WEBVTT 00:00:00.001 --> 00:00:02.500 We're in first Corinthians 14. 00:00:02.500 --> 00:00:15.000 We're going to look at 25 verses and the only way I can do this if I speed read and I just run through these points because there's a lot of text here a lot to cover. 00:00:15.000 --> 00:00:20.300 We're going to look at the first 25 verses. 00:00:20.300 --> 00:00:22.500 I'm just going to read the first couple to get us going. 00:00:22.500 --> 00:00:27.800 But basically we're going to do half the chapter and there's just not a good place to split this up. 00:00:27.800 --> 00:00:30.800 So we're going to have to do 25 verses today. 00:00:30.800 --> 00:00:42.799 Pursue love and earnestly desire the spiritual gifts, especially that you may prophesy for one who speaks in a tongue, speaks not to men but to God for no one understands Him. 00:00:42.799 --> 00:00:44.799 But he utters mysteries in the spirit. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:51.799 On the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding and encouragement and consolation. 00:00:51.799 --> 00:00:57.799 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself, but the one who prophesies builds up the church. 00:00:57.799 --> 00:01:02.799 Now I want you all to speak in tongues but even more to prophesy. 00:01:02.799 --> 00:01:10.799 The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongue unless someone interprets so the church may be built up. 00:01:10.799 --> 00:01:15.799 Now skip to verse 12 because verse 12 is I think the thesis. 00:01:15.799 --> 00:01:26.799 So with yourself since you are eager for manifestations of the spirit, strive to excel in building up the church. 00:01:26.799 --> 00:01:30.799 There's two types of Christians essentially. 00:01:30.799 --> 00:01:39.799 There are Christians that are prone to enjoy academics and knowledge and the study of Scriptures and they want to advance in theology. 00:01:39.799 --> 00:01:41.799 They love doctoral studies. 00:01:41.799 --> 00:01:50.799 They are not content with just knowing the basics of Christianity, but they want to go deep into the Word of God. 00:01:50.799 --> 00:01:52.799 They want to learn the terms. 00:01:52.799 --> 00:02:02.799 They want to know the biblical theological words and they find much encouragement and strength through knowing the Word of God in such a way. 00:02:02.799 --> 00:02:08.800 They tend to be academics, those who are prone to education. 00:02:08.800 --> 00:02:21.800 Then there are other types of Christians that are more emotional and they're not as interested in academics and studying the Scriptures that indefinitely. 00:02:21.800 --> 00:02:23.800 They want to know the basics of the Bible. 00:02:23.800 --> 00:02:34.800 They need to know the gospel, but when it comes to parsing the difference between progressive and positional sanctification, it's like, man, those words are just too big. 00:02:34.800 --> 00:02:37.800 I'm not. I'm not. I'm a simple Christian. 00:02:37.800 --> 00:02:40.800 Don't go into those type of words. 00:02:40.800 --> 00:02:50.800 I just want to experience Christ and I'm afraid they will say I'm afraid that the Christian that's into doctrine and all about doctrine. 00:02:50.800 --> 00:02:52.800 They're missing the devotional life. 00:02:52.800 --> 00:02:57.800 They're missing the heart in all their academics, and it leads to pride, right? 00:02:57.800 --> 00:03:03.800 Academics leads to pride and it's more about experiencing Christ. 00:03:03.800 --> 00:03:06.800 It's more about devotional life. 00:03:06.800 --> 00:03:09.800 It's more about love having a felt experience. 00:03:09.800 --> 00:03:13.800 Now, no doubt there's two extremes in both extremes. 00:03:13.800 --> 00:03:15.800 We want to avoid. 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:29.800 We want to avoid the dead academic theologians that don't live holy lives, that don't love the Lord in a personal, experiential way, but they love theology and they can debate with the best of them. 00:03:29.800 --> 00:03:44.800 We want to avoid that type of Christianity, but there's the other side of Christianity we also want to avoid, and it's just the emotionalism, the excitement of having a spiritual encounter. 00:03:44.800 --> 00:03:50.800 We're just kind of raw emotions is built up with the music is built up with excitement. 00:03:50.800 --> 00:03:58.800 You know the war, the goosebumps come over your skin and you feel like you're in the presence of Christ. 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.800 You feel like you're in the presence of the Holy Spirit. 00:04:01.800 --> 00:04:06.800 No, you can't articulate why you don't have a reason for the excitement. 00:04:06.800 --> 00:04:11.800 It's just raw emotions. 00:04:11.800 --> 00:04:19.800 And we see here that the problem with the Corinthians, they were tilting towards emotionalism. 00:04:19.800 --> 00:04:28.800 They wanted to be spiritual and viewed themselves as spiritual Christians, but they love the more showy gifts. 00:04:28.800 --> 00:04:30.800 They love speaking in tongues. 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:39.800 It seems like they elevated speaking in tongues, most likely because of the emotional encounter that it brought to their to their lives. 00:04:39.800 --> 00:04:46.800 They elevated this emotionalism and speaking in tongues above sound doctrine. 00:04:46.800 --> 00:04:50.800 They love the experience. 00:04:50.800 --> 00:04:54.800 In fact, they wanted a encounter with the Lord. 00:04:54.800 --> 00:04:56.800 Now look at verse 12. 00:04:56.800 --> 00:05:01.800 So with yourself, since you are eager, Paul is telling them, you are eager. 00:05:01.800 --> 00:05:02.800 You desire this. 00:05:02.800 --> 00:05:06.800 This is what you want for the manifestation of the spirit. 00:05:06.800 --> 00:05:08.800 Do we not want that? 00:05:08.800 --> 00:05:09.800 I know I want that. 00:05:09.800 --> 00:05:18.800 I want when we come to church to know that we have been with God, that we've experienced the Lord Jesus, that we have encounter the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:05:18.800 --> 00:05:26.800 I don't want it just to be a dead Orthodox encounter where we all learn something, but our hearts are not been affected. 00:05:26.800 --> 00:05:28.800 We haven't been changed. 00:05:28.800 --> 00:05:30.800 We haven't been encouraged. 00:05:30.800 --> 00:05:34.800 We haven't been filled with joy and love. 00:05:34.800 --> 00:05:37.800 I want to encounter the Holy Spirit. 00:05:37.800 --> 00:05:42.800 So there are some that just want the encounter of the Holy Spirit, a manifestation of the spirit. 00:05:42.800 --> 00:05:47.800 They want power, but they could care less about doctrine. 00:05:47.800 --> 00:05:50.800 Others that want doctrine that don't care about power. 00:05:50.800 --> 00:06:06.800 They don't care about the experience and what Paul is seeking to do because they were emphasizing tongues as the chief method in which to have a spiritual encounter and manifestation of the spirit. 00:06:06.800 --> 00:06:10.800 Paul in chapter 13 says love is greater than this. 00:06:10.800 --> 00:06:18.800 Love is something you should pursue more than you should pursue these revelatory gifts like speaking in tongues. 00:06:18.800 --> 00:06:27.800 Then he comes to this chapter, chapter 14, and he says prophecy is something that you should seek more than tongues. 00:06:27.800 --> 00:06:31.800 Prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues. 00:06:31.800 --> 00:06:45.800 And the reason why prophecy is greater than speaking in tongues is because you can understand prophecies because prophecy goes to the mind while tongues are understandable. 