Holy Spirit
Come, Holy Spirit, 31 May 2020
31 05 20 Filed in: Sermons
Come, Holy Spirit
Acts 2
Big Idea: We must be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.
Video: Holy Spirit (The Bible Project)
Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church in Acts 2 as found in today’s scripture reading. It’s a profoundly important moment in history.
Today is significant to First Alliance Church because it’s the first time many of you have been able to see each other face to face. Letters are great, texts are fine, phone calls are nice, and I’m grateful for FaceTime and Zoom, but there’s nothing like being physically present with someone.
Have you ever wished you could spend some time with Jesus? I mean physically be with Jesus. Let’s face it, prayer is wonderful and the Bible is fantastic, but haven’t you had those moments when you longed to see Jesus face to face?
Imagine you were a disciple of Jesus. You traveled with him. You ate with him. You saw him heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the thousands, and preach incredible sermons. Life with Jesus literally transformed your life. Now imagine in the middle of three years with him, he drops this bomb:
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
You’re leaving us, Jesus? You’re going away? How can you call this good? We like you! What could be better than having you lead our team?
Jesus said it was for their good that he would go away. That was partially a reference to Good Friday when he would leave his friends and die for them…and us. But it was also a reference to his ascension when he left our planet, paving the way for the Holy Spirit.
N.T. Wright in at least two of his books describes history as a five-act play. Act One is creation, seen in the opening pages of the Bible in Genesis. What follows, Act Two, is the Fall of Adam and Eve, sinning in the Garden of Eden and creating chaos for all of creation from that day forward. Act Three is Israel, God’s chosen people beginning with His covenant with Abraham which continued throughout Jewish Bible we call the Old Testament. Act Four is Jesus, chronicled in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Act Five begins in the book of Acts, the emergence of the Church, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, events that continue to this day.
We worship one God in three Persons, a mystery known as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been present throughout all five acts. In fact, Pentecost began as an Old Testament celebration called the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. We think of Pentecost as the day the Holy Spirit birthed the Church with power, adding 3000 new believers in Acts 2. Prior to Pentecost, we see the Spirit in one place at a time. What made Pentecost so special was the distribution of God’s presence among multiple people.
Throughout act three—Israel—God’s presence on earth was most visible in a special part of the temple called the holy of holies where God dwelled behind a curtain. The day Jesus was crucified,
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38)
You might say God’s presence escaped the temple. God left the building. It wasn’t that God wasn’t present in the temple, but that the temple could not hold Him. No longer would people have to travel to a particular place to encounter the living God. Let’s look at what happened on Pentecost Sunday.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
This was no ordinary day. This was a multi-media extravaganza! The Holy Spirit filled all of those gathered. They started speaking known languages they had never learned, a reversal of the Tower of Babel when God confused the people with multiple languages (Genesis 11:9). Author John Gill notes,
“Through this baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, the apostles became more knowing, and had a greater understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel, and were more qualified to preach it to people of all nations and languages.”
For many of these believers, they loved Jesus, grieved his death, celebrated his resurrection, watching him ascend into heaven, grieved his departure, and then became temples of God as the Holy Spirit arrived.
It’s a little ironic talking about Pentecost on the day we return to our physical campus. First Alliance Church never closed. Our buildings were shut, but these buildings are not the house of the LORD. They are not the temple. God’s presence and power dwells in each follower of Jesus since Acts 2. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth,
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
All of this. Had been prophesied. Jesus, of course, had announced the future coming of the Holy Spirit.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
He also said,
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
He gave even more details in the first chapter of the book of Acts.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
This all came to pass in the very next chapter.
Jesus was not the first to predict the events of Pentecost. The prophet Joel declared God’s words.
And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28)
Peter quotes this text in the second chapter of Acts. What follows is nothing short of miraculous. The capital-C Church was born, a group of Spirit-filled believers who literally changed the world. I never get sick of reading this passage. Acts 2:41 says because of the movement of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s preaching,
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:41)
Wow! That’s what I call church growth! Those numbers are impressive, but that’s not all.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
Years ago, I worked at a church called 2|42 Community Church. Its name came from this text. It’s a wonderful picture of church. Again, the temple is mentioned, but church was not a building or a service, but a family of people who did life together. They were devoted to
They experienced miracles. They did life together, sharing everything. This occurred every day, not merely an hour a week. Much of their lives were spent in homes.
This sounds a little like the past two and a half months for First Alliance Church! We’ve not been in large groups, but people have been meeting together both online and in person in small groups. Meals have been shared. Prayer have been prayed…and answered! Teaching and equipping are occurring. It has been very different, but the Holy Spirit has been at work in and through us.
I’ve heard many pastors say they want a “New Testament church.” The problem is, there are many mentioned, including seven called out in the beginning of the book of Revelation. They were all messed up. Each had issues, just like ours. There is no perfect church, only a perfect Senior Pastor whose name is Jesus.
Acts 2 sounds amazing—and it was—but Jesus promised following him would not always be easy.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)
A moment ago, we looked at his words in Acts 1:8. The Alliance calls itself a “Christ-centered, Acts 1:8 family.” This is a pretty important passage!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The original Greek word for witnesses, martus, means “martyrs.” Many of these early believers who were filled with the Holy Spirit were persecuted for their faith. Many died as martyrs. Their passion was real. Church wasn’t something they did, it was who they were.
So What?
What about you? What about us? Where do we go from here? As we create the future, we desperately need the Holy Spirit. If you think I’m smart enough to guide us, you’re fooling yourself! If you think the elders possess the necessary wisdom, you’re mistaken. We need the Holy Spirit. Individually. Corporately.
When you give your life to Jesus, you get the Holy Spirit, too. Unfortunately, many are not filled with the Spirit. Some are afraid of the Holy Spirit because they think the Spirit will make them bark like a dog or do something weird. Others have dismissed the Spirit, practically seeing the Trinity as the Father, Son, and Holy Bible. Because certain gifts of the Spirit have been abused, they conclude we don’t need them…though the enemy is capable of distorting all of God’s good gifts.
The Holy Spirit gives gifts, not for our selfish use, but rather for the benefit of the Body, the Church. Nobody has all of the gifts. There’s no one gift that every believer possesses. Some of the gifts include teaching, giving, mercy, service, healing, wisdom, faith, tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, helps, leadership, and miracles. There are four primary lists of spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Timothy 4. As a Christian & Missionary Alliance church we believe in all of the gifts and their proper use to serve the Body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit also produces fruit in our lives.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Show me someone who is growing in those areas and I’ll show you someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit. The true test is Christ-likeness, not any particular gift.
We are to be filled with the Spirit.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20)
Being filled with the Spirit is something we must continually do, like breathing. You don’t stop! That’s the meaning of the words “be filled” in Ephesians 5:18.
How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit? It involves surrender, picking up your cross daily to follow Jesus, setting aside your agenda and rights, inviting the Spirit to live in and through you.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, the Spirit is already living inside of you, but might not be fully activated, much like you can have central air conditioning in your house but it won’t cool your home until it’s turned on.
There’s so much that can be said about the Holy Spirit, but here’s the bottom line:
We need God. We need the Holy Spirit. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I don’t know what lies ahead for First Alliance Church, but the Spirit knows.
I don’t know how we can restore God’s masterpieces in Toledo, but the Spirit does.
I don’t have the power to change a life, a marriage, a broken body, a hurting heart, but the Spirit does.
I don’t possess all of the gifts necessary to be Jesus to our city, but together if we are filled with the Spirit, we do.
The Holy Spirit descended upon the city of Jerusalem about 2000 years ago and the world has never been the same as men, women and children around the world have been conduits of God’s blessing, presence, and power.
I am praying for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the city of Toledo, equipping us and our spiritual siblings at The Tabernacle, The Vineyard, Harvest Lane Alliance, Perrysburg Alliance, Westgate Chapel, Cedar Creek, and others to become more like Jesus, to be transformed by faith, hope, and love.
This is a critical moment in history. We’re not going back. God is doing a new thing. Now more than ever, we need the Holy Spirit to guide and provide, to encourage and give us courage, to direct and protect.
Come, Holy Spirit. You are welcome here!
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Acts 2
Big Idea: We must be filled with and led by the Holy Spirit.
Video: Holy Spirit (The Bible Project)
Today is Pentecost Sunday, the day we remember the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the early Church in Acts 2 as found in today’s scripture reading. It’s a profoundly important moment in history.
Today is significant to First Alliance Church because it’s the first time many of you have been able to see each other face to face. Letters are great, texts are fine, phone calls are nice, and I’m grateful for FaceTime and Zoom, but there’s nothing like being physically present with someone.
Have you ever wished you could spend some time with Jesus? I mean physically be with Jesus. Let’s face it, prayer is wonderful and the Bible is fantastic, but haven’t you had those moments when you longed to see Jesus face to face?
Imagine you were a disciple of Jesus. You traveled with him. You ate with him. You saw him heal the sick, raise the dead, feed the thousands, and preach incredible sermons. Life with Jesus literally transformed your life. Now imagine in the middle of three years with him, he drops this bomb:
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
You’re leaving us, Jesus? You’re going away? How can you call this good? We like you! What could be better than having you lead our team?
Jesus said it was for their good that he would go away. That was partially a reference to Good Friday when he would leave his friends and die for them…and us. But it was also a reference to his ascension when he left our planet, paving the way for the Holy Spirit.
N.T. Wright in at least two of his books describes history as a five-act play. Act One is creation, seen in the opening pages of the Bible in Genesis. What follows, Act Two, is the Fall of Adam and Eve, sinning in the Garden of Eden and creating chaos for all of creation from that day forward. Act Three is Israel, God’s chosen people beginning with His covenant with Abraham which continued throughout Jewish Bible we call the Old Testament. Act Four is Jesus, chronicled in the four gospels: Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Act Five begins in the book of Acts, the emergence of the Church, the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, events that continue to this day.
We worship one God in three Persons, a mystery known as the Trinity: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit has been present throughout all five acts. In fact, Pentecost began as an Old Testament celebration called the Feast of Harvest or the Feast of Weeks. We think of Pentecost as the day the Holy Spirit birthed the Church with power, adding 3000 new believers in Acts 2. Prior to Pentecost, we see the Spirit in one place at a time. What made Pentecost so special was the distribution of God’s presence among multiple people.
Throughout act three—Israel—God’s presence on earth was most visible in a special part of the temple called the holy of holies where God dwelled behind a curtain. The day Jesus was crucified,
The curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. (Mark 15:38)
You might say God’s presence escaped the temple. God left the building. It wasn’t that God wasn’t present in the temple, but that the temple could not hold Him. No longer would people have to travel to a particular place to encounter the living God. Let’s look at what happened on Pentecost Sunday.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. (Acts 2:1-4)
This was no ordinary day. This was a multi-media extravaganza! The Holy Spirit filled all of those gathered. They started speaking known languages they had never learned, a reversal of the Tower of Babel when God confused the people with multiple languages (Genesis 11:9). Author John Gill notes,
“Through this baptism of the Holy Ghost and fire, the apostles became more knowing, and had a greater understanding of the mysteries of the Gospel, and were more qualified to preach it to people of all nations and languages.”
For many of these believers, they loved Jesus, grieved his death, celebrated his resurrection, watching him ascend into heaven, grieved his departure, and then became temples of God as the Holy Spirit arrived.
It’s a little ironic talking about Pentecost on the day we return to our physical campus. First Alliance Church never closed. Our buildings were shut, but these buildings are not the house of the LORD. They are not the temple. God’s presence and power dwells in each follower of Jesus since Acts 2. Paul wrote to the church in Corinth,
Don’t you know that you yourselves are God’s temple and that God’s Spirit dwells in your midst? (1 Corinthians 3:16)
All of this. Had been prophesied. Jesus, of course, had announced the future coming of the Holy Spirit.
But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)
He also said,
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
He gave even more details in the first chapter of the book of Acts.
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
This all came to pass in the very next chapter.
Jesus was not the first to predict the events of Pentecost. The prophet Joel declared God’s words.
And afterward, I will pour out my Spirit on all people. Your sons and daughters will prophesy, your old men will dream dreams, your young men will see visions. Even on my servants, both men and women, I will pour out my Spirit in those days. (Joel 2:28)
Peter quotes this text in the second chapter of Acts. What follows is nothing short of miraculous. The capital-C Church was born, a group of Spirit-filled believers who literally changed the world. I never get sick of reading this passage. Acts 2:41 says because of the movement of the Holy Spirit and Peter’s preaching,
Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day. (Acts 2:41)
Wow! That’s what I call church growth! Those numbers are impressive, but that’s not all.
They devoted themselves to the apostles’ teaching and to fellowship, to the breaking of bread and to prayer. Everyone was filled with awe at the many wonders and signs performed by the apostles. All the believers were together and had everything in common. They sold property and possessions to give to anyone who had need. Every day they continued to meet together in the temple courts. They broke bread in their homes and ate together with glad and sincere hearts, praising God and enjoying the favor of all the people. And the Lord added to their number daily those who were being saved. (Acts 2:42-47)
Years ago, I worked at a church called 2|42 Community Church. Its name came from this text. It’s a wonderful picture of church. Again, the temple is mentioned, but church was not a building or a service, but a family of people who did life together. They were devoted to
- - Teaching
- - Fellowship
- - Community meals
- - Prayer
They experienced miracles. They did life together, sharing everything. This occurred every day, not merely an hour a week. Much of their lives were spent in homes.
This sounds a little like the past two and a half months for First Alliance Church! We’ve not been in large groups, but people have been meeting together both online and in person in small groups. Meals have been shared. Prayer have been prayed…and answered! Teaching and equipping are occurring. It has been very different, but the Holy Spirit has been at work in and through us.
I’ve heard many pastors say they want a “New Testament church.” The problem is, there are many mentioned, including seven called out in the beginning of the book of Revelation. They were all messed up. Each had issues, just like ours. There is no perfect church, only a perfect Senior Pastor whose name is Jesus.
Acts 2 sounds amazing—and it was—but Jesus promised following him would not always be easy.
In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” (John 16:33b)
A moment ago, we looked at his words in Acts 1:8. The Alliance calls itself a “Christ-centered, Acts 1:8 family.” This is a pretty important passage!
But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” (Acts 1:8)
The original Greek word for witnesses, martus, means “martyrs.” Many of these early believers who were filled with the Holy Spirit were persecuted for their faith. Many died as martyrs. Their passion was real. Church wasn’t something they did, it was who they were.
So What?
What about you? What about us? Where do we go from here? As we create the future, we desperately need the Holy Spirit. If you think I’m smart enough to guide us, you’re fooling yourself! If you think the elders possess the necessary wisdom, you’re mistaken. We need the Holy Spirit. Individually. Corporately.
When you give your life to Jesus, you get the Holy Spirit, too. Unfortunately, many are not filled with the Spirit. Some are afraid of the Holy Spirit because they think the Spirit will make them bark like a dog or do something weird. Others have dismissed the Spirit, practically seeing the Trinity as the Father, Son, and Holy Bible. Because certain gifts of the Spirit have been abused, they conclude we don’t need them…though the enemy is capable of distorting all of God’s good gifts.
The Holy Spirit gives gifts, not for our selfish use, but rather for the benefit of the Body, the Church. Nobody has all of the gifts. There’s no one gift that every believer possesses. Some of the gifts include teaching, giving, mercy, service, healing, wisdom, faith, tongues, interpretation of tongues, prophecy, helps, leadership, and miracles. There are four primary lists of spiritual gifts found in 1 Corinthians 12, Romans 12, Ephesians 4, and 1 Timothy 4. As a Christian & Missionary Alliance church we believe in all of the gifts and their proper use to serve the Body of Christ.
The Holy Spirit also produces fruit in our lives.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. (Galatians 5:22-23)
Show me someone who is growing in those areas and I’ll show you someone who is filled with the Holy Spirit. The true test is Christ-likeness, not any particular gift.
We are to be filled with the Spirit.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, speaking to one another with psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit. Sing and make music from your heart to the Lord, 20 always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. (Ephesians 5:18-20)
Being filled with the Spirit is something we must continually do, like breathing. You don’t stop! That’s the meaning of the words “be filled” in Ephesians 5:18.
How can you be filled with the Holy Spirit? It involves surrender, picking up your cross daily to follow Jesus, setting aside your agenda and rights, inviting the Spirit to live in and through you.
If you’re a follower of Jesus, the Spirit is already living inside of you, but might not be fully activated, much like you can have central air conditioning in your house but it won’t cool your home until it’s turned on.
There’s so much that can be said about the Holy Spirit, but here’s the bottom line:
We need God. We need the Holy Spirit. We need to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
I don’t know what lies ahead for First Alliance Church, but the Spirit knows.
I don’t know how we can restore God’s masterpieces in Toledo, but the Spirit does.
I don’t have the power to change a life, a marriage, a broken body, a hurting heart, but the Spirit does.
I don’t possess all of the gifts necessary to be Jesus to our city, but together if we are filled with the Spirit, we do.
The Holy Spirit descended upon the city of Jerusalem about 2000 years ago and the world has never been the same as men, women and children around the world have been conduits of God’s blessing, presence, and power.
I am praying for the Holy Spirit to descend upon the city of Toledo, equipping us and our spiritual siblings at The Tabernacle, The Vineyard, Harvest Lane Alliance, Perrysburg Alliance, Westgate Chapel, Cedar Creek, and others to become more like Jesus, to be transformed by faith, hope, and love.
This is a critical moment in history. We’re not going back. God is doing a new thing. Now more than ever, we need the Holy Spirit to guide and provide, to encourage and give us courage, to direct and protect.
Come, Holy Spirit. You are welcome here!
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
New in Christ, 22 September 2019
New in Christ
Series—A Love Supreme
Colossians 3:1-17
Series Big Idea: Christ is above all others. This is a study on the book of Colossians.
Big Idea: When we put to death our old, sinful selves, we can become new in Christ.
New. For decades, marketers have been using it to sell their products. Try the new and improved cleaner. Taste the new burger. Drive the new car. Buy the new fashion. As an entrepreneur, I love new. But not everyone is so wired.
Some people are afraid of the new. “It’s an oldie but a goodie,” they might say. But when it comes to humanity, we’ve all been tainted by sin. We’re all broken. We’re all in need of grace, forgiveness, and salvation. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, you can be made new in Christ.
We’re continuing our series A Love Supreme, looking at Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. Chapter three is loaded with contrasts between old and new, before Christ and after Christ, sin and Spirit-filled, selfish living and christoformity.
I may have just introduced you to a new word: christoformity. Jesus invites us to be like him, to be formed to the pattern of his life. That’s radically different than self-actualization. Perhaps you noticed that our “tolerant” culture accepts the most outlandish behavior and identities…except for godliness. We have become a culture of self-idolatry, not only doing but being whatever or whomever we feel like, with no regard for our Creator and His vision and will for our lives.
This is why Christianity is revolutionary. Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life! But first, they must die to themselves, their agendas, their preferences, their desires. The first two commandments in Exodus 20 are no other gods or idols. In our self-absorbed society, nothing could be more offensive.
For two chapters, Paul has been telling this early church community about the supremacy of Christ. He has written about their freedom from sin and religion. He begins chapter three by saying,
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
Some Christians are so heavenly-minded, they’re no earthly good! But too many of us live so focused on this life—on this moment—that we fail to see what’s ahead. This is obviously in the presence of little children. They can’t see the next minute, much less the next day, week, or year.
College students work for four years—or more!—in their quest for a piece of paper.
Olympic athletes train just as long for a piece of medal. As they lose sleep, sweat, endure injuries, and bleed, they’re not focused on the moment. They are looking ahead to that moment when crowds will cheer them to what they hope will be victory.
In the same way, we must set our minds on things above. Sure, we need to eat and find shelter and care for our health, but our focus should not be the same as that of unbelievers. We are in Christ. We are citizens of heaven. We need to be training for eternity, preparing for the next life while fully living this one for the glory of God.
What do you have your heart set on? Maybe it’s a new car, a home improvement project, or a job. Perhaps you’re consumed with stress over your debt, worried about your health, or counting down the days until vacation. None of those are necessarily bad things, but they’re all so temporary. In a hundred years—maybe in one year—it will be forgotten. Paul’s not saying don’t see earthly things, but rather don’t seek earthly things.
I’m speaking to myself here, too. Don’t think for a moment I’ve mastered this! Unlike many in this world, we have many choices to make, especially about our time, maybe our money, possibly our energy. Most of us don’t spend all day hunting for food to eat. We’re blessed with wealth in this nation, but that wealth can so easily become an idol.
New in Christ means we are dead to our old selves.
Is anyone else convicted? We need to put to death our old self, our sinful nature. You can’t serve God and yourself at the same time. There’s no such thing as a part-time LORD, even on Sunday morning! We need to see things from His perspective before we make it all about us, our pleasures, our desires, our will. It’s not about empty religion or self-righteousness, either. We are to be with Christ.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:5-7)
I’m glad no one in here has ever dealt with any of these sins! To put these to death means we should desire them as much as a dead person! It doesn’t say avoid them or manage them or not to play with them too often. Paul says put to death the earthly nature. Kill them!
There is no room for sexual immorality in the life of Christ-follower. Period. That means sexual activity is sacred and reserved for the marriage covenant, husband and wife. If you don’t believe me, there’s twenty more mentions of sexual immorality in the New Testament. Google it!
Impurity. That’s an umbrella term. The funny thing is, most of us know when we encounter something that is impure, whether it is entertainment, conversation, materialism, or even workaholism. Is your mind pure? Are your relationships pure? Are your words pure?
What about lust? Evil desires? Greed? Put it to death! You used to be into that stuff, but you’re new in Christ.
New in Christ means we are dead to our old sins.
We can kill our sins or our sins will kill us! Literally. All sin leads to death, ultimately.
There are two reactions we can have toward our sin:
If you are struggling with your sin, you’re not alone. This is why we need one another. I think it’s why Jesus’ half-brother said,
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
We can’t run this race alone. We need to help one another. Pray for one another. Encourage one another. We need to put to death our old sins, but that may take a lifetime to be fully realized. The struggle is real. Paul himself said,
…the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19)
Admitting and confessing our sins, Celebrate Recovery, small groups, one-on-one relationships, scripture memorization, Christian counseling, and quality time with God are all useful in helping us stay on the path of godliness. Spiritual practices—sometimes called spiritual disciplines—are proactive steps we can all take to grow closer to God. One of my favorite books on the subject is John Ortberg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted. He has some great insights on prayer, confession, celebration, servanthood, scripture, and even suffering.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:5-7)
The wrath of God is coming, family. Paul’s saying put sin to death. You used to do those things.
Maybe you’ve mastered this list of sins. You’re not off the hook!
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:8-11)
The invitation to be new in Christ is available to everyone…Jews and Gentiles, men and women, black and white, young and old…we’re all invited to follow Jesus…and die to our old selves and our old sins. Jesus transcends all barriers and unites us as one family.
New in Christ means we put on the new self, we become a new creation. What does that look like?
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14)
Let’s camp out here for a bit! It’s nearly impossible to simply stop a habit. You need to replace it with something else. A new focus is required. If I say, “Don’t think of a purple elephant,” how many of you are thinking of a purple elephant?
But if I said imagine the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen…
Paul provides a great list to describe the new self.
Compassion
Kindness
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Forgiveness
Love
New in Christ means we are alive to love.
I really wish we had another word for “love” in the English language. It feels too soft and mushy. Some equate it with fondness or even lust. I love ice cream. I love the Mud Hens.
Scot McKnight offer what may be my favorite definition of biblical love:
Love is a rugged commitment to be with other people, to be for other people, and to grow together in Christ-likeness.
Love is a rugged commitment (covenant).
Love is a presence. It is “with.” It’s not expressed from afar.
Love is advocacy. It is “for.” It has their back.
Love is transformation. The goal is for us and them to become like Jesus.
I believe the only way you can truly love is to first experience love. You can’t give what you don’t have.
Have you experienced God’s love? Really? Put on love. Wear it. Share it. That’s what “the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” is all about. Love.
Is that what Christians are known for in our culture?
Paul understands the struggle to love, to obey. He wrote,
For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15b)
Again, the struggle is real, but if we allow Him access to our lives, if we truly surrender, if we pursue God, we will gradually become more like Jesus.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
Peace.
Unity.
Thanksgiving.
Is that what Christians are known for in our culture?
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16)
I love the image of Christ dwelling among us. He is here! The Holy Spirit lives inside every man, woman and child who is new in Christ. This is why we gather, we teach, we admonish one another, we sing, and we are filled with gratitude. We’re no longer dead. We’re not taking our cues from the culture. We’ve put to death our sin, selfishness, and idolatry. We’re new in Christ, alive in Christ, followers of Christ, and we are becoming like Christ.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
Whatever you do, it’s all about Jesus.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory.
How does your work reflect this?
How do your relationships declare this?
How does your calendar and checkbook reveal this?
How does your heart communicate this?
So What?
Every Sunday, sermons are preached all around the world with the same basic message expressed in an old song by Mylon LeFevre: Love God, Hate Sin. If only it were that easy! Life is a struggle. Following Jesus is battle…because we have a real enemy who wants us to sin, who tempts us to disobey God, who literally is trying to kill us. But we’re not powerless.
We’ve been given the Holy Spirit. It comes when you invite Jesus to be your leader, your master, your LORD. In a word, it’s about surrender. That’s what this entire passage is about…dying to self and being made new in Christ. There are two parts. We must surrender and die…and we must allow the power of God to be unleashed in our lives.
Our actions do not earn salvation, but they do follow salvation. Christoformity—and sanctification—occur as we die to ourselves and become like Jesus.
Perhaps today is the day for you to begin your journey with God. You can do so with a simple prayer: Jesus, I give you my life. That’s it. Total surrender.
Maybe today is the day for you to put to death your sin. Kill it! No more white lies, pornography peeks, greedy thoughts, or toxic words. Total surrender.
You might think you’re a good Christian, avoiding sin, but are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Would others use words like compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, peaceful, and loving to describe you? Total surrender.
Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life! It’s a process. It’s ongoing.
It involves our focus. It starts in the mind.
It involves our actions. It moves to our hands.
New in Christ. It’s not about trying harder. It begins with total surrender.
Credits: series outline from D6.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series—A Love Supreme
Colossians 3:1-17
Series Big Idea: Christ is above all others. This is a study on the book of Colossians.
Big Idea: When we put to death our old, sinful selves, we can become new in Christ.
New. For decades, marketers have been using it to sell their products. Try the new and improved cleaner. Taste the new burger. Drive the new car. Buy the new fashion. As an entrepreneur, I love new. But not everyone is so wired.
Some people are afraid of the new. “It’s an oldie but a goodie,” they might say. But when it comes to humanity, we’ve all been tainted by sin. We’re all broken. We’re all in need of grace, forgiveness, and salvation. No matter who you are, no matter what you’ve done, you can be made new in Christ.
We’re continuing our series A Love Supreme, looking at Paul’s letter to the church in Colossae. Chapter three is loaded with contrasts between old and new, before Christ and after Christ, sin and Spirit-filled, selfish living and christoformity.
I may have just introduced you to a new word: christoformity. Jesus invites us to be like him, to be formed to the pattern of his life. That’s radically different than self-actualization. Perhaps you noticed that our “tolerant” culture accepts the most outlandish behavior and identities…except for godliness. We have become a culture of self-idolatry, not only doing but being whatever or whomever we feel like, with no regard for our Creator and His vision and will for our lives.
This is why Christianity is revolutionary. Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life! But first, they must die to themselves, their agendas, their preferences, their desires. The first two commandments in Exodus 20 are no other gods or idols. In our self-absorbed society, nothing could be more offensive.
For two chapters, Paul has been telling this early church community about the supremacy of Christ. He has written about their freedom from sin and religion. He begins chapter three by saying,
Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. (Colossians 3:1-4)
Some Christians are so heavenly-minded, they’re no earthly good! But too many of us live so focused on this life—on this moment—that we fail to see what’s ahead. This is obviously in the presence of little children. They can’t see the next minute, much less the next day, week, or year.
College students work for four years—or more!—in their quest for a piece of paper.
Olympic athletes train just as long for a piece of medal. As they lose sleep, sweat, endure injuries, and bleed, they’re not focused on the moment. They are looking ahead to that moment when crowds will cheer them to what they hope will be victory.
In the same way, we must set our minds on things above. Sure, we need to eat and find shelter and care for our health, but our focus should not be the same as that of unbelievers. We are in Christ. We are citizens of heaven. We need to be training for eternity, preparing for the next life while fully living this one for the glory of God.
What do you have your heart set on? Maybe it’s a new car, a home improvement project, or a job. Perhaps you’re consumed with stress over your debt, worried about your health, or counting down the days until vacation. None of those are necessarily bad things, but they’re all so temporary. In a hundred years—maybe in one year—it will be forgotten. Paul’s not saying don’t see earthly things, but rather don’t seek earthly things.
I’m speaking to myself here, too. Don’t think for a moment I’ve mastered this! Unlike many in this world, we have many choices to make, especially about our time, maybe our money, possibly our energy. Most of us don’t spend all day hunting for food to eat. We’re blessed with wealth in this nation, but that wealth can so easily become an idol.
New in Christ means we are dead to our old selves.
