[0:00] Philippians 2, 1 and 2. And if there be therefore any consolation in Christ, comfort, love, and fellowship with the Spirit. Notice those words, fellowship with the Spirit.
[0:11] If any bowels and mercies, the old King James uses bowels where we use hearts. Alright? So when you come across that word, just call it heart.
[0:23] Fulfill ye my joy, every like-minded, having the same love, every one for the mind. Notice verse 2. This is only one of dozens of places in the Bible that suggest that church members be close to each other.
[0:40] There ought to be a bond between us. There is, but you shouldn't let anything break that bond. You ought to give each other a lot of room. Somebody comes along and is a little bit short with you.
[0:55] Just he might be having a bad day. You don't automatically just respond to it. Say, well, alright, you jerk. That's another way to handle it. Be patient.
[1:07] Be tolerant. Give them the benefit of the doubt. Because the Bible everywhere says to keep the unity of the Spirit upon peace. Now that's one of those places.
[1:18] Be like-minded. Have the same love. Be of one accord, one mind. That's just one spot where it tells God's people to get along with each other.
[1:29] And even more that they love each other. And we do that. Now, I wonder, a few years ago, I preached on that idea of Philip's technology of the Spirit.
[1:46] And you'll remember it. I told you that we pray to God and Jesus, but we hardly ever say anything to the Holy Spirit. He's a forgotten man. And yet, He's with you all the time.
[1:59] He is the one who replaced Jesus on the earth. And you can talk to Him. It's alright. Talk to Him. You ought to be aware that He's with you.
[2:10] You can ask Him to help you. Not a day passes. I don't say, Holy Spirit, you're supposed to help me in prayer. Now, help me not to pray for the wrong thing. Help me pray for what I need to pray for.
[2:22] I need your help in prayer. Talk to Him. Fellowship with Him. Just because He's silent and invisible doesn't mean He's not there.
[2:34] Well, God is silent and invisible. Dude, you pray to help. But don't forget the Spirit. Fellowship with the Spirit. You remember I told you that some time back.
[2:45] Alright, by the way, are you doing it? How many are better at that now? Yeah, I'm good. but several of you are. Okay. I'm going to go a little further tonight and I want you to listen up.
[3:00] Some added benefits of fellowshipping with the Spirit. What got me to study this and I'm going to teach it for you tonight, I told you the other day when we had the pictures lined up here of all our veterans and those that are in our family because they've been in wars and some have our pictures here.
[3:21] Remember I told you that that's my Uncle Gilbert right there. And I said that Uncle Gilbert was in a battle in Europe when his entire company was whacked out except for him.
[3:33] he was the only one that would lie. Do you remember I told you that he said I knew at that moment while that battle was going on I was perfectly aware that my mother and my neighbor Landon Anderson my mother and my neighbor were praying for me during that battle.
[4:00] God told me that. Battle of the ball is great for you. I'm sorry? Battle of the ball. No, that was Uncle Robert. It's the most battle in Europe. I'm not sure which one.
[4:12] I wish I'd asked Dad before he died where that happened but I didn't get that information. I just know that he several of my uncles were in the European theater and some of the Japanese I know he was in Europe.
[4:27] Where was I? He knew that. He knew that. He knew it. And when he got home he talked to his mother about that. And they talked about dates and when and so on.
[4:42] And she said you know I remember about that time when Landon Anderson came back here and knocked on my door and said Betty or let me betty Betty I want to take something.
[4:58] God put your son of Gilbert on my heart. And I prayed for him I think he said yesterday or the day before whatever. And I really had a burden for him.
[5:11] Now my dad was also in war. He didn't mention him. He just said God told me to pray for Gilbert. And Betty and my grandmother knew that she would bear burden on that same day.
[5:27] And they are certain Uncle Gilbert was certain that all of that was talked about at the same time when he was in that battle. And God brought him through that and only wanted to survive.
[5:39] Now how did how did he know they were praying for him? Now that's sort of strange. Don't you think the Lord somehow hadn't talked to you?
[5:55] Has the Lord ever talked to you? He doesn't talk to us in words that we can hear. I'll guarantee you he will talk to you in your heart and you will know he's saying something.
