of declaring commitment to God in one breath and then opposing Him in the next as the natural outcome of depending on the flesh. He draws the application directly into everyday life, whether dealing with habitual struggles or attempting to fulfill a divine call. The answer is not greater effort but greater surrender, yielding to the Holy Spirit, trusting His empowerment, and walking in confidence that He who began a good work will perfect it.
Seeing Others Through Redemptive Value
A profound application emerges from the real estate analogy: if God paid the price of His own Son for every human being, then every person carries an infinite redemptive value in His sight. Pastor Dr. William challenges believers to see others through that same lens rather than through the filters of race, social status, political affiliation, or cultural background. The world around us assigns worth based on sameness and agreement, but the kingdom of God assigns worth based on what was paid at Calvary. This perspective, cultivated by the Holy Spirit within, is what equips the church to lead the greatest season of evangelism and revival the world has ever seen.
Frequently Asked Questions
What does it mean that the Holy Spirit is the earnest of our inheritance?
Ephesians 1:13-14 describes the Holy Spirit as the earnest, or down payment, of the believer’s inheritance until the full redemption of God’s purchased possession is complete. Just as earnest money in a real estate transaction signals a certain and binding commitment, the Holy Spirit given at salvation is God’s guarantee that everything He has promised will be fully delivered. This means the presence of the Holy Spirit in a believer’s life is not a small portion but the most powerful assurance of eternal inheritance.
Is the Holy Spirit a real person or just a symbol of God’s power?
The Bible clearly presents the Holy Spirit as a distinct, living Person of the Trinity, not merely a symbol or impersonal force. He possesses a will, emotions, and intellect, and He distributes spiritual gifts as He chooses according to 1 Corinthians 12. He is co-equal with God the Father and God the Son, and to deny His personhood, as a significant portion of professing Christians do according to the Barna Group, is a serious doctrinal error that undermines the full experience of salvation.
What does Ezekiel 36:25-27 teach about the Holy Spirit?
Ezekiel 36:25-27 contains one of the most profound Old Testament prophecies about the new covenant work of the Holy Spirit. God promised to cleanse His people, give them a new heart, remove the heart of stone, and place His own Spirit within them to cause them to walk in His statutes. This passage reveals that holy living is not achieved through human willpower but through the divine empowerment of the indwelling Spirit, who makes it possible to do what God commands.
What is the difference between will worship and Spirit-empowered living?
Will worship refers to relying on personal determination and self-effort to obey God and fulfill His calling, a pattern the Apostle Paul warned against in his letters. Spirit-empowered living, by contrast, means yielding daily to the Holy Spirit, trusting His guidance, and having confidence that God will perfect what concerns the believer. Israel’s repeated failure in the wilderness illustrates the futility of self-reliance, while the promise of Ezekiel 36 and Romans 8:11 point to the only power sufficient to accomplish God’s purposes.
How does the book of Esther relate to the Holy Spirit?
King Ahasuerus in Esther chapter one serves as a type and shadow of God’s generous invitation to His people. Just as the king invited everyone from servant to prince into his royal garden for a lavish feast, God through Jesus Christ invites every born-again believer boldly into His throne room of grace. The beauty and abundance of the king’s court pictures the fullness of what God has prepared for those who come before Him in faith, as described in Hebrews 4:16.
Why is it important to believe in the personhood of the Holy Spirit?
Believing in the Holy Spirit as a living Person rather than an abstract symbol is foundational to experiencing the full power of the Christian life. Without this conviction, believers cannot fully receive His guidance, His comfort, His gifts, or His empowerment. Denying His personhood essentially cuts off access to the One whom Jesus promised would lead believers into all truth, as recorded in John 16:13. The Holy Spirit’s presence is the fulfillment of Jesus’s promise not to leave His disciples comfortless.
How does God set the value of every human soul?
Just as the purchase price paid for a property legally establishes its market value, God set the eternal and infinite value of every human soul through the redemptive price of Jesus Christ’s blood. This means no person is worthless in God’s sight, regardless of their circumstances, failures, or background. When the Holy Spirit seals a believer at salvation according to Ephesians 1:13, that sealing declares before heaven and earth the price that was paid, confirming each believer’s immeasurable worth in the kingdom of God.
What role does the Holy Spirit play in fulfilling God’s purpose for believers?
The Holy Spirit was given specifically to empower believers to fulfill the purpose for which God created and redeemed them. Romans 8:11 promises that the same Spirit who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in believers and gives life to their mortal bodies. He leads, guides, teaches, renews, and enables believers to walk in God’s statutes, not through self-effort but through divine empowerment. Without the Holy Spirit, it is impossible to consistently lay down self-will and live in alignment with God’s redemptive purposes.
