Just take your copy of God's Word and turn to Acts chapter 14.
Two weeks ago, we began a study of chapter 14 of Luke's second volume,
! Most commonly referred to as the Acts of the Apostles.
You can look at the beginning of this book in your Bible and see it likely titled the Acts of the Apostles.
And that's true in much measure.
We're looking at the early life of the church and the apostles and the way in which God used them to proclaim the gospel to the known world at the time.
But I think it would be more apt to call this book the Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.
And I don't say that as a rebuke of the people who translated our Bibles.
I'm very thankful for them.
But rather to set your mind headed in the right direction.
The Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.
Luke's first account is about his ministry on earth.
His second account is about his ministry from heaven.
As he acts by the agency of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his followers.
Much of the book of Acts is aimed at helping us understand the activity of the Holy Spirit.
At the very end of chapter 13 in verse 52 Luke writes this.
And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.
Now remember that our chapter numbers, verse numbers, subtitles, not inspired.
So flowing from the end of chapter 13 into the beginning of chapter 14.
I believe that Luke intends this phrase and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit to bridge us into the next chapter.
Right.
They were filled with the Spirit.
Watch.
Here's what happens when you're filled with the Spirit.
And I asserted to you the past two weeks the following.
The primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.
If you're taking notes, I'm going to give that to you again.
I'll give it to you later if you need it again.
The primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.
And the primary means that he uses to accomplish this is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.
The primary means used to accomplish this is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.
Whatever the works of the Spirit you believe to be active, there's many views on this.
Whatever you believe to be active or in some cases even real, the work of the Spirit is always aimed in this direction.
The exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.
By causing belief in the word of God and causing the word of God to be spoken by the people of God.
The Spirit of God's job is to draw the world's attention.
Those who already are following Christ and those who have yet to follow Christ to Christ.
This is the job of the Spirit.
If this concept is new to you, I really want you to listen to the past two sermons.
Not because I think they're the most wonderful sermons on the topic.
But because I know they contain within them the biblical context you need to rightly understand this.
So go back.
Our website has it.
You can go look these sermons up.
Or just do some good study of the Spirit.
And the Spirit's activity in the life of the believer.
But for this morning, I want to prime the pump a bit from our last two weeks before we continue our study of this text.
Week 3 of Acts chapter 14.
By reading a quotation to you by Charles Spurgeon.
And I'm actually going to do it from the book I got the quotation from.
To make a point as an aside.
On your bulletin every week, there's a quotation at the top of that.
But it's often Charles Spurgeon because of this book.
I want you to know that we don't use quotations to sound smart.
My intent is never in quoting some saint of old or someone with more accolades than myself.
To make me sound smart like I'm reading all the time.
And I come across all these gems.
And I've just got to let you know that I know what's going on out there in past and present Christianity.
Never the point.
What I find is that often, particularly the old dead guys, just say things better than I say things.
I just think they do a great job of summing up and driving the point home.
Further, all saints, all of those who are God's past and present and future are part of the universal church.
And we should love all of them.
We have access to such wonderful minds.
A grace of God to us that we can access such writing.
So that's why we're giving that to you.
A little church history.
I don't want you to think that the ideas that are being presented on Sunday morning are anything new.
They're just great old ideas.
And that's part of the reason.
So I've got this wonderful book, Through the Eyes of Spurgeon, that my wife got me for something.
I can't remember what it was exactly that I got it for.
And it's done by topic in alphabetical order.
So I can just look up quotes.
And that's why you often get Spurgeon quotes.
So I'm going to read this to you to drive the point we're making about the Spirit of God working to the exaltation of Jesus Christ using the Word as the primary means.
Spurgeon said this,
God by his Spirit brings old truth home to the heart, gives new light to our eyes, and causes the Word to exercise new power over us.
But he reveals no new facts.
And he utters no words in any man's ears concerning his condition and state.
We must be content with the old revelation and with the life and power and force with which the Holy Spirit brings it to the heart.
Neither must any of us seek to have any additional revelation, for that would imply that the Scriptures are incomplete.
So if we're to be empowered by the Spirit, be filled by the Spirit, right, in this case that I've been making to you,
that means that we need to have the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.
It is the tool that the Spirit of God uses to bring about obedience in His people.
So if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it will serve you well to give a careful consideration to what it means to be filled by the Spirit.
