All right, we're so glad you're here this evening. We have a few brothers with some handouts. You'll really feel lost if you don't have a handout. You don't have to take notes, but I think it would be helpful to you because all the scripture is contained in it.
So raise your hand if you didn't get a handout.
Some people down front here. Walter, would you grab some? We need some over here on this side, and thank you down front here. Thank you so much. As those guys are passing those out, let me just say: if you'd like to serve four times.
In the nursery on a Wednesday night, I know they could use help. And there's a clipboard, a few clipboards going around.
So women 14 and older, and it would have to be a husband-wife team in light of all our rules and security and safety measures that we take.
So, and of course a member.
So, if you're interested in that, there's some clipboards going around. I do know just a ton of children are coming from Uganda next week for the African Children's Choir here for this Wednesday evening service. It's going to be a very, very special service. We're down to just one host home. Josh, will you stand up so people can see where you're seated?
So look at Josh. Maybe you could provide that host home. I would. My wife will be gone, but if you're a husband-wife couple and you're able to take a few children, it would be a great blessing.
So, Josh will be here after the service. We'd love to get that nailed down.
Now, does everyone have a handout? All right. I think we're good. Thank you, Sham, and Walter and Drew. Let's pray together now.
Our Father and our God, we love you and thank you for your incredible grace. Thank you for these little children. that sang tonight and how their parents have Made it a priority to bring them here Wednesday evening and how you use music in a powerful way as your word unfolds. to teach truth and and to put perspective in the heart of a little child. And so we pray their protection, we pray for wisdom for dads and moms and grandparents and all who are involved in the discipleship process.
We know the greatest privilege and blessing is to be used on some level by you to be able to share the good news. And we're asking you to help us in these days to sharpen our sword that we might be better equipped to share the good news with people who need to know the Lord Jesus. And we commit our time to you tonight. We ask you and thank you in advance for your help. In Jesus' name, amen.
All right, now as you came in this evening, there are some red booklets, and so that's the 2025 edition.
So take some of those, get very familiar with them. We'll be working through them in the next several months. As you know, we're addressing different theological issues each. Each week, along with the logistics of how to share the gospel. in a very practical way.
Um And some of you have expressed an interest to share your testimony. And we've put some more of these cards out. They haven't been out there for a while.
So if you would like to do that, that would be wonderful. Paul LaMonica, where are you, Paul? I know you're here somewhere. Yeah, Paul, come on down front.
So people will come and share their testimony. We're listening, and they're sharing it like. not sharing it to hundreds of people, but To you across the table. That's ideal. I don't know if you wrote it that way, but that's what we're shooting for.
And we want you to listen in terms of things that he's done well and ways that we might be able to encourage him to do it even better. Paul, you start whenever you're ready, my brother. Thank you, Pastor. Appreciate it. The opportunity to speak with you all.
This is a kind of a partial testimony. It's kind of directed at a childhood friend of mine. whose name is James. Uh and he's made it abundantly clear to me on a number of occasions when I've Shared my faith with him, he'd always say to me. Don't preach to me, Paulie.
Whatever you do, don't preach to me.
So here's what I've written and I intend to share with him. James Can you give me five minutes of your time? I'd like to share with you. One of the things that God has done in my life You and I, we have a common background since we both were raised Catholic. I can honestly tell you.
that with all my Catholic schooling and church going, They never taught me anything about the plan of salvation, which is outlined in the Bible. I never told you this before. But in 1977, when I was working for the New York City Transit Authority, I found a Bible on the subway train. And I started reading it. That very and I took it with me every night to the token booth where I worked.
That's when I became aware of just how sinful and depraved I really was. Reading that Bible gave me a lot to think about. But the problem I had was I didn't understand what I was reading, and I didn't have anyone to turn to. to explain it to me. There is a Bible verse that I came across later on that really spoke to me.
And it says The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness, but is patient with you. not wanting anyone to perish. but for everyone to come to repentance. Think about that for a minute. He doesn't want anyone to perish.
What does that mean to you? I'm telling you this because. You're a trusted friend and I really care about you. You don't understand the significance of what Jesus did on the cross. We've talked about this before, but.
God sent His Son, Jesus, into the world not to condemn us, but to save us through Him. Did you know that?
Well Here's another Bible story that I have. In 1980, when I graduated from a Navy technical school, I was headed for Hawaii. And I was so excited. And at that time, I was still drinking alcohol. I bought a bottle of Jack Daniels and in celebration raised that bottle and it fell right on my toe.
And needless to say, some words came out of my mouth. My buddies laughed at me. But there was a fourth roommate that we had. His name was John, and he was a Christian. He never hung out with us.
Why, we don't know, but I now know.
Now I know. But anyway, he came over to me to see how I was and he handed me a Bible. And he said, Paul, I think you're not going to be able to do that You could use this more than I can. I later found out that that Bible was given to him by his sister. Anyway, that Bible traveled with me.
For 36 years to four duty stations, four civilian moves, And I don't know how it got packed, but it always ended up in my next duty station and my next move. The sad part is I never really opened it up until I came here to South Carolina in 2016. Two months after we arrived here, James, We had to evacuate for Hurricane Matthew, and we went to Florida. And it seems like everybody else was going north, but the God led us south. We went south and we went to visit my wife's childhood girlfriend, ally.
And after introductions, Aline's husband Robert immediately started discussing matters of faith with me. He had so many verses of scripture memorized and I listened and I was so immersed in what he was saying. And after 30 minutes, It just cut to my heart. And I wept. And I knew at that very moment in time that I needed a Savior, I needed Jesus in my life.
So after dinner Robert I found out Robert was a Methodist minister. Don't hold it against him. He was a conservative Methodist. He told me, go back to your hotel room. and find a Gideon Bible.
and read the book of James, which I did, and we discussed it the next day.
