The Bible tells us, "In
the beginning was the Word,
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and the Word was with
God, and the Word was God."
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It says, "To
receive with meekness
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the implanted Word,
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which is able
to save your souls.
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And to be diligent
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to present
yourself approved to God
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rightly dividing
the Word of truth."
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Join us now for the
3ABN Sabbath School Panel.
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Our study today is
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The Holy Spirit
and Spirituality.
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Hello and welcome to
3ABN Sabbath School Panel
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and we are so
excited to be with you today.
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We're glad that
you're joining us.
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Encourage you to
get a Bible, get a pen.
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We're gonna have a
wonderful study today.
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This is the
first quarter of 2017
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which is the Holy
Spirit and Spirituality.
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And if you don't have
one of these study guides,
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you can go to
the internet at absg,
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that stands for
Adult Bible Study Guide,
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absg.adventist.org
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and download one so
that you can study with us.
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Let me quickly
introduce our panel to you.
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And it's just
such a joy to be here
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with my dear friends.
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We're family at
3ABN, truly we are.
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We're glad you're
part of our family.
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But next to me
is Brian Hamilton.
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Then we have Mollie
Steenson, Pastor John Lomacang,
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and Jill Morikone.
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Something that I so appreciate
about each one of these
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and about doing Sabbath
School in a panel is that
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I guarantee you each
person has spent more time
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in preparing their
little ten-minute segment
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than we have time in
this hour to present.
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But it gives us really
great spiritual nuggets.
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We are studying
today lesson number nine
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on the Holy
Spirit and the Church.
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And let's read our
memory text which is
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Ephesians 4:3-6,
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excuse me 3-5, isn't it?
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And we're going to
read this from the NASB.
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"So being diligent to
preserve the unity of the Spirit
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and the bonds of peace
there is one body and one spirit
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just as you are called
in one hope of your calling.
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One Lord, one
faith and one baptism."
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Amen.
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I'm just going
to, I thought that
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the introduction to this
lesson was really brilliant
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and I just want to
kind of paraphrase this.
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What we're studying
is how the Holy Spirit,
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the author made the
point that we usually think of
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how the Holy Spirit
works in us individually
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but He's working to
create a spiritual community,
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so it is the Spirit's
ultimate responsibility
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for the existence of
the church of Christ.
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He says, you know, we think, oh,
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it's our evangelistic
series, it's our mission stories
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but no, it's because of
what the Lord has already done
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and what He continues
to do through the Spirit
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that the church is growing.
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He's creating a
spiritual community
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and that
fellowship has its foundation
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on the written Word of God.
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The same Spirit
inspired those words
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and those words then bring us
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unity in doctrine
and unity in belief.
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So we, the author concludes,
the church would not exist
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without the Holy Spirit's work.
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Any comment?
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It couldn't, it couldn't because
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the Holy Spirit is
the one that Jesus left
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as the overseer of the church.
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Amen.
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He said, I'm leaving
but I'm not gonna leave you
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without a Comforter.
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I'm not gonna leave
you without a Helper.
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He's gonna guide
you and we'll discover
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in which ways, I'll
wait till I get to my part
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which ways the Holy
Spirit continues to guide
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and what His
final aim really is.
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Absolutely. Well said.
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Now before we get into
Sunday's lesson, let's pray.
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We always want to pray
and ask the Holy Spirit
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to guide us in our
lessons in our study.
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Mollie, would you
like to have prayer?
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Sure.
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Holy Father we come before You
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in the name of
Jesus, and we praise You
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and we thank You Lord
for Your grace and Your mercy
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and Your goodness to us.
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We thank You Lord for this
Word that we're studying today.
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This Word that unites us,
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this Word that
illuminates our hearts.
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And Father, this
Word that gives us
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a true
understanding of the person
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of the Lord Jesus Christ.
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I ask God now that by
the power of Your Spirit
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you would open
up all of our hearts
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that as this Word goes forth,
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You'll be implanted in
us Father and change us
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into Your image and likeness,
I pray this in Jesus' name.
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Amen. Amen. Amen.
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Okay, let's look
at Sunday's lesson
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and Sunday's lesson title is
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The Holy Spirit
unites us with Christ.
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You're in Ephesians.
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Just flip over back one chapter
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to Ephesians 3:16 and 17.
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Because I
cannot speak about this
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without looking
at the Scripture.
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This is one of my
favorite Scriptures.
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Paul is writing to the Ephesians
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and he says that
he would grant you,
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praying that God would grant you
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according to the
riches of His glory
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to be
strengthened with might, how?
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Through His
Spirit in the inner man,
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so through the
Spirit indwelling you
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for this purpose,
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that Christ may dwell in
your hearts through faith,
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and then he goes on
that you being rooted
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and grounded in love can
grow up into Christ Jesus.
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But when you think about this,
when Jesus returned to heaven,
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He had something that He
didn't come to earth with.
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What was that?
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He returned to heaven with
a physical body, didn't He?
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He is still the Son
of Man, the Son of God.
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He went with a
body so He can't be
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in all places at all times.
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That's why He told His disciples
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it's better for you that I go
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because if I go, I
will send another Comforter,
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allos parakletos,
one who is just like me.
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So Christ now, we are united
with Christ by the Holy Spirit
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as the Holy Spirit dwells in us,
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Christ lives in
our hearts by faith.
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And I also think of 1
Corinthians 6:17 that says
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"Those who have
been joined to Christ
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are one in Spirit with Him."
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I have to take
that by faith because
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I don't always feel
that I am one in Spirit.
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But our lesson
today is showing us that
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our adoption as
sons and daughters,
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our justification,
our sanctification,
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every thing is received
through our union with Christ.
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He's the foundation.
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So let's look at Ephesians 2:18.
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Brian, why don't
you read that one?
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Ephesians 2:18, "For through Him
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we both have access by
one Spirit to the Father."
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The Him must be Jesus.
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"So through Jesus or
Christ, we both have access
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by one Spirit to the Father."
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And the access of
both, the both refers
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to the Jews and the Gentiles.
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The Jews knew Jesus
through study of His Word.
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They knew Him
through religious ceremonies.
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The Gentiles didn't
have much knowledge of God
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so they both needed
Christ for salvation
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but what I love
about this Scripture,
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through Christ we both
have access by one Spirit.
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It's like the
imagery of a court official
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who is standing
there and ushering you
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into the presence of a king.
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So it is by, it's through Christ
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and what He's done for
us, but it is by the Spirit
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that we are
ushered into His presence.
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I just love that.
So now let's continue.
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Mollie, would you read verse 20,
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we're looking at
Ephesians 2:20-22.
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Ephesians 2:20-22,
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"Having been
built on the foundation
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of the apostles and
prophets, Jesus Christ Himself
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being the chief cornerstone
in whom the whole building
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being fitted together
grows into a holy temple
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in the Lord in whom you
also are being built together
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for a dwelling place
of God in the Spirit."
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So we see here that,
you know what a cornerstone
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in the ancient times?
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There was this
stone that was placed
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where two walls
joined at right angles
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and that stone held
everything together,
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and on that stone
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whoever was the
leader of the country,
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the ruler would
write their name on that
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to let them know he's
the one who's responsible
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for the
construction of this building.
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So Christ is our
cornerstone here.
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But it says that it's
built on the foundation
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of the apostles
and the prophets.
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When we think about
the apostles and prophets,
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would you agree they had
a very unique relationship
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with Jesus.
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And so, because of
their unique relationship,
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Christ gave them His teachings.
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Their writings were
inspired by the Holy Spirit
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and it was their
teachings that became
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the foundation of our Scripture.
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So that is how we are
built on the foundation
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of the apostles
and the prophets.
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Our church is built
on spiritual heritage
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of these teachings.
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It is not built
on the very fluid
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and modern ideology of mankind.
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Which, you know, you
see a lot of churches
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going in that
direction and it's dangerous.
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Or even
tradition, church tradition.
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Absolutely. It's not
built on that either.
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That's absolutely.
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But, also I want to
look there in verse 21
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where it says
that the whole building
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being joined together grows
into a holy temple in the Lord.
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You know, that shows
we're under construction,
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doesn't it?
00:11:08.76\00:11:10.20
And we are, this
construction is being expanded
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by the work of the Holy
Spirit in us and through us.
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And we spent last week
talking about the gifts
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and how these
are for the edifying,
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the building up of the body.
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But then at the
end of this chapter
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then Paul is concluding
that God's dwelling place
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is not the temple in
Jerusalem but it's the church.
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And I would go so far as to say
the church is not a building.
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That's right.
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The church is made up
of living spiritual stones.
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We're all spiritual stones.
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So we might say, "Oh,
that's a beautiful church."
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It's the people
that are the church.
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It's a beautiful people.
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But the building
is just where we go,
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our meeting place which
we go in and out of, right?
00:11:59.45\00:12:02.62
Now let's look at 1 Peter 2
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and we're gonna
look at verses 6 and 7.
00:12:06.59\00:12:10.59
1 Peter 2:6-7.
00:12:10.63\00:12:17.57
John, you want
to read that for us?
00:12:17.60\00:12:19.33
Sure.
00:12:19.37\00:12:20.90
"Therefore it is also
contained in the Scripture,
00:12:20.94\00:12:24.34
'Behold, I lay in
Zion a chief cornerstone,
00:12:24.37\00:12:27.74
elect, precious, and
he who believes on Him
00:12:27.78\00:12:32.21
will by no means
be put to shame.'
00:12:32.25\00:12:36.75
Therefore, to you who
believe, He is precious,
00:12:36.79\00:12:40.92
but to those
who are disobedient,
00:12:40.96\00:12:43.53
'The stone which
the builders rejected
00:12:43.56\00:12:46.70
has become the
chief cornerstone.'"
00:12:46.73\00:12:49.93
What does that say to you John?
00:12:49.96\00:12:51.83
Well, you know,
the believer benefits
00:12:51.87\00:12:54.14
from the cornerstone,
00:12:54.17\00:12:55.50
the
non-believer does not benefit
00:12:55.54\00:12:57.54
from the cornerstone,
00:12:57.57\00:12:58.97
the connection between
00:12:59.01\00:13:01.04
the believer and
Christ is Himself.