Is anyone else convicted? We need to put to death our old self, our sinful nature. You can’t serve God and yourself at the same time. There’s no such thing as a part-time LORD, even on Sunday morning! We need to see things from His perspective before we make it all about us, our pleasures, our desires, our will. It’s not about empty religion or self-righteousness, either. We are to be with Christ.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:5-7)
I’m glad no one in here has ever dealt with any of these sins! To put these to death means we should desire them as much as a dead person! It doesn’t say avoid them or manage them or not to play with them too often. Paul says put to death the earthly nature. Kill them!
There is no room for sexual immorality in the life of Christ-follower. Period. That means sexual activity is sacred and reserved for the marriage covenant, husband and wife. If you don’t believe me, there’s twenty more mentions of sexual immorality in the New Testament. Google it!
Impurity. That’s an umbrella term. The funny thing is, most of us know when we encounter something that is impure, whether it is entertainment, conversation, materialism, or even workaholism. Is your mind pure? Are your relationships pure? Are your words pure?
What about lust? Evil desires? Greed? Put it to death! You used to be into that stuff, but you’re new in Christ.
New in Christ means we are dead to our old sins.
We can kill our sins or our sins will kill us! Literally. All sin leads to death, ultimately.
There are two reactions we can have toward our sin:
- 1. We can struggle and try to put it to death.
- 2. We can rationalize it and embrace it. I urge you to skip this option! All sin leads to death, ultimately.
If you are struggling with your sin, you’re not alone. This is why we need one another. I think it’s why Jesus’ half-brother said,
Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective. (James 5:16)
We can’t run this race alone. We need to help one another. Pray for one another. Encourage one another. We need to put to death our old sins, but that may take a lifetime to be fully realized. The struggle is real. Paul himself said,
…the evil I do not want to do—this I keep on doing. (Romans 7:19)
Admitting and confessing our sins, Celebrate Recovery, small groups, one-on-one relationships, scripture memorization, Christian counseling, and quality time with God are all useful in helping us stay on the path of godliness. Spiritual practices—sometimes called spiritual disciplines—are proactive steps we can all take to grow closer to God. One of my favorite books on the subject is John Ortberg’s The Life You’ve Always Wanted. He has some great insights on prayer, confession, celebration, servanthood, scripture, and even suffering.
Put to death, therefore, whatever belongs to your earthly nature: sexual immorality, impurity, lust, evil desires and greed, which is idolatry. Because of these, the wrath of God is coming. You used to walk in these ways, in the life you once lived. (Colossians 3:5-7)
The wrath of God is coming, family. Paul’s saying put sin to death. You used to do those things.
Maybe you’ve mastered this list of sins. You’re not off the hook!
But now you must also rid yourselves of all such things as these: anger, rage, malice, slander, and filthy language from your lips. Do not lie to each other, since you have taken off your old self with its practices and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge in the image of its Creator. Here there is no Gentile or Jew, circumcised or uncircumcised, barbarian, Scythian, slave or free, but Christ is all, and is in all. (Colossians 3:8-11)
The invitation to be new in Christ is available to everyone…Jews and Gentiles, men and women, black and white, young and old…we’re all invited to follow Jesus…and die to our old selves and our old sins. Jesus transcends all barriers and unites us as one family.
New in Christ means we put on the new self, we become a new creation. What does that look like?
Therefore, as God’s chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Bear with each other and forgive one another if any of you has a grievance against someone. Forgive as the Lord forgave you. And over all these virtues put on love, which binds them all together in perfect unity. (Colossians 3:12-14)
Let’s camp out here for a bit! It’s nearly impossible to simply stop a habit. You need to replace it with something else. A new focus is required. If I say, “Don’t think of a purple elephant,” how many of you are thinking of a purple elephant?
But if I said imagine the most beautiful sunset you’ve ever seen…
Paul provides a great list to describe the new self.
Compassion
Kindness
Humility
Gentleness
Patience
Forgiveness
Love
New in Christ means we are alive to love.
I really wish we had another word for “love” in the English language. It feels too soft and mushy. Some equate it with fondness or even lust. I love ice cream. I love the Mud Hens.
Scot McKnight offer what may be my favorite definition of biblical love:
Love is a rugged commitment to be with other people, to be for other people, and to grow together in Christ-likeness.
Love is a rugged commitment (covenant).
Love is a presence. It is “with.” It’s not expressed from afar.
Love is advocacy. It is “for.” It has their back.
Love is transformation. The goal is for us and them to become like Jesus.
I believe the only way you can truly love is to first experience love. You can’t give what you don’t have.
Have you experienced God’s love? Really? Put on love. Wear it. Share it. That’s what “the Word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ” is all about. Love.
Is that what Christians are known for in our culture?
Paul understands the struggle to love, to obey. He wrote,
For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. (Romans 7:15b)
Again, the struggle is real, but if we allow Him access to our lives, if we truly surrender, if we pursue God, we will gradually become more like Jesus.
Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. (Colossians 3:15)
Peace.
Unity.
Thanksgiving.
Is that what Christians are known for in our culture?
Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts. (Colossians 3:16)
I love the image of Christ dwelling among us. He is here! The Holy Spirit lives inside every man, woman and child who is new in Christ. This is why we gather, we teach, we admonish one another, we sing, and we are filled with gratitude. We’re no longer dead. We’re not taking our cues from the culture. We’ve put to death our sin, selfishness, and idolatry. We’re new in Christ, alive in Christ, followers of Christ, and we are becoming like Christ.
And whatever you do, whether in word or deed, do it all in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him. (Colossians 3:17)
Whatever you do, it’s all about Jesus.
You were made by God, for God, and for God’s glory.
How does your work reflect this?
How do your relationships declare this?
How does your calendar and checkbook reveal this?
How does your heart communicate this?
So What?
Every Sunday, sermons are preached all around the world with the same basic message expressed in an old song by Mylon LeFevre: Love God, Hate Sin. If only it were that easy! Life is a struggle. Following Jesus is battle…because we have a real enemy who wants us to sin, who tempts us to disobey God, who literally is trying to kill us. But we’re not powerless.
We’ve been given the Holy Spirit. It comes when you invite Jesus to be your leader, your master, your LORD. In a word, it’s about surrender. That’s what this entire passage is about…dying to self and being made new in Christ. There are two parts. We must surrender and die…and we must allow the power of God to be unleashed in our lives.
Our actions do not earn salvation, but they do follow salvation. Christoformity—and sanctification—occur as we die to ourselves and become like Jesus.
Perhaps today is the day for you to begin your journey with God. You can do so with a simple prayer: Jesus, I give you my life. That’s it. Total surrender.
Maybe today is the day for you to put to death your sin. Kill it! No more white lies, pornography peeks, greedy thoughts, or toxic words. Total surrender.
You might think you’re a good Christian, avoiding sin, but are you filled with the Holy Spirit? Would others use words like compassionate, kind, humble, gentle, patient, peaceful, and loving to describe you? Total surrender.
Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to make dead people come to life! It’s a process. It’s ongoing.
It involves our focus. It starts in the mind.
It involves our actions. It moves to our hands.
New in Christ. It’s not about trying harder. It begins with total surrender.
Credits: series outline from D6.
Transformed Living, 13 January 2019
Transformed Living
Series—Romans: Walking in the Spirit
Romans 12:1-8
Series Overview: The book of Romans guides us into a life of freedom as we follow Jesus by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Big Idea: We can know and do God’s will when we are transformed by the Holy Spirit from worldly to godly living.
One of the most common questions I get asked as a pastor is, "How can I know God's will? Do you want to know God's will? Do you really want to know God's will?
Walking in the Spirit and today we’re in chapter 12, another passage packed with inspiration and information for the purpose of transformation: transformed living.
One thing I’ve noticed about humans is most don’t like change. It’s easy to get comfortable, in a rhythm. The problem is, if we aren’t changing to become like Jesus, we’re stuck—at best—and likely losing our faith, backsliding, drifting.
In Romans 11, Paul talks about how we have all been disobedient to God, yet He has extended His mercy to all followers of Jesus.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
One of the most common questions asked by Christians is, “How can I know God’s will?” We know Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,” but what does that really mean? The answer is found in these two verses. We must be transformed. We must…change.
I love you all deeply, but none of you has yet achieved perfection. We are all in need of what is called sanctification, the process of being set apart, consecrated, made holy. There are actually two aspects to sanctification for the Christian.
First, there’s positional or internal sanctification. All believers are sanctified or set apart unto God when they receive Jesus as Savior and LORD. In another book, Paul, the writer of Romans, said,
“…you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justifed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Tragically, this is where so many Christians stop. You’ve heard me call them vampire Christians—they just want Jesus for his blood. He’s their Savior but not LORD. They think they’ve been given a Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card because they prayed a prayer and do religious things, but they’re nothing more than modern-day Pharisees. They’re not walking in the Spirit.
The second type of sanctification is progressive or eternal. This is the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion. This is what Paul is describing in Romans 12:1-2.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
Sacrifices are rather uncommon today, but at the time of this writing, the slaughter of animals was a part of life for many, killed and placed upon an altar. The problem with living sacrifices is they can wiggle off the altar!
This is such a challenging text because Paul is basically saying to surrender our bodies…and our minds. See, we often make the mistake of thinking Christianity just about our soul, but we are multi-dimensional creatures…and God wants all of us.
Do you want God? Do you really want God?
Let’s face it, in the next life it will be easy to follow God. Satan will be removed, temptation will be a thing of the past, we’ll be forever in God’s presence…but we’re in this world now. We’re expected to live as citizens of heaven while being in Toledo, Ohio!
What does Paul mean when he speaks of the pattern of this world? One of Jesus’ best friends, John, described it this way:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:15-16)
Let me break this down a bit.
The lust of the flesh refers to our comfort, prosperity, sexual activity, eating, etc.
The lust of the eyes includes greed, coveting, jealousy, envy, etc.
The pride of life involves pride, the quest for fame and power, desiring a sense of importance, or what we call “the American Dream.”
This is what it means to follow the pattern of this world. This is why I meet so many Christians in this country that are different than their non-Christian neighbors. Most of us are pursuing the American Dream instead of God’s dream, God’s will.
Most of us are too busy to pray.
We’re too comfortable to fast.
We’re too greedy to give generously.
We’re too distracted to study the Bible.
We’re too prideful to serve.
If you want a wake-up call, here’s the very next verse from John:
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)
So how do we begin to do God’s will? It begins with renewing the mind. All of our actions begin in our head. Here are two simple steps:
1. Fill your mind with God’s truth. Study the Bible.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
2. Focus your mind on good things.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
This can be really difficult in a culture of cable news, Facebook posts, and online porn.
Paul continues to describe what it means to renew our minds:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)
I think pride is the root of most, if not all, sins. It manifests itself through both arrogance and insecurity. It got satan kicked out of heaven. It’s what drives us to seize power and control. It seeks comfort and safety. Pride may be my greatest sin throughout my life.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)
I’ve heard people say they love Jesus but not the Church. That’s like saying you love Christ but hate his Wife! The Church is imperfect, yes, but it is the Body of Christ. A Christian without a church is like a football player without a team. We need others!
I need you. You need me. We belong together. We need to love and serve one another, not only for the sake of the members of the church, but also for our mission field: Toledo and beyond.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)
This is not a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts, but one of several in the Bible. The Alliance affirms all of the spiritual gifts mentioned in scripture. In fact, one of our seven core values states
Without the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, we can accomplish nothing. - 1 Cor. 2:4-5
A quick note about prophesy, it is not necessarily predicting the future, but rather forth-telling or revealing God’s truth. Perhaps you’ve heard God speak to you about someone or something and didn’t know what to do about it. We’re hosting a three-week seminar on Wednesday nights beginning February 27 to discuss the spiritual gift of prophecy, what it is, how to use it if you have it, and how to avoid misusing it as so many have done.
I want you to see a living example of what happens when a family is filled with the Spirit, surrendered to God, using their gifts, and being the Church.
VIDEO
Did you notice spiritual gifts in use? At least five from Romans 12 are clear:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)
- serving (the needs of the mother and daughters)
- teaching (discipling the mother and children)
- encouraging (the four new daughters through their myriad of problems)
- giving (of their time, home and funds)
- showing mercy (to the mother who was incarcerated)
So What?
Do you want God? Do you really want God?
Transformed living is possible. It begins with renewing our minds and surrendering our bodies. Here are a few notes about the process of transformational sanctification:
1. Growth takes time.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)
Transformation is a lifelong journey. It’s like a slow dance between the Spirit and us as the Holy Spirit guides and we respond. Don’t ever stop growing!
2. We must take obedient action by taking off our old self and putting on a new self.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
3. We must remain submitted to God to experience lasting transformation.
…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
4. We must remain humble. Christians often become prideful about how much they have been sanctified or transformed. How much you have been transformed is not so much the issue – rather the direction in which you are currently changing is much more important.
…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5b-8)
5. Growth will likely lead to both troubles and a more abundant life.
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30)
Do you want God? Do you really want God? If so, as we sing this closing song, I want to invite you to the altar. The new year is still getting started. Today is the perfect day to publicly declare your desire for more of God, to surrender, to let go and let God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Credits: I’m grateful for the research and assistance of Doug Oliver.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series—Romans: Walking in the Spirit
Romans 12:1-8
Series Overview: The book of Romans guides us into a life of freedom as we follow Jesus by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Big Idea: We can know and do God’s will when we are transformed by the Holy Spirit from worldly to godly living.
One of the most common questions I get asked as a pastor is, "How can I know God's will? Do you want to know God's will? Do you really want to know God's will?
Walking in the Spirit and today we’re in chapter 12, another passage packed with inspiration and information for the purpose of transformation: transformed living.
One thing I’ve noticed about humans is most don’t like change. It’s easy to get comfortable, in a rhythm. The problem is, if we aren’t changing to become like Jesus, we’re stuck—at best—and likely losing our faith, backsliding, drifting.
In Romans 11, Paul talks about how we have all been disobedient to God, yet He has extended His mercy to all followers of Jesus.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
One of the most common questions asked by Christians is, “How can I know God’s will?” We know Jesus taught us to pray, “Thy Kingdom come, Thy will be done,” but what does that really mean? The answer is found in these two verses. We must be transformed. We must…change.
I love you all deeply, but none of you has yet achieved perfection. We are all in need of what is called sanctification, the process of being set apart, consecrated, made holy. There are actually two aspects to sanctification for the Christian.
First, there’s positional or internal sanctification. All believers are sanctified or set apart unto God when they receive Jesus as Savior and LORD. In another book, Paul, the writer of Romans, said,
“…you were washed, you were sanctified, you were justifed in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ and by the Spirit of our God.” (1 Corinthians 6:11)
Tragically, this is where so many Christians stop. You’ve heard me call them vampire Christians—they just want Jesus for his blood. He’s their Savior but not LORD. They think they’ve been given a Get-Out-Of-Hell-Free card because they prayed a prayer and do religious things, but they’re nothing more than modern-day Pharisees. They’re not walking in the Spirit.
The second type of sanctification is progressive or eternal. This is the state of growing in divine grace as a result of Christian commitment after baptism or conversion. This is what Paul is describing in Romans 12:1-2.
Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will. (Romans 12:1-2)
Sacrifices are rather uncommon today, but at the time of this writing, the slaughter of animals was a part of life for many, killed and placed upon an altar. The problem with living sacrifices is they can wiggle off the altar!
This is such a challenging text because Paul is basically saying to surrender our bodies…and our minds. See, we often make the mistake of thinking Christianity just about our soul, but we are multi-dimensional creatures…and God wants all of us.
Do you want God? Do you really want God?
Let’s face it, in the next life it will be easy to follow God. Satan will be removed, temptation will be a thing of the past, we’ll be forever in God’s presence…but we’re in this world now. We’re expected to live as citizens of heaven while being in Toledo, Ohio!
What does Paul mean when he speaks of the pattern of this world? One of Jesus’ best friends, John, described it this way:
Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, love for the Father is not in them. For everything in the world—the lust of the flesh, the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life—comes not from the Father but from the world. (1 John 2:15-16)
Let me break this down a bit.
The lust of the flesh refers to our comfort, prosperity, sexual activity, eating, etc.
The lust of the eyes includes greed, coveting, jealousy, envy, etc.
The pride of life involves pride, the quest for fame and power, desiring a sense of importance, or what we call “the American Dream.”
This is what it means to follow the pattern of this world. This is why I meet so many Christians in this country that are different than their non-Christian neighbors. Most of us are pursuing the American Dream instead of God’s dream, God’s will.
Most of us are too busy to pray.
We’re too comfortable to fast.
We’re too greedy to give generously.
We’re too distracted to study the Bible.
We’re too prideful to serve.
If you want a wake-up call, here’s the very next verse from John:
The world and its desires pass away, but whoever does the will of God lives forever. (1 John 2:17)
So how do we begin to do God’s will? It begins with renewing the mind. All of our actions begin in our head. Here are two simple steps:
1. Fill your mind with God’s truth. Study the Bible.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the Lord, and who meditates on his law day and night. (Psalm 1:1-2)
2. Focus your mind on good things.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. (Philippians 4:8)
This can be really difficult in a culture of cable news, Facebook posts, and online porn.
Paul continues to describe what it means to renew our minds:
For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. (Romans 12:3)
I think pride is the root of most, if not all, sins. It manifests itself through both arrogance and insecurity. It got satan kicked out of heaven. It’s what drives us to seize power and control. It seeks comfort and safety. Pride may be my greatest sin throughout my life.
For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. (Romans 12:4-5)
I’ve heard people say they love Jesus but not the Church. That’s like saying you love Christ but hate his Wife! The Church is imperfect, yes, but it is the Body of Christ. A Christian without a church is like a football player without a team. We need others!
I need you. You need me. We belong together. We need to love and serve one another, not only for the sake of the members of the church, but also for our mission field: Toledo and beyond.
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)
This is not a comprehensive list of spiritual gifts, but one of several in the Bible. The Alliance affirms all of the spiritual gifts mentioned in scripture. In fact, one of our seven core values states
Without the Holy Spirit’s empowerment, we can accomplish nothing. - 1 Cor. 2:4-5
A quick note about prophesy, it is not necessarily predicting the future, but rather forth-telling or revealing God’s truth. Perhaps you’ve heard God speak to you about someone or something and didn’t know what to do about it. We’re hosting a three-week seminar on Wednesday nights beginning February 27 to discuss the spiritual gift of prophecy, what it is, how to use it if you have it, and how to avoid misusing it as so many have done.
I want you to see a living example of what happens when a family is filled with the Spirit, surrendered to God, using their gifts, and being the Church.
VIDEO
Did you notice spiritual gifts in use? At least five from Romans 12 are clear:
We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully. (Romans 12:6-8)
- serving (the needs of the mother and daughters)
- teaching (discipling the mother and children)
- encouraging (the four new daughters through their myriad of problems)
- giving (of their time, home and funds)
- showing mercy (to the mother who was incarcerated)
So What?
Do you want God? Do you really want God?
Transformed living is possible. It begins with renewing our minds and surrendering our bodies. Here are a few notes about the process of transformational sanctification:
1. Growth takes time.
But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and forever! Amen. (2 Peter 3:18)
Transformation is a lifelong journey. It’s like a slow dance between the Spirit and us as the Holy Spirit guides and we respond. Don’t ever stop growing!
2. We must take obedient action by taking off our old self and putting on a new self.
You were taught, with regard to your former way of life, to put off your old self, which is being corrupted by its deceitful desires; to be made new in the attitude of your minds; and to put on the new self, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness. (Ephesians 4:22-24)
3. We must remain submitted to God to experience lasting transformation.
…being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus. Philippians 1:6
4. We must remain humble. Christians often become prideful about how much they have been sanctified or transformed. How much you have been transformed is not so much the issue – rather the direction in which you are currently changing is much more important.
…make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, mutual affection; and to mutual affection, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. (2 Peter 1:5b-8)
5. Growth will likely lead to both troubles and a more abundant life.
“Truly I tell you,” Jesus replied, “no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age: homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—along with persecutions—and in the age to come eternal life. (Mark 10:30)
Do you want God? Do you really want God? If so, as we sing this closing song, I want to invite you to the altar. The new year is still getting started. Today is the perfect day to publicly declare your desire for more of God, to surrender, to let go and let God, to be filled with the Holy Spirit.
Credits: I’m grateful for the research and assistance of Doug Oliver.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Living in the Spirit, 6 January 2019
Living in the Spirit
Series—Romans: Walking in the Spirit
Romans 8
Series Overview: The book of Romans guides us into a life of freedom as we follow Jesus by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Big Idea: We are free to live under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit as we become like Jesus.
Happy New Year!
We’re returning to the book of Romans, a favorite of so many in our church family. We could easily spend a year in this book, but instead we’re taking specific chapters, getting an overview of timeless truths from this important letter written to some of the first Christians in Rome.
One common theme we will see is this idea of walking in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit to become like Jesus.
Perhaps you’ve made new year’s resolutions…or didn’t out of fear of failure. If we’re honest, we probably all have areas in our lives in which we want to see growth. Well, if it involves weight, perhaps growth is the last thing we want! But seriously, where would you like to be a year from now? I’ve done a lot of reflection upon 2018 and would not be satisfied if 365 days from now I was the same person.
I want to grow! My ultimate goal is to become like Jesus. That’s what “Christian” means…little Christ. As I mentioned last Sunday, I will not become more like Jesus by trying harder. That’s a terrible myth. Instead, I need to surrender, confess my sins, and welcome the Holy Spirit into my life. The late Bill Bright used to talk about spiritually breathing—exhaling by confession and inhaling by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not a force. The Holy Spirit is not a ghost. The Holy Spirit is a Person, one Member of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit. One God in three Persons.
We are all engaged in a real war between God and satan, good and evil. Make no mistake, the enemy is real. He wants to steal, kill, destroy, and lie, tempting you to make a mess of your life. On the other hand, our Heavenly Father has a much better vision for your life, one filled with love, peace, joy, and abundant life. Jesus is our example. The Holy Spirit provides the gifts, the fruit, the power to become like Jesus when we die—to our flesh, our sins, our pride—and let the Holy Spirit live in and through us.
In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul describes the battle so eloquently:
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25a)
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:25b)
The struggle is real. But there’s hope. There’s power. There’s freedom!
After admitting the war between God’s law and the law of sin, Paul continues in Romans chapter eight, perhaps the most inspirational highlight of the book:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)
It is fitting that we are reading this on communion Sunday. Some churches remember the Eucharist or the LORD’s table each week, which isn’t necessarily a bad idea. But on the first Sunday of the month we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us, demonstrating his love for us, freeing us from the law of sin and death. His death brings us life…abundant life and eternal life. And there’s no condemnation! Only grace! Hallelujah! Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, repentant followers of Jesus who have turned from their sin and followed Jesus can experience forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, salvation, and joy! The law can’t claim you, condemn you, or control you because of Jesus. That’s wonderful! It’s amazing! That’s grace!
You’ll quickly see a tension between what might be called positional and practical reality. Followers of Jesus are forgiven, but we still sin. We are free from the law of sin and death, but we are still tempted to sin…and often succumb to those temptations.
We find ourselves, yet again, in the in-between. Even when we make progress in our spiritual journey, there remains a distance between our lives and the perfection of Jesus. Like a child whose muscles are developing and body is growing, we are not what we were, but not what we will become someday. Such is life!
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)
Every sin begins in the mind. Every act of kindness begins in the mind. Where is your mind? What influences it? We are bombarded by fake news, violence, fear, perversion, profanity, and evil every day, whether it’s from a screen in our pockets or a giant billboard on the expressway, cable news or Netflix.
At the risk of sounding old-school, we must get our minds on God. True believers read the Bible. They study it. They put it into practice. The Bible is our authority, our truth, yet so many of us don’t fill our minds with it. This isn’t a pastor thing, it’s a Christian thing.
As we begin this new year, let me remind you of some great resources we have made available to you.
1. Mission 119. This daily devotional offers a passage of scripture, a twelve-minute audio by Alliance pastor John Soper, and downloadable resources for further study. And it’s totally free! www.Mission119.org. Year 2 began last week, but even if you’ve never accessed it, you can get started today. You can easily catch up on the five days you missed last week since it’s a Monday through Friday format. In three weekends, you’ll be right on track! I’ve been thrilled at the positive feedback on it. I usually read the passage of the day while I’m still in bed…and listen to the audio during my commute. If you struggle with reading, you can even listen to the scripture passage each day.
2. Right Now Media. They sometimes call this Christian Netflix. It’s not a vast library of movies, but it is packed with Bible studies for individuals and groups, great content for children, leadership resources, …and it’s all available for free on most any screen in your pocket or home. If you’d like an invitation, note it on the Connection Card.
3. D6. Parents, grandparents, and guardians, last year we began offering take-home resources and weekly e-mails to equip you to train the next generation in the ways of the LORD. Discipleship cannot adequately occur through one hour a week. I have never seen a tool like D6 to help you and your family know and follow God. Some sermons, small groups, and Sunday School classes are thematically synced, too, to help our entire church family grow together, regardless of age, focused on the same scriptures.
4. Speaking of groups, we have a growing number of small groups, Bible studies, and Sunday School classes that meet on Sundays and throughout the week, here on our church campus and in homes and public spaces. A complete list can be found out our Information Center in the lobby as well as at the bottom of the weekly FAC Focus e-newsletter. If you don’t get that in your inbox each Wednesday, please fill out a Connection Card and you’ll receive it…spam-free!
5. Home Missions partners are local ministries doing great work in and around Toledo. They are always accepting prayers, donations, and volunteers. Our next Home Missions Sunday is in two weeks, January 20. Following Jesus is so much more than just agreeing with a mission statement or having Bible knowledge. The true measure of our spiritual maturity is love…how well we love God and how well we love others, even our enemies. Serving through FAC and its home missions partners is a great way to put your faith into action.
But it all begins with our minds. Will you live for yourself in 2019 or God and others?
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:9-11)
That’s a fantastic promise! Christ was raised from the dead and after we die, our bodies will be resurrected like his! In the meantime, the Spirit of God lives in us! That’s just incredible! This is what it means to be controlled by the Spirit. We die to our selfish desires and follow Jesus.
If I have one desire for 2019, it’s that I would decrease and Jesus would increase. I pray that 52 weeks from now, you would see more Jesus and less Kirk. It will only happen if I live under the control of the Spirit.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
This is an awkward in-between time. We’re citizens of heaven, yet we’re living in a sinful culture, influenced by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Here we’re told to put our flesh to death. This doesn’t mean the body is evil and must be destroyed, but rather it is prone to sin.
I’m proud to be a USAmerican, but does my life look more like Jesus or my non-Christian neighbor? If I’m living according to the flesh, my culture and comfort will take precedence over Jesus’ call to surrender, sacrifice, give, love, forgive, and extend grace. Remember, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to help dead people experience life, but first we must die to our will, our desires, our agenda, our flesh.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17)
We are to live as children of God. Are you a child of God? How do you know?
Some of us have been told the lie that if you just pray a magic prayer, you’re done. You’re in. Any such prayer or “decision” is just the beginning. Children of God are led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit. They are living in the Spirit. They are walking in the Spirit. They have the Holy Spirit…and the Spirit has them! That means we daily die to ourselves. Their body becomes the very temple of the Spirit. If you think that sounds uncomfortable, it surely is! Never are we promised endless rainbows and lollipops! Paul tells us we will share in the sufferings of Jesus. That’s the pathway to glory.
The vast majority of us have never endured the sufferings of Jesus. If someone wished you “Happy Holidays” instead of “Mary Christmas,” that’s doesn’t count! Paul knew suffering, the early church knew suffering, and today millions of our brothers and sisters in other nations are experiencing torture, imprisonment, and martyrdom because they refuse to follow Jesus.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21)
Do you see Paul’s perspective? He’s not in denial about his present circumstances, but he doesn’t whine and complain. He knows freedom is coming. Life is coming. Liberation is coming. Even creation knows it. Someday suffering and death and pain will cease.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:22-25)
I’m so impatient. I want things now. I want Jesus to return, satan to be defeated, and a new resurrection body! Regardless of your present circumstances, hope is real. God always keeps His promises. It will be worth the wait!
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
I love this passage. Have you ever tried to pray and you didn’t know what to say? I’ve had that happen many times, and I usually pray, “Holy Spirit, groan on my behalf; intercede for me; may God’s will be done.”
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is tongues. There are two different types of tongues: known languages and heavenly language. Some Christians are given the supernatural ability to speak human languages they’ve never learned, usually for the purpose of evangelism. This occurred in Acts 2:6. The heavenly language tongue is a spiritual gift which requires someone with the spiritual gift of interpretation to understand, though some speak it privately without an interpreter.
I have asked the Holy Spirit to give me the gift of tongues, but I have never received the gift. The Spirit has given me other gifts and I’m content with them since nobody has all of the spiritual gifts. I mention this controversial gift fully embraced by the Christian & Missionary Alliance because some people when they pray are unable to use known languages to express their heart to God, yet the find themselves speaking words they don’t understand. This might be similar to the groanings the Holy Spirit prays. Note it’s all in accordance with God’s will.
We must live through God’s strength.
Now we come to one of the most famous and misused verses in the Bible.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
Take some time and unpack those rich verses. Remember, this is in the context of suffering. Nothing surprises God…and the suffering of His children is never in vain. There’s a rich chunk of theology here, that those that walk in the Spirit are called, justified, and will someday be glorified. We will receive a reward for our devotion to God…eternity with Him.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:31-35)
I’d love to preach an entire sermon on this paragraph! If God is for us, who can be against us? The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Our High Priest, Jesus, is also interceding for us. Nothing can separate God’s children from the love of Christ. We can live confidently in God’s never-ending love. If God is for us, how can we worry? How can we be filled with fear?
