WEBVTT 00:00:06.299 --> 00:00:09.349 Well, many thanks to Meredith for telling her story. 00:00:09.349 --> 00:00:18.524 Every church family should be full of stories of faith and stories that point us all to Christ and to the cross. 00:00:18.524 --> 00:00:25.112 Meredith is another one of those people that we rely on, we depend on. 00:00:25.112 --> 00:00:30.351 She's serving leading every single Sunday over at the Pinewood campus. 00:00:30.351 --> 00:00:32.164 Big day for them today. 00:00:32.164 --> 00:00:38.877 They have moved out of the room, they have been in into the gym there and they've got more room. 00:00:38.877 --> 00:00:43.251 They've got it's a really really modern building, really good situation. 00:00:43.251 --> 00:00:44.303 We're grateful for it. 00:00:44.303 --> 00:00:47.508 It's a transition for them over there too. 00:00:47.760 --> 00:00:53.984 So if you're new with us, if you're a guest, if you're watching and you're kind of wondering, you know what's this church all about. 00:00:53.984 --> 00:01:07.765 We value ladies and your leadership here, your input here, just like because God's created you just like he has anybody else, and God speaks to you every day, just like he does others too. 00:01:07.765 --> 00:01:10.808 So that's really what our topic is about today. 00:01:10.808 --> 00:01:13.186 So we want to pray before we get started. 00:01:13.186 --> 00:01:14.604 My name is Randy, by the way. 00:01:14.604 --> 00:01:16.643 How you doing up in the balcony? 00:01:16.643 --> 00:01:20.149 Good, good, good. 00:01:20.149 --> 00:01:26.152 A lot of you up there, so we're always glad to see all of you hanging out up there as well as down here. 00:01:26.152 --> 00:01:27.344 If you're a first timer. 00:01:27.344 --> 00:01:30.662 We especially value you and want to get to know you a little bit better. 00:01:30.662 --> 00:01:33.739 There's a tent out there out front. 00:01:33.739 --> 00:01:34.683 You can just head out. 00:01:34.683 --> 00:01:37.327 If you don't mind, give us a little bit of information on you. 00:01:37.327 --> 00:01:45.567 We'll just contact you with an email to give you some ideas what's coming up in the fall, as well as thank you for coming Today. 00:01:45.567 --> 00:01:46.289 It's going to be easy. 00:01:46.289 --> 00:01:52.384 The Heat Index is only 104, so that ain't no problem, is it so good deal? 00:01:52.384 --> 00:01:54.149 We're in 1 Corinthians, chapter 2. 00:01:54.149 --> 00:01:55.964 First Corinthians, chapter 2. 00:01:55.964 --> 00:02:06.806 In all summer in the book of Colossians, as we talked about the path, the path of following Christ, and how Paul described that Today is similar but different. 00:02:06.867 --> 00:02:15.064 Today, today's big what's on a lot of your minds as well as our minds here at this church, is boy school's coming, isn't it? 00:02:15.064 --> 00:02:27.618 Whether you're homeschooling or you're in private school or you're in public school, school is coming, and so, as faculty administrators out there, as students, we're thinking about you. 00:02:27.618 --> 00:02:30.688 This weekend the message is a little bit geared toward that. 00:02:30.688 --> 00:02:36.526 Paul's got a lot to say about knowledge and wisdom, and today at five, you'll hear more about this at the end. 00:02:36.787 --> 00:02:50.913 Today at five o'clock, we're just asking everybody to come back and spend some special time as the body of Christ, praying over our students, our faculty administrators and others, because we want to kick off the year. 00:02:50.913 --> 00:03:00.808 We want this year to be the greatest year in the history of your lives from the spiritual standpoint, because everything else will shake out underneath that right. 00:03:00.808 --> 00:03:04.623 So let's pray Before we do. 00:03:04.623 --> 00:03:08.786 I just I'd love to have your help, rather than just me praying and you just sitting there. 00:03:08.786 --> 00:03:10.330 Would you stand, please? 