00:06:45.800 --> 00:06:47.800 You can't understand them. 00:06:47.800 --> 00:06:53.800 There's no if there's specially if there's no interpretation, there's no translation of what's being said. 00:06:53.800 --> 00:06:56.800 It's useless to your mind. 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:59.800 There's no point theologically. 00:06:59.800 --> 00:07:10.800 There's no doctrine being advanced and without doctorate, without the word being comprehended and understood, there is no salvation and there's no sanctification and there's no growth. 00:07:10.800 --> 00:07:17.800 There's no spiritual encounter truly if there's no clarity of what's been said. 00:07:17.800 --> 00:07:30.800 And so what Paul is doing is says what's important and if we want a spiritual encounter with God and you want to have a felt experience of Christ, I'm not going to deny that. 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:33.800 I want to experientially know Jesus. 00:07:33.800 --> 00:07:38.800 And by the way, think about all the things that comes with knowing the Lord Jesus Christ love. 00:07:38.800 --> 00:07:39.800 That's an emotion. 00:07:39.800 --> 00:07:40.800 Joy. 00:07:40.800 --> 00:07:41.800 That's an emotion. 00:07:41.800 --> 00:07:42.800 Peace. 00:07:42.800 --> 00:07:44.800 That's an emotion. 00:07:44.800 --> 00:07:45.800 Being guilt free. 00:07:45.800 --> 00:07:47.800 That's an emotion. 00:07:47.800 --> 00:07:53.800 I mean, we're not trying to take the emotions or the experiences out of Christianity far from it. 00:07:53.800 --> 00:07:55.800 We want the emotions. 00:07:55.800 --> 00:07:59.800 But you've got to understand the emotions properly come through knowledge. 00:07:59.800 --> 00:08:08.800 They come through the word through articulating the Scriptures clearly and understanding it as for what it says. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:18.800 In other words, what Paul is saying in this 25 verses is this emotionalism that is not rooted in doctrine is useless. 00:08:18.800 --> 00:08:21.800 In fact, that's the thesis of this text. 00:08:21.800 --> 00:08:31.800 Emotionalism that is not rooted in doctrine or understood truth is useless. 00:08:31.800 --> 00:08:41.799 So what Paul does, he gives us eight reasons why speaking in tongues is useless. 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:48.799 If you heard me, eight reasons why speaking in tongues is useless in the church. 00:08:48.799 --> 00:08:53.799 Now, even I already heard my sermon that I already believe that the gift of tongues have ceased. 00:08:53.799 --> 00:08:55.799 But let's say you didn't you weren't convinced. 00:08:55.799 --> 00:09:01.799 Let's say you still believe that tongue speaking is a spiritual gift that God description gave out. 00:09:01.799 --> 00:09:03.799 Well, we know it during this time. 00:09:03.799 --> 00:09:08.799 We can all agree that the Corinthians were speaking in tongues by the Holy Spirit. 00:09:08.799 --> 00:09:10.799 And that was a good thing. 00:09:10.799 --> 00:09:13.799 Paul wasn't trying to tell him quit speaking in tongues. 00:09:13.799 --> 00:09:18.799 He says, it's just quit doing it in the church. 00:09:18.799 --> 00:09:37.799 And so we can all agree that that even if we the tongues still exist today, which I don't believe they do, but even if they did, we're not to use them in tongue and use them in the church unless we have an interpretation or translation of them. 00:09:37.799 --> 00:09:41.799 So my first point will be reasons why tongues are useless. 00:09:41.799 --> 00:09:50.799 My second point is why the word of God, the articulate, clear spoken word is powerful. 00:09:50.799 --> 00:09:59.799 First of all, let's look at how in distinct tongues or tongues without interpretation are useless. 00:09:59.799 --> 00:10:05.799 One, we see in verse two that they don't make sense. 00:10:05.799 --> 00:10:07.799 They don't bring understanding. 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:09.799 Tongues are useless because they're not understandable. 00:10:09.799 --> 00:10:11.799 Look at verse two. 00:10:11.799 --> 00:10:18.799 For one who speaks in a tongue speaks not to men, but to God, for no one understands him, but he utters mysteries in the spirit. 00:10:18.799 --> 00:10:24.799 You know, without a translator or interpretation, only God can know what you're saying. 00:10:24.799 --> 00:10:32.799 You know, if someone come in here, let's think about having Mr. Samuel Lee come and speak to us in Korean. 00:10:32.799 --> 00:10:34.799 His wife would understand. 00:10:34.799 --> 00:10:41.799 But the rest of us, the rest of us, we would we would be we would be marveling for the first five minutes. 00:10:41.799 --> 00:10:45.799 It a sermon in Korean, like that would be interesting for a little bit. 00:10:45.799 --> 00:10:49.799 But what if it went on for 20 minutes, 30 minutes, 40 minutes? 00:10:49.799 --> 00:10:53.799 Eventually, your mom would go wonder because you can't understand what's being said. 00:10:53.799 --> 00:10:58.799 There would be no comprehension and it would be useless to us. 00:10:58.799 --> 00:11:02.799 It would be making no sense to us. 00:11:02.799 --> 00:11:04.799 No one in the church understands what's being said. 00:11:04.799 --> 00:11:13.799 In fact, we'll see later on the passage, even those who had the gift of tongues, they're speaking in some foreign language that they did not study or understood themselves. 00:11:13.799 --> 00:11:15.799 They didn't even know what they were saying. 00:11:15.799 --> 00:11:18.799 No one in the whole church knew what was going on. 00:11:18.799 --> 00:11:24.799 Now he's speaking mysteries, but only God can interpret. 00:11:24.799 --> 00:11:27.799 It might be interesting, but of little to no value. 00:11:27.799 --> 00:11:33.799 The second reason they're useless is because they don't build up the church. 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:39.799 We see in verse four, the only one who is encouraged by tongues is the one who may be speaking in them. 00:11:39.799 --> 00:11:40.799 Look at verse two. 00:11:40.799 --> 00:11:43.799 The one who speaks in a tongue builds up himself. 00:11:43.799 --> 00:11:55.799 Now I can imagine when your spiritual gifts is being exercised and have the Holy Spirit working in you, you may not know what you're saying, but just the fact that it's an emotional experience has to feel good. 00:11:55.799 --> 00:12:01.799 It no doubt is a wonderful experience for those who have the gift or who had the gift. 00:12:01.799 --> 00:12:09.799 So though this is encouraging to you and you're having a good time over there, the rest of us are getting nothing out of it. 00:12:09.799 --> 00:12:17.799 It's not helping anyone, but just giving yourself a perfect experience. 00:12:17.799 --> 00:12:22.799 This is why we see in verse four, prophesying is to be preferred. 00:12:22.799 --> 00:12:25.799 But the one who prophesies builds up the church. 00:12:25.799 --> 00:12:27.799 Now I want you all to speak in tongues. 00:12:27.799 --> 00:12:31.799 It's not that's the problem, but even more you should desire to prophesy. 00:12:31.799 --> 00:12:36.799 The one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues. 00:12:36.799 --> 00:12:46.799 So if someone comes up here and speaks in Korean or Japanese or some other language that we can't comprehend, it's simply useless to us as a congregation. 00:12:46.799 --> 00:12:51.799 I would say Spanish, but half of you know that one. 00:12:52.799 --> 00:13:02.799 But the one who speaks in English, one who prophesies in a language that can be comprehended, now that's profitable for all. 00:13:02.799 --> 00:13:04.799 It builds up the church. 