As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Romans 8:36)
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
If we walk in the Spirit, we can live victorious, free from sin, defeat, death, discouragement, condemnation, and fear. Nothing can separate God’s children from the love of God. Hallelujah! If God is for us, who can be against us,
I want to you think about your relationship with God. Who’s the pilot? Are you frustrated from disappointment and failure, trying to be in control? Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. Do you feel distant from God or find yourself trying to fit in with the world? Live as a child of God. Are you weak and tired? Live through God’s strength? Are you insecure or feel unloved? Claim the promises of Romans 8 and know that you can live confidently in God’s never-ending love.
That love was not just a mushy Hallmark card, but demonstrated with blood, sweat and tears. Jesus died to make everything in this chapter possible. He endured suffering knowing glory would follow, and the same is true for us. Your story’s not over. I want to encourage you in this new year to press into Jesus, surrender control of your life to the Holy Spirit, and seek first the Kingdom of God.
Credits: outline from D6.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series—Romans: Walking in the Spirit
Romans 8
Series Overview: The book of Romans guides us into a life of freedom as we follow Jesus by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
Big Idea: We are free to live under the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit as we become like Jesus.
Happy New Year!
We’re returning to the book of Romans, a favorite of so many in our church family. We could easily spend a year in this book, but instead we’re taking specific chapters, getting an overview of timeless truths from this important letter written to some of the first Christians in Rome.
One common theme we will see is this idea of walking in the power and guidance of the Holy Spirit to become like Jesus.
Perhaps you’ve made new year’s resolutions…or didn’t out of fear of failure. If we’re honest, we probably all have areas in our lives in which we want to see growth. Well, if it involves weight, perhaps growth is the last thing we want! But seriously, where would you like to be a year from now? I’ve done a lot of reflection upon 2018 and would not be satisfied if 365 days from now I was the same person.
I want to grow! My ultimate goal is to become like Jesus. That’s what “Christian” means…little Christ. As I mentioned last Sunday, I will not become more like Jesus by trying harder. That’s a terrible myth. Instead, I need to surrender, confess my sins, and welcome the Holy Spirit into my life. The late Bill Bright used to talk about spiritually breathing—exhaling by confession and inhaling by being filled with the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit is not a force. The Holy Spirit is not a ghost. The Holy Spirit is a Person, one Member of the Trinity—Father, Son, and Spirit. One God in three Persons.
We are all engaged in a real war between God and satan, good and evil. Make no mistake, the enemy is real. He wants to steal, kill, destroy, and lie, tempting you to make a mess of your life. On the other hand, our Heavenly Father has a much better vision for your life, one filled with love, peace, joy, and abundant life. Jesus is our example. The Holy Spirit provides the gifts, the fruit, the power to become like Jesus when we die—to our flesh, our sins, our pride—and let the Holy Spirit live in and through us.
In the seventh chapter of Romans, Paul describes the battle so eloquently:
So I find this law at work: Although I want to do good, evil is right there with me. For in my inner being I delight in God’s law; but I see another law at work in me, waging war against the law of my mind and making me a prisoner of the law of sin at work within me. What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord! (Romans 7:21-25a)
So then, I myself in my mind am a slave to God’s law, but in my sinful nature a slave to the law of sin. (Romans 7:25b)
The struggle is real. But there’s hope. There’s power. There’s freedom!
After admitting the war between God’s law and the law of sin, Paul continues in Romans chapter eight, perhaps the most inspirational highlight of the book:
Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, because through Christ Jesus the law of the Spirit who gives life has set you free from the law of sin and death. For what the law was powerless to do because it was weakened by the flesh, God did by sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh to be a sin offering. And so he condemned sin in the flesh, in order that the righteous requirement of the law might be fully met in us, who do not live according to the flesh but according to the Spirit. (Romans 8:1-4)
It is fitting that we are reading this on communion Sunday. Some churches remember the Eucharist or the LORD’s table each week, which isn’t necessarily a bad idea. But on the first Sunday of the month we are reminded of Jesus’ death and resurrection for us, demonstrating his love for us, freeing us from the law of sin and death. His death brings us life…abundant life and eternal life. And there’s no condemnation! Only grace! Hallelujah! Because of Jesus’ death and resurrection, repentant followers of Jesus who have turned from their sin and followed Jesus can experience forgiveness, reconciliation, peace, salvation, and joy! The law can’t claim you, condemn you, or control you because of Jesus. That’s wonderful! It’s amazing! That’s grace!
You’ll quickly see a tension between what might be called positional and practical reality. Followers of Jesus are forgiven, but we still sin. We are free from the law of sin and death, but we are still tempted to sin…and often succumb to those temptations.
We find ourselves, yet again, in the in-between. Even when we make progress in our spiritual journey, there remains a distance between our lives and the perfection of Jesus. Like a child whose muscles are developing and body is growing, we are not what we were, but not what we will become someday. Such is life!
Those who live according to the flesh have their minds set on what the flesh desires; but those who live in accordance with the Spirit have their minds set on what the Spirit desires. The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace. The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God’s law, nor can it do so. Those who are in the realm of the flesh cannot please God. (Romans 8:5-8)
Every sin begins in the mind. Every act of kindness begins in the mind. Where is your mind? What influences it? We are bombarded by fake news, violence, fear, perversion, profanity, and evil every day, whether it’s from a screen in our pockets or a giant billboard on the expressway, cable news or Netflix.
At the risk of sounding old-school, we must get our minds on God. True believers read the Bible. They study it. They put it into practice. The Bible is our authority, our truth, yet so many of us don’t fill our minds with it. This isn’t a pastor thing, it’s a Christian thing.
As we begin this new year, let me remind you of some great resources we have made available to you.
1. Mission 119. This daily devotional offers a passage of scripture, a twelve-minute audio by Alliance pastor John Soper, and downloadable resources for further study. And it’s totally free! www.Mission119.org. Year 2 began last week, but even if you’ve never accessed it, you can get started today. You can easily catch up on the five days you missed last week since it’s a Monday through Friday format. In three weekends, you’ll be right on track! I’ve been thrilled at the positive feedback on it. I usually read the passage of the day while I’m still in bed…and listen to the audio during my commute. If you struggle with reading, you can even listen to the scripture passage each day.
2. Right Now Media. They sometimes call this Christian Netflix. It’s not a vast library of movies, but it is packed with Bible studies for individuals and groups, great content for children, leadership resources, …and it’s all available for free on most any screen in your pocket or home. If you’d like an invitation, note it on the Connection Card.
3. D6. Parents, grandparents, and guardians, last year we began offering take-home resources and weekly e-mails to equip you to train the next generation in the ways of the LORD. Discipleship cannot adequately occur through one hour a week. I have never seen a tool like D6 to help you and your family know and follow God. Some sermons, small groups, and Sunday School classes are thematically synced, too, to help our entire church family grow together, regardless of age, focused on the same scriptures.
4. Speaking of groups, we have a growing number of small groups, Bible studies, and Sunday School classes that meet on Sundays and throughout the week, here on our church campus and in homes and public spaces. A complete list can be found out our Information Center in the lobby as well as at the bottom of the weekly FAC Focus e-newsletter. If you don’t get that in your inbox each Wednesday, please fill out a Connection Card and you’ll receive it…spam-free!
5. Home Missions partners are local ministries doing great work in and around Toledo. They are always accepting prayers, donations, and volunteers. Our next Home Missions Sunday is in two weeks, January 20. Following Jesus is so much more than just agreeing with a mission statement or having Bible knowledge. The true measure of our spiritual maturity is love…how well we love God and how well we love others, even our enemies. Serving through FAC and its home missions partners is a great way to put your faith into action.
But it all begins with our minds. Will you live for yourself in 2019 or God and others?
You, however, are not in the realm of the flesh but are in the realm of the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God lives in you. And if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, they do not belong to Christ. But if Christ is in you, then even though your body is subject to death because of sin, the Spirit gives life because of righteousness. And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you. (Romans 8:9-11)
That’s a fantastic promise! Christ was raised from the dead and after we die, our bodies will be resurrected like his! In the meantime, the Spirit of God lives in us! That’s just incredible! This is what it means to be controlled by the Spirit. We die to our selfish desires and follow Jesus.
If I have one desire for 2019, it’s that I would decrease and Jesus would increase. I pray that 52 weeks from now, you would see more Jesus and less Kirk. It will only happen if I live under the control of the Spirit.
Therefore, brothers and sisters, we have an obligation—but it is not to the flesh, to live according to it. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. (Romans 8:12-13)
This is an awkward in-between time. We’re citizens of heaven, yet we’re living in a sinful culture, influenced by the world, the flesh, and the devil. Here we’re told to put our flesh to death. This doesn’t mean the body is evil and must be destroyed, but rather it is prone to sin.
I’m proud to be a USAmerican, but does my life look more like Jesus or my non-Christian neighbor? If I’m living according to the flesh, my culture and comfort will take precedence over Jesus’ call to surrender, sacrifice, give, love, forgive, and extend grace. Remember, Jesus didn’t come to make bad people good. He came to help dead people experience life, but first we must die to our will, our desires, our agenda, our flesh.
For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God. The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, “Abba, Father.” The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God’s children. Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. (Romans 8:14-17)
We are to live as children of God. Are you a child of God? How do you know?
Some of us have been told the lie that if you just pray a magic prayer, you’re done. You’re in. Any such prayer or “decision” is just the beginning. Children of God are led by the Spirit, filled with the Spirit. They are living in the Spirit. They are walking in the Spirit. They have the Holy Spirit…and the Spirit has them! That means we daily die to ourselves. Their body becomes the very temple of the Spirit. If you think that sounds uncomfortable, it surely is! Never are we promised endless rainbows and lollipops! Paul tells us we will share in the sufferings of Jesus. That’s the pathway to glory.
The vast majority of us have never endured the sufferings of Jesus. If someone wished you “Happy Holidays” instead of “Mary Christmas,” that’s doesn’t count! Paul knew suffering, the early church knew suffering, and today millions of our brothers and sisters in other nations are experiencing torture, imprisonment, and martyrdom because they refuse to follow Jesus.
I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God. (Romans 8:18-21)
Do you see Paul’s perspective? He’s not in denial about his present circumstances, but he doesn’t whine and complain. He knows freedom is coming. Life is coming. Liberation is coming. Even creation knows it. Someday suffering and death and pain will cease.
We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. (Romans 8:22-25)
I’m so impatient. I want things now. I want Jesus to return, satan to be defeated, and a new resurrection body! Regardless of your present circumstances, hope is real. God always keeps His promises. It will be worth the wait!
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26-27)
I love this passage. Have you ever tried to pray and you didn’t know what to say? I’ve had that happen many times, and I usually pray, “Holy Spirit, groan on my behalf; intercede for me; may God’s will be done.”
One of the gifts of the Holy Spirit is tongues. There are two different types of tongues: known languages and heavenly language. Some Christians are given the supernatural ability to speak human languages they’ve never learned, usually for the purpose of evangelism. This occurred in Acts 2:6. The heavenly language tongue is a spiritual gift which requires someone with the spiritual gift of interpretation to understand, though some speak it privately without an interpreter.
I have asked the Holy Spirit to give me the gift of tongues, but I have never received the gift. The Spirit has given me other gifts and I’m content with them since nobody has all of the spiritual gifts. I mention this controversial gift fully embraced by the Christian & Missionary Alliance because some people when they pray are unable to use known languages to express their heart to God, yet the find themselves speaking words they don’t understand. This might be similar to the groanings the Holy Spirit prays. Note it’s all in accordance with God’s will.
We must live through God’s strength.
Now we come to one of the most famous and misused verses in the Bible.
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. (Romans 8:28-30)
Take some time and unpack those rich verses. Remember, this is in the context of suffering. Nothing surprises God…and the suffering of His children is never in vain. There’s a rich chunk of theology here, that those that walk in the Spirit are called, justified, and will someday be glorified. We will receive a reward for our devotion to God…eternity with Him.
What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us. Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall trouble or hardship or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? (Romans 8:31-35)
I’d love to preach an entire sermon on this paragraph! If God is for us, who can be against us? The Holy Spirit intercedes for us. Our High Priest, Jesus, is also interceding for us. Nothing can separate God’s children from the love of Christ. We can live confidently in God’s never-ending love. If God is for us, how can we worry? How can we be filled with fear?
As it is written:
“For your sake we face death all day long;
we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.” (Romans 8:36)
No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. (Romans 8:37-39)
If we walk in the Spirit, we can live victorious, free from sin, defeat, death, discouragement, condemnation, and fear. Nothing can separate God’s children from the love of God. Hallelujah! If God is for us, who can be against us,
I want to you think about your relationship with God. Who’s the pilot? Are you frustrated from disappointment and failure, trying to be in control? Live under the control of the Holy Spirit. Do you feel distant from God or find yourself trying to fit in with the world? Live as a child of God. Are you weak and tired? Live through God’s strength? Are you insecure or feel unloved? Claim the promises of Romans 8 and know that you can live confidently in God’s never-ending love.
That love was not just a mushy Hallmark card, but demonstrated with blood, sweat and tears. Jesus died to make everything in this chapter possible. He endured suffering knowing glory would follow, and the same is true for us. Your story’s not over. I want to encourage you in this new year to press into Jesus, surrender control of your life to the Holy Spirit, and seek first the Kingdom of God.
Credits: outline from D6.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Messenger: John the Baptist, 30 April 2017
Messenger: John the Baptist
Series— Mark’s Gospel: The Real Jesus
Mark 1:1-8
Series Big Idea: The shortest gospel is filled with good news about Jesus!
Big Idea: John prepared the way for Jesus’ coming…and so can we.
Holy Spirit
Last night I returned from the Missio Alliance conference near Washington DC. It was a great opportunity to connect with new and old friends, hear from world-renown theologians, and be reminded of the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
If you are a follower of Jesus, you were given the Holy Spirit. God dwells within you. What an amazing reality, one we often forget. I have much to say at a later date about the Holy Spirit, but for now I simply want to welcome and acknowledge the Spirit’s presence here.
Would you please take a moment of silence and pray, inviting the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the Word of God and to give me words to speak?
Introduction
Many years ago, I heard about this new rock group that allegedly had one or more Christians in it named Bourgeois Tagg. They were the opening act for singer Robert Palmer’s concert at Pine Knob, now DTE Music Theatre in metro Detroit. Some friends of mine asked if I wanted to go to the show, not to see the headliner, but to check out the opening act. We all liked their performance, and before I knew it we were backstage meeting the band! It was surreal for a teenager to be backstage with rock stars! They were excited to have fans thousands of miles from their Sacramento home. It was a memorable night for all of us.
Over the years I’ve spent enough time talking with touring musicians to know being an opening act can be a tough gig. You usually stand between the fans and the headliner. It can be great exposure for a new artist, but it can also be a struggle.
Have you ever been an opening act? Maybe you played on the junior varsity team before the varsity team took the court or field. Perhaps you introduced a keynote speaker at a big event, aware that people did not come to see you!
Today we’re going to look at Jesus’ opening act, his cousin John.
Messengers
In Jesus’ day, a messenger would precede the arrival of any important person. Today, the media lets us know if a rock star, celebrity, or politician is coming to town. Imagine a world without the Internet, TV, radio, or even newspapers. Messengers would ensure the roads were in good repair (good luck in Toledo!), make arrangements for food and lodging, and announce the arrival of the dignitary. This is what John did for Jesus.
Last week we looked at the first verse of the book of Mark in our quest to discover the real Jesus. Charles Carter told me if we take one verse each week we’ll be studying the book for more than ten years! Today we’ll tackle seven more verses, but first, let’s review verse one:
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, (Mark 1:1)
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. He is God. Jesus is 100% and 100% human. This book is the gospel—or good news—of Mark. Jesus is the gospel. The gospel is Jesus is LORD.
The comma at the end of the verse is not a typo. The sentence continues in verse 2:
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way” —
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ” (Mark 1:2-3)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, one of the reasons I trust Jesus is the hundreds of prophecies he fulfilled. This is actually a collection of three different Old Testament books—Exodus (23:20), Malachi (3:1), and Isaiah (40:3). These writings said hundreds of years before the birth of Christ a messenger would come before Jesus. John the Baptist is that messenger.
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4)
Were there baptism before Christian baptism? Yes!
In first-century Judaism, people would cleanse themselves according to the book of Leviticus when they were impure from things such as touching a leper or a corpse. Later, when Gentiles converted to Judaism, the meaning of baptism was extended as a sign of the covenant given to Abraham.
This does not fully explain John’s “baptism of repentance.” One group at Qumran, the people known for creating the Dead Sea scrolls, believed a person could not become clean if they disobeyed God’s commandments. Their manual stated,
"For it is through the spirit of God's true counsel concerning the ways of man that all his sins be expiated, and when his flesh is sprinkled with purifying water, it shall be made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God."
To enter their community, one would need to “go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him; as it is written, ‘Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a path for our God.” The wilderness is key in Jewish history, the place where they were tested, where they rebelled against God, and where they sinned and repented.
John preached repentance, urging people to turn away from their sins. To repent is to turn away, to do a 180. The Greek word is “metanoia” and means a change of mind or direction. John was preaching of the need for people to change, to get off the throne of their lives and surrender to God. He was obviously very effective.
The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:5)
People traveled to see this preacher. It had been more than 300 years since a prophet was active in Israel. They were convicted of their sins, confessed them, and were immersed in water, in the Jordan River.
Water is a powerful image throughout the Bible. It begins at creation, as God separates the waters from the earth. It covers the earth during the days of Noah. God miraculously parts the sea through Moses, allowing the people to walk on dry ground with water on either side. Huge crowds of people (the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem; not literally, of course!) were visiting John. He must’ve been quite popular. As opening acts go, he was developing his own fan base, perhaps partly because of his appearance.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:6)
Just think about that for a moment! Notice the detail. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, a book of headlines. When you vivid descriptions, don’t miss them. John is quite the fashion statement! There’s more than meets the eye. This description is similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). His unusual diet was part of the prophetic tradition. Locusts were kosher. But remember, he had a greater mission, to prepare the way of the LORD. He was a messenger.
It’s interesting to note there were other messengers announcing Jesus’ arrival. Old Testament prophets predicted it. The angel Gabriel told Mary. Now John is the messenger.
Let’s not forget John had a messenger, too. The angel Gabriel first appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, to announce his birth. This was a big deal since John’s parents were elderly, surprised, and somewhat doubtful about having a son. We have messengers all over the stories of John and his six-month younger cousin, Jesus.
And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. Mark 1:7
John knows he’s just the opening act. He’s preparing the way. He’s getting people ready for the coming of the Messiah. Despite his popularity as the first prophet in 300 years, he humbly acknowledges his role as messenger and the arrival of someone much greater.
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:8)
Baptize means to immerse, to overwhelm, to submerge. This is what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. As John prepares the way for Jesus, Jesus prepares the way for the Holy Spirit. Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
Have you ever wished Jesus was here? Me too! Jesus said it was good for Him to leave, though, to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us—all of us. Do you trust Jesus? He prepared the way for the Holy Spirit, a wonderful gift available to all of us who surrender to the Spirit.
Now catch this! Jesus said
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
I want to give you an assignment for this series. As we go through the book of Mark, think about what it would mean for us to do what Jesus is doing in the text.
Let’s review:
Gabriel announces the births of John and Jesus
John prepares the way for Jesus first coming
Jesus prepares the way for the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit fills us.
We are invited to prepare the way for Jesus’ second coming
We are called to be messengers. We are to prepare the way for the return of the King. We are to announce His arrival.
I know the idea of being a messenger for Jesus may sound scary or weird. What do we do, go door-to-door and tell everyone to get ready for Jesus? That’s one way to do it! Perhaps another way is to stop, be still, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the name of a person, pray for them, and ask the Spirit for an opportunity to talk with them about Jesus. Here are a few simple starter questions:
Do you believe in God? Why or why not?
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus to you?
Where are you at on your spiritual journey?
When have you felt the most loved?
When it comes to proclaiming the truth of Jesus, it should never feel forced. We’re not sales people for Jesus, getting others to sign up for church membership or fire insurance. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to guide us, to lead us, to allow us to re-present God in word and deed to our world. It’s not about us. We’re just the opening act. We’re only the messengers preparing the way for the coming of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. We are privileged to let the whole world see our risen King!
Credits: some ideas from NT Wright, Richard Niell Donovan, and David Garland.
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
Series— Mark’s Gospel: The Real Jesus
Mark 1:1-8
Series Big Idea: The shortest gospel is filled with good news about Jesus!
Big Idea: John prepared the way for Jesus’ coming…and so can we.
Holy Spirit
Last night I returned from the Missio Alliance conference near Washington DC. It was a great opportunity to connect with new and old friends, hear from world-renown theologians, and be reminded of the most misunderstood member of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit.
If you are a follower of Jesus, you were given the Holy Spirit. God dwells within you. What an amazing reality, one we often forget. I have much to say at a later date about the Holy Spirit, but for now I simply want to welcome and acknowledge the Spirit’s presence here.
Would you please take a moment of silence and pray, inviting the Holy Spirit to open your heart to the Word of God and to give me words to speak?
Introduction
Many years ago, I heard about this new rock group that allegedly had one or more Christians in it named Bourgeois Tagg. They were the opening act for singer Robert Palmer’s concert at Pine Knob, now DTE Music Theatre in metro Detroit. Some friends of mine asked if I wanted to go to the show, not to see the headliner, but to check out the opening act. We all liked their performance, and before I knew it we were backstage meeting the band! It was surreal for a teenager to be backstage with rock stars! They were excited to have fans thousands of miles from their Sacramento home. It was a memorable night for all of us.
Over the years I’ve spent enough time talking with touring musicians to know being an opening act can be a tough gig. You usually stand between the fans and the headliner. It can be great exposure for a new artist, but it can also be a struggle.
Have you ever been an opening act? Maybe you played on the junior varsity team before the varsity team took the court or field. Perhaps you introduced a keynote speaker at a big event, aware that people did not come to see you!
Today we’re going to look at Jesus’ opening act, his cousin John.
Messengers
In Jesus’ day, a messenger would precede the arrival of any important person. Today, the media lets us know if a rock star, celebrity, or politician is coming to town. Imagine a world without the Internet, TV, radio, or even newspapers. Messengers would ensure the roads were in good repair (good luck in Toledo!), make arrangements for food and lodging, and announce the arrival of the dignitary. This is what John did for Jesus.
Last week we looked at the first verse of the book of Mark in our quest to discover the real Jesus. Charles Carter told me if we take one verse each week we’ll be studying the book for more than ten years! Today we’ll tackle seven more verses, but first, let’s review verse one:
The beginning of the good news about Jesus the Messiah, the Son of God, (Mark 1:1)
Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the Son of God. He is God. Jesus is 100% and 100% human. This book is the gospel—or good news—of Mark. Jesus is the gospel. The gospel is Jesus is LORD.
The comma at the end of the verse is not a typo. The sentence continues in verse 2:
as it is written in Isaiah the prophet:
“I will send my messenger ahead of you,
who will prepare your way” —
“a voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
make straight paths for him.’ ” (Mark 1:2-3)
I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, one of the reasons I trust Jesus is the hundreds of prophecies he fulfilled. This is actually a collection of three different Old Testament books—Exodus (23:20), Malachi (3:1), and Isaiah (40:3). These writings said hundreds of years before the birth of Christ a messenger would come before Jesus. John the Baptist is that messenger.
And so John the Baptist appeared in the wilderness, preaching a baptism of repentance for the forgiveness of sins. (Mark 1:4)
Were there baptism before Christian baptism? Yes!
In first-century Judaism, people would cleanse themselves according to the book of Leviticus when they were impure from things such as touching a leper or a corpse. Later, when Gentiles converted to Judaism, the meaning of baptism was extended as a sign of the covenant given to Abraham.
This does not fully explain John’s “baptism of repentance.” One group at Qumran, the people known for creating the Dead Sea scrolls, believed a person could not become clean if they disobeyed God’s commandments. Their manual stated,
"For it is through the spirit of God's true counsel concerning the ways of man that all his sins be expiated, and when his flesh is sprinkled with purifying water, it shall be made clean by the humble submission of his soul to all the precepts of God."
To enter their community, one would need to “go into the wilderness to prepare there the way of Him; as it is written, ‘Prepare in the wilderness the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a path for our God.” The wilderness is key in Jewish history, the place where they were tested, where they rebelled against God, and where they sinned and repented.
John preached repentance, urging people to turn away from their sins. To repent is to turn away, to do a 180. The Greek word is “metanoia” and means a change of mind or direction. John was preaching of the need for people to change, to get off the throne of their lives and surrender to God. He was obviously very effective.
The whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem went out to him. Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River. (Mark 1:5)
People traveled to see this preacher. It had been more than 300 years since a prophet was active in Israel. They were convicted of their sins, confessed them, and were immersed in water, in the Jordan River.
Water is a powerful image throughout the Bible. It begins at creation, as God separates the waters from the earth. It covers the earth during the days of Noah. God miraculously parts the sea through Moses, allowing the people to walk on dry ground with water on either side. Huge crowds of people (the whole Judean countryside and all the people of Jerusalem; not literally, of course!) were visiting John. He must’ve been quite popular. As opening acts go, he was developing his own fan base, perhaps partly because of his appearance.
John wore clothing made of camel’s hair, with a leather belt around his waist, and he ate locusts and wild honey. (Mark 1:6)
Just think about that for a moment! Notice the detail. Mark’s gospel is the shortest of the four, a book of headlines. When you vivid descriptions, don’t miss them. John is quite the fashion statement! There’s more than meets the eye. This description is similar to that of Elijah (2 Kings 1:8). His unusual diet was part of the prophetic tradition. Locusts were kosher. But remember, he had a greater mission, to prepare the way of the LORD. He was a messenger.
It’s interesting to note there were other messengers announcing Jesus’ arrival. Old Testament prophets predicted it. The angel Gabriel told Mary. Now John is the messenger.
Let’s not forget John had a messenger, too. The angel Gabriel first appeared to John’s father, Zechariah, to announce his birth. This was a big deal since John’s parents were elderly, surprised, and somewhat doubtful about having a son. We have messengers all over the stories of John and his six-month younger cousin, Jesus.
And this was his message: “After me comes the one more powerful than I, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to stoop down and untie. Mark 1:7
John knows he’s just the opening act. He’s preparing the way. He’s getting people ready for the coming of the Messiah. Despite his popularity as the first prophet in 300 years, he humbly acknowledges his role as messenger and the arrival of someone much greater.
I baptize you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” (Mark 1:8)
Baptize means to immerse, to overwhelm, to submerge. This is what the Holy Spirit wants to do in our lives. As John prepares the way for Jesus, Jesus prepares the way for the Holy Spirit. Before He ascended into heaven, Jesus said
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
Have you ever wished Jesus was here? Me too! Jesus said it was good for Him to leave, though, to allow the Holy Spirit to fill us—all of us. Do you trust Jesus? He prepared the way for the Holy Spirit, a wonderful gift available to all of us who surrender to the Spirit.
Now catch this! Jesus said
Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. (John 14:12)
I want to give you an assignment for this series. As we go through the book of Mark, think about what it would mean for us to do what Jesus is doing in the text.
Let’s review:
Gabriel announces the births of John and Jesus
John prepares the way for Jesus first coming
Jesus prepares the way for the Holy Spirit
The Holy Spirit fills us.
We are invited to prepare the way for Jesus’ second coming
We are called to be messengers. We are to prepare the way for the return of the King. We are to announce His arrival.
I know the idea of being a messenger for Jesus may sound scary or weird. What do we do, go door-to-door and tell everyone to get ready for Jesus? That’s one way to do it! Perhaps another way is to stop, be still, ask the Holy Spirit to give you the name of a person, pray for them, and ask the Spirit for an opportunity to talk with them about Jesus. Here are a few simple starter questions:
Do you believe in God? Why or why not?
Who is Jesus?
Who is Jesus to you?
Where are you at on your spiritual journey?
When have you felt the most loved?
When it comes to proclaiming the truth of Jesus, it should never feel forced. We’re not sales people for Jesus, getting others to sign up for church membership or fire insurance. We’ve been given the Holy Spirit to guide us, to lead us, to allow us to re-present God in word and deed to our world. It’s not about us. We’re just the opening act. We’re only the messengers preparing the way for the coming of the King of kings, Jesus Christ. We are privileged to let the whole world see our risen King!
Credits: some ideas from NT Wright, Richard Niell Donovan, and David Garland.
Sardis: Wake Up! 31 July 2016
Sardis: Wake Up!
7 Letters: Revelation 2-3
Revelation 3:1-6
Series Overview
Revelation is the Gospel according to Jesus. In chapters two and three, he speaks to seven churches, offering both correction and encouragement. Each is relevant to our church today.
Big Idea
A church can do good things yet remain dead without the Holy Spirit.
Introduction
Like many of you, I found the last book of the Bible to be confusing, weird, and even a bit scary. We are not doing a series on the entire book (perhaps we’ll talk about wings and beasts and 666 in the future) but we are going to look at the Gospel according to Jesus. Perhaps that’s a new phrase to you. Perhaps you know of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus also wrote a book of the Bible, or at least he spoke much of it. If you have a Bible with the words of Jesus in red, you’ll notice chapters 2 and 3 are all red, all words of Jesus. The book begins:
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-2)
Revelation is not about the antichrist (a term which does not appear in the book of Revelation), but about the living Christ. It is not about a rapture out of this world (the word “rapture” is not found in Revelation, either) but about faithful discipleship in this world. As it says, this is the revelation from Jesus. We read Revelation to know Jesus better. It reveals Christ.