Do not neglect the third person of the Trinity.
Do not make Him into something that He is not, or magnify work attributed to Him that is not Christ-exalting,
but rather take hold of the gift that He is in the life of the believer.
Precious gift that we have.
And chapter 14 can help us to do that, right?
It can help us by showing us some things.
It's not everything, not an exhaustive way that the Spirit works in the life,
but there's things that we can observe in the lives of believers who are filled with the Spirit.
And we can hold our life up to that and wonder,
is this me?
Am I filled with the Spirit?
So I'm going to read to us Acts chapter 14.
We'll get into it.
It's Acts chapter 14, beginning in verse 1.
Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way
that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.
But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.
So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord,
who bore witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.
But the people of the city were divided.
Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.
When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them,
they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lithuania, and to the surrounding country.
And there they continued to preach the gospel.
Now at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet.
He was crippled from birth and had never walked.
He listened to Paul speaking and Paul looked intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,
said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet.
And he sprang up and began walking.
When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycauanian,
the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.
Barnabas they called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker.
And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,
brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.
But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it,
they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,
Men, why are you doing these things?
We also are men of like nature with you.
And we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things
to a living God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.
In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their ways,
yet he did not leave himself without witness,
for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,
satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.
Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.
But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds,
they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.
But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city,
and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.
When they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples,
they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,
strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith,
and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.
And when they had appointed elders for them in every church,
with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.
Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.
When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Italia,
and from there they sailed to Antioch,
where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.
When they arrived and gathered the church together,
they declared all that God had done with them,
and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles,
and they remained no little time with the disciples.
Beloved, this is God's word to us.
It was written for his glory and our good.
We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.
So we've structured our study.
So this is part three, Acts chapter 14.
We've structured it around seven points.
I'm going to give those to you really quickly.
As I've said, this is not exhaustive of all the work of the Spirit,
but we can find all of these things in our text, and they're worth our consideration.
So the person who is filled with the Spirit,
number one is fruitful,
number two is opposed,
number three speaks boldly,
number four acts humbly,
number five develops disciples,
number six is committed,
and number seven loves fellowship.
Two weeks ago, we managed to make it through the first point.
So the person who is filled with the Spirit is fruitful.
That is, I mean this in the Mark chapter 4 good soil sense.
The person who is filled with the Spirit is multiplied as they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.
The Spirit of God uses God's people to bring people to faith.
The person who is filled with the Spirit is fruitful.
Last week I worked to present the next three points.
So secondly, number two,
the person who is filled with the Spirit is opposed.
The gospel of Jesus Christ has been and will be
accepted by many and has been and will be rejected by many.
Rejection takes all kinds of form.
It often takes the form of direct opposition,
and we see a lot of that in our text.
You picked up on the plots and the actual stoning of Paul.
Much opposition in the text.
The person who is filled with the Spirit will be opposed by some.
Thirdly, the person who is filled with the Spirit speaks boldly.
Even in the face of great opposition,
the Christian filled with the Spirit does not shrink back when they ought to press forward.
Thirdly, Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel in the face of persecution.
Fourthly, this is summary.
I thought you didn't catch that.
I'm moving us to today's points.
Fourthly, the person who is filled with the Spirit acts humbly.
Right?
The person who is filled with the Spirit is humble.
They are not self-seeking or self-promoting.
Paul and Barnabas are given the opportunity to be worshipped as gods,
but they seek only to see the God of heaven and earth exalted.
My job on a Sunday morning is not for you to think of me as a good preacher.
My job is for you to worship the risen Christ.
Get me out of the way.
I hope you can't pick me out in a crowd at the end of today,
but that you are in love with Jesus as a result of our time this morning.
So this week, Lord willing, we'll complete our study of chapter 14 with the concluding three points.
So here they are again for your note-taking benefit.
The person who is filled with the Spirit, number five, so catch the order,
number five develops disciples,
number six is committed,
and number seven loves fellowship.
So number five, the person who is filled with the Spirit develops disciples.
It's starting to feel like a list on Reddit, isn't it?
Seven ways you know you're filled with the Spirit.
Number five, develops disciples.
Paul and Barnabas carried with them the promise and the command
of what we most often call the Great Commission.
Being filled with the Holy Spirit,
they are obedient to the command of Christ,
which we find in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 through 20.
