Today, we’re continuing an exploration of the Person and work of the Holy Spirit as revealed in holy scripture. I began this series in March, because I believe this prison, and even this region of America, is moving toward a denouement, which is “the climax of a chain of events, usually when something is decided or made clear.” The chain of events is something that has been orchestrated by Divine Providence that will climax in a move of God unlike anything this prison, and perhaps this Northwest region, has ever seen before. For unlike other regions of our country, the Pacific Northwest has never experienced a mighty revival; but there are many prophets in the land who have declared we will. We could call this work of God a spiritual awakening, which, unlike a revival, deeply impacts the non-Christian society to persuade many of them that Jesus truly is the Messiah spoken of by Scripture.

If there is to be a spiritual awakening in our region, I believe the Holy Spirit will be the driving force behind it. If you recall, both the Hebrew and Greek words for spirit, ruach and pneuma respectively, mean breath or wind. When the Holy Spirit came upon the 120 disciples in the upper room on the Day of Pentecost, He appeared amongst them like tongues of fire with the sound of a mighty, rushing wind – a hurricane or tornado! That is the sound of irresistible force.

As an aside, just this morning I read – quote – “the fire around Redding [California], which killed six people and incinerated 1,067 homes… is currently 41% contained. The fire burned slowly for days before winds suddenly whipped it up last week and drove it furiously through brush and timber. It burned so furiously on July 26 that it created what is called a fire whirl. The twirling tower of flame reached speeds of 143 mph, which rivaled some of the most destructive Midwest tornados, National Weather Service meteorologist Duane Dykema said. The whirl uprooted trees and tore roofs from homes, Dykema said. The California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection said the blaze had blackened nearly 206 square miles.” That’s over 132,000 acres of land.

We need to pray for the people of California, affected by the wildfires. In June, old friends of ours were forced to evacuate their home near Santa Barbara by wildfire smoke.

The images of fire and wind that these disasters evoke are symbolic of the awesome power of the Holy Spirit when He moves decisively amongst God’s people. But unlike the forces of nature, the Holy Spirit aims His destructive force in only one direction – against the dominion of Satan in the hearts of men and women. Holy Spirit force liberates souls from spiritual bondage, resulting in salvation and social transformation. Holy Spirit is the Divine driving force behind the Kingdom of God that Jesus came to inaugurate and proclaim.

I believe that we who are connected to Jesus Christ by faith here at Monroe Correctional Complex will be part of the greatest move of God this prison, and this region, have ever seen! And the reason I believe that is the death of C/O Jayme Biendl on the altar of the WSR Chapel. The murderer was a man; but the shot caller was the chief demon in the Puget Sound region, one of the most powerful dark angels in our country.

To that devil, Holy Spirit declares, “Vengeance is mine, I will repay! In due time, your foot shall slip. For the day of your calamity draws near, and your doom hastens upon you.” And as Christ’s ambassador, and chief prophet inside this prison, I declare: that demon’s days are numbered in this region! For ever seven years, I have been the torch bearer of faith that Ms. Biendl’s murder will not go unrequited. God will have His recompense when Jesus, the King of Glory, comes into Monroe Correctional Complex in a way He never has before; and the world outside will see its fruits. And you are here today, are like the servants at the wedding of Cana who were told to fill water pots with water by the Lord, when they ran out of wine. The headwaiter didn’t know where the “best” wine came from, but the servants knew! You are God’s servants, and just like that wedding, God always saves His best for last.

I have sensed that we are moving into the season where God is going to do one of the greater works that Jesus promised would come when He sent the Helper, the Holy Spirit, into the world as His divine Governor. No one terrifies Satan and his demons like the Holy Spirit. When Jesus came into Galilee in the power of the Spirit after his 40 days of testing, He immediately began driving demons out of people who had secretly tormented them for unknown millennia. Jesus was the only prophet of God under the old covenant ever anointed to do that; and He did that because the Holy Spirit was upon Him without measure. Jesus was the prophet who inaugurated the New Covenant by His death and resurrection; and under that covenant, all of us are commissioned to be His agents in warring against the kingdom of darkness.

As soon as I began this preaching series on the Holy Spirit, demonic opposition began ramping up. They know how devastating teaching about the Holy Spirit is when men like you begin to believe that you are Holy Spirit-anointed agents of Christ’s kingdom.

The devil and his host sense that God is afoot in this prison; and that is why he has thrown attacks against me from every side this year. In over nine years of service in DOC, I have never experienced so many attacks and accusations inside this prison, and attacks on people close to me outside. The same could be said of MSU’s senior volunteer, John Thaler-Sanborn. The versatility and synchronization of these attacks reminds me of those hurled by Satan against Job, although nowhere near as devastating. That’s because Jesus stripped Satan and his principalities of most of their power and freedom to operate. They cannot harm me or my family directly, because God has assigned me strong, angelic protection. The devils’ days are numbered and they know it.