00:13:04.799 --> 00:13:14.799 You see, the goal of corporate worship coming together as assembly is not for individual private encounters with Jesus that benefits me, myself and I. 00:13:14.799 --> 00:13:18.799 It's to build up one another. 00:13:18.799 --> 00:13:27.799 And this is why verse five says the one who prophesies is greater than the one who speaks in tongues unless someone interprets so the church may be built up. 00:13:27.799 --> 00:13:40.799 Now we may have someone coming in that can't speak English and we'd have them preach, but only if we have an interpreter and only if you have someone who translates what's being said, would it make sense to the rest of us? 00:13:40.799 --> 00:13:49.799 But with a translator or with some interpretation of what's being said, then the whole church can benefit and be built up with what's being said. 00:13:49.799 --> 00:13:55.799 Thus, without translation, tongues are useless in the church. 00:13:55.799 --> 00:13:58.799 The third reason they're useless is because they're not beneficial. 00:13:58.799 --> 00:14:01.799 Look at verses six through eleven. 00:14:01.799 --> 00:14:21.799 Verse six says, "Now brothers, if I come to you speaking in tongues, how will I benefit you unless I bring you some revelation or knowledge or prophecy or teaching?" That is, if I just speak in tongues and you can't comprehend what's being said, it absolutely benefits you not. 00:14:21.799 --> 00:14:23.799 It is unbeneficial. 00:14:23.799 --> 00:14:25.799 It's unhelpful. 00:14:25.799 --> 00:14:28.799 There's nothing gained by this. 00:14:28.799 --> 00:14:30.799 And then he gives three examples. 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:33.799 First, he gives the example of lifeless instruments. 00:14:33.799 --> 00:14:34.799 Look at verse seven. 00:14:34.799 --> 00:14:40.799 "Even lifeless instruments such as a flute or a harp do not give distinct notes. 00:14:40.799 --> 00:14:48.799 How will anyone know what is played?" I mean, someone would come up here and play "Amazing Grace" and it wouldn't take very long before we go, "Oh, that's Amazing Grace. 00:14:48.799 --> 00:14:49.799 We recognize the notes. 00:14:49.799 --> 00:14:56.799 We recognize the tune." And then the words would start coming to our mind just by hearing the tune. 00:14:56.799 --> 00:15:03.799 But if someone comes and just banged on the keyboard, I mean, I can do that. 00:15:03.799 --> 00:15:05.799 What profit is that? 00:15:05.799 --> 00:15:11.799 There would be no profit and someone would get on a flute and just blowing on it. 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:16.799 It might be fun and entertaining, but it wouldn't be profitable. 00:15:16.799 --> 00:15:20.799 A second example is a bugle blast. 00:15:20.799 --> 00:15:21.799 Look at verse eight. 00:15:21.799 --> 00:15:34.799 "If the bugle gives an indistinct sound, it will get ready for battle." You know, in the day of the war, they would have certain pitch sounds on a bugle long, hold the note for a long time, or a short blast. 00:15:34.799 --> 00:15:36.799 And these things would communicate what to do. 00:15:36.799 --> 00:15:43.799 But if someone, if some kid just got on the bugle and just started blowing, the army is just going to go, "What? I don't know what to do with that. 00:15:43.799 --> 00:15:45.799 I don't have any clear instructions. 00:15:45.799 --> 00:15:52.799 I don't understand what's being played." And so just blasting on a bugle doesn't do anyone any good. 00:15:52.799 --> 00:15:56.799 Then the last example is giving us foreign languages. 00:15:56.799 --> 00:15:58.799 Look at verse nine through eleven. 00:15:58.799 --> 00:16:06.799 "So with yourselves, if your tongue you utter speech that is not intelligible," or interpretable, "how will anyone know what is said? 00:16:06.799 --> 00:16:09.799 For you will be speaking into the air. 00:16:09.799 --> 00:16:13.799 There are doubtless many different languages in the world and none is without meaning. 00:16:13.799 --> 00:16:21.799 But if I do not know the meaning of the language, I will be a foreigner to the speaker and the speaker a foreigner to me. 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:31.799 That is, if we're just going and listening to languages being said that we have no ability to know what's being said, it's simply profitless. 00:16:31.799 --> 00:16:44.799 There's no benefit." Fourth reason tongues are useless in the Church because they're personally unfruitful. 00:16:44.799 --> 00:16:50.799 You know, we already said that maybe there isn't a spiritual encounter for the one who's speaking in tongues. 00:16:50.799 --> 00:16:51.799 He builds himself up. 00:16:51.799 --> 00:17:01.799 So he said, "Well, there's a personal benefit in it." But even that personal benefit of speaking in tongues, where you don't even know what you're saying, may be exhilarating. 00:17:01.799 --> 00:17:07.799 It may give you a sense that the Spirit is working through me and I'm encouraged by that. 00:17:07.799 --> 00:17:10.799 It's only halfway profitable at best. 00:17:10.799 --> 00:17:14.799 It may benefit your emotions, but it's not benefiting your thinking. 00:17:14.799 --> 00:17:20.799 Look at verse 13, "Therefore, if one who speaks in a tongue should pray that he may interpret. 00:17:20.799 --> 00:17:28.799 For I pray in a tongue, my spirit prays, but my mind is unfruitful." So here I've got my own prayer language, if you would. 00:17:28.799 --> 00:17:31.799 I'm at my home in my closet, speaking in tongues, praying in tongues. 00:17:31.799 --> 00:17:36.799 I feel like, "Well, I'm really, really benefiting from this." But you realize you don't even know what you're saying. 00:17:36.799 --> 00:17:48.799 And Paul says, "If you're going to do that, you need to pray that you speak in tongues and pray in tongues so that you might be able to interpret it so your mind will be engaged, so your mind is also fruitful. 00:17:48.799 --> 00:17:54.799 Your heart may be fruitful. Your heart may be benefited, but your mind is unbenefited. 00:17:54.799 --> 00:18:02.799 So you should seek to be benefited with your heart and your mind." So what do you do? 00:18:02.799 --> 00:18:08.799 I mean, especially if you live in the day where tongues are still a special gift that God gave to people. 00:18:08.799 --> 00:18:14.799 What should you do if you spoke in tongues but you didn't have the gift of interpretation? 00:18:14.799 --> 00:18:18.799 Verse 15 says, gives us the answer, "What am I to do? 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:22.799 I will pray with my spirit, but I will also pray with my mind. 00:18:22.799 --> 00:18:36.799 I will sing praises with my spirit, but I will sing with my mind also." You know why humming "Amazing Grace" is so beneficial to you? 00:18:36.799 --> 00:18:40.799 Or singing it in your head? 00:18:40.799 --> 00:18:48.799 Because you actually can contemplate and remind yourself of grace. 00:18:48.799 --> 00:18:54.799 And it's the articulate understanding of divine grace that is free, that is amazing, is undeserved. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:59.799 As you meditate upon that, that's where the power of God is working in your life. 00:18:59.799 --> 00:19:06.799 That's where worship sinks into your heart, is by the conception that grace saved me. 00:19:06.799 --> 00:19:10.799 So it's not just this raw experience that you can articulate and explain. 00:19:10.799 --> 00:19:14.799 What was that all about? Well, I don't know. I just had this encounter with the Spirit. 