back to indexBerean Community Church Sunday Service 9.18.2022
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>> As always, it is a privilege and a joy to gather together for worship. 00:11:07.020 |
And as we're reminded each week, we are reminded of God's greatness, 00:11:14.000 |
So as we sing this next song, the first song, "Son of God," 00:11:18.000 |
let us sing with joy, for he is truly worthy of all our worship. 00:12:11.040 |
♪ You alone, were broken on the altar of love ♪ 00:12:17.140 |
♪ Precious lamb, our freedom's in your blood ♪ 00:13:09.940 |
♪ Lord of love, your kindness draws me near ♪ 00:15:26.840 |
All right, good morning, Broom Community Church. 00:15:34.940 |
There's quite a few, but I'm not going to go over all of it this morning. 00:15:38.840 |
I'm going to just ask you to look at our app and our church website 00:15:47.840 |
If you're visiting us and you're trying to find out more about the church, 00:15:52.840 |
we have a lunch that's coming up in September 25th at 1.30, 00:15:56.840 |
and it's going to most likely be in the cry room right now. 00:16:00.840 |
And so if you are interested and you just want to find out, 00:16:03.940 |
you want to meet with the leaders and just kind of ask and poke around 00:16:06.840 |
to see what our church is about, that's going to be taking place on September 25th. 00:16:11.840 |
Pastor Nate is in charge of that, I think, or a welcome team. 00:16:15.840 |
Go to the welcome table and just let them know, and they'll give you instructions for that. 00:16:18.840 |
The other announcement is our membership class, 00:16:21.840 |
the next session is starting on October 2nd at 9 a.m. 00:16:24.840 |
There's an eight-week class, so if you are interested in kind of getting plugged in a church 00:16:28.840 |
and be a member of this church, please sign up, again, online, 00:16:32.940 |
or pastornate@briancc.com, and he'll give you instructions. 00:16:38.840 |
So it's an eight-week class that goes over the doctrines of our church 00:16:41.840 |
and the ministry philosophies and various things. 00:16:43.840 |
And so that takes place in the morning, Sunday morning, 9 to 10.30 a.m. 00:16:49.840 |
in the classroom, the youth classroom on the other side, okay? 00:16:54.840 |
If you are visiting college students or parents, there's quite a few things going on this week. 00:16:59.940 |
If you go to the app or church website or Facebook, there'll be directions on what they're doing. 00:17:04.840 |
I think almost every day there's something going on. 00:17:06.840 |
I know the college students are coming into town, 00:17:08.840 |
and so there's been a lot of prep going on to kind of welcome them back. 00:17:14.840 |
I believe the college welcome table, there's a separate one that's set up outside. 00:17:18.840 |
So if you go and visit that table, the pastornate and the college students 00:17:22.840 |
will be able to give you more instructions on that, okay? 00:17:25.940 |
And one final thing, last time, I said a lot, I think a couple weeks ago I said it was going to be the last time. 00:17:33.840 |
So today is the last day to sign up for the Berean football, okay? 00:17:39.840 |
I know that BBA is going on, but this is for the football. 00:17:42.840 |
Is today the last day to sign up for football? 00:17:48.840 |
Okay, so if you are planning to play in our basketball league 00:17:51.840 |
and you are either a member or becoming a member, 00:17:57.840 |
And so if you go outside and there's an awkward table 00:18:00.840 |
and you don't know what that is, that's probably the table, okay? 00:18:04.840 |
So go to that table and sign up and they'll give you instructions, 00:18:08.840 |
And I think in a couple weeks they're going to start the league, right? 00:18:17.840 |
One other announcement, I think I mentioned to you guys, 00:18:27.840 |
And many of you guys have seen the documentary, the movie Dropbox. 00:18:31.840 |
And our sisters are actually watching this in October. 00:18:34.840 |
And it just, again, by God's providence, they just happened to be in town. 00:18:44.840 |
And so they were coming, so we asked them to give a presentation at 1.30 today. 00:18:48.940 |
Okay, so at 1.30 you can go grab lunch and then come back. 00:18:52.840 |
And then we're going to be meeting in this room. 00:18:54.840 |
So even if you haven't signed up, you can sign up, you can just come. 00:18:58.840 |
And we were just kind of wondering whether we're going to use this room 00:19:01.840 |
or the room on the other side, but we just kind of opened it up. 00:19:04.840 |
So there might be a few guests that are coming from outside the church as well. 00:19:07.840 |
So try to come at 1.30 as soon as you're done with lunch 00:19:13.840 |
And he's going to give a brief presentation about his ministry, 00:19:22.840 |
so we're going to be asking him those questions. 00:19:24.840 |
And then, again, there's going to be a translator translating for us. 00:19:28.840 |
So, again, those of you who don't know this ministry, 00:19:31.840 |
I think many of you have already watched this documentary, 00:19:34.840 |
but his ministry basically was something that was started 00:19:38.840 |
just out of one man's compassion for what was happening in Korea. 00:19:42.840 |
And he just created this small box at his house 00:19:45.940 |
so that instead of abandoning these children, 00:19:47.840 |
that he would receive them and raise these children by himself 00:19:53.840 |
And, again, this is a sacrifice of him and his family who've done this 00:19:56.840 |
and has grown into a big ministry that's in dire need out in South Korea. 00:20:02.840 |
And this is the information that I have from the Dropbox. 00:20:06.840 |
They had over 1,500 children being dropped off that they're taking care of. 00:20:09.840 |
And so, again, this is a tremendous ministry that God is using 00:20:14.940 |
and being a light in South Korea and all over the world. 00:20:17.840 |
So I strongly encourage you to try to come at 1.30, 00:20:20.840 |
and we'll be blessed and challenged by what God is doing through their ministry. 00:20:26.840 |
And so you guys can give him a hand because I know many of you will not-- 00:20:38.840 |
So they are--the reason why there's a film crew here 00:20:42.940 |
is because they're actually making part two of Dropbox. 00:20:45.840 |