Now, hear me, the case I'm making to you
is that to be filled with the Spirit
is to have the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.
Set your mind, Romans chapter 8,
set your minds on the things of the Spirit
and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.
What are the things of the Spirit that we set our minds on?
It's the book that He's written for us.
So they understand both the power for
and the command to make disciples.
Matthew 28, 18 through 20.
And Jesus came and said to them,
right, here's the power for,
all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.
And here's the command.
Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,
not merely converts,
but followers of Jesus Christ.
Not merely those who say they follow Jesus,
but those who actually follow Jesus.
Baptizing them in the name of the Father
and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Verse 20, teaching them to observe
all that I have commanded you,
following Him.
And behold, I am with you.
I've got all power and I am with you.
Always.
To the end of the age.
Paul and Barnabas know this information.
They don't have it from Matthew 28, 18 through 20 at this time.
They are aware of the power that Jesus brings
and the command to go.
Oh, that we would have a vision for discipleship
that is consistent with our Lords.
Those of us who have been saved by Christ
going out and bringing about redemption
in the lives of others.
Paul instructs Timothy concerning discipleship
in the following way in 2 Timothy 2, 2.
He says,
What you have heard from me
in the presence of many witnesses
entrust to faithful men
who will be able to teach others also.
So Paul's vision for discipleship
is generational.
To raise up a generational witness
to the glory of our risen Christ.
In 2 Timothy 2, 2, there are four generations.
There's Paul, right?
Instructed by Christ himself, an apostle,
who now has imparted this knowledge
of the Gospel of Jesus to Timothy,
who he's now instructing to impart that
to faithful men
who will impart that to others.
This picture of the Gospel going forth
through loving, truthful relationship
from person to person to person.
And we can see in our text,
in the face of opposition,
when they first arrive in Iconium,
there's this opposition to them.
There's a stirring up.
There's an embittering of people's hearts
toward them.
So verse 3 says,
So they remained for a long time,
speaking boldly for the Lord.
Here's a people,
young converts to Christ,
that desperately need instruction.
So they stay on
in the face of this opposition
to help raise them up in Jesus.
Verse 21,
When they had preached the Gospel
to that city,
he's referring to Derbe,
and had made many disciples,
so these are converts coming to faith,
what do they do?
They return.
Go back to the places
where they have been preaching the Gospel,
and people have been coming to faith,
that there's opposition.
They go back to these places,
to Lystra,
and to Iconium,
and to Antioch,
doing what?
Verse 22,
strengthening the souls
of the disciples,
encouraging them to continue
in the faith,
helping them to be sanctified,
to be raised up in Christ,
and saying that through many tribulations,
we must enter the kingdom of God.
Paul and Barnabas
did not just see people converted,
but also growing in grace and truth.
But they did not stop there.
They also appointed leadership
to continue this work
of generational witness.
Verse 23,
they appointed elders for them
in every church.
They pray,
and they fast,
and they commit these elders
to the Lord
in whom they had believed.
And there's an important lesson
in this,
probably particularly
for church leaders,
but if you'll hear me for a second,
note the way that Paul and Barnabas
trust that Christ
is the head of the church.
They do the work
that they're called to do.
They're obedient
to be disciple makers.
They appoint elders,
and then what do they do?
They commit them to the Lord.
They're able to go on.
They're able to finish
their missionary journey
and go away
because who is with them?
Jesus Christ working
by the agency of the Spirit
with the Word of God.
They're able to press on
to a new work beyond
once they've established
these things amongst them.
So they were disciple makers.
They developed disciples
being filled with the Spirit.
Beloved,
this is the work of the church.
Ephesians chapter 4.
I want you to turn there with me, please.
Ephesians chapter 4,
just verses 11 and 12.
I want you to see this for yourself.
We will go back to Acts 14.
Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11.
Paul has just talked about
how Christ ascended.
What does that also mean?
But it also means that He descended,
He came down to earth,
and He gave gifts to men.
And he begins to talk about
these gifts that He gave
for the sake of the church.
Verse 11.
And He gave the apostles,
the prophets,
the evangelists,
the shepherds,
and teachers
to equip the saints
for the work of ministry
for building up
the body of Christ.
As a side note,
it was so hard for me
to stop at that point.
The chapter gets so good
after that.