00:13:01.08\00:13:04.75
You know, it's a
very unusual picture
00:13:04.78\00:13:06.35
when you think what
connects us together?
00:13:06.38\00:13:08.92
The Holy Spirit is that
one that brings us together.
00:13:08.95\00:13:12.92
But Jesus being
the chief cornerstone,
00:13:12.95\00:13:16.42
He's the one that
holds us together.
00:13:16.46\00:13:19.39
See the work of
the Spirit of God,
00:13:19.43\00:13:20.76
and I remember this
very well in John 16,
00:13:20.80\00:13:23.47
He says the Spirit
even when He comes and does
00:13:23.50\00:13:25.83
all this massive beautiful work.
00:13:25.87\00:13:27.77
He will not speak
on His own authority
00:13:27.80\00:13:29.50
but whatever He
hears, He will speak.
00:13:29.54\00:13:32.17
And so, he's coming
to convey us to Christ,
00:13:32.21\00:13:34.98
not to convey us to himself.
00:13:35.01\00:13:36.54
And that's again we see
the humility of the Godhead.
00:13:36.58\00:13:41.48
Jesus did everything
according to what the Father
00:13:41.52\00:13:44.69
had to say and do.
00:13:44.72\00:13:46.39
The Holy Spirit does everything
to bring glory to Jesus and
00:13:46.42\00:13:49.62
then in the end, God
is going to exalt Christ
00:13:49.66\00:13:53.60
and every knee will bow to Him.
00:13:53.63\00:13:56.63
Now, it's interesting
when you think about this
00:13:56.67\00:13:59.60
that the chief
cornerstone who is so precious,
00:13:59.63\00:14:02.70
so the elect cornerstone of
God became a stumbling stone
00:14:02.74\00:14:08.14
to those who rejected Him,
00:14:08.18\00:14:10.45
so they're not
part of the building
00:14:10.48\00:14:13.28
if they reject Jesus Christ.
00:14:13.31\00:14:14.98
They're not part of the church.
00:14:15.02\00:14:17.82
When you think of
the unity, I'm just going
00:14:17.85\00:14:19.79
to finish with this thought.
00:14:19.82\00:14:21.36
One of my favorite
Scriptures, and you know this,
00:14:21.39\00:14:23.46
I use it quite
often when I sign off
00:14:23.49\00:14:26.29
is in 2 Corinthians 13:14,
00:14:26.33\00:14:32.10
when we have accepted
Christ and His salvation,
00:14:32.13\00:14:36.84
we have a sweet
fellowship with the Holy Spirit.
00:14:36.87\00:14:40.64
And 2
Corinthians 13:14, Paul said,
00:14:40.68\00:14:44.91
"May the grace of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
00:14:44.95\00:14:48.52
the love of the Father
00:14:48.55\00:14:50.99
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
00:14:51.02\00:14:52.75
be with you always."
00:14:52.79\00:14:54.52
So Christ is our foundation.
00:14:54.56\00:14:57.46
The Holy Spirit
unites us with Christ
00:14:57.49\00:15:01.36
and the Holy
Spirit is responsible
00:15:01.40\00:15:04.97
for building up the
church in us and through us.
00:15:05.00\00:15:11.47
All right, Brian, why
don't you take Monday?
00:15:11.51\00:15:14.58
Okay.
00:15:14.61\00:15:16.34
Monday, the lead text for Monday
00:15:16.38\00:15:18.71
was 1 Corinthians 12:13.
00:15:18.75\00:15:23.79
And why don't you
turn there in your Bibles
00:15:23.82\00:15:27.06
and I'll give you just a second,
00:15:27.09\00:15:28.62
1 Corinthians 12:13,
00:15:28.66\00:15:34.83
and this is how it reads,
00:15:34.86\00:15:38.37
"For by one Spirit
00:15:38.40\00:15:41.40
we were all
baptized into one body,"
00:15:41.44\00:15:47.28
then it goes on to
say, whether Jews or Greeks,
00:15:47.31\00:15:50.68
that's in the New
Testament a way of encompassing
00:15:50.71\00:15:54.55
all peoples, all
groups, "Jews or Greeks,
00:15:54.58\00:15:58.95
whether slave or free
00:15:58.99\00:16:01.42
and have all been made
to drink into one Spirit."
00:16:01.46\00:16:06.26
The title for Monday's study is
00:16:06.29\00:16:10.47
The Holy Spirit
unites us through baptism.
00:16:10.50\00:16:16.10
When it says the Holy Spirit,
00:16:16.14\00:16:19.21
this is the third
person of the Godhead
00:16:19.24\00:16:22.54
and its name gives a certain,
00:16:22.58\00:16:26.85
it defines a certain part
of the characteristic of that
00:16:26.88\00:16:30.69
third person of the Godhead.
00:16:30.72\00:16:33.39
And the part that's being
emphasized is his invisibility.
00:16:33.42\00:16:39.43
Because the word
Spirit is the word for breath.
00:16:39.46\00:16:44.53
Whether you go to
the Old Testament,
00:16:44.57\00:16:46.20
New Testament, the
word is the breath.
00:16:46.23\00:16:49.44
It's the invisibleness
of that being, okay?
00:16:49.47\00:16:55.94
Now baptism is a
service that's visible.
00:16:55.98\00:17:02.92
So what we have uniting
here, the invisible Holy Spirit
00:17:02.95\00:17:09.42
unites us
through a visible symbol
00:17:09.46\00:17:13.53
or ordinance, baptism.
00:17:13.56\00:17:16.20
That's right.
00:17:16.23\00:17:17.90
Let me put this
in an example form.
00:17:17.93\00:17:24.31
Diane and I met at
Andrews University.
00:17:24.34\00:17:30.15
I looked
through the picture book
00:17:30.18\00:17:31.51
and I found her
picture in there.
00:17:31.55\00:17:33.72
Circled it and
said, this is the one.
00:17:33.75\00:17:35.38
Yeah.
00:17:35.42\00:17:36.75
And then I went after
her, you know, to try to be,
00:17:36.79\00:17:40.86
to get myself introduced
to this young lady, okay?
00:17:40.89\00:17:46.59
So the first thing that
probably initially attracted me
00:17:46.63\00:17:51.97
was her physical
beauty to me, okay.
00:17:52.00\00:17:57.64
I liked that, there's
nothing wrong with that, okay.
00:17:57.67\00:18:02.11
But as we got
to know each other,
00:18:02.14\00:18:05.51
we became united
00:18:05.55\00:18:08.98
in the invisible
aspects of our being.
00:18:09.02\00:18:14.19
That's where, you
know, our thinking,
00:18:14.22\00:18:16.79
our thoughts are invisible.
00:18:16.83\00:18:19.43
Our emotions, our love,
00:18:19.46\00:18:22.20
our affections, our joys,
00:18:22.23\00:18:25.33
these are all
invisible attributes.
00:18:25.37\00:18:29.00
And so over time,
the invisible attributes
00:18:29.04\00:18:34.74
became more
dominant in uniting us
00:18:34.78\00:18:39.21
than the physical aspects.
00:18:39.25\00:18:42.22
And so when I
look at this title,
00:18:42.25\00:18:45.05
the Holy Spirit
unites us through baptism.
00:18:45.09\00:18:49.59
Here you have this
being who's invisible to us.
00:18:49.62\00:18:54.36
We can't see him,
we can't reach out
00:18:54.40\00:18:56.67
and touch him.
00:18:56.70\00:18:58.03
Okay, he is.
00:18:58.07\00:18:59.40
But he unites
us and he unites us
00:18:59.43\00:19:03.57
through this
very visible service
00:19:03.61\00:19:05.87
that we call baptism.
00:19:05.91\00:19:10.05
And just like what Diane
and I, as we became united,
00:19:10.08\00:19:14.88
we had a public
ceremony called the wedding.
00:19:14.92\00:19:20.76
Did the wedding unite us?
00:19:20.79\00:19:22.46
No. No.
00:19:22.49\00:19:23.83
It was something that
happened before the wedding
00:19:23.86\00:19:26.83
that united us.
00:19:26.86\00:19:28.83
The wedding was the
outward symbol of something
00:19:28.86\00:19:32.73
that had already occurred
between us and within us.
00:19:32.77\00:19:37.11
It was a public
confession as well, wasn't it?
00:19:37.14\00:19:39.14
Yeah. It was.
00:19:39.17\00:19:40.84
So we gave witness to
the love in visible attribute
00:19:40.88\00:19:46.11
that united us,
had already united us
00:19:46.15\00:19:50.05
and so we gave a
public expression to it.
00:19:50.09\00:19:53.82
And so in the Old Testament
00:19:53.86\00:19:57.63
there are many rituals
and symbols in worship.
00:19:57.66\00:20:03.70
But in the New Testament,
00:20:03.73\00:20:06.10
it's like the Lord
stripped all those away
00:20:06.13\00:20:08.97
and there was a reason for it.
00:20:09.00\00:20:10.97
It's very easy
for us as human beings
00:20:11.01\00:20:13.68
to start worshipping the ritual,
00:20:13.71\00:20:16.85
looking to the ritual as
the means of our salvation,
00:20:16.88\00:20:22.78
rather than what
the ritual stands for,
00:20:22.82\00:20:25.65
or what the ritual means.
00:20:25.69\00:20:27.02
Okay?
00:20:27.06\00:20:28.39
So in the New
Testament, it's basically
00:20:28.42\00:20:31.43
the Lord's Supper and baptism.
00:20:31.46\00:20:35.90
So what is this
symbol of baptism all about?
00:20:35.93\00:20:39.63
Let's go to Romans 6.
00:20:39.67\00:20:44.01
Romans 6:3-7.
00:20:44.04\00:20:51.01
And, Mollie, I'll
have you read that for us.
00:20:51.05\00:20:56.42
Okay. Romans 6:3-7.
00:20:56.45\00:21:00.02
All right.
00:21:00.06\00:21:01.39
"Or do you not
know that as many of us
00:21:01.42\00:21:04.39
as were baptized into Christ
were baptized into His death?
00:21:04.43\00:21:09.00
Therefore we were
buried with Him through baptism
00:21:09.03\00:21:12.33
into death that just as
Christ was raised from the dead
00:21:12.37\00:21:17.61
by the glory of the Father,
00:21:17.64\00:21:19.41
even so we also should
walk in newness of life.