There is some dispute about whether this John is the son of Zebedee, the apostle who wrote the gospel of John and 1, 2, and 3 John or a different person. What matters is not the recipient so much as the sender, the revelator, Jesus Christ.
The book of Revelation was written around A.D. 95 when Christians were entering a time of persecution. Emperor worship was growing so anyone who held that Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord was subject to hostility. Needless to say, following Jesus was not politically correct.
Chapter 1 describes a scene where John encounters Jesus.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:17-20)
Revelation is filled with fantastical symbolism. In this instance, it is clear. The stars are angels of the churches. The lampstands are the churches, the people. Our series is focusing on these seven churches.
We have looked at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. We have come now to Sardis. Sardis was the capital of the province of Lydia. It was noted for its wealth. In fact, it is here that the first coins in the world were minted!
After decades of archaeological digs, there have been three primary discoveries: the Romans road, a synagogue, and a gymnasium. One of the great things about our faith is it’s rooted in history. The Bible is filled with accounts of actual people, event, and places. I’ve visited many of the places, including Sardis.
Sardis has been around for more than 3000 years! It flourished between the 7th century BD and the 7th century AD. A stream contained alluvial gold which made the Lydians—natives of Sardis—the most powerful and wealthy people in Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor or modern day Turkey). As you can imagine, power and wealth led the people in Sardis to love luxury, comfort, convenience…and moral decadence. Sound familiar?
The church at Sardis had a reputation of being alive and yet—like so many churches today—it was dead and in need of the Holy Spirit.
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Revelation 3:1)
Jesus holds the seven stars—churches— and the Spirit of God sent to them. Rather than begin with encouragement, he dives right into his concern. They are dead! They need the spirit of God. Only the Holy Spirit can help us come alive.
The Holy Spirit is the most underrated Person in the Trinity. The Father sent the Son, Jesus, to live on our planet about 2000 years ago. God “moved into the neighborhood and dwelt among us.” He told his disciples
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
They must’ve thought Jesus was crazy! It’s good that you leave us, Jesus? Yes! The presence of God was contained in one person but at Pentecost in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit arrives, dwelling in every believer. God is distributed! When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit they are given gifts and fruit. Gifts include prophecy, serving, teaching, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, and administration (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Peter 4:11).
…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
We desperately need the Holy Spirit! The Sardis church did, too. I’m fascinated with their reputation for being alive, yet actually dead. Perhaps they were like a façade.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. (Revelation 3:2)
He’s trying to wake up the dead! They have deeds but they’re unfinished. They seem to think everything’s fine, yet Jesus says they are in trouble.
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Revelation 3:3)
This is a word of warning. They are to obey and repent. Now!
Repent. This means to make a u-turn. Confess is when we admit wrong but repentance requires change—180 degree change. This means both moving away from sins you commit and moving away from apathy to action. I said last week there are sins of commission—things we do—and sins of omission—things we don’t do.
I pray four things for First Alliance: unity, direction, protection, and passion. I pray we would be awake, alive, and passionately loving God and loving others.
On a side note, Sardis was on the top of a mountain. It had only one entrance…on the south side. On two occasions the guard went to sleep and the city was invaded! Jesus wants them to be alert, awake, and ready for the return of Christ.
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)
I love this language! But what does this mean? A few remained holy, undefiled by the pagan culture. The church was not completely dead. There is usually a remnant true to God even among compromised churches. White is symbolic of purity and holiness and we often associate it with angels and heavenly beings. Although the church is a community, God recognizes those faithful to Him even amongst dying churches.
I have a friend who has been active in a church that is drifting from God. They are compromising their beliefs and following the world more than the Word. He told me he’s wrestling with whether or not to simply leave or stay and try to guide them back to God.
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
Jesus is victorious. He will be dressed in white along with the faithful, the obedient, the true believers, a reiteration of verse 4. What great news for those enduring a compromised church! To summarize
1. They will walk with Jesus dressed in white.
2. Their names will never be blotted out from the book of life. Never.
In the first century those living in a city were listed in a registry. When they died, their name was erased. Those followers of Jesus will never have their names erased!
3. Their names will be acknowledged before God the Father and His angels.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:6)
The Holy Spirit is calling all who will listen to repent and obey. He calls the dead to life. He calls the sleeping to arise.
So What?
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? It begins with confession and surrender to God. Then we are to repent and obey, turn from sin and pursue the way of Jesus with our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to worship him with our time, talent, and treasures. We are to glorify him with our bodies, our sexuality, our attitudes, our thoughts, and our deeds. It seems so simple yet I need to be reminded every day to get off the throne of my life and let God be God.
Invitation: if you’ve never surrendered your life to God know that three things happen:
You can listen to this message and others at the First Alliance Church podcast here.
7 Letters: Revelation 2-3
Revelation 3:1-6
Series Overview
Revelation is the Gospel according to Jesus. In chapters two and three, he speaks to seven churches, offering both correction and encouragement. Each is relevant to our church today.
Big Idea
A church can do good things yet remain dead without the Holy Spirit.
Introduction
Like many of you, I found the last book of the Bible to be confusing, weird, and even a bit scary. We are not doing a series on the entire book (perhaps we’ll talk about wings and beasts and 666 in the future) but we are going to look at the Gospel according to Jesus. Perhaps that’s a new phrase to you. Perhaps you know of the gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. Jesus also wrote a book of the Bible, or at least he spoke much of it. If you have a Bible with the words of Jesus in red, you’ll notice chapters 2 and 3 are all red, all words of Jesus. The book begins:
The revelation from Jesus Christ, which God gave him to show his servants what must soon take place. He made it known by sending his angel to his servant John, who testifies to everything he saw—that is, the word of God and the testimony of Jesus Christ. (Revelation 1:1-2)
Revelation is not about the antichrist (a term which does not appear in the book of Revelation), but about the living Christ. It is not about a rapture out of this world (the word “rapture” is not found in Revelation, either) but about faithful discipleship in this world. As it says, this is the revelation from Jesus. We read Revelation to know Jesus better. It reveals Christ.
There is some dispute about whether this John is the son of Zebedee, the apostle who wrote the gospel of John and 1, 2, and 3 John or a different person. What matters is not the recipient so much as the sender, the revelator, Jesus Christ.
The book of Revelation was written around A.D. 95 when Christians were entering a time of persecution. Emperor worship was growing so anyone who held that Jesus, not Caesar, was Lord was subject to hostility. Needless to say, following Jesus was not politically correct.
Chapter 1 describes a scene where John encounters Jesus.
When I saw him, I fell at his feet as though dead. Then he placed his right hand on me and said: “Do not be afraid. I am the First and the Last. I am the Living One; I was dead, and now look, I am alive for ever and ever! And I hold the keys of death and Hades.
“Write, therefore, what you have seen, what is now and what will take place later. The mystery of the seven stars that you saw in my right hand and of the seven golden lampstands is this: The seven stars are the angels of the seven churches, and the seven lampstands are the seven churches. (Revelation 1:17-20)
Revelation is filled with fantastical symbolism. In this instance, it is clear. The stars are angels of the churches. The lampstands are the churches, the people. Our series is focusing on these seven churches.
We have looked at Ephesus, Smyrna, Pergamum, and Thyatira. We have come now to Sardis. Sardis was the capital of the province of Lydia. It was noted for its wealth. In fact, it is here that the first coins in the world were minted!
After decades of archaeological digs, there have been three primary discoveries: the Romans road, a synagogue, and a gymnasium. One of the great things about our faith is it’s rooted in history. The Bible is filled with accounts of actual people, event, and places. I’ve visited many of the places, including Sardis.
Sardis has been around for more than 3000 years! It flourished between the 7th century BD and the 7th century AD. A stream contained alluvial gold which made the Lydians—natives of Sardis—the most powerful and wealthy people in Anatolia (also known as Asia Minor or modern day Turkey). As you can imagine, power and wealth led the people in Sardis to love luxury, comfort, convenience…and moral decadence. Sound familiar?
The church at Sardis had a reputation of being alive and yet—like so many churches today—it was dead and in need of the Holy Spirit.
“To the angel of the church in Sardis write:
These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead. (Revelation 3:1)
Jesus holds the seven stars—churches— and the Spirit of God sent to them. Rather than begin with encouragement, he dives right into his concern. They are dead! They need the spirit of God. Only the Holy Spirit can help us come alive.
The Holy Spirit is the most underrated Person in the Trinity. The Father sent the Son, Jesus, to live on our planet about 2000 years ago. God “moved into the neighborhood and dwelt among us.” He told his disciples
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (John 16:7)
They must’ve thought Jesus was crazy! It’s good that you leave us, Jesus? Yes! The presence of God was contained in one person but at Pentecost in Acts 2 the Holy Spirit arrives, dwelling in every believer. God is distributed! When a person is filled with the Holy Spirit they are given gifts and fruit. Gifts include prophecy, serving, teaching, giving, leadership, mercy, prophecy, tongues, interpretation of tongues, healing, and administration (Romans 12, 1 Corinthians 12, Ephesians 4:11, 1 Peter 4:11).
…the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
We desperately need the Holy Spirit! The Sardis church did, too. I’m fascinated with their reputation for being alive, yet actually dead. Perhaps they were like a façade.
Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have found your deeds unfinished in the sight of my God. (Revelation 3:2)
He’s trying to wake up the dead! They have deeds but they’re unfinished. They seem to think everything’s fine, yet Jesus says they are in trouble.
Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; hold it fast, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you. (Revelation 3:3)
This is a word of warning. They are to obey and repent. Now!
Repent. This means to make a u-turn. Confess is when we admit wrong but repentance requires change—180 degree change. This means both moving away from sins you commit and moving away from apathy to action. I said last week there are sins of commission—things we do—and sins of omission—things we don’t do.
I pray four things for First Alliance: unity, direction, protection, and passion. I pray we would be awake, alive, and passionately loving God and loving others.
On a side note, Sardis was on the top of a mountain. It had only one entrance…on the south side. On two occasions the guard went to sleep and the city was invaded! Jesus wants them to be alert, awake, and ready for the return of Christ.
Yet you have a few people in Sardis who have not soiled their clothes. They will walk with me, dressed in white, for they are worthy. (Revelation 3:4)
I love this language! But what does this mean? A few remained holy, undefiled by the pagan culture. The church was not completely dead. There is usually a remnant true to God even among compromised churches. White is symbolic of purity and holiness and we often associate it with angels and heavenly beings. Although the church is a community, God recognizes those faithful to Him even amongst dying churches.
I have a friend who has been active in a church that is drifting from God. They are compromising their beliefs and following the world more than the Word. He told me he’s wrestling with whether or not to simply leave or stay and try to guide them back to God.
The one who is victorious will, like them, be dressed in white. I will never blot out the name of that person from the book of life, but will acknowledge that name before my Father and his angels. (Revelation 3:5)
Jesus is victorious. He will be dressed in white along with the faithful, the obedient, the true believers, a reiteration of verse 4. What great news for those enduring a compromised church! To summarize
1. They will walk with Jesus dressed in white.
2. Their names will never be blotted out from the book of life. Never.
In the first century those living in a city were listed in a registry. When they died, their name was erased. Those followers of Jesus will never have their names erased!
3. Their names will be acknowledged before God the Father and His angels.
Whoever has ears, let them hear what the Spirit says to the churches. (Revelation 3:6)
The Holy Spirit is calling all who will listen to repent and obey. He calls the dead to life. He calls the sleeping to arise.
So What?
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? It begins with confession and surrender to God. Then we are to repent and obey, turn from sin and pursue the way of Jesus with our heart, soul, mind and strength. We are to worship him with our time, talent, and treasures. We are to glorify him with our bodies, our sexuality, our attitudes, our thoughts, and our deeds. It seems so simple yet I need to be reminded every day to get off the throne of my life and let God be God.
Invitation: if you’ve never surrendered your life to God know that three things happen:
- 1. You are reconciled to your heavenly Father despite your sin.
- 2. Jesus’ blood washes you white as snow. Your sins are forgiven.
- 3. The Holy Spirit begins to live inside you, making you increasingly like Jesus.
God With Us, 20 December 2015
God With Us
Series: Be Here Now
Matthew 1:18-23
Series Overview: Christmas is the celebration of “presence.”
Big Idea: God is fully present with us…and Jesus will return soon.
Introduction
This morning we conclude our series “Be Here Now,” a series about presence. The first two weeks we talked about how important it is for us to be fully present with one another and with God, a challenge in our multi-tasking, screen-filled, noisy world…especially during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
Last Sunday we shifted from our presence to God’s presence with us. We read several passages from the Psalms written by David where he declares the presence of God even in the midst of suffering and fear. His faith in God was stellar…and yet the Messiah had not yet come to earth. In fact, it would be hundreds of years until Isaiah prophesied…
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
David—and Isaiah—could only imagine the events we celebrate this week.
Proclaim FM’s sign is correct. Christmas is about three words: God with us.
In his book Radical, David Platt tells this fascinating story:
I remember sitting outside a Buddhist temple in Indonesia. Men and women filled the elaborate, colorful temple grounds, where they daily performed their religious rituals. Meanwhile, I was engaged in a conversation with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader in this particular community. They were discussing how all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different. “We may have different views about small issues,” one of them said, “but when it comes down to essential issues, each of our religions is the same.” I listened for a while, and then they asked me what I thought. I said, “It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain. It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place.” They smiled as I spoke. Happily they replied, “Exactly! You understand!” Then I leaned in and said, “Now let me ask you a question. What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are? What would you think if I told you that God doesn’t wait for people to find their way to him, but instead he comes to us?” They thought for a moment and then responded, “That would be great.” I replied, “Let me introduce you to Jesus.”
I get frustrated when I hear religions lumped together. Religion is man’s search for God. Jesus did not come to start another religion. He came to bring God to us.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:18-23)
Let’s set aside the fact a virgin named Mary become pregnant.
Let’s set aside the fact an angel visited Mary…and Joseph.
Let’s set aside the fact this baby fulfilled prophesies that were hundreds of years old.
Let’s even set aside the fact this baby would become the most famous and controversial figure in human history, teach the most quoted truths ever recorded, model for us what it means to be truly human, perform miracles, die for us, conquer sin, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven.
God is with us.
God was with us. God will be with us. God is with us now.
Jesus came. Jesus is coming. Jesus is here.
Jesus came.
Advent and Christmas are similar yet different. Advent is a time of waiting. The Latin word means “coming.” The first meaning of Advent refers to the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. He uniquely fulfilled hundreds of prophesies, about 324 to be exact. Here they are:
Gen. 3:15.....He will bruise Satan's head.....Heb. 2:14, 1 Jn. 3:18 Gen. 5:24....The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated....Mk. 6:19 Gen. 9:26,27...The God of Shem will be the Son of Shem...Lu. 3:36 Gen. 12:3...As Abraham's seed, will bless all nations...Acts. 3:25,26 Gen. 12:7...The Promise made to Abraham's Seed...Gal. 3:16 Gen. 14:18...A priest after Melchizedek...Heb. 6:20 Gen. 14:18........A King also........Heb. 7:2 Gen. 14:18...The Last Supper foreshadowed...Mt. 26:26-29 Gen. 17:19.......The Seed of Isaac.......Rom. 9:7 Gen. 22:8...The Lamb of God promised...Jn. 1:29 Gen. 22:18...As Isaac's seed, will bless all nations...Gal. 3:16 Gen.26:2-5..The Seed of Isaac promised as the Redeemer..Heb.11:18 Gen. 49:10...The time of His coming...Lu. 2:1-7; Gal. 4:4 Gen. 49:10.......The Seed of Judah.......Lu. 3:33 Gen. 49:10......Called Shiloh or One Sent......Jn. 17:3 Gen. 49:10...To come before Judah lost identity...Jn. 11:47-52 Gen. 49:10...To Him shall the obedience of the people be...Jn. 10:16 Ex. 3:13,14........The Great "I Am".......Jn. 4:26 Ex. 12:5...A Lamb without blemish...1 Pet. 1:19 Ex. 12:13...The blood of the Lamb saves from wrath...Rom. 5:8 Ex. 12:21-27...Christ is our Passover...1 Cor. 5;7 Ex. 12:46...Not a bone of the Lamb to be broken...Jn. 19:31-36 Ex. 15:2...His exaltation predicted as Yeshua...Acts 7:55,56 Ex. 15:11...His Character-Holiness...Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27 Ex. 17:6...The Spiritual Rock of Israel...1 Cor. 10;4 Ex. 33:19...His Character-Merciful...Lu. 1:72 Lev.14:11..The leper cleansed-Sign to priesthood..Lu.5:12-14; Acts 6:7 Lev.16:15-17...Prefigures Christ's once-for-all death...Heb. 9:7-14 Lev.16:27...Suffering outside the Camp...Mt. 27:33; Heb. 13:11, 12 Lev.17:11...The Blood-the life of the flesh...Mt. 26;28; Mk. 10:45 Lev.17:11...It is the blood that makes atonement...1 Jn. 3:14-18 Lev.23:36-37...The Drink-offering: "If any man thirst." ..Jn. 19:31-36 Num. 9:12...Not a bone of Him broken...John 19:31-36 Num. 21:9...The serpent on a pole-Christ lifted up...Jn. 3:14-18 Num. 24:17...Time: "I shall see him, but not now."...Gal. 4:4 Deut. 18:15..."This is of a truth that prophet."...Jn. 6:14 Deut. 18:15-16..."Had ye believed Moses, ye would believe me."...Jn. 5:45-47 Deut. 18:18...Sent by the Father to speak His word...Jn. 8:28, 29 Deut. 18:19...Whoever will not hear must bear his sin...Jn. 12:15, Deut. 21:23...Cursed is he that hangs on a tree...Gal. 3:10-13 Ruth 4:4-9...Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us...Eph. 1:3-7 1 Sam. 2:10...Shall be an anointed King to the Lord...Mt. 28:18; Jn. 12:15 2 Sam. 7:12...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1 2 Sam. 7:14a...The Son of God... Lu. 1:32 2 Sam. 7:16...David's house established forever...Lu. 3:31; Rev. 22:16 2 Ki. 2:11...The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated...Lu. 24:51 1 Chr. 17:11...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1; 9:27 1 Chr. 17:12, 13a...To reign on David's throne forever...Lu. 1:32, 33 1 Chr. 17:13a..."I will be His Father, He...my Son."...Heb. 1:5 Job 19:23-27...The Resurrection predicted...Jn. 5:24-29 Psa. 2:1-3...The enmity of kings foreordained...Acts 4:25-28 Psa. 2:2...To own the title, Anointed (Christ)...Acts 2:36 Ps. 2:6...His Character-Holiness...Jn. 8:46; Rev. 3:7 Ps. 2:6...To own the title King...Mt. 2:2 Ps. 2:7...Declared the Beloved Son...Mt. 3;17 Psa. 2:7, 8...The Crucifixion and Resurrection intimated...Acts 13:29-33 Psa. 2:12...Life comes through faith in Him...Jn. 20:31 Psa. 8:2...The mouths of babes perfect His praise...Mt. 21:16 Psa. 8:5, 6...His humiliation and exaltation...Lu. 24:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:27 Psa. 16:10...Was not to see corruption...Acts 2:31 Psa. 16:9-11...Was to arise from the dead...Jn. 20:9 Psa. 17;15...The resurrection predicted...Lu. 24:6 Psa. 22:1...Forsaken because of sins of others...2 Cor. 5:21 Psa. 22:1...Words spoken from Calvary, "My God..." Mk. 15:34 Psa. 22:2...Darkness upon Calvary...Mt. 27:45 Psa. 22:7...They shoot out the lip and shake the head...Mt. 27:39 Psa. 22:8..”He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him"...Mt. 27:43 Psa. 22:9......Born the Savior......Lu. 2:7 Psa. 22:14...Died of a broken (ruptured) heart...Jn. 19:34 Psa. 22:14,15...Suffered agony on Calvary...Mk. 15:34-37 Psa. 22:15........He thirsted........Jn. 19:28 Psa. 22:16...They pierced His hands and His feet....Jn. 19:34,37;20:27 Psa. 22:17,18...Stripped Him before the stares of men...Lu. 23:34,35 Psa. 22:18.....They parted His garments.....Jn. 19:23,24 Psa. 22:20,21...He committed Himself to God...Lu.23:46 Psa. 22:20,21..Satanic power bruising the Redeemer's heel..Heb. 2:14 Psa. 22:22.....His Resurrection declared.....Jn. 20:17 Psa. 22:27...He shall be the governor of the nations...Col 1:16 Psa. 22:31.....“It is finished"......Jn. 19:30 Psa. 23:1....“I am the Good Shepherd"....Jn. 10:11 Psa. 24:3......His exaltation predicted......Acts 1:11; Phil. 2:9 Psa. 30:3......His resurrection predicted......Acts 2:32 Psa. 31:5...“Into thy hands I commit my spirit"...Lu. 23:46 Psa. 31:11...His acquaintances fled from Him...Mk. 14:50 Psa. 31:13...They took counsel to put Him to death...Jn. 11:53 Psa. 31:14,15..." He trusted in God, let Him deliver him"...Mt. 27:43 Psa. 34:20.....Not a bone of Him broken.....Jn 19:31-36 Psa. 35:11....False witnesses rose up against Him....Mt. 26:59 Psa. 35:19...He was hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25 Psa. 38:11.....His friends stood afar off.....Lu. 23:49 Psa. 40:2-5...The joy of His resurrection predicted...Jn. 20:20 Psa. 40:6-8....His delight-the will of the Father....Jn. 4:34 Psa. 40:9....He was to preach the Righteousness in Israel....Mt. 4:17 Psa. 40:14...Confronted by adversaries in the Garden...Jn. 18:4-6 Psa. 41:9.....Betrayed by a familiar friend.....Jn. 13:18 Psa. 45:2...Words of Grace come from His lips...Lu. 4:22 Psa. 45:6...To own the title, God or Elohim...Heb. 1:8 Psa. 45:7...A special anointing by the Holy Spirit...Mt.3:16; Heb.1:9 Psa. 45:7,8...Called the Christ (Messiah or Anointed)...Lu. 2:11 Psa. 55:12-14...Betrayed by a friend, not an enemy...Jn. 13:18 Psa. 55:15...Unrepentant death of the Betrayer...Mt. 27:3-5; Acts 1:16-19 Psa. 68:18...To give gifts to men...Eph. 4:7-16 Psa. 68:18...Ascended into Heaven...Lu. 24:51 Psa. 69:4...Hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25 Psa. 69:8...A stranger to own brethren...Lu. 8;20,21 Psa. 69:9...Zealous for the Lord's House...Jn. 2:17 Psa. 69:14-20...Messiah's anguish of soul before crucifixion...Mt. 26:36-45 Psa. 69:20...“My soul is exceeding sorrowful."...Mt. 26:38 Psa. 69:21...Given vinegar in thirst...Mt. 27:34 Psa. 69:26...The Savior given and smitten by God...Jn. 17:4; 18:11 Psa. 72:10,11...Great persons were to visit Him...Mt. 2:1-11 Psa. 72:16...The corn of wheat to fall into the Ground...Jn. 12:24 Psa. 72:17...His name, Yinon, will produce offspring...Jn. 1:12,13 Psa. 72:17...All nations shall be blessed by Him...Acts 2:11,12,41 Psa. 78:1.2...He would teach in parables...Mt. 13:34-35 Psa. 78:2b...To speak the Wisdom of God with authority...Mt. 7:29 Psa. 88:8...They stood afar off and watched...Lu. 23:49 Psa. 89:27...Emmanuel to be higher than earthly kings...Lu. 1:32,33 Psa. 89:35-37...David's Seed, throne, kingdom endure forever...Lu. 1:32,33 Psa. 89:36-37...His character-Faithfulness...Rev. 1:5 Psa. 90:2...He is from everlasting (Micah 5:2)...Jn. 1:1 Psa. 91:11,12...Identified as Messianic; used to tempt Christ...Lu. 4;10,11 Psa. 97:9...His exaltation predicted...Acts 1:11;Eph. 1:20 Psa. 100:5...His character-Goodness...Mt. 19:16,17 Psa. 102:1-11...The Suffering and Reproach of Calvary...Jn. 21:16-30 Psa. 102:25-27...Messiah is the Preexistent Son...Heb. 1:10-12 Psa. 109:25...Ridiculed...Mt. 27:39 Psa. 110:1...Son of David...Mt. 22:43 Psa. 110:1...To ascend to the right-hand of the Father...Mk.16:19 Psa. 110:1...David's son called Lord...Mt. 22:44,45 Psa. 110:4...A priest after Melchizedek's order...Heb. 6:20 Psa. 112:4...His character-Compassionate, Gracious, et al... Mt. 9;36 Psa. 118:17,18...Messiah's Resurrection assured...Lu. 24:5-7;1 Cor. 15:20 Psa. 118:22,23...The rejected stone is Head of the corner...Mt. 21:42,43 Psa. 118:26a...The Blessed One presented to Israel...Mt. 21:9 Psa. 118:26b...To come while Temple standing...Mt. 21;12-15 Psa. 132:11...The Seed of David(the fruit of His Body)...Lu. 1:32 Psa. 138:1-6...The supremacy of David's Seed amazes kings... Mt. 2:2-6 Psa. 147:3,6...The earthly ministry of Christ described...Lu. 4:18 Psa. 1:23...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16;7 Song. 5;16...The altogether lovely One...Jn. 1:17 Isa. 6:1...When Isaiah saw His glory... Jn. 12:40-41 Isa. 6:9-10...Parables fall on deaf ears...Mt. 13:13-15 Isa. 6:9-12...Blinded to Christ and deaf to His words...Acts. 28:23-29 Isa. 7:14...To be born of a virgin...Lu. 1:35 Isa. 7:14...To be Emmanuel-God with us... Mt. 1:18-23 Isa. 8:8...Called Emmanuel...Mt. 28:20 Isa. 8:14...A stone of stumbling, a Rock of offense... 1 Pet. 2:8 Isa. 9:1,2...His ministry to begin in Galilee...Mt. 4:12-17 Isa. 9:6...A child born-Humanity...Lu. 1:31 Isa. 9:6...A Son given-Deity...Lu. 1:32; Jn. 1;14; 1 Tim. 3:16 Isa. 9:6...Declared to be the Son of God with power... Rom. 1:3,4 Isa. 9:6...The Wonderful One, Peleh...Lu. 4:22 Isa. 9:6...The Counsellor, Yaatz...Mt. 13:54 Isa. 9:6...The Mighty God, El Gibor...Mt. 11:20 Isa. 9:6...The Everlasting Father, Avi Adth...Jn. 8:58 Isa. 9:6...The Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom...Jn . 16:33 Isa. 9:7...To establish an everlasting kingdom...Lu. 1:32-33 Isa. 9:7...His Character-Just...Jn. 5:30 Isa. 9:7...No end to his Government, Throne, and Peace...Lu. 1:32-33 Isa. 11:1...Called a Nazarene-the Branch, Netzer...Mt. 2:23 Isa. 11:1...A rod out of Jesse-Son of Jesse...Lu. 3:23,32 Isa. 11:2...The anointed One by the Spirit...Mt. 3;16,17 Isa. 11:2...His Character-Wisdom, Understanding, et al....Jn. 4:4-26 Isa. 11:4...His Character-Truth...Jn. 14:6 Isa. 11:10...The Gentiles seek Him...Jn. 12:18-21 Isa. 12:2...Called Jesus-Yeshua...Mt. 1:21 Isa. 25:8...The Resurrection predicted...I Cor. 15:54 Isa. 26:19...His power of Resurrection predicted...Jn. 11:43,44 Isa. 28:16...The Messiah is the precious corner stone...Acts 4:11,12 Isa. 29:13...He indicated hypocritical obedience to His Word...Mt. 15:7-9 Isa. 29:14...The wise are confounded by the Word...I Cor. 1:18-31 Isa. 32:2...A Refuge-A man shall be a hiding place...Mt. 23:37 Isa. 35:4...He will come and save you...Mt. 1:21 Isa. 35:5...To have a ministry of miracles...Mt. 11:4-6 Isa. 40:3,4...Preceded by forerunner...Jn. 1:23 Isa. 40:9..."Behold your God."