00:19:14.799 --> 00:19:20.799 No, seek to pray in a way that you can comprehend what you're saying and sing. 00:19:20.799 --> 00:19:23.799 Will you understand what's you being song? 00:19:23.799 --> 00:19:25.799 This is why our lyrics matter in worship. 00:19:25.799 --> 00:19:34.799 It's not just about generating emotions. It's not just getting us riled up with excitement and the drums kicking in and the lights out. 00:19:34.799 --> 00:19:48.799 And we're all emotional and then we leave like, "What was that about? I don't know, but it was fun." But it's when your mind is engaged in the Word of God and understanding the gospel, understanding spiritual truths that changes your lives. 00:19:48.799 --> 00:19:55.799 So this is why we need to pray with our spirit but also pray with our minds. 00:19:55.799 --> 00:20:00.799 The fifth reason tongues are useless in the Church is because they don't aid in corporate worship. 00:20:00.799 --> 00:20:04.799 We see this in 16 and 17. I told you we're moving fast. 00:20:04.799 --> 00:20:16.799 "Otherwise, if you give thanks," verse 16 says, "with your spirit, how can anyone in the position of an outsider say, 'Amen!' to your thanksgiving when he does not know what you're saying? 00:20:16.799 --> 00:20:32.799 For you may be giving thanks well enough, but the other person is not being billed up." You know, this is why when we have corporate prayer meetings, I encourage everybody to say "Amen!" in their hearts because someone's representing the whole congregation and they're praying on our behalf. 00:20:32.799 --> 00:20:34.799 And as they pray, we are praying. 00:20:34.799 --> 00:20:37.799 And when they say "Amen!" you're saying "Amen!" in your heart. 00:20:37.799 --> 00:20:42.799 That's why even when you hear sermons you go "Amen!" If you don't say it out loud, you say "Amen!" in your heart. 00:20:42.799 --> 00:20:45.799 And you're agreeing with what's being said. 00:20:45.799 --> 00:20:56.799 But if someone's just speaking in tongues, it's not building up the church and no one can say "Amen!" No one can affirm. No one can deny. No one can do anything because they don't understand what's being said. 00:20:56.799 --> 00:21:03.799 You see, the purpose of church coming together is not for individual emotional experiences. 00:21:03.799 --> 00:21:08.799 It's for corporate worship. We sing songs to one another. 00:21:08.799 --> 00:21:18.799 We're here to come together in worship and you can't do that if you're just turning the lights off and you're getting in the corner and you're just forgetting about the congregation. 00:21:18.799 --> 00:21:23.799 It's just between you and the Lord. No, this is between all of us in the Lord. 00:21:23.799 --> 00:21:25.799 We worship together. 00:21:25.799 --> 00:21:32.799 And tongues, without interpretation, violates the corporate nature of worship. 00:21:32.799 --> 00:21:37.799 Without a translator, God forbids individuals from speaking in tongues at the church. 00:21:37.799 --> 00:21:41.799 Now, verse 26, this is not in our text. This is next week. 00:21:41.799 --> 00:21:44.799 But I'll rush down there real quick. 00:21:44.799 --> 00:21:51.799 Basically, Paul says, unless you have an interpreter, don't do it. 00:21:51.799 --> 00:21:57.799 What then, brothers, when you come together, each one of you have a hymn, a lesson, a revelation, a tongue, or an interpretation. 00:21:57.799 --> 00:22:00.799 Let all things be done for building up. 00:22:00.799 --> 00:22:06.799 If anyone speaks in a tongue, let there only be two or the most three in one meeting. 00:22:06.799 --> 00:22:11.799 And each in turn, don't speak over one another and let someone interpret. 00:22:11.799 --> 00:22:19.799 But if there is no one to interpret, let each of them keep silent in church and speak to himself and to God. 00:22:19.799 --> 00:22:24.799 Honestly, I want to be gentle here. 00:22:24.799 --> 00:22:30.799 I don't understand how our charismatic brothers and sisters can accomplish those friends. 00:22:30.799 --> 00:22:34.799 I don't see how they can preach through this text. 00:22:34.799 --> 00:22:38.799 And just say, what does this text mean? 00:22:38.799 --> 00:22:44.799 How can you read the Bible and say, I'm going to speak in tongues today and you don't have an interpreter? 00:22:44.799 --> 00:22:47.799 How can it be done orderly when they're speaking over one another? 00:22:47.799 --> 00:22:50.799 It's like they're violating the Word of God. 00:22:50.799 --> 00:22:54.799 Even if you hold to the tongues, it's still a spiritual gear. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:23:00.799 All that we do has to be geared towards building up the body and encouraging the saints. 00:23:00.799 --> 00:23:12.799 And if you're coming to church, I mean, I know we're not doing this, but if you happen to be visiting here and you're a penal callstone, you're going to church because you love speaking in tongues, consider this text. 00:23:12.799 --> 00:23:15.799 Consider this word. 00:23:15.799 --> 00:23:18.799 And Paul says, later on, he says, you think you have the spirit? 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.799 Well, I have it more. 00:23:20.799 --> 00:23:25.799 I'm the one who's writing this by the inspiration of the spirit. 00:23:25.799 --> 00:23:30.799 So without interpretation, there's no building up and it's to be forbidden. 00:23:30.799 --> 00:23:35.799 Six, tongues are useless in the church because they're ineffective use of time. 00:23:35.799 --> 00:23:37.799 Look at verse 18 and 19. 00:23:37.799 --> 00:23:41.799 Now, Paul is not saying this because he didn't want people speaking in tongues. 00:23:41.799 --> 00:23:44.799 He's not saying this because he didn't speak, he spoke in tongues. 00:23:44.799 --> 00:23:48.799 He says, I thank God that I speak in tongues more than all of you. 00:23:48.799 --> 00:23:57.799 Nevertheless, in church, I'd rather speak five words with my mind in order to instruct others than 10,000 words in a tongue. 00:23:57.799 --> 00:24:13.799 So I may be able to do this, but when I come to church, I would rather speak one sentence that you understand than a whole sermon that you have no clue of what's being said. 00:24:13.799 --> 00:24:18.799 It's a waste of time just to speak in tongues. No prophet. 00:24:18.799 --> 00:24:23.799 Seven, it's useless because they don't mature us in holiness. 00:24:23.799 --> 00:24:31.799 Verse 20 says, brothers do not be children in your thinking, but infants in evil, but in your thinking, be mature. 00:24:31.799 --> 00:24:39.799 He's telling us, one, he's telling them they're immature in their thinking because they're over exaltation of tongues. 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:50.799 But he's also saying that you can't be mature without your thinking engaged, without being thoughtful of what's being said. 00:24:50.799 --> 00:24:56.799 Spiritual maturity comes by maturity in our doctrine and thinking. 00:24:56.799 --> 00:24:58.799 The Corinthians, however, were immature. 00:24:58.799 --> 00:25:08.799 He says in 1 Corinthians 3, 1, I could not speak to you as spiritual people, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes. 00:25:08.799 --> 00:25:14.799 Hebrews 5, 11 says, we have much to say about this, but it's hard to explain because you are dull of hearing. 00:25:14.799 --> 00:25:16.799 For by this time you ought to be teachers. 