00:03:10.330 --> 00:03:31.066 I want us to pray for a special movement of the Holy Spirit, not only in school semester coming up, but just our country, our nation, has some needs and, as Meredith reminded us, as the song said well, we're not enough Individually, we're not enough. 00:03:31.066 --> 00:03:33.145 Our nation is not enough. 00:03:33.145 --> 00:03:37.430 We need a special movement of God, I believe, and I think you'll agree with me. 00:03:37.430 --> 00:03:59.322 So would you reach over and just kind of grab a hand to your left or right for a minute and just pray silently as I pray, by the amazing power of the blood of Jesus Christ, would you move with your spirit across this land? 00:03:59.322 --> 00:04:05.469 Would you restore those who have moved away or been terribly broken? 00:04:05.469 --> 00:04:08.625 Would you renew those that have grown stale? 00:04:08.625 --> 00:04:12.966 Would you be light to those who do not know you yet. 00:04:12.966 --> 00:04:19.449 Would you influence leaders in a way they have never known before? 00:04:19.449 --> 00:04:22.684 Would you open the eyes of the blind? 00:04:22.684 --> 00:04:26.965 Would you repair the hearts of others? 00:04:26.965 --> 00:04:51.100 God, I would ask by your word and by your spirit that you would send an awakening across this land, that we would live long enough to see the day and thousands and thousands who do not know you will proclaim you to be Lord and King of all. 00:04:51.100 --> 00:05:03.466 And God, help us to be ready to be mature enough, to be solid enough, to be hungry enough to welcome them home, and we ask it in Jesus' name. 00:05:03.466 --> 00:05:03.927 Amen. 00:05:03.927 --> 00:05:07.240 Thank you have a seat. 00:05:07.240 --> 00:05:11.910 Well, with schools starting back and in some counties, I realize, out there. 00:05:11.910 --> 00:05:13.213 Thank you all for watching too. 00:05:13.213 --> 00:05:18.230 And, by the way, I realized that in some of your counties, schools already started. 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:23.230 The new stats are out on reading proficiency. 00:05:23.230 --> 00:05:25.728 If you are an educator, you know exactly what that's all about. 00:05:25.728 --> 00:05:27.423 Fourth grade reading proficiency. 00:05:27.423 --> 00:05:37.872 Last year's numbers are in and across this nation, 33 percent of fourth graders read where they should be 33 percent. 00:05:37.872 --> 00:05:42.090 That's not an indictment of teachers or any of that. 00:05:42.090 --> 00:05:48.612 It is just a statement of fact that only 33 percent of fourth graders are where they need to be. 00:05:48.612 --> 00:05:49.432 Well, that's all right. 00:05:49.432 --> 00:05:51.800 They're only in fourth grade, they'll catch up, right. 00:05:51.800 --> 00:05:53.667 Well, let's look at eighth graders. 00:05:53.667 --> 00:05:55.543 Same study, eighth grade. 00:05:55.543 --> 00:05:57.490 It was 31 percent. 00:05:57.490 --> 00:05:59.927 It's going down by the eighth grade. 00:05:59.927 --> 00:06:04.826 Well, there's always college, right, there's always the university. 00:06:04.939 --> 00:06:09.456 Jacksonville University did a study recently and they were trying to measure. 00:06:09.456 --> 00:06:16.451 My layman's terms are are you smarter as a senior than you were as a dumb freshman coming in? 00:06:16.451 --> 00:06:32.461 And after all their exhaustive studies by their standards and their evaluations, the leader of the study said yes, but barely fractionally, slightly, hardly enough to move the needle. 00:06:32.461 --> 00:06:34.588 But we can make that case that they are. 00:06:34.588 --> 00:06:36.163 This was telling to me. 00:06:36.163 --> 00:06:41.103 One of the people in the study who's on the faculty at Jacksonville said what bothers me? 00:06:41.103 --> 00:06:50.525 Most of my colleagues don't seem to be bothered or even interested in this study, and that's where I'm going with this. 00:06:51.639 --> 00:06:57.711 Could we be in an era when there is a lack of confidence in how to access knowledge? 