Participants: Pr. John Lomacang
Series Code: ASHF
Program Code: ASHF000043
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00:03 Music...
00:20 Hello Friends and welcome to another 00:22 Wednesday night Bible Study here in Thompsonville, Illinois 00:25 at 3ABN Worship Center. 00:27 Welcome to a Sharper Focus 00:29 and so get your Bibles... 00:30 invite your friends and family members 00:32 of your church joining us, 00:34 just sit back and relax for the next 57 minutes and 28 seconds 00:38 as we walk through the Word of God together. 00:40 Those of us who are here in Thompsonville 00:42 want to welcome you, let's all say, "Welcome. " 00:44 Audience: Welcome. 00:45 And wherever you're joining us from... 00:47 whether it's on the same time zone... Central, Midwest, 00:50 Mountain, Pacific or maybe around the world, 00:52 Philippines, Australia, the Virgin Islands... 00:55 wherever you're joining us from, "Welcome" tonight. 00:57 We're going to continue in our overall Series, 01:00 "How to live a Spiritual Life in a... " 01:02 what kind of body? 01:04 "In a natural body. " 01:05 This is the natural body 01:07 and until the Lord changes this body, 01:09 we need to understand 01:10 how to live a life that is disconnected 01:13 from this mortal body. 01:15 The Lord has called us to go up higher 01:17 and tonight we want to continue 01:18 and our topic tonight is, "The Empowered Life" 01:22 "The Empowered Life... " 01:24 Now, before we have our opening song, 01:26 we'd like to invite you to bow your heads with us 01:28 as we invite the Lord's presence to be with us tonight. 01:30 Let's pray. 01:31 "Our gracious Father in heaven, 01:33 we thank you that we could connect to the empowered life 01:37 that we can be sons and daughters of God 01:41 as you said in your Word, 'As many as received you, 01:44 to them you gave the power 01:46 to become sons and daughters of God. ' 01:48 Tonight Lord, we pray that you'll be not only in our minds 01:52 but in our study, 01:54 connect our hearts one with another, 01:56 connect us with our brothers and sisters around the world 02:00 and may we experience tonight 02:02 what that power really is all about 02:03 but not only for here... when we leave this place, 02:06 may the power of Christ go with us 02:08 to live a life that is in harmony with Your will 02:11 and for Your glory, we do pray in Jesus' name, amen. " 02:15 Now, we're going to sing our theme song tonight, 02:18 many of you that are joining us, 02:19 if you've been here before or joined us before, 02:21 you know the song, let's all sing it together, 02:24 "Victory in Jesus. " 02:25 Music... 02:34 I've heard an old, old story, 02:38 How the Savior came from glory, 02:41 How He gave His life on Calvary 02:45 To save a wretch like me; 02:49 I heard about His groaning, 02:53 of His precious blood's atoning 02:57 Then I repented of my sins, 03:01 And won the victory. 03:04 O victory in Jesus, 03:08 My Savior, forever. 03:11 He sought me and bought me 03:15 With His redeeming blood, 03:19 He loved me ere I knew Him, 03:23 And all my love is due Him, 03:26 He plunged me to victory, 03:30 Beneath the cleansing flood. 03:34 I heard about a mansion 03:38 He has built for me in glory. 03:42 And I heard about the streets of gold 03:45 Beyond the crystal sea, 03:49 About the angels singing, 03:53 And the old redemption story, 03:57 And some sweet day I'll sing up there 04:01 The song of victory. 04:05 O victory in Jesus, 04:08 My Savior, forever. 04:12 He sought me and bought me 04:16 With His redeeming blood, 04:19 He loved me ere I knew Him, 04:23 And all my love is due Him, 04:27 He plunged me to victory, 04:31 Beneath the cleansing flood. 04:35 He plunged me to victory, 04:40 Beneath the cleansing flood. 04:44 Amen. 04:46 Audience: Amen. 04:47 I forgot to mention earlier, 04:48 if you'd like a copy of the lesson to follow us tonight, 04:51 Lesson Number 14 go to this website: 04:53 ASF.3abn. org 04:58 don't put: www you won't find it 05:01 and download Lesson Number 14 entitled, "The Empowered Life. " 05:07 Now, there's one correction on that lesson, 05:09 I'll let you know what that is in just a moment. 05:11 Once again: ASF.3abn. org 05:14 and that's the same website that you can access 05:16 all the prior lessons 05:18 and also all the other video presentations 05:20 that you may have missed. 05:22 Now, tonight, the lesson is entitled, "The Empowered Life. " 05:25 Say that with me together. 05:27 Audience: The Empowered Life. 05:28 Or "How to live the Empowered Life" 05:31 I must confess, I am a child of the 1970s 05:35 now that doesn't mean a lot to those of you born in 1995... 05:39 1998... 1985... I mean, that just... 05:45 to me that's just the other day. 05:46 I won't to tell you when I was born 05:48 but I was in my heyday in the '70s and '80s 05:51 and having come from New York City, 05:54 in 1977... I was looking through some old pictures the other day 05:58 and I saw myself with a black T-shirt on 06:01 with the bold lettering: I survived the blackout of '77. 06:05 Audience: Laughter. 06:06 Now for those of you that live in the Midwest 06:08 or in Thompsonville, 06:09 a blackout is nothing... 06:11 what a "blackout" simply is is a power outage 06:13 and we know that many people that live in the Midwest... 06:17 in these small communities, 06:19 most people own generators right? 06:21 Because they expect the power to go out 06:23 but in New York City, 06:26 people don't expect the power to go out... 06:28 not a city of 19 million people 06:31 and so, 1977 when the power went out, 06:33 I remember very well where I was, 06:36 I must tell the story since I opened the door to 1977, 06:39 that was the heyday when I was really not a Christian... 06:42 I was attending church 06:43 but I was not in the Lord... I was in the building 06:46 and I remember very well I was on Nostrand Avenue 06:48 if you live in New York, 06:50 you know exactly what I'm talking about. 06:51 Nostrand Avenue... right off of Putnam Avenue 06:53 and there was a big Pool Hall there, 06:55 four large regulation size Billiard tables 06:58 and I was playing pool and it was my shot 07:02 and I leaned over to make the shot and the lights went off 07:06 and I said, "Hey, that's not fair, 07:08 don't turn the lights off on my shot" 07:10 and then I walked outside 07:12 and the guy yelled, "I didn't turn the lights off" 07:15 and we walked outside and as I looked to the left, 07:17 I saw the lights going off like this in sequence... 07:19 tsh... tsh... tsh.. tsh... tsh... tsh... 07:22 I'm just... like somebody had, almost in a sequential way, 07:26 the lights started going off in different directions 07:29 and then going... 07:31 and all of a sudden, in a matter of a minute or so, 07:33 the city was in total darkness, 07:35 all five boroughs were in total darkness 07:38 and then, everyone went crazy. 07:43 People started looting, breaking into stores, 07:48 turning cars over, 07:49 setting fires, 07:51 I remember very well... 07:52 about a few months earlier than that, 07:54 I had purchased a brand-new bicycle, a Fuji bike... 07:56 it's a name that I don't hear very much about now-a-days 07:59 but they broke into a store that sold... 08:01 had thousands of bikes 08:03 and the very next day, that store was completely looted 08:05 all the bikes were gone 08:06 and the police were checking, anybody with a brand-new bike... 08:09 they were checking to see if they had a receipt. 