And so there's also a film crew that's kind of traveling with them, taking some films. 00:20:48.840 |
So don't be obnoxious and stand up for no reason, okay? 00:20:51.840 |
So just kind of just letting you know that that's what's going on, okay? 00:20:56.840 |
Let me pray for us and then I'll give you the opportunity to give your offering. 00:21:00.840 |
And if you have a physical offering, you can drop it off in the box that's stationed back there. 00:21:10.940 |
Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for your continued grace and love that you pour upon us. 00:21:16.840 |
Beyond our understanding, I pray, Father God, that your Holy Spirit would guide us and lead us, 00:21:23.840 |
that we would not simply receive revelation, but illumination by your word. 00:21:28.840 |
We pray, Father God, that the offering that we give, that it may be multiplied, 00:21:32.840 |
and that it may be used wisely for the sake of your kingdom. 00:21:36.940 |
Bless this time, Lord God, as we come to you to worship you in spirit and in truth. 00:22:29.540 |
Church family, let us stand together as we continue our worship. 00:23:53.440 |
What truth, what truth can calm the troubled soul? 00:30:40.840 |
>> I'm going to read your Bibles to Luke chapter 3. 00:30:45.740 |
And I'll be reading from verse 15 to 17 this morning. 00:31:03.740 |
Now all the people were in a state of expectation and all were wondering in their hearts about John 00:31:11.740 |
John answered and said to them all, "As for me, I baptize you with water, but one is coming who is mightier than I, 00:31:17.740 |
and I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandals. 00:31:20.740 |
He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. 00:31:23.740 |
His one and only fork is in his hand to thoroughly clear his threshing floor 00:31:27.740 |
and to gather the wheat into his barn, but he will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire." 00:31:36.840 |
Heavenly Father, we offer this time to you for worship. 00:31:42.740 |
I pray, Father God, that you would help us to put aside all distractions. 00:31:46.740 |
And we ask, Lord, that the power of your Holy Spirit would consume us, guide us, lift us up, Lord God, 00:31:59.740 |
I don't know if you've been to movies lately. 00:32:03.840 |
It's kind of like a dying industry right now because your TVs are getting bigger 00:32:07.740 |
and the entertainment system is getting more technologically advanced. 00:32:10.740 |
But if you've been to a movie theater lately, you know that you have to go to-- 00:32:15.740 |
if the movie starts at 5, there's at least 20, sometimes 30 minutes of previews. 00:32:20.740 |
Where before, they would have maybe one or two movies that they would preview for you and give trailer 00:32:30.840 |
But now it's like it's so bombarded that you kind of get lost. 00:32:36.740 |
But the purpose of these previews, obviously, it's kind of whet your appetite to get you to hunger to watch the movies. 00:32:43.740 |
It's sort of an advertisement to give you like bits and pieces of that so that you say, 00:32:50.740 |
All for the purpose of getting you excited for the real movie that's coming out. 00:32:56.840 |
Well, John the Baptist was kind of a trailer, you know, was set before Christ, six months before, 00:33:03.740 |
in order to prepare them for the coming of Christ. 00:33:06.740 |
But John did such a great job that at the end of his ministry, people begin to wonder, 00:33:16.740 |
In John--in Luke chapter 3, 15, he said, "Now all the people were in a state of expectation." 00:33:21.740 |
Meaning that they were eagerly waiting because of John. 00:33:24.840 |
And the expectation was so effective that they were asking themselves, "Could he be the Christ?" 00:33:30.740 |
He said, "We were all wondering in their hearts about John as to whether he was the Christ." 00:33:35.740 |
And this is a very dangerous point in John's ministry because he's a human being like us. 00:33:40.740 |
He spent and sacrificed his life and in particular his ministry in order to prepare for Christ, 00:33:47.740 |
but he did such a great job that people would begin to give him the glory. 00:33:51.840 |
And that's a temptation that everybody who is close to God wanted to give glory to God, 00:33:58.740 |
Because Satan fell into that same temptation because he was near to God. 00:34:03.740 |
The Bible says that he began to exalt himself because he wanted to be equal with God 00:34:07.740 |
or maybe even better, get some of that worship. 00:34:10.740 |
The worst thing that an individual who stands in order to give glory to God 00:34:16.740 |
is to be tempted and to give in to that temptation to touch any of that glory. 00:34:21.740 |
John did that. If people began to say, "He's such a great preacher," 00:34:25.640 |
and people were coming to Christ and many, even some of the leaders in Israel, 00:34:29.640 |
were being baptized under his baptism and he said, "Yes, God has been good to me," 00:34:34.640 |
and he began to take some of that, he would have been completely ruined. 00:34:39.640 |
He immediately corrects them and says, "Ask for me, I baptize you with water, 00:34:44.640 |
but the one who is coming is mightier than I," which is as understatement as you can make. 00:34:49.740 |
Mightier than I. He is creation. Jesus is the creator. 00:34:53.640 |
The Bible says that all things are created by him, for him, 00:34:58.640 |
So you can't state something more understated than this. 00:35:02.640 |
And then he says, "I am not fit to untie the thong of his sandal." 00:35:09.640 |
This is something equal to if you were working for fast food 00:35:16.640 |
and you're not doing your job and you get punished by saying, 00:35:20.640 |
I don't know if you've ever worked in fast food, that's usually what happens. 00:35:23.640 |
So if you see an employee who's washing the bathroom, 00:35:29.640 |
So tying and untying the thongs of the sandal was not only a servant's job, 00:35:37.640 |
So what John was saying, that not only is he mightier than I, 00:35:41.640 |
I am so below him that I'm not even worthy to do this. 00:35:45.740 |
In fact, in John chapter 330, John's disciples were being concerned 00:35:50.640 |
because they began to see Jesus' ministry starting to flourish 00:35:54.640 |