00:06:57.711 --> 00:07:07.605 Are we in an era when you so suspect institutions and people that you don't trust them enough to believe what is supposed to be true? 00:07:07.605 --> 00:07:30.581 Have we stopped being lifelong learners with growth mindsets and have we just started to go neutral and just get through this life experience we are created to be up and to the right in our spiritual pursuit with God until the day we go home. 00:07:30.581 --> 00:07:39.893 I think it's pretty wise to be of that mindset in all areas of life, to be a lifelong learner. 00:07:39.893 --> 00:07:55.524 But it appears, with some of the stuff that's going on corporately, in marketplace as well as college campuses, that there are some topics or some conversations that are not even allowed to happen anymore. 00:07:55.524 --> 00:08:06.944 And in a day when we should be asking more questions, we are asking less questions that should concern all of us. 00:08:08.800 --> 00:08:09.963 So what do we do about that? 00:08:09.963 --> 00:08:10.646 I'm just me. 00:08:10.646 --> 00:08:14.809 I'll tell you exactly what we should do about it. 00:08:14.809 --> 00:08:28.317 You and I should be hard at becoming as mature as we can be as Christ followers and to be as connected and engaged in a family of God that is also doing that as much as we can. 00:08:28.317 --> 00:08:50.904 Because maybe I'm overly optimistic, but I believe the day is coming when we will be needed to be mentors, to be disciples, to catch those who are suddenly aware that they need to be after truth Thank you and they need to trust somebody who is genuine with that truth. 00:08:51.855 --> 00:08:54.504 So that's a little bit about what 1 Corinthians 2 is all about. 00:08:54.504 --> 00:08:54.945 Are you there? 00:08:54.945 --> 00:08:59.803 And if you're watching out there, get your device or get your Bible. 00:08:59.803 --> 00:09:02.955 It's always better to see stuff than it is just to know it. 00:09:02.955 --> 00:09:04.863 Got good news for you among the bad. 00:09:04.863 --> 00:09:12.055 The Spirit is the greatest resource for wisdom that we have. 00:09:12.055 --> 00:09:18.307 We're going to distinguish just real quickly between knowledge for knowledge's sake and wisdom. 00:09:18.307 --> 00:09:19.902 Those are not synonymous. 00:09:19.902 --> 00:09:21.019 They are different. 00:09:21.019 --> 00:09:27.288 To be very simplistic, knowledge is good, it's an intellectual activity. 00:09:27.288 --> 00:09:28.055 We need that. 00:09:28.055 --> 00:09:29.601 We should be pursuing that. 00:09:29.601 --> 00:09:34.086 But wisdom is knowing what to do with the knowledge right. 00:09:34.086 --> 00:09:39.254 How many of you know really smart people who are dumb in other areas? 00:09:39.254 --> 00:09:40.961 We all do, right. 00:09:40.961 --> 00:09:47.067 It's not about the IQ, it's about the Christ Q, I guess. 00:09:47.067 --> 00:09:50.794 So it's what we do with it and that's what Paul's saying. 00:09:51.317 --> 00:09:59.084 So what is the lead up to verses 6 through 10 that we will be in is simply this Verse, 5 verses he's getting after them. 00:09:59.084 --> 00:10:03.346 This is a church that are new Christ followers. 00:10:03.346 --> 00:10:07.426 They're in a culture that is very antagonistic toward Christianity. 00:10:07.426 --> 00:10:23.288 It's very pagan, it's very much the Greek philosophy type thing and the Greek gods and mythology and all of that and their morality, quite frankly, is not matching the teachings of God's Word. 00:10:23.288 --> 00:10:33.692 They know Jesus but their lifestyle hasn't caught up yet, and Paul's having a hard time condoning that and staying with that. 00:10:33.692 --> 00:10:34.456 He's not, so. 00:10:34.456 --> 00:10:46.360 That's why he's going to go into this discourse, so my one phrase would be what he's saying through these next five verses is grow up, grow up in your faith. 