Well, when Loretta and I returned home, I immediately searched for that Bible that John gave me in 1980. And over the course of the next 18 months, I dedicated three hours a day studying God's Word. And to this very day, I spend every day in God's Word. Anyway, I began to pray for family and friends and neighbors and for myself. I prayed, Lord, if you can use me, I want to share the message of your Son in the same way that you directed Robert to share it with me.
Anyway, in August of 2019, my personal prayer was answered when the Gideons visited St. Luke Methodist Church where we were worshiping. And three months later, I became a Gideon. Then in August of 2020, by the grace of God, we moved to a new church. Community Bible Church, where we have flourished in the Lord.
And I know that you can see those changes in me.
Sorry. Make it five minutes faster. Because It was God who changed me, James. He rescued me from myself and gave me a new purpose, a purpose to serve him and his people instead of myself. And in the same way that God delivered a Bible to me in that subway train in 1977, And God prompted John to give me a Bible.
In 1980, and then Robert directed me to read a Bible, to read the Gideon Bible in my hotel room in 2016. I now have the great privilege and honor Serving Jesus. And one of the ways that I do that Is by placing Bibles in hotels. Forgive me and handing out personal testaments. at fairs and festivals.
and colleges they went oh what a blessing it is to give these students these These Bibles. And to pray with them and talk to them about the greatest gift that I have ever received, Jesus Christ. My Lord and Saviour. James Your salvation is more urgent than you imagined. Yeah.
And I hope that one day. My prayer for you. be answered. That you make a decision for Jesus. And then we're going to ask him, will you make that decision now?
Amen. Beautiful job, Paul. Beautiful. Thank you. Thank you so much.
All right. What did he do well? If you want to come up, just in the microphone and comments, because there are people who are live streaming. Anyone have any thoughts in terms of what was done extremely well? As you're thinking, if someone wants to come, you have to step up to the podium.
So, Anthony, thank you. Come on up and. Yeah. Short comment. I like that he.
when he was sharing his testimony. He let this guy know that he was lost. And as you always say, you got to let somebody know that they're lost before they could be found. I saw that in him. And I think other people See that and the ones who set up their testimony say, well, I can understand what he's saying.
Just being lost. Yeah, amen. That's good. That's good. Yeah, come on up, Steve.
Share what you want. I really enjoyed that, how interesting it was. Like, I was on the edge of my seat the whole time. Yeah, I thought that that was really cool. Yeah, it was.
It was very, you know, it was interesting because it was personal. Exactly. And he started right off finding some common ground that he had with his friend in terms of they were both raised Roman Catholic, though it didn't do much for him. And he expressed care right in the front end that he wanted to share this with him because he cared deeply about him. And so that was huge.
That was good. All right. In terms of improvements, I would say one thing that you might do that would crisp it a little bit. Is speak at some point in the testimony what you came to understand that you didn't understand before Paul that helped you to cross the line. Like, um, And you touched on it, but I think you could develop that just a little bit, something to the effect that...
You know, like a Roman Catholic friend. What's your friend's name? I already forgot it. James? Yeah, James.
You know, a lot of us think that, you know, you are proved by God by the things you do, and I came to understand that that was not true. That good works could not possibly save me, and that's why Christ had to die.
So, just maybe tighten that just a little bit. But it was beautiful, very, very well done, and personal where you're sharing it with a friend in some kind of context like that. All right. Let's go ahead and we'll begin with a handout. And again, if there's someone next week you'd like to fill out the card and give it in the office by Sunday, we'd love to consider you.
Okay, this evening we're dealing with the key to effectively presenting the gospel.
So we're going to for the next two weeks, and again, I suppose people think, well, why don't we just get into the mechanics of the booklet? You can work through a number of different presentations on the plant of salvation, and it can come up dry with little fruit. And so essential. To seeing God use us is that we understand our relationship to the Spirit in producing and presenting the gospel, and we understand the Holy Spirit's relationship in the heart of the lost people.
So, tonight we're going to focus a little bit on what we need to be, and then next time we'll focus on how the Spirit of God works behind the scenes and what we can expect Him to do. All right, so Roman numeral one here, leading someone to Christ. And we're talking about preparation. First, we're just going to cover one Roman numeral tonight. First, we need to be prepared by depending on the Spirit's work of conversion.
So many people, and by the way, if you're new, there's some blanks to fill in because people are taking this for credit through the Institute of Biblical Studies. And if you're interested in taking it for credit, there'll be assignments and a test at the end, but you have to work through all the handouts. Many people today assume they are Christians simply because they were raised in a Christian home or attend a church that identifies with Christianity, but not by virtue of a second birth. We hear that all the time, right? People think, well, I'm a Christian, I'm a Methodist, or I'm a Catholic, or I'm a Baptist, or whatever it might be.
But not by virtue of the new birth, you must be born again, right? Others believe they will go to heaven because they think they have never really done anything that bad. such as a murder or robbery. Still Others might feel that because they regularly pray and confess their sins and even read the Bible, that they're fine with God.
So, you'll have people that will give somewhat spiritual answers.
Well, you know, I believe in God and I believe in Christ and I ask for forgiveness and I even read the Bible, and so God's going to accept me. This is why it is essential that we be filled with the Holy Spirit when we share the gospel. And that we earnestly ask God the Spirit to convict people of their sinful and offensive standing before God who is holy. One of the things you do when you present the gospel to someone, among other things, you're presenting the attributes of God. You're presenting that he's loving, you're presenting that he's holy, you're presenting that he's just.
And you're showing how the various attributes of God come together in the plan of salvation. When the Apostle Paul shares his ministry with the church residing in Corinth, He reminds all of us that to be able to effectively share the gospel, we desperately need the supernatural work of the Spirit. Listen to these words from 2 Corinthians chapter 4. Therefore, since we have this ministry, As we receive mercy, we do not lose heart. But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God.
but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God. And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In whose case The God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving.
So that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ who is in the image of God.
So here in verse 1 he affirms, as we have received mercy, We do not lose heart. He's reminding us that it is solely By God's mercy, That we are privileged to share the gospel and not because of anything we are or have done. And that's an important perspective. Because some people don't share the gospel because they don't think they're anything. And the fact is, is that you're everything.