00:25:16.799 --> 00:25:20.799 You need someone else to teach you again the basic presables of the oracles of God. 00:25:20.799 --> 00:25:22.799 You need milk, not solid food. 00:25:22.799 --> 00:25:33.799 And then verse 1 of chapter 6, therefore, let us leave the elementary teachings about Christ and go on to maturity, not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works and faith in God. 00:25:33.799 --> 00:25:39.799 You know, I know there may be like, hey, we just need to hear the basic truths of the gospel every Sunday. 00:25:39.799 --> 00:25:41.799 But here we say we need to go beyond that. 00:25:41.799 --> 00:25:49.799 We need to understand justification, sanctification, glorification, and all the nuances that deal with the whole counsel of God. 00:25:49.799 --> 00:25:54.799 If we're going to go into maturity, the Bibles don't neglect teaching all that I've commanded. 00:25:54.799 --> 00:25:56.799 You see, we have to grow and develop. 00:25:56.799 --> 00:26:00.799 And here Paul's, the author of Hebrews is saying, I would love to teach you more. 00:26:00.799 --> 00:26:06.799 I'd love to say more, but you can't handle it because you're still stuck on the elementary, the beginnings, the basics of the Christian faith. 00:26:06.799 --> 00:26:09.799 But you need to grow into maturity. 00:26:09.799 --> 00:26:15.799 And so we all need to seek to become scholars through the Word of God. 00:26:15.799 --> 00:26:17.799 We all need to be theologians. 00:26:17.799 --> 00:26:26.799 We don't necessarily have to be as good as R.C. Sproul, but we need to be better than just babes in Christ. 00:26:26.799 --> 00:26:32.799 We all can grow. And by growing in knowledge, you're sanctified. 00:26:32.799 --> 00:26:37.799 The Bible says sanctify them. Jesus says sanctify them by your truth, by your Word is true. 00:26:37.799 --> 00:26:45.799 God has chosen from the beginning to sanctify you through the Word, through the truth. 00:26:45.799 --> 00:26:50.799 You see, the eighth reason is tongues were not designed for corporate worship. 00:26:50.799 --> 00:26:56.799 It was not designed to be exercised in the church. Look at verse 21 through 23. 00:26:56.799 --> 00:27:06.799 In the law is written by people of strange tongues and by the lips of foreigners while I speak to this people, even then they will not listen to base as the Lord. 00:27:06.799 --> 00:27:14.799 Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but for unbelievers, while prophecy is a sign not for unbelievers but for believers. 00:27:14.799 --> 00:27:26.799 If therefore the whole church comes together in all speaking tongues, an outsider's or unbeliever's inner will they not say that you're out of your minds? 00:27:26.799 --> 00:27:33.799 You see, the purpose of tongues were to be exercised in the church meetings. That's why not. That's not the reason God gave tongues. 00:27:33.799 --> 00:27:37.799 Unless there's an interpretation or translation. 00:27:37.799 --> 00:27:42.799 But otherwise it's not to be utilized in the church because that wasn't the intended purpose for tongues. 00:27:42.799 --> 00:27:53.799 Well, why did God give tongues? Well, we see in verse 21 that it's because God promised the Israelites in the law that He would speak to them in one day. 00:27:53.799 --> 00:27:58.799 He wouldn't speak to them in the Hebrew tongue. He would speak to them in foreign tongues. 00:27:58.799 --> 00:28:07.799 After the giving of the law and they rebelled and refused to listen to the Lord, the Lord judged them. 00:28:07.799 --> 00:28:13.799 He says, "You did not listen to me when I came and spoke to you in a language you understand. 00:28:13.799 --> 00:28:21.799 I didn't come to you in a foreign language. I came and condescended myself and spoke baby talk to you, if you would. 00:28:21.799 --> 00:28:26.799 I used Hebrew to speak to you, but you refused to listen. You hardened your hearts. 00:28:26.799 --> 00:28:32.799 Therefore I will come again and I'll speak to you in a language that you don't understand. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:48.799 I will use a foreign nation to come and bring judgment upon you." That could be speaking about them going into Babylon and then they're hearing the Babylonian, Chaldean language spoken to them as a judgment upon them. 00:28:48.799 --> 00:29:04.799 But yet we see here that it's speaking about the day of Pentecost where the Hebrews who had the Word of God always in their language for the first time, and they hear the Word of God in foreign languages for the first time. 00:29:04.799 --> 00:29:09.799 And that was a sign of judgment that the gospel has gone from the Jews to the Gentiles. 00:29:09.799 --> 00:29:20.799 See, this was the purpose of tongues. It was a sign for unbelieving, not just all unbelievers, but it was a sign for unbelieving Israel. 00:29:20.799 --> 00:29:51.799 And that's why verse 26 makes sense. Look, it says, "Thus tongues are a sign not for believers but unbelievers." Then verse 23 says, "Therefore the whole church comes together in all speak in tongues, and outsiders or unbelievers in her, they will not say that you are out of your minds." And this is like saying if Gentiles come into your church and they hear you speaking in tongues, you're speaking in all these languages they can't comprehend and it seems like it's babbled to them, they're going to think you're crazy. 00:29:51.799 --> 00:29:59.799 Well, the difference is these are unbelieving Gentiles. They're going to think you're crazy. 00:29:59.799 --> 00:30:07.799 Unbelieving Jews is a sign of judgment upon them, but it's not even helpful for evangelism. 00:30:07.799 --> 00:30:12.799 It's not going to bring lost souls to the Lord to hearing someone speak in tongues. 00:30:12.799 --> 00:30:18.799 So it doesn't bring about evangelistic witness. It doesn't do anything in the church. 00:30:18.799 --> 00:30:28.799 And we can apply this, not that we're struggling with this as a church, we can apply with this as like role emotionalism is a little to no value, especially if it's personalized. 00:30:28.799 --> 00:30:33.799 You're just having your personal encounter with the Lord that you can't articulate, explain. 00:30:33.799 --> 00:30:37.799 Why are you happy? Why are you excited? 00:30:37.799 --> 00:30:43.799 And I know peace surpasses knowledge and love surpasses knowledge and joy surpasses knowledge. 00:30:43.799 --> 00:30:48.799 I understand that, but at least you can go, I'm joyful because of Christ. 00:30:48.799 --> 00:30:53.799 I'm joyful because my sins are forgiven. I can put some words to behind my feelings. 00:30:53.799 --> 00:31:02.799 In fact, it's the truth of these things that have given me joy and peace and filled my heart with love. 00:31:02.799 --> 00:31:06.799 Role emotionalism is a little to no value, especially in the church. 00:31:06.799 --> 00:31:12.799 Now, let's close looking at the power of the articulated word. 00:31:12.799 --> 00:31:20.799 Why we need to understand the Word of God, why it needs to go through our minds, why we need to have cognitive understanding. 00:31:20.799 --> 00:31:26.799 You see, first of all, the word has power to build us up. Look at verse three. We're going back. 00:31:26.799 --> 00:31:32.799 Verse three says, on the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for their upbuilding. 00:31:32.799 --> 00:31:38.799 The word here means it builds people up. The word edification, we get the word edifying. 00:31:38.799 --> 00:31:45.799 That was edifying. That built literally means to be edified means to be built up. 00:31:45.799 --> 00:31:47.799 It's the act of building metaphorically. 00:31:47.799 --> 00:31:53.799 The word means to assist someone spiritually, to help them grow, to mature. 00:31:53.799 --> 00:31:58.799 You're building them up. They're maturing. They're developing. They're growing. 