00:21:19.44\00:21:22.88
For if we had
been united together
00:21:22.91\00:21:25.28
in the likeness of His
death, certainly we also
00:21:25.31\00:21:28.68
shall be in the
likeness of His resurrection.
00:21:28.72\00:21:31.42
Knowing this that our old
man was crucified with Him
00:21:31.45\00:21:35.36
that the body of sin
might be done away with
00:21:35.39\00:21:38.43
that we should no
longer be slaves of sin,
00:21:38.46\00:21:41.60
for He who has died
has been freed from sin."
00:21:41.63\00:21:46.13
Amen. Amen.
00:21:46.17\00:21:47.54
So this word baptism
and the act of baptism
00:21:47.57\00:21:53.11
has a lot of
meaning and symbolism to us.
00:21:53.14\00:21:57.51
The idea of you go
down into the water
00:21:57.55\00:22:01.98
and are immersed in it.
00:22:02.02\00:22:04.72
Now this is where the
sprinkling won't work.
00:22:04.75\00:22:08.56
No. You know.
00:22:08.59\00:22:09.92
And that's how some
churches do it today,
00:22:09.96\00:22:12.19
it's more convenient
to sprinkle a little bit
00:22:12.23\00:22:14.86
but it loses its
symbolism and the meanings
00:22:14.90\00:22:18.33
behind the act of baptism.
00:22:18.37\00:22:20.84
And so you are, as
it were, laid in a grave
00:22:20.87\00:22:25.01
like Jesus was laid in a tomb
or laid in a grave of baptism
00:22:25.04\00:22:30.48
and then Jesus was resurrected
from that death, that grave
00:22:30.51\00:22:34.92
and He came forth to
life, He stood up, came out.
00:22:34.95\00:22:39.82
So we come out
of the watery grave
00:22:39.85\00:22:43.36
to walk a whole new life.
00:22:43.39\00:22:46.26
And the Holy
Spirit, this invisible being
00:22:46.29\00:22:50.77
of the third
person of the Godhead
00:22:50.80\00:22:53.34
is actively involved
in uniting each person
00:22:53.37\00:22:58.14
who is baptized into a
united body, the church.
00:22:58.17\00:23:02.81
That's how we become
part of a church family.
00:23:02.84\00:23:05.75
It's through baptism.
00:23:05.78\00:23:07.48
I love what you
said that you know it's,
00:23:07.52\00:23:09.38
when you and Diane
were united in spirit
00:23:09.42\00:23:13.05
basically before
you were married,
00:23:13.09\00:23:14.96
because this is,
baptism is symbolic
00:23:14.99\00:23:17.73
of what's already happened.
00:23:17.76\00:23:20.80
So it is dying to self.
00:23:20.83\00:23:23.10
We've already but
really should've been baptized
00:23:23.13\00:23:25.63
into the death of Jesus Christ,
00:23:25.67\00:23:27.40
the dying Himself,
I know, I've been...
00:23:27.44\00:23:29.14
Before we went to
the act of baptism.
00:23:29.17\00:23:30.91
I've been baptized four
times and the fourth time was
00:23:30.94\00:23:34.24
when I knew what it
meant that I was supposed to be
00:23:34.28\00:23:38.15
dying to self and
being resurrected again,
00:23:38.18\00:23:40.85
but baptism is a sign and a seal
00:23:40.88\00:23:43.92
of the crucified
flesh, is it not just like
00:23:43.95\00:23:47.42
when you think that Abraham,
the sign of the covenant
00:23:47.46\00:23:50.59
with him was circumcision.
00:23:50.63\00:23:52.93
Well, baptism is kind of
a circumcision of our heart.
00:23:52.96\00:23:56.73
I mean it's a
sign and a seal of that
00:23:56.77\00:23:58.87
we've been through that.
00:23:58.90\00:24:00.24
Yes, that's right.
00:24:00.27\00:24:04.31
So just to summarize it a bit,
00:24:04.34\00:24:07.18
you have the Holy Spirit
unites us through Christ,
00:24:07.21\00:24:12.31
is that the way
it was, with Christ.
00:24:12.35\00:24:16.58
But the Holy Spirit unites
us through the act of baptism.
00:24:16.62\00:24:23.22
And the entrance to the church
through the body to the family
00:24:23.26\00:24:29.80
is through this
ceremony that we call baptism.
00:24:29.83\00:24:33.17
The way we enter into marriage
is we go through the symbol,
00:24:33.20\00:24:38.64
the ceremony
and it is a wedding,
00:24:38.67\00:24:41.98
and it unites two people
to become one body, one flesh.
00:24:42.01\00:24:48.45
So that was what
I see as the essence
00:24:48.48\00:24:51.65
to our Monday's lesson.
00:24:51.69\00:24:54.32
And, Mollie, we'll
just kind of move on
00:24:54.36\00:24:57.79
toward Tuesday with you.
00:24:57.83\00:24:59.69
Okay.
00:24:59.73\00:25:01.06
On Tuesday I'd
look at, the Holy Spirit
00:25:01.10\00:25:05.53
unites the church
through the Word of God.
00:25:05.57\00:25:09.00
You looked at
baptism, now we're looking at
00:25:09.04\00:25:11.67
the uniting
through the Word of God.
00:25:11.71\00:25:14.11
And the primary means by
which the Holy Spirit unites us
00:25:14.14\00:25:19.98
with Jesus Christ is
through the written Word of God.
00:25:20.02\00:25:23.59
Now that's the
primary way we become united.
00:25:23.62\00:25:26.65
But now you were
talking about baptism.
00:25:26.69\00:25:30.39
When we come out of
darkness and into light,
00:25:30.43\00:25:34.20
what has happened?
00:25:34.23\00:25:35.56
Somebody has
shared the Word with us.
00:25:35.60\00:25:37.97
Somebody has shared
the gospel message with us.
00:25:38.00\00:25:41.17
We're in church and
Pastor Lomacang preaches
00:25:41.20\00:25:44.54
and just our heart is just moved
00:25:44.57\00:25:47.88
that we need to
make Jesus Christ
00:25:47.91\00:25:49.58
the Lord of our life.
00:25:49.61\00:25:51.48
When we come out of
darkness and into light,
00:25:51.51\00:25:53.95
you know what we're likened to?
00:25:53.98\00:25:55.58
Little babies, little children.
00:25:55.62\00:25:57.65
We don't but then
through God's Word,
00:25:57.69\00:26:01.09
as we study God's Word
and we get into that Word,
00:26:01.12\00:26:04.49
what does that Word start doing?
00:26:04.53\00:26:06.43
It starts showing us the
person of the Lord Jesus Christ.
00:26:06.46\00:26:10.67
We take on His
attitudes and His attributes.
00:26:10.70\00:26:14.00
It unites us to Christ
00:26:14.04\00:26:18.17
and when we're united to Christ,
00:26:18.21\00:26:20.04
we're united to the church.
00:26:20.08\00:26:22.28
That's why it's
so vitally important
00:26:22.31\00:26:25.75
that we as Christians,
particularly baby Christians,
00:26:25.78\00:26:29.22
everybody walks
at their own level.
00:26:29.25\00:26:32.55
You know the
longer you serve the Lord,
00:26:32.59\00:26:35.96
the more like Him you should be.
00:26:35.99\00:26:38.39
And as you are
reading God's Word
00:26:38.43\00:26:42.63
and studying God's Word,
00:26:42.66\00:26:44.47
then you are being
more united with Christ
00:26:44.50\00:26:48.20
through His Word.
00:26:48.24\00:26:49.57
It's vitally important
that we study God's Word
00:26:49.60\00:26:52.17
that we spend
timei n God's Word,
00:26:52.21\00:26:54.34
but it's not just
enough to read it.
00:26:54.38\00:26:57.45
Shelley, Jill, Pastor
Lomacang and you Brian,
00:26:57.48\00:27:00.62
there are so
many that have hidden
00:27:00.65\00:27:03.65
God's Word in their heart
00:27:03.69\00:27:05.39
and I believe that's what
the Psalmist said in 119:11.
00:27:05.42\00:27:08.82
You know, what that means?
You memorize God's Scripture.
00:27:08.86\00:27:12.13
Now I know God's Word,
but I have a short coming,
00:27:12.16\00:27:15.76
I'll just
confess my shortcoming.
00:27:15.80\00:27:17.73
It's not that I don't know
it, it's not that I don't know
00:27:17.77\00:27:20.34
what book it's in and
where it's located in my Bible,
00:27:20.37\00:27:23.84
but I can't always tell
you the chapter and the verse,
00:27:23.87\00:27:27.58
but I know it's
there and usually I can,
00:27:27.61\00:27:30.08
you know I could
quote King James.
00:27:30.11\00:27:32.01
For years I've
quoted King James.
00:27:32.05\00:27:34.08
Then I started
studying the Amplified Bible,
00:27:34.12\00:27:36.62
it got me all messed up.
00:27:36.65\00:27:37.99
Now I quote King Amplified
sometimes and it gets better.
00:27:38.02\00:27:42.59
But we hide God's
Word in our heart. Why?
00:27:42.62\00:27:45.93
Why does the Psalmist
say that you hide God's Word,
00:27:45.96\00:27:48.70
memorize God's Word, get
what God's Word in your heart?
00:27:48.73\00:27:51.70
It's so that we
won't sin against God.
00:27:51.73\00:27:56.81
I'm looking in Acts 17:11.
00:27:56.84\00:28:01.21
And Paul is
commending his disciples
00:28:01.24\00:28:05.85
and here is what he says.
00:28:05.88\00:28:08.32
"These were more fair minded
than those in Thessalonica
00:28:08.35\00:28:14.26
and that they received
the Word with all readiness."
00:28:14.29\00:28:17.49
They received God's
Word with all readiness
00:28:17.53\00:28:20.83
and searched the
Scriptures how often?
00:28:20.86\00:28:23.53
Daily.
00:28:23.57\00:28:25.07
They searched
the Scriptures daily
00:28:25.10\00:28:27.14
to find out whether
these things were so.