If you know the Lord, you're a somebody. And God wants to use you. And I suppose on the other end of the spectrum, people think they're effective because they're a somebody. And God doesn't use somebody. He used people who are broken.
Paul will write here in 1 Timothy 1, I thank God. I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who strengthened me because he considered me faithful, putting me into service. Even though I was formerly a blasphemer and a persecutor and a violent aggressor. Yet I was shown mercy because I acted ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord Was more than abundant with the faith and love which are found in Christ Jesus.
So knowing the wonder of the message he proclaimed compelled Paul, and it should compel us. to speak boldly.
So that we too can say we do not lose heart, being gripped by the message of forgiveness. You know, Christians, all the time, they lose heart when it comes to sharing Christ. I used to share my faith. And yet, if the forgiveness of God is fresh and radiating in our lives, It affects how we think of people each and every day. You see people through the lens of Scripture.
You see people the way God sees them. The way you view your calling to share the gospel. And of course, we've already covered in previous lessons we are all called. It's not just a professional pastor or missionary. We studied from 2 Corinthians 5 that we've all been entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation.
So, the way you view your calling to share the gospel will largely determine how you fulfill it. Because if you see sharing Christ as a burden and not as a privilege, you'll do as little as possible. It's a privilege. I mean, think about it. Just think that someone's eternal destiny could be saved.
Changed and saved forever and ever and ever. That's a privilege. Paul now goes on to contrast himself with the deceivers of his day. He says again back in our starting text: But we have renounced the things hidden because of shame, not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word of God, but by the manifestation of truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God.
So Paul goes on to tell them that he did not need to manipulate or deceive his hearers into responding. as some had accused him of doing. because the Spirit Himself would enlighten them to the truth of what He shared.
So he says, but we have renounced the things hidden because of shame. Not walking in craftiness or adulterating the word. And that's what some men were doing in the community that he was ministering in the city of Corinth.
So he notes, I note here: it's possible to prove almost anything from the Bible.
So, people adulterate the Word of God. They use the Word of God. They abuse the Word of God. But they're not handling it accurately.
So, it's possible to prove almost anything from the Bible if one twists the text out of context and ignores the testimony of his own conscience. In the Apostle Paul's day, as in our day, many false teachers claim to base their doctrine on the Bible. while handling it in deceptive ways. In the end, Not only Is it not only is this wrong, but it accomplishes absolutely nothing. because salvation is a supernatural work of the Spirit.
And so he writes. And again, if you don't believe that someone's conversion is a supernatural act of God, then you'll revert to human manipulation. And we spoke earlier in this series about the difference between the hyper Calvinist and the hard core Arminian. And how their theology impacts. The Calvinist tends to do very little.
and tends not to share the gospel. And so we looked at a number of cases like Ed Niram Judson and William Carey, who were dismissed by the Calvinists of their day for trying to be passionate and to take the gospel to the world. And so you have that end of it. And practically, here in the 21st century, the Calvinist movement is doing very little in terms of world missions. They're sending Almost no one, I don't want to say no one, but almost no one.
The missionaries in the world are not coming out of the Reformed Calvinistic camps. Again, the way you view men will change how you will share with people. And on the other end, you have like some of the folks that Paul was dealing with in Corinth who felt like it was human pressure, human manipulation. That brought people into the kingdom. And you see that sometimes, even today.
So he writes: And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In whose case, the God of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is in the image of God.
Now, if you're familiar with this letter, 1 Corinthians and 2 Corinthians, then you know as Paul defends his apostleship. And that's the focus of 2 Corinthians. It's a defense of his apostleship. He also addresses an important question. If he was such a faithful teacher of Scripture, then why didn't more people respond?
Because that's what he was up against. There were all these teachers in the Corinthian church, and people were clamoring. to those teachers. And not so much to Paul. And his answer is that the mind of the lost sinner has been blinded by Satan, and lost people naturally find it easier to believe the lies that tickle the ears than to embrace the truth that convicts the heart.
Years ago, we had a church in our state. And It was led by a gentleman who, to me, was manipulative, deceptive. Um But it produce Some of the largest numbers across the United States. Perry Noble. And people said, why don't you adopt some of Perry Noble's things?
He baptized 1,300 people last week. I said, well, in my view, the way he presents the gospel is less than faithful to God's word, and he's preaching another Christ. You know, and it's hard to say that because people say, oh, you're jealous, and you know, and he's got this big church, and da-da-da-da-da-da-da.
Well, time usually shows. And so, this adulterer, this drug addict, this drunkard. That's the lifestyle he was ministering out of. And when we would see people come from A number of their campuses, they didn't even know the plan of salvation yet, they had been baptized.
So you have to step back and say, well, what's really happening in there? And so it would be easy. Paul says, I don't lose heart. Forget what is happening around me. My perspective is one that God has called me.
I recognize we're in a spiritual battle, and not everyone is responding, among other reasons, because the God of this world, Small G, Satan, has blinded the eyes of the unbelieving.
So, number 16, because of the invisible spiritual battle, it is essential that we are filled with the Holy Spirit and that we are depending on Him to use us. He'll write in 1 Corinthians, the second chapter: I was with you in weakness and in fear and in much trembling. And my message and my preaching were not in persuasive words of wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power, so that your faith would not rest on the wisdom of men, but on the power of God. And if you know this passage when he says, I was there in fear and much trembling, he wasn't shaking like something was going to happen to him. But Scripture defines scripture, and he uses this expression to demonstrate his dependence on God, that he wasn't going in his skill and in his knowledge, but in dependence upon the Holy Spirit.
Even though the Apostle Paul was a great theologian whom God used to give us 13 of the 27 New Testament books. He recognized his need to depend totally on the power of God. He understood. that he could do nothing without Christ and that only when he was weak Could God make him strong? And that, in many ways, is the key to not just sharing your faith, but a successful family.
and living the Christian life. When I'm weak. then he is strong. He can describe his preaching not as a performance. But as a demonstration.