[6:09] You'll know it. How many of you remember that? You know God has said something to me with most of your hands. Now you didn't hear it already but there was I'm thinking of two or three things right now.
[6:22] It was just absolutely so clear. I looked down and I thought he was in there. I do not. I almost heard it in the ear. Now you know that God and the Holy Spirit can talk to you don't you?
[6:37] All right now keep that in mind. Paul is not just speaking to the Philippians as individuals but in the context of their relationship with each other.
[6:52] Be you like mine he said. Be of one accord and one mind. He's talking about loving each other and that's in your life.
[7:03] I turn to two or three pages forward to Colossians which is the next book chapter three. I told you that we read him sometimes. You folks that are here for the baptism just give us a little time.
[7:17] We do this every Wednesday night we study the Bible together and you have to be patient with it and we'll have the baptism at the end so we'll all do it. Just listen and see if you can pick up something that's interesting to you.
[7:31] The Bible is a wonderful book. The Bible will change you. The Bible is a powerful book. We can all testify that the closer we are to the Bible the closer we are to God.
[7:42] Right? So give us a little time here and we'll be as quickly as we can. Colossians 3 verse 12 put on therefore the elect of God holy and beloved bowels of mercy that's heart of mercy kindness humbleness of mind meekness long suffering forbearing one another and forgiving one another for any man have a quarrel against any.
[8:11] You see once again he's telling the church how we're supposed to get along with each other. Even as Christ forgave you you also all come to eat and above all these things put on charity what's charity?
[8:23] Yes that's love which is the bond of perfectness and let the peace of God with your heart to the which also you're called in one body and be thankful.
[8:35] Notice that he wants us to be like-minded and be one-minded and so on. Now you know how we can do that?
[8:47] By fellowshiping with the Spirit. By being aware of the Holy Spirit. If you are in the Spirit you're talking to it and you're close to it and I am don't you think we're going to be close to each other?
[9:01] That's the way we can fellowship and be in one-minded and be like-minded is all of us fellowshiping with the same Holy Spirit. Alright. This is how we can keep the unity of the Spirit and the bond of peace and be in the hope.
[9:15] And three. Now here's where we're going first. Listen up now. When you turn to 1 John chapter 1 over toward the end of your Bible book nearly to the end you'll find three new books 1 John 2 not 13 go to 1 John chapter 1 family didn't you lay over toward the back Bible through that which we've seen and heard, declare we unto you, this is John, the Father, that he also may have fellowship with us.
[10:27] What? He's writing people miles and miles away. They're not next door. That's why he's sending a letter, because they're way off.
[10:39] What did he say? I want you to have fellowship with us. What's the problem? How's that going to be? How do you want to have fellowship with us when you're miles away?
[10:53] You better keep that thought in mind and keep reading. Truly our fellowship is with the Father, with the Son, Jesus Christ. These things write me unto you that your joy may be full. This then is the message which we have heard from him and declare unto you that God is light and in him is no darkness at all.
[11:15] Keep reading. If we say that we have fellowship with him and walk in darkness, we lie and it's not true.
[11:25] Now you get out here and sin and you think you're in fellowship with God. You're not, right? But if we walk in the light, get all our sins confessed, we're not sinning.
[11:36] As he is in the light, we have fellowship too, one with another. Hmm. If we walk in the light, if you're walking in the light, that's walking with God.
[11:50] And I'm walking with God. We can have fellowship with one another. But watch. John said, I want to have fellowship with us. If you way over there walking in the light and I am walking in the same light, we can have fellowship with each other.
[12:09] Although we separated a mile. Remember Gilbert Stark. Remember him. He somehow had fellowship with his mother and his neighbor, though he was across the ocean thousands miles away.
[12:26] The Holy Spirit would be linked with both of them. Is that right? This is what he's talking about. You can have fellowship with us even though you're not away if both of us are walking in the light.
[12:41] All right? Okay. We were in Philippians earlier. Can you get back there? Go back to Philippians where we started.
[12:51] Okay. This time, chapter one. Galatians, Ephesians, Philippians, the cross.
