Welcome to the Kerwin Baptist Church broadcast today. Our desire is for the Word of God to be spread throughout the world.
so that all may know Christ. Join us now for a portion of one of our services here at Kerwin Baptist Church. Located in Kernersville, North Carolina. Proverbs chapter twenty five. Proverbs chapter 25.
Don't forget tomorrow we have our three different times for sign language class. And don't forget that with the Gunters. And it's been wonderful today. Mrs. Gunter obviously did interpretation first part of the service.
Brother Robert is now. And as the music was going, Brother Frank and I are over there. And Brother Frank mentioned, he said, it's neat to watch that as the music's going, obviously that Mrs. Gunter is hard of hearing. And she does a fantastic job.
She speaks so clearly. But I just think she's precious. I just love her to death. We like Robert, we love her. But as she was interpreting, Brother Robert, obviously, with being hard of hearing, he was helping her with the timing of interpreting with the song and watching the two of them working together.
What were they doing? Brother Frank mentioned this. They were worshiping together. And that's what we want you to do at this church. We don't want you just to see and be seen.
We um we want you to worship together. We want your kids to be able to learn to worship in our children's ministries. We want our teenagers to, whether they listen to it all or not, whether they obey it all or not. We want them to be taught. as Brother Frank has done such a good job of teaching them about worship.
In our teen program, and here at church, we're here to worship the Lord. today. I'm going to take you on a bit of a journey today. It's not going to be a long journey. You're like, I've heard that before.
Some of you have been like, I've been on this journey and it's always long. No, it's not. I promise. Proverbs chapter 25. Proverbs chapter 25.
This verse was on my mind. And little did I know that it was going to lead me on a Quite a trip through God's Word. I have all the verses on the screen for you today. And um Feel free to try to flip back and forth at times, that's fine, but Um Our kickoff point, our main thought is this one verse. Um but I want to because this verse introduces a subject.
Normally, we'll take a passage of scripture, expository preaching, and go through and teach the context of everything of this passage. This is an Old Testament verse. That brings up a New Testament principle, and so as we kick off with this, we've got to go New Testament, Old Testament to understand so that we can come back to the Old Testament and understand what this verse. really means. How many of you have heard this verse before?
Raise your hand. How many of you have seen it?
Okay. Um It's on the screen, so everybody should be able to raise their hand there. Oh, on that one. Never seen it before.
Okay, it's right there. Proverbs 25, 28. He that hath no rule over his own spirit. It is like a city that is broken down. and without walls.
How many of you believe God's word is true? We kind of see an obvious principle. think we kind of Let me tell you where I've always heard this, and it's correct. But it doesn't Teach the whole part about this verse. I've always heard this verse when dealing with somebody's temper.
That if you always if you can't keep control of your temper You have no rule over your own spirit. You're like a city that is broken down and without walls. Let me tell you something else I saw about this verse. that I had never seen. We kind of talk about: well, if you lose your temper, you lose your protection, walls, obviously, different things.
I believe in this verse. that a broken city and walls that were crumbled are Two separate things. I don't just think that it was a broken city because the walls fell down. I believe the Bible says that this was a broken city. And the walls were torn down too.
And I'm going to explain this to you. I believe there's a whole lot more in this verse. then we have kind of scratched the surface on. And you've got to take a little bit of a journey through the Bible, but it's going to greatly educate you today, I promise you that. And hopefully, we'll do it quickly and clearly, and have everything up there for you so that you can.
Follow us as we go through to come right back to this verse. and end up this morning. Let's pray. Lord, I love you. I thank you for all that you've done.
Pray that you'd bless us. Need your help. It's been an encouraging Sunday for me already, Lord, and I thank you for that. And Lord, as I have the privilege to preach to.
some of the greatest people I've ever met. Lord, I pray that Jim, we would Only see your word and see you today. and not the preacher. But what I'm preaching on. Jesus' name we pray.
Amen. Look at this verse. He that hath no rule over his own Spirit.
So specifically here, this verse says that you are headed for trouble. If you don't keep control of if you don't have rule Something. And specifically, what the Bible here says it is to keep yourself protected. is to rule your spirit.
Now notice it's small s, spirit.
So you say, preacher, what all does this mean?
So we've got to deal with this whole thing of spirit first.
So we know what it is that we're really supposed to Green.
So I've got to walk you through a little bit of a journey so that everybody is on the same page today. Number one, I want you to notice that we have a body, soul, and spirit. And I believe that we are a body, soul, and spirit. We have a body, soul, and spirit. You say, preacher, what does it mean?
Let me show you these verses. And you'll understand why it's important. Hebrews chapter 4, verse 1. Verse 12, notice, for the word of God is quick and powerful and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder. of soul And spirit.