00:28:27.17\00:28:29.24
And I want to encourage
you in that because you know
00:28:29.27\00:28:33.27
we hear God's
Word and it sounds good
00:28:33.31\00:28:37.81
but these men, he's addressing
and women here in Acts,
00:28:37.85\00:28:42.95
not only did they hear the Word
and receive it with readiness,
00:28:42.98\00:28:46.86
they said, now, wait a
minute, let me make sure that
00:28:46.89\00:28:50.99
what I'm being
taught is the truth.
00:28:51.03\00:28:53.40
Paul commends them.
00:28:53.43\00:28:55.03
They had a ready heart,
00:28:55.06\00:28:56.40
a willing heart
they wanted to learn,
00:28:56.43\00:28:58.20
but then they took
it one step forward,
00:28:58.23\00:29:00.84
they searched those
Scriptures to make sure that
00:29:00.87\00:29:03.91
every word that Pastor
Lomacang preached was right.
00:29:03.94\00:29:07.41
And we encourage that.
00:29:07.44\00:29:09.44
And then I want
to take us to John 5.
00:29:09.48\00:29:14.78
Now what has just
happened here in John 5?
00:29:14.82\00:29:20.12
Paul is address... Pardon me
00:29:20.16\00:29:22.42
John is addressing...
00:29:22.46\00:29:25.69
Jesus is
addressing here in John,
00:29:25.73\00:29:27.80
the Jews and the Jews
had just tried to kill Him,
00:29:27.83\00:29:31.27
they sought to kill Him.
00:29:31.30\00:29:32.63
You know, why they
were seeking to kill Him?
00:29:32.67\00:29:35.67
Because He had
healed on the Sabbath.
00:29:35.70\00:29:39.01
That had infuriated them.
00:29:39.04\00:29:41.01
And so what Jesus is
doing, He is rebuking them.
00:29:41.04\00:29:45.58
And He says here in John
5:39, you search the Scriptures,
00:29:45.61\00:29:51.45
now, did the Jewish
leaders in that day,
00:29:51.49\00:29:54.76
were they big on
searching the Scriptures?
00:29:54.79\00:29:56.66
Oh, yeah. Oh, they were.
00:29:56.69\00:29:58.26
They searched the
Scriptures, for in them
00:29:58.29\00:30:02.56
you think you have eternal life.
00:30:02.60\00:30:05.43
But see it's not the Scriptures
that give you eternal life.
00:30:05.47\00:30:09.20
What gives you eternal life?
00:30:09.24\00:30:11.01
It's the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ
00:30:11.04\00:30:13.14
and He goes on to say,
00:30:13.17\00:30:15.01
and these are they
which testify of me.
00:30:15.04\00:30:19.21
So they were looking to
the Scriptures to save them
00:30:19.25\00:30:22.15
and Jesus is saying, no,
it's not the cold dead word
00:30:22.18\00:30:26.45
that will save,
it's the living word
00:30:26.49\00:30:29.59
that you will
find in the Scriptures
00:30:29.62\00:30:31.89
because it testifies of Me.
00:30:31.93\00:30:33.73
Now go to John 8,
00:30:33.76\00:30:35.50
we're gonna look
at verses 31 and 32.
00:30:35.53\00:30:38.07
Jesus again is
addressing the Jews
00:30:38.10\00:30:41.94
but a different
portion of the Jews.
00:30:41.97\00:30:46.68
First He was
addressing the leaders
00:30:46.71\00:30:49.34
that were trying to kill Him,
00:30:49.38\00:30:50.78
now He's addressing
those that love Him,
00:30:50.81\00:30:53.55
that had accepted Him.
00:30:53.58\00:30:55.08
John 8:31-32,
00:30:55.12\00:30:58.05
"Then Jesus said to
those Jews who believed Him,
00:30:58.09\00:31:02.36
'If you abide in my Word,"
what does that Word abide mean?
00:31:02.39\00:31:05.79
Dwell in, to rest in.
00:31:05.83\00:31:07.16
Dwell in, live
in, spend time in it.
00:31:07.20\00:31:10.77
What does Joshua
say, this book of the law
00:31:10.80\00:31:13.47
shall not depart
out of your mouth
00:31:13.50\00:31:15.24
but you will
meditate on it how often?
00:31:15.27\00:31:18.11
Both day and night
that you may observe to do
00:31:18.14\00:31:21.28
according to all
that's written therein,
00:31:21.31\00:31:23.14
for then you'll
make your way prosperous
00:31:23.18\00:31:24.95
and you'll have good success.
00:31:24.98\00:31:26.45
How? Through God's Word.
00:31:26.48\00:31:30.09
Then Jesus said, if
you abide in My Word,
00:31:30.12\00:31:33.09
you are my disciples indeed.
00:31:33.12\00:31:35.12
You want to be a disciple
of the Lord Jesus Christ,
00:31:35.16\00:31:37.39
abide in Word, and
you shall know the truth
00:31:37.43\00:31:40.10
and the truth
shall make you free.
00:31:40.13\00:31:42.43
Set you free.
00:31:42.46\00:31:43.80
That's what the
power of the Word is.
00:31:43.83\00:31:45.40
This Word that
unites us with Christ
00:31:45.43\00:31:48.14
that unites the
church, it sets us free.
00:31:48.17\00:31:51.41
And I ask this question,
what does it set us free from?
00:31:51.44\00:31:55.11
We can say sin but
I love the Scripture
00:31:55.14\00:31:57.71
in Romans 8:1-2,
00:31:57.75\00:31:59.71
"There is therefore now
no condemnation to those
00:31:59.75\00:32:03.95
who are in Christ Jesus,
who walk not after the flesh
00:32:03.99\00:32:08.46
but after the Spirit,
00:32:08.49\00:32:09.96
for the law of
the Spirit of life
00:32:09.99\00:32:13.29
in Christ Jesus has
made me free" from what?
00:32:13.33\00:32:17.23
"From the law of sin and death."
00:32:17.27\00:32:19.37
See, it's the
power of this Word,
00:32:19.40\00:32:21.70
spending time in this
Word that will set us free
00:32:21.74\00:32:25.41
from the law of sin.
00:32:25.44\00:32:27.54
Just listen to this.
00:32:27.58\00:32:29.91
The power, the law of the Spirit
00:32:29.94\00:32:34.48
of life in Christ Jesus.
00:32:34.52\00:32:35.85
Doesn't that just
sound good and nice?
00:32:35.88\00:32:37.52
The law of the Spirit
of life in Christ Jesus,
00:32:37.55\00:32:40.09
the law of sin and death.
00:32:40.12\00:32:41.52
Don't you want to be set free
from the law of sin and death?
00:32:41.56\00:32:44.43
At one time we were living
under the law of sin and death.
00:32:44.46\00:32:49.36
We make Jesus Christ
the Lord of our life,
00:32:49.40\00:32:51.70
we get transformed, out
of the kingdom of darkness,
00:32:51.73\00:32:55.10
where are we now?
00:32:55.14\00:32:56.47
In the kingdom of God's dear Son
00:32:56.50\00:32:58.44
through the power of His Word.
00:32:58.47\00:33:00.44
Now history shows us
that every great move of God
00:33:00.48\00:33:06.41
had its root in a
revival of the Word.
00:33:06.45\00:33:10.22
I'm thinking about the
Seventh-day Adventist Church.
00:33:10.25\00:33:12.69
What do our roots tell us?
00:33:12.72\00:33:15.16
Didn't our founding fathers...
00:33:15.19\00:33:19.79
Didn't these founding
fathers of the Adventist Church,
00:33:19.83\00:33:22.56
what did they start
spending time doing, Brian?
00:33:22.60\00:33:25.37
They studied
together the Word of God.
00:33:25.40\00:33:28.40
They immersed
themselves in the Word of God,
00:33:28.44\00:33:30.71
and you know what God did
by the power of His Spirit?
00:33:30.74\00:33:33.38
Started giving them revelation
and truth and it united them
00:33:33.41\00:33:39.21
in Spirit, a great move of God,
00:33:39.25\00:33:42.62
and I'm thinking
in church history
00:33:42.65\00:33:45.55
what is in your opinion
00:33:45.59\00:33:48.92
the greatest change or movement
00:33:48.96\00:33:53.36
that effected a change in
the church for the better?
00:33:53.40\00:33:56.16
Would that not be it
took place 500 years ago.
00:33:56.20\00:34:01.24
On October 31, 500 years ago.
00:34:01.27\00:34:04.67
Martin Luther
nailing the 95 theses.
00:34:04.71\00:34:06.94
Yes. Protestant Reformation?
00:34:06.98\00:34:09.28
Protestant
Reformation, and you know
00:34:09.31\00:34:11.21
what happened there?
00:34:11.25\00:34:12.58
Martin Luther was a reformer,
he was a German professor
00:34:12.61\00:34:15.48
of theology, composer,
he was a priest, a monk,
00:34:15.52\00:34:18.32
a seminal figure in
the Protestant Reformation.
00:34:18.35\00:34:21.06
And what caused the
reformation to come about?
00:34:21.09\00:34:23.83
Here's what
history will tell you.
00:34:23.86\00:34:25.69
From 1510 to 1520
Luther lectured on the Psalms,
00:34:25.73\00:34:30.10
the Books of
Hebrews, Romans and Galatians.
00:34:30.13\00:34:32.57
He studied these
portions of the Bible.
00:34:32.60\00:34:34.90
You know what he
did? Ooh, I'm out of time.
00:34:34.94\00:34:38.21
It was hard for
people to get their hands
00:34:38.24\00:34:40.21
on the Word of God at that time.
00:34:40.24\00:34:41.64
Remember they were
in the monasteries.
00:34:41.68\00:34:44.51
He got his hands
on the Word of God
00:34:44.55\00:34:46.28
and he looked in the Word
00:34:46.31\00:34:47.65
and then he looked in the church
00:34:47.68\00:34:49.02
and he found 95 things
that just didn't add up.
00:34:49.05\00:34:51.49
He got in God's Word
and the Word revitalized him
00:34:51.52\00:34:55.46
and he...
00:34:55.49\00:34:57.26
The reformation showed
us that, or showed the world
00:34:57.29\00:35:03.43
that you need to come
out of these areas of error.
00:35:03.47\00:35:06.37
That's what the Word will do.
00:35:06.40\00:35:07.74
It will show you your error,
it will unite you with Christ
00:35:07.77\00:35:10.84
and you hear this
saying, God said it,
00:35:10.87\00:35:13.74
I believe it
and that settles it.