We just read, he said, but in demonstration of the Spirit and in power, you watch some pulpits in their performances. Paul wasn't interested in performing. In fact, when some people evaluated Paul's ability to preach, they said he's not all that impressive. from a worldly point of view. But he demonstrated the Spirit's power.
But as a demonstration, because he knew that it was not his experience or his skill or his ability, but the Holy Spirit's power in him. Not that we are adequate, he'll write in ourselves to consider anything as coming from us, but our adequacy is from God. And again, when we believe that, And that grips us because one, we understand the spiritual reality that we're facing when we share Christ. You know, I had a gentleman in my. kitchen on Monday and Is n um We have the original counters that were in our home since 1990, and so this is our 45th anniversary.
And I said, okay, we're going to put new counters in. And so he comes in and. He's doing all these measurements with all these lasers and so forth. I said, hey, by the way, Dudley, do you go to church anywhere? And he said, well Um Not really since I've moved here to the United States.
My wife said, where are you from? I said, don't answer, Dudley. I said, let's see if I can guess. I said, you sound Dutch like you're from Holland. He said, no, I'm not.
But he said I come from South Africa and I'm a part of the Dutch community in South Africa, and I went to a Dutch Reformed church. Uh I said, let me ask you a question. I'm always curious. I want to encourage people. on a scale of 0 to 100, he said, why?
He said, I think I'm 100. I said, why would you say you're 100? He said, because life in South Africa was like hell, and so I've already been to hell, so all I got left is heaven. That was a new answer for me. As of first.
He said, but to be honest with you, he said, I'm not sure. And then he threw out this question, do you believe in the rapture? I said, well, I do believe in the rapture. I said, now it's not a word that you will find in the English Bible. I said, it's in the Latin Bible.
I said, you know, I got this friend. He's always talking about the rapture. And he said it was going to happen on September the 23rd, and it didn't.
Some of you heard that chatter, right? And of course, those are people, sadly, Christians, who mean well. But it's just total ignorance. The fall feasts have nothing to do with the church. They have everything to do with Israel.
Just like the spring feasts were all fulfilled in reference to Israel. We experienced the blessings of it: that Christ died on Passover, he was buried on unleavened bread, that he was raised in the feast of first fruits, and that Pentecost happened, you know, 50 days later. All four spring feasts were fulfilled, and there's three more to be fulfilled. But those will be fulfilled during the tribulation period.
So we talked a little bit about that, and I said, Well, right off, you should have told your friend no one knows the day or the hour. And that should have been enough to cause you to think twice about what he was saying. I said, I'm sure he means well. I don't know your friend.
So anyway, we shared the gospel. And as I'm sharing the gospel and the plan of salvation with him. You know, I'm doing so with a great sense that, Lord, you have to open this guy's heart. You have to convince them. I can share.
And reason with him, and we talked about why good works could not save, because they can't remove the stain of sin, they can't satisfy not only God's holiness but God's justice. And you could tell the wheels were turning. And so, as we're leaving, he said, You know, I really believe that God moved me. Here to the United States. He said, It's like God put something in my heart to leave South Africa and come to the United States.
I said, why do you think so? He said.
Well, maybe because of this conversation we're having today. I said, I think so. I said, if what I'm saying, Dudley, you know, and of course. I learned names in different ways. Dudley Dew Wright, that was a cartoon in the 1960s.
So I'm already associating it, so I don't forget his name. I said, if what I'm saying is right. This may be the most important conversation you've had to date. Because you've already told me that you've never understood these things before. Yet, this is what you have to hear and respond to in order to become a Christian.
So, I can preach truth, I can share truth just like you can, but only the Spirit of God can impart truth. Only He can open the heart and the mind, and that's the perspective we have to have. You know, and even when you bridge that gulf. Because you know he's in my kitchen and I just put in an 18-hour day the day before. I left it 5:45 in the morning, I got home at 9:30, and I was wiped, and I didn't really feel like talking to anyone.
But here he was in my kitchen at 9 a.m. And we had to bridge the gulf. And so sometimes it's not even a matter of like you feel like sharing the gospel. It's a matter of what God wants you to do. He's in my house.
Captive audience. And God brought him to my house. For a reason. And so, when you are in and around town, you will have divine appointments. that God will give you.
So number one, We need to be prepared, point A, by depending on the Spirit's work of conversion, point B, Do we cover 20? Yeah, those who want those who want to share their faith must diligently Prepare and make full use of every opportunity God has given them, but their confidence must not rest in themselves. But on the Spirit to empower them. My wife and I were out for a walk later that Monday, and we went down to the neighborhood. The pier, it's outside of the neighborhood, and there are some ladies there and.
By the way, you know, we talked about fishing, just friendly, all that good stuff. You know, we're not catching anything. I said, I know.
Sometimes they catch them here, sometimes they get nothing. And we're chatting. By the way, do you go to church anywhere? And she said, well, not really. I said, well, I was going to invite you to our church.
Where do you go? Community Bible Church. Oh, my uncle James Fields goes to that church. Yeah, I know James. He's a good guy.
He's been a member for a long time. She said, I need to come there sometime. Again, a divine appointment. You're walking with the Lord. You start your day.
Lord, I'm available. If you don't want me to talk to anyone today, I won't talk to anyone. But if you want to use me to share the good news of forgiveness and love with someone, I'm available.
So, B, we need to be prepared by meeting the condition for the Spirit's filling. There are two primary conditions that we must meet. If we are to be spiritually prepared, so that the Spirit who lives in us can fill us.
So I think most of you know that there's a distinction in the New Testament between indwelling. In filling. The indwelling presence of the Spirit is a given. Romans 8:9: If you don't have the Spirit, you're not one of His, you've never been saved. In Christ, you having heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation, having believed, you're sealed with the Spirit.