08:11 Thankfully I had a receipt and... 08:14 but it was a terrible thing that night, 08:16 the power went off before we even had a hint 08:20 that the power was going to go off. 08:22 Now, when you think about that, 08:24 the Bible talks about the conditions of the last days 08:27 and one of the... 08:28 one of the indications we get in the last days, 08:30 the Bible says in Matthew as well as Mark and Luke, 08:32 "As it was in the days of Noah, 08:35 so also shall it be in the days of the coming 08:38 of the Son of man. " 08:39 There's something that happened in the days of Noah 08:42 that sometimes we forget. 08:43 Now we think of crime and violence 08:47 and murder and immorality 08:49 we think of all those things but there's something that 08:52 because of this one thing I'm referring to, 08:54 because of that happening, 08:56 all of the other things were heightened to a degree 08:59 to the point where God said, 09:00 it had... it had repented Him... 09:03 God had... 09:04 had a heart that He was regretting that He had made man. 09:07 Now, the thing that had happened... 09:08 go with me to the book of Genesis... 09:10 what book did I say? 09:11 Audience: Genesis. 09:12 The book of Genesis, 09:14 I want to show you what happened 09:15 and it's going to happen again. 09:16 Pause. 09:19 The Lord has warned us 09:20 about this event that is going to happen 09:23 and let me get there first 09:26 and I'll tell you exactly what chapter, okay, 09:30 we are in Genesis chapter 6 and 09:34 pause 09:40 "The ungodly multiplied and the Lord... " 09:45 okay, Genesis chapter 6 and let's go ahead and look at 09:49 where am I? 09:52 Yeah, verse 3 09:54 Genesis chapter 6 and verse 3. 09:56 Let's look at this together, 10:00 "And the Lord said... " 10:01 what are the next two words? 10:03 "My Spirit 10:05 shall not strive with man forever" 10:07 I've got the King James Version in my mind... 10:11 "My Spirit shall not always strive with man, 10:14 for that he is indeed flesh: 10:17 yet his days shall be one hundred and twenty years. " 10:22 So, notice what happened there, 10:23 one of the signs of the last days is the Spirit of God... 10:26 is not always going to strive with man. 10:29 What does that mean? 10:30 That the Holy Spirit is not going to always be knocking 10:34 on the doors of man's hearts, 10:35 in other words, the more we reject the Spirit of God, 10:38 the more faint the knock gets. 10:41 The more we reject the voice of the Holy Spirit, 10:45 the more we tune our ears to not even hearing it any longer. 10:50 Like a child that whose mom is saying, "Johnny, Johnny, Johnny... 10:54 all of a sudden, he doesn't hear it any longer 10:57 like when we were visiting in Trinidad once 10:59 a number of years ago 11:01 and we were staying at the home of someone 11:02 and at about 4 o'clock in the morning 11:04 and I... I heard this mega horn 11:07 I mean, it was just this massive... 11:09 what I did not know... there was a mosque not too far away 11:13 and at about 4 o'clock in the morning, 11:16 this sound went out... "ma huara have me nan... " 11:20 and I jumped and I... I picked up the phone 11:24 like I was in America 11:26 and I dialed 9-1-1 and didn't get anything... 11:29 but the Operator came on and I said, 11:33 like I'm, "Can you get me the police... " 11:35 I'm visiting in someone's house in another country... 11:39 and I said, "Did you guys know there's a really loud... 11:42 there's something really near here that is really loud, 11:45 I don't know what it is but it woke me up and it's 4:30" 11:47 and they said, "You'll get used to it. " 11:50 Audience: Laughter. 11:52 You see, there are those people that are so used to these sounds 11:58 that it doesn't really... they sleep right through it. 12:02 There are some people that have ignored 12:04 the voice of the Holy Spirit so long 12:06 that when the voice of the Lord is calling them, 12:09 they sleep right through it. 12:12 That's why one of my favorite texts in the Bible 12:14 is in Romans chapter 13, 12:17 "Knowing the time, that now it is high time 12:21 to awake out of sleep... " 12:23 and so, when you think about the world in which we live, 12:26 what made it so significant in New York 12:29 in just ending the story here, 12:30 is that, no matter how much 12:32 all of these electronic devices cost in New York City, 12:36 none of them were functioning because the power was turned off 12:40 and in the very same way, we could look ever so valuable, 12:45 we could look ever so precious 12:47 but if the power is turned off, we will cease to function. 12:52 So, the focus of tonight's lesson is, 12:54 in order for us to live the empowered life, 12:56 we've got to make sure that the power doesn't come from us, 12:58 that the power comes from somewhere else. 13:02 Now right now, I've got to turn my mind off 13:04 because verses are popping up like popcorn. 13:07 I'm thinking of Acts 1 verse 8 which says, 13:09 "And you shall receive power, 13:11 after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: 13:13 and you shall be witnesses... " 13:14 and now the point is, 13:16 unless the Holy Spirit comes upon us, 13:17 we can't be witnesses 13:18 and witnessing begins not just outside of your home 13:21 but it begins where? In your home. 13:24 Witnessing begins first between you and God. 13:26 God witnesses your life... 13:28 "You shall be witnesses to Me not just for Me. " 13:33 So, tonight I want to go to our first question tonight... 13:36 talking about the importance of power in our lives, 13:38 in order for us to live a spiritual life in a natural body 13:41 we've got to find power somewhere else 13:45 and let me tell you what I mean, 13:47 in New York City, the lights in that Pool Hall... 13:49 the power that we thought was in that building, 13:52 but we learned that night... the power didn't start there. 13:56 It started from some major power grid 13:58 and I don't remember where it was 14:00 but trains got stuck in the tunnels, elevators were stuck 14:05 that the power wasn't in that location, 14:07 it was somewhere else. 14:08 So, let's not fool ourselves in thinking 14:10 the power is in this location, 14:13 the power is somewhere else. 14:15 Question Number 1, tonight, 14:16 here it is, 14:18 "How does the Bible describe the life disconnected from Christ?" 14:23 John chapter 15 verse 5, if you have the lesson tonight, 14:27 I told you I was going to tell you this one typo... 14:29 this is the typo, John chapter 15 verse 5, 14:33 if you downloaded the lesson, 14:34 it's John 15 verse 5... not John 15:15. 14:37 "How does the Bible describe the life disconnected from Christ?" 14:42 Okay, here it is, Jesus speaking... 14:47 and by-the-way, this is really an amazing book 14:51 because if you look at the gospels, 14:52 the words of Christ are often in what color? 14:55 Audience: Red. 14:56 When you read the book of John, 14:57 specifically this part, 14:59 you'll find chapter after chapter 15:00 after chapter after chapter, all in red... 15:02 Christ is speaking very clearly, 15:04 so what is He saying to us? 15:06 The relationship of the believer to Christ. 15:08 He says in John 15 and verse 5, 15:10 let's read this first one together, 15:12 Jesus says... what? 15:13 "I am the vine, you are the branches; 15:18 he who abides in Me and I in him, 15:23 he bears much fruit, 15:26 for apart from Me you can do... " what? 15:29 "nothing" 15:31 he bears much fruit... 15:32 apart from Christ, he can do nothing. 