00:35:13.78\00:35:15.44
Hey, guys, that's wrong.
00:35:15.48\00:35:16.81
God said it, that settles it,
whether you believe it or not.
00:35:16.85\00:35:19.31
Amen. Pastor John.
00:35:19.35\00:35:21.88
You know I like that.
00:35:21.92\00:35:23.25
God said it, I believe
it and that settles it.
00:35:23.28\00:35:25.35
But even if you
don't believe it,
00:35:25.39\00:35:27.29
it's still settled.
00:35:27.32\00:35:28.92
The Word of God
is settled in heaven.
00:35:28.96\00:35:31.39
It's not settled in
whether or not we believe it.
00:35:31.43\00:35:34.20
I'm so excited about this
one because it's the Holy Spirit
00:35:34.23\00:35:36.53
unites the church
in faith and doctrine.
00:35:36.56\00:35:38.60
One of the radical things
that's happening in our age,
00:35:38.63\00:35:42.34
this is radical.
00:35:42.37\00:35:43.71
This is a paradigm shift.
00:35:43.74\00:35:46.41
Somewhere we got away
from this word 'truth'.
00:35:46.44\00:35:50.95
The word truth has become
a bad word in Christianity.
00:35:50.98\00:35:57.05
When you say to
somebody, let's study God's Word
00:35:57.09\00:36:00.49
to see what is truth,
you get responses like this,
00:36:00.52\00:36:04.16
"You mean what is truth to you?"
00:36:04.19\00:36:05.53
It's relative.
00:36:05.56\00:36:06.90
Or based on what
you interpret it to be.
00:36:06.93\00:36:08.83
Or is it
relative, or is it relevant?
00:36:08.86\00:36:11.77
Or does it still matter?
00:36:11.80\00:36:13.50
And then they pit Peter's
truth against Paul's truth
00:36:13.54\00:36:17.97
against the truth of Jesus.
00:36:18.01\00:36:20.04
They pit the Old Testament
against the New Testament.
00:36:20.08\00:36:23.68
They pit the Old Covenant
against the New Covenant.
00:36:23.71\00:36:27.35
They pit the Jews
against the Gentiles
00:36:27.38\00:36:30.32
and they say, so
whose truth are you trying
00:36:30.35\00:36:32.02
to share with me?
00:36:32.05\00:36:33.92
And today the word
truth is a significant part
00:36:33.96\00:36:36.83
of why I think this
portion of the lesson was given.
00:36:36.86\00:36:40.20
Because it's not
possible to be unified
00:36:40.23\00:36:43.83
without the Word of God
being at the foundation.
00:36:43.87\00:36:46.40
I put some notes down here
00:36:46.43\00:36:48.04
because the work
of the Holy Spirit
00:36:48.07\00:36:49.40
is not to just get you excited.
00:36:49.44\00:36:51.51
Oh, Lord, bless
Pastor C.D. Brooks,
00:36:51.54\00:36:53.41
he's resting in
Jesus but I've said this
00:36:53.44\00:36:55.71
a thousand times
if not more than that.
00:36:55.74\00:36:59.21
He said, it's not
how high you jump,
00:36:59.25\00:37:01.88
it's how straight you
walk when you hit the ground.
00:37:01.92\00:37:03.75
Amen.
00:37:03.79\00:37:05.12
And so many people
today feel the Spirit of God
00:37:05.15\00:37:07.26
has come to revive
this emotional euphoric,
00:37:07.29\00:37:10.59
some kind of drug
plan for Christianity.
00:37:10.63\00:37:13.83
Infusing them with
this emotional feeling of,
00:37:13.86\00:37:16.30
"Oh, I love you,
Lord, I thank you Jesus,
00:37:16.33\00:37:18.83
You mean so much."
00:37:18.87\00:37:20.20
And the Lord says, "Okay,
00:37:20.24\00:37:21.67
if you love Me,
keep My commandments."
00:37:21.70\00:37:23.07
Well, okay, not that,
don't go too far on that, Lord.
00:37:23.10\00:37:26.34
I mean, really
that's what's happening
00:37:26.37\00:37:27.71
in Christianity today.
00:37:27.74\00:37:29.08
So we have, as a musician,
we've taken music to a place
00:37:29.11\00:37:31.78
that God has
never intended it to be.
00:37:31.81\00:37:33.68
A substitution for the Word.
00:37:33.72\00:37:36.25
God has never intended music
00:37:36.28\00:37:37.69
to be a
substitution for the Word.
00:37:37.72\00:37:39.39
God has never intended
Christian entertainment
00:37:39.42\00:37:43.12
to be a
substitution of the Word.
00:37:43.16\00:37:44.89
That's what's
happening today, Brian.
00:37:44.93\00:37:46.39
We have worldly movies,
we have Christian movies.
00:37:46.43\00:37:49.10
And today the
truth has been replaced
00:37:49.13\00:37:52.00
by the interpretation
of Christian movies.
00:37:52.03\00:37:54.50
To find out what the
Ten Commandments are,
00:37:54.54\00:37:55.94
people watch the old,
what's the guy's name?
00:37:55.97\00:38:00.34
Charlton
Heston. Charlton Heston.
00:38:00.38\00:38:03.45
Anyway, his name will
come to me in a moment,
00:38:03.48\00:38:05.31
but the one who produced
the first Ten Commandments.
00:38:05.35\00:38:08.25
People look at what
his interpretation means.
00:38:08.28\00:38:10.29
Cecil B.
DeMille. Cecil B. DeMille.
00:38:10.32\00:38:12.95
Praise the Lord.
00:38:12.99\00:38:14.76
They say, well,
Cecil B. DeMille's
00:38:14.79\00:38:16.39
in his version of the
Ten Commandments said,
00:38:16.42\00:38:18.59
and people go to
movie producers today,
00:38:18.63\00:38:20.76
people go to the rapture movies
to find out whether or not
00:38:20.80\00:38:23.33
Jesus is really
coming back visibly
00:38:23.37\00:38:24.93
or whether it's gonna
be a secret snatching away.
00:38:24.97\00:38:27.80
Movies are pulling us
away from the Word of God.
00:38:27.84\00:38:31.97
Music is pulling us
away from the Word of God.
00:38:32.01\00:38:35.58
But Paul the Apostle,
00:38:35.61\00:38:36.95
let's start with the Holy Spirit
00:38:36.98\00:38:38.31
since this lesson is
about the Holy Spirit.
00:38:38.35\00:38:39.68
Thank you for
starting the fire Mollie,
00:38:39.71\00:38:41.05
I'm gonna burn.
00:38:41.08\00:38:42.42
You're ready, Jill,
it's coming hot and fast.
00:38:42.45\00:38:44.19
John 16:13.
00:38:44.22\00:38:49.32
However, and I like the
way that Jesus says this,
00:38:49.36\00:38:52.69
He says you got a whole
lot of good things to say,
00:38:52.73\00:38:54.50
however when He
00:38:54.53\00:38:58.50
the Spirit of truth has come,
00:38:58.53\00:39:02.07
He will guide you
into, together, all truth
00:39:02.10\00:39:07.78
for He will not
speak on His own authority
00:39:07.81\00:39:10.71
but whatever He
hears He will speak
00:39:10.75\00:39:13.31
and He will tell
you things to come,
00:39:13.35\00:39:14.78
another word for things
to come is the word prophecy.
00:39:14.82\00:39:17.92
He will show you
what's coming down the line.
00:39:17.95\00:39:19.45
He'll give you an
understanding of prophecy.
00:39:19.49\00:39:21.72
But He will not
omit truth when we say,
00:39:21.76\00:39:25.03
I'm in the Spirit
and you're in the truth,
00:39:25.06\00:39:28.56
that is the
most amazing oxymoron
00:39:28.60\00:39:31.83
that Christianity has
somehow given credibility to.
00:39:31.87\00:39:34.74
There is no person in the Spirit
00:39:34.77\00:39:37.77
and another one in the
truth because you can't separate
00:39:37.81\00:39:40.68
the Spirit from the truth.
00:39:40.71\00:39:42.64
So when you look at God's Word
and you allow the Word of God
00:39:42.68\00:39:44.81
to speak on its own,
you'll begin to realize,
00:39:44.85\00:39:48.78
and you know, Mollie,
00:39:48.82\00:39:50.15
as was the case with
the Protestant Reformation,
00:39:50.19\00:39:52.29
one of the reasons why
Martin Luther was so hated.
00:39:52.32\00:39:54.56
It's amazing that this
year they're going to celebrate
00:39:54.59\00:39:57.03
Martin Luther, the
Protestant Reformation.
00:39:57.06\00:39:59.19
But those who are
celebrating the Reformation
00:39:59.23\00:40:02.50
and have the
documents to prove it
00:40:02.53\00:40:03.97
are celebrating it to
gain access to the Lutherans,
00:40:04.00\00:40:07.07
not to gain access to
the truth of God's Word.
00:40:07.10\00:40:09.47
See, Rome is trying to
close the gap in Christianity
00:40:09.50\00:40:12.24
and so we're
applauding Martin Luther's work.
00:40:12.27\00:40:14.88
But they said in 1981,
he was a rebel theologian
00:40:14.91\00:40:18.01
who caused the split.
00:40:18.05\00:40:20.45
You will never be
split when your unity
00:40:20.48\00:40:22.98
is based on God's Word.
00:40:23.02\00:40:24.42
Amen. That's true.
00:40:24.45\00:40:25.85
The Word of God
does not bring splits.
00:40:25.89\00:40:28.12
1 Timothy 4:16.
00:40:28.16\00:40:31.86
The Word of God
doesn't bring splits.
00:40:31.89\00:40:33.80
Jesus came to bring a
sword because He said,
00:40:33.83\00:40:38.53
whenever the truth
of God has entered in,
00:40:38.57\00:40:40.64
and the Word of God is sharper
than any two-edged sword,
00:40:40.67\00:40:43.71
so when the truth of
God's Word is injected,
00:40:43.74\00:40:46.07
it's gonna divide something.
00:40:46.11\00:40:48.28
If you don't accept
the truth of God's Word,
00:40:48.31\00:40:50.35
we're gonna be divided.