Now, doctors cannot tell you where your soul and your spirit are. They can't find that in surgery. They have no clue where the soul or the spirit is, let alone. the difference between the two and where they separate. But the Bible says that God's word can go right there.
That God's word can get right not just to the soul and the spirit, but between the two. That's how great God's word is.
So we see here that we have a soul and a spirit. Notice this. Piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow. What is that? That's your body.
So you here have soul, spirit, body. Body and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents. of the heart. What is the heart? The heart is the how.
of the soul and The spirit. And so you and I understand we have body, soul, and spirit, and God knows it all. God knows where it all starts. God knows where it all divides. God knows when there's a problem.
You might can fool me. I might can fool you. Maybe we both can fool our wives or our husbands, but we can't fool God. All God's people said. Amen.
That means this. Let me explain it to you. The body is explained as touching the material world through your five senses. your sight, your smell, your hearing, your taste, and your touch. That's how the Bible says.
communicates.
Now, second is your soul. The gates to the soul are imagination, conscience, memory, reason. Reason, affections. That's your soul. The Spirit receives its impressions.
of outward and material things through The soul. And so that's how your spirit... Literally controls your life, your spirit. After you've been saved and your spirit has been regenerated, we're going to talk about that. That literally it's filtered through your soul.
So you have body, soul, spirit. The spiritual faculties. Are this? Faith, Ho? Reverence, admiration.
Adoration, prayer, and worship. You say, I don't fully understand. You're not supposed to yet. Number two. Why do we have a spirit?
Why do we have this? Very simply. Our spirit was created by God so that we can contact and receive him. That's good, but yes, our spirit is how we correspond to God. Everybody got that?
Okay. Our body and our soul have their own specific functions. Only our spirit. has the ability to contact God. Are you with me so far?
Say amen. That wasn't very many of you. Are you are you Are you just tired or you really are confused?
So far, are you with me? Say amen. Some of you are like, I'm not, but I don't want to waste time because I want to go to lunch, so I'm just going to say amen. Let me give you some verses. John chapter 4 verse 24.
Our body and soul Are separate, but the spirit is what contacts God. Notice this verse. God is a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in soul. It doesn't say that. God's a spirit, and they that worship him must worship him in Spirit.
Your spirit is how you contact God. Your spirit is how you communicate with God. In order to contact or worship God, who is spirit, we must use our spirit. Let me illustrate. A radio.
I mean Most, this generation doesn't even have a clue what a radio is half the time. Nobody listened to the radio anymore. They listened to Maybe XM radio or something like that. Most of the time they got their iPod, they're listening to old music, whatever the case might be, because they can download all this stuff now. If I had an old-fashioned radio sitting here and I was going through today, but I'm like, you know, there's no need just to have an illustration for illustrations, you understand.
If I had a radio here and I turned the radio on, We would hear different stations. I would keep changing that, and I was afraid of what might come through.
So I didn't bring the radio today. Get this. The radio waves Our God. The radio is our spirit. Everybody got it?
God's always speaking. But if my spirit is not in tune with him, if I, if my spirit is not contacting him, listening to him, The radio, the way a radio receives those waves is our spirit is our radio. radio. That's how we Get contact to God. Very simple.
So, you say, all right. What makes our spirit?
So important. Our human spirit is so important to God. Because he wants to fill us with himself. You know what the Bible says? You know, we always have arguments doctrinally over predestination.
I will tell you, I can clear this up for you. we were predestined to become like Christ. For whom he did foreknow, he also did predestinate, to be conformed to the image of his Son. That means this. Why do we have a spirit?
Why is the spirit so important? Because the spirit is how we contact God. And when God contacts us, it's through the Spirit. And God wants to fill us, He wants to make us like Christ. And if that's going to be done, it's not done through the body, and it's not done through the soul, it's done through the Spirit.
If you understand that. Just say owe me.
Okay. Yeah, I wanted to make sure you got the difference. He wants Please get this. He wants us to receive him. And our spirit is that unique receiver.
Our Christian life begins With our human spirit now notice John 3 verse 6 look at this verse That which is born of the flesh is flesh. But that which is born of the Spirit Is what? Spirit. That's where our Christian journey begins. Get me.
I want you to get this. We are body, soul, and spirit, but until you get saved, that spirit is in an unregenerate state. You're not using it. Why? Because you're not contacting God.
But when you and I hear the truth of the gospel, that Jesus came, that he died on the cross for our sins, and he rose again on that third day, and he covered our sin with his blood, and he provided a way of salvation. And when we hear all that, and we receive that truth, and we act on that truth, and we give our hearts to Jesus Christ, that spirit. inside of us is now regenerated. It's made alive. And now we can contact him.
He can contact us. We can contact him. This is why it's so important. You see, before we were born of the flesh, And we were just flesh. We were just body.