and there was a little bit of an overlap between Jesus' ministry and John the Baptist's ministry. 00:35:59.640 |
And so John the Baptist's disciples were concerned and say, 00:36:02.640 |
"Hey, people are starting to go to him. What's going to happen? He's baptizing too." 00:36:16.640 |
Because that was the whole purpose of why he was sent, 00:36:22.640 |
I believe, again, today, that one of the biggest dangers of wanting to proclaim Christ 00:36:29.640 |
and wanting to be fruitful for Christ is that along with that 00:36:33.640 |
comes a temptation of wanting to touch some of that glory. 00:36:37.640 |
I give glory to God, but I give glory to God. 00:36:39.740 |
God's bearing fruit, but I'm bearing fruit for God. 00:36:42.640 |
John the Baptist knows the danger and he says, 00:36:44.640 |
"I must, he must increase and I must disappear." 00:36:48.640 |
In fact, I think this is the summary of our whole Christian life. 00:36:52.640 |
Our whole Christian life, the pursuit is not so that we can be greater, 00:37:00.640 |
The call of sanctification is so that we may become less, so that he may become more. 00:37:05.640 |
So that we may become less, so that he may become more. 00:37:09.640 |
And that's why John the Baptist was such a great prophet. 00:37:12.540 |
He did his job and at the peak of his ministry, he said, "I'm done." 00:37:18.540 |
And he gave all of his disciples and he said, "Point it to him. Follow him from now on." 00:37:24.540 |
But the statement that summarizes John the Baptist's ministry 00:37:28.540 |
and the baton being passed on to Jesus is in this statement. 00:37:31.540 |
He says, "I baptize with water, but he will come and he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and of fire." 00:37:39.540 |
Now remember, John the Baptist was a prophet of the old covenant. 00:37:45.440 |
And that's why Jesus says that of all the men who were born of a woman, 00:37:49.440 |
John the Baptist was greatest because he was the greatest from the old covenant. 00:37:53.440 |
So John's baptism of water was a calling, calling to repentance. 00:38:02.440 |
The law was given to them in order to reveal their sin and to be baptized. 00:38:06.540 |
When he says John the Baptist is baptized with water, it's representative of the old covenant. 00:38:12.440 |
If John the Baptist stopped his ministry and Jesus never took over his ministry, 00:38:17.440 |
he would have just been an exclamation mark of the old covenant. 00:38:23.440 |
This is what we need to do. We need to repent. 00:38:25.440 |
We need to bear fruit in repentance and yet still without power. 00:38:30.440 |
He says the baptism of the Holy Spirit that Jesus comes 00:38:36.440 |
And now he's going to give them the authority and the power to carry the things out that God desired for them. 00:38:42.440 |
Let me show you from the book of Acts what the baptism of the Holy Spirit. 00:38:47.440 |
Again, you know like every obviously every part of the Word of God is important. 00:38:56.440 |
I believe that what I'm going to say to you today, 00:39:01.540 |
if you don't understand it, you can live the rest of your life, 00:39:06.440 |
living your Christian life absolutely frustrated and thinking that that's normal. 00:39:15.440 |
After Jesus resurrects, the disciples get their commission. 00:39:21.440 |
Jesus restores them. Do you love me Peter more than these? 00:39:24.440 |
Of course I love you more than these and he restores them. 00:39:40.440 |
But look what he says before he leaves in Acts chapter 4, Acts chapter 1 verse 4. 00:39:45.440 |
He says, "Gathering them together, he commanded them not to leave Jerusalem." 00:39:49.440 |
He said, "Don't go yet, but wait for what the Father had promised." 00:39:54.440 |
He said, "You're not ready yet. If you leave now, you have the know-how. 00:40:00.440 |
You have the commission. You have the training. 00:40:03.340 |
But you do not have the promised Holy Spirit." 00:40:07.340 |
This is what he promised. He said, "You have to wait until he gives you what he promised." 00:40:11.340 |
And then he says, "You heard from me that for John baptized with water, 00:40:15.340 |
but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now." 00:40:22.340 |
If you study the book of Acts, and if you remember the book of Acts, 00:40:27.440 |
the first seven chapters, Peter is the central figure, Apostle Peter, 00:40:34.340 |
So he's the one speaking, giving, performing miracles. 00:40:37.340 |
And so some will say that Peter is the main figure in the first seven chapters. 00:40:41.340 |
And then starting from chapter 12, I mean, and then starting from chapter 13, 00:40:47.340 |
Apostle Paul comes on the scene, converts, and then now the gospel is going through him. 00:40:51.340 |
So the majority of the story is about Apostle Paul. 00:40:55.440 |
But the reality of the book of Acts is not about Peter or Paul. 00:41:02.340 |
The central figure in the book of Acts is the Holy Spirit. 00:41:06.340 |
Because he says in Acts chapter 1.8, he says, "Wait, don't go yet. 00:41:12.340 |
You will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, 00:41:15.340 |
and you shall be my witness, both in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, 00:41:24.440 |
The way that the book of Acts is divided is, first seven chapters 00:41:28.340 |
is the movement of the Holy Spirit in Jerusalem. 00:41:31.340 |
And then chapter 8 through verse 12 is the movement of the Holy Spirit in Judea and Samaria. 00:41:39.340 |
And then from chapter 13 to 28 is the movement of the Holy Spirit 00:41:44.340 |
in the remotest part of the world where Apostle Paul takes the gospel. 00:41:49.340 |
In other words, you've been given the command. 00:41:54.340 |
You've actually even failed and been restored. 00:41:59.340 |
Because without power, you cannot bear fruit. 00:42:06.340 |
When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, 00:42:12.340 |
So power and the Holy Spirit go hand in hand. 00:42:18.340 |
So without the Holy Spirit, there is no power. 00:42:31.340 |
In fact, Jesus himself says this in John chapter 13, 14. 00:42:36.340 |
He tells his disciples that he's going to go. 00:42:46.340 |
We would get trapped by the leaders and we would just walk through. 00:42:51.340 |
In the middle of a storm, we thought we were going to die. 00:42:53.340 |