[13:08] That's the one that's Timothy's one. They have to locate. Philippians one. Look at verse three.
[13:20] I thank my God upon every remembrance of you always and every prayer of mine for you all. He was a southerner. For you all, he said.
[13:31] Making requests with joy for your fellowship in the gospel from the first day until now. All right.
[13:44] Paul is somewhere across the world writing to a church in Philippi and he said, your fellowship.
[13:56] I want your fellowship in the gospel now. See that word now? That's present, isn't it? I'm having fellowship with you from the first time that you got saved till now.
[14:12] Oh, are you nuts? How are you having fellowship with those people in Philippi when you're way off from there? He said, right now, look, there's a teaching in here that we sort of miss.
[14:27] From the first day until now, although hundreds of miles are, sounds like sky or something. do you think that God is dumber than people that came up in the sky?
[14:43] If man can do something like that, if God can, without victory or something like that, is it possible that our Lord can give us fellowship with each other though we are many miles apart?
[15:00] Look, Paul and Philippians were doing it and Jude did it. We didn't read that part, excuse that, but John was doing it in 1 John.
[15:13] They're talking as a matter of fact. You walk in the lights, he's in the light and we'll have fellowship with one another. Paul said from the first days, we got saved till now. We got fellowship.
[15:28] Gilbert Stark had fellowship with his mom. he knew she was praying for him right there. Now, he didn't go any further with that, but I'm going to get a little deeper in a minute of what I think he could have done.
[15:45] I think he could have taught him what I think. Okay, well, let's go a little further slowly. All right, have you heard the term praying in the spirit?
[15:59] What does it mean? Do you know what it means? It's just a scriptural idea. What does it mean? Pray in the spirit. Did you know that Ephesians 6, 18 tells you that, in Jude, verse 20, tells you that, pray in the spirit?
[16:19] Yes. prayer in the prayer in the spirit is a very intimate kind of prayer.
[16:31] Yes. If you're praying in the spirit, I'm praying in the spirit. We're in the same spirit. There's a closeness right there, is there not? Hebrews 4, 16 says, let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace.
[16:49] Ephesians 2, 18 says that we have access to the father on his throne through the spirit. When you pray, where are you in the spirit?
[17:02] You're at the throne. Did you hear what that said? Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace. boldly pray that you're transported to the throne when you're praying.
[17:21] There's God. You're right there in his presence asking him things. You may not realize that, but that's where you are. I'm sorry?
[17:35] That's when you're praying. Now we're in heavenly places in Christ Jesus all the time. I don't think every moment we're to pray. He said, let us come to the throne when we're praying.
[17:47] All right? Now then, who else is at the throne of God? Anybody else there? Jesus, anybody else?
[17:59] Any people? Go to the last book in the Bible. You get ahead of me. Go to the last book in the Bible. Revelation chapter 19 and verse 4.
[18:19] Revelation 19, that's what we're talking about. Revelation 19, verse 4. Now there's some people there always around the throne, and I don't have time to explain it, but there's four and twenty, or twenty-four elders, and there's four beasts that represent the animal king, fell down and worshipped God that sat on the throne, saying amen, hallelujah, and a voice came out of the throne, saying, praise our God.
[18:50] What? All ye, his servants, ye that feared him, all the great. Sound like they were there. And I heard as it were the voice of a great multitude, and as the voice of many waters, and as the voice of mighty thunderings, saying, hallelujah, for the Lord God omnipotent ringing.
[19:10] Now, I can show you that that is a picture of everybody in heaven at the throne. That's when all of us are there.
[19:23] Well, we're not all up there yet, but some of us are. How many of you have somebody in heaven? Almost everybody does. They gather at the throne to praise the Lord.
[19:38] That's what you're going to do all of the because verse 7 says, let us be glad because we've honored him. Now then, all of our loved ones that are going to heaven are around the throne, at least part of the time.
[19:51] Praise the Lord. Is that right? Now, how many of you have done as I have done, and asked God to say to your loved one, I love you and miss you?
[20:07] I wonder why you're probably going to do that. You didn't think of that. I'm not about a problem. The Holy Spirit promised you to do that because he knew the words. Do you do it all?