00:31:58.799 --> 00:32:05.799 Hopefully you come to church because something that was said because of the word of God being preached clearly and understandably. 00:32:05.799 --> 00:32:12.799 And going, you're leaving something that builds your faith, builds your understanding of the word of God. 00:32:12.799 --> 00:32:18.799 And it's because the word of God is not it's not emotionalism that sanctifies us. 00:32:18.799 --> 00:32:23.799 It's the word of God that saves us and sanctifies us. 00:32:23.799 --> 00:32:29.799 Faith comes not through emotional experiences. Faith comes by hearing and hearing comes by the word of God. 00:32:29.799 --> 00:32:34.799 Without the word, there's no salvation. It's the power of God into salvation. 00:32:34.799 --> 00:32:39.799 There are articulate, understood gospel. A clear gospel message is what we need to hear. 00:32:39.799 --> 00:32:43.799 A clear understanding of the word of God is what we need to hear. 00:32:43.799 --> 00:32:47.799 I mean, I struggle with this text. This is a very difficult text to explain. 00:32:47.799 --> 00:32:52.799 And I struggled. I struggled. The point is, Texas make things clear. And this is very hard. 00:32:52.799 --> 00:32:59.799 So I worked and worked and worked to try to make it clear to us that it's the word of God that sanctifies us. 00:32:59.799 --> 00:33:06.799 And does that make sense? I hope so. Maybe we need an interpreter. 00:33:06.799 --> 00:33:09.799 We did it. 00:33:09.799 --> 00:33:12.799 See, the word of God doesn't just build up. It encourages. 00:33:12.799 --> 00:33:18.799 It says, verse three, on the other hand, the one who prophesies speaks to people for the upbuilding and encouragement. 00:33:18.799 --> 00:33:29.799 The word encouragement literally is the same word for the Holy Spirit, paraclete, to come alongside, to assist, to bring encouragement, even comfort. 00:33:29.799 --> 00:33:37.799 The Bible tells us, Ephesians four twenty nine, do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouth, but only what is up. 00:33:37.799 --> 00:33:45.799 What is helpful for building others up according to their needs that it might benefit those who listen. 00:33:45.799 --> 00:33:51.799 I mean, it's amazing how a word can give you the exact thing you need to hear at the moment you need to hear it. 00:33:51.799 --> 00:33:56.799 It can rebuke you, correct you. It can assist you, comfort you. 00:33:56.799 --> 00:33:59.799 And it can comfort us. 00:33:59.799 --> 00:34:05.799 In fact, it says encouragement and consolation. That's the third reason. 00:34:05.799 --> 00:34:11.800 Those word consolation in the Greek literally means to speak near someone. 00:34:11.800 --> 00:34:16.800 It means to come next to someone and speak close to them. 00:34:16.800 --> 00:34:25.800 It means to come by and speak a word of encouragement, a word of consolation, a word that is needed for them. 00:34:25.800 --> 00:34:33.800 And if they came and just spoke in a language you didn't understand, you could say, well, that they meant well, but I don't know what to take of that. 00:34:33.800 --> 00:34:39.800 But as we understand what they're saying, that's going to change your life or help you encourage you, comfort you. 00:34:39.800 --> 00:34:45.800 And now skip down to verse 24. 00:34:45.800 --> 00:34:49.800 The Word of God has the power to convict. 00:34:49.800 --> 00:34:54.800 I mean, if you're speaking in tongues and an unbeliever comes in and they go, oh, that guy's crazy, he's mad. 00:34:54.800 --> 00:34:56.800 I'm not getting anything out of this. 00:34:56.800 --> 00:35:02.800 And you're going to leave the congregation thinking nothing of it or just a bunch of crazy people there. 00:35:02.800 --> 00:35:12.800 But if you prophesy, verse 24, or you speak something that clearly could be comprehended, an outsider enters in. 00:35:12.800 --> 00:35:18.800 He can be convicted. 00:35:18.800 --> 00:35:24.800 You see, the Spirit convicts us through His word by shining a light upon God's truth. 00:35:24.800 --> 00:35:31.800 Not only does it bring conviction, it brings conviction because the Word of God clearly understood, brings about judgment. 00:35:31.800 --> 00:35:39.800 Look, it says 24, but if all prophesy and an unbeliever or outsider enters, he is convicted by all. 00:35:39.800 --> 00:35:42.800 He is called to account by all. 00:35:42.800 --> 00:35:44.800 This is the nature of the Word of God. 00:35:44.800 --> 00:35:47.800 You come to church, the Word of God does something. 00:35:47.800 --> 00:35:54.800 It convicts you of your sins because it brings judgment upon you. 00:35:54.800 --> 00:35:58.800 Remember, Paul said in Romans 7, he says, I was alive without the law. 00:35:58.800 --> 00:35:59.800 I thought I was a good man. 00:35:59.800 --> 00:36:00.800 I thought all is well. 00:36:00.800 --> 00:36:07.800 And a lot of you, let me tell you, a lot of you who don't know the Lord and you're happy and you can sleep well and you don't have any guilt that's weighing down on you. 00:36:07.800 --> 00:36:09.800 Or if you've got guilt, you suppress it. 00:36:09.800 --> 00:36:14.800 And you're just worried about living your life and sports and entertainment and making money. 00:36:14.800 --> 00:36:15.800 And that's all you're worried about. 00:36:15.800 --> 00:36:17.800 You're not worried about your soul. 00:36:17.800 --> 00:36:18.800 You're not worried about your sins. 00:36:18.800 --> 00:36:20.800 You don't have any guilt. 00:36:20.800 --> 00:36:23.800 It's because you're suppressed it. 00:36:23.800 --> 00:36:36.800 But when you hear the Word of God come and you hear the law, you hear the Word, you hear the truth, it has a way of exposing you, has a way of condemning you, and it brings judgment upon your soul. 00:36:36.800 --> 00:36:39.800 Because this is what it goes on to do. 00:36:39.800 --> 00:36:41.800 It searches your heart. 00:36:41.800 --> 00:36:47.800 Look, it goes on to say, verse 25, the Word has the power to reveal secrets of our heart. 00:36:47.800 --> 00:36:53.800 It says in verse 25, the secrets of his heart are disclosed. 00:36:53.800 --> 00:36:54.800 It's amazing. 00:36:54.800 --> 00:36:55.800 You read the Bible. 00:36:55.800 --> 00:36:56.800 It's like, I don't know if I believe this thing. 00:36:56.800 --> 00:36:58.800 You start judging the Bible. 00:36:58.800 --> 00:37:00.800 And you think you're the judge. 00:37:00.800 --> 00:37:03.800 You think you're the ones that are going to determine if the Bible is right or wrong. 00:37:03.800 --> 00:37:08.800 And so you're going to accept the verses you like and reject the verses you don't like, because you're the judge, right? 00:37:08.800 --> 00:37:13.800 But if you start reading the Bible, it's not long before the Bible starts judging you. 00:37:13.800 --> 00:37:17.800 And you realize, wait a minute, I'm not the judge here. 00:37:17.800 --> 00:37:19.800 I realize she's telling me. 00:37:19.800 --> 00:37:25.800 And the reason I know it's judging me is because it's telling me things about myself that I didn't even know. 00:37:25.800 --> 00:37:27.800 It's revealing the secrets of my heart. 00:37:27.800 --> 00:37:29.800 And how does the Bible know that? 00:37:29.800 --> 00:37:34.800 I mean, how did the preacher know that I'm struggling with that? 00:37:34.800 --> 00:37:36.800 How did they know? 00:37:36.800 --> 00:37:38.800 This is the thing I get accused with. 00:37:38.800 --> 00:37:42.800 I get this accusation probably five times a year, six times a year. 00:37:42.800 --> 00:37:43.800 No joke. 00:37:43.800 --> 00:37:44.800 You've done this. 00:37:44.800 --> 00:37:48.800 Were you preaching that at me? 00:37:48.800 --> 00:37:52.800 I saw you look at me when you made that point. 