00:40:50.38\00:40:51.81
Anytime unity is pushed,
00:40:51.85\00:40:54.72
let me read it the
way I wrote it here.
00:40:54.75\00:40:57.99
The agenda that prays
for Christians to be unified
00:40:58.02\00:41:01.19
while not asking for Christians
to agree on God's Word
00:41:01.22\00:41:04.99
is pushing false unity.
00:41:05.03\00:41:07.86
Can you do that
again? This is my note I put.
00:41:07.90\00:41:10.10
The agenda that prays
for Christians to be unified
00:41:10.13\00:41:14.00
while not asking for Christians
to agree on God's Word
00:41:14.04\00:41:17.27
is pushing a false unity.
00:41:17.31\00:41:19.04
There is a spirit of unity
00:41:19.07\00:41:22.08
and there is
unity of the spirit.
00:41:22.11\00:41:23.95
Two entirely
different things. Thank you!
00:41:23.98\00:41:26.92
The spirit of unity is
not unity of the spirit.
00:41:26.95\00:41:29.48
That's right.
00:41:29.52\00:41:30.85
Because they say, what
the spirit of unity is?
00:41:30.89\00:41:32.35
What can we unify on?
00:41:32.39\00:41:33.72
Let's unify on
community programs.
00:41:33.76\00:41:35.52
Let's unify on march
against this or march against.
00:41:35.56\00:41:38.56
Let's unify
against the government
00:41:38.59\00:41:40.16
peeping into our lives.
00:41:40.20\00:41:41.53
That's the kind of unity is
being pushed in Christianity.
00:41:41.56\00:41:43.87
But that's not the unity
00:41:43.90\00:41:45.23
that the Spirit
has been sent for.
00:41:45.27\00:41:46.94
If he's gonna lead us
and guide us into all truth,
00:41:46.97\00:41:49.40
he's not saying get
rid of truth to be unified.
00:41:49.44\00:41:52.17
I remember Promise
Keepers many, many years ago.
00:41:52.21\00:41:54.51
In a stadium of 60,000 men
so deceptively manipulated.
00:41:54.54\00:42:00.72
The leader said at
the count of three,
00:42:00.75\00:42:02.75
let's all
mention our denomination
00:42:02.78\00:42:04.15
and it sounded like a
cacophony of confusion.
00:42:04.19\00:42:07.06
Everybody yelled
their denomination.
00:42:07.09\00:42:08.49
He said, okay, now
let's do it all over again.
00:42:08.52\00:42:10.03
At the count of
three let's mention Jesus.
00:42:10.06\00:42:12.73
One, two, three. Jesus.
00:42:12.76\00:42:15.06
Aren't we all unified in Jesus?
00:42:15.10\00:42:17.13
Well, Jesus
didn't send the Spirit
00:42:17.17\00:42:18.80
to omit the truth either.
00:42:18.83\00:42:21.04
Look at what Jesus said
through the Apostle Paul
00:42:21.07\00:42:24.21
to the Apostle Timothy.
00:42:24.24\00:42:26.04
1 Timothy 4:16.
You have that, Jill?
00:42:26.07\00:42:28.34
Read that for us.
00:42:28.38\00:42:29.71
"Take heed to yourself
00:42:29.74\00:42:31.08
and to the
doctrine continue in them,
00:42:31.11\00:42:33.18
for in doing this you
will save both yourself
00:42:33.21\00:42:35.82
and those who hear you."
00:42:35.85\00:42:37.45
Look at that, doctrine.
Unity in doctrine and faith.
00:42:37.49\00:42:41.72
When you
continue in the doctrine.
00:42:41.76\00:42:43.79
Today this word
nondenominational
00:42:43.83\00:42:47.56
is like going to a
bank, Brian, as a treasurer,
00:42:47.60\00:42:49.56
it's like going to
Brian in Treasury, say, Brian,
00:42:49.60\00:42:51.30
I need some change,
I'm giving you a $100 bill.
00:42:51.33\00:42:53.44
And you say what denomination
you'd like that in and I say,
00:42:53.47\00:42:55.30
I don't want any denominations,
I just want $100 in change.
00:42:55.34\00:42:58.41
What denomination? I
don't want any denomination.
00:42:58.44\00:43:00.68
I don't like the word.
I can't give it to you.
00:43:00.71\00:43:04.28
So today the word
denomination has become
00:43:04.31\00:43:06.41
a curse word in Christianity.
00:43:06.45\00:43:08.55
So they have churches
00:43:08.58\00:43:09.92
springing up all over the place.
00:43:09.95\00:43:11.29
Well, we're nondenominational,
we don't teach doctrine.
00:43:11.32\00:43:14.02
What do you talk about? Jesus?
00:43:14.06\00:43:15.39
Well, Jesus, you cannot talk
about Jesus and omit doctrine.
00:43:15.42\00:43:18.26
And doctrine is not a bad word.
00:43:18.29\00:43:20.20
The unity that Jesus
seeks to bring is a unity
00:43:20.23\00:43:24.43
that is based on His
Word and the spirit of unity
00:43:24.47\00:43:29.34
and the unity of
the spirit, sorry.
00:43:29.37\00:43:31.17
Not the spirit of unity.
00:43:31.21\00:43:32.74
Because Amos 3:3
says, and this is powerful.
00:43:32.77\00:43:37.08
Can two walk together,
come on, unless they agree.
00:43:37.11\00:43:42.55
And the answer is what? No.
00:43:42.58\00:43:44.19
For me to know, and I
use this phrase, radial.
00:43:44.22\00:43:47.19
This is something else.
00:43:47.22\00:43:48.56
And I want to now
bring an inclusive picture.
00:43:48.59\00:43:52.43
The word radial is a
word often used in aviation.
00:43:52.46\00:43:56.40
I love flying.
00:43:56.43\00:43:58.20
Now, I am not a
pilot so don't ask me
00:43:58.23\00:43:59.57
to fly you anywhere.
00:43:59.60\00:44:00.94
I could on my
simulator and on my RC plane
00:44:00.97\00:44:04.17
but if a person is
flying to Atlanta from Orlando,
00:44:04.21\00:44:09.18
from California, from
New York, from Mississippi,
00:44:09.21\00:44:13.38
from Washington
DC, from St. Louis,
00:44:13.42\00:44:15.55
they're all
taking different radials
00:44:15.58\00:44:18.45
but they arrive at the same city
00:44:18.49\00:44:21.49
'cause you got to,
you may start northeast,
00:44:21.52\00:44:24.59
southwest,
southeast, northeast, northwest,
00:44:24.63\00:44:27.10
but if you're
going to the same place,
00:44:27.13\00:44:28.66
you got to lock
into the same course.
00:44:28.70\00:44:30.43
Like the spokes of a
tire. Like the spokes of a tire.
00:44:30.47\00:44:33.27
If you're going
to the same place,
00:44:33.30\00:44:35.40
Jesus in the
beginning was the Word.
00:44:35.44\00:44:38.64
When Jesus comes
back on His thigh
00:44:38.67\00:44:40.51
will be written a
name The Word of God.
00:44:40.54\00:44:43.11
Brothers and
sisters, if we're in an age
00:44:43.14\00:44:45.01
where we want to
really be unified
00:44:45.05\00:44:47.92
by the leading of
the Spirit of God,
00:44:47.95\00:44:50.55
don't seek unity by omitting
the truth of God's Word.
00:44:50.59\00:44:54.29
Amen. That's right.
00:44:54.32\00:44:55.66
That's false
unity, it's deception
00:44:55.69\00:44:57.56
and that is the kind
of unity being pushed
00:44:57.59\00:45:00.00
and I want to say as a pastor,
in the evangelical community,
00:45:00.03\00:45:03.67
unity without
truth is being pushed
00:45:03.70\00:45:05.90
'cause that's
not really important.
00:45:05.93\00:45:07.34
What you believe
and what you believe
00:45:07.37\00:45:08.70
is not important.
00:45:08.74\00:45:10.07
Oh, tell my pilot
that what he believes
00:45:10.11\00:45:12.04
is not important.
00:45:12.07\00:45:13.51
Where am I going? It
doesn't really matter.
00:45:13.54\00:45:15.74
Where Jesus leads, it matters.
00:45:15.78\00:45:17.91
Where the Holy
Spirit leads, it matters.
00:45:17.95\00:45:20.25
And if we're going to heaven,
we go in one accord, one Lord,
00:45:20.28\00:45:23.65
one faith, one baptism,
one God, one Father of all.
00:45:23.69\00:45:26.82
Amen. Jill, it's yours.
00:45:26.86\00:45:28.76
The Holy Spirit
and the Church is what
00:45:28.79\00:45:30.43
we've been talking
about here as the panel.
00:45:30.46\00:45:32.16
The Holy Spirit unites us
to Christ as Shelley shared.
00:45:32.19\00:45:36.46
The Holy Spirit
unites us through baptism,
00:45:36.50\00:45:39.03
the Holy Spirit
unites the church
00:45:39.07\00:45:41.24
through the Word of God,
through unity with doctrine,
00:45:41.27\00:45:44.41
faith and doctrine.
00:45:44.44\00:45:45.77
And now, mine is the Holy Spirit
00:45:45.81\00:45:47.14
unites the church
in mission and service.
00:45:47.18\00:45:50.81
And what we want to look at
00:45:50.85\00:45:52.18
is the New
Testament church model.
00:45:52.21\00:45:54.65
When the Holy
Spirit was poured out
00:45:54.68\00:45:56.32
and what the church
looked like at that time,
00:45:56.35\00:45:58.32
so let's turn to Acts, Acts 2
00:45:58.35\00:46:02.66
and actually
before we do Acts 2,
00:46:02.69\00:46:04.69
we have to do
Acts 1 where we see
00:46:04.73\00:46:07.06
the promise of the Holy Spirit.
00:46:07.10\00:46:08.86
So let's look at that, Acts 1.
00:46:08.90\00:46:11.07
Pastor John, you want
to read that, Acts 1:4-5.
00:46:11.10\00:46:16.27
Okay, 4 and 5.
00:46:16.30\00:46:17.67
"And being
assembled together with them,
00:46:17.71\00:46:20.31
He commanded them not
to depart from Jerusalem,
00:46:20.34\00:46:23.21
but to wait for the promise
of the Father which He said,
00:46:23.24\00:46:27.35
you have heard of me.