And then all of a sudden, it's calm down and it calms down. 00:42:55.340 |
But if you leave, what's going to happen to us? 00:42:59.340 |
Jesus says, it's more beneficial for you if I leave. 00:43:05.340 |
The counselor, the Holy Spirit is going to come. 00:43:09.340 |
And then he says, you cannot bear fruit unless you continue to abide. 00:43:15.340 |
Even though I leave, you need to continue to abide. 00:43:19.340 |
If he's leaving, who is he telling him to abide by? 00:43:24.240 |
As you walk with me, you need to continue to walk with the Holy Spirit. 00:43:32.240 |
You cannot bear fruit unless you abide in me, abide in the Holy Spirit. 00:43:38.240 |
Acts chapter 1, 8 says, you will receive power and the Holy Spirit comes. 00:43:42.240 |
And then in chapter 2, verse 1 through 4, the Holy Spirit comes. 00:43:50.240 |
If you're going to fall asleep, fall asleep later. 00:43:56.240 |
In Acts chapter 2, 1 through 4, the promised Holy Spirit comes. 00:43:59.240 |
But I want you to look at the context of this. 00:44:01.240 |
In verse 1, it says, when the day of Pentecost had come. 00:44:06.240 |
The day of Pentecost, the significance of this day, the word literally means 50 days. 00:44:10.240 |
It was 50 days after the Passover, they celebrated the Pentecost. 00:44:15.340 |
The Pentecost was the inauguration of the old covenant by giving of the law. 00:44:20.240 |
So every year, 50 days after the Passover, they would set aside a time to celebrate 00:44:31.240 |
So it is not by accident, now the Holy Spirit is coming, he says. 00:44:35.240 |
At the Pentecost come, they were all together in one place. 00:44:38.240 |
And suddenly, there came from heaven a noise like a violent rushing wind. 00:44:42.240 |
And it filled the whole house where they were sitting. 00:44:48.140 |
Remember that? He says he's going to baptize you with the Holy Spirit and the fire. 00:44:52.140 |
Tongues of fire distributing themselves and they rested on each of them. 00:44:55.140 |
And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with other tongues. 00:45:05.140 |
It's significant because the Old Testament covenant was inaugurated by giving of the law. 00:45:10.140 |
The new covenant was inaugurated by giving of the Holy Spirit. 00:45:15.140 |
So the distinction between the old covenant and the new covenant is not the law and then not having the law. 00:45:20.040 |
But it's having the law and having the Holy Spirit. 00:45:29.040 |
I'm going to mention that a little bit later, the practical aspect of all of this. 00:45:34.040 |
Because without the Holy Spirit, you have all the commandments and you can't carry it out. 00:45:42.140 |
You're like the old covenant guy who knows what to do and can't carry it out. 00:45:50.040 |
He says you've given the commandment, you have everything that you need. 00:45:52.040 |
Now you need the Holy Spirit to have this power to carry this out. 00:45:58.040 |
In Acts chapter 4, 5 through 12, Peter and John in chapter 3 go up to pray at the temple. 00:46:05.040 |
And there's this beggar who's lame all his life. 00:46:11.140 |
And there's this passage where Peter and John says to him, silver and gold I have none, but what I have I give unto you in the name of Christ. 00:46:19.040 |
But because he was pretty much a public figure because everybody going up and down the temple probably saw him every single day. 00:46:27.040 |
And so all of a sudden Peter and John began to collect large crowds coming to him. 00:46:38.140 |
They did everything in their power to squash this movement. 00:46:41.040 |
And all of a sudden these guys are starting to garner attention again. 00:46:45.040 |
And so they drag Peter and John into the court where the leaders are in order to stop them. 00:46:53.040 |
So in Acts chapter 4, 5 through 12 it says on the next day their rulers and elders and scribes were gathered together in Jerusalem. 00:47:05.140 |
And Caiaphas and John Alexander and all who are of high priestly descent. 00:47:13.040 |
These were the same people who crucified Jesus. 00:47:16.040 |
These were the same people who used their power because they were afraid of losing their position. 00:47:24.040 |
These were the same people that the disciples were afraid of. 00:47:28.040 |
When Jesus was going to the cross they began to hide. 00:47:32.140 |
These are the same people that Peter stood in front of and denied Jesus to his face three times. 00:47:41.040 |
And if they got rid of Jesus they're not going to have any problem getting rid of John and Peter. 00:47:50.040 |
It says, verse 7, "When they had placed them in the center they began to inquire, 'By what power or in what name have you done this?'" 00:47:59.140 |
Now the first time this happened with Jesus, I mean, they cowered in fear and they hid. 00:48:08.040 |
"Then Peter, filled with the Holy Spirit, said to them, 'Rulers and elders of the people, if we are on trial today for a benefit done to a sick man as to how this man has been made well, 00:48:19.140 |
let it be known to all of you, to all the people of Israel, that by the name of Jesus Christ the Nazarene, whom you crucified, whom God raised from the dead, 00:48:29.040 |
by this name this man stands here before you in good health.'" 00:48:34.040 |
I mean, I think if we were all there we'd have goosebumps going up and down our arms 00:48:39.040 |
thinking that the same people who crucified Jesus and he's standing before them. 00:48:47.140 |
"I'm ready. They crucified Jesus. I'm ready to go. I'm not going to deny him this time. 00:48:55.040 |
The Jesus that you crucified raised this man." 00:49:04.040 |
It wasn't simply that he saw the resurrected Christ. 00:49:09.040 |
The reason why he got this courage, it says he was filled with the Holy Spirit. 00:49:15.140 |
He was filled with power that he did not have when the Holy Spirit came upon him. 00:49:20.040 |
And then he goes further and he says, "He's the stone which was rejected by you." 00:49:29.040 |
He's the stone which was rejected by you, the builder which became the chief cornerstone." 00:49:37.040 |
"Not only was he the Messiah," he says, verse 12, 00:49:39.140 |
"and there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven that has been given among men by which we must be saved." 00:49:56.040 |
Because he failed and now he knows and so he's become better trained and that's why he knows this? 00:50:02.040 |