[20:25] You can. I have asked God to tell my mother and my father and many others that I miss them and love them.
[20:35] and you've done that too. And it's perfectly good to do it because all the Spirit is leading us to do that. Now, let's go a little bit further. I'm not going to be much longer.
[20:47] What if Brother Gansler and Matt his son down in Argentina are praying at the same time? Where are they?
[21:00] At the throne. all right. And they arrive at the throne at the same time. Why can't Brother Gansler ask God to tell Matt something for him?
[21:27] Then he could have been. He's at the throne talking to God and there is Matt talking to God. Why can't he say, by the way Lord, would you tell Matt and you have a message for him?
[21:44] Do you think God could relay Matt's answer back to William or at least have an awareness of fellowship with Dad in the Spirit?
[21:58] Is that right? God why couldn't why couldn't they converge through the board?
[22:14] You tell him that, he gives an answer. He gives it back to you. He gives it back. Why couldn't that happen? The reason it doesn't happen, we just haven't thought of it. We just don't believe it.
[22:24] But it can happen. if my wife were down in Louisiana just tomorrow, why couldn't we agree to pray at the same time of the evening and get be sure we're fellowshipping in the Spirit and we're fellowshipping with each other if we're in the Spirit?
[22:45] Couldn't God relay the message to her if I asked himself also I'm answering the other? Why couldn't that happen? In the Spirit, that's where we are.
[23:00] Do you believe that could happen? Remember Gilbert Stark. God told him, your mother just asked me to take care of you.
[23:14] And Gilbert Stark was aware that his mother asked it and that the prayer was answered. He was taken care of. Because his mother asked God to do it.
[23:27] I think had he known as much as I'm saved we can know, he could have said Lord, tell her thank you, good night, I appreciate it, tell her thank you, pray for her.
[23:39] Why not? If it went one way, why couldn't it go back there and wouldn't that have been a blessing to his mother? would have been a wonderful thing, I knew to travel back then, would have been a wonderful thing if God had said, by the way, he told me that he's all right and the battle's over and to thank you for praying.
[24:02] Wow, wouldn't that be great for a mother? God I think he would too. My goodness, don't close your mind to possibilities now that God might do more than we think he can.
[24:18] And we ought to always be thinking more instead of less. There is a certain unity of heart and spirit between us and those in heaven, right?
[24:30] But is there not the same unity of heart as those in us on earth? They're separated from us. Remember Paul said we've got fellowship from the first thing you've got to say until now and they were miles away.
[24:46] I wish he had enlarged them there. I wish he told us a little bit more about it. But you can't deny that's what he said. How? Paul, you have fellowship with other people.
[24:57] It's got to be in the spirit. It's got to be in the spirit. I don't think anybody knows that she had all the possibilities of fellowship with the spirit. I think we ought to explore the subject same thing but at least we ought to have the possibility.
[25:13] Remember the songwriters that tell Mother I be there? You had the right idea, didn't you? Didn't it? Now many times I have said this made mistake if you want to know more about God study the devil because he's the great imitator.
[25:40] He said I will be like the most high. Did you know that God and the angels are going to show themselves like that? That's the thing you do that I'm smart to stay hidden. By the same total, if you want to watch to see what the devil is doing, he got it from God.
[25:59] Have you heard this thing? What is that? That's a meeting with the spirits. Where do you get that out here?
[26:12] He's going to say to God, we can meet with people that aren't there and have other people meet together. Where did you ever, where did he get you out in a meeting?
[26:23] a meeting? What about the Holy Spirit being a meeting? Now, don't turn me off.
[26:35] I'm not through that. But I want you to explore the possibility that we've got more here than we experience. This fellowship experience is a big thing.
[26:48] Big thing. The next thing I want to do, and now I'm going to get my dad to answer me through the Lord. He's in heaven.
[27:02] I'm going to come to you and say what he said. Now, you think I'm nuts. You think I'm nuts. Lord, tell my dad I miss him and I love him.
[27:15] Brother Stark, your son, said he missed you and loved him. Well, you tell him and whatever he was telling you. you think that's possible.