00:46:27.38\00:46:28.92
For John truly
baptized with water,
00:46:28.95\00:46:31.79
but you shall be
baptized with the Holy Spirit
00:46:31.82\00:46:35.12
not many days from now."
00:46:35.16\00:46:37.03
So this is after
Jesus was crucified
00:46:37.06\00:46:39.53
and He
resurrected and He's meeting
00:46:39.56\00:46:41.03
with His
disciples, the apostles.
00:46:41.06\00:46:43.26
Before He returns to heaven
and He says, wait, tarry here.
00:46:43.30\00:46:47.60
You are going to be
baptized with the Holy Spirit.
00:46:47.64\00:46:50.41
The promise in verse 8,
"You shall receive power
00:46:50.44\00:46:53.44
when the Holy
Spirit has come upon you
00:46:53.48\00:46:55.34
and you will be witnesses
to me in Jerusalem, at home.
00:46:55.38\00:46:58.51
In Judea your
neighbors, communities
00:46:58.55\00:47:00.85
those in the local area,
in Samaria, going farther."
00:47:00.88\00:47:05.29
I think it's
Samaria as the gentiles,
00:47:05.32\00:47:07.39
those who maybe don't
claim the name of Christians,
00:47:07.42\00:47:09.59
the name of Jesus and
then to the uttermost parts
00:47:09.62\00:47:12.43
of the world.
00:47:12.46\00:47:13.80
The promise of the Holy Spirit.
00:47:13.83\00:47:15.60
So there were 120 disciples.
00:47:15.63\00:47:18.23
A hundred and
twenty in the upper room,
00:47:18.27\00:47:20.04
verse 15 talks about
120 being there together.
00:47:20.07\00:47:23.20
They were united in
prayer in one accord,
00:47:23.24\00:47:26.41
seeking the baptism,
00:47:26.44\00:47:27.84
the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit.
00:47:27.88\00:47:29.81
Now, we're in 2:1,
00:47:29.84\00:47:32.05
"When the day of
Pentecost had fully come,
00:47:32.08\00:47:34.38
they were all with
one accord in one place."
00:47:34.42\00:47:37.39
And I think as we
look at the outpouring
00:47:37.42\00:47:39.05
of the Holy Spirit,
it's important to look
00:47:39.09\00:47:40.79
at what preceded it.
00:47:40.82\00:47:42.22
The time of
prayer, the time of unity,
00:47:42.26\00:47:44.16
the time of coming
together and humbling hearts
00:47:44.19\00:47:47.33
and confessing sins
00:47:47.36\00:47:48.70
and making things
right with each other,
00:47:48.73\00:47:51.23
so that then they could in turn
be filled with the Holy Spirit.
00:47:51.27\00:47:54.57
So the Holy
Spirit is poured out.
00:47:54.60\00:47:56.44
"There came a sound from heaven
as of a mighty rushing wind.
00:47:56.47\00:48:00.48
And it filled the whole
house where they were sitting.
00:48:00.51\00:48:03.08
Then there appeared to
them divided tongues as a fire
00:48:03.11\00:48:05.51
and one sat on each of them,
00:48:05.55\00:48:06.95
they were filled
with the Holy Spirit
00:48:06.98\00:48:08.95
and began to
speak with other tongues
00:48:08.98\00:48:11.55
as the Spirit
gave them utterance."
00:48:11.59\00:48:14.52
Now this does not
mean babbling of tongues.
00:48:14.56\00:48:16.83
This means the Lord
graced and gifted them
00:48:16.86\00:48:20.53
with the spiritual
gift we talked about
00:48:20.56\00:48:22.00
in the previous
lesson to actually speak
00:48:22.03\00:48:25.00
in another language
and then they went out
00:48:25.03\00:48:27.04
and began to
speak, it says verse 6.
00:48:27.07\00:48:29.50
"When this sound occurred
the multitude came together
00:48:29.54\00:48:33.04
and were confused
because everyone heard them
00:48:33.07\00:48:35.41
speak in his own language.
00:48:35.44\00:48:37.81
Then they were
amazed and marveled
00:48:37.85\00:48:39.41
saying to one
another, look are not all these
00:48:39.45\00:48:41.98
those who speak Galileans.
00:48:42.02\00:48:43.49
The Galileans were known
for their poor language skills.
00:48:43.52\00:48:46.59
Their heavy accents,
for not communicating well
00:48:46.62\00:48:49.59
and yet these 120 as
they went forth spoke
00:48:49.62\00:48:53.46
with clearness and
boldness and power in languages
00:48:53.50\00:48:57.87
that they hadn't
even spoken before.
00:48:57.90\00:48:59.97
Jill, I wonder
if those Galileans
00:49:00.00\00:49:02.50
were even a little rough
and coarse in their speech.
00:49:02.54\00:49:05.81
In other words,
Peter knew how to curse
00:49:05.84\00:49:07.64
with the best of them.
00:49:07.68\00:49:09.64
Oh, yeah.
00:49:09.68\00:49:11.01
And so now their
whole language, yeah.
00:49:11.05\00:49:14.42
And one other thing,
verse 8, this is very important
00:49:14.45\00:49:16.79
because the word
there, and how is it that
00:49:16.82\00:49:18.55
we hear each in our own language
00:49:18.59\00:49:21.49
in which we were born.
00:49:21.52\00:49:22.96
So this was not
some unearthly babbling
00:49:22.99\00:49:24.96
that could not be...
00:49:24.99\00:49:26.90
And all the
nations are listed there
00:49:26.93\00:49:28.73
as to who heard what language.
00:49:28.76\00:49:30.67
That's the gift of
tongues and the interpretation
00:49:30.70\00:49:32.53
because they heard it
in their own language.
00:49:32.57\00:49:34.50
So Peter stands
up, he gives his sermon
00:49:34.54\00:49:36.40
and then the result
jump down to verse 37.
00:49:36.44\00:49:39.64
They were cut to the heart.
00:49:39.67\00:49:41.94
That's the result
of the Holy Spirit.
00:49:41.98\00:49:43.88
The Holy Spirit
brings conviction of sin.
00:49:43.91\00:49:46.78
And if there's
something in our life,
00:49:46.82\00:49:49.32
when you sit under
an anointed speaker
00:49:49.35\00:49:51.35
of the Word of
God, and all of a sudden
00:49:51.39\00:49:53.15
the Holy Spirit brings
that conviction and says,
00:49:53.19\00:49:55.66
Jill, you need to look at this,
00:49:55.69\00:49:57.03
there's something
going on in your life here.
00:49:57.06\00:49:58.83
They were cut to
the heart and said,
00:49:58.86\00:50:00.70
Men and brethren
what shall we do?
00:50:00.73\00:50:02.56
And he says,
believe, repent, be baptized,
00:50:02.60\00:50:06.33
every one of you in
the name of Jesus Christ.
00:50:06.37\00:50:08.50
And then we look what happened.
00:50:08.54\00:50:10.47
We're going to move
through several verses quickly
00:50:10.51\00:50:12.44
as we look at the
explosion of the growth
00:50:12.47\00:50:13.98
of the early church.
00:50:14.01\00:50:15.34
Verse 41, "Those who
ladly received his word
00:50:15.38\00:50:18.81
were baptized that day."
00:50:18.85\00:50:20.88
Three thousand souls
were added to the church.
00:50:20.92\00:50:23.18
They went from 120.
00:50:23.22\00:50:25.85
You could say ignorant,
unlearned in the upper room
00:50:25.89\00:50:28.76
who had spent three
and half years with Jesus
00:50:28.79\00:50:30.69
but were still
rough around the edges
00:50:30.73\00:50:32.96
as you mentioned, Brian.
00:50:32.99\00:50:34.33
And then all of a sudden,
00:50:34.36\00:50:35.70
the outpouring
of the Holy Spirit,
00:50:35.73\00:50:38.10
3000 baptized in one day.
00:50:38.13\00:50:40.94
We're going to look
at the last verse 47.
00:50:40.97\00:50:42.97
"The Lord added
to the church daily
00:50:43.00\00:50:45.21
those who were being saved."
00:50:45.24\00:50:47.74
Jump over to chapter 4.
00:50:47.78\00:50:49.21
Peter and John are
arrested. Chapter 4:4.
00:50:49.24\00:50:52.48
After they were
arrested, you think,
00:50:52.51\00:50:54.45
maybe the church
would've suffered.
00:50:54.48\00:50:56.18
But it says, "Many of those
who heard the word believed
00:50:56.22\00:50:59.05
and the number of
men came to be 5000."
00:50:59.09\00:51:02.22
So we went from 120 to 3000.
00:51:02.26\00:51:04.79
Now we move to 5000 men,
00:51:04.83\00:51:06.83
that's not
counting women and children.
00:51:06.86\00:51:08.33
You think if they had
a couple of kids a piece,
00:51:08.36\00:51:10.47
maybe there's 20,000 believers
right now at this point.
00:51:10.50\00:51:13.60
Turn over another
page at chapter 5,
00:51:13.64\00:51:15.80
this is right after
Ananias and Sapphira.
00:51:15.84\00:51:18.64
Chapter 5:14,
00:51:18.67\00:51:20.84
"And believers were
increasingly added to the Lord,
00:51:20.88\00:51:24.15
multitudes of
both men and women."
00:51:24.18\00:51:27.72
Jump over another
chapter. We're in chapter 6 now.
00:51:27.75\00:51:31.32
This is chapter 6:7,
00:51:31.35\00:51:34.46
"Then the Word of God spread
00:51:34.49\00:51:36.19
and the number of the disciples
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem
00:51:36.22\00:51:39.63
and a great many of the priests
were obedient to the faith."
00:51:39.66\00:51:43.47
But the message of the gospel
did not just stay in Jerusalem,
00:51:43.50\00:51:46.40
it was spread abroad partly
through the persecution of Saul
00:51:46.43\00:51:50.01
who would later
turn Paul but Saul.
00:51:50.04\00:51:52.04
The believers were scattered.
00:51:52.07\00:51:53.48
Jump over one more
chapter, two more chapters.
00:51:53.51\00:51:55.84
We're in chapter 8 now.
00:51:55.88\00:51:57.25
Saul is persecuting
the church, verse 4.