So the indwelling presence of the Spirit happens at the moment of conversion. It's called the baptism of the Spirit in the New Testament in 1 Corinthians 12:13. But just because we have all been baptized by one Spirit doesn't mean that we're filled with the Spirit. And it's important that we know how to be filled with the Spirit. You want to raise your children well?
Teach them how to be filled with the Spirit. You want to disciple someone at work effectively? You want to have a successful marriage? Then, husband and wife, if they're filled with the Spirit, it can make a radical difference.
So, number two, first we're commanded in Ephesians 4:30 not to grieve the spirit. 4:30 says, Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God by whom you are sealed for the day of redemption.
So, as you're thinking, we're going to go through four commands. There are four commands in the New Testament that describe human responsibility from our side that allows the Spirit. To fill us. And you should know those cold, cold, cold, cold, cold.
So that if you're working with your children, you're explaining there are four principles that it must be true if we're going to be a spirit-empowered individual. And again, you can go through all the mechanics and through all kinds of courses on how to share the gospel. And I'm not saying this is the only way we discussed last week the difference between an Acts 2 presentation and an Acts 17 presentation, which is most needed in the 21st century because people know nothing anymore about the Bible. But all of that is meaningless if we're not filled with the Spirit. The word grieve, we just read, do not grieve the Holy Spirit, by whom?
The word grieve is a love word. Because you can only grieve someone who loves you. And indeed, the Spirit of God loves you. We could have, I suppose, put Romans 5 here where he says, The love of the Holy Spirit has been poured out into our hearts. While your neighbor's child's disobedience might bother you, it is only when your own children do wrong that you truly grieve.
For we only grieve deeply when we genuinely love the one who is doing wrong. If we can be grieved over those whom we love. All the more is the spirit grieved out of his holiness and love for us. when we do wrong. Any known sin that is unconfessed and unrepented of.
Prevents the Spirit from filling us to produce Jesus' character and His ministry through us. Doesn't matter how big, how small. If there's known, I'm not talking about things you don't know about. To him who knows to do right and does it not, to him it is sin. There's probably things in your life and my life right now that we don't even know about.
That's the whole process of sanctification. That's why, as you grow up in Christ, God keeps showing you more and more and more and more things. And you're going to hit these walls where I never knew that before. That's something I should be doing, or that's something I should not be doing. And then we have to make a choice what we're going to do.
So, the solution to grieving the Spirit of God is to confess any known sin. 1 John 1:9, right? If we confess our sins, He is faithful. Meaning, he can do it over and over and over and over again, and he's righteous, he's not violating his character. To forgive us of our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
This verse is not an invitation to salvation. That's how it's often abused. People make this a salvation verse. It has nothing to do with salvation. Again, remember, you make the Bible mean whatever you want it to mean.
These things I'm writing to you that you may have fellowship with us. Our fellowship is with the Father, with Jesus His Son. That's the context. 1 John chapter 1. He's writing that we might experience fellowship with God and with one another.
And what breaks that? It's sin. It doesn't break our position before God, but it breaks our I think we're missing a page. You're missing a page.
So sorry. Just listen close. I'm not sure what happened. But listen close. But thank you.
Thank you for waving. I thought you were like, hey, Pastor Carl, doing all right? Yeah, all right. We'll be done with this page, but you get the gist, and we'll give you the page next week.
So, this verse is not an invitation to salvation, but an exhortation to fellowship with God. That we, to use Paul's words, 2 Timothy 2:21, that we might be a vessel for honor, sanctified, useful to the Master, prepared for every good work. If you know 2 Timothy 2, I gave it as a graduation message one year to our academy. And I said that while we're all beloved of God, We're not all approved of God. Every believer has the same standing before the Lord.
They're equally loved by God. And God can't love you any more than He loves you because, as John 17 reveals in the high priestly prayer, He loves you as much as He loves Christ. But while you're beloved, it doesn't mean you're approved. And so study and show yourself approved of God, the kids say in Iwana, right? And so there has to be a commitment to Scripture because if the Scripture is what God uses to bring about conversion and if the Scripture is what the Spirit uses to bring about growth and you know little Scripture, then you're going to have little impact whether it's in your life with lost people or your own family or people you're trying to disciple.
God wants us to know in our experience what is already true of us positionally. And unless we are experiencing God's forgiveness, then we are not walking in the light as commanded, and we are not filled. And so again, any sin breaks fellowship.
So there's a difference between our positional forgiveness. Where the moment we're saved, all of our sin, past, present, and future, is eternally forgiven. That's a positional truth. But then there's experiential truths. For instance, positionally, the day God saved you, He gave you a spiritual gift.
Experientially, you might not even know that there are spiritual gifts. A guy in my neighborhood stopped me and Talk about a divine appointment one day, and my son and I were just out, not my son, my grandson and I, Jack, were out in the neighborhood walking around, and we met this couple and down at our dock, and we asked them the diagnostic questions. Neither were saved and shared the plan of salvation with them and they both received Christ. And they're listening now on the radio. And He said, I heard you say the other day about spiritual gifts.
What are those? He said, Where can I learn about those? I said, Man, you're in a crummy church. I said, I'm not here to run down your church, but you're in a crummy church. I said, how could you go to that church all these years?
and not know how to be saved. And of course we had a mutual friend, Claude, in the neighborhood. Claude just died at 85. And Claude and I have been friends over the years. I've invited him to one thing or another.
I shared this, I think, in one of the services on Sunday. And um He'd been going to the same church his whole life. His father went to that church and his grandparents went to that church. And yet he didn't know how to be saved. Of course, I'm getting ready to go to Israel.
Early morning, preached two sermons, new members' reception, ran home. I thought I'd go running. I don't go home and take an afternoon nap on Sunday. That will wipe me out. I go running.
It kind of energizes me. And then I was going to come back to meet the pastor for a few hours. It was just like God said, you go see Claude. And I had no freedom to go running, so I went and saw Claude. And he ended up receiving Christ.