...Jn. 1:36;19:14 Isa. 40:11...A shepherd-compassionate life-giver...Jn. 10:10-18 Isa. 42:1-4...The Servant-as a faithful, patient redeemer... Mt.12:18-21 Isa. 42:2...Meek and lowly... Mt. 11:28-30 Isa. 42:3...He brings hope for the hopeless... Jn. 4 Isa. 42:4...The nations shall wait on His teachings... Jn. 12:20-26 Isa. 42:6...The Light (salvation) of the Gentiles...Lu. 2:32 Isa. 42:1,6...His is a Worldwide compassion... Mt. 28:19,20 Isa. 42:7...Blind eyes opened... Jn. 9:25-38 Isa. 43:11...He is the only Savior... Acts. 4:12 Isa. 44:3...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16:7,13 Isa. 45:23...He will be the Judge... Jn. 5:22;Rom. 14:11 Isa. 48:12...The First and the Last...Jn. 1:30;Rev. 1:8,17 Isa. 48:17...He came as a Teacher...Jn. 3:2 Isa. 49:1...Called from the womb-His humanity...Mt. 1:18 Isa. 49:5...A Servant from the womb...Lu. 1:31;Phil. 2:7 Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation for Israel...Lu. 2:29-32 Isa. 49:6...He is the Light of the Gentiles...Acts 13:47 Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth... Acts 15:7-18 Isa. 49:7...He is despised of the Nation... Jn. 8:48-49 Isa. 50:3...Heaven is clothed in black at His humiliation... Lu. 23:44,45 Isa. 50:4...He is a learned counsellor for the weary... Mt. 11:28,29 Isa. 50:5...The Servant bound willingly to obedience... Mt. 26:39 Isa. 50:6a..."I gave my back to the smiters."... Mt. 27:26 Isa. 50:6b...He was smitten on the cheeks... Mt. 26:67 Isa. 50:6c...He was spat upon... Mt. 27:30 Isa. 52:7...To publish good tidings of peace... Lu. 4:14,15 Isa. 52:13...The Servant exalted...Acts 1:8-11; Eph. 1:19-22 Isa. 52:13...Behold, My Servant... Mt. 17:5; Phil. 2:5-8 Isa. 52:14...The Servant shockingly abused... Lu. 18:31-34; Mt. 26:67,68 Isa. 52:15...Nations startled by message of the Servant... Rom. 15:18-21 Isa. 52:15...His blood shed to make atonement for all... Rev. 1:5 Isa. 53:1...His people would not believe Him... Jn. 12:37-38 Isa. 53:2a...He would grow up in a poor family.... Lu. 2:7 Isa. 53:2b...Appearance of an ordinary man... Phil. 2:7-8 Isa. 53:3a...Despised.... Lu. 4:28-29 Isa. 53:3b...Rejected... Mt. 27:21-23 Isa. 53:3c...Great sorrow and grief... Lu. 19:41-42 Isa. 53:3d...Men hide from being associated with Him... Mk. 14:50-52 Isa. 53:4a...He would have a healing ministry... Lu. 6:17-19 Isa. 53:4b...He would bear the sins of the world... 1 Pet. 2:24 Isa. 53:4c...Thought to be cursed by God... Mt. 27:41-43 Isa. 53:5a...Bears penalty for mankind's transgressions... Lu. 23:33 Isa. 53:5b...His sacrifice would provide peace between man and God... Col. 1:20 Isa. 53:5c...His back would be whipped... Mt. 27:26 Isa. 53:6a...He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind...Gal. 1:4 Isa. 53:6b...God's will that He bear sin for all mankind... 1 Jn. 4:10 Isa. 53:7a...Oppressed and afflicted... Mt. 27:27-31 Isa. 53:7b...Silent before his accusers... Mt. 27:12-14 Isa. 53:7c...Sacrificial lamb... Jn. 1:29 Isa. 53:8a...Confined and persecuted... Mt. 26:47-27:31 Isa. 53:8b...He would be judged... Jn. 18:13-22 Isa. 53:8c...Killed.... Mt. 27:35 Isa. 53:8d...Dies for the sins of the world... 1 Jn. 2:2 Isa. 53:9a...Buried in a rich man's grave... Mt. 27:57 Isa. 53:9b...Innocent and had done no violence... Mk. 15:3 Isa. 53:9c...No deceit in his mouth... Jn. 18:38 Isa. 53:10a...God's will that He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11 Isa. 53:10b...An offering for sin... Mt. 20:28 Isa. 53:10c...Resurrected and live forever.... Mk. 16:16 Isa. 53:10d...He would prosper... Jn. 17:1-5 Isa. 53:11a...God fully satisfied with His suffering... Jn. 12:27 Isa. 53:11b...God's servant... Rom. 5:18-19 Isa. 53:11c...He would justify man before God... Rom. 5:8-9 Isa. 53:11d...The sin-bearer for all mankind... Heb. 9:28 Isa. 53:12a...Exalted by God because of his sacrifice... Mt. 28:18 Isa. 53:12b...He would give up his life to save mankind... Lu. 23:46 Isa. 53:12c...Grouped with criminals... Lu. 23:32 Isa. 53:12d...Sin-bearer for all mankind... 2 Cor. 5:21 Isa. 53:12e...Intercede to God in behalf of mankind... Lu. 23:34 Isa. 55:3...Resurrected by God... Acts 13:34 Isa. 55:4...A witness... Jn. 18:37 Isa. 59:15-16a...He would come to provide salvation... Jn. 6:40 Isa. 59:15-16b...Intercessor between man and God... Mt. 10:32 Isa. 59:20...He would come to Zion as their Redeemer... Lu. 2:38 Isa. 61:1-2a...The Spirit of God upon him... Mt. 3:16-17 Isa. 61:1-2b...The Messiah would preach the good news... Lu. 4:17-21 Isa. 61:1-2c...Provide freedom from the bondage of sin and death... Jn. 8:31-32 Isa. 61:1-2...Proclaim a period of grace... Jn. 5:24 Jer.23:5-6a...Descendant of David...Lu. 3:23-31 Jer. 23:5-6b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 13:13 Jer. 23:5-6c...The Messiah would be both God and Man... 1 Tim. 3:16 Jer. 31:22...Born of a virgin... Mt. 1:18-20 Jer. 31:31...The Messiah would be the new covenant... Mt. 26:28 Jer. 33:14-15...Descendant of David... Lu. 3:23-31 Eze.17:22-24...Descendant of David... Lk. 3:23-31 Eze.34:23-24...Descendant of David... Mt. 1:1 Dan. 7:13-14a...He would ascend into heaven... Acts 1:9-11 Dan. 7:13-14b...Highly exalted... Eph. 1:20-22 Dan. 7:13-14c...His dominion would be everlasting... Lu. 1:31-33 Dan. 9:24a...To make an end to sins... Gal. 1:3-5 Dan. 9:24b...He would be holy... Lu. 1:35 Dan. 9:25...Announced to his people 483 years, to the exact day, after the decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem... Jn. 12:12-13 Dan. 9:26a...Killed... Mt. 27:35 Dan. 9:26b...Die for the sins of the world... Heb. 2:9 Dan. 9:26c...Killed before the destruction of the temple... Mt. 27:50-51 Dan. 10:5-6...Messiah in a glorified state... Rev. 1:13-16 Hos. 13:14...He would defeat death... 1 Cor. 15:55-57 Joel 2:32...Offer salvation to all mankind... Rom. 10:12-13 Mic. 5:2a...Born in Bethlehem... Mt. 2:1-2 Mic. 5:2b...God's servant... Jn. 15:10 Mic. 5:2c...From everlasting... Jn. 8:58 Hag. 2:6-9...He would visit the second Temple... Lu. 2:27-32 Hag. 2:23...Descendant of Zerubbabel... Lu. 3:23-27 Zech. 3:8...God's servant... Jn. 17:4 Zech. 6:12-13...Priest and King... Heb. 8:1 Zech. 9:9a...Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem... Mt. 21:8-10 Zech. 9:9b...Beheld as King... Jn. 12:12-13 Zech. 9:9c...The Messiah would be just... Jn. 5:30 Zech. 9:9d...The Messiah would bring salvation... Luke 19:10 Zech. 9:9e...The Messiah would be humble... Mt. 11:29 Zech. 9:9f...Presented to Jerusalem riding on a donkey... Mt. 21:6-9 Zech. 10:4...The cornerstone... Eph. 2:20 Zech. 11:4-6a...At His coming, Israel to have unfit leaders... Mt. 23:1-4 Zech. 11:4-6b...Rejection causes God to remove His protection.. Lu. 19:41-44 Zech. 11:4-6c...Rejected in favor of another king... Jn. 19:13-15 Zech. 11:7...Ministry to "poor," the believing remnant... Mt. 9:35-36 Zech. 11:8a...Unbelief forces Messiah to reject them... Mt. 23:33 Zech. 11:8b...Despised... Mt. 27:20 Zech. 11:9...Stops ministering to the those who rejected Him... Mt. 13:10-11 Zech. 11:10-11a...Rejection causes God to remove protection... Lu. 19:41-44 Zech. 11:10-11b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 14:7 Zech. 11:12-13a...Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver... Mt. 26:14-15 Zech. 11:12-13b...Rejected... Mt. 26:14-15 Zech. 11:12-13c...Thirty pieces of silver thrown into the house of the Lord... Mt. 27:3-5 Zech. 11:12-13d...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 12:45 Zech. 12:10a...The Messiah's body would be pierced... Jn. 19:34-37 Zech. 12:10b...The Messiah would be both God and man... Jn. 10:30 Zech. 12:10c...The Messiah would be rejected... Jn. 1:11 Zech. 13:7a...God's will He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11 Zech. 13:7b...A violent death... Mt. 27:35 Zech. 13:7c...Both God and man.. Jn. 14:9 Zech. 13:7d...Israel scattered as a result of rejecting Him... Mt. 26:31-56 Mal. 3:1a...Messenger to prepare the way for Messiah... Mt. 11:10 Mal. 3:1b...Sudden appearance at the temple... Mk. 11:15-16 Mal. 3:1c...Messenger of the new covenant... Lu. 4:43 Mal. 4:5...Forerunner in the spirit of Elijah... Mt. 3:1-2 Mal. 4:6...Forerunner would turn many to righteousness... Lu. 1:16-17
Did you catch all of them?!
Jesus Is Coming
The first meaning of Advent was the first coming of the Messiah. We look back at it. Christ has come.
The second meaning of Advent is the second coming. Jesus promised to return. He said
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3)
We wait for His return, His second coming. He said He would return soon, which doesn’t fit our definition of soon, but compared to eternity what’s 2000 years?
Jesus Is Here…Now!
Perhaps the most important meaning of Advent is His desire to come into our lives now. Today. Make no mistake, God is here now. When Jesus left the planet physically He sent the Holy Spirit to live in every believer. The transformation many of us have experienced is evidence God has not left us to fend for ourselves here on earth. Miracles occur. Bodies are healed. Hope is found. Broken relationships are mended. Finances are restored. The disturbed find peace. All because of God with us.
We are in the middle of history, looking back at Jesus’ first visit to our planet—a day we call Christmas, when Christ entered our world—and looking forward to His return, His second coming. While we cry “Maranatha! Come quickly LORD Jesus,” we also seek to be fully present with one another and with our God who is both here and there, on earth and in heaven. In fact Jesus taught us to pray
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
We long for those moments when heaven kisses earth, where God’s presence and power are visible and unleashed. When love conquers indifference and hatred, when peace overcomes violence, when life trumps death, when good wins over evil, when beauty defeats the mundane.
As we live in the in-between—this period between the first and second comings of Jesus—we find hope not in the created but the Creator, not in presents under the tree on Friday but in God’s presence with us every day.
God is with us…and that changes everything.
It means we’re never alone. He’s with us, especially when we’re afraid or suffering.
It means we have power. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to us as we make disciples, reproducing the life of Jesus to live abundant, fulfilled, exciting lives.
It means we can experience heaven, moments of supernatural wonder, miracles.
It means we have access to an unending supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control—the fruit of the Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus.
It also means we can die to ourselves and invite Jesus into our lives to become not only Savior but LORD. It means we give up control and “let Jesus take the wheel.” It means surrendering to our need to be God and submitting our lives to Him, truly seeking His kingdom and His will here and now.
We have an ancient and sacred practice called baptism in which a person is ceremonially dunked in water—symbolic of a water grave where their old self dies. That sounds harsh, but then they are lifted out of the water signifying resurrection and new life in Jesus Christ. You can’t renovate these temples. You must destroy them first and start from the ground up. You can’t have a resurrection without a death.
So What?
Jesus came. Jesus is coming. Jesus is here. Do you know Him? Does He live in you?
Jesus is the greatest gift you could ever receive. He’s the reason for the season. Do you know Him? He’s here.
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Series: Be Here Now
Matthew 1:18-23
Series Overview: Christmas is the celebration of “presence.”
Big Idea: God is fully present with us…and Jesus will return soon.
Introduction
This morning we conclude our series “Be Here Now,” a series about presence. The first two weeks we talked about how important it is for us to be fully present with one another and with God, a challenge in our multi-tasking, screen-filled, noisy world…especially during the hustle and bustle of the holidays.
Last Sunday we shifted from our presence to God’s presence with us. We read several passages from the Psalms written by David where he declares the presence of God even in the midst of suffering and fear. His faith in God was stellar…and yet the Messiah had not yet come to earth. In fact, it would be hundreds of years until Isaiah prophesied…
Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. (Isaiah 7:14)
David—and Isaiah—could only imagine the events we celebrate this week.
Proclaim FM’s sign is correct. Christmas is about three words: God with us.
In his book Radical, David Platt tells this fascinating story:
I remember sitting outside a Buddhist temple in Indonesia. Men and women filled the elaborate, colorful temple grounds, where they daily performed their religious rituals. Meanwhile, I was engaged in a conversation with a Buddhist leader and a Muslim leader in this particular community. They were discussing how all religions are fundamentally the same and only superficially different. “We may have different views about small issues,” one of them said, “but when it comes down to essential issues, each of our religions is the same.” I listened for a while, and then they asked me what I thought. I said, “It sounds as though you both picture God (or whatever you call god) at the top of a mountain. It seems as if you believe that we are all at the bottom of the mountain, and I may take one route up the mountain, you may take another, and in the end we will all end up in the same place.” They smiled as I spoke. Happily they replied, “Exactly! You understand!” Then I leaned in and said, “Now let me ask you a question. What would you think if I told you that the God at the top of the mountain actually came down to where we are? What would you think if I told you that God doesn’t wait for people to find their way to him, but instead he comes to us?” They thought for a moment and then responded, “That would be great.” I replied, “Let me introduce you to Jesus.”
I get frustrated when I hear religions lumped together. Religion is man’s search for God. Jesus did not come to start another religion. He came to bring God to us.
This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.
But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”
All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”). (Matthew 1:18-23)
Let’s set aside the fact a virgin named Mary become pregnant.
Let’s set aside the fact an angel visited Mary…and Joseph.
Let’s set aside the fact this baby fulfilled prophesies that were hundreds of years old.
Let’s even set aside the fact this baby would become the most famous and controversial figure in human history, teach the most quoted truths ever recorded, model for us what it means to be truly human, perform miracles, die for us, conquer sin, rise from the dead, and ascend into heaven.
God is with us.
God was with us. God will be with us. God is with us now.
Jesus came. Jesus is coming. Jesus is here.
Jesus came.
Advent and Christmas are similar yet different. Advent is a time of waiting. The Latin word means “coming.” The first meaning of Advent refers to the first coming of Jesus the Messiah. He uniquely fulfilled hundreds of prophesies, about 324 to be exact. Here they are:
Gen. 3:15.....He will bruise Satan's head.....Heb. 2:14, 1 Jn. 3:18 Gen. 5:24....The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated....Mk. 6:19 Gen. 9:26,27...The God of Shem will be the Son of Shem...Lu. 3:36 Gen. 12:3...As Abraham's seed, will bless all nations...Acts. 3:25,26 Gen. 12:7...The Promise made to Abraham's Seed...Gal. 3:16 Gen. 14:18...A priest after Melchizedek...Heb. 6:20 Gen. 14:18........A King also........Heb. 7:2 Gen. 14:18...The Last Supper foreshadowed...Mt. 26:26-29 Gen. 17:19.......The Seed of Isaac.......Rom. 9:7 Gen. 22:8...The Lamb of God promised...Jn. 1:29 Gen. 22:18...As Isaac's seed, will bless all nations...Gal. 3:16 Gen.26:2-5..The Seed of Isaac promised as the Redeemer..Heb.11:18 Gen. 49:10...The time of His coming...Lu. 2:1-7; Gal. 4:4 Gen. 49:10.......The Seed of Judah.......Lu. 3:33 Gen. 49:10......Called Shiloh or One Sent......Jn. 17:3 Gen. 49:10...To come before Judah lost identity...Jn. 11:47-52 Gen. 49:10...To Him shall the obedience of the people be...Jn. 10:16 Ex. 3:13,14........The Great "I Am".......Jn. 4:26 Ex. 12:5...A Lamb without blemish...1 Pet. 1:19 Ex. 12:13...The blood of the Lamb saves from wrath...Rom. 5:8 Ex. 12:21-27...Christ is our Passover...1 Cor. 5;7 Ex. 12:46...Not a bone of the Lamb to be broken...Jn. 19:31-36 Ex. 15:2...His exaltation predicted as Yeshua...Acts 7:55,56 Ex. 15:11...His Character-Holiness...Luke 1:35; Acts 4:27 Ex. 17:6...The Spiritual Rock of Israel...1 Cor. 10;4 Ex. 33:19...His Character-Merciful...Lu. 1:72 Lev.14:11..The leper cleansed-Sign to priesthood..Lu.5:12-14; Acts 6:7 Lev.16:15-17...Prefigures Christ's once-for-all death...Heb. 9:7-14 Lev.16:27...Suffering outside the Camp...Mt. 27:33; Heb. 13:11, 12 Lev.17:11...The Blood-the life of the flesh...Mt. 26;28; Mk. 10:45 Lev.17:11...It is the blood that makes atonement...1 Jn. 3:14-18 Lev.23:36-37...The Drink-offering: "If any man thirst." ..Jn. 19:31-36 Num. 9:12...Not a bone of Him broken...John 19:31-36 Num. 21:9...The serpent on a pole-Christ lifted up...Jn. 3:14-18 Num. 24:17...Time: "I shall see him, but not now."...Gal. 4:4 Deut. 18:15..."This is of a truth that prophet."...Jn. 6:14 Deut. 18:15-16..."Had ye believed Moses, ye would believe me."...Jn. 5:45-47 Deut. 18:18...Sent by the Father to speak His word...Jn. 8:28, 29 Deut. 18:19...Whoever will not hear must bear his sin...Jn. 12:15, Deut. 21:23...Cursed is he that hangs on a tree...Gal. 3:10-13 Ruth 4:4-9...Christ, our kinsman, has redeemed us...Eph. 1:3-7 1 Sam. 2:10...Shall be an anointed King to the Lord...Mt. 28:18; Jn. 12:15 2 Sam. 7:12...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1 2 Sam. 7:14a...The Son of God... Lu. 1:32 2 Sam. 7:16...David's house established forever...Lu. 3:31; Rev. 22:16 2 Ki. 2:11...The bodily ascension to heaven illustrated...Lu. 24:51 1 Chr. 17:11...David's Seed...Mt. 1:1; 9:27 1 Chr. 17:12, 13a...To reign on David's throne forever...Lu. 1:32, 33 1 Chr. 17:13a..."I will be His Father, He...my Son."...Heb. 1:5 Job 19:23-27...The Resurrection predicted...Jn. 5:24-29 Psa. 2:1-3...The enmity of kings foreordained...Acts 4:25-28 Psa. 2:2...To own the title, Anointed (Christ)...Acts 2:36 Ps. 2:6...His Character-Holiness...Jn. 8:46; Rev. 3:7 Ps. 2:6...To own the title King...Mt. 2:2 Ps. 2:7...Declared the Beloved Son...Mt. 3;17 Psa. 2:7, 8...The Crucifixion and Resurrection intimated...Acts 13:29-33 Psa. 2:12...Life comes through faith in Him...Jn. 20:31 Psa. 8:2...The mouths of babes perfect His praise...Mt. 21:16 Psa. 8:5, 6...His humiliation and exaltation...Lu. 24:50-53; 1 Cor. 15:27 Psa. 16:10...Was not to see corruption...Acts 2:31 Psa. 16:9-11...Was to arise from the dead...Jn. 20:9 Psa. 17;15...The resurrection predicted...Lu. 24:6 Psa. 22:1...Forsaken because of sins of others...2 Cor. 5:21 Psa. 22:1...Words spoken from Calvary, "My God..." Mk. 15:34 Psa. 22:2...Darkness upon Calvary...Mt. 27:45 Psa. 22:7...They shoot out the lip and shake the head...Mt. 27:39 Psa. 22:8..”He trusted in God, let Him deliver Him"...Mt. 27:43 Psa. 22:9......Born the Savior......Lu. 2:7 Psa. 22:14...Died of a broken (ruptured) heart...Jn. 19:34 Psa. 22:14,15...Suffered agony on Calvary...Mk. 15:34-37 Psa. 22:15........He thirsted........Jn. 19:28 Psa. 22:16...They pierced His hands and His feet....Jn. 19:34,37;20:27 Psa. 22:17,18...Stripped Him before the stares of men...Lu. 23:34,35 Psa. 22:18.....They parted His garments.....Jn. 19:23,24 Psa. 22:20,21...He committed Himself to God...Lu.23:46 Psa. 22:20,21..Satanic power bruising the Redeemer's heel..Heb. 2:14 Psa. 22:22.....His Resurrection declared.....Jn. 20:17 Psa. 22:27...He shall be the governor of the nations...Col 1:16 Psa. 22:31.....“It is finished"......Jn. 19:30 Psa. 23:1....“I am the Good Shepherd"....Jn. 10:11 Psa. 24:3......His exaltation predicted......Acts 1:11; Phil. 2:9 Psa. 30:3......His resurrection predicted......Acts 2:32 Psa. 31:5...“Into thy hands I commit my spirit"...Lu. 23:46 Psa. 31:11...His acquaintances fled from Him...Mk. 14:50 Psa. 31:13...They took counsel to put Him to death...Jn. 11:53 Psa. 31:14,15..." He trusted in God, let Him deliver him"...Mt. 27:43 Psa. 34:20.....Not a bone of Him broken.....Jn 19:31-36 Psa. 35:11....False witnesses rose up against Him....Mt. 26:59 Psa. 35:19...He was hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25 Psa. 38:11.....His friends stood afar off.....Lu. 23:49 Psa. 40:2-5...The joy of His resurrection predicted...Jn. 20:20 Psa. 40:6-8....His delight-the will of the Father....Jn. 4:34 Psa. 40:9....He was to preach the Righteousness in Israel....Mt. 4:17 Psa. 40:14...Confronted by adversaries in the Garden...Jn. 18:4-6 Psa. 41:9.....Betrayed by a familiar friend.....Jn. 13:18 Psa. 45:2...Words of Grace come from His lips...Lu. 4:22 Psa. 45:6...To own the title, God or Elohim...Heb. 1:8 Psa. 45:7...A special anointing by the Holy Spirit...Mt.3:16; Heb.1:9 Psa. 45:7,8...Called the Christ (Messiah or Anointed)...Lu. 2:11 Psa. 55:12-14...Betrayed by a friend, not an enemy...Jn. 13:18 Psa. 55:15...Unrepentant death of the Betrayer...Mt. 27:3-5; Acts 1:16-19 Psa. 68:18...To give gifts to men...Eph. 4:7-16 Psa. 68:18...Ascended into Heaven...Lu. 24:51 Psa. 69:4...Hated without a cause...Jn. 15:25 Psa. 69:8...A stranger to own brethren...Lu. 8;20,21 Psa. 69:9...Zealous for the Lord's House...Jn. 2:17 Psa. 69:14-20...Messiah's anguish of soul before crucifixion...Mt. 26:36-45 Psa. 69:20...“My soul is exceeding sorrowful."...Mt. 26:38 Psa. 69:21...Given vinegar in thirst...Mt. 27:34 Psa. 69:26...The Savior given and smitten by God...Jn. 17:4; 18:11 Psa. 72:10,11...Great persons were to visit Him...Mt. 2:1-11 Psa. 72:16...The corn of wheat to fall into the Ground...Jn. 12:24 Psa. 72:17...His name, Yinon, will produce offspring...Jn. 1:12,13 Psa. 72:17...All nations shall be blessed by Him...Acts 2:11,12,41 Psa. 78:1.2...He would teach in parables...Mt. 13:34-35 Psa. 78:2b...To speak the Wisdom of God with authority...Mt. 7:29 Psa. 88:8...They stood afar off and watched...Lu. 23:49 Psa. 89:27...Emmanuel to be higher than earthly kings...Lu. 1:32,33 Psa. 89:35-37...David's Seed, throne, kingdom endure forever...Lu. 1:32,33 Psa. 89:36-37...His character-Faithfulness...Rev. 1:5 Psa. 90:2...He is from everlasting (Micah 5:2)...Jn. 1:1 Psa. 91:11,12...Identified as Messianic; used to tempt Christ...Lu. 4;10,11 Psa. 97:9...His exaltation predicted...Acts 1:11;Eph. 1:20 Psa. 100:5...His character-Goodness...Mt. 19:16,17 Psa. 102:1-11...The Suffering and Reproach of Calvary...Jn. 21:16-30 Psa. 102:25-27...Messiah is the Preexistent Son...Heb. 1:10-12 Psa. 109:25...Ridiculed...Mt. 27:39 Psa. 110:1...Son of David...Mt. 22:43 Psa. 110:1...To ascend to the right-hand of the Father...Mk.16:19 Psa. 110:1...David's son called Lord...Mt. 22:44,45 Psa. 110:4...A priest after Melchizedek's order...Heb. 6:20 Psa. 112:4...His character-Compassionate, Gracious, et al... Mt. 9;36 Psa. 118:17,18...Messiah's Resurrection assured...Lu. 24:5-7;1 Cor. 15:20 Psa. 118:22,23...The rejected stone is Head of the corner...Mt. 21:42,43 Psa. 118:26a...The Blessed One presented to Israel...Mt. 21:9 Psa. 118:26b...To come while Temple standing...Mt. 21;12-15 Psa. 132:11...The Seed of David(the fruit of His Body)...Lu. 1:32 Psa. 138:1-6...The supremacy of David's Seed amazes kings... Mt. 2:2-6 Psa. 147:3,6...The earthly ministry of Christ described...Lu. 4:18 Psa. 1:23...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16;7 Song. 5;16...The altogether lovely One...Jn. 1:17 Isa. 6:1...When Isaiah saw His glory... Jn. 12:40-41 Isa. 6:9-10...Parables fall on deaf ears...Mt. 13:13-15 Isa. 6:9-12...Blinded to Christ and deaf to His words...Acts. 28:23-29 Isa. 7:14...To be born of a virgin...Lu. 1:35 Isa. 7:14...To be Emmanuel-God with us... Mt. 1:18-23 Isa. 8:8...Called Emmanuel...Mt. 28:20 Isa. 8:14...A stone of stumbling, a Rock of offense... 1 Pet. 2:8 Isa. 9:1,2...His ministry to begin in Galilee...Mt. 4:12-17 Isa. 9:6...A child born-Humanity...Lu. 1:31 Isa. 9:6...A Son given-Deity...Lu. 1:32; Jn. 1;14; 1 Tim. 3:16 Isa. 9:6...Declared to be the Son of God with power... Rom. 1:3,4 Isa. 9:6...The Wonderful One, Peleh...Lu. 4:22 Isa. 9:6...The Counsellor, Yaatz...Mt. 13:54 Isa. 9:6...The Mighty God, El Gibor...Mt. 11:20 Isa. 9:6...The Everlasting Father, Avi Adth...Jn. 8:58 Isa. 9:6...The Prince of Peace, Sar Shalom...Jn . 16:33 Isa. 9:7...To establish an everlasting kingdom...Lu. 1:32-33 Isa. 9:7...His Character-Just...Jn. 5:30 Isa. 9:7...No end to his Government, Throne, and Peace...Lu. 1:32-33 Isa. 11:1...Called a Nazarene-the Branch, Netzer...Mt. 2:23 Isa. 11:1...A rod out of Jesse-Son of Jesse...Lu. 3:23,32 Isa. 11:2...The anointed One by the Spirit...Mt. 3;16,17 Isa. 11:2...His Character-Wisdom, Understanding, et al....Jn. 4:4-26 Isa. 11:4...His Character-Truth...Jn. 14:6 Isa. 11:10...The Gentiles seek Him...Jn. 12:18-21 Isa. 12:2...Called Jesus-Yeshua...Mt. 1:21 Isa. 25:8...The Resurrection predicted...I Cor. 15:54 Isa. 26:19...His power of Resurrection predicted...Jn. 11:43,44 Isa. 28:16...The Messiah is the precious corner stone...Acts 4:11,12 Isa. 29:13...He indicated hypocritical obedience to His Word...Mt. 15:7-9 Isa. 29:14...The wise are confounded by the Word...I Cor. 1:18-31 Isa. 32:2...A Refuge-A man shall be a hiding place...Mt. 23:37 Isa. 35:4...He will come and save you...Mt. 1:21 Isa. 35:5...To have a ministry of miracles...Mt. 11:4-6 Isa. 40:3,4...Preceded by forerunner...Jn. 1:23 Isa. 40:9..."Behold your God."...Jn. 1:36;19:14 Isa. 40:11...A shepherd-compassionate life-giver...Jn. 10:10-18 Isa. 42:1-4...The Servant-as a faithful, patient redeemer... Mt.12:18-21 Isa. 42:2...Meek and lowly... Mt. 11:28-30 Isa. 42:3...He brings hope for the hopeless... Jn. 4 Isa. 42:4...The nations shall wait on His teachings... Jn. 12:20-26 Isa. 42:6...The Light (salvation) of the Gentiles...Lu. 2:32 Isa. 42:1,6...His is a Worldwide compassion... Mt. 28:19,20 Isa. 42:7...Blind eyes opened... Jn. 9:25-38 Isa. 43:11...He is the only Savior... Acts. 4:12 Isa. 44:3...He will send the Spirit of God... Jn. 16:7,13 Isa. 45:23...He will be the Judge... Jn. 5:22;Rom. 14:11 Isa. 48:12...The First and the Last...Jn. 1:30;Rev. 1:8,17 Isa. 48:17...He came as a Teacher...Jn. 3:2 Isa. 49:1...Called from the womb-His humanity...Mt. 1:18 Isa. 49:5...A Servant from the womb...Lu. 1:31;Phil. 2:7 Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation for Israel...Lu. 2:29-32 Isa. 49:6...He is the Light of the Gentiles...Acts 13:47 Isa. 49:6...He is Salvation unto the ends of the earth... Acts 15:7-18 Isa. 49:7...He is despised of the Nation... Jn. 8:48-49 Isa. 50:3...Heaven is clothed in black at His humiliation... Lu. 23:44,45 Isa. 50:4...He is a learned counsellor for the weary... Mt. 11:28,29 Isa. 50:5...The Servant bound willingly to obedience... Mt. 26:39 Isa. 50:6a..."I gave my back to the smiters."... Mt. 27:26 Isa. 50:6b...He was smitten on the cheeks... Mt. 26:67 Isa. 50:6c...He was spat upon... Mt. 27:30 Isa. 52:7...To publish good tidings of peace... Lu. 4:14,15 Isa. 52:13...The Servant exalted...Acts 1:8-11; Eph. 1:19-22 Isa. 52:13...Behold, My Servant... Mt. 17:5; Phil. 2:5-8 Isa. 52:14...The Servant shockingly abused... Lu. 18:31-34; Mt. 26:67,68 Isa. 52:15...Nations startled by message of the Servant... Rom. 15:18-21 Isa. 52:15...His blood shed to make atonement for all... Rev. 1:5 Isa. 53:1...His people would not believe Him... Jn. 12:37-38 Isa. 53:2a...He would grow up in a poor family.... Lu. 2:7 Isa. 53:2b...Appearance of an ordinary man... Phil. 2:7-8 Isa. 53:3a...Despised.... Lu. 4:28-29 Isa. 53:3b...Rejected... Mt. 27:21-23 Isa. 53:3c...Great sorrow and grief... Lu. 19:41-42 Isa. 53:3d...Men hide from being associated with Him... Mk. 14:50-52 Isa. 53:4a...He would have a healing ministry... Lu. 6:17-19 Isa. 53:4b...He would bear the sins of the world... 1 Pet. 2:24 Isa. 53:4c...Thought to be cursed by God... Mt. 27:41-43 Isa. 53:5a...Bears penalty for mankind's transgressions... Lu. 23:33 Isa. 53:5b...His sacrifice would provide peace between man and God... Col. 1:20 Isa. 53:5c...His back would be whipped... Mt. 27:26 Isa. 53:6a...He would be the sin-bearer for all mankind...Gal. 1:4 Isa. 53:6b...God's will that He bear sin for all mankind... 1 Jn. 4:10 Isa. 53:7a...Oppressed and afflicted... Mt. 27:27-31 Isa. 53:7b...Silent before his accusers... Mt. 27:12-14 Isa. 53:7c...Sacrificial lamb... Jn. 1:29 Isa. 53:8a...Confined and persecuted... Mt. 26:47-27:31 Isa. 53:8b...He would be judged... Jn. 18:13-22 Isa. 53:8c...Killed.... Mt. 27:35 Isa. 53:8d...Dies for the sins of the world... 1 Jn. 2:2 Isa. 53:9a...Buried in a rich man's grave... Mt. 27:57 Isa. 53:9b...Innocent and had done no violence... Mk. 15:3 Isa. 53:9c...No deceit in his mouth... Jn. 18:38 Isa. 53:10a...God's will that He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11 Isa. 53:10b...An offering for sin... Mt. 20:28 Isa. 53:10c...Resurrected and live forever.... Mk. 16:16 Isa. 53:10d...He would prosper... Jn. 17:1-5 Isa. 53:11a...God fully satisfied with His suffering... Jn. 12:27 Isa. 53:11b...God's servant... Rom. 5:18-19 Isa. 53:11c...He would justify man before God... Rom. 5:8-9 Isa. 53:11d...The sin-bearer for all mankind... Heb. 9:28 Isa. 53:12a...Exalted by God because of his sacrifice... Mt. 28:18 Isa. 53:12b...He would give up his life to save mankind... Lu. 23:46 Isa. 53:12c...Grouped with criminals... Lu. 23:32 Isa. 53:12d...Sin-bearer for all mankind... 2 Cor. 5:21 Isa. 53:12e...Intercede to God in behalf of mankind... Lu. 23:34 Isa. 55:3...Resurrected by God... Acts 13:34 Isa. 55:4...A witness... Jn. 18:37 Isa. 59:15-16a...He would come to provide salvation... Jn. 6:40 Isa. 59:15-16b...Intercessor between man and God... Mt. 10:32 Isa. 59:20...He would come to Zion as their Redeemer... Lu. 2:38 Isa. 61:1-2a...The Spirit of God upon him... Mt. 3:16-17 Isa. 61:1-2b...The Messiah would preach the good news... Lu. 4:17-21 Isa. 61:1-2c...Provide freedom from the bondage of sin and death... Jn. 8:31-32 Isa. 61:1-2...Proclaim a period of grace... Jn. 5:24 Jer.23:5-6a...Descendant of David...Lu. 3:23-31 Jer. 23:5-6b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 13:13 Jer. 23:5-6c...The Messiah would be both God and Man... 1 Tim. 3:16 Jer. 31:22...Born of a virgin... Mt. 1:18-20 Jer. 31:31...The Messiah would be the new covenant... Mt. 26:28 Jer. 33:14-15...Descendant of David... Lu. 3:23-31 Eze.17:22-24...Descendant of David... Lk. 3:23-31 Eze.34:23-24...Descendant of David... Mt. 1:1 Dan. 7:13-14a...He would ascend into heaven... Acts 1:9-11 Dan. 7:13-14b...Highly exalted... Eph. 1:20-22 Dan. 7:13-14c...His dominion would be everlasting... Lu. 1:31-33 Dan. 9:24a...To make an end to sins... Gal. 1:3-5 Dan. 9:24b...He would be holy... Lu. 1:35 Dan. 9:25...Announced to his people 483 years, to the exact day, after the decree to rebuild the city of Jerusalem... Jn. 12:12-13 Dan. 9:26a...Killed... Mt. 27:35 Dan. 9:26b...Die for the sins of the world... Heb. 2:9 Dan. 9:26c...Killed before the destruction of the temple... Mt. 27:50-51 Dan. 10:5-6...Messiah in a glorified state... Rev. 1:13-16 Hos. 13:14...He would defeat death... 1 Cor. 15:55-57 Joel 2:32...Offer salvation to all mankind... Rom. 10:12-13 Mic. 5:2a...Born in Bethlehem... Mt. 2:1-2 Mic. 5:2b...God's servant... Jn. 15:10 Mic. 5:2c...From everlasting... Jn. 8:58 Hag. 2:6-9...He would visit the second Temple... Lu. 2:27-32 Hag. 2:23...Descendant of Zerubbabel... Lu. 3:23-27 Zech. 3:8...God's servant... Jn. 17:4 Zech. 6:12-13...Priest and King... Heb. 8:1 Zech. 9:9a...Greeted with rejoicing in Jerusalem... Mt. 21:8-10 Zech. 9:9b...Beheld as King... Jn. 12:12-13 Zech. 9:9c...The Messiah would be just... Jn. 5:30 Zech. 9:9d...The Messiah would bring salvation... Luke 19:10 Zech. 9:9e...The Messiah would be humble... Mt. 11:29 Zech. 9:9f...Presented to Jerusalem riding on a donkey... Mt. 21:6-9 Zech. 10:4...The cornerstone... Eph. 2:20 Zech. 11:4-6a...At His coming, Israel to have unfit leaders... Mt. 23:1-4 Zech. 11:4-6b...Rejection causes God to remove His protection.. Lu. 19:41-44 Zech. 11:4-6c...Rejected in favor of another king... Jn. 19:13-15 Zech. 11:7...Ministry to "poor," the believing remnant... Mt. 9:35-36 Zech. 11:8a...Unbelief forces Messiah to reject them... Mt. 23:33 Zech. 11:8b...Despised... Mt. 27:20 Zech. 11:9...Stops ministering to the those who rejected Him... Mt. 13:10-11 Zech. 11:10-11a...Rejection causes God to remove protection... Lu. 19:41-44 Zech. 11:10-11b...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 14:7 Zech. 11:12-13a...Betrayed for thirty pieces of silver... Mt. 26:14-15 Zech. 11:12-13b...Rejected... Mt. 26:14-15 Zech. 11:12-13c...Thirty pieces of silver thrown into the house of the Lord... Mt. 27:3-5 Zech. 11:12-13d...The Messiah would be God... Jn. 12:45 Zech. 12:10a...The Messiah's body would be pierced... Jn. 19:34-37 Zech. 12:10b...The Messiah would be both God and man... Jn. 10:30 Zech. 12:10c...The Messiah would be rejected... Jn. 1:11 Zech. 13:7a...God's will He die for mankind... Jn. 18:11 Zech. 13:7b...A violent death... Mt. 27:35 Zech. 13:7c...Both God and man.. Jn. 14:9 Zech. 13:7d...Israel scattered as a result of rejecting Him... Mt. 26:31-56 Mal. 3:1a...Messenger to prepare the way for Messiah... Mt. 11:10 Mal. 3:1b...Sudden appearance at the temple... Mk. 11:15-16 Mal. 3:1c...Messenger of the new covenant... Lu. 4:43 Mal. 4:5...Forerunner in the spirit of Elijah... Mt. 3:1-2 Mal. 4:6...Forerunner would turn many to righteousness... Lu. 1:16-17