00:51:57.28\00:52:00.35
"Those who were
scattered went everywhere,
00:52:00.38\00:52:03.49
preaching the Word."
00:52:03.52\00:52:06.15
The persecution
spread the gospel.
00:52:06.19\00:52:08.56
We could go on,
there's more and more chapters
00:52:08.59\00:52:10.99
in Acts and
verses that talk about
00:52:11.03\00:52:12.79
the spread of
the Christian church.
00:52:12.83\00:52:16.36
Now, if you think about
that, that New Testament model.
00:52:16.40\00:52:18.93
I want to go back to
Acts 2 for just a moment.
00:52:18.97\00:52:22.54
When I read Acts 2, you
look at the early church.
00:52:22.57\00:52:27.84
Now obviously the
Holy Spirit was poured out
00:52:27.88\00:52:30.81
but what did the
early church look like?
00:52:30.85\00:52:34.12
What did the
New Testament model,
00:52:34.15\00:52:35.58
what did it look like?
00:52:35.62\00:52:36.95
I see seven things in
verses 41-47, seven things.
00:52:36.99\00:52:41.26
First, sorry verse 42.
00:52:41.29\00:52:43.59
"They continued steadfastly
in the apostle's doctrine."
00:52:43.63\00:52:48.43
Now that's just
what you mentioned,
00:52:48.46\00:52:50.30
Pastor John and Mollie.
00:52:50.33\00:52:52.77
The church cannot grow
00:52:52.80\00:52:54.57
if we're not
united on the Word of God.
00:52:54.60\00:52:56.94
If we're not united
in doctrine, in faith.
00:52:56.97\00:53:01.18
Number two, "They
continued not only in doctrine
00:53:01.21\00:53:04.05
but in fellowship."
00:53:04.08\00:53:05.45
You know, I think as believers
many churches, Lord willing
00:53:05.48\00:53:10.99
this will not happen to the
Seventh-day Adventist church,
00:53:11.02\00:53:13.15
but many churches say,
00:53:13.19\00:53:14.76
I don't really
need the Word of God,
00:53:14.79\00:53:16.86
we can depend on feelings,
all we need is the Spirit,
00:53:16.89\00:53:19.76
we just have an
anointed preacher
00:53:19.79\00:53:21.23
we're doing okay.
00:53:21.26\00:53:22.60
But it's important
to have the doctrine.
00:53:22.63\00:53:24.73
And then some
churches have maybe study
00:53:24.77\00:53:29.47
and maybe this happens in the
Seventh-day Adventist church.
00:53:29.50\00:53:32.04
Maybe we have the doctrine
but we don't fellowship.
00:53:32.07\00:53:35.61
We don't have the fellowship.
00:53:35.64\00:53:36.98
We might have the Word
but we don't have the Spirit.
00:53:37.01\00:53:40.12
So doctrine and fellowship.
00:53:40.15\00:53:41.98
The word for
fellowship in Greek is Koinonia.
00:53:42.02\00:53:44.72
Fellowship, coming
together, participation,
00:53:44.75\00:53:47.56
communion and
spiritual fellowship.
00:53:47.59\00:53:50.33
First is doctrine,
second is fellowship,
00:53:50.36\00:53:52.36
third, breaking of bread.
00:53:52.39\00:53:54.20
And it talks later
about how they broke bread
00:53:54.23\00:53:56.20
from house to house,
getting to know one another.
00:53:56.23\00:53:59.20
Not just coming to
church and saying, okay,
00:53:59.23\00:54:01.34
I got enough and I'm
going my separate way,
00:54:01.37\00:54:03.61
but spending
time with each other
00:54:03.64\00:54:05.74
getting to know one another.
00:54:05.77\00:54:07.24
And in prayers,
that's Number four.
00:54:07.28\00:54:09.54
Spending time
corporately, privately.
00:54:09.58\00:54:12.51
We can come to church and
pray, but if you don't pray
00:54:12.55\00:54:15.28
in your prayer closet at home.
00:54:15.32\00:54:17.39
I wouldn't say
that means nothing,
00:54:17.42\00:54:18.82
but it's not as effective
as what God wants to do
00:54:18.85\00:54:21.69
if we have individual time
of prayer with Him as well.
00:54:21.72\00:54:24.99
Verse 43, we're
now at number five.
00:54:25.03\00:54:26.86
"Then the fear
came on every soul,
00:54:26.90\00:54:28.30
many wonders and signs were done
00:54:28.33\00:54:29.93
through the apostles."
00:54:29.96\00:54:31.30
So the early
church had miracles,
00:54:31.33\00:54:33.64
as you read the
book of Acts, you see.
00:54:33.67\00:54:36.34
Remember, Peter
and John would pass by
00:54:36.37\00:54:38.44
and people wanted
to get on their shadow
00:54:38.47\00:54:41.64
because they would be healed.
00:54:41.68\00:54:43.35
We see miracles taking place
00:54:43.38\00:54:45.15
and I believe at the end of time
00:54:45.18\00:54:46.51
we're gonna see manifestation
00:54:46.55\00:54:49.12
of some of those same
miracles taking place again.
00:54:49.15\00:54:52.35
44, now all who
believed were together,
00:54:52.39\00:54:54.99
they had all things in common.
00:54:55.02\00:54:57.63
Sold their possessions
and goods and divided them
00:54:57.66\00:54:59.79
among all as any one had need.
00:54:59.83\00:55:01.63
And I don't even
think this means, right now
00:55:01.66\00:55:03.97
we're gonna go
out and sell our goods
00:55:04.00\00:55:05.33
and share
everything, but I think it shows
00:55:05.37\00:55:07.17
a heart attitude
of unselfish care
00:55:07.20\00:55:11.57
and love for other people.
00:55:11.61\00:55:14.34
It's caring for the
needs of Pastor John
00:55:14.38\00:55:17.58
and maybe what
he's going through
00:55:17.61\00:55:19.11
above my own needs.
00:55:19.15\00:55:20.92
It's reaching out and
thinking for someone else.
00:55:20.95\00:55:24.42
And the final part is
verse 47, praising God
00:55:24.45\00:55:28.86
and having favor
with all the people,
00:55:28.89\00:55:30.76
shows they lived in
praise the early church,
00:55:30.79\00:55:34.60
in doctrine, in
fellowship, breaking of bread,
00:55:34.63\00:55:38.37
prayers, miracles, in
unselfish care and love
00:55:38.40\00:55:43.54
and service for those in
need and living in praise.
00:55:43.57\00:55:46.41
And I think the experience
that we see here in Acts 2
00:55:46.44\00:55:49.58
and the exponential
growth of the church,
00:55:49.61\00:55:52.01
God wants to do
again at the end of time.
00:55:52.05\00:55:56.38
Joel 2, what does it say?
00:55:56.42\00:55:58.79
At the end time, the
Spirit will be poured out.
00:55:58.82\00:56:02.32
Sons and
daughters will prophesy.
00:56:02.36\00:56:03.99
Young men will
dream dreams and visions,
00:56:04.03\00:56:06.26
and old men will have
visions and God wants to do
00:56:06.29\00:56:09.06
a revival of that church
experience at the end of time.
00:56:09.10\00:56:13.13
You know, I want to
add just one quick thing,
00:56:13.17\00:56:14.50
I know our time
is slipping away.
00:56:14.54\00:56:16.77
1 John 1:6.
00:56:16.81\00:56:19.04
If we say that
we have fellowship
00:56:19.07\00:56:20.88
and I was so glad
you brought that up.
00:56:20.91\00:56:22.34
If we say we have fellowship
with Him and walk in darkness,
00:56:22.38\00:56:24.98
we lie and do not
practice the truth.
00:56:25.01\00:56:27.88
But if we walk in the
light as He is in the light,
00:56:27.92\00:56:30.29
we have
fellowship with one another,
00:56:30.32\00:56:32.65
and the blood of Jesus
Christ His Son cleanses us
00:56:32.69\00:56:35.12
from all sin.
00:56:35.16\00:56:36.49
Amen.
00:56:36.52\00:56:37.86
So we see how important,
today, we've seen how important
00:56:37.89\00:56:41.06
the Holy Spirit is to the church
00:56:41.10\00:56:44.33
because really He is the one
who the church wouldn't exist
00:56:44.37\00:56:48.00
without the Holy Spirit.
00:56:48.04\00:56:49.37
He is the one who
unites us with Christ.
00:56:49.40\00:56:52.37
He is the one who
unites us through baptism
00:56:52.41\00:56:55.78
into the church.
00:56:55.81\00:56:57.15
He is the one who
is uniting the church
00:56:57.18\00:57:00.95
through the Word and in
their faith and doctrine
00:57:00.98\00:57:04.35
and in their
mission and service.
00:57:04.39\00:57:06.82
And it's
something that, you know,
00:57:06.86\00:57:10.59
I think that we need
to increase our emphasis.
00:57:10.63\00:57:15.20
I'm so excited to
see these quarterlies
00:57:15.23\00:57:17.00
on the Holy Spirit because
00:57:17.03\00:57:19.27
if we don't understand His work,
00:57:19.30\00:57:22.67
we will never be
complete as Christians.
00:57:22.70\00:57:26.31
I mean, we have to...
00:57:26.34\00:57:28.21
One thing I would
say is, the first thing
00:57:28.24\00:57:30.55
you ought to do when
you get up in the morning
00:57:30.58\00:57:32.45
is pray for the Holy Spirit.
00:57:32.48\00:57:35.92
To be filled afresh
with the Holy Spirit.
00:57:35.95\00:57:38.75
Well, thank each one of
you for being here today
00:57:38.79\00:57:41.22
and thank you so
much for joining us.
00:57:41.26\00:57:42.89
And remember, join
a live Bible class.
00:57:42.92\00:57:46.33
You can go to the
Seventh-day Adventist Church
00:57:46.36\00:57:48.63
in your area and
you will have this
00:57:48.66\00:57:51.50
Sabbath School every week,
so our prayer for you again
00:57:51.53\00:57:55.90
is that the grace of our
Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
00:57:55.94\00:57:58.61
the love of the Father
00:57:58.64\00:57:59.97
and the
fellowship of the Holy Spirit
00:58:00.01\00:58:01.81
will be with you always.
00:58:01.84\00:58:03.75