And I said, Clyde, now don't you die on me while I'm gone to Israel. He said, oh, they gave me six months. I'm good. I'll see you when you come back, Osir. He had six more days.
And the day after I left for Israel, he passed.
So there are people all around us. But do we see them the way God sees them? Do we see A cliff. Without Jesus Christ, potentially spending an eternity without the Lord? Or do we even care?
So, God wants us to know in our experience what's true of us positionally. Positionally, every Christian has forgiveness of all their sins, past, present, and future. Colossians 1, right? Your sin was nailed, the certificate of debt to the cross-that's a picture of eternal forgiveness. But practically, not every believer is experiencing that forgiveness.
So there has to be a desire. Blessed is he who hungers and thirsts for righteousness. He'll be filled.
So if there's not a hunger to walk with God, the Spirit's not going to fill you. And what will squish that? Unconfessed, known harbored sin.
So, first, there must be a sincere desire to be filled with the Spirit, such that sin that is cherished will prevent his filling. Second, you can know that you are filled with the Spirit if and only if you're not quenching his filling in his life.
So, grieve not the Spirit, quench not the Spirit. For this reason, we're commanded in 1 Thessalonians 5:19, do not quench the Spirit, or literally, it literally says, Quench not the Spirit. In fact, the American Standard Version, which is a predecessor to the NAS that you have in 1901, that's how they rendered it. It's a little wooden, but it's what it says. We grieve the Spirit when we do those things we should not do, and we quench the Spirit when we do not do those things we ought to do.
So, one deals with the negative side of the life, the other deals with the positive side of life.
So if somebody says, no, I'm not going to share my faith. That's what we pay you to do, preacher. You won't be filled with the Spirit. You're quenching, you're throwing water. I was so thrilled with this one couple here this morning.
I hear this evening, and with the father-daughter dance, and how the daughter was going around and inviting people. I said, That's beautiful, man. That's the perspective. You get your kids engaged in reaching the lost, and you're going to raise spirit-filled children. But typically You cannot lead where you're not going yourself.
So we grieve the Spirit when we do the things we should not do. We quench him when we don't do the things we should do. 15. When the Apostle Paul writes in 1 Thessalonians 5, 19, do not quench the Spirit, he's dealing with the positive aspects of the Christian life. All right, 16.
I had to read that because there are people taking this for credit. Number 16, the verb for quench. Speaks of suppressing fire. Which should not surprise us since the Holy Spirit is likened to a fire. If you took the course that we taught on Wednesday nights on pneumatology, we went through all the different emblems that are used to describe the Holy Spirit.
And one of the emblems is fire. Since the Holy Spirit is likened to fire, dwelling in each believer, and so the International Standard Version reads, Do not put out the Spirit's fire. That's the thought. The Holy Spirit desires to express himself through our actions and our attitudes. And when we refuse to do that, he leads us.
to do or f When we refuse to do what He leads us to do or fail to let Him work through us. As he desires, We quench him. You know, and there will be opportunities like that. I knew sitting in the kitchen I needed to talk to Dudley, but I didn't feel like it. But I needed to talk to him.
Now, if I said I don't care. I'm going to try to Drink my coffee out on the back porch. I would have thrown water on the Spirit's fire. And sometimes it has nothing to do with what you feel like, but there's just a sense, sometimes your heart starts beating. You need to communicate with this person.
And so there's all kinds of things in the puzzle. Sunday morning. I'd rather live stream. The live stream is there for people who can come. They're sick.
They've got sick kids. They're challenged as elderly. But that, when that's our pattern, what are we doing? We're forsaking the assembly together. We're in disobedience.
We're quenching the Spirit. There are a lot of ways to quench Him. We're thinking in terms of evangelism here.
So the Holy Spirit's desire is to express himself through our actions and our attitudes. When we fail to let him work, we quench him. 18, the solution to quenching him is to totally yield to God. You know Romans 12. It comes after the first eleven chapters of.
the book where he deals with doctoral issues. Therefore, I urge you, therefore, in light of what I just taught about the mercies of God, the first 11 chapters, you present your bodies as a living and holy sacrifice, acceptable to God, which is your reasonable. It's a reasonable thing to do. It is reasonable in light of what Christ has done for you and for me, the only reasonable response is to give Him everything. You must be willing to go wherever He wants you to go, to say whatever He wants you to say, to give whatever He wants you to give, and to do whatever He wants you to do as a living and holy sacrifice.
So assuming you're not grieving. Or quenching the Spirit, then you can by faith trust Him to fill you according to His command to be filled with the Spirit and His promise.
Now, it's not optional to be filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:18, it's an imperative. Be filled with the Spirit. In fact, verse 17 says, And do not be foolish, but understand what the will of God is, and do not be drunk with wine, but be filled. With the Spirit.
It's a command.
So I don't have to wonder if it's God's will for me to be filled with the Spirit. He tells me it's His will, and it's a direct command of Scripture. And so here's a prayer promise you have when you're praying to something you know definitively to be the will of God. This is the confidence we have before Him that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us in whatever we've asked, then we know that we have the request from Him.
So, assuming I'm not grieving him, there's no unconfessed sin. Assuming I'm not quenching him, he has total freedom. I'm his slave to do whatever he wants to do with me. then by faith I can trust that he is filling me.
So, people look for some ecstatic utterance, some feeling.
Some people go to a church for a failing. And as soon as the church is gone, and Monday morning comes around, and the phone rings, and the real world begins, the feeling is gone, and so is their spirituality. Our feelings are real. But we don't live by feelings, we live by faith.
So, knowing that he will not fill a dirty or unyielded vessel, yet recognizing that it is his will to fill you. You must by faith believe his promise.
So If you ask the Spirit of God to fill you, And you're not grieving or quenching him. then you can by faith trust that he does it. that he is empowering you. B, we need to be prepared to allow the Spirit to keep filling us. Negatively, we are commanded not to grieve or to quench the Spirit, while positively, we're commanded to walk by the Spirit.