And soul. Got that? Remember when the Bible says that Adam, when God breathed the breath of life into Adam, it says man became a living.
Soul, okay, and then what does this verse say? It says that which is born of the flesh is flesh.
So already, before you were saved, you have a soul because your soul will either exist for eternity in heaven or hell. You had a soul, and you have your flesh, your body, but that spirit is not there until you're saved. It's there, but it's dead. and we're regenerated. Once you get saved Now we have a radio.
to talk to God and We have a radio where we can hear what he has to say to us. Everybody got it? You know what I think would be more specific is a And I was going to mention this. Growing up in evangelism, my dad had a Blue and white Chevy Suburban. I don't remember what year it was, had a 454 engine in it.
We pulled that Airstream trailer, but that's suburban. Had a little logo made for his ministry years ago. My dad, it was He was a cross-country evangelist, which we did across the country. numerous times. I had a little logo and he had that logo put on the side of his suburban and we drove that for years.
And finally one day he sold it because he got an extended van with a large engine because we have so much stuff to carry and just sold that suburban and it still had that cross-country evangelistic ministry, Dan Hawtrey, on the side of that suburban. and sold it.
So a couple years later, we were preaching. in Stark, Florida. If you don't know where Stark is, thank God. If you don't know where Lottie is, thank God. Because you're going to get a speeding ticket if you go through it.
I promise you, I've gotten probably six there over the years. It was part of a nationwide investigation of corruption of police. They were given speeding tickets left and right. And when I was in college, I had to go 301 down through Lottie and Stark every time I went home. And I'm going to tell you, I got speeding tickets left and right.
But we were preaching in Stark, Florida, and we were on our way to Eat, and there was a big bar. a big club kind of a thing and one of these things and park in front of that bar. was a blue and white Chevy suburban. And my dad stopped. He said, wait a minute.
And he pulled over. in the parking lot of that bar. And that logo was still on the side of that suburban. Dan Hawtry, cross-country evangelist. Parked at a bar.
It was okay, anyway. But in that suburban, We had a CB Radio. How many of you know what that is? All the truckers know. And that CB radio, as a kid, I used to have fun, I'd turn that dial on, I'd start talking to people until...
My dad got agitated and made me get off kind of a thing. But that C V radio, we used to use that a lot traveling. What is that CB radio?
Well that CB radio is we could not just hear what Any other truckers that had that had to save, but we had a little a little microphone. We would hold that thing down and we would talk in it. That's what our spirit is. We hear what he has to say to us. and we can now speak to him.
Because of our sin, we couldn't get to them. But because of Jesus' blood, When we trusted him, our spirit was regenerated. And now not only can we hear him, he can hear us. That's right, he missed it. He missed it.
And you're going to understand this in just a minute. The moment we believe in Jesus. Here's capital S spirit moves into our little S. Spirit. Anytime in the Word of God you see capital S, Spirit, that's the Holy Spirit.
Anytime you see small s spirit, it might mean a couple of different things. But we're talking about our spirit.
Now notice this. Please get this. And I love this. The Lord is love, light, peace, rest, comfort, strength. He's our shepherd, he's our refuge, and he's so much more.
But because he's now living in our spirit, the Holy Spirit, God with us, The hope of glory.
Now all those things that God is and he will be one day, he can be to us now. Do you hear me? Because our spirit's been regenerated if you've been saved. everything that God is. In eternity, he is to us now.
Yeah, yeah.
So far so good. See, what does this mean? Because he is now living in our spirit, we can experience and enjoy all that he is right now. Knowing about this. is foundational for the Christian life.
Once we realize that the Lord Jesus lives in our spirit, We need to apply this by contacting him all the time. Right.
So, how do we do that?
Well, we can do it every morning. You can get up. Breaker, breaker. Divine glory, whatever you want to call it, I don't know. Every morning you can get up.
and you can commune directly with God. And God can commune directly with you. Let me tell you how else that our spirit. Can literally communicate with the Holy Spirit of God. is we can read his word.
We can go to John chapter 14, where he says, I am the way, the truth, and the life. We can read that verse to God and say, God, thank you for being the way. Thank you for being the truth. Thank you for being my life. And I praise you for that.
What is that? That's my little S spirit communicating with his big S spirit. You say, preacher, what are you saying?
So we are all body, soul, and spirit. And not only that, why do we have that so that we can communicate with God? Why is it so important? Because He wants to fill us. with himself.
That's when you hear somebody, hey, we're filled with the Spirit of God. When you got saved, you got all of Him. But has he gotten all of you?
Okay, we understand that.
So you say, preacher, what is the world? No, I want you to see these couple phrases because we're actually not far from being done. The spirit of man Please get this. It's on the screens for you. The spirit of man is the sphere of activity where the Holy Spirit operates in regeneration.