15:35 Can we do anything apart from Christ? 15:37 And the answer is what? Absolutely not. 15:40 Apart from Christ, we can do nothing. 15:44 So, now let's get this, where is the power source 15:46 according to this verse? 15:47 Christ... 15:49 He says, "I am the vine, you are the branches" 15:52 If you think about a... a... a... a... fruit tree, 15:55 let's use the grape... let's use the vineyard for example 15:59 and we lived in Napa... we lived in California, 16:02 Brother Dick, you know exactly, Napa Valley. 16:05 Once my wife and I would take our bikes 16:07 it's one of the most beautiful places in the world... 16:09 Napa Valley... spring day, summer day... 16:12 low humidity... Marlena, no mosquitos, 16:15 you could lie outside at night 16:18 and no mosquito is going to be dive-bombing at you, 16:20 you could... we rode our bikes through the vineyard and stopped 16:23 you know, took a grape here and a grape there, 16:26 but we noticed, for the grapes to grow, Pastor, 16:29 they had to be connected to the vine, 16:31 if the grape is not connected to the vine, 16:35 it has no power in and of itself to mature 16:39 and the proof of that is, when the weather turned bad 16:44 and it rained hard or the wind started blowing, 16:46 you could see little tiny grapes on the ground 16:48 all dried up... all rotten... ants eating these grapes up 16:56 and you'll discover 16:57 that the reason why they never matured, Jerry, 16:59 is because they disconnected themselves... 17:01 or they were disconnected from the vine, 17:03 what's the application to us? 17:05 If we don't have a connection with Christ 17:07 on a day-by-day basis, we could be... 17:09 you know what the... by-the-way, 17:10 you know what a raisin is? 17:11 What's a raisin? 17:13 Audience: A dried-up grape. 17:14 A raisin is a grape that never got enough power. 17:18 Laughter... 17:19 So you could be a... you could be a "raisin Christian" 17:21 or you could be a grape, what would you rather be? 17:23 Audience: Grape. 17:25 I'd rather be a grape, see... so, connected to Christ 17:28 now I know that somebody that's a Botanist is going to say, 17:32 "No, a raisin is not a grape that was disconnected... " 17:35 whatever they do to dry them up, I mean, 17:37 okay, I'm not going on that road... 17:39 but the fact of the matter is, when you disconnect, 17:42 those grapes naturally... the ones that are on the ground 17:44 shriveled up and dead 17:46 are the ones that disconnected from the vine. 17:48 So... but the source of power 17:50 is from somewhere else other than us. 17:52 Audience: Amen. 17:54 He is the source of power 17:55 and unlike New York City, that power never goes out. 18:02 Go with me to Matthew chapter 28, 18:04 that power never goes out. 18:06 So, if you want to write the answer, "How much does... 18:08 how does the Bible describe the life disconnected from Christ?" 18:10 put, "I can do nothing... 18:14 I can do nothing... " let's make it personal. 18:17 Let's go to Matthew... 18:19 Matthew 28... 18:22 pause... 18:27 pause 18:32 okay, 18:36 and once again what I like about this 18:40 I'm a King-James-Version person in my head 18:43 Matthew 28:18 18:45 Jesus came and spoke to them saying, 18:49 "All... " what? "All power or authority" 18:52 the word there, "Power and authority" 18:54 are synonymous 18:56 but it's not just authority in the sense of... 18:58 I like the Greek word that's used there, 19:00 the word that's used there is: Dunamis. 19:02 When I think of "Dunamis" 19:05 when I think of dynamite... I don't think of authority, 19:06 what do I think of? Power... right? 19:09 Is that powerful? 19:10 "He has a lot of dynamite in it. " 19:12 You don't say, "There's a lot of authority in it" 19:13 when you throw a dynamite... 19:15 when you throw a grenade, you don't want authority, 19:17 you want... what? Power. 19:18 So, in the very same way, I like the word "power" there 19:21 better than the word "authority" 19:22 when in fact it also means authority, 19:24 what that word is in essence saying here, is: 19:26 "All authority has been given to Him. " 19:28 So let's go back to the power source. 19:30 We don't have any on our own 19:32 but where does all the power reside? 19:34 All the power resides in Christ. 19:36 So, therefore, if you put on Christ on a day-by-day basis, 19:40 what are you actually encasing yourself in? 19:43 Huh... 19:44 His power... you got to... 19:47 when... when the Bible says, "Put on the Lord Jesus Christ" 19:50 put... what? on the Lord Jesus Christ... 19:53 and make no provision for the flesh... 19:56 when you put on the Lord Jesus Christ daily. 19:58 you're connecting yourself to the power grid. 20:01 You're connecting yourself to a source 20:04 that knows no power outages. 20:06 The only way the power is going to go out, 20:09 is if you disconnect... 20:11 is if you separate... 20:12 is if you pull apart... 20:14 I remember when I got my first computer, 20:16 and let's go back to John chapter 15 20:19 because we're going to go to the next question in just a moment, 20:21 when I got my first computer, 20:22 we were living up in the mountains of northern California 20:24 pastoring a church in Weaverville, California 20:27 2,500 feet above sea level, 20:28 and David, this was the funniest thing, 20:31 pause... 20:32 I got my first computer... internet was... 20:35 internet was 20:37 internet was, 20:40 not even internet... 20:42 you know it was like, 14... 4... 20:48 14... 4 K wasn't even the internet speed, 20:51 the most you could download is just... 20:55 you pray for there to be a connection back than 20:58 but I got my first computer, a Tandy computer... 21:01 it wasn't Windows... it wasn't Mac... 21:03 it was just DOS... 21:04 and I put that whole thing together 21:07 and I was so excited about it, my first computer... 21:10 by-the-way, why I remember that well 21:12 was because I had a motorcycle also 21:14 and my wife said, 21:16 "Okay, if you're going to get a motorcycle... 21:18 if you're going to get a computer, 21:19 you got to get rid of the motorcycle 21:21 because you can't pay for both of them" 21:24 and we were only making $500 a month 21:26 so that was a logical deduction, 21:28 what do you think? 21:29 So, I said, "Well, I think I can live longer with a computer 21:32 than with a motorcycle" 21:34 so I got rid of my Honda Nighthawk 21:37 candy red... shiny red helmet... 21:40 driving through the mountains of California... 21:42 but I'm still alive today that's a good thing. 21:45 So I put this computer together, made all the connections... 21:49 printed to the main tower, monitored the main tower, 21:51 "Honey, come here, check this out" 21:53 and I called her in and I... pyeeek... nothing... 21:59 pause 22:01 and I opened the Manual... 22:02 read it... 22:08 opened the Manual... 22:11 "Okay, that's connected... that's connected, 22:13 that's connected that's connected... " 22:15 pressed the "on" button 22:17 pressed it again... 22:18 nothing... 22:20 pause 22:22 I said, "Honey, they sent me a bad computer. " 22:25 Didn't I say that? 22:26 Until I thought... it's like the Lord said, 22:30 "Check the plug. " 22:32 Audience: Laughter. 22:34 And I pulled out my homemade table 22:37 and behind the wall, there was no connection. 22:43 I was blaming the condition of the computer on the company 22:50 but I hadn't made a connection. 22:53 This is a powerful spiritual... 22:55 we can blame our condition on the company 22:58 but they didn't make the mistake... 