No, he's standing before men who he probably thought this was it. 00:50:07.140 |
He's a martyr for Christ. He knows what he's doing. 00:50:11.040 |
Not only did you crucify him, he's the Messiah that we've been waiting for for hundreds of years. 00:50:17.040 |
Not only is he the Messiah, there is no salvation other than Christ. 00:50:24.040 |
And that's the man you crucified and that's the man that I serve and that's the man who raised this man. 00:50:31.040 |
The whole book of Acts is about the power of the Holy Spirit that equipped the church. 00:50:37.040 |
You look at that and say, "Well, that was the early church." 00:50:39.940 |
We don't have that kind of movement in the Holy Spirit today, which would be false. 00:50:45.940 |
Because the language of the New Testament says that's the distinguishing mark, 00:50:49.940 |
not between the early church and the later church, but between a Christian and a non-Christian. 00:50:55.940 |
See, John's baptism revealed sin and called people to give their life in surrender. 00:51:05.040 |
But it was water baptism. It was surface. It was religious activity. 00:51:14.940 |
You're going to have to, again, wake up again for this. 00:51:20.940 |
Where there's confusion in the interpretation of Romans chapter 7. 00:51:26.940 |
Some people, I don't know if you've been there and maybe this is a new text to you, 00:51:31.040 |
but there's a debate in Romans chapter 7 that is this a Christian, 00:51:34.940 |
is this Paul talking about his struggle with sin or is he talking about a non-Christian, 00:51:40.940 |
a Jew who doesn't have the Holy Spirit, struggling with sin? 00:51:43.940 |
And I am absolutely convinced that this is talking about a non-Christian 00:51:47.940 |
who has not been baptized by the Holy Spirit. 00:51:50.940 |
This is an old covenant Jew that's wrestling with, who wants to do what's good but has no power to do it. 00:51:59.040 |
Chapter 6 of Romans explains how we were, at one point, we were slaves to sin, 00:52:04.940 |
but because of the blood of Christ we have become slaves to righteousness. 00:52:09.940 |
And then he comes here to chapter 7 and I want you to listen to the language of this. 00:52:13.940 |
"For we know that the law is spiritual, but I am of the flesh, sold into the bondage to sin." 00:52:21.940 |
Just by that statement alone, sold to the bondage of sin. 00:52:25.040 |
Nowhere in the New Testament is a Christian ever described as sold into the bondage of sin. 00:52:32.940 |
"For I know that nothing good dwells in me that is in my flesh." 00:52:37.940 |
Again, that never is a language of a New Testament believer. 00:52:41.940 |
"For the willing is present in me, but the doing of the good is not. 00:52:46.940 |
I desire it, but I have no power to carry it out. 00:52:56.940 |
"For the good that I want to do, I do not do, but I practice the very evil that I do not want. 00:53:00.940 |
But if I am doing the very thing I do not want, I am no longer the one doing it, 00:53:04.940 |
but sin which dwells in me, I find in the principle that evil is present in me, 00:53:10.940 |
For I joyfully concur with the law of God in the inner man. 00:53:13.940 |
But I see a different law in the members of my body, 00:53:17.940 |
making me a prisoner of the law of sin which is in my members." 00:53:23.840 |
So far he's described this individual as bondage to sin, 00:53:27.840 |
nothing good in him, he has no power to overcome sin, 00:53:35.840 |
No other place in the New Testament ever describes a Christian like this. 00:53:40.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am. 00:53:46.840 |
Find anywhere else in the New Testament where that is described of a Christian. 00:53:57.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am. 00:54:02.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:04.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:06.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:08.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:10.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:12.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:14.840 |
And then he says, "Oh, what a wretched man that I am." 00:54:22.840 |
The reason why there's a debate whether this is a Christian or non-Christian 00:54:37.840 |
The other argument is, why would a non-Christian desire to do good? 00:54:42.840 |
So that must be a Christian who is struggling. 00:54:47.740 |
But the problem with that is, he doesn't describe a struggling Christian. 00:55:03.740 |
If we stop there, I think there's enough evidence in Chapter 7 itself. 00:55:09.740 |
He presents the old man, and then he goes to Chapter 8. 00:55:18.740 |
"Therefore there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus, 00:55:21.740 |
for the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus 00:55:24.740 |
has set you free from the law of sin and death." 00:55:27.740 |
"You have been bound by the law of sin and death." 00:55:30.740 |
"You have been freed from the law of sin and death, 00:55:42.840 |
He was putting his own son in the likeness of sinful flesh, 00:55:49.740 |
So Chapter 7 is a man who is under the bondage of sin because of the law. 00:55:54.740 |
He desired to do what's good, but he cannot do it. 00:56:08.740 |
"So that the requirements of the law might be fulfilled in us, 00:56:17.640 |
that their minds are the things of the flesh, 00:56:28.640 |
But the mindset on the spirit is life and peace." 00:56:39.640 |
"Because the mindset on the flesh is hostile toward God, 00:56:41.740 |
it does not subject itself to the law of God, 00:56:52.640 |
"That's exactly how he describes the previous. 00:56:55.640 |
and those who are in the flesh cannot please God." 00:57:07.640 |
But if anyone does not have the spirit of Christ, 00:57:12.640 |
So the distinction between a Christian and a non-Christian 00:57:18.640 |
Have you been baptized by the power of the Holy Spirit? 00:57:24.640 |
The new covenant is described in Ezekiel Chapter 36, 23, 6 to 27. 00:57:29.640 |
This is about the new covenant that's coming. 00:57:31.640 |
It says, "Moreover, I will give you a new heart 00:57:35.640 |
and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh 00:57:44.640 |
and you will be careful to observe my ordinances." 00:57:59.640 |
Just like it says in Acts Chapter 1, he says, 00:58:01.640 |