The soul of man is the sphere of activity where Satan operates. making his appeal to our affections. And our emotions. It's called temptation. Temptation, look at me, please get this.
Temptation goes on in your soul. Regeneration goes on in your spirit. And from then on we have this battle. between spirit and flesh. You see.
The soul is where Because of the soul is your emotions and all those things. That's where Satan tempts you constantly. He comes after you there. But the spirit is where God communicates with you. The soul is where Satan is always communicating, but the spirit is where God is wanting to always communicate.
But if all we do is we let Satan communicate to our soul, but We never communicate with Christ. We're in trouble. He said, Preacher, I'm not. Listen, that's where the Bible says the Spirit. is willing.
Yeah, absolutely. Is what? See the spirit over here is willing. But old Satan's ticking a number on the soul over here, the flesh. is weak.
Our soul perceives things and A psychological realm. Do you know in Greek? The word for spirit is literally, let me excuse you, the word for soul is suke. It literally is the root word for psychology. Our soul.
Our soul is our personality, who we are. With our soul, we think, we reason, we consider, we remember, we wonder, we experience emotions like happiness, love, sorrow, anger, relief, compassion, and Satan prays on all that. Right, right.
So the only chance we have is that regenerated spirit. Belongs to God. that he wants to fill us with. himself. No, I'm going to give you another phrase.
The soul of man, that is, his affections. and desires are never directed to God. Until after the Spirit has become regenerated. Everything that my soul has and is never looks to God until I'm saved. Until my spirit has now been regenerated.
That's where this process starts. You say, prove it, okay. Look at this verse. 1 Corinthians chapter 15, look at verse 42.
So also was the resurrection of the dead. Verse 44, it is sown a natural body. flesh and raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body and there is a spiritual body. And so it is written.
The first Adam, please notice this. You've heard this verse your whole life, but you'll never understand it like you'll understand it today. The first Adam was made a living what? But the last Adam, Jesus Christ, Was made of what? Quickening spirit.
So your spirit You can't look to God because your spirit was dead. Because because you and I came from the first Adam that sinned. We have flesh. But through Jesus Christ. We now have a spirit that's been quickened, so everything in my life can now look to God.
Yeah. He said, preacher, is this all important for Proverbs 25? Yeah. Our last point, number four.
So how do we rule? our own spirit. This verse says. Listen, he that ruleth not his own spirit, it's that important. God said if you don't do this, you're opening yourself up.
You're leaving yourself vulnerable. You have no protection. I mean, that means my family, my life, my dreams, my hopes, my goals. I'm leaving myself totally unprotected if I don't rule my own spirit.
So I need to understand what I'm talking about. Amen. spirit look at this verse see that Hath no rule over his own spirit. It's like a city that is broken down without walls. You know in Bible times walls were built around cities?
to protect from enemy attack. When the city had no walls, it was vulnerable for attack at any time. It had no protection. This verse teaches that when you don't have rule over your own spirit, That the walls can be torn down. And the city can be broken.
Can I help you to understand something? from God's word. Once represent boundaries. What is this verse talking about? He that ruleth not his own spirit is like a city that is broken down and without walls.
What are walls?
Well, we know what a wall is, but what was the purpose? Walls were simply back. That's what a wall is. You put a wall there, it means you don't go past this. You put a door there, it means you can go past this.
You got a wall there, it means you don't go past this. But it also means not only, now look at me here, Kirby, this is real complicated, but you can get this. A wall. The greatest news that anyone can receive is the news of the free gift of salvation found in Jesus Christ. It is our desire for you to know him personally.
Would you take a moment to hear this today? Every man is born with the sin nature. Romans 3.23 says, For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. No matter how hard we try, We're not good enough to obtain God's glory. or to get to heaven.
Because of that, sin carries the penalty of death. Romans 6.23 says, For the wages of sin is death. But the gift of God is eternal life, through Jesus Christ our Lord. The wages of our sin, or the payment of our sin, only equals death and separation from God. But it's only through God's gift salvation through Jesus Christ that we can accept him as our Saviour.
Jesus Christ paid for your sin debt. The Bible says in Romans 5:8, But God commendeth his love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. All you have to do is receive Christ. by faith as your Saviour. Romans ten nine says That if thou shalt confess with thy mouth the Lord Jesus, and shalt believe in thine heart that God hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved.
Verse 13 continues, For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved. It's as simple as admitting that you're a sinner believing that Jesus is the only way. and calling upon his name. Bible says whosoever, that's any one. can call upon the name of the Lord to be saved.
Have you accepted Christ as your personal Savior? There is no greater day than today to take care of this. Would you accept Christ as your Savior? If you have any questions, please give us a call at 336-993-5192 or visit our website at Curlin Baptist Church. Dot com.
or visits that person at one of our three service times. We hope you have a great rest of your day. God bless you. Mm-hmm.