But to stay on point,
verses 11 and 12,
He gave the apostles,
the prophets,
the evangelists,
the shepherds,
and teachers
to equip the saints
for the work of ministry
for building up
the body of Christ.
Now,
I want you to understand this text.
That's why I want you there.
I want you looking
at this text.
Okay?
So,
Christ gives gifts
to the church.
And there's a lot
of various views
on this particular text.
And I will admit
that I have a view.
I can't say
with 100% confidence
that it's right.
But I think it's right
and I want to show you why.
Right?
So,
of these gifts,
these positions
that have been given,
right,
the question would be
which of them
are active still?
All of them are,
but there's not people,
I would argue,
that are actively apostles,
actively prophets.
Okay?
Let me show you why
I think that.
Okay?
So,
if you back up in Ephesians
to chapter 2,
verse 19 and 20,
Paul says,
so then you are no longer
strangers and aliens,
a result of God's redeeming
work in your life.
You're no longer
strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens
with the saints
and members
of the household of God.
I'm in Ephesians 2,
19.
Right?
This is what's happened
as a result.
You're no longer
strangers and aliens,
but you are fellow citizens
with the saints
and members
of the household of God.
Verse 20,
built on the foundation
of the apostles
and prophets,
Christ Jesus himself
being the cornerstone.
Okay?
Now go to Ephesians chapter 3,
verses 4 and 5.
So one letter,
Paul's writing here,
we're carrying thoughts,
we're carrying these thoughts
with us
from Ephesians chapter 2
into Ephesians chapter 3
into Ephesians chapter 4.
Okay?
So he's talked about
the church
has been built
on the foundation,
built on a foundation,
it's been laid,
right?
The foundation has been laid,
it's being built
on top of that.
Apostles,
prophets.
It has a past tense
feeling to it.
Ephesians 3,
verses 4 and 5,
when you read this,
you can perceive
my insight
into the mystery
of Christ,
which was not made known
to the sons of men
in other generations,
as it has now
been revealed
to his holy apostles
and prophets
by the Spirit.
So now,
these insights
into who Christ is,
right,
has been revealed
in the apostles
and prophets.
So he's using
the apostles and prophets
in a very specific way,
and when we get
to chapter 4,
I would suggest
he's still using it
in that way.
Not new apostle,
not new prophet,
which would suggest
the way he's been using it
in Acts chapter 2
and Acts chapter 3,
that there's going
to be new revelation.
What I'm suggesting
to you is that
the word of God
is the apostles
and the prophets.
It's built on this foundation.
They were active
in this day,
still writing the canon,
and now we have
apostles and prophets
active.
God's given us a gift.
Apostles and prophets
were people
that wrote
a book
used by the Spirit
to write this book.
So the word of God
is employed
by evangelists
and shepherd teachers.
Shepherd teachers.
Right?
Are you tracking me?
I hope you are.
This is what I would suggest
is the way in which
God has given us
a book
and he's given us
people particularly gifted
to be evangelists
and people particularly gifted
to be shepherd teachers.
But to what end?
To equip the saints
for the work of ministry
for building up
the body
of Christ.
I want you to note
there is
no
grammar,
there's no
punctuation,
excuse me,
punctuation
in New Testament Greek.
There's no punctuation.
So the translators
have to do
this difficult work
of figuring out
where to stick
our English punctuation.
Like where does
the sentence end?
Where does the
comma belong?
I'm using an ESV.
I think they did
a really good job
on this verse.
Okay?
And here's why.
I want you to note
that they did not
put a comma
after the word
saints
in verse 12.
Had they put
a comma there,
here's how I think
we would understand it.
Right?
Christ gives gifts,
the word of God
and evangelists
and shepherd teachers
for three things.
To equip the saints
for the work,
excuse me,
to equip the saints,
thing one.
For the work of ministry,
thing two.
For building up
the body of Christ,
thing three.
So my job description
as a shepherd teacher
needs to include
those three things.
That's the work
I'm meant to do.
But note instead,
without the comma there,
the way we would
read the text.
Right?
He gave these gifts,
the word of God
and people,
leaders,
verse 12,
to equip the saints
for the work of ministry.
You catching the difference?
So what is it
that these gifts
are meant to do?
Right?
My job this morning
is to equip you,
the saints,
for the work of ministry.
I'm supposed to do
work of ministry,
but that primarily
is equipping you
for the work of ministry.