"Go and then try to tap into the Holy Spirit." 00:58:03.640 |
He said, "When the Holy Spirit comes upon you, 00:58:15.640 |
"For if you are living according to the flesh, you must die, 00:58:21.640 |
For all who are being led by the Spirit of God, 00:58:36.640 |
and why people have such a hard time with Romans 7. 00:58:43.640 |
When Paul says that, "I think I want to do, I don't do, 00:58:46.640 |
the things I don't want to do, I keep on doing, 00:58:53.640 |
And so it must mean that because I experienced that. 00:58:57.640 |
But the problem with that is hermeneutics 101, 00:59:02.740 |
What do we call that when you allow your experience 00:59:08.640 |
We have exegesis, is when you take something, 00:59:11.640 |
the meaning in there, and you take it out of it, 00:59:13.640 |
When you take the meaning because of your experience 00:59:15.640 |
and you put it into the text, what does that mean? 00:59:34.540 |
In fact, even if you believe that that's a struggling Christian, 00:59:39.540 |
that a Christian is ever described with these terms. 00:59:43.540 |
So what do we do with this tension of what I feel 00:59:48.540 |
versus what the Bible says about the power of the Holy Spirit? 00:59:54.540 |
Well, the Bible gives two very clear answers to that. 01:00:04.540 |
about the crucifixion of Christ and his resurrection, 01:00:16.540 |
"Repent, and each of you be baptized in the name of Christ 01:00:21.540 |
"and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit." 01:00:25.540 |
So he says a distinction between Christian and non-Christian 01:00:28.640 |
is having the Holy Spirit, not having the Holy Spirit. 01:00:30.540 |
But what's the criteria of having the Holy Spirit? 01:00:35.540 |
What is the criteria of being baptized by the Holy Spirit? 01:00:49.540 |
Consider the way that the gospel is being preached today. 01:01:01.540 |
And remember when John the Baptist was preaching, 01:01:05.540 |
people were coming to him because they wanted to get baptized. 01:01:11.540 |
"Bear fruit in accordance to your repentance." 01:01:14.540 |
In other words, feeling bad about your sin is not repentance. 01:01:18.540 |
Acknowledging that God exists isn't repentance. 01:01:24.540 |
"I'm going to go to church," is not repentance. 01:01:31.540 |
Repentance basically means you lived your whole life 01:01:38.540 |
And you realize that you are in rebellion against God and I repent. 01:01:46.540 |
so that I can be the image of God and give him the glory. 01:01:59.540 |
They become members of the church, maybe even serving the church, 01:02:31.440 |
Repentance that he's calling for is not just stop lying, 01:02:40.440 |
But the repentance that leads to justification 01:02:43.440 |
and be baptized by the Holy Spirit is a call to turn. 01:02:52.540 |
He says that so many people who are in the church, 01:02:55.440 |
who's never been really baptized by the Holy Spirit, 01:02:58.440 |
is trying to mimic Christianity by their flesh. 01:03:08.440 |
So everything that you see in your Christian life is just sacrifice. 01:03:17.440 |
But you don't see the Holy Spirit empowering you to do that. 01:03:21.540 |
So as a result of it, it's just religion after religion after religion without real life. 01:03:29.440 |
So there are some people who have never truly repented 01:03:35.440 |
or frustrated because you've been baptized with the water 01:03:47.540 |
And then after a while, you start to say to yourself, maybe God isn't real. 01:03:58.440 |
I'm hoping He's real, but I don't know if He's real 01:04:00.440 |
because I've never experienced what the Bible describes. 01:04:06.440 |
Paul describes this worldly sorrow versus true sorrow. 01:04:14.540 |
"The sorrow that is according to the will of God produces repentance without regret." 01:04:22.440 |
And the reason why there's no regret is because the Holy Spirit comes upon us 01:04:26.440 |
and the Holy Spirit shows us the true life that can only be found in Christ 01:04:36.440 |
you've taken on a form of godliness but never know the power. 01:04:41.540 |
You don't know the joy of ever bringing somebody to Christ. 01:04:48.440 |
You prayed, but you don't know because you never heard an answer. 01:04:51.440 |
So you have a form of godliness with no experience of power. 01:04:59.440 |
You do what you're supposed to do, but there's no real life. 01:05:04.440 |
The point of Christianity is to have life this way and have this abundantly. 01:05:09.540 |
But you've come to church, you've given, you've worked, you've studied, 01:05:17.440 |
So because the repentance wasn't true, there's always regret. 01:05:23.440 |
If I didn't meet the Lord, I wouldn't feel so guilty. 01:05:29.440 |
If I didn't meet the Lord, I could have just made a lot of money to take care of my family. 01:05:36.540 |
If I didn't meet the Lord, I wouldn't have made these decisions, and I wouldn't be doing this. 01:05:41.440 |
There's true repentance without regret, leading to salvation. 01:05:52.440 |
You feel sorry, but there's no life that comes after that. 01:06:25.440 |
Passion for His glory and passion for His second coming. 01:06:33.440 |
He says that's what true repentance gives when you are baptized by the Holy Spirit. 01:06:39.440 |
2 Corinthians 3.17, "Now the Lord is spirit, and where the spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 01:06:46.440 |
There's nothing more powerful than somebody who's been bound, who is set free. 01:06:52.440 |
I remember years ago when we went to China for the first time to do missions. 01:06:57.540 |
And this young lady who later on became a Christian, she was telling us that she was living with this Russian boyfriend. 01:07:06.440 |
And she went into depression because something happened to him and she couldn't explain. 01:07:11.440 |
Something happened to him, he became a Christian, but she said, "I couldn't understand why she packed up his bags." 01:07:16.440 |
And he left all his clothes in the room and he just went to Hawaii to attend this Christian school. 01:07:25.540 |
And so we were able to break in and share the gospel with her. 01:07:30.440 |
But she wanted to come and she had her boyfriend's stuff and I just happened to go to China without a proper jacket. 01:07:36.440 |
I grew up in SoCal so I thought one leather jacket should be fine. 01:07:40.440 |