23:01 I didn't make the connection. 23:03 So, we cannot blame the Lord for the condition of our lives 23:07 if we haven't made the connection. 23:10 Look at the next question, got to make the connection... 23:13 very important... 23:14 Question Number 2, 23:16 "What is the essential element that validates our connection?" 23:21 John 15 and this time we're going to go to verse 7. 23:26 John 15 verse 7, 23:29 not a ton of difference from verse 5 23:31 but I just want to go to verse 7. 23:34 I have that... that option. 23:38 What is the essential element that validates our connection? 23:42 All right, here it is, John 15 and verse 7 23:45 and the Bible reads as follows, it says, 23:49 "If you abide... " where? 23:51 "in me, and... " my what? 23:54 "words abide in you, 23:57 you will ask what you desire, and... " what? 23:59 "it shall be done for you. " 24:02 Isn't that huge? So what's in essence being said 24:05 now I want to... I want to go ahead and speak to the... 24:09 the single word... words... 24:12 how does the Word of God abide in us? 24:14 Somebody tell me. 24:16 Huh... 24:17 By reading it... by what else? 24:19 Listening... what else? 24:22 I'm looking for another word, another word... 24:24 another word... reading it, listening... what else? 24:26 applying it... what else? 24:28 Speaking it... what else? 24:31 sharing it... what else? 24:33 living it... what else? 24:35 Believing it... what else? 24:37 there's a singular word used by Timothy... study... 24:42 let's say that word together, "Study... " 24:45 because you can read the Word but not study it. 24:48 There are people that have Bible Reading Plans 24:50 but they don't study it. 24:52 You got to study... 24:54 I was talking to somebody a few nights ago, 24:56 my wife and I actually were having a conversation with him 24:58 and they were saying, "You know, 24:59 our church has a lot of things but we don't have Bible study. " 25:02 We don't study our Bibles 25:04 and if you really look at the Christian world now-a-days 25:06 one of the reasons why the condition exists 25:08 the way it does in Christianity, 25:09 is because people don't study the Word. 25:12 The Bible says, "Study to show yourself approved unto God, 25:16 a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, 25:19 rightly dividing the word of truth. " 25:21 So, when the Word of God abides in you, 25:23 it usually gets there 25:25 and let me just make this very clear... 25:26 you can't read the Bible for three minutes 25:28 and expect it to abide in you. 25:31 You can't run past the soda machine 25:34 and get something to drink. 25:35 You got to stay there... you got to connect... 25:38 you cannot drive through a gas station 25:40 and get your car filled up, right? 25:43 And you can't have a seven-course meal 25:45 in three minutes. 25:46 The Word of God is the book that we have to abide in 25:49 and you know what's the problem with Society today? 25:52 Everything is instant. 25:54 Commercials are instant, Programs are instant, 25:57 there are sermons now-a-days that have been shot down... 26:02 instant sermons... they say. 26:03 People's attention span is only 20 minutes 26:05 I don't believe that 26:07 because most of them watch the Super Blow. 26:08 Am I right? 26:10 Well, why don't they just watch 20 minutes of the Super Bowl 26:13 and turn it off... the rest of the game doesn't really matter. 26:15 So, it's not necessarily true, 26:18 here's the reason why I believe people have a 20-minute 26:21 attention span for spiritual things, 26:23 because they don't feed themselves with spiritual things 26:27 therefore, they don't want to stay 26:29 in the presence of God too long 26:30 pause 26:32 because if you feed yourself with spiritual things, 26:34 you want to go back you say, "Wow!" 26:36 How many guys go to electronic stores for 20 minutes? 26:39 How many women go to shoe stores for 20 minutes? 26:42 See... whatever... 26:44 how many... how many people go to Art Stores 26:46 if you're an artist for 20 minutes? 26:48 and how many play... 26:49 how many kids play video games for 20 minutes? 26:52 How many kids text only 20 minutes a day? 26:54 Think about the reality of that. 26:57 The church is crippled and insipid 26:59 because people don't spend time abiding in God's Word. 27:03 So if you can... if you have to fill your car up, 27:06 you'd better have more than a minute, am I right? 27:09 Robert, you've got to have more than a minute... 27:12 he's a mechanic... 27:13 anybody sensible knows it takes more than a minute 27:16 to fill up a tank that's almost empty to full... 27:19 in the very same way, the life that we live... 27:22 every day, we have to spend time abiding in the Word 27:25 and you know what? 27:26 It's not natural... does anybody know that? 27:28 It's not natural... it doesn't... 27:30 you don't wake up in the morning unless you've nurtured yourself 27:33 to the point where it's a habit, 27:34 you don't necessarily wake up in the morning and say, 27:36 "You know what? 27:37 I need to spend a half hour in my Bible" 27:42 because the nature that we have wants to just get up and go. 27:48 I'm a Type A Personality... 27:50 I have to... I have to command myself 27:53 to not get up and run, Pastors, am I right? 27:56 When pastors wake up, they think of all the things... 27:59 got to call this person... got to make that connection... 28:01 this Bible Study... that hospital visit... 28:02 I got to pray... 28:04 I've got to make sure the lesson is ready for tonight, 28:05 I got to... 28:06 and pastors sometimes get so busy feeding everybody else, 28:10 isn't that right... true... Pastor? 28:11 That they don't take time to feed themselves 28:14 and so, here we are, emaciated and starving 28:17 feeding somebody else, you're really... 28:20 that's why I understand... 28:21 this phrase may not fit in everybody's life 28:24 but it says, "Never trust a skinny cook" 28:27 Audience: Laughter. 28:29 Now, apply that only as you like, 28:31 but in the Italian world, you know, 28:33 if the lady is hefty and nice mamma mia... 28:37 you know... they say, "She spends time in the kitchen 28:39 she really cooks good" 28:41 the point of the matter... 28:42 if you were emaciated spiritually, 28:44 you can't really help anybody else out. 28:46 If you feel weak and you can't make it through the day, 28:50 how... how can you be spiritually weak 28:52 and go give a Bible Study? 28:54 You got to abide in the Word of God 28:56 so what's the answer? 28:58 "What is the essential element that validates our connection?" 29:01 Abide in the Word... 29:03 abide in the Word. 29:05 Jesus is the Word... abide in Christ, 29:08 and His living Word... His living Word... 29:11 and this... the written Word. 29:12 Abide in Christ and in the study of His Word. 29:15 All right, that's what you have to do, 29:18 if you do one without doing the other, 29:20 and you know... the reason why that... 29:22 there are some people that say, "I abide in Christ" 29:24 but you can't just say you abide in Christ 29:28 the validating connection is, "I'm studying the Word of God. " 29:33 Got to keep the Word of God with you. 29:35 Okay... that's right... 29:38 "If you abide in me... " Christ... 29:41 "and My words abide in you" the connection... 