So, grieve not the Spirit, quench not the Spirit, walk by the Spirit. But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desires of the flesh, the sin nature here. The word flesh starts can be used of the skin that covers your skeleton in the New Testament, or it can be used of a worldly point of view. But most often, it's used of the fallen, sinful nature within. The tense of the verb indicates a continuous, moment-by-moment dependence on the Holy Spirit to live His life in and through you.
In the physical realm, walking by its very definition is a succession of dependent acts where one foot is on the ground and the other is in the air. When one foot is lifted, it is done so in faith that the foot on the ground is able to support the full weight of your body, with each step trusting that the supporting foot will allow you to move forward. Just like your physical walk is a moment-by-moment trust or dependence, so is the spiritual life.
So, in the same way, number five, spiritually, we must not live our Christian lives in our own strength, but in the Spirit's power, who is ready to fill us and to assist us. Do you believe that? Then I'm sure you start the day making sure your heart is clean. And that you're available to the Lord, and by faith, you're trusting Him to fill you. Because you know that you can live the day out.
and do just about anything that you have to do. Whether it's your job or your work at home or whatever it is you do with your life, your golf game, your workouts. But in terms of doing those things while filled with the Spirit is quite another thing. This attitude of dependence upon him is seen throughout the Bible in the many various commands that God gives His church to carry out. For instance, in the realm of sin, 1 Corinthians 10, 12, let him who thinks he stands be careful lest he fall.
You know the next verse, many of you have it memorized, for no temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man.
So, Paul is saying, if you think you're okay, if you think you'll never do this, if you think you're that strong, You're an open target for the evil one. You're tempting the devil to tempt you, if you know that passage. Because he's just reviewed Israel's failure in the first 11 verses. He says, We recorded these things. As examples for us, the church, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
All their failures, he said, I'm not just writing it to rag on them, but I'm writing those things to remind you of how they were in self-confidence and they fell because of it. In addressing the subject of sin and temptation, the Apostle Paul is reminding us that a self-sufficient attitude precedes stumbling. The Christian who rests in past victories or in current resolve, instead of walking in dependence on the Spirit, is self-deluded and will fall. God reminds us that others have fallen. The first 11 verses there, 1 Corinthians 10, where this verse comes from.
And that we too can fall if we become confident in our own strength. The strongest Christian is one who sees himself as weak and feeble. And he believes that he needs the help and strength of the Spirit. Isn't that what Jesus said? Apart from me, you can do nothing.
Even our ability to speak the gospel clearly. and with power. comes only through the help of the Spirit living his life. Through us. We started the Christian life by faith, and so every day we are to walk by faith, just as the Apostle Paul told the Colossian church.
Therefore, as you receive Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk in him. If you were saved, there was a day in your life where. You understood that in God's economy you are bankrupt in terms of being able to save yourself. And we'll cover this later in the evangelism course. People say, well, you get saved by inviting Jesus in your heart.
That has nothing to do with anything. Not found anywhere in the New Testament. That's not how you get saved. But there was a sense, one, of total bankruptcy that you cannot save yourself. And you put your faith where God puts your sin.
on the Lord Jesus.
Well, as you came to him in that way, God, I'm bankrupt. I rest totally on the death and resurrection of Jesus.
Now walk in him. God, I can't live today apart from your strength. I can't share with Dudley who's in front of me. Because I'm exhausted this morning. And every preacher has a Monday morning hangover.
And I had them when I was 30 years old, and I have them at this age. It has nothing to do with age, trust me. I talk to guys 30, 35, they call me, and what are Mondays like for me? I said, the same they are for you, man. You gave everything.
You were working all week long towards the pursuit of what God was putting in your heart and that message you were churning out, and He was working through your heart and mind, and then you gave everything.
So yeah, it's a spiritual hangover. And that's often when we have the Elijah experience.
Well, we're exhausted. When we need the Lord the most. We say, God, help me. When you came to Christ for salvation, you came in a bankrupt state, admitting your total inability to save yourself. And by faith, you place your full confidence on what Jesus did for you.
Ephesians 2:8, 9. In the same manner, to grow in Christ, you admit your total inability to live the Christian life by your own strength. And you choose by faith to walk by the Spirit, depending on him as a branch depends on the vine. I am the vine, you are the branches, he who remains in me, and I in him bears much fruit. For apart from me, you can do nothing, you can do all kinds of activity.
But you can do nothing. in terms of real fruit bearing. Apart from dependence on the Spirit, in ourselves and that's what he's doing. He's giving church truth and Judas has gone in John 13, 14, 15, and 16, he's giving them church truth. And he's revealing a future entity.
He says, I got a whole lot more I can tell you, but you can't take it in right now. And that's where they unfolded in the epistles. In ourselves, we are powerless, fruitless, and as helpless as a branch cut off from a vine. We are unable to produce any fruit that pleases God. And of course, the fruit of the Spirit is those nine qualities.
The responsibility, number 17, we'll bring this in for a landing. The responsibility to produce these qualities, or even the fruit of seeing others, one to Jesus.
So remember, there's two kinds of fruit in the New Testament. This is the fruit of the Spirit, love, joy, peace. It doesn't say the fruits of the Spirit are. It says the fruit singular of the Spirit is, because you can't say, I got love, but I have no peace. I got self-control, but I got no patience.
No, the degree to which you have one is the degree to which you have the other.
So there's the fruit of the Spirit, but there's also the fruit of conversion, which Jesus says in John 15. He said, I appointed you that you might go and bear fruit. Evangelistic context, that you might go and win people to Jesus. And again, as we've been exploring in this course, God will use us in different ways.
So, at the new members' reception, very often, how'd you come?
Well, so-and-so in the church invited me. And then they came to the church and they got saved. That person was used of God to bring that person into the kingdom.
So God will use us in a number of different ways. We'll cover this in Mark's Gospel in great depth. Um in terms of The whole process of seed planting and being patient and Walking in the Spirit means you are living a life of faith based on the truth that God reveals in His Word. If you abide in Me and my words abide in you, then ask whatever you wish and it will be done for you. As we walk in the Spirit, we live according to God's Word.