But this is where they have the ice festival. 01:07:46.440 |
It's one of those places where you can throw the water up and it turns into steam. 01:07:53.540 |
So she said, "Well, my former boyfriend has this jacket so you can come and borrow it." 01:07:57.440 |
So I went to go pick up the jacket and it was hanging on this wall and I could tell that that was her boyfriend. 01:08:13.440 |
Because it was a picture of a man with his hand up in the sky and light just coming off of him and just worshipping. 01:08:22.540 |
I said, "I knew that. I knew that was your boyfriend." 01:08:26.440 |
Because that's exactly how I felt when I met the Lord. 01:08:30.440 |
That's exactly how I felt when I met the Lord. 01:08:42.440 |
Why did my parents have to move around so much? 01:08:53.440 |
And I knew this man experienced the same thing I experienced. 01:08:58.440 |
He says, "Where there is spirit, there is liberty." 01:09:06.440 |
So some of you may have never truly repented. 01:09:13.440 |
And because you never repented, you received the Lord. 01:09:19.540 |
And you've decided to kind of like calibrate your life 01:09:27.440 |
And as a result of that, your Christian life is just things to do, 01:09:36.440 |
Now, if I stop the sermon here, you're going to leave like, 01:09:54.440 |
And then there's many of you who received the Holy Spirit. 01:09:59.440 |
You remember what it was like when you first got baptized. 01:10:04.440 |
You remember what it was like all of a sudden the Word of God making sense to you. 01:10:11.440 |
You remember when you prayed, all of a sudden you were able to pray. 01:10:21.340 |
This is the only thing I want to find out from you. 01:10:23.340 |
Did you receive the Spirit by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? 01:10:26.340 |
Are you so foolish having begun by the Spirit? 01:10:31.340 |
Did you suffer so many things in vain, if indeed it was in vain? 01:10:35.340 |
So then does he who provides you with the Spirit and works miracles among you 01:10:38.340 |
do it by the works of the law or by hearing with faith? 01:10:42.340 |
Why did you start by faith and then start to just work? 01:10:50.340 |
Galatians 5, 17, it says, "For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, 01:10:58.340 |
so that you may not do the things that you please." 01:11:03.340 |
Again, Galatians 6 says, "For the one who sows to his own flesh 01:11:09.340 |
But the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life." 01:11:18.340 |
He said, "Some of you have been baptized by the Holy Spirit, 01:11:26.340 |
And as a result of that, your flesh has become very, very strong. 01:11:36.340 |
It is groaning on our behalf to be with the Lord, 01:11:59.340 |
And then you go back to your same frustration 01:12:04.340 |
and your flesh is getting stronger and stronger, 01:12:07.340 |
to the point you barely remember when you were first baptized. 01:12:13.340 |
Chuck Swindoll used to say it this way, of this passage. 01:12:17.240 |
He said, "Why so many Christians struggle in their faith 01:12:26.240 |
and then there's a fight between this good dog and bad dog. 01:12:30.240 |
And if you spend all day, all week, feeding this bad dog, the flesh, 01:12:35.240 |
then the bad dog is going to bear fruit, just like he says. 01:12:39.240 |
But if we spend all day feeding the Spirit, the good dog, 01:12:53.240 |
You cannot turn on and off the Holy Spirit Sunday morning. 01:12:58.240 |
You cannot just turn on and off the Holy Spirit whenever you desire. 01:13:18.140 |
Do you remember what it was like when you prayed in the Spirit? 01:13:22.140 |
And just how hard it is to pray when you're praying in the flesh? 01:13:26.140 |
When you're praying in the flesh, even five minutes, 01:13:31.140 |
Because your mind and your flesh is pulling you away. 01:13:44.140 |
So when you pray, you can't even fill five minutes of prayer 01:13:47.140 |
because your flesh, from the moment you try to pray, 01:13:54.140 |
But do you remember what it was like, if you remember, 01:13:59.140 |
When you're praying in the Spirit, the Lord shows you His heart. 01:14:05.240 |
The Holy Spirit that is indwelling in us is groaning on our behalf. 01:14:12.140 |
Praying with us and praying for us, groaning to be with the Father. 01:14:19.140 |
even though you don't even know what to pray for, 01:14:27.140 |
The compassion that He has when He has the lost. 01:14:30.140 |
When He sees the suffering in this world, what He feels. 01:14:33.240 |
Because the Holy Spirit in us is groaning for the things that God desires. 01:14:40.140 |
But when we're praying in the Spirit, in the flesh, 01:14:48.140 |
Do you remember what it was like to preach the Gospel in the Spirit? 01:14:57.140 |
When you're in the flesh, the first thing you think of is, 01:15:00.140 |
what are they going to think of me if I come? 01:15:06.040 |
What if they ask me something and I can't answer? 01:15:16.040 |
And so the fleshly thoughts grip you to prevent you from sharing the Gospel. 01:15:25.040 |
all you're doing is sharing what's in your heart. 01:15:35.940 |
Somebody to tell you, hey, tell your husband about this great movie. 01:15:40.940 |
Do you remember what it was like when you first became a Christian? 01:15:44.940 |
It doesn't matter if you're an extrovert or an introvert. 01:15:51.940 |
This God that I met, you need to know this God. 01:15:54.940 |
Even though I don't have all these words, I may not be a theologian, 01:16:02.040 |
And He loves me and He loves you and He died for your sins. 01:16:04.940 |
If you would just come and confess and repent of your sins, 01:16:17.940 |
And you get boldness because you are convicted of this truth. 01:16:22.940 |
You know, you don't have to be bold when you see somebody in danger to warn them. 01:16:31.040 |
If they're standing in the middle of the road and there's a train coming, 01:16:33.940 |
you don't, like, "I'm going to muster up strength. 01:16:36.940 |
I've got to tell them this, but what if they don't believe me? 01:16:40.940 |
What if they think I'm weird because we can't hear the train? 01:16:46.940 |
What if I don't say it well enough and they don't believe me?" 01:16:52.940 |
All you're thinking about is they're in danger, 01:16:55.940 |
and whether they receive me or not, they need to hear this message. 01:16:59.040 |