29:44 "you will ask what you desire and it shall be done for you. " 29:47 You know what? 29:48 And there's something else I want to add here because 29:50 I don't want people to think that 29:52 you know, you call God and say, 29:53 "Well, God I need a... " 29:54 and He doesn't give it to you, 29:56 what that in essence also teaches us 29:58 when you abide in the Word of God, 30:00 it teaches you what to ask for. 30:02 Am I right? 30:04 It's like... if you go to... if you go to... 30:07 if you go to Best Buy... 30:09 I'm hoping I'm doing this right, 30:12 if you go to Best Buy which is an electronics store, 30:14 if you go to Best Buy to buy transmission, 30:16 would you be able to get one? 30:18 Okay... if you've been in... 30:20 if you've stayed in Best Buy long enough, 30:22 you will know what you cannot get in Best Buy. 30:25 If you stay in the Word of God long enough, 30:27 you'll know what not to ask for 30:29 because it's not going to be given. 30:31 So, that's what I want to make very, very clear. 30:33 Some people will say, "Well, I've been in Word 30:35 and I've been asking all these things 30:36 and God's not listening. " 30:37 Because you're in Best Buy asking for transmission. 30:40 Pause. 30:41 God's Word also teaches you what to ask for. 30:44 He will supply all of your need, 30:46 He'll give you sometimes the desires of your heart 30:49 but you've got to know what to ask for 30:51 and the Word of God will tell you what that is 30:53 because the Word of God is not carnal... 30:55 sometimes we use the Word of God to try to ask for carnal things. 30:59 The Word of God is not here to satisfy the flesh. 31:02 Sometimes we say, 31:04 "Okay Lord, I study my lesson every day, 31:06 I gave out tracts, I did this... I did that... 31:10 now, could I get that bike?" 31:12 Pause. 31:13 God doesn't work that way, 31:16 don't... don't use God to connect yourself 31:19 to fleshy, lustful things, 31:21 as a matter-of-fact, in the Book of James, 31:23 he says, one of the reasons why we don't have... 31:25 is not only because we don't ask but we ask amiss... 31:28 just spend it on ourselves... 31:31 so we say, "God, I need 300 bucks... 31:33 that's how much that TV costs. " 31:34 Audience: Laughter. 31:36 And God says, "You ain't gettin 300 bucks 31:37 whenever you turn... whenever you return an honest tithe. " 31:41 See... and some people hold back from God 31:45 to try to get something that's going to go out of style 31:47 in a matter of months... 31:49 because they're not abiding in the Word of God. 31:50 If you abide in God's Word, 31:52 it also teaches you what not to ask for 31:54 and what to ask for. 31:56 All right, so the answer is, "Abide in God and His Word. " 31:58 Question Number 3... Question Number 3, 32:01 "In what way does the apostle Peter describe 32:06 the impact of the Word? 32:08 In what way does the Apostle Peter describe 32:12 the impact of the Word? 32:13 Everything we do should have an impact. 32:16 As a matter-of-fact, 32:18 if what you do does not have an impact, 32:20 then you're wasting your time, 32:21 the Bible wants us to live lives that have an impact. 32:26 The Bible wants us to live lives that make a difference. 32:30 The Word of God impacts us 32:32 and then our lives impact someone else. 32:35 See ourselves in the chain of events that transpire 32:39 for the purpose of building your life up... 32:41 that you may build somebody else up. 32:43 I think the phrase is this way, "No man is an island" 32:46 and when the Bible talks about even asking for gifts, 32:49 when you read the book of Romans chapter 12, 32:51 when you read 1st Corinthians chapter 14, 32:55 it talks about... "Desire the best gift" 32:57 and what is that? 32:58 "That you might edify somebody. " 32:59 So, how does Peter describe the impact of God's Word? 33:04 1st Peter Chapter 1 and look at verses 22 and 23, 33:08 I think most of you turned there already, 33:10 let's look at it together, 33:11 it's on the screen... here we are, 33:12 It says, "Since you have... " done what? 33:15 "purified your souls in obeying the truth 33:18 through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, 33:22 love one another fervently with a... " 33:25 what kind of heart? 33:26 "With a pure heart having been born again" 33:30 and I like this... 33:31 "not of corruptible seed but... " what kind? 33:33 "incorruptible... " 33:35 get this, "through the word of God 33:39 which... " does what? 33:40 "lives and abides... " for how long? 33:43 "Forever. " 33:45 You know why the Word of God lives and abides forever? 33:47 Because the Word of God is God's Word. 33:49 If God is around forever, 33:51 how long is His Word going to be around? 33:53 Forever... so here's the key, 33:54 if I plan on living forever, 33:56 I need to get in harmony with those things 33:57 that are going to live forever. 33:58 God and His Word... 34:00 when you read Revelation, 34:02 when Jesus comes back, 34:04 He's going to have written on His thigh, 34:05 the Word of God. 34:07 Not only the Word of God personified, 34:10 but the Word of God is going to be coming from His mouth 34:13 a two-edged sword... 34:15 the Word of God... 34:17 so, if you think about this, the impact... 34:19 "In what way does the Apostle Peter describe 34:22 the impact of the Word? 34:23 How does he describe the impact? 34:25 Pause. 34:28 How does he describe the impact? 34:30 Huh? Say it again... 34:32 "Born again incorruptibly" 34:37 "Born" the Word of God leads us to a born-again experience. 34:43 Born again... not of the corruptible seed 34:45 but incorruptible... how? 34:47 Through the Word of God. 34:48 Born again... 34:50 pause 34:53 I think the most important piece of equipment we have today 34:57 in our arsenal is the Word of God. 34:59 Pause. 35:00 When you look at the entire armor of God... 35:03 the Word of God is the only offensive weapon that's there. 35:06 You have to have the Word of God in order to live... 35:08 and you know what? Let me encourage young people 35:11 because young people now-a-days... 35:12 as we get older... as Christians we get older 35:15 you know, and we hit our 20s and our 30s 35:18 and our 40s and our 50s 35:20 and the numbers go on... 60s and 70s 35:22 and God blesses those in their 80s 35:23 and if you're in the 90s you are way blessed 35:26 and if you get a 100... you are triple blessed 35:29 but one of the things that happens as we get older 35:32 and this is true... 35:33 one of the reasons why God allows... 35:36 one of the reasons why age is a blessing 35:38 is because as we get older, 35:40 all of a sudden, we begin to become less frivolous 35:43 and all of a sudden, life comes into focus. 35:47 We start thinking of the word like, "Legacy" 35:51 and what will people remember of me... when I'm gone? 35:56 We start thinking of those ways... 35:57 what can I do that's going to make a difference 36:01 and I've discovered that the older a person is, 36:04 the more he or she... that is... if they're Christian 36:07 the more he or she studies and abides in the Word of God. 36:11 Young people think they are going to be around all the time, 36:14 so they think they have more time 36:17 before they start studying the Word of God 36:18 so let me... my... my point here is 36:21 that young people... teenagers... 36:24 20s... 30s... 36:26 if you don't have a Bible that's becoming very well worn, 36:30 then you are a power plant... 36:32 well let me just change that phrase, 36:34 you're not a power plant, you are a shriveled-up grape. 36:37 You're disconnected from the vine... 36:39 I don't even want to give you a hint 36:40 that you're a power plant, 36:42 you're... you're disconnected... 