00:10:46.360 --> 00:10:46.682 Okay. 00:10:46.682 --> 00:10:47.998 So let's read verses. 00:10:48.018 --> 00:10:55.562 I'm going to make four points real quickly, about how we can distinguish better what he's telling them and what they're dealing with. 00:10:55.562 --> 00:11:04.667 Because we need that for us, because, again, as our band saying so well, I'm not enough and you're not enough, we're all broken. 00:11:04.667 --> 00:11:13.024 If you're a guest here today, you're surrounded by some of my favorite people on this earth, but they're messed up. 00:11:13.024 --> 00:11:18.294 Because I'm messed up compared to God, we're all in pretty bad shape. 00:11:18.294 --> 00:11:19.995 Anybody just wanted to screw it up. 00:11:19.995 --> 00:11:22.988 We'll talk at the tent afterwards. 00:11:22.988 --> 00:11:25.754 I don't think it'll take me long to convince you. 00:11:25.754 --> 00:11:30.075 We need more than we have inside of us. 00:11:30.075 --> 00:11:40.180 And so let's read verse six, because the first point is mature students are going to be looking for deeper truth. 00:11:40.180 --> 00:11:42.383 They're not going to be content, stay where they are. 00:11:43.615 --> 00:11:50.067 We do, however, speak a message of wisdom among the mature, or the complete, or the growing. 00:11:50.067 --> 00:11:54.664 That's what that means, but not the wisdom of this age. 00:11:54.664 --> 00:11:59.267 Now they're in the first century AD, but it still applies here. 00:11:59.267 --> 00:12:03.914 They are the rulers of this age who are coming to nothing. 00:12:03.914 --> 00:12:08.826 Is he talking about, like, the spiritual forces of that day that were influencing them? 00:12:08.826 --> 00:12:12.124 Are the human leaders of that day? 00:12:12.124 --> 00:12:14.844 Yes, he's talking, I think, about both of those. 00:12:14.844 --> 00:12:20.817 Both of those are very influential and used to pull people aside, so mature. 00:12:20.817 --> 00:12:25.835 And he says, right off there's a message of wisdom that we ought to be able to get. 00:12:25.955 --> 00:12:38.967 That same word, wisdom, is used in Acts 722, where Paul, same speaker, is talking and he's given a history lesson on Israel and then the advent of Jesus as Messiah, and he says let's talk about Moses. 00:12:38.967 --> 00:12:41.095 Moses grew up a prince of Egypt. 00:12:41.095 --> 00:12:52.774 He had all the conveniences and the power that you could possibly have as a young man and he grew up with all the wisdom of Pharaoh and that empire of that day. 00:12:52.774 --> 00:13:13.701 Yet he goes on to say he chose to pivot and to move out of that into another era, chasing another dimension, because he was aware that there's this Jehovah, god, who is over everything and who has authority over everything. 00:13:13.701 --> 00:13:25.954 And I don't care how smart I get and Egypt was a very advanced society I can get to the end of all I can know here in Egypt, I won't be complete. 00:13:25.954 --> 00:13:29.215 There will be something bad missing inside of me. 00:13:29.215 --> 00:13:38.875 He knew that even as a young man and it caused him some suffering, quite frankly, and 40 years of wandering around. 00:13:38.875 --> 00:13:42.794 But then, bang, when he connected, look out. 00:13:42.794 --> 00:13:50.034 We're still talking about it, we're still admiring what God used him to do. 00:13:52.376 --> 00:13:59.847 So you think this is true Wisdom equals maturity. 00:13:59.847 --> 00:14:04.327 The wiser I get, the more mature I get. 00:14:04.327 --> 00:14:09.950 I think it's partially true, but not complete in this world. 00:14:09.950 --> 00:14:11.523 Why don't we do this? 00:14:11.523 --> 00:14:27.327 Add at the very beginning faith plus wisdom equals maturity, because without faith on the front end, we may not have the motivation or even the right direction to get started toward wisdom. 