00:37:52.800 --> 00:37:59.800 And I'm almost afraid to look at people, you know, you know, talking about my I'm I'm I'm I'm gaze around. 00:37:59.800 --> 00:38:02.800 And sometimes I'll make eye contact and I'll make a point. 00:38:02.800 --> 00:38:06.800 And I want you to know something with these glasses. 00:38:06.800 --> 00:38:08.800 I can't see up front and with them. 00:38:08.800 --> 00:38:17.800 Well, if I can't see you when I'm looking around, I don't know who I'm looking at. 00:38:17.800 --> 00:38:21.800 I'm not making a point with my eye contact with you. 00:38:21.800 --> 00:38:23.800 But this is what happens. 00:38:23.800 --> 00:38:26.800 You reveal something to someone and you think they told me. 00:38:26.800 --> 00:38:33.800 Or maybe you did tell me something six months ago and you think I'm remembering that and I'm bringing it up in my sermon. 00:38:33.800 --> 00:38:34.800 And you come to me. 00:38:34.800 --> 00:38:36.800 It's like, was that aimed at me? 00:38:36.800 --> 00:38:39.800 And I say, no, it was not aimed at you. 00:38:39.800 --> 00:38:42.800 But maybe it was aimed at you. 00:38:42.800 --> 00:38:46.800 But it's not me that's doing the aiming. 00:38:46.800 --> 00:38:51.800 I'm not trying to pick on people. 00:38:51.800 --> 00:38:58.800 It's the word of God that knows how to to pull back your lights and reveal the secrets of your heart. 00:38:58.800 --> 00:39:11.800 And it's like when you under the word of God, not gibberish or speaking in tongues, but when you're under the clear word of God and you start thinking about it, it has the ability to give you an x-ray of your heart. 00:39:11.800 --> 00:39:13.800 And this is why people don't like the word. 00:39:13.800 --> 00:39:15.800 This is the reason they don't like doctrine. 00:39:15.800 --> 00:39:17.800 Just give me a little bit. 00:39:17.800 --> 00:39:18.800 Give me some love. 00:39:18.800 --> 00:39:19.800 Give me some entertainment. 00:39:19.800 --> 00:39:25.800 But they don't really want to set under the word of God clearly preach because it reveals too much. 00:39:25.800 --> 00:39:28.800 It's like you've got HIV and you don't want to know about it. 00:39:28.800 --> 00:39:30.800 You don't want to hear that you have. 00:39:30.800 --> 00:39:33.800 I would rather I've been happier not knowing. 00:39:33.800 --> 00:39:36.800 I don't want to know the truth that I might have a cancer is going to kill me. 00:39:36.800 --> 00:39:40.800 I just rather be happy and be ignorant. 00:39:40.800 --> 00:39:44.800 But here I'm forced to come to church and you're giving me an x-ray of my conscience. 00:39:44.800 --> 00:39:46.800 You're giving me an x-ray of my heart. 00:39:46.800 --> 00:39:50.800 And I don't like what I see is exposing my sins. 00:39:50.800 --> 00:39:53.800 And this is the power of the word of God. 00:39:53.800 --> 00:39:57.800 It reveals what's inside of you. 00:39:57.800 --> 00:40:00.800 No other word does this. 00:40:00.800 --> 00:40:02.800 No other word can read you like this. 00:40:02.800 --> 00:40:04.800 This is why the word of God is authoritative. 00:40:04.800 --> 00:40:07.800 It's powerful. 00:40:07.800 --> 00:40:12.800 Hebrews 4 tells us the word of God is living and active, sharper than any double-edged sword. 00:40:12.800 --> 00:40:16.800 It peers as even to dividing of soul and spirit, joint and moral. 00:40:16.800 --> 00:40:19.800 It judges the thoughts and the intentions of the heart. 00:40:19.800 --> 00:40:22.800 I mean this is how precise the word of God is. 00:40:22.800 --> 00:40:24.800 It's like well I thought I was doing something good. 00:40:24.800 --> 00:40:30.800 But then the word of God comes in and it tells you maybe what you did was right but you had the wrong motives. 00:40:30.800 --> 00:40:32.800 It's able to expose your pride. 00:40:32.800 --> 00:40:35.800 It's able to expose things that you didn't even know about yourself. 00:40:35.800 --> 00:40:38.800 So you need to be worst in the word by coming to the word. 00:40:38.800 --> 00:40:39.800 It may hurt. 00:40:39.800 --> 00:40:40.800 It may bring conviction. 00:40:40.800 --> 00:40:42.800 It may judge you. 00:40:42.800 --> 00:40:48.800 But there's no sanctification without coming to the word and being cleansed by the word. 00:40:48.800 --> 00:40:50.800 It's kind of like God. 00:40:50.800 --> 00:40:54.800 The reason people don't come to God is because he's a blinding light. 00:40:54.800 --> 00:40:56.800 And when that light comes in it's like an x-ray. 00:40:56.800 --> 00:41:01.800 It's like a light that blinds and it looks into your conscious, looks into your brain and the light is searching around. 00:41:01.800 --> 00:41:04.800 He's like I don't want you to look into my heart. 00:41:04.800 --> 00:41:05.800 You can look at my life. 00:41:05.800 --> 00:41:06.800 I can deceive my wife. 00:41:06.800 --> 00:41:07.800 I can deceive my kids. 00:41:07.800 --> 00:41:09.800 I can deceive my friends, my coworkers. 00:41:09.800 --> 00:41:11.800 I can pretend to be a good person. 00:41:11.800 --> 00:41:14.800 But the Word of God doesn't see your outward actions. 00:41:14.800 --> 00:41:15.800 It looks into your soul. 00:41:15.800 --> 00:41:17.800 It looks into the crevices of your brain. 00:41:17.800 --> 00:41:20.800 And it says look, look, you're evil. 00:41:20.800 --> 00:41:21.800 Look at that motive. 00:41:21.800 --> 00:41:22.800 That was prideful. 00:41:22.800 --> 00:41:23.800 Look at that. 00:41:23.800 --> 00:41:24.800 That's sinful. 00:41:24.800 --> 00:41:26.800 And it reveals that. 00:41:26.800 --> 00:41:28.800 And you're like no, quit looking at me that way. 00:41:28.800 --> 00:41:31.800 So unbelievers leave church. 00:41:31.800 --> 00:41:33.800 They run from God. 00:41:33.800 --> 00:41:35.800 They don't want that guilt. 00:41:35.800 --> 00:41:38.800 And they go into the darkness where they can be comfortable. 00:41:38.800 --> 00:41:41.800 And all the more sin they can dold you. 00:41:41.800 --> 00:41:46.800 But those who come to the Word and sit under the Word and study the Word and understand the Word. 00:41:46.800 --> 00:41:57.800 Yes, that Word brings the light, the secrets of the heart, the motives, the susceptions, the sins, the remaining corruptions. 00:41:57.800 --> 00:42:03.800 But the very light that exposes it is the very light that burns it up. 00:42:03.800 --> 00:42:07.800 And by coming closer to the light of the Word of God, you become more like God. 00:42:07.800 --> 00:42:10.800 And this is why all Christians love the light. 00:42:10.800 --> 00:42:13.800 They love it because they want to be more like Christ. 00:42:13.800 --> 00:42:16.800 They want the secrets of the heart exposed. 00:42:16.800 --> 00:42:17.800 They want to be like David. 00:42:17.800 --> 00:42:18.800 It says search for the Old Lords. 00:42:18.800 --> 00:42:21.800 See if there's any evil way in me. 00:42:21.800 --> 00:42:22.800 Purify me. 00:42:22.800 --> 00:42:29.800 Take what's remaining in my mind and show it to me so I can repent of it and I can get rid of it. 00:42:29.800 --> 00:42:31.800 This is the power of the Word of God. 00:42:31.800 --> 00:42:33.800 It brings conviction. 00:42:33.800 --> 00:42:36.800 It's like a mirror. 00:42:36.800 --> 00:42:39.800 John Calvin says you cannot know God without knowing yourself. 00:42:39.800 --> 00:42:42.800 You cannot know the Word of God without knowing yourself. 00:42:42.800 --> 00:42:47.800 It reveals yourself. 00:42:47.800 --> 00:42:49.800 But it also leads to repentance. 00:42:49.800 --> 00:42:50.800 Look at verse 25. 