36:43 you've got to get into the Word of God... 36:45 you've got to have the Word of God with you 36:46 and you know what? Let me also make another point. 36:48 I like to use my iPad 36:50 but nothing replaces having a Bible in your hand. 36:55 Audience: That's true. 36:56 Ain't that right? Because just to touch the pages 36:59 it's like having a... it's like having... 37:02 and here's... here's the perfect analogy... 37:04 what would you rather have in a battle? 37:07 A picture of a sword or an actual sword? 37:09 you've got to have a sword in your hand... 37:12 you can't turn around and say, 37:13 "Back... I got a picture of a sword. " 37:15 Audience: Laughter... 37:17 "I got a sword on my iPad... " 37:18 that's not going to work. 37:20 You've got to have that in your hand... am I right, Dave? 37:22 you've got to have... you've got to have that... 37:24 you've got to be able to pull it out of the sheath. 37:26 Romans did not go to battle with pictures of swords 37:28 and they didn't say, "My friend has a sword" 37:30 they didn't say, "Wait I'll get my sword... 37:31 I'll be right back, you wait here, 37:33 I'll kill you when I get back" 37:34 I'm using "battle" language, 37:35 you cannot go on the battlefield without a sword 37:38 and the more you study the Word of God, 37:40 the more you become proficient with the sword. 37:44 The more the sword is first nature to you... 37:48 "I got it... it's right here... Proverbs... see... " 37:51 you can pull those texts right out of the sky. 37:53 "Here is one that's beautiful, go with me to Proverbs 16... " 37:56 Pause. 38:01 I want to show you some texts that are beautiful 38:02 that you can't find 38:04 unless you're spending time through the Word... 38:06 and by-the-way, 38:08 something we've done in the past... my wife and I, 38:09 as you read through the Word, 38:11 as you read chapter by chapter, verse by verse, 38:13 you know what happens? 38:14 You start finding all those texts 38:16 that you've heard people quote throughout the years, 38:19 now you know where it's found. 38:21 That's why, you have to study the Word of God... 38:24 your fingers have to get used to it, 38:25 Proverbs 16 verse 7, look at this beautiful verse. 38:30 This is a beautiful verse, 38:32 but you just can't find that 38:34 by just flipping through your iPad 38:37 or even your iPhone... 38:39 or whatever device you have or your Droids... 38:41 just let the other market get involved in the conversation, 38:44 look at what it says in verse 7, Proverbs 16, 38:46 "When a man's ways... " what? 38:48 "please the LORD, 38:50 He makes even his enemies to be at peace with him. " 38:53 That's the text I highlighted 38:55 as I was going through the book of Proverbs. 38:58 Another very familiar one, look at Proverbs 16 verse 25, 39:02 another one... these are... these are familiar verses, 39:06 these are familiar verses 39:08 giving you some samples of how beautiful 39:09 the Word of God impacts your life. 39:11 Look at verses... verse 25... have you heard this one before? 39:14 "There's a way that seems right to a man 39:16 but his end is the way of... " what? 39:18 Audience: Death. 39:19 You got to find those as you're turning and flipping 39:23 through the Bible 39:24 and you notice, go back to Proverbs 14 and verse 12, 39:27 you'll see that again... this is a reiterated text, 39:29 pause 39:32 Proverbs 16:25 is also in Proverbs 14 verse 12, 39:35 "There is a way that seems right to a man, 39:38 but its end is the way of... " what? "death" 39:41 you say to yourself, "Well, isn't once enough?" 39:44 No, some people need to hear that more than once 39:47 because you'll hear in chapter 14 and forget it 39:50 you go back to chapter 16 you say, 39:52 "Wait a minute, I've got it now. " 39:54 See God's redundancy of teaching us is not repetition, 39:57 it's not because the prophet didn't write it down, 40:00 it's because something... we didn't get it 40:02 sometimes we don't get it on the first time around, 40:03 right, Pastor? 40:05 Sometimes, we don't get it the first time around, 40:07 here's another one, look at Proverbs 15 and verse 1. 40:09 I'm giving you some familiar ones 40:11 just so that you can see the impact... 40:12 the reason I'm doing this 40:14 is because I want to spark your interest 40:16 in going home and digging for these treasures... 40:19 these gems that we hear about. 40:22 If you'd like to argue, here's one for you. 40:24 Audience: Laughter. 40:26 "A soft answer turns away... " what? 40:28 "wrath... 40:29 but a harsh word stirs up... " what? "anger 40:32 the tongue of the wise uses knowledge rightly 40:35 but the mouth of fools pour forth foolishness. " 40:38 There are some people that just don't know how to stop talking 40:43 pause 40:44 and you say, "Here he comes again, 40:46 go left... he's... he's to the right... " 40:48 because there are some people 40:50 that don't know how to bridle the tongue, 40:51 but even in the points of argument, 40:53 you can't argue by yourself, 40:55 if one's going to be the fire, let one be the water. 40:58 Soft answers. 41:01 You can answer a question by saying, 41:03 "Yes... " 41:05 or you could say, "Of course, what's wrong with you?" 41:09 You can really change the way a person looks 41:12 when you answer that... 41:14 enough of the lessons, let's go back to Question Number 4 41:16 but that's giving you some idea. 41:18 If you find time to study God's Word, 41:20 all of a sudden, these valuable gems will jump out at you. 41:23 There's so much more in the book of Ezekiel and Jeremiah 41:27 but you can't find that... 41:28 I mean, you could find it on an iPad, but it's not the same, 41:33 it's just not the same. 41:36 You know why? Because the Bible has a... 41:38 a... a tangible feeling to it 41:40 but the iPad... 41:43 let the blind man teach you... 41:47 a blind man does not use an iPad to read his Bible, 41:50 pause 41:52 he has to feel it... let's learn that lesson... 41:55 let the Word of God be something you handle. 41:57 Number 4, here it is, 41:59 "What two descriptions does the Bible give to... to God's Word?" 42:05 to God's Word... 42:07 What two... Hebrews 4 verse 12... 42:11 I just gave you the answer a moment ago 42:13 so let's go to Hebrews 4:12. 42:15 Hebrews chapter 4 verse 12. 42:17 Let me now show it to you very quickly... 42:20 Hebrews 4 verse 12, I think you saw it already, 42:23 okay... Hebrews 4 verse 12. 42:28 Pause... 42:32 "What two descriptions does the Bible give to God's Word?" 42:35 Okay... 42:37 Since I already cracked the egg, 42:41 let me go ahead and give you the answer, you ready? 42:43 Hebrews 4:12, here it is. 42:45 "For the word of God is living and powerful, 42:52 and sharper... " 42:53 it's actually giving three... 42:55 "living and powerful, and sharper 42:59 than any two-edged sword, 43:01 piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, 43:06 and of joints and marrow 43:10 and is a discerner of the thoughts 43:14 and intents of the heart. " 43:17 Now, you know what that means? 43:19 Not only is the Bible letting you know what you think 43:25 but I found it even more of a benefit to me as a... 43:29 as a Pastor... as a Counselor... 43:32 sometimes I want to learn how to handle a certain situation, 43:35 I let the Bible plant... 43:37 I let the Bible guide my thoughts... 43:40 I let the Bible govern my intentions. 