Did you catch all of them?!
Jesus Is Coming
The first meaning of Advent was the first coming of the Messiah. We look back at it. Christ has come.
The second meaning of Advent is the second coming. Jesus promised to return. He said
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. (John 14:1-3)
We wait for His return, His second coming. He said He would return soon, which doesn’t fit our definition of soon, but compared to eternity what’s 2000 years?
Jesus Is Here…Now!
Perhaps the most important meaning of Advent is His desire to come into our lives now. Today. Make no mistake, God is here now. When Jesus left the planet physically He sent the Holy Spirit to live in every believer. The transformation many of us have experienced is evidence God has not left us to fend for ourselves here on earth. Miracles occur. Bodies are healed. Hope is found. Broken relationships are mended. Finances are restored. The disturbed find peace. All because of God with us.
We are in the middle of history, looking back at Jesus’ first visit to our planet—a day we call Christmas, when Christ entered our world—and looking forward to His return, His second coming. While we cry “Maranatha! Come quickly LORD Jesus,” we also seek to be fully present with one another and with our God who is both here and there, on earth and in heaven. In fact Jesus taught us to pray
your kingdom come,
your will be done,
on earth as it is in heaven. (Matthew 6:10)
We long for those moments when heaven kisses earth, where God’s presence and power are visible and unleashed. When love conquers indifference and hatred, when peace overcomes violence, when life trumps death, when good wins over evil, when beauty defeats the mundane.
As we live in the in-between—this period between the first and second comings of Jesus—we find hope not in the created but the Creator, not in presents under the tree on Friday but in God’s presence with us every day.
God is with us…and that changes everything.
It means we’re never alone. He’s with us, especially when we’re afraid or suffering.
It means we have power. All authority in heaven and earth has been given to us as we make disciples, reproducing the life of Jesus to live abundant, fulfilled, exciting lives.
It means we can experience heaven, moments of supernatural wonder, miracles.
It means we have access to an unending supply of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self control—the fruit of the Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that filled Jesus.
It also means we can die to ourselves and invite Jesus into our lives to become not only Savior but LORD. It means we give up control and “let Jesus take the wheel.” It means surrendering to our need to be God and submitting our lives to Him, truly seeking His kingdom and His will here and now.
We have an ancient and sacred practice called baptism in which a person is ceremonially dunked in water—symbolic of a water grave where their old self dies. That sounds harsh, but then they are lifted out of the water signifying resurrection and new life in Jesus Christ. You can’t renovate these temples. You must destroy them first and start from the ground up. You can’t have a resurrection without a death.
So What?
Jesus came. Jesus is coming. Jesus is here. Do you know Him? Does He live in you?
Jesus is the greatest gift you could ever receive. He’s the reason for the season. Do you know Him? He’s here.
c
God is Love, 1 John 3, 31 May 2015
Big Idea: We are in the midst of a battle fought with love and prayer.
What is your favorite book of the Bible? Why?
What is your favorite chapter in the Bible? This may be a less popular question.
As we continue our series “Love Illuminated” on the book of 1 John, we come to the fourth chapter of this essential letter from one of Jesus’ three best friends, John. While this may not be my favorite chapter in the Bible, few are loaded with more incredible, memorable verses. It’s packed with theology, challenge, encouragement, and insight.
Its overarching theme is a four-letter word which best summarizes the entire Bible.
It’s a four-letter word which best summarizes God.
It’s a four-letter word which best summarizes what we are called to be as followers of Jesus and as the Church, the Body of Christ. The word is…love.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)
There were and are false prophets, false teachers, false teachings. Test the spirits. Test me! The Bible is our authority. Jesus is our authority. The reason cults exist is people follow leaders that are not following Jesus.
The question isn’t do you believe in God, but what do you believe about God. What do you believe about Jesus? We note previously how there were those in John’s day—and ours—who believed Jesus to be human but not God or God but not human. He is uniquely fully God and fully human.
This the the third time John mentions antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22). We said antichrist can mean against Christ or instead of Christ. Jesus said many would come in His name and also there would be opposition. There are many antichrists but they are not the antichrist mentioned in Revelation.
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:4-6)
The spirit of antichrist is in the world. We are engaged in a real, cosmic battle between good and evil. Can I let you in on a little secret? We win!
The Holy Spirit is given to all believers. The Holy Spirit teaches through the Word of God, the Bible. Believers have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, but unless we surrender to God we can still sin and rebel against God. If, however, we remain or abide in Christ (John 15) and invite the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us, we will have the mind of Christ and act like Jesus, bearing fruit.
Imagine you’re in a bicycle race, hot and sweaty. You just happen to have a bottle of ice cold water, but never reach for it and drink it. Does it help you? No. Is it available? Yes. Would it be foolish to not take advantage of it? Absolutely! It’s not enough to have the Holy Spirit, which all believers do. We are to let the Spirit take control. Hands off! That’s hard for many of us who want to be in control. It’s not whether you have the Holy Spirit, but whether or not the Holy Spirit has you!
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
Believers are to love one another. This is not sentimental, sexual, or social love but supernatural, unconditional agape. It says, “I love you. Period.”
In 1984 the band Foreigner had a huge hit that said, “I Want To Know What Love Is.”
When I was in high school our youth leader told the story about proposing to his wife. He knew he had feelings for this woman but struggled to define love. He was reading 1 John 4 and saw this verse (and verse 16).
God is love.
One of my greatest fears for us is that we become so familiar with the idea of love without actually receiving and/or giving it. We know about love, but do we love?
Love is not being nice.
Love is not avoiding conflict.
Love not the absence of hate. In fact some have said the opposite of love is indifference, not hate, since love and hate are both intense. How often are we indifferent?
Love is a verb. It requires action.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:9-12)
He is the propitiation for our sins. The word means mercy seat, the place where the priest met God in the Old Testament. The word atonement means to cover. Jesus is the mercy seat for our sins. He died. He conquered sin and death so we can come boldly into the presence of Almighty God.
Do you love?
Do you love believers?
Do you love unbelievers?
Do you love your enemies?
The question is not can you but do you. The test of our faith is not our knowledge but our love.
Don’t miss the last verse. No one has seen God but people can see God’s love in us, through us. This is what it means for us to shine, to reflect God’s love like the moon reflects the light of the sun.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (1 John 4:13-16a)
This is not a human love. The fruit of the Spirit is love…Some believe love is the fruit and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit emerges from love.
Who is Jesus? This question is hugely important! He is the Son of God. If Jesus is not who He claimed to be, His death was useless. He was arrested and crucified for claiming to be God…and He proved it by the resurrection!
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16b-18)
Here John says again, “God is love.” Love is made perfect or complete.
1 John 4:8 God is love
1 John 4:16 God is love
You can’t say God is mercy or grace or justice, but God is love. God reveals His love at the mercy set, Jesus.
I love the phrase, “Perfect love drives out fear,” but this is not any fear (although love probably has the capacity to drive out any fear). This is about fearing judgment, something we need not fear because Jesus died for us and showed us His love…in action.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:19-21)
God loved us first. He took the first step, made the first move. Our love for God and others is always a response to knowing and experiencing His love for us. If your love tank is empty, only God can fill it up. He has plenty to share, just ask!
How many claim to love God yet hate others?
Love is a command.
Do you love?
I confess
Conclusion
Two weeks ago the Christian & Missionary Alliance held their General Council in Long Beach, California, a national gathering that occurs every other year. Viewing it online I heard President John Stumbo share for the first time as President his report, his state of the denomination address. His first word to us was simple: love.
I realize this isn’t fancy, complicated, or trendy, but Jesus loves you and, therefore, you are to love Jesus and people, those Jesus loves.
But what is love? God is love, but who is God? Love!
Twenty five years ago this past week I said “I do” to my bride, and she returned the favor! During our ceremony, we had a chapter of the Bible read aloud. It was not written for a wedding. It is not about romance. It does not discuss eros love. It’s a great description of agape, however.
These words were read that day:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13)
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
What is your favorite book of the Bible? Why?
What is your favorite chapter in the Bible? This may be a less popular question.
As we continue our series “Love Illuminated” on the book of 1 John, we come to the fourth chapter of this essential letter from one of Jesus’ three best friends, John. While this may not be my favorite chapter in the Bible, few are loaded with more incredible, memorable verses. It’s packed with theology, challenge, encouragement, and insight.
Its overarching theme is a four-letter word which best summarizes the entire Bible.
It’s a four-letter word which best summarizes God.
It’s a four-letter word which best summarizes what we are called to be as followers of Jesus and as the Church, the Body of Christ. The word is…love.
Dear friends, do not believe every spirit, but test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets have gone out into the world. This is how you can recognize the Spirit of God: Every spirit that acknowledges that Jesus Christ has come in the flesh is from God, but every spirit that does not acknowledge Jesus is not from God. This is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming and even now is already in the world. (1 John 4:1-3)
There were and are false prophets, false teachers, false teachings. Test the spirits. Test me! The Bible is our authority. Jesus is our authority. The reason cults exist is people follow leaders that are not following Jesus.
The question isn’t do you believe in God, but what do you believe about God. What do you believe about Jesus? We note previously how there were those in John’s day—and ours—who believed Jesus to be human but not God or God but not human. He is uniquely fully God and fully human.
This the the third time John mentions antichrist (1 John 2:18, 22). We said antichrist can mean against Christ or instead of Christ. Jesus said many would come in His name and also there would be opposition. There are many antichrists but they are not the antichrist mentioned in Revelation.
You, dear children, are from God and have overcome them, because the one who is in you is greater than the one who is in the world. They are from the world and therefore speak from the viewpoint of the world, and the world listens to them. We are from God, and whoever knows God listens to us; but whoever is not from God does not listen to us. This is how we recognize the Spirit of truth and the spirit of falsehood. (1 John 4:4-6)
The spirit of antichrist is in the world. We are engaged in a real, cosmic battle between good and evil. Can I let you in on a little secret? We win!
The Holy Spirit is given to all believers. The Holy Spirit teaches through the Word of God, the Bible. Believers have the Holy Spirit living inside of us, but unless we surrender to God we can still sin and rebel against God. If, however, we remain or abide in Christ (John 15) and invite the Holy Spirit to fill and guide us, we will have the mind of Christ and act like Jesus, bearing fruit.
Imagine you’re in a bicycle race, hot and sweaty. You just happen to have a bottle of ice cold water, but never reach for it and drink it. Does it help you? No. Is it available? Yes. Would it be foolish to not take advantage of it? Absolutely! It’s not enough to have the Holy Spirit, which all believers do. We are to let the Spirit take control. Hands off! That’s hard for many of us who want to be in control. It’s not whether you have the Holy Spirit, but whether or not the Holy Spirit has you!
Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. (1 John 4:7-8)
Believers are to love one another. This is not sentimental, sexual, or social love but supernatural, unconditional agape. It says, “I love you. Period.”
In 1984 the band Foreigner had a huge hit that said, “I Want To Know What Love Is.”
When I was in high school our youth leader told the story about proposing to his wife. He knew he had feelings for this woman but struggled to define love. He was reading 1 John 4 and saw this verse (and verse 16).
God is love.
One of my greatest fears for us is that we become so familiar with the idea of love without actually receiving and/or giving it. We know about love, but do we love?
Love is not being nice.
Love is not avoiding conflict.
Love not the absence of hate. In fact some have said the opposite of love is indifference, not hate, since love and hate are both intense. How often are we indifferent?
Love is a verb. It requires action.
This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us. (1 John 4:9-12)
He is the propitiation for our sins. The word means mercy seat, the place where the priest met God in the Old Testament. The word atonement means to cover. Jesus is the mercy seat for our sins. He died. He conquered sin and death so we can come boldly into the presence of Almighty God.
Do you love?
Do you love believers?
Do you love unbelievers?
Do you love your enemies?
The question is not can you but do you. The test of our faith is not our knowledge but our love.
Don’t miss the last verse. No one has seen God but people can see God’s love in us, through us. This is what it means for us to shine, to reflect God’s love like the moon reflects the light of the sun.
This is how we know that we live in him and he in us: He has given us of his Spirit. And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world. If anyone acknowledges that Jesus is the Son of God, God lives in them and they in God. And so we know and rely on the love God has for us. (1 John 4:13-16a)
This is not a human love. The fruit of the Spirit is love…Some believe love is the fruit and the rest of the fruit of the Spirit emerges from love.
Who is Jesus? This question is hugely important! He is the Son of God. If Jesus is not who He claimed to be, His death was useless. He was arrested and crucified for claiming to be God…and He proved it by the resurrection!
God is love. Whoever lives in love lives in God, and God in them. This is how love is made complete among us so that we will have confidence on the day of judgment: In this world we are like Jesus. There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love. (1 John 4:16b-18)
Here John says again, “God is love.” Love is made perfect or complete.
1 John 4:8 God is love
1 John 4:16 God is love
You can’t say God is mercy or grace or justice, but God is love. God reveals His love at the mercy set, Jesus.
I love the phrase, “Perfect love drives out fear,” but this is not any fear (although love probably has the capacity to drive out any fear). This is about fearing judgment, something we need not fear because Jesus died for us and showed us His love…in action.
We love because he first loved us. Whoever claims to love God yet hates a brother or sister is a liar. For whoever does not love their brother and sister, whom they have seen, cannot love God, whom they have not seen. And he has given us this command: Anyone who loves God must also love their brother and sister. (1 John 4:19-21)
God loved us first. He took the first step, made the first move. Our love for God and others is always a response to knowing and experiencing His love for us. If your love tank is empty, only God can fill it up. He has plenty to share, just ask!
How many claim to love God yet hate others?
Love is a command.
Do you love?
I confess
- not loving my enemies
- not loving my friends
- making it about me and my name rather than the Name of Jesus
- failing to share God’s love with the lost
Conclusion
Two weeks ago the Christian & Missionary Alliance held their General Council in Long Beach, California, a national gathering that occurs every other year. Viewing it online I heard President John Stumbo share for the first time as President his report, his state of the denomination address. His first word to us was simple: love.
I realize this isn’t fancy, complicated, or trendy, but Jesus loves you and, therefore, you are to love Jesus and people, those Jesus loves.
But what is love? God is love, but who is God? Love!
Twenty five years ago this past week I said “I do” to my bride, and she returned the favor! During our ceremony, we had a chapter of the Bible read aloud. It was not written for a wedding. It is not about romance. It does not discuss eros love. It’s a great description of agape, however.
These words were read that day:
If I speak in the tongues of men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to hardship that I may boast, but do not have love, I gain nothing.
Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.
Love never fails. But where there are prophecies, they will cease; where there are tongues, they will be stilled; where there is knowledge, it will pass away. For we know in part and we prophesy in part, but when completeness comes, what is in part disappears. When I was a child, I talked like a child, I thought like a child, I reasoned like a child. When I became a man, I put the ways of childhood behind me. For now we see only a reflection as in a mirror; then we shall see face to face. Now I know in part; then I shall know fully, even as I am fully known.
And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. (1 Corinthians 13)
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Jesus our Sanctifier, The Gospel Truth, 15 March 2015
16 03 15 Filed in: Sermons | The Gospel Truth
Series Overview: The purpose of this series is to distinguish between the biblical gospel and the various misunderstandings of the word, specifically the difference between Jesus as Savior and Lord. We will use the Fourfold Gospel as our outline.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Sanctifier, making us increasingly holy like Himself.
Introduction
This week we continue our series The Gospel Truth. We began last week looking at Jesus as Savior. Today we continue our look at the Fourfold Gospel examining Jesus as Sanctifier.
It’s not uncommon for song lyrics and passages of scripture to contain unusual words. Sanctifier is one of those Christianese words that few outside of the faith understand…and few inside the faith understand! When we say Jesus is our Sanctifier we are expressing that He makes us like Himself. A year ago we said that followers of Jesus are “in Christ.” What can be said of Jesus can be said of us in the eyes of our heavenly Father, not because we are God or perfect like Christ, but because we essentially wear Jesus’ uniform. His blood purifies our sins and we can stand before a holy God who cannot tolerate sin, not because of what we’ve done but because Jesus is our Savior which we studied last week.
Sanctification then is that God wants to make us in reality what we’ve already been declared to be in Christ. In other words, following Jesus is more than praying a prayer to ask Jesus into your heart so you’ll go to heaven when you die. Following Jesus is just that—following Him. Jesus is perfect. We are to be perfect. Jesus is holy. We are to be holy. Jesus has power and authority. We are to have power and authority.
To be sanctified is to be holy, set apart. In one sense it occurs when we surrender our lives to God, yet it is a progressive process in which we become increasingly like Him—separated from sin and evil.
Right about now you may be asking, “Why don’t I look like Jesus?” or “How is it possible for me to be like Christ?” That’s our topic today: sanctification, becoming holy and set apart like Jesus.
Fruit
What is your favorite food? Although my favorite dessert is ice cream, my favorite food is fruit. I love fruit! I’m not sure if it’s because most fruits are sweet or colorful or uniquely shaped or the texture but I love fruit. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a fruit I didn’t enjoy…unless it was bad fruit!
Where does fruit come from? Meijer! Believe it or not, it does not just appear in the produce section!
The Bible is filled with organic metaphors. God created our world, so it should come as no surprise He would use physical things to help us understand spiritual realities.
Gardening is a powerful way to understand life. I’m an expert gardener…in growing weeds! I admire people who understand soil and plants and who can grow things other than weeds!
Last week I listened to a brilliant podcast interview with Christine Sine in which she described the numerous parallels between the cultivation of her garden and the cultivation of her soul. Producing beautiful fruit requires preparation of the soil, generous fertilizer and water, enough sunlight, protection from hungry creatures, and the eradication of weeds that can choke the plants.
Likewise if we want our lives to bear fruit we must confess our sins, flee temptation, fill our minds with the Word of God, feed upon Jesus, the Bread of Life, receive support from godly brothers and sisters, and pursue a deeper relationship with God and others. Jesus said it plainly in the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4)
How do we become like Jesus? We know Him.
How do we know Jesus? We spend time with Him.
How do we spend time with Jesus? We pray. We study the Bible. We spend time with people who know Jesus.
They say many old couples look alike after years of marriage. They can finish each other’s sentences. They know what the other is thinking. That’s what happens when two people do life together, spend time with one another, know each other, and grow together. That’s what happens when we do life with Jesus—we begin to resemble Him!
It takes time. It requires intentionality. It involves effort.
When I placed a wedding ring on my bride’s finger nearly 25 years ago that wasn’t the end of our relationship. It was a tremendously significant moment, yet it was just the beginning. More than two decades later we’ve both invested in our relationship, and it has produced fruit (including three amazing children!). I didn’t just say vows and then tell her, “Have a nice life!” Over the years I have grown to be like her, and she has grown to be like me. We are both works in process, becoming like one another, but most of all both seeking to be like Jesus.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
It’s great to ask What Would Jesus Do? It’s far better to know Jesus so intimately and be so filled with the Holy Spirit that you don’t stop and ask—you instinctively do it! It’s natural. That’s sanctification. Jesus is our Sanctifier means He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to become Christians—little Christs. He wants us to love Him and love others, re-presenting Him to our desperate world.
Are you connected to the vine? Do know know what God is saying to you? Are you obediently following Him?
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:6-8)
If you know anything at all about plants, you know every branch must be connected to the trunk which must be connected to the roots. Any disconnect will result in poor or no fruit.
When I was a kid I remember enjoying a pretty substantial tree in our front yard. One day I had the brilliant idea of taking a hatchet and carving my name into the tree. When my parents realized what I had done, they weren’t very pleased! Fortunately I did no permanent damage to the tree, but I could’ve killed it!
Like many of you, I witnessed first-hand the destruction of trees by a very small bug known as the emerald ash borer. The nasty beetle from Asia was first formally identified in Canton, Michigan in 2002, believed to be introduced by overseas shipping materials. They attack ash trees through larval feeding that disrupts the flow of nutrients and water. This small bug is responsible for the destruction of literally tens of millions of ash trees and threatens to kill most of the 8.7 billion ash trees throughout North America.