And then,
with the comma after ministry,
it's an addition to,
it is helping us
understand what
that looks like.
Your work of ministry
is the building up
of the body of Christ,
bringing people to faith,
making disciples.
I hope you're tracking me there.
We can go back
to Acts chapter 14.
The person who is filled
with the Spirit
develops disciples.
If you are a follower
of Jesus Christ,
you have the Spirit of God,
you are commanded
by Paul to be filled,
and Ephesians,
to be filled
with the Spirit of God,
that person makes disciples.
And it's your job
as a Christian
to be a disciple maker.
So the person who is
filled with the Spirit
develops disciples.
The person who is filled
with the Spirit
also,
number six,
is committed.
Is committed.
In our text,
we observe
the completion
of the first
missionary journey.
The first missionary journey.
This is Paul's
first missionary journey.
Barnabas is with him
on this one.
They return in this
to their sending church.
Verse 24.
They passed through Pisidia
and came to Pamphylia.
And when they had spoken
the word in Perga,
they went down to Italia,
and from there
they sailed to Antioch.
Now, this Antioch
is the Antioch of Cilicia,
not Antioch in Pisidia.
There's two Antiochs.
They go back to
Antioch of Cilicia,
and that's where
they were commissioned
to go on this journey.
We can see that
at the beginning
of Acts chapter 13.
So they go on a trip
from Antioch of Cilicia.
They end up in
Antioch of Pisidia.
They go back to Antioch
in Cilicia.
Okay?
Where they had been
commended
to the grace of God
for the work
that they had fulfilled.
They were committed.
They stayed the course.
They finished the task
that was laid before them.
In the face
of a difficult journey,
a treacherous journey,
they completed the task.
And notice
that they spoke
in this return journey,
they spoke the word
in Perga.
And to my point
that they were committed,
look back just a little bit
in Acts chapter 13,
verse 13 and 14.
This is the journey out.
Chapter 14 is talking
about the journey back.
Acts chapter 13,
beginning in verse 13,
Now Paul and his companions
set sail from Paphos
and came to Perga
in Pamphylia.
And John left them.
This is John Mark
and returned to Jerusalem.
But they went on
from Perga
and came to Antioch
in Pisidia.
And on the Sabbath day,
they went into the synagogue
and sat down.
Now notice what doesn't
seem to happen in Perga.
They don't seem to preach
the gospel there.
For whatever reason,
right,
the occasion didn't
present itself.
I believe they're filled
with the Spirit.
The occasion didn't
present itself, though,
for them to preach
the gospel in Perga.
So what did they do
on the return journey?
I just think it's fantastic.
They preached the gospel
in Perga
on their way back.
Man, we didn't proclaim
the gospel in Perga.
So they didn't neglect
the preaching of the Word
in any city.
They were committed
to the making of disciples
amongst the Gentiles.
So the person
who's filled with the Spirit
develops disciples,
is committed,
and number seven,
loves fellowship.
Loves fellowship.
Verse 27,
when they arrived,
this is Antioch in Cilicia,
back to the city
that they started
their journey on,
they gathered the church
together,
and they told the church
all that God had done
on this trip.
They exalted the work of God
in their lives
on this trip
that they had done.
And how,
verse 27,
the last part,
says how he had opened
a door of faith
to the Gentiles,
right,
to those who were not Jewish,
taking the gospel
to the nations
as a starting point.
And then verse 28 says,
and they remained
no little time
with the disciples.
Now on your bulletin
there's a very brief quotation
from Charles Spurgeon
just says,
sheep go in flocks
and so do God's people.
I think that would make
a fantastic t-shirt.
I'm going to read to you
the longer form
of that quotation.
So listen carefully.
Some Christians
try to go to heaven
alone in solitude,
but believers
are not compared
to bears
or lions
or other animals
that wander alone.
But those who belong
to Christ
are sheep
in this respect
that they love
to get together.
Sheep go in flocks
and so do God's people.
Often when I talk
about the great need
of fellowship,
there will be a person
or some people
in my mind
that I haven't seen
in a long time
that I know
really need to hear
and guess who tends
to not be there
that Sunday?
Sometimes it feels
like I'm preaching
to the choir
when I tell people
who are at church
that they should be
at church.
So here's the exhortation
to you, right?