43:43 So, you're dealing with a particular difficulty 43:46 and you say, "What should I think about this?" 43:49 And then you read the Bible and the Bible gives instruction 43:53 and so you're now walking into a situation 43:55 with all your thoughts being molded and governed 43:57 by the Word of God, 43:58 not only that, sometimes I read a particular text 44:01 like the one we just read there in Proverbs 15, 44:03 "A soft answer turns away... 44:05 turns away wrath... " 44:06 You think, "Oh, this person is really hot-headed... 44:10 I'm going to go ahead and keep all my words really calm 44:12 when I speak to that individual 44:15 but what are the things that the Bible gives us? 44:18 If we go back to that, it says, "The Word of God is... 44:22 write three things down... the Word of God is... what? 44:25 living... and what else? 44:27 powerful... and what else? 44:28 sharper... 44:29 so, I add three things... 44:31 I was just going to pull two... "living and powerful" 44:33 but I like the word "sharper" also 44:35 because we're talking about a sharper focus, 44:37 why leave out "sharp"? 44:39 And the reason for that... 44:41 if you notice it doesn't just say "sharp" 44:42 but it also adds something else, 44:44 "piercing even to the division of soul and spirit. " 44:49 In other words, our intellect and our reasoning capacity... 44:54 our intellect and our reasoning capacity... 44:56 the Bible 44:59 is a book that can make a man that is not very wise... 45:03 the Bible can make a man wise. 45:06 Pause. 45:09 The entrance of the Word gives a... 45:11 as a matter of fact, go with me... 45:13 I'm going to turn there very quick, Psalm 19. 45:15 Pause... 45:19 What I like about this... okay... 45:23 Psalm 19... hmmm... 45:26 verse 7... 45:28 wouldn't know that one hadn't I studied the Bible, right Jill? 45:32 It's another beautiful text, Psalm 19 verse 7. 45:35 Talk about the Word of God... 45:37 how wonderful it is. 45:40 It reads as follows, 45:43 "The Law of the Lord... " is what? 45:45 "Perfect... converting the soul: 45:48 the testimony of the Lord is" what? 45:51 "sure... " come on read the rest of it, 45:54 "making wise the simple. " 45:57 There are some people that I've met that don't have... 46:01 and it goes both ways... 46:03 there are some people that say they have a lot of degrees 46:05 but they are ignorant compared to the Word of God 46:07 and there are some people that don't have any... 46:09 but they are so deep in the Word of God. 46:12 The key is not what we're able to accomplish 46:15 but if the Word of God enters in, 46:16 it truly will fulfill what it says, "Making wise the simple. " 46:21 What that means is, 46:23 you remember what happened in the book of Acts, 46:25 the apostles were seen by the Pharisees as uneducated 46:30 and what else? Unlearned 46:33 but when they saw the power in their lives 46:36 and they heard their words and their preaching, 46:38 they said, "But it's evident that they had been with Jesus" 46:42 because the Word was active in their lives... 46:46 the Word was making an impact on their lives. 46:49 When the Word of God enters our lives, 46:51 it makes us wise. 46:54 You show me a person that studies the Word of God 46:56 I'll show you a person that's becoming wiser by the day. 46:59 You show me a person that really dives into the Word of God... 47:02 as a matter-of-fact, I know somebody who once said, 47:04 and this is a few years ago, 47:06 they were listening to a Bible Study 47:08 and they said to me, 47:11 "If I could just download your head into my head... " 47:17 I said, "It will take a long time" 47:19 but the point of the matter is, you can have the same experience 47:23 if the more time you spend in God's Word, 47:27 the more your mind begins to expand... 47:30 there's a term in the... in the chiropractic world called 47:34 "Myofascial Release" 47:37 that's a phrase that's often used, 47:38 what that means is the muscle when... when it's not active... 47:42 it creates somewhat of a webbing 47:43 and in order for that muscle to become supple again, 47:47 you got to break the webbing that restricts it, 47:49 I know because I'm working on that now every night 47:51 still working on recovering the full range of my singing voice 47:55 my... my physical therapist says, 47:57 "You got to work really hard because you got a lot of... 48:00 lot of fascial tissue here... " 48:02 I think that's the phrase where 48:04 the muscles have to become released again. 48:06 What happens is, when the Word of God comes in, 48:09 it softens up the brain to be able to receive... 48:12 and just to give you the physiological impact of that 48:14 as you go to the... as you go to the next question, 48:17 what happens is, when you study a particular thought, 48:19 just following me very carefully I'm going to that one, 48:22 when you study a particular topic in the Bible, 48:24 or when you read your Bible, 48:26 your brain begins to create new pathways 48:30 pause 48:32 anything that you spend a long period of time on... 48:35 your brain begins to fire... just like spark plugs, 48:39 and what happens... 48:40 it starts creating a new groove in your brain 48:43 somebody might say, "Well, your brain is not smooth" 48:45 you don't want a smooth brain, 48:47 a smooth brain belongs to a person 48:49 that does not have a whole lot up there 48:50 but what happens is, you can create new pathways 48:54 and as you continue firing more and more 48:57 on that new pathway, 48:58 it starts branching out and creating connections 49:02 all through the brain, 49:03 and what happens now... 49:05 you find that what was hard six months ago, 49:08 is now easy because you have read 49:12 beyond the feeling of not wanting to read 49:14 and now you've developed such a new pathway 49:17 that the neurons and all the things... I'm not a doctor 49:20 but I know that all those things that you created... 49:23 new pathways are now working the way that they should work 49:27 but six months ago, they were just a spark, 49:30 they were just a seed planted there, 49:33 that seed... huh... that's right, Isaiah 1:8, 49:37 "Learn to do good" 49:39 so, if you don't feel like reading your Bible 49:41 and you want to learn a lot, what should you do? 49:43 Read your Bible... 49:45 like kids say, 49:47 "Mom, I don't like the way the medicine tastes" 49:49 pause 49:50 take it anyway... right... 49:52 the Word of God sometimes is like good medicine, 49:54 it doesn't necessary taste good right away 49:57 but when you see the results, 49:59 "Wow! I'm so glad I took all my antibiotics... 50:02 I'm so glad I drank all my cough medicine" 50:06 that is... not at the same time. 50:08 You got to really... ain't that right? 50:11 And let me also add a balance to this... 50:13 if all you do is study the Bible and nothing else, 50:16 God doesn't just want you to study the Bible, 50:18 He wants you to be able to share it 50:20 because it's in sharing the Bible, 50:22 that really makes another groove 50:24 because now you are responsible for somebody else learning 50:28 what you have learned 50:29 and if you make a mistake, 50:30 you can go back and rediscover that 50:32 and share that again 50:33 and all of a sudden, you'll begin to see, 50:35 "Wow! I'm learning things and I'm able to do things now 50:39 that I was not able to do naturally. " 50:41 That's where that groove comes in, 50:42 that's why spending time in God's Word really matters. 50:44 Isaiah 1:17... okay let's go to that one, 50:48 Isaiah 1:17... my wife told me to do that 50:51 and if you've been married 29 years, 50:52 you do what your wife says. 50:54 Pause. 