00:42:50.800 --> 00:42:58.800 "The secrets of his hearts are disclosed and soul falling on his face." That is, if an unbeliever comes in here, here's the gospel proclaimed. 00:42:58.800 --> 00:43:00.800 Here's the Word of God proclaimed. 00:43:00.800 --> 00:43:02.800 He understands what's being said. 00:43:02.800 --> 00:43:04.800 The secrets of his heart are exposed. 00:43:04.800 --> 00:43:06.800 He feels judged. 00:43:06.800 --> 00:43:07.800 He feels condemned. 00:43:07.800 --> 00:43:10.800 It brings forth the guilt. 00:43:10.800 --> 00:43:12.800 Then he says, "O me. 00:43:12.800 --> 00:43:17.800 O my, what have I done?" And he falls on his face. 00:43:17.800 --> 00:43:19.800 A sign of repentance. 00:43:19.800 --> 00:43:24.800 The best thing you can do right now if you're under any conviction is just fall down now. 00:43:24.800 --> 00:43:25.800 Fall on your face. 00:43:25.800 --> 00:43:32.800 Don't worry about who's going to be, how it's going to be embarrassing. 00:43:32.800 --> 00:43:38.800 Bow your hearts, O me. 00:43:38.800 --> 00:43:41.800 Then it says it should lead to worship. 00:43:41.800 --> 00:43:45.800 And falling on his face, he will worship God. 00:43:45.800 --> 00:43:52.800 You see, revelation, understanding the Word of God, comes before worship. 00:43:52.800 --> 00:43:56.800 You know, worship is a response to God's revelation of himself. 00:43:56.800 --> 00:44:03.800 We don't worship until the Word of God is illuminated into our minds, into our conscience. 00:44:03.800 --> 00:44:05.800 We're not worshiping the unknown God. 00:44:05.800 --> 00:44:11.800 We're worshiping the God that has been articulated and revealed and spoken to us in his Word. 00:44:11.800 --> 00:44:21.800 But as that Word is illuminated and quickened by the Holy Spirit, it brings transformation. 00:44:21.800 --> 00:44:29.800 And it goes from woe to me to glory be God in the highest. 00:44:29.800 --> 00:44:33.800 For he has saved me from all my sins. 00:44:33.800 --> 00:44:43.800 You see, remember verse 12, so with yourself, since you're eager for the manifestation of the Spirit, you want a manifestation of the Holy Spirit. 00:44:43.800 --> 00:44:45.800 You want to know the Spirit is present in the church. 00:44:45.800 --> 00:44:57.800 You want to have an emotional encounter, a spiritual Christianity, not just dry, intellectual, dead orthodoxy, but you want a living, emotional encounter with the Holy Spirit. 00:44:57.800 --> 00:44:59.800 Then this is what you do. 00:44:59.800 --> 00:45:02.800 Understand the prophecies of the Scriptures. 00:45:02.800 --> 00:45:04.800 Understand the Word. 00:45:04.800 --> 00:45:06.800 For then you'll have conviction. 00:45:06.800 --> 00:45:09.800 Then you will have people falling on their face. 00:45:09.800 --> 00:45:12.800 Then you'll have people worshiping the living God. 00:45:12.800 --> 00:45:18.800 And this, my friends, is the manifestation of the Holy Spirit. 00:45:18.800 --> 00:45:21.800 It's not just raw emotionalism. 00:45:21.800 --> 00:45:24.800 It's the Word of God changing lives. 00:45:24.800 --> 00:45:30.800 That's what we want to do at G.B.C. 00:45:30.800 --> 00:45:48.800 If you have the Lord's cup with you, the elements of the Lord's table with you, we invite you to partake with us if you are right with God. 00:45:48.800 --> 00:46:02.800 That is, you have to be a Christian who already sought to follow the Lord in baptism and be united to a local church and good standings with God and with man. 00:46:02.800 --> 00:46:12.800 But you know why the Lord's table is powerful, is a means of grace, is because we understand what it means. 00:46:12.800 --> 00:46:15.800 Jesus took the elements. 00:46:15.800 --> 00:46:26.800 He says, "This bread," He didn't just say,"Take this bread, eat it. Take this cup, drink it." Well, what for? I don't know, just do it. 00:46:26.800 --> 00:46:39.800 The reason that the Lord's table is powerful and is a means of grace is because we know that the bread represents the body of Jesus. 00:46:39.800 --> 00:46:48.800 He says, "This is my body." And He picked up the cup and He says,"This cup, this represents my blood. 00:46:48.800 --> 00:46:59.800 Do this in remembrance of me." The reason we do this is because we can take inventory of the gospel and we can approach Christ. 00:46:59.800 --> 00:47:06.800 We can approach God through Jesus Christ and the way to approach God through Christ is intellectually. 00:47:06.800 --> 00:47:13.800 Use your mind, engage your mind in this Lord's table this morning. 00:47:13.800 --> 00:47:17.800 So I want you to do two things. 00:47:17.800 --> 00:47:26.800 First, I want us all to take, we'll have two moments of contemplation, but I don't want it to be empty contemplation. 00:47:26.800 --> 00:47:28.800 I want your mind to be engaged. 00:47:28.800 --> 00:47:33.800 The first moment of contemplation, I want you to reflect upon yourself. 00:47:33.800 --> 00:47:44.800 I want the Word of God to go through the crevices of your thinking and your conscience and I want you to deal with the Lord in your conscience. 00:47:44.800 --> 00:47:47.800 Let's do that now. 00:47:47.800 --> 00:48:20.800 [Silence] Now, as you contemplate yourself, know that there's no great man in this kingdom besides Jesus. 00:48:20.800 --> 00:48:31.800 We watched a good man fall when we heard about the falling of a hero this week, but there's none good. 00:48:31.800 --> 00:48:35.800 There's no good Christian that's outside of Christ. 00:48:35.800 --> 00:48:40.800 So know that you're not special because of your righteousness. 00:48:40.800 --> 00:48:46.800 If the Word of God has had an effect on your conscience, you know that you're guilty. 00:48:46.800 --> 00:48:48.800 There's no one that can say I'm without sin. 00:48:48.800 --> 00:48:54.800 Now, let's take a few moments to contemplate the Gospel, how you can come to Jesus. 00:48:54.800 --> 00:48:57.800 You can come boldly to the table. 00:48:57.800 --> 00:49:09.800 You can come and you can partake of Christ, not because you're worthy, not because you're good, not because you deserve it, not because of anything in yourself, but you can come to Christ. 00:49:09.800 --> 00:49:16.800 We can come to Christ each week because Jesus died for your sins. 00:49:16.800 --> 00:49:18.800 He laid down the ultimate price himself. 00:49:18.800 --> 00:49:24.800 He didn't redeem you with silver and gold, but by his precious blood. 00:49:24.800 --> 00:49:26.800 So now, I want you to run to Jesus. 00:49:26.800 --> 00:49:35.800 I want you to run to the Father through Jesus Christ in your mind by contemplating the Gospel. 00:49:35.800 --> 00:49:40.800 Now, caroling. 00:49:40.800 --> 00:49:45.800 Can you give me the blessing? 00:49:45.800 --> 00:50:02.800 If you would, take the bread and open up the cup. 00:50:02.800 --> 00:50:04.800 Let's pray. 00:50:04.800 --> 00:50:15.800 The Lord, we're thankful for the body and the cup, the bread and the cup, your body and your blood that died for us. 00:50:15.800 --> 00:50:26.800 Lord, we worship you this morning through taking the elements and we recognize you're the only way that we can come and have peace with the Father and with boldness and with joy. 00:50:26.800 --> 00:50:29.800 We remember your son to him alone. 00:50:29.800 --> 00:50:34.800 We say be the honor and the glory and the majesty of the power and the praise. 00:50:34.800 --> 00:50:36.800 We hide behind the elements. 00:50:36.800 --> 00:50:39.800 We hide behind Christ. 00:50:39.800 --> 00:50:42.800 We worship him and we partake of him. 00:50:42.800 --> 00:50:44.800 In Jesus' name, Amen. 00:50:44.800 --> 00:50:46.800 You may eat and drink. 00:50:47.800 --> 00:50:56.800 Amen.