Like maybe this morning
this is not the normal
thing for you
that you're a follower
of Jesus
but you're not committed
to a fellowship
of believers
and you really need
just to hear it
for yourself, right?
Come back
or find another fellowship
to be part of
and commit to
and live life with.
Or it could be
that you are
and many of you are.
Many of you are
so committed.
Wonderfully committed
to the life
of this church
but you know
people who aren't, right?
You know that person
that should be sitting
here with you this morning
in fellowship
with Christians
and they're not.
And you need to take
this truth
be a developing
disciple maker
and help people
understand their
great need
of a church fellowship.
The Apostle John
writes in 1 John 4, 7 and 8
Beloved,
let us love one another
for love is from God
and whoever loves
has been born of God
and knows God.
Anyone who does not love
does not know God
because God is love.
It should be the natural response
for those of us
who have been loved by God
to love one another.
He's not speaking generically
although there's definitely
an overflowing,
outflowing,
loving response
to the community around us.
But he's primarily talking about
those of us who are in Christ
loving one another.
Get together
with the people
that you love.
Paul prays
for the Thessalonian believers
in 1 Thessalonians 3, 12.
May the Lord
make you increase
and abound
in love
for one another
and for all
as we do
for you.
The Spirit-filled
Christian
loves the church.
both universal,
loves the church generally,
but also loves
the church
local.
And beloved,
I know
this is not
always easy.
There are many times
that I am thankful
that I have a job
to do
and it would be
neglectful of that job
if I didn't show up
and do that job.
There are some times
I just don't feel
like being
with people.
I'm thankful
that I'm driven
to be with you
and I'm always
really thankful
when I am.
I'm glad that I'm here
once I get together.
Community group night,
those of you
who are in my community group,
there's a rare Tuesday night
that I just feel like
bopping out the door
and spending the evening out.
Usually I would rather
sit on the couch
at home,
right?
But I'm compelled,
right?
It's an argument
I'm making.
Fill with the Spirit.
Love.
God's.
People.
Last week I told you
that the Monday prior to that
I fell out of a tree.
Now that I know
I'm not going to have
to go to the hospital,
it was a tree here.
If you understand
workers' comp,
you'll understand that.
I'm pretty sure
I cracked two ribs.
I'm pretty sure
that I cracked two ribs.
And in the pain
of that week,
Clay offered to preach
for me last Sunday
and it would have been
really easy to go,
yeah,
I'm going to stay home.
A heating pad feels great
right now.
But I love being with you guys.
And I wasn't going to come
and not preach.
I couldn't say,
oh, my ribs are cracked.
I'm going to sit down.
No, no, I'll get up
and I'll preach all the same.
This morning,
Clay called me.
So I'm downstairs.
Clay calls me.
For Clay to call me
on a Sunday morning,
I'm thinking,
oh, what's going on?
So I call him.
He sounded horrible.
He's got the flu.
And he called me
and he asked my permission
not to come this morning.
I said, Clay,
of course don't come, man.
Like no one else wants the flu
and you need to get better.
And he said,
and he said,
and I just wouldn't
have expected this.
He said, man,
I just really want to come.
I just really want to be there.
And I was,
little of me was hoping
you'd make me.
I said, no,
you need to stay home
this morning.
Do we long
to be
with God's people?
And hear me say,
it's not just that you come in
and you sit down
and you observe a show.
If that's what you think
of as church,
yeah, skip it.
You're not missing that much
if that's all
that you're getting out of it.
You can listen
to a fantastic sermon
and sing wonderful songs
in your car
by yourself.
If that was church,
I will tell you
that my Sunday mornings
would be spent
heading somewhere
to get out in the woods
and I'd listen
to a good sermon
and I'd listen
to some great music
and that would satisfy.
It's not that.
It's people living
in relationship together.
That's why I said
not the person
still in the spirit
loves church
because I think
we have a misunderstanding
of what that word means
but loves fellowship.
Loves being in relationship
with one another.
We can do that
in some shape and form
on a Sunday morning.
More than that,
it needs to be happening
in other ways.
We have activities
and just life,
just getting together
because you long
to be with God's people.
The church is not perfect
but the church
is our faith family,
our refuge
in a world of trouble.
Too often we are troubled,
we run to our solitude.
Beloved,
I am guilty of this.
I'm an introvert.
I would rather be alone
most of the time,
especially when things
aren't going well for me.