50:57 Oh, yeah, Isaiah 1:17 is... "Learn to do good" 51:00 that's what she was telling me... 51:01 so you don't have to necessarily turn there, 51:03 Isaiah 1 and verse 17, "Learn to do good. " 51:06 Let's go to Question Number 5, 51:08 Question Number 5... 51:10 here we are... "What two things does Jesus connect 51:14 to an unproductive mind?" 51:17 What two things does Jesus connect to an unproductive mind? 51:24 Pause. 51:27 Matthew 22 verse 29... 51:29 Matthew 22 verse 29, 51:33 pause 51:35 He connects two things to an unproductive mind. 51:36 Pause. 51:38 By-the-way, this statement comes in the form of a rebuke, 51:41 but it says, very carefully, 51:45 "Jesus answered and said to them, 51:49 'You are mistaken... " and why? 51:52 "not knowing the Scriptures nor the power of God. " 51:58 You don't have knowledge of the Word, 51:59 and the Holy Spirit is not active in your life 52:01 in the way that He should be. 52:03 You got to know the Scriptures and you have to also have 52:06 an understanding and experience 52:08 with the power of God in your life. 52:10 Power is not something that's arbitrarily there for us to use, 52:14 God is not saying, 52:15 "walking around talking about you're powerful" 52:17 and... "I can do anything... " 52:18 but He's saying, "No... 52:20 if the Scripture is developing your mind and your life, 52:22 you'll experience the power of God in your life. " 52:25 It comes through the study of God's Word 52:27 but the reason why mistakes often occur 52:29 is because we don't know the Scriptures 52:32 nor the power of God 52:35 and when you put that in modern context today, 52:38 there are a lot of people that say, 52:39 "I'm filled with the Spirit 52:41 but I don't know the Bible. " 52:44 Come on David, is there such a thing? 52:45 David: No. 52:47 You cannot be filled with the Spirit... 52:49 filled... and not know the Bible. 52:52 It's not possible. 52:54 It's like saying, "I'm out of gas 52:56 but my car has no fuel now look at it... 52:58 'Hey, hey, Robert, isn't that on full?'" 53:01 Robert: Yeah. 53:02 If it's got fuel... 53:04 unless there's some other connection that's wrong... 53:06 you've got enough... you've got enough to get you started. 53:11 To put that back in the context of where it is, 53:13 you cannot say you're filled by the Spirit, 53:16 if you don't have a knowledge of God's Word 53:18 and there are so many Christians now-a-days, 53:20 "I'm walking in the Spirit... " "I'm living in the... " 53:22 "I'm singing in the Spirit... praying in the Spirit... 53:24 but I don't know what the Bible says. " 53:26 That's not possible. 53:28 Look at John 16 very carefully. 53:30 The nice thing about our study is, 53:32 we don't have to end it all tonight 53:34 but I want you to see the connection 53:36 and so, if you really know the Spirit... 53:39 if you are in the Spirit... 53:41 when the Lord talked about... 53:43 when the Bible speaks about praying... 53:45 it says, "Praying in the Spirit and with understanding. " 53:48 Okay, where did I say to turn? 53:51 Audience: John 16... 53:52 I thought so, just was checking. 53:55 John 16 verse 13, okay, 54:00 this is what the Spirit does, John 16:13, 54:05 "However, when He the Spirit of... " what? 54:10 truth... " 54:11 you can't say you're in the Spirit and not want the truth, 54:14 it's just not possible... it's an invalid connection. 54:17 "However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, 54:21 He will guide you into... " most truth... 54:23 Audience: All truth. 54:24 Pastor: Some truth... Audience: All... 54:26 Pastor: Say that word again, "All... " 54:28 "He will guide you into all truth; 54:31 for He will not speak on His own authority, 54:34 but whatever He hears He will speak; 54:37 and He will... " what? 54:39 "tell you things to come. " 54:40 But there's something else I want you to get here in verse 14 54:43 "He will glorify Me, 54:45 for He will take of what is Mine and declare it to you. " 54:49 Some people glorify the Spirit 54:51 when Jesus is to be the One that is to be glorified, 54:55 get that... 54:56 so they say, "Oh, I got this Spirit... 54:58 I'm praying for the um and the Spirit. " 54:59 Well, wait a minute... wait... the Spirit glorifies Christ, 55:02 The Spirit doesn't glorify the Spirit. 55:05 You got to pray for the Spirit, 55:07 and it doesn't... the Bible doesn't say, 55:08 "And if I... and if I, the Holy Spirit, be lifted up" 55:12 the Spirit leads us to lift up Christ, all right, 55:16 so here's the answer to Number 5: 55:18 What two things does Jesus connect to an unproductive mind? 55:21 Not knowing the Scriptures 55:23 and not being connected to the power of God 55:26 that is the Spirit of God active in our lives. 55:29 All right, let's go to Number 6, very quick one we can cover, 55:33 I think you all know the answer to this one already, 55:35 but it's one of our questions, 55:37 "After we commit our lives to Jesus, 55:40 what gift does He impart to us?" 55:44 After we commit our lives to Jesus 55:47 what gift does He impart to us? 55:50 We're going to Acts 1 and verse 8. 55:52 Acts 1 and verse 8. 55:55 Those of you who are very familiar with your Bible, 55:58 you know exactly what that is, all right, 56:01 but notice the pattern here very, very carefully. 56:03 Acts 1 verse 8, and it reads as follows, 56:06 "But you shall receive... " what? 56:11 "power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you" 56:16 and what's going to happen when the power comes into your life? 56:19 "and you shall be... " what? 56:21 "witnesses to Me... 56:24 to Me in Jerusalem, and... " what else? 56:29 "and all Judea... " and what else? 56:31 "and Samaria... " and then... 56:33 "to the end of the earth. " 56:35 So, get the process now, 56:37 first of all, the first person 56:40 that's going to be examining your life, 56:42 is Christ. 56:43 "You shall be witnesses to Me and of Me... " 56:47 "You shall be witnesses... " 56:48 Christ is the first one examining... 56:50 and then, notice He says, "begin in Jerusalem... " 56:52 just to give you the proper context, 56:55 Jerusalem is home... 56:56 where do we begin to make the biggest impact? 56:59 In our home life, in our family life... 57:01 that's where the biggest impact comes... 57:03 and then, you go to Judea, 57:06 that's the people that you have a hard time with... right? 57:10 Then you go... when you get past them... 57:12 the people you have a hard time with... 57:14 then you're more mature to go to Samaria... 57:17 the folk that you don't want to even be connected to. 57:20 When you get past them, 57:22 then you're ready to go to the rest of the world. 57:26 Some people want to go from the Upper Room 57:29 to the rest of the world. 57:30 You got to go... Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria... 57:33 then... to the uttermost parts of the earth. 57:35 Okay, is that going to take some time? 57:37 It takes time... but it happens as we continue nurturing 57:40 so here's the answer, 57:41 "After we commit our lives to Jesus, 57:43 what gift does He impart to us?" 57:44 The gift of the Holy Spirit. 57:46 You see, Friends, the empowered life is a life 57:49 that's filled by the power of God's Holy Spirit. 57:52 In order for you to be victorious 57:54 in your attempt to uplift Jesus Christ, 57:57 you've got to pray for the Spirit of God 57:59 and then your life will come into a sharper focus. 58:02 God bless you. |
Revised 2018-11-15