The only difference is you are convicted that this is true 01:17:03.940 |
versus trying to convince yourself that this is true. 01:17:09.940 |
you become emboldened in your faith because you are absolutely believing that this is true. 01:17:15.940 |
So whether you believe it or not, I know it's true. 01:17:25.040 |
and we are doubting and we're not sure ourselves, 01:17:32.940 |
That's the difference between the Holy Spirit and the flesh. 01:17:36.940 |
Have you ever studied the Word of God when you have the Holy Spirit? 01:17:43.940 |
You know, I read that an average adult only reads one Bible once they exit school, 01:17:52.040 |
which means the majority of people don't like reading books. 01:17:56.940 |
Now, some of you guys may look at this, "I read two." 01:18:05.940 |
So when you're studying the Bible in the flesh, 01:18:12.940 |
You do it because it's Bible study, the church requires it, and it says it's good, 01:18:19.040 |
Or you may be reading because you're sometimes studying the Bible also feeds your flesh, 01:18:27.940 |
But that's the flesh, whether you're doing it for self-glory, 01:18:30.940 |
whether you're doing it out of obligation or pressure, that's the flesh. 01:18:34.940 |
When the Holy Spirit, when you're filled with the Holy Spirit, 01:18:38.940 |
even the study of the Word of God opens up heaven to us. 01:18:43.940 |
Because all of a sudden, you and I live in the mundane, 01:18:47.040 |
waking up early, coming home, taking a shower, taking care of our children. 01:18:49.940 |
We live in the mundane, but when the Word of God is open, 01:18:56.940 |
We not only understand His mind, but we understand His heart. 01:19:00.940 |
And all of a sudden, there is nothing more precious than the Word of God. 01:19:05.940 |
I get to speak to God, He gets to speak to me. 01:19:09.940 |
I have communion with this God through the Word of God. 01:19:13.040 |
When the Holy Spirit is the one guiding us and illuminating us. 01:19:20.940 |
I mean, we attach fellowship to everything and anything. 01:19:27.940 |
But the difference between fellowship in the Holy Spirit 01:19:30.940 |
and the fellowship in the flesh, fellowship in the flesh is like, 01:19:33.940 |
we're trying so hard to milk, like, tell me something. 01:19:42.040 |
and you're sitting across somebody who's in the Spirit, 01:19:46.940 |
I mean, the bond that we feel, the koinonia that we feel, 01:19:49.940 |
because my Spirit is interacting with your Spirit, 01:19:58.940 |
It doesn't matter that we're not of the same background or age or socioeconomic status. 01:20:14.940 |
See, Christianity wasn't simply about, you know, since God did His part, now you do yours. 01:20:21.940 |
This is why we experience so much frustration. 01:20:25.940 |
Because we have forgotten that He has baptized us with the Holy Spirit. 01:20:32.940 |
And until we walk in the Spirit, we sing in the Spirit, 01:20:35.940 |
we live in the Spirit, we pray in the Spirit, 01:20:49.940 |
But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh. 01:20:54.940 |
For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh. 01:21:00.940 |
so that you may not do the things that you please. 01:21:03.940 |
But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 01:21:07.040 |
For under the flesh are evident which are immorality, impurity, sensuality, 01:21:12.940 |
idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, outbursts of anger, 01:21:19.940 |
disputes, dissensions, factions, envying, drunkenness, carousing, and things like these. 01:21:34.040 |
Many of you fell away for a while because this is what you saw in the church. 01:21:40.940 |
Factions, envy, jealousy, anger in the church because they weren't walking in the Spirit. 01:21:50.940 |
You got a church filled with people who are frustrated, who are tired raising their children. 01:22:02.040 |
and then you got to come to church and you got to give on top of that? 01:22:06.940 |
You have small children at home, what is free time? 01:22:08.940 |
And then you got to come to church and you got to serve and you got to lead? 01:22:12.940 |
I mean it's hard enough to have a great relationship with your wife 01:22:15.940 |
that you make a covenant vow and then raising your children. 01:22:18.940 |
And then you got to come to church and love people that you don't want to love? 01:22:28.040 |
And so if you don't have the Holy Spirit, all it is with people who are having a hard life, 01:22:33.940 |
making it even harder with more rules to follow. 01:22:39.940 |
But when you're in the Holy Spirit, you get to pray. 01:22:47.940 |
You get to come and commune with the living God. 01:22:53.040 |
You get to have family and communion with other brothers who are doing the same. 01:23:07.940 |
so that I can understand the mind of this God who created me 01:23:27.940 |
I pray with all my heart that you and I, myself included, 01:23:33.940 |
would come to know not just this mentally, but experientially. 01:23:39.940 |
And I thought about, I wanted to end the sermon not just with, 01:23:50.040 |
When you're living in the flesh and you're feeding your flesh, 01:23:51.940 |
that's the first thing that you need to deal with, right? 01:24:01.940 |
and make a decision to feed the Spirit, right? 01:24:08.940 |
But the other part of it is to cling to Christ with all your might, to pray. 01:24:18.040 |
As much energy you're putting into work, pray. 01:24:21.940 |
As much energy you're putting into reconciling relationships, pray. 01:24:25.940 |
As much energy you are putting into raising your children, pray. 01:24:30.940 |
As much effort that you are doing to invest properly, pray. 01:24:39.940 |
And maybe the Lord will hear us and fill us with the Spirit 01:24:46.040 |
and we may experience this abundant life that Jesus promised that He was going to give us. 01:25:05.940 |
Lord, as our generation is becoming darker and darker, 01:25:18.940 |
but to be the light that we may worship You in spirit and in truth, 01:25:31.940 |
so that our lives in private, our lives together in the Church, 01:25:37.940 |
would reflect this new life that You've given us in the power of the Holy Spirit. 01:25:43.040 |
May Christ, in Christ alone, be exalted for His sacrifice. 01:25:49.940 |
Would you stand up with me for the closing praise? 01:26:17.940 |
Purify my heart, let me be as gold and precious silver.