But what I need most
is to be with God's people.
We ought to flee
to be together,
to be reminded
of the hope
that we have
in this world.
Michael Horton,
professor of theology
and apologetics
at Westminster Theological Seminary
said this
in a foreword of a book
that I actually did read.
The visible church
is where you will find
Christ's kingdom on earth
and to disregard the kingdom
is to disregard
its king.
So,
the person who is filled
with the Spirit
is fruitful,
is opposed,
speaks boldly,
acts humbly,
develops disciples,
and is committed.
Let me ask you
some questions
for application.
Number one,
have you been baptized
in the Holy Spirit?
Jesus' promise
is the baptism
of the Holy Spirit
in Acts 1,
verse 5.
In brief,
this phrase
is only used
seven times
in the New Testament.
It occurs four times
in the prediction
of John the Baptist
concerning Jesus' promise
to baptize believers
in the Spirit.
The next two,
directly to the day
of Pentecost,
fulfilling that promise,
the only other reference,
and it is a variation
of the statement
is found in the New Testament
in 1 Corinthians 12,
verses 12 and 13.
For just as the body
is one
and has many members
and all the members
of the body,
though many,
are one body,
so it is with Christ.
For in one Spirit
we were all baptized
into one body.
Jews are Greek,
slaves are free,
and all were made
to drink of one Spirit.
I want you to look
at this further,
especially if you're
wrestling with the notion
that I've laid out
for you today.
But from that text,
1 Corinthians 12,
12 and 13,
the Spirit
is the element
in which the believers
were baptized,
which moved them
positionally
from outside the church
to positionally
in the church.
This is what Paul
is communicating
in 1 Corinthians 12.
They were baptized
in the Spirit
and found themselves
in the church.
Paul writes
in Romans 8,
verse 9,
anyone who does not
have the Spirit
of Christ
does not belong
to him.
So,
to be baptized
in the Holy Spirit
is to be regenerate,
is to be saved
by God
in Christ.
If you are a follower
of Jesus,
you have the Spirit
of God.
You have been
baptized.
And you cannot be
filled with the Spirit
if you have not been
baptized in him.
So having been baptized
as a Christian,
it's possible for him
both to be filled
and to not be filled.
That's what we've
been talking about.
How do we know?
If we're believers,
how do we know?
But the question
that must precede that
is,
are you a Christian?
Do you ever
produce fruit
of the Spirit?
And I would suggest
to you that you
ponder that yourself,
but I would also
suggest to you
that you talk to people
who are followers
of Jesus Christ,
who know you,
if you're not sure.
Do you think
I'm regenerate?
Do you see
a growth
in holiness
in my life?
And if your friends
won't be honest
with you,
find new friends.
You cannot be
filled with the Spirit
if you have not
been baptized
in him.
So if you would
honestly answer
the question,
have you been
baptized in the Spirit?
No.
Repent and believe.
Flee from the wrath
to come.
Repent and believe
in the sufficient
work of the gospel
of Jesus Christ.
If you answer
yes to that question,
yes, I've been
baptized in the Spirit.
Do you develop
disciples?
Are you at work
with people?
Are you investing
something?
All of us have
something to invest.
You may not feel
equipped for that.
You may not feel
like you have
some wealth of
knowledge to impart
to somebody else.
You have something
to invest in somebody
who's younger in the
faith than you
or even a peer.
Invest into others.
Do you develop
disciples?
Are you committed
to the cause
of Christ?
Are you committed
to the cause
of Christ?
Are you chasing
your dream?
Are you chasing
his dream?
Is your life
given to the
building of the
kingdom of God?
And beloved,
we do this in all
kinds of practical
ways.
We do this as
students.
We do this as
employees.
We do this as
husbands and fathers
and parents.
All kinds of
very practical
ways we build
the kingdom
of God.
Do you love
the fellowship
of God's
people?
Do you love
the fellowship
of God's
people?
If you answer
yes to these
questions,
then there are
signs that you
are being filled
with the Spirit.
The Word of
Christ is dwelling
in you richly,
at least at times.
If you answer
no, then why
not?
Why not?
Why are you
not being filled
with the Spirit?
What is it that
you believe that
is not consistent
with what the
Bible has to say
about you,
what it has to
say about the
world around you,
and what it has
to say about
our great God?
Let's pray
together.