Last month, I preached on the Holy Spirit in Isaiah. Isaiah was the most anointed writing and visionary prophet in the Bible. There are more prophecies about Messiah and His future kingdom in Isaiah than any other book of the Bible. Isaiah a seer, and the Seer of seers. That is why he is rightly placed at the front of all the writing prophets.

If you have your Bible, please turn with me to Isaiah, chapter 28.

Isaiah is a book of 66 chapters, ironically corresponding to the number of books in the Bible. Isaiah is divided in literary terms into two parts, the first 39 chapters and the last 27 chapters. This division corresponds precisely with the number of books in the Old Testament and the New. The first 39 chapters, like Israel’s history, contains many distinct prophecies. The last 27 chapters, sometimes called Second Isaiah, are the New Testament in prophecy; and all the prophecies summed together reveal God’s unique identity and authority as the only true God; Messiah’s work in establishing God’s kingdom and redemption; and the Spirit of God’s work as the secret empowering agent of God.

Last month we learned from Isaiah that Messiah has the seven spirits of God: the Holy Spirit, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, and the spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. As we continue gleaning insights about Holy Spirt as God’s most active agent on earth, we will better understand His role in empowering our Lord Jesus Christ while He lived on earth, and how he empowers us in this present age.

Now looking at chapter 28, we see one of the discreet prophecies in the first part of Isaiah. This chapter is a warning first to Ephraim, which was the leading tribe in the kingdom of Israel, which had separated from Judah after the death of King Solomon.

Samaria, as Israel was also called, had fallen into spiritual and moral turpitude, especially from the reign of King Ahab who murdered hundreds of God’s prophets under the malign influence of the pagan Queen Jezebel. Now, through Isaiah, God was pronouncing a devastating judgment from afar, which was effected by the Assyrian Emperor, Shalmaneser. V. 2 says, “Behold, the Lord has a strong and mighty agent; as a storm of hail, a tempest of destruction, like a storm of mighty overflowing waters,, He has cast it down to the earth with His hand.”

Yet despite this, God also weaves a promise of redemption inside this devastating judgment. Isaiah 28:5-6 says, “In that day the Lord of hosts will become a beautiful crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people; ⁶ A spirit of justice for him who sits in judgment, a strength to those who repel the onslaught at the gate.” This prophecy points to God’s Spirit as an agent of justice assisting righteous judges on earth and aiding Israel’s defenders. “The onslaught on the gate” can also be seen as an assault against justice from within. The Holy Spirit acts to vindicate God’s people from the onslaught of the Accuser, who is the devil.

Isaiah says that the effect of the Spirit of Justice is to make God “a beautiful crown and a glorious diadem to the remnant of His people.” When God’s people see the wisdom and justice of God upholding righteousness and protecting them, we glorify Him and appreciate the true, crowning beauty of His character and His ways. Justice is one of the great ways that God glorifies Himself.

One of the greatest promises of God toward beleaguered Christians when attacked by the Accuser, Satan’s, human proxies is found in Isaiah 54:17. It has become one of my theme scriptures for this year: “No weapon formed against you shall prosper; and every tongue that accuses you in judgment, you shall condemn. This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD. ‘Their vindication is from Me,’ says the LORD.”

And how does our vindication come? Look at vv. 16-18 in Isaiah 28: “Therefore thus says the Lord God, “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a tested stone, A costly cornerstone for the foundation, firmly placed. He who believes in it will not be disturbed. ¹⁷ “I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the level; then hail will sweep away the refuge of lies and the waters will overflow the secret place. ¹⁸ “Your covenant with death will be canceled, and your pact with Sheol will not stand.”

This is a prophecy about Jesus Christ. 1 Peter 2:4-6 says, “And coming to Him as to a living stone which has been rejected by men, but is choice and precious in the sight of God, ⁵ you also, as living stones, are being built up as a spiritual house for a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For this is contained in Scripture: “Behold, I lay in Zion a choice stone, a precious corner stone, And he who believes in Him will not be disappointed.”

Our vindication comes from our relationship with Messiah the King who not only declares us righteous before God but imputes to us His very own righteousness and nature by the inner working of God’s Holy Spirit. Through our justification before God – being declared righteous by Him – and regeneration of the Holy Spirit, God accomplishes two great things. He both satisfies His innate sense of justice against evil and achieves the ultimate satisfaction of transforming a creature bearing His image, once defiled by sin, into a new, holy creation that will endure before Him and glorify the Father forever! This is justice at its highest possible level. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of Justice, delights in doing this for the Father and the Son He loves.