Trusting in the reliability of God Himself, but made known through the Bible.
So, the condition that sustains us. To keep being filled with the Spirit is first to walk by the Spirit, depending on Him, but second, we're also sustained to walk by the truths found in the infallible Word. And so beyond the command to walk by the Spirit, Galatians 5, 16, we're also called to sow to the Spirit in Galatians 6.8. Right, quench not, grieve not, walk by, sow to.
So, if you're living a life of dependence on the Lord, then you're not grieving Him, you're not quenching Him. You recognize that you can do nothing apart from Him, and you're feeding on the Word of God. If you're not feeding on the Word of God, then You're trying to live without eating. We can't do it. It's our spiritual sustenance.
If you are abiding in Christ, and His Word will be abiding in you. We just read that. If you abide in me and my words abide in you, then and only then, it's a conditional promise. Ask whatever you wish, it will be done for you. Yes, God, I'm spirit-filled.
I'm not grieving him. I'm not quenching him. I'm depending on him. I'm walking by him. And yes, your word is abiding in me.
Because the Spirit of God doesn't work in some vacuum. He works in conjunction with the truths found in the Bible, number 22. Therefore, we are commanded in Galatians 6.8 not to feed or sow to the flesh. The sin nature. But the feet are so to the Spirit as we study God's Word.
Do not be conformed to this world, but what? Be transformed. by the renewing of your mind. that you may prove, know, realize. That God's will is what?
Good, acceptable, and perfect.
So, the only way for the Spirit to transform us is. For us to feed on the Word of God to have our minds renewed. Metamorpho is the word for. transformation. It describes my wife has all this Um Not butterfly food, but some kind of weed that the butterflies love, and they come and they eat it and they turn into little.
They plant their little caterpillars and then they go crawling up on the side of the wall. And we've got all these chrysalises around the porch right now. And some of them are opening up, and you see the butterfly, and there's this transformation. from a little spot on butterfly weed to a magnificent monarch butterfly. And that's the word that he uses here to describe this inside-out transformation.
On us. Only as your mind is renewed through the counsel of Scripture will more and more areas of your life conform to the Spirit's plan, and you will discover that He will use you to share the gospel effectively. You will also find as you are walking by the Spirit and you are sowing to the Spirit that you will share, that when you share your faith, you will bring to your mind various Bible verses. That he will use to bring about the second birth. You know, people tell me, you know, they started sharing their faith.
They said, I'm just blown away, Pastor. I said, what happened? I started talking to this thing. Words were coming out of my mouth. I didn't know where they are.
You know, and verses were coming to my mind that, you know, I learned at some point, and God would, I said, that's the spirit, that's what he does. He helps you. He's your helper. But again If you're not filled with him, he indwells you if you're born again, but he's not necessarily filling you. You're never commanded to be baptized with the spirit this side of Pentecost.
You're never commanded to be indwelled by the Spirit this side of Pentecost. You are commanded to be filled with the Spirit. Certainly lost people have come to faith through persons whose lives were not filled. Spirit filled. But a holy believer can be mightily used of God.
Yeah, you know, you got your Jimmy Swaggarts and Jim Bakers in the 80s. These guys were living. terrible lives. Visiting prostitutes and all the rest. But because they had the national television channels, people watched them, they were entertaining.
I met a guy once who actually got saved listening to Jim Baker all the while he's. having this relationship with this woman. That's because the Word of God is alive and sharper than a two-edged sword. But then think about all the damage they did. The tens of thousands of people who spit on Christianity because of the utter hypocrisy.
And we've seen that just in the last couple of years. Major Christian leaders crash.
So, God can use us in spite of us. But he wants to use us because of us, because we're filled with the Spirit. And so, while the scripture and theology, the theology behind it is very important for us to know. It is equally important That we are prepared spiritually. Let me just close in prayer this evening.
Bow your heads and Close your eyes. And Father, we. Thank you just for the chance tonight to stop, to ponder. We know that. The mechanics are important in terms of what it is that you've called us to share, and we earnestly want to understand that and be more effective in the months ahead.
But we confess that unless we are spirit-filled vessels. that demonstrate the power of the Spirit that means so little. Thank you that there's not a person within the sound of my voice. If they have been saved who cannot walk in the Spirit. Thank you that you never command us to do something that you don't provide the means in which to accomplish.
So teach us even this week to walk by the Spirit, and when we fail, to confess our sins, to experience your forgiveness, and to ask Him once again to empower us and to live His life in and through us. Thank you that you said the effectual fervent prayer of righteous people avails much. That righteousness you are describing is not just that which you have imputed to us. But hearts that are clean. You said, if I cherish, if I regard iniquity in my heart, you don't hear.
So we come on the merits of Christ and His Spirit-filled people, and we bring. Many of these people to you. Thank you for bringing Scott Bingham through the surgery. And through an incredible operation in allowing the sepsis to clear out of his body and to come home. We think of Gene Gooding, who was for weeks at ICU.
And from a human perspective on his deathbed, But in your mercy, you have raised him back up. And we pray as he's had these skin grafts. that his body would continue to respond. We think of our teams right now who are in the Philippines, in Thailand. We pray for your protection over them.
We pray for opportunities to share the gospel, that you would give them open doors. that many might find the Lord Jesus. We think next Wednesday of many who will come, we pray and earnestly ask you to do. For this children's choir, and many who will come on this campus who don't even know you. We pray that you might use the hour together.
to touch someone's heart to bring them into the kingdom. Thank you for bringing Todd Friel here, and a number of godly men that you've raised up over the last. Decades to come and to preach at Community Bible Church. Bless him on. this coming Lord's Day as he ministers the Word of God to us.
And thank you for those who've been caring for our children tonight and who faithfully some for decades. on Wednesday nights. Thank you for the ministry that they have and the love that they have for those children. Be with each and every one. We ask it in Jesus' name.
Amen.