00:14:28.500 --> 00:14:31.868 The Old Testament proverbs in the New Testament makes the case that. 00:14:31.868 --> 00:14:42.065 Can you really be wise, wise, wise, if you do not know Jesus Christ and you don't have the supernatural part of the Holy Spirit speaking into you? 00:14:42.065 --> 00:14:43.470 How do I access it? 00:14:43.470 --> 00:14:46.347 It starts with faith, which is trust, which is belief. 00:14:46.347 --> 00:14:48.264 Can I illustrate it real quick? 00:14:48.264 --> 00:14:56.200 I know we got some pilots here in our church family, so you're going to smirk at this problem. 00:14:56.200 --> 00:15:00.711 Let's say you're taking a flight somewhere, you're going across the country and you're just minding your own business. 00:15:00.711 --> 00:15:05.275 You're in 21C in the seat there, you know, dozing off. 00:15:05.275 --> 00:15:13.246 All of a sudden, someone comes on the intercom and says well, somehow, some way, both of our pilots have passed out at the same time. 00:15:13.246 --> 00:15:15.825 So we have a little issue here. 00:15:15.825 --> 00:15:25.827 We are told through our data, through Washington, that one of the smartest people on this plane is sitting in 21C right now. 00:15:25.827 --> 00:15:30.289 Would you please get up in 21C and head toward, and you're like oh, that's me. 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:35.470 And so as you dash toward the cockpit man, your mind's just racing. 00:15:35.470 --> 00:15:37.163 You get there, they're waiting on you. 00:15:37.163 --> 00:15:40.250 They sit you at the pilot's seat. 00:15:40.250 --> 00:15:44.889 You've never flown a plane in your life. 00:15:44.889 --> 00:15:59.692 That plane is jam-packed full of people, and your mind is racing and you say what can I call upon from my past experiences or my schooling or my relationships that I can somehow land on this plane? 00:15:59.840 --> 00:16:10.806 We have a cousin in Boston who flew a Cessna for a while, and he used to brag about how he would bring them in for smooth landings and everything, and you can think back to that boy. 00:16:10.806 --> 00:16:12.931 That sure hasn't given you much confidence, though. 00:16:12.931 --> 00:16:41.649 But then a voice comes on through your headset and it's a person from the tower, who is over all the pilots at that hub, at that airport you're trying to get to, and he is calm and reassuring and confident and he says I'm going to bring you in and if you listen to everything I tell you and you just push the right buttons and hold on to that wheel, we will land this plane. 00:16:41.649 --> 00:16:43.805 So which are you going to rely on? 00:16:43.805 --> 00:16:54.264 Someone outside of you who comes in and engages you and leads you in, because he's done it a thousand times and he knows the outcome? 00:16:54.264 --> 00:16:56.548 Or your cousin from Boston? 00:16:56.548 --> 00:17:07.548 Of course You're going to let that guy guide you in, and that's what the Spirit is here to do for all of us. 00:17:09.119 --> 00:17:10.060 Colossians 1 28,. 00:17:10.060 --> 00:17:16.270 Lest you think this is an elitist upper 1% thing where few of us got it, the rest of you don't. 00:17:16.270 --> 00:17:18.493 We're just so sorry, you're out of luck. 00:17:18.493 --> 00:17:20.021 Colossians 1 28,. 00:17:20.021 --> 00:17:28.519 We proclaim admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. 00:17:28.519 --> 00:17:29.743 Did you hear everyone there? 00:17:29.743 --> 00:17:32.625 This message is for everyone. 00:17:32.625 --> 00:17:37.589 This ability to live by the Spirit is for everyone. 00:17:37.589 --> 00:17:39.823 You all, we're all. 00:17:39.903 --> 00:17:47.346 I believe we're all designed from early on in our childhood to basically know the difference between good and evil. 00:17:47.346 --> 00:17:51.248 We get it wrong, get it wrong even now in adulthood. 