What a perfect metaphor for sin! Small, unsuspected sins invade our life, slowly disconnecting us from our source of life, Jesus. Sure, robbing a bank or killing your neighbor will damage your relationship with God—and keep you away from others as you sit in prison—but most often it’s small temptations that cause us to drift from our nourishment. We get too busy to pray, too busy to study the Bible, too busy to attend worship and Life Groups, too busy to share Jesus with others. We get greedy, buying things we don’t need until we can no longer be generous and serve those in desperate need. We compromise in small things like taxes, speed limits, truth-telling, and pride until we are able to rationalize the most blatant of sins.
A Healthy Tree
The first words of the Psalms paint an entirely different picture.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
That’s what I want my life to depict!
What kind of fruit are you bearing? It could be no fruit, the result of disconnect from Jesus. It could be bad fruit such as
…sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. (Mark 7:21-22)
Or it could be the fruit of the Spirit:
…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
If we abide in Jesus, if we devote ourselves to Him, we will bear much, good fruit.
The Alliance website says it like this:
Many Christians understand God’s promise of salvation but do not experience the ongoing sanctifying work of Jesus Christ in their lives. For those who neither understand nor allow the Holy Spirit's control in their lives, the results have a profound effect.
Unsuccessful struggle against sin and a lack of power in life and ministry frustrate those who have asked Jesus to be their Savior but not their Sanctifier, resulting in a lack of joy in their walk with Christ. At the point when we are born again, we become members of God’s family. We believe He paid the price for our sin and that his followers are—set apart from those are not born again—and are seen as holy because of what Christ has done.
The Bible is filled with biological metaphors. We are a family—brothers and sisters. We are dead in our sins and resurrected with Christ as beautifully illustrated through baptism. In the book of Romans we read these powerful words:
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:11-14)
Some mistakenly think Christianity is a morality-based religion in which we are supposed to do good and be good. They see Jesus as someone who makes bad people good. Friends, the reality is Jesus came to make dead people come alive! Following Jesus is not merely an exercise in doing the right things. It is a vibrant, joy-filled journey in which possess—and are possessed by—the Holy Spirit. How?
Semi-circle
Most of us live busy lives. God created us to work, but also to rest. Most people work hard during the week and crash on the weekend. We are designed to work from a place of rest, not rest from work.
The semi-circle depicts a pendulum moving from rest to work and back. There are daily, weekly, monthly and annual rhythms of rest and work. When Jesus speaks in John 15 of remaining or abiding, He’s speaking of resting in Him. We need times of rest and recreation with Jesus and our our families. If we ignore Sabbath and rest with God, we will eventually crash. If we allow Him to prune us and renew us as we abide with Him during times of rest, we will bear much fruit when we work.
Are you abiding in Christ? Are you resting with Him? Are you spending quality time with Jesus, letting Him invite you into a deeper life of intimacy and faith while challenging you to greater levels of obedience and trust?
When we talk about Jesus as fully God yet fully man, it’s easy to think since Jesus was God He was never really tempted. Sure, Hebrews 4:15 says He was tempted in every way like us, but didn’t He brush it away like a mosquito and then do all of His magic tricks, healing the sick and opening the eyes of the blind and raising the dead?
Jesus said no to temptation and did supernatural works because He was filled with the Holy Spirit…the same Holy Spirit available to you and me. If we abide with Jesus, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will change. We will grow. We will bear fruit. We will look increasingly like Jesus.
Paul wrote these words to the Church in Corinth:
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
That’s remarkable!
Conclusion
Dallas Willard famously referred to those seeking salvation apart from sanctification and lordship as “vampire Christians” who only want a little blood but have no interest in following Jesus now. It’s one thing for Jesus to be our Savior and another to be truly LORD.
A few weeks ago we said one of our family rules is the Make Disciples. Disciples are students or imitators of their discipler. We are to be students and followers and imitators of Jesus.
It’s a life-long process, but if we hunger after God, if we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, if we confess our sins and surrender our will, and if we abide, He will make us new. He will transform us into new creations like Jesus. He is able to take whatever mess we offer Him and make it beautiful. That’s our Sanctifier!
Credits
Some material taken from The Fourfold Gospel, a C&MA/DNA publication.
Semi-circle LifeShape from Mike Breen and 3DMovements.com.
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Big Idea: Jesus is our Sanctifier, making us increasingly holy like Himself.
Introduction
This week we continue our series The Gospel Truth. We began last week looking at Jesus as Savior. Today we continue our look at the Fourfold Gospel examining Jesus as Sanctifier.
It’s not uncommon for song lyrics and passages of scripture to contain unusual words. Sanctifier is one of those Christianese words that few outside of the faith understand…and few inside the faith understand! When we say Jesus is our Sanctifier we are expressing that He makes us like Himself. A year ago we said that followers of Jesus are “in Christ.” What can be said of Jesus can be said of us in the eyes of our heavenly Father, not because we are God or perfect like Christ, but because we essentially wear Jesus’ uniform. His blood purifies our sins and we can stand before a holy God who cannot tolerate sin, not because of what we’ve done but because Jesus is our Savior which we studied last week.
Sanctification then is that God wants to make us in reality what we’ve already been declared to be in Christ. In other words, following Jesus is more than praying a prayer to ask Jesus into your heart so you’ll go to heaven when you die. Following Jesus is just that—following Him. Jesus is perfect. We are to be perfect. Jesus is holy. We are to be holy. Jesus has power and authority. We are to have power and authority.
To be sanctified is to be holy, set apart. In one sense it occurs when we surrender our lives to God, yet it is a progressive process in which we become increasingly like Him—separated from sin and evil.
Right about now you may be asking, “Why don’t I look like Jesus?” or “How is it possible for me to be like Christ?” That’s our topic today: sanctification, becoming holy and set apart like Jesus.
Fruit
What is your favorite food? Although my favorite dessert is ice cream, my favorite food is fruit. I love fruit! I’m not sure if it’s because most fruits are sweet or colorful or uniquely shaped or the texture but I love fruit. I’m not sure I’ve ever had a fruit I didn’t enjoy…unless it was bad fruit!
Where does fruit come from? Meijer! Believe it or not, it does not just appear in the produce section!
The Bible is filled with organic metaphors. God created our world, so it should come as no surprise He would use physical things to help us understand spiritual realities.
Gardening is a powerful way to understand life. I’m an expert gardener…in growing weeds! I admire people who understand soil and plants and who can grow things other than weeds!
Last week I listened to a brilliant podcast interview with Christine Sine in which she described the numerous parallels between the cultivation of her garden and the cultivation of her soul. Producing beautiful fruit requires preparation of the soil, generous fertilizer and water, enough sunlight, protection from hungry creatures, and the eradication of weeds that can choke the plants.
Likewise if we want our lives to bear fruit we must confess our sins, flee temptation, fill our minds with the Word of God, feed upon Jesus, the Bread of Life, receive support from godly brothers and sisters, and pursue a deeper relationship with God and others. Jesus said it plainly in the fifteenth chapter of the gospel of John.
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the gardener. He cuts off every branch in me that bears no fruit, while every branch that does bear fruit he prunes so that it will be even more fruitful. You are already clean because of the word I have spoken to you. Remain in me, as I also remain in you. No branch can bear fruit by itself; it must remain in the vine. Neither can you bear fruit unless you remain in me. (John 15:1-4)
How do we become like Jesus? We know Him.
How do we know Jesus? We spend time with Him.
How do we spend time with Jesus? We pray. We study the Bible. We spend time with people who know Jesus.
They say many old couples look alike after years of marriage. They can finish each other’s sentences. They know what the other is thinking. That’s what happens when two people do life together, spend time with one another, know each other, and grow together. That’s what happens when we do life with Jesus—we begin to resemble Him!
It takes time. It requires intentionality. It involves effort.
When I placed a wedding ring on my bride’s finger nearly 25 years ago that wasn’t the end of our relationship. It was a tremendously significant moment, yet it was just the beginning. More than two decades later we’ve both invested in our relationship, and it has produced fruit (including three amazing children!). I didn’t just say vows and then tell her, “Have a nice life!” Over the years I have grown to be like her, and she has grown to be like me. We are both works in process, becoming like one another, but most of all both seeking to be like Jesus.
“I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing. (John 15:5)
It’s great to ask What Would Jesus Do? It’s far better to know Jesus so intimately and be so filled with the Holy Spirit that you don’t stop and ask—you instinctively do it! It’s natural. That’s sanctification. Jesus is our Sanctifier means He wants us to become like Him. He wants us to become Christians—little Christs. He wants us to love Him and love others, re-presenting Him to our desperate world.
Are you connected to the vine? Do know know what God is saying to you? Are you obediently following Him?
If you do not remain in me, you are like a branch that is thrown away and withers; such branches are picked up, thrown into the fire and burned. If you remain in me and my words remain in you, ask whatever you wish, and it will be done for you. This is to my Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, showing yourselves to be my disciples. (John 15:6-8)
If you know anything at all about plants, you know every branch must be connected to the trunk which must be connected to the roots. Any disconnect will result in poor or no fruit.
When I was a kid I remember enjoying a pretty substantial tree in our front yard. One day I had the brilliant idea of taking a hatchet and carving my name into the tree. When my parents realized what I had done, they weren’t very pleased! Fortunately I did no permanent damage to the tree, but I could’ve killed it!
Like many of you, I witnessed first-hand the destruction of trees by a very small bug known as the emerald ash borer. The nasty beetle from Asia was first formally identified in Canton, Michigan in 2002, believed to be introduced by overseas shipping materials. They attack ash trees through larval feeding that disrupts the flow of nutrients and water. This small bug is responsible for the destruction of literally tens of millions of ash trees and threatens to kill most of the 8.7 billion ash trees throughout North America.
What a perfect metaphor for sin! Small, unsuspected sins invade our life, slowly disconnecting us from our source of life, Jesus. Sure, robbing a bank or killing your neighbor will damage your relationship with God—and keep you away from others as you sit in prison—but most often it’s small temptations that cause us to drift from our nourishment. We get too busy to pray, too busy to study the Bible, too busy to attend worship and Life Groups, too busy to share Jesus with others. We get greedy, buying things we don’t need until we can no longer be generous and serve those in desperate need. We compromise in small things like taxes, speed limits, truth-telling, and pride until we are able to rationalize the most blatant of sins.
A Healthy Tree
The first words of the Psalms paint an entirely different picture.
Blessed is the one who does not walk in step with the wicked or stand in the way that sinners take or sit in the company of mockers, but whose delight is in the law of the LORD, and who meditates on his law day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither—whatever they do prospers. (Psalm 1:1-3)
That’s what I want my life to depict!
What kind of fruit are you bearing? It could be no fruit, the result of disconnect from Jesus. It could be bad fruit such as
…sexual immorality, theft, murder, adultery, greed, malice, deceit, lewdness, envy, slander, arrogance and folly. (Mark 7:21-22)
Or it could be the fruit of the Spirit:
…love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
If we abide in Jesus, if we devote ourselves to Him, we will bear much, good fruit.
The Alliance website says it like this:
Many Christians understand God’s promise of salvation but do not experience the ongoing sanctifying work of Jesus Christ in their lives. For those who neither understand nor allow the Holy Spirit's control in their lives, the results have a profound effect.
Unsuccessful struggle against sin and a lack of power in life and ministry frustrate those who have asked Jesus to be their Savior but not their Sanctifier, resulting in a lack of joy in their walk with Christ. At the point when we are born again, we become members of God’s family. We believe He paid the price for our sin and that his followers are—set apart from those are not born again—and are seen as holy because of what Christ has done.
The Bible is filled with biological metaphors. We are a family—brothers and sisters. We are dead in our sins and resurrected with Christ as beautifully illustrated through baptism. In the book of Romans we read these powerful words:
In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus. Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer any part of yourself to sin as an instrument of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer every part of yourself to him as an instrument of righteousness. For sin shall no longer be your master, because you are not under the law, but under grace. (Romans 6:11-14)
Some mistakenly think Christianity is a morality-based religion in which we are supposed to do good and be good. They see Jesus as someone who makes bad people good. Friends, the reality is Jesus came to make dead people come alive! Following Jesus is not merely an exercise in doing the right things. It is a vibrant, joy-filled journey in which possess—and are possessed by—the Holy Spirit. How?
- We thirst. We desire God, or at least want to want God.
- We ask. Invite the Holy Spirit to fill you. Daily. Maybe hourly!
- We surrender. In essence, let go and let God. This means letting go of your time, talents and treasures. It means placing everything on the altar. Open your hands!
- Abide. Love is spelled T-I-M-E. There are no shortcuts.
Semi-circle
Most of us live busy lives. God created us to work, but also to rest. Most people work hard during the week and crash on the weekend. We are designed to work from a place of rest, not rest from work.
The semi-circle depicts a pendulum moving from rest to work and back. There are daily, weekly, monthly and annual rhythms of rest and work. When Jesus speaks in John 15 of remaining or abiding, He’s speaking of resting in Him. We need times of rest and recreation with Jesus and our our families. If we ignore Sabbath and rest with God, we will eventually crash. If we allow Him to prune us and renew us as we abide with Him during times of rest, we will bear much fruit when we work.
Are you abiding in Christ? Are you resting with Him? Are you spending quality time with Jesus, letting Him invite you into a deeper life of intimacy and faith while challenging you to greater levels of obedience and trust?
When we talk about Jesus as fully God yet fully man, it’s easy to think since Jesus was God He was never really tempted. Sure, Hebrews 4:15 says He was tempted in every way like us, but didn’t He brush it away like a mosquito and then do all of His magic tricks, healing the sick and opening the eyes of the blind and raising the dead?
Jesus said no to temptation and did supernatural works because He was filled with the Holy Spirit…the same Holy Spirit available to you and me. If we abide with Jesus, if we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we will change. We will grow. We will bear fruit. We will look increasingly like Jesus.
Paul wrote these words to the Church in Corinth:
Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, so that no one may boast before him. It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.” (1 Corinthians 1:26-31)
That’s remarkable!
Conclusion
Dallas Willard famously referred to those seeking salvation apart from sanctification and lordship as “vampire Christians” who only want a little blood but have no interest in following Jesus now. It’s one thing for Jesus to be our Savior and another to be truly LORD.
A few weeks ago we said one of our family rules is the Make Disciples. Disciples are students or imitators of their discipler. We are to be students and followers and imitators of Jesus.
It’s a life-long process, but if we hunger after God, if we ask the Holy Spirit to fill us, if we confess our sins and surrender our will, and if we abide, He will make us new. He will transform us into new creations like Jesus. He is able to take whatever mess we offer Him and make it beautiful. That’s our Sanctifier!
Credits
Some material taken from The Fourfold Gospel, a C&MA/DNA publication.
Semi-circle LifeShape from Mike Breen and 3DMovements.com.
You can listen to this message and others at the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
The Holy Spirit, John 16:1-15, 14 July 2013
Big Idea: When we are filled with the Holy Spirit, we experience the fruit, gifts, and fullness of God in our lives to glorify Jesus.
Introduction
It could be said that one challenge people have with Jesus is that they can’t see Him. He’s not here. Jesus has left the building…and the planet. We worship a God who visited us for 33 years and then ascended into heaven more than 2000 years ago. But God is here; God the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the book of John, Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit. He predicts the events of the second chapter of Acts (one of the most exciting chapters in the entire Bible). We actually looked at the first verses of John 16 three weeks ago, but we’ll review them here. The context is Jesus predicting His death.
“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. (1-3)
Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament of the Bible, was once one of these people. Before his conversion to Christianity, he was a brilliant religious scholar, a Pharisee, named Saul who encouraged the stoning of Stephen and other early followers of Jesus (Acts 8:1). The irony is striking, yet even today there are people around the world that think they are offering a service to God by killing Christians.
I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. (4a)
A few weeks ago we talked about expectations. Jesus prepared His followers for the temporary suffering they would face in order to reap eternal rewards. Virtually every religion tries to sell the benefits of their faith, yet Jesus repeatedly goes out of His way to let people know they must count the cost before flippantly following Him.
I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. (4b-6)
Can you blame them for being filled with grief?
Imagine you devote your entire life to another person. All married couples should at least be able to imagine this! Now imagine they said they were going to leave. Now imagine they warned you about being ostracized from your community or even killed for your relationship with them. I would have grief! Jesus continues…
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (7)
Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Why is the Holy Spirit coming rather than Jesus staying?
Furthermore,…
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
Jesus has talked about how the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, will defend believers and strengthen their witness. Now the defender becomes the prosecutor and judge.
First, the world refuses to believe Jesus as God. This is true today, too. It wants its own way, not God’s.
Second, they don’t understand the cross will proclaim His innocence and righteousness.
Finally, it is the world and satan that will be judged, not Jesus and His followers.
The Holy Spirit will do these things and more.
Jesus then says
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:12-15)
Dr. Gary Burge wrote,
“The Spirit's sole ambition is to draw attention to Jesus and to reveal to us that Jesus has been raised from the dead and has ascended to his heavenly Father, of whom he is the one and only Son.”
- The NIV Application Commentary, John
The Spirit does not take us deeper into ourselves but further out of ourselves where we find Jesus. The Spirit stirs us to long for Jesus.
So What?
The Holy Spirit may be the most underrated resource in the life of a follower of Jesus.
http://muddyrivermedia.org/media/propane
The Spirit is one of three Persons that make up the Trinity, our three-in-one God. The Trinity is a mystery, yet the Bible is clear that each is distinct yet fully God. When we receive Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, too. The question is, are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
How do you know? In the previous chapter of John, Jesus said if we abide or connect with Him, we will bear fruit. Galatians 5 is explicit about what this fruit is:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
Are you a more loving person than you were on New Year’s Day?
Would friends say you are more joyful than a year ago?
Do you feel peace despite your circumstances?
Are you becoming more patient?
Is kindness a clear and obvious trait to co-workers or fellow students?
When is the last time someone commented on your goodness?
Could faithfulness describe your character?
Do you have a reputation for being gentle?
When is the last time you were out of control?
I have a fear. My fear is that as individuals, many of us know the Bible but not Jesus. We are religious, but not filled with the Holy Spirit.
We need the Holy Spirit. We all need more of the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit by confessing our sins and then inviting the Spirit to come and fill us. This is not a one-time event or even an annual process, but an ongoing lifestyle of passionately pursuing God.
This (Galatians 5:22-23a) is what we are to look like. This is the fruit we are to bear. I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would ignite our hearts. I pray that He would break our hearts with the things that break His heart, the lost and hurting. I pray that He would do a new thing in our church, replacing fatigue with fire, apathy with zeal, and complacency with compassion.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18)
Every day we must pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, sensitive to sin, and sensitive to the promptings of God.
In our text for today, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. We are on the other side of that promise. We have 24/7 access to the Holy Spirit, but it is not automatic. Like oxygen in our lungs, we must breathe in the Spirit daily, hourly.
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit or are you trying to live life from the heat of the pilot light (see video above)?
You can listen to the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Introduction
It could be said that one challenge people have with Jesus is that they can’t see Him. He’s not here. Jesus has left the building…and the planet. We worship a God who visited us for 33 years and then ascended into heaven more than 2000 years ago. But God is here; God the Holy Spirit.
Throughout the book of John, Jesus talks about the Holy Spirit. He predicts the events of the second chapter of Acts (one of the most exciting chapters in the entire Bible). We actually looked at the first verses of John 16 three weeks ago, but we’ll review them here. The context is Jesus predicting His death.
“All this I have told you so that you will not fall away. They will put you out of the synagogue; in fact, the time is coming when anyone who kills you will think they are offering a service to God. They will do such things because they have not known the Father or me. (1-3)
Paul, the writer of much of the New Testament of the Bible, was once one of these people. Before his conversion to Christianity, he was a brilliant religious scholar, a Pharisee, named Saul who encouraged the stoning of Stephen and other early followers of Jesus (Acts 8:1). The irony is striking, yet even today there are people around the world that think they are offering a service to God by killing Christians.
I have told you this, so that when their time comes you will remember that I warned you about them. (4a)
A few weeks ago we talked about expectations. Jesus prepared His followers for the temporary suffering they would face in order to reap eternal rewards. Virtually every religion tries to sell the benefits of their faith, yet Jesus repeatedly goes out of His way to let people know they must count the cost before flippantly following Him.
I did not tell you this from the beginning because I was with you, but now I am going to him who sent me. None of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ Rather, you are filled with grief because I have said these things. (4b-6)
Can you blame them for being filled with grief?
Imagine you devote your entire life to another person. All married couples should at least be able to imagine this! Now imagine they said they were going to leave. Now imagine they warned you about being ostracized from your community or even killed for your relationship with them. I would have grief! Jesus continues…
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. (7)
Jesus is talking about the Holy Spirit. Why is the Holy Spirit coming rather than Jesus staying?
- Jesus was restricted by His human body, able to only be in one place at a time.
- Jesus came for one purpose—to die! He is about to do that as He says these words.
- The Holy Spirit is able to dwell inside believers. God will live inside people!
- The Holy Spirit will provide various gifts to believers.
- The fruit of the Holy Spirit will be produced in the lives of believers.
Furthermore,…
When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. (John 16:8-11)
Jesus has talked about how the Holy Spirit, the Paraclete, will defend believers and strengthen their witness. Now the defender becomes the prosecutor and judge.
First, the world refuses to believe Jesus as God. This is true today, too. It wants its own way, not God’s.
Second, they don’t understand the cross will proclaim His innocence and righteousness.
Finally, it is the world and satan that will be judged, not Jesus and His followers.
The Holy Spirit will do these things and more.
Jesus then says
“I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.” (John 16:12-15)
Dr. Gary Burge wrote,
“The Spirit's sole ambition is to draw attention to Jesus and to reveal to us that Jesus has been raised from the dead and has ascended to his heavenly Father, of whom he is the one and only Son.”
- The NIV Application Commentary, John
The Spirit does not take us deeper into ourselves but further out of ourselves where we find Jesus. The Spirit stirs us to long for Jesus.
So What?
The Holy Spirit may be the most underrated resource in the life of a follower of Jesus.
http://muddyrivermedia.org/media/propane
The Spirit is one of three Persons that make up the Trinity, our three-in-one God. The Trinity is a mystery, yet the Bible is clear that each is distinct yet fully God. When we receive Jesus, we receive the Holy Spirit, too. The question is, are you filled with the Holy Spirit?
How do you know? In the previous chapter of John, Jesus said if we abide or connect with Him, we will bear fruit. Galatians 5 is explicit about what this fruit is:
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23a)
Are you a more loving person than you were on New Year’s Day?
Would friends say you are more joyful than a year ago?
Do you feel peace despite your circumstances?
Are you becoming more patient?
Is kindness a clear and obvious trait to co-workers or fellow students?
When is the last time someone commented on your goodness?
Could faithfulness describe your character?
Do you have a reputation for being gentle?
When is the last time you were out of control?
I have a fear. My fear is that as individuals, many of us know the Bible but not Jesus. We are religious, but not filled with the Holy Spirit.
We need the Holy Spirit. We all need more of the Holy Spirit. We receive the Holy Spirit by confessing our sins and then inviting the Spirit to come and fill us. This is not a one-time event or even an annual process, but an ongoing lifestyle of passionately pursuing God.
This (Galatians 5:22-23a) is what we are to look like. This is the fruit we are to bear. I pray that the power of the Holy Spirit would ignite our hearts. I pray that He would break our hearts with the things that break His heart, the lost and hurting. I pray that He would do a new thing in our church, replacing fatigue with fire, apathy with zeal, and complacency with compassion.
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit, (Ephesians 5:18)
And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. (Ephesians 6:18)
Every day we must pray to be filled with the Holy Spirit, sensitive to sin, and sensitive to the promptings of God.
In our text for today, Jesus promises the Holy Spirit. We are on the other side of that promise. We have 24/7 access to the Holy Spirit, but it is not automatic. Like oxygen in our lungs, we must breathe in the Spirit daily, hourly.
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit or are you trying to live life from the heat of the pilot light (see video above)?
You can listen to the Scio podcast here. You can also subscribe to our podcast here.
Fruit of the Spirit, 26 June 2011
27 06 11 Filed in: Sermons | The Holy Spirit
Big Idea: Perhaps the best indicator of our spiritual maturity is not how often we attend church or how many Scripture verses we’ve memorized, but the prominence and growth of the Fruit of the Spirit in our character, attitudes, and actions.
Before we dive into the list of the fruit, let’s look at the context. Paul is writing to a church in a city called Galatia. The people are debating the value of the Old Testament law and its implications for followers of Jesus, particularly Gentiles. He writes
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
- Galatians 5:13-15
Sometimes it just amazed me how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Two thousand years ago people in the church were after each other. If we can’t get along inside the family of God, how in the world can we expect to act like Jesus when we leave this building to be missionaries in our community?
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
- Galatians 5:16-18
We must be filled with the Spirit as we talked about two weeks ago. We need to daily—hourly!—confess our sins and receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the contrast between the fruit of sin and the fruit of the Spirit.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Galatians 5:19-21
That sounds like our world, doesn’t it? If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen these behaviors on television, at the movies, in my neighborhood, and in ME...I’d be a rich man!
Can you relate to these behaviors? Which one is the most challenging for you?
There is a better way. We can’t make it happen. We can’t do it on our own. As AA says, we need a higher power, the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, our lives will look like this...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
- Galatians 5:22-26
This is one time when I like to see the word “but!”
I’ve heard a lot of religious people in my day talk about how holier-than-thou they are. I’ve heard people brag about how many Bible verses they have memorized, how many times they’ve been to church, how long they pray, how long they fast, how much of the Bible they have read, how much money they have given to the church—but enough about me!
If you really want to measure your spiritual growth and maturity, look at this list.
Are you more loving than a week ago? A month ago? A year ago?
The first three deal with our relationship with God. They are habits of the mind.
- Love (for God and man), agape, Rom. 13:10, I Cor. 13 (the foundation of the other graces; God’s agape love)
- Joy, chara, I Pet. 1:8; Neh. 8:10 (a deep and abiding inner rejoicing not dependent upon circumstances)
- Peace, eirene, Phil. 4:7, Rom. 5:1. (an inner quietness even in the face of trails that defies human understanding)
The next three deal with our relationship with others.
- Patience, makrothumia, (long-suffering), Eph. 4:2; Col. 1:11 (when wrongfully treated, no thought of revenge)
- Kindness, chrestotes, I Cor. 13:4, Eph. 2:7 (benevolence in action)
- Goodness, agathosune, Rom. 15:14; Eph. 5:9 (doing good even when it is undeserved and uprightness of the soul)
The final three address our personal character and relationship to ourselves. They are graces that guide our general conduct.
- Faithfulness, pistis, Matt. 23:23; Rom. 3:3; Titus 2:10 (trustworthy and reliable)
- Gentleness, prautes, II Cor. 10:1; Eph. 4:2, II Tim. 2:25 (submissive to God’s Word and considerate of others when discipline is needed)
- Self-control, egkrateia, Acts 24:25; II Peter 1:6. (self-mastery curbing fleshly impulses)
The Greek word here for fruit is karpos (karpo/ß). It is related to the Gifts of the Spirit and refers to many gifts but one fruit (“cluster”), the opposite of “works of the flesh.”
Perhaps like me you’ve called them the fruits of the Spirit but the word is singular.This seems to indicate a unity. In other words, they all should be found in a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Some have described it like a puzzle. Unlock the linchpin and the entire puzzle comes apart, and must be put together in the correct sequence, with the linchpin as the last piece or all is 'lost'. I kind of think of the Fruit of the Spirit like this - each one is a facet or slice that reflects God's character and by His very nature, they are interlocked/interwoven in such a way as to be inseparable. As we work on one, all are developed. If we look at the list again you will notice that since they are related, the goal isn't to focus on one. It's to focus on God. It can be overwhelming to think of working all nine listed aspects of the fruit of the Spirit at once, but as Dallas Willard points out, spiritual formation often works like a train: developing one virtue tends to “pull” others along with it.
Notice, too, that this list is simply a description of Jesus. He lived the ultimate human life. He was controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit despite temptation and trials and invites us to similarly be filled with the same Holy Spirit. This should describe us!
A recent research study was summarized in a book called unChristian.
When asked to describe Christians, what do you think non-Christians said?
Pasted Graphic
pastedGraphic
Which of the above is a part of the fruit of the Spirit? Do you see a problem here?
Jesus said...
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
What fruit are you bearing?
Remember, fruit takes time to mature. We don’t just pray a prayer and suddenly become Jesus! Maturity takes years—a lifetime. It doesn’t matter where you are today on your spiritual journey, but where you’ll be tomorrow. Are you growing? Are you becoming more like Jesus...or less? Is your faith growing or shrinking? Is your passion for those far from God increasing or waning?
How would your family members and best friends describe the fruit in your life?
Are you more loving than a week ago? A month ago? A year ago?
At the end of the day, there’s only two things we need to do—love God and love our neighbor.
The passage concludes saying this about the fruit of the Spirit...
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
- Galatians 5:24-26
Here Paul states the obvious—of course no one would make laws against these characteristics. Imagine what our world would look like if we were all filled with the Spirit!
If we live by the Spirit—if we are filled with the Spirit—we will be like the Spirit, be like Jesus, love God, and love our neighbor. That’s a church family worth embracing!
We can’t make the fruit of the Spirit come alive in us by trying hard any more than we can make fruit grow on a tree by willing it. It’s a God thing. If we seek Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, He will respond.