Let’s continue with Isaiah 30:1-2 “Woe to the rebellious children,” declares the Lord, “Who execute a plan, but not Mine, and make an alliance, but not of My Spirit, in order to add sin to sin; ² who proceed down to Egypt without consulting Me, to take refuge in the safety of Pharaoh and to seek shelter in the shadow of Egypt!”

This is a warning that every child of God who act contrary to the revealed will of God, especially when they knowingly and repeatedly sin – as Isaiah calls it “to add sin to sin.” Habitual sin is what the Bible calls iniquity, and iniquity will always cause people to make bad choices resulting in self-harm. The specific evil plan in this case, was perhaps a rebuke to those who fled invading armies from Assyria and Babylon to seek refuge in Egypt during his time. I also believe this was a future prophecy about Judah, soon after Babylon’s conquest, when the remnant of Judah fled to Egypt against the Prophet Jeremiah’s warning after Governor Gedaliah was murdered. You can read about this in Jeremiah 41-44. God swore to those who fled to Egypt that all of them would die in Egypt, and not one of them would return. The Prophet Jeremiah followed the remnant Judeans’ into Egypt as a witness against them; and he alone was declared righteous by God.

Why was God so harsh in His judgment against them? Egypt was the land which had enslaved and oppressed Israel for 400 years. God led Israel out of Egypt by His mighty hand and swore they would never return there. By taking refuge in Egypt, Judah was betraying its lack of trust in God, and specifically in God’s word through the Prophet Jeremiah that He would protect them in their own land after the murder of Gedaliah.

There is a principle for us to heed in this prophecy of Isaiah. When God leads you out of bondage to sin, or from an entangled situation that is dysfunctional and contrary to God’s nature, don’t wander back into that situation! Sadly, there is something in us that may want to keep returning to a bad situation in the vain hope of wanting to restore it or redeem something good out of it. Part of our life was wasted there, and we want to go back to Egypt, so to speak.

God says, “Don’t go back!” Even if there were seemingly good times or easy times in your Egypt, where you felt temporarily secure, it is dangerous to place yourself back in a situation where your soul can be compromised. Your old sin nature will rise to the surface and you’ll find yourself like the proverbial dog returning to its vomit and sow wallowing in the mire.

Released inmates get into more trouble most often by returning to their old neighborhood and re-establishing acquaintances with old, supposed “friends” who really aren’t friends after all. Proverbs 18:24 (RSV) warns, “There are friends who pretend to be friends, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother”.

Less than a month ago, on July 10^th, the youngest son of a dear friend of ours went with a “friend’ to another “friend’s” home in Nashville, Tennessee. Our friend’s sons and our sons had met each other and played with other as little boys when we visited each other – first back east, and later in Kansas City.

Henry Oscar had suffered with bipolar disorder and had been in juvenile and then in jail. Through these he made some bad acquaintances, and this was his Egypt. So Henry drove his two friends to one of his supposed friend’s friend’s house. When they got there, there were eight men waiting for his friend to extract money from him or due him harm – probably from drug dealing. They ran to their car, but the men followed them with guns and started firing. Henry’s friend was shot in the mouth and another one’s head was grazed by a bullet. Henry pulled out a gun to defend his friends, got out of the car and shot back. He was cut down by their guns; but his friends survived.

My wife and I went to his funeral two weeks ago to comfort our friend. At the end of the funeral, after his mom gave her eulogy, they played a video of Henry, produced by his older brother, that he recorded five years earlier for his mom, called “Happy Mother’s Day.” It’s the most moving rap song I’ve ever seen. Henry O. had other songs played on hip hop stations in Florida, and a aspired to be a rap artist. Ironically, his rap moniker was “Shotta Hen.”

I believe Henry O. is in heaven today. He professed his love for and belief in Jesus to his mama; but his life was cut short because he made an alliance with friends that was NOT of God’s Spirit; and he kept going back to Egypt, to the people and places that would lead him to his ultimate demise.

Psalm 133 – unity among the brethren brings the anointing of the Holy Spirit upon the people of God, resulting in LIFE FOREVERMORE.

• Like the anointing oil on Aaron’s head: Anointing leader’s to usher the people into the presence of God. The High Priest mediates between God and His covenant people.
• Like the dew of Hermon coming on the mountains of Zion. Mt. Hermon is the tallest mountain in the region, more snow-capped than others. Symbolic of refreshing coming down from on high on the center of divine worship: Zion, Jerusalem, and the New Jerusalem anticipated by God’s New Covenant people: the Church.