[27:26] How many things are possible? I do too. I'm going to make it work one of these days. things to you know, go and go and go and go and go! I tell you.
[27:36] it and these people that have a son in the war or something they want to blame let the lord tell you how to do that'd be great you know you were over there been nice if you could correspond it to some of us or you'd know that some of us were crazy you then you got out of a pickle because somebody was afraid you would be good at you getting on there you probably weren't spiritual that was maybe yeah i think that at times you feel impressed out of the blue and good reason you think about somebody you haven't been talking about in a long time yeah where'd that talk about your heart yeah you know sure that they know what it brings to you all right now see you didn't do great you just didn't think about somebody put that all in your head i think the holy spirit is trying to get us to communicate now this is not spooky no you're not going to hear a voice well i'll guarantee you i've had him speak to me you have too in my mind and in my heart you use him talking i mean you've started doing something and you said hmm i can't do that everybody's had that he'll stop you man i remember one fellow said that he didn't even know drinking was wrong when he first got saved he said he went to the cupboard and got the mic off and said he brought the glass of mouth and said whoa i can't drink this he didn't know what's wrong yeah but god told him it was yeah and he threw the thing down and poured it out and didn't want the breacher said why couldn't i drink that now if you think about it you have been stopped from living something more close to me and the closer to god we live the more this doesn't get out if you walk into the light as he's in the light and there's no darkness at all in you god has a good opportunity to come in with you and you and them see wouldn't be a wonderful thing if friends that are miles apart you could talk to each other communicate in a sense yeah wow wow that is great that's his son is in common and you you had planned to read psalm 91 the same time and he said i knew that something good happened to me because you were that praying with that song i had an uncle that was at uh uh iwo jima and that song was a great blessing to him and though he didn't recognize maybe that somebody was praying at that moment probably what happened because they were dying on a ramp and you could get off the beach and uh you know how terrible that was right first those marines just getting picked off and he tried to dig him a little foxhole and finally got flat and he said he reached in his backpack i told
[31:43] you this before there are new people here they had to get him in the new testament he got it out and said lord i gotta have some help and that's a great christian and uh and and and i don't look i don't always think you ought to say he's let it fall i think you ought to look at the thing on purpose to not just expect the lord to open your bible before he's right place but he was in a tight spot and it opened up in psalm 91 and he began to read and he said he got down to the verses six and seven where it said a thousand shall fall at your side and ten thousand at your right hand but it shall not come and he said a great peace came over him now i believe he didn't know it he could have known you know if he didn't know what we're studying tonight and i think god had somebody pray for him at that moment and he could have known that he could have been in the spirit and that person in the spirit and god could have said you know your mother's praying for you right now it's gonna be all right and he could have said you tell mom praise the lord come with praise thank god i mean i think we can communicate through the board through a mile apart anyway he said this great peace came over him he jumped up grabbed his gun and didn't have a fear for him when all of them do that battle without a scratch and we're going to live we're going to survive or something of that battle of that uh those battles now that happened to him and he testified to somebody somewhere was communicating to the lord during that time don't you believe hey look don't you believe that when you really have a bad bad thing coming don't you think god can impress somebody to pray with me look remember this god doesn't do anything except for the next one to pray you know god has put us in charge of the world and he's not going to interfere with us until we ask him you believe that so when he sees that you're you're just about to be in trouble why couldn't he impress look i can have him wake up in the middle of the night i don't have any time with somebody on my heart haven't you well the lord can do that he can impress somebody to pray for you and that's what happened with ray martin he was in that foxhole and and he said lord i need to help the lord could have said i already got to take care of it i've got to pray for you right now and then the lord asked him prayer gave him peace what went on how many times has that happened i'm saying tonight tonight tonight i'm saying tonight we can go a little bit farther if we experience him we could know who that was praying and we could say lord tell them thank you and the lord could tell them that and the lord could say from some shoulder somewhere tell mom thank you pray whatever i'm all right wouldn't it be a great blessing for our moms to get a message from god and she knows their son's okay i'm saying there's more of that than we're taking advantage of all right oh it is spooky too but it's not this thing