It all begins with repentance and seeking the filling of the Spirit. More of Jesus, less of me.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Before we dive into the list of the fruit, let’s look at the context. Paul is writing to a church in a city called Galatia. The people are debating the value of the Old Testament law and its implications for followers of Jesus, particularly Gentiles. He writes
You, my brothers, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the sinful nature; rather, serve one another in love. The entire law is summed up in a single command: “Love your neighbor as yourself.” If you keep on biting and devouring each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.
- Galatians 5:13-15
Sometimes it just amazed me how the more things change, the more they stay the same. Two thousand years ago people in the church were after each other. If we can’t get along inside the family of God, how in the world can we expect to act like Jesus when we leave this building to be missionaries in our community?
So I say, live by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the sinful nature. For the sinful nature desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the sinful nature. They are in conflict with each other, so that you do not do what you want. But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under law.
- Galatians 5:16-18
We must be filled with the Spirit as we talked about two weeks ago. We need to daily—hourly!—confess our sins and receive the power of the Holy Spirit.
Look at the contrast between the fruit of sin and the fruit of the Spirit.
The acts of the sinful nature are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery; idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.
- Galatians 5:19-21
That sounds like our world, doesn’t it? If I had a nickel for every time I’ve seen these behaviors on television, at the movies, in my neighborhood, and in ME...I’d be a rich man!
Can you relate to these behaviors? Which one is the most challenging for you?
There is a better way. We can’t make it happen. We can’t do it on our own. As AA says, we need a higher power, the Holy Spirit. When we are filled with the Spirit, our lives will look like this...
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
- Galatians 5:22-26
This is one time when I like to see the word “but!”
I’ve heard a lot of religious people in my day talk about how holier-than-thou they are. I’ve heard people brag about how many Bible verses they have memorized, how many times they’ve been to church, how long they pray, how long they fast, how much of the Bible they have read, how much money they have given to the church—but enough about me!
If you really want to measure your spiritual growth and maturity, look at this list.
Are you more loving than a week ago? A month ago? A year ago?
The first three deal with our relationship with God. They are habits of the mind.
- Love (for God and man), agape, Rom. 13:10, I Cor. 13 (the foundation of the other graces; God’s agape love)
- Joy, chara, I Pet. 1:8; Neh. 8:10 (a deep and abiding inner rejoicing not dependent upon circumstances)
- Peace, eirene, Phil. 4:7, Rom. 5:1. (an inner quietness even in the face of trails that defies human understanding)
The next three deal with our relationship with others.
- Patience, makrothumia, (long-suffering), Eph. 4:2; Col. 1:11 (when wrongfully treated, no thought of revenge)
- Kindness, chrestotes, I Cor. 13:4, Eph. 2:7 (benevolence in action)
- Goodness, agathosune, Rom. 15:14; Eph. 5:9 (doing good even when it is undeserved and uprightness of the soul)
The final three address our personal character and relationship to ourselves. They are graces that guide our general conduct.
- Faithfulness, pistis, Matt. 23:23; Rom. 3:3; Titus 2:10 (trustworthy and reliable)
- Gentleness, prautes, II Cor. 10:1; Eph. 4:2, II Tim. 2:25 (submissive to God’s Word and considerate of others when discipline is needed)
- Self-control, egkrateia, Acts 24:25; II Peter 1:6. (self-mastery curbing fleshly impulses)
The Greek word here for fruit is karpos (karpo/ß). It is related to the Gifts of the Spirit and refers to many gifts but one fruit (“cluster”), the opposite of “works of the flesh.”
Perhaps like me you’ve called them the fruits of the Spirit but the word is singular.This seems to indicate a unity. In other words, they all should be found in a believer who is filled with the Holy Spirit.
Some have described it like a puzzle. Unlock the linchpin and the entire puzzle comes apart, and must be put together in the correct sequence, with the linchpin as the last piece or all is 'lost'. I kind of think of the Fruit of the Spirit like this - each one is a facet or slice that reflects God's character and by His very nature, they are interlocked/interwoven in such a way as to be inseparable. As we work on one, all are developed. If we look at the list again you will notice that since they are related, the goal isn't to focus on one. It's to focus on God. It can be overwhelming to think of working all nine listed aspects of the fruit of the Spirit at once, but as Dallas Willard points out, spiritual formation often works like a train: developing one virtue tends to “pull” others along with it.
Notice, too, that this list is simply a description of Jesus. He lived the ultimate human life. He was controlled by the power of the Holy Spirit despite temptation and trials and invites us to similarly be filled with the same Holy Spirit. This should describe us!
A recent research study was summarized in a book called unChristian.
When asked to describe Christians, what do you think non-Christians said?
Pasted Graphic
pastedGraphic
Which of the above is a part of the fruit of the Spirit? Do you see a problem here?
Jesus said...
“Watch out for false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ferocious wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them. Do people pick grapes from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Thus, by their fruit you will recognize them.
- Matthew 7:15-20
What fruit are you bearing?
Remember, fruit takes time to mature. We don’t just pray a prayer and suddenly become Jesus! Maturity takes years—a lifetime. It doesn’t matter where you are today on your spiritual journey, but where you’ll be tomorrow. Are you growing? Are you becoming more like Jesus...or less? Is your faith growing or shrinking? Is your passion for those far from God increasing or waning?
How would your family members and best friends describe the fruit in your life?
Are you more loving than a week ago? A month ago? A year ago?
At the end of the day, there’s only two things we need to do—love God and love our neighbor.
The passage concludes saying this about the fruit of the Spirit...
Against such things there is no law. Those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the sinful nature with its passions and desires. Since we live by the Spirit, let us keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking and envying each other.
- Galatians 5:24-26
Here Paul states the obvious—of course no one would make laws against these characteristics. Imagine what our world would look like if we were all filled with the Spirit!
If we live by the Spirit—if we are filled with the Spirit—we will be like the Spirit, be like Jesus, love God, and love our neighbor. That’s a church family worth embracing!
We can’t make the fruit of the Spirit come alive in us by trying hard any more than we can make fruit grow on a tree by willing it. It’s a God thing. If we seek Him with all of our heart, soul, mind and strength, He will respond.
It all begins with repentance and seeking the filling of the Spirit. More of Jesus, less of me.
You can listen to the podcast here.
How Can I Be Filled With The Holy Spirit? 12 June 2011
17 06 11 Filed in: Sermons | The Holy Spirit
Big Idea: Being filled is a vital but not automatic experience that must be done continually. In Pentecost Sunday, we will look at what happened in Acts 2 and how we can experience the Holy Spirit in our lives.
Today we celebrate Pentecost, a tremendously significant day reported in the second chapter of Acts.
Last week we began our creatively titled series “The Holy Spirit” with a look at who the Holy Spirit is. We said that He is not a ghost, but a Person, God, one third of the Trinity, one God in three Persons. We saw, too, how Jesus said it was better for Him to leave and give us the Holy Spirit than for Him to stay on earth, so He ascended into heaven and promised the Holy Spirit. The Spirit arrived in a big way in Acts 2.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. – Acts 2:1-4
This is quite possibly the most popular passage of Scripture among charismatics and Pentecostals. These groups are often known for signs and wonders and miracles in their midst, something that should not surprise us since Jesus did them and said that we would do even greater things.
So why doesn’t the Church in USAmerica look more like the New Testament? Why are so few people doing “the stuff,” to quote John Wimber from last Sunday? Why aren’t people flocking here on Sunday mornings to get healed and set free from addictions and bondage?
Great questions!!!
Scio family, I can’t find a biblical answer to that question! How many of you want more of God? Really!
Have you ever been on a cruise? There was a man who wanted to go on a cruise in the worst way. He had heard about the wonderful experiences of others aboard ships and spent years saving up every possible penny in order to purchase a ticket. When the big day arrived, he proudly boarded the boat and waved goodbye to those less-fortunate people on the dock as the ship headed to sea.
Over the course of the cruise, he got acquainted with a man in a nearby cabin. After several days, the neighbor finally asked why his friend was never seen in the dining room during meals. The man replied, “I cannot afford the extravagant food on the ship so I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my room that I packed in my luggage.”
“My dear friend, all of the food is included with your cruise ticket!” the neighbor replied in disbelief. “It has been available to you all week!”
Friends, if you have surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you get the Holy Spirit, too. He is included!
So why do so many Christ-followers live such miserable lives? They have not been filled with the Holy Spirit!
Last week we looked at Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
It says that our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.
How are we filled with the Holy Spirit? We must ask.
Jesus’ brother James said once,
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. - James 4:2
So all we have to do is ask and the Holy Spirit will bring us gourmet meals, heal all of our diseases, enable us to do miracles, and we all live happily ever after? Not quite
The late Bill Bright, the founder of the international group Campus Crusade for Christ, called the process of being filled with the Holy Spirit “spiritual breathing.”
It begins with exhaling—repenting of our sins and getting the junk out. This is where we confess our sins, acknowledge that we have wronged God and possibly others, and commit to a new way of righteous, holy living.
Confess your sin -- agree with God concerning your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it, according to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession involves repentance - a change in attitude and action.
Have you ever grabbed a drinking glass from the shelf only to discover that it was filled with junk inside? What do you do? You grab another glass!
I think God is much the same way. When He wants to show His power, I think He often looks for those that are truly seeking Him and His holiness. Understand, we’re not perfect, but because Jesus is, we can be forgiven and stand righteous before a holy God. When we agree with God that we have sinned, turn away from our sin, and follow Jesus it is called repentance and it delights the heart of God and brings us back into right relationship with Him.
The next step—inhaling—is simply to ask the Holy Spirit to come. Ask to be filled. When a glass is filled with dirty water, there’s no room for the pure stuff. When we receive the cleansing of Jesus, we make room for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us.
Inhaling is when we surrender the control of our lives to Christ, and appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith. We must trust that He now directs and empowers us; according to the command of Ephesians 5:18 and the promise of 1 John 5:14, 15.
Spiritual breathing and being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just some fun thing to please ourselves. The second part of James 4 says
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Being filled with the Spirit is a blessing for us, but ultimately it’s about Jesus and bringing honor and glory to Him. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus (5:18)
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Drunkenness was the besetting sin of the ancient world, but this is not a verse about wine. A drunk man is possessed by alcohol.The Holy Spirit should possess the believer, a divine intoxication. This isn’t emotionalism but a dynamic life that looks like Jesus, the ultimate human who was filled with the Spirit continually.
The Holy Spirit is given at the time of conversion when a person makes Jesus their LORD and Savior.
I love these words from John Piper:
“What we should seek is that God pour His Spirit out upon us so completely that we are filled with joy, victorious over sin, and bold to witness. And the ways He brings us to that fullness are probably as varied as people are. It may come in a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and tongues. It may come through a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and no tongues. It may come through a crisis of suffering when you abandon yourself totally to God. Or it may come gradually through a steady diet of God's word and prayer and fellowship and worship and service. However it comes, our first experience of the fullness of the Spirit is only the beginning of a life-long battle to stay filled with the Spirit.”
This word “filled” is not something that is done once, but the Greek verb means to continually be done. It’s like breathing. You don’t say, “I don’t need to breathe today because I breathed last week!” You constantly breathe and in the same way we are to constantly be spiritually breathing and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Years ago my pastor, Roger Schweigert, demonstrated it this way: when you put Nesquik powder in milk, it needs to be stirred. If it sinks to the bottom, it doesn’t consume the milk despite its presence. The Holy Spirit is a bit like chocolate powder! When you get Jesus, you get the Holy Spirit. Having something doesn’t mean that you are filled with it, though. We need to stir it up to allow it to permeate our entire being, and we need to keep stirring—every day—repenting of our sins and asking the Spirit to fill us.
This will enable you to walk in the Spirit. It doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect. You may fall like a child as you’re learning to walk, but you are to get up and try again.
What happens when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit? The next verse says
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:19-20
The fundamental meaning of being filled with the Spirit is being filled with joy that comes from God and overflows in song. Luke wrote in Acts 13:52,
The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
One of the core values of our denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance, says
Without The Holy Spirit’s Empowerment, We Can Accomplish Nothing
The Apostle Paul said, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4–5).
This is the fiber of our being as believers and the sixth of our Alliance core values.
In addition to joy and empowerment, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will receive gifts and fruit, two things that we will look at the next two weeks.
Until then, I invite you to get out of your cruise ship cabin and get down to the dining room. Repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit. He is in your life waiting to be activated. If we all commit ourselves to spiritual breathing as much as physical breathing, I believe our church will begin to look a lot more like the New Testament and we’ll begin to see God show up in unexpected and wonderful ways to bring His Kingdom from heaven to earth.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Today we celebrate Pentecost, a tremendously significant day reported in the second chapter of Acts.
Last week we began our creatively titled series “The Holy Spirit” with a look at who the Holy Spirit is. We said that He is not a ghost, but a Person, God, one third of the Trinity, one God in three Persons. We saw, too, how Jesus said it was better for Him to leave and give us the Holy Spirit than for Him to stay on earth, so He ascended into heaven and promised the Holy Spirit. The Spirit arrived in a big way in Acts 2.
When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place. Suddenly a sound like the blowing of a violent wind came from heaven and filled the whole house where they were sitting. They saw what seemed to be tongues of fire that separated and came to rest on each of them. All of them were filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak in other tongues as the Spirit enabled them. – Acts 2:1-4
This is quite possibly the most popular passage of Scripture among charismatics and Pentecostals. These groups are often known for signs and wonders and miracles in their midst, something that should not surprise us since Jesus did them and said that we would do even greater things.
So why doesn’t the Church in USAmerica look more like the New Testament? Why are so few people doing “the stuff,” to quote John Wimber from last Sunday? Why aren’t people flocking here on Sunday mornings to get healed and set free from addictions and bondage?
Great questions!!!
Scio family, I can’t find a biblical answer to that question! How many of you want more of God? Really!
Have you ever been on a cruise? There was a man who wanted to go on a cruise in the worst way. He had heard about the wonderful experiences of others aboard ships and spent years saving up every possible penny in order to purchase a ticket. When the big day arrived, he proudly boarded the boat and waved goodbye to those less-fortunate people on the dock as the ship headed to sea.
Over the course of the cruise, he got acquainted with a man in a nearby cabin. After several days, the neighbor finally asked why his friend was never seen in the dining room during meals. The man replied, “I cannot afford the extravagant food on the ship so I eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches in my room that I packed in my luggage.”
“My dear friend, all of the food is included with your cruise ticket!” the neighbor replied in disbelief. “It has been available to you all week!”
Friends, if you have surrender your life to Jesus Christ, you get the Holy Spirit, too. He is included!
So why do so many Christ-followers live such miserable lives? They have not been filled with the Holy Spirit!
Last week we looked at Luke 11:11-13
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!”
It says that our Father in heaven will give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him.
How are we filled with the Holy Spirit? We must ask.
Jesus’ brother James said once,
You want something but don’t get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God. - James 4:2
So all we have to do is ask and the Holy Spirit will bring us gourmet meals, heal all of our diseases, enable us to do miracles, and we all live happily ever after? Not quite
The late Bill Bright, the founder of the international group Campus Crusade for Christ, called the process of being filled with the Holy Spirit “spiritual breathing.”
It begins with exhaling—repenting of our sins and getting the junk out. This is where we confess our sins, acknowledge that we have wronged God and possibly others, and commit to a new way of righteous, holy living.
Confess your sin -- agree with God concerning your sin and thank Him for His forgiveness of it, according to 1 John 1:9 and Hebrews 10:1-25. Confession involves repentance - a change in attitude and action.
Have you ever grabbed a drinking glass from the shelf only to discover that it was filled with junk inside? What do you do? You grab another glass!
I think God is much the same way. When He wants to show His power, I think He often looks for those that are truly seeking Him and His holiness. Understand, we’re not perfect, but because Jesus is, we can be forgiven and stand righteous before a holy God. When we agree with God that we have sinned, turn away from our sin, and follow Jesus it is called repentance and it delights the heart of God and brings us back into right relationship with Him.
The next step—inhaling—is simply to ask the Holy Spirit to come. Ask to be filled. When a glass is filled with dirty water, there’s no room for the pure stuff. When we receive the cleansing of Jesus, we make room for the Holy Spirit to come and fill us.
Inhaling is when we surrender the control of our lives to Christ, and appropriate (receive) the fullness of the Holy Spirit by faith. We must trust that He now directs and empowers us; according to the command of Ephesians 5:18 and the promise of 1 John 5:14, 15.
Spiritual breathing and being filled with the Holy Spirit is not just some fun thing to please ourselves. The second part of James 4 says
When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
Being filled with the Spirit is a blessing for us, but ultimately it’s about Jesus and bringing honor and glory to Him. Paul wrote to the church in Ephesus (5:18)
Do not get drunk on wine, which leads to debauchery. Instead, be filled with the Spirit.
Drunkenness was the besetting sin of the ancient world, but this is not a verse about wine. A drunk man is possessed by alcohol.The Holy Spirit should possess the believer, a divine intoxication. This isn’t emotionalism but a dynamic life that looks like Jesus, the ultimate human who was filled with the Spirit continually.
The Holy Spirit is given at the time of conversion when a person makes Jesus their LORD and Savior.
I love these words from John Piper:
“What we should seek is that God pour His Spirit out upon us so completely that we are filled with joy, victorious over sin, and bold to witness. And the ways He brings us to that fullness are probably as varied as people are. It may come in a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and tongues. It may come through a tumultuous experience of ecstasy and no tongues. It may come through a crisis of suffering when you abandon yourself totally to God. Or it may come gradually through a steady diet of God's word and prayer and fellowship and worship and service. However it comes, our first experience of the fullness of the Spirit is only the beginning of a life-long battle to stay filled with the Spirit.”
This word “filled” is not something that is done once, but the Greek verb means to continually be done. It’s like breathing. You don’t say, “I don’t need to breathe today because I breathed last week!” You constantly breathe and in the same way we are to constantly be spiritually breathing and filled with the Holy Spirit.
Years ago my pastor, Roger Schweigert, demonstrated it this way: when you put Nesquik powder in milk, it needs to be stirred. If it sinks to the bottom, it doesn’t consume the milk despite its presence. The Holy Spirit is a bit like chocolate powder! When you get Jesus, you get the Holy Spirit. Having something doesn’t mean that you are filled with it, though. We need to stir it up to allow it to permeate our entire being, and we need to keep stirring—every day—repenting of our sins and asking the Spirit to fill us.
This will enable you to walk in the Spirit. It doesn’t mean you’ll be perfect. You may fall like a child as you’re learning to walk, but you are to get up and try again.
What happens when you’re filled with the Holy Spirit? The next verse says
Speak to one another with psalms, hymns and spiritual songs. Sing and make music in your heart to the Lord, always giving thanks to God the Father for everything, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. – Ephesians 5:19-20
The fundamental meaning of being filled with the Spirit is being filled with joy that comes from God and overflows in song. Luke wrote in Acts 13:52,
The disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
One of the core values of our denomination, the Christian & Missionary Alliance, says
Without The Holy Spirit’s Empowerment, We Can Accomplish Nothing
The Apostle Paul said, My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power, so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom, but on God’s power (1 Corinthians 2:4–5).
This is the fiber of our being as believers and the sixth of our Alliance core values.
In addition to joy and empowerment, when you are filled with the Holy Spirit, you will receive gifts and fruit, two things that we will look at the next two weeks.
Until then, I invite you to get out of your cruise ship cabin and get down to the dining room. Repent and be filled with the Holy Spirit. He is in your life waiting to be activated. If we all commit ourselves to spiritual breathing as much as physical breathing, I believe our church will begin to look a lot more like the New Testament and we’ll begin to see God show up in unexpected and wonderful ways to bring His Kingdom from heaven to earth.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Who Is The Holy Spirit? 5 June 2011
17 06 11 Filed in: Sermons | The Holy Spirit
Big Idea: The Holy Spirit is a vital Person that is willing and able to transform us. He is not a “ghost” or a force. Jesus said it is better for us to have the Spirit than for Him to remain on the earth, which is quite a statement.
Have you ever felt that something was missing in your life? No, I don’t mean that $5 bill you lost or even that loyal friend you’ve spent your entire life seeking. I mean in your spiritual life, have you ever felt like something was missing—or someone?
Shortly after John Wimber became a Christian, he became a voracious Bible reader. The Scriptures excited him. Finally, after weeks of reading about life-transforming miracles in the Bible and attending boring church services, John asked one of the church leaders, "When do we get to do the stuff?"
"What stuff?" asked the leader.
"You know, the stuff here in the Bible," said John. "You know, like the stuff Jesus did—raising people from the dead, healing the blind and the paralyzed. You know, that stuff."
"Well, we don’t do that anymore," the man said.
"You don’t?"
"No."
"Well what do you do?" asked John.
"What we did this morning."
In frustration, John responded: "For that I gave up drugs?"
Like so many of us, John was taught by example that the contemporary Christian life was radically disconnected from the power and awesomeness of the Scriptures.
Have you ever read the Bible and wished you were an eyewitness to the events? People write books that are turned into movies in order for us to experience the story, but there’s nothing like being there.
Perhaps this is no more true than with Jesus. How many of you would like to spend the day with Jesus? If He walked into this room and said, “Who wants to hang out with Me tomorrow?” would you respond? Of course!
This leads me to one of the most provocative passages of the entire Bible, in my humble opinion.
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (1984)
Look what Jesus told His disciples. “It is for your good that I am going away,” He said. This is before He died, so we can understand His point being that He needs to go away and die to save us. Without His death, burial and resurrection He would be merely a good teacher, not a forgiving, grace-filled God who atoned for our sins, reconciling us to God.
The latest scholarship in the recent NIV translation makes a few clarifying changes.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (2011)
The word “Advocate” is used rather than the more passive “Counselor.”
Note, too, that Jesus’ return to Heaven is proof that righteousness is possible. It validated all that Jesus proclaimed. His acceptance into heaven proved that sin had been defeated and that one day we also will be accepted, not because of our righteousness, but His.
Today is known on the Church calendar as Ascension Sunday to commemorate the day Jesus left our planet to prepare a place for us.
Although the disciples experienced the tremendous grief and sadness when Jesus left them to die, they were not done with their goodbyes. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, He left them again, saying that He would return soon.
Just for the record, my first thought when Jesus said He was going to the Father would be, “Come back!” yet Jesus said it’s good that He leaves to allow the Counselor or the Advocate to come. Who is the Advocate?
The Holy Spirit is a Person—one of three Persons in the Trinity that includes the Father and Jesus. Because of that, we can say that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is not a force or a ghost, though some old translations called Him the Holy Ghost. You don’t have to be afraid of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has been around for a while—like forever!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. - Genesis 1:1-2
The Spirit was present at Creation and appeared to particular people at particular times prior to Jesus.
Everything Jesus did was because of the Holy Spirit. He was continually filled with the Spirit and although Jesus was God, He became one of us—a human with limitations.
The unleashing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after Jesus left earth changed everything, however, and the Spirit became available to all believers 24/7. If you think about it, although we can’t see, hear, and touch the Spirit like we can Jesus, the 24/7 access is quite remarkable. The Spirit of the Living God is living within those of us who have received Jesus.
Listen to this account from the day of Christ’s ascension:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. - Acts 1:4-9
Jesus left to allow the gift of the Holy Spirit to come.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:11-13
The Greek word para¿klhtoß or parakletos means “one who encourages and comforts, intercessor, helper.” This word in the NT exclusively refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus, which makes sense because in John 14:15-17 Jesus said
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Jesus said that the Father would send another comforter—one like Jesus.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
Indwell, guide, teach, empower believers, John 16:13; Acts 1:8
Convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16:7-11
Helps us to pray, Romans 8:26
Enables us to understand God’s Word, Ephesians 1:17-18
Regeneration, John 3:5; Titus 3:5
Assurance, Rom. 8:16
Justification, I Cor. 6:11
Adoption, Gal. 4:4-6; Rom. 8:15
Sanctification, II Thess. 2:13; Rom. 15:16; I Peter 1:2
Conversion
Repentance, Acts 11:15, 18
Faith, I Cor. 2:9, 12; 12:3
Good works, Gal. 5:22-23
Perseverance, Eph. 4:30; 1:13-14; II Cor. 1:22; 5:5
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? How is that possible? We’ll examine that next Sunday. In the meantime,
It is my prayer that you will encounter the Holy Spirit in a way that truly transforms your life, whether you’ve been going to church your entire life or just investigating what it means to be a Christ-follower.
You can listen to the podcast here.
Have you ever felt that something was missing in your life? No, I don’t mean that $5 bill you lost or even that loyal friend you’ve spent your entire life seeking. I mean in your spiritual life, have you ever felt like something was missing—or someone?
Shortly after John Wimber became a Christian, he became a voracious Bible reader. The Scriptures excited him. Finally, after weeks of reading about life-transforming miracles in the Bible and attending boring church services, John asked one of the church leaders, "When do we get to do the stuff?"
"What stuff?" asked the leader.
"You know, the stuff here in the Bible," said John. "You know, like the stuff Jesus did—raising people from the dead, healing the blind and the paralyzed. You know, that stuff."
"Well, we don’t do that anymore," the man said.
"You don’t?"
"No."
"Well what do you do?" asked John.
"What we did this morning."
In frustration, John responded: "For that I gave up drugs?"
Like so many of us, John was taught by example that the contemporary Christian life was radically disconnected from the power and awesomeness of the Scriptures.
Have you ever read the Bible and wished you were an eyewitness to the events? People write books that are turned into movies in order for us to experience the story, but there’s nothing like being there.
Perhaps this is no more true than with Jesus. How many of you would like to spend the day with Jesus? If He walked into this room and said, “Who wants to hang out with Me tomorrow?” would you respond? Of course!
This leads me to one of the most provocative passages of the entire Bible, in my humble opinion.
But I tell you the truth: It is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Counselor will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will convict the world of guilt in regard to sin and righteousness and judgment: in regard to sin, because men do not believe in me; in regard to righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and in regard to judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (1984)
Look what Jesus told His disciples. “It is for your good that I am going away,” He said. This is before He died, so we can understand His point being that He needs to go away and die to save us. Without His death, burial and resurrection He would be merely a good teacher, not a forgiving, grace-filled God who atoned for our sins, reconciling us to God.
The latest scholarship in the recent NIV translation makes a few clarifying changes.
But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me; about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned. - NIV (2011)
The word “Advocate” is used rather than the more passive “Counselor.”
Note, too, that Jesus’ return to Heaven is proof that righteousness is possible. It validated all that Jesus proclaimed. His acceptance into heaven proved that sin had been defeated and that one day we also will be accepted, not because of our righteousness, but His.
Today is known on the Church calendar as Ascension Sunday to commemorate the day Jesus left our planet to prepare a place for us.
Although the disciples experienced the tremendous grief and sadness when Jesus left them to die, they were not done with their goodbyes. Forty days after Jesus’ resurrection, He left them again, saying that He would return soon.
Just for the record, my first thought when Jesus said He was going to the Father would be, “Come back!” yet Jesus said it’s good that He leaves to allow the Counselor or the Advocate to come. Who is the Advocate?
The Holy Spirit is a Person—one of three Persons in the Trinity that includes the Father and Jesus. Because of that, we can say that the Holy Spirit is God.
The Holy Spirit is not a force or a ghost, though some old translations called Him the Holy Ghost. You don’t have to be afraid of the Holy Spirit.
The Holy Spirit has been around for a while—like forever!
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. Now the earth was formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. - Genesis 1:1-2
The Spirit was present at Creation and appeared to particular people at particular times prior to Jesus.
Everything Jesus did was because of the Holy Spirit. He was continually filled with the Spirit and although Jesus was God, He became one of us—a human with limitations.
The unleashing of the Holy Spirit in Acts 2 after Jesus left earth changed everything, however, and the Spirit became available to all believers 24/7. If you think about it, although we can’t see, hear, and touch the Spirit like we can Jesus, the 24/7 access is quite remarkable. The Spirit of the Living God is living within those of us who have received Jesus.
Listen to this account from the day of Christ’s ascension:
On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”
He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”
After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight. - Acts 1:4-9
Jesus left to allow the gift of the Holy Spirit to come.
“Which of you fathers, if your son asks for a fish, will give him a snake instead? Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion? If you then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!” - Luke 11:11-13
The Greek word para¿klhtoß or parakletos means “one who encourages and comforts, intercessor, helper.” This word in the NT exclusively refers to the Holy Spirit and Jesus, which makes sense because in John 14:15-17 Jesus said
“If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Counselor to be with you forever — the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be in you.
Jesus said that the Father would send another comforter—one like Jesus.
What does the Holy Spirit do?
Indwell, guide, teach, empower believers, John 16:13; Acts 1:8
Convinces the world of sin, righteousness, and judgment, John 16:7-11
Helps us to pray, Romans 8:26
Enables us to understand God’s Word, Ephesians 1:17-18
Regeneration, John 3:5; Titus 3:5
Assurance, Rom. 8:16
Justification, I Cor. 6:11
Adoption, Gal. 4:4-6; Rom. 8:15
Sanctification, II Thess. 2:13; Rom. 15:16; I Peter 1:2
Conversion
Repentance, Acts 11:15, 18
Faith, I Cor. 2:9, 12; 12:3
Good works, Gal. 5:22-23
Perseverance, Eph. 4:30; 1:13-14; II Cor. 1:22; 5:5
Are you filled with the Holy Spirit? How is that possible? We’ll examine that next Sunday. In the meantime,
It is my prayer that you will encounter the Holy Spirit in a way that truly transforms your life, whether you’ve been going to church your entire life or just investigating what it means to be a Christ-follower.
You can listen to the podcast here.