00:17:51.248 --> 00:17:56.463 But basically we know how to function, that that's the building block. 00:17:56.463 --> 00:18:00.931 We move from there and God's Spirit shows us how to do it from there. 00:18:00.931 --> 00:18:13.649 Ephesians 4 13 might want to write that one down too Until we reach unity in the faith and the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the measure of the fullness of Christ. 00:18:14.940 --> 00:18:19.290 So let's dial it in to this conversation now about Jesus Christ. 00:18:19.290 --> 00:18:29.327 You cannot be a mature Christian without having a Christ-centered view as best you can and a surrender to that every single day. 00:18:29.327 --> 00:18:31.826 So here's my application for number one. 00:18:31.826 --> 00:18:37.830 Mature people, or those approaching maturity, are always going deeper. 00:18:37.830 --> 00:18:42.247 That means you're never going to be fully satisfied with you. 00:18:42.247 --> 00:18:50.601 I know, the older I get, the less I am impressed with stuff I know and do and say and all that stuff. 00:18:50.601 --> 00:18:53.705 There's always room for improvement. 00:18:54.859 --> 00:18:56.164 So here's my challenge to you. 00:18:56.164 --> 00:18:58.445 It's called the spiritual formations. 00:18:58.445 --> 00:19:07.884 Spiritual formations are nothing more than a daily habit that you develop and you stick to and you commit yourself to. 00:19:07.884 --> 00:19:19.049 That will feed, pour into you the truth of God, activated by the Holy Spirit a little bit every single day, every single day. 00:19:19.049 --> 00:19:24.209 Now, nobody's perfect every single day, but that can be the goal. 00:19:24.209 --> 00:19:27.846 15 minutes is a good place to start. 00:19:27.846 --> 00:19:31.346 There's plenty of things to help you with that study. 00:19:31.346 --> 00:19:45.682 If you're part of a life group here, you already have a ready-made plan of Scripture reading each week, which will lead up to the discussion with others on Sundays or Tuesday nights, thursday nights, sunday nights, wednesday nights, whenever it's better for you. 00:19:45.741 --> 00:19:53.961 That is a great way to start it, but if you're not investing a little bit every day, you eat food pretty much every day, don't you? 00:19:53.961 --> 00:19:56.746 We drink water pretty much every day. 00:19:56.746 --> 00:19:57.342 Why is that? 00:19:57.342 --> 00:20:01.402 Because we'd like to live Spiritually. 00:20:01.402 --> 00:20:13.688 We should like to live, and the only way to grow is to commit it to that, commit ourselves to that as if it's the most important thing, because really it is the most important thing. 00:20:13.688 --> 00:20:17.048 The Spirit is the greatest resource for maturities. 00:20:17.319 --> 00:20:22.131 Number two you know we won't be mature, but also mysteries are solved through Jesus. 00:20:22.131 --> 00:20:23.093 Look at verse 7 and 8. 00:20:23.093 --> 00:20:25.765 No, we speak of God's secret wisdom. 00:20:25.765 --> 00:20:35.060 That means concealed wisdom that has been hidden and that God destined for our glory before time became so. 00:20:35.060 --> 00:20:35.644 Wait a minute. 00:20:35.644 --> 00:20:40.711 It's a hidden wisdom, it's a mystery, but yet he wants us to have it. 00:20:40.711 --> 00:20:42.044 That makes no sense. 00:20:42.044 --> 00:21:05.966 You would be right Until you reach out by faith and trust and belief and you surrender your life to the person of Jesus Christ, then it makes perfect sense because Paul says there's some really smart people around that are never going to understand it, because it's a spiritual thing and not just an intellectual thing. 00:21:06.026 --> 00:21:06.647 Let's read 8. 00:21:06.647 --> 00:21:09.287 None of the rulers of this age understand it. 00:21:09.287 --> 00:21:18.507 For if they had and I love his proof he said I know a ton of people, thousands of people, did not have no clue about this. 00:21:18.507 --> 00:21:19.529 How do you know that? 00:21:19.529 --> 00:21:22.607 Well, because they would not have crucified the Lord of glory. 00:21:22.607 --> 00:21:28.801 He said if they had some wisdom, they would have seen Jesus for who he was and they wouldn't have killed him. 00:21:28.801 --> 00:21:30.387 And he's right. 00:21:30.387 --> 00:21:31.601 He's right. 00:21:33.120 --> 00:21:37.171 So truth leads to the desire for deeper truth. 00:21:37.171 --> 00:21:39.383 Hebrews 5 talks about that. 00:21:39.383 --> 00:21:44.387 If you want to do some devotional work this week on it, truth leads to deeper truth. 00:21:44.387 --> 00:21:48.700 Can I challenge you if you feel like man? 00:21:48.700 --> 00:21:53.689 I've been a believer now for 20 years, been a Christ follower for 35 years, or something like that. 00:21:53.689 --> 00:21:56.442 I put in some time, I put in some study. 00:21:56.442 --> 00:21:59.760 I think I've about arrived. 00:21:59.760 --> 00:22:03.500 That's the first lie of the enemy. 00:22:03.500 --> 00:22:05.246 Who's trying to sidetrack you? 00:22:05.246 --> 00:22:06.880 Nobody has arrived. 00:22:06.880 --> 00:22:12.665 He who began a good work in us will complete it on the day of his return. 00:22:12.665 --> 00:22:15.582 That day has not happened yet, right? 00:22:15.582 --> 00:22:21.826 So we all got a lot of room for growth, and the Holy Spirit helps us with that. 00:22:22.375 --> 00:22:28.078 Where do I start in the Scripture when we talk about the gospel every week? 00:22:28.078 --> 00:23:10.482 Here we are just talking simply about the good news of Jesus Christ Coming to earth, living perfectly, loving everybody, serving everybody, being convicted, dying on a cross as an innocent man, a perfect man, being buried and then being resurrected by God, by the power of the Spirit, on the third day, to atone for my sins and yours, so that in our busted, broken condition, we who cannot earn our way there can reach out, grab that truth, embrace it, believe it and say I believe you are the Son of God, I believe you are the Savior, I believe that you did die for me and by love. 00:23:10.482 --> 00:23:12.548 You don't want to condemn me and send me to hell. 00:23:12.548 --> 00:23:17.515 You want to save me and give me a new purpose to live your purpose in life. 00:23:17.515 --> 00:23:18.459 That's the gospel. 00:23:18.459 --> 00:23:22.714 The place to find it is the first four books of the New Testament. 00:23:22.714 --> 00:23:28.960 Those are called the gospels, so start there If you're not sure where to start Matthew, mark, luke and John. 00:23:28.960 --> 00:23:33.739 I would go in reverse order Start with the gospel of John, go backwards. 00:23:33.739 --> 00:23:41.894 I'll tell you later why you need to do that, but that would be my way of letting Jesus solve the mission. 00:23:41.894 --> 00:23:43.035 So what are you saying, randy? 00:23:43.035 --> 00:23:54.855 Are you saying the more I invest in Jesus and try to follow Him and try to know about Him, the more the things I don't understand might start getting some knowledge about them? 00:23:54.855 --> 00:23:59.880 That's exactly what I'm saying, because guess who wrote the book? 00:23:59.880 --> 00:24:03.241 Why not talk to the author about it? 00:24:03.241 --> 00:24:06.441 Why not get his input on it? 00:24:06.441 --> 00:24:15.607 Special revelations from God come every single time through the Holy Spirit, the third part of the Trinity. 00:24:16.716 --> 00:24:18.480 Can I give you an example from the Scripture? 00:24:18.480 --> 00:24:26.361 A long time ago, first century, in the book of Luke, luke 1, this is recorded there were some amazing things happening. 00:24:26.361 --> 00:24:32.714 All of a sudden, two different women got pregnant, and neither one of them had any business getting pregnant. 00:24:32.714 --> 00:24:33.538 You know what I'm saying. 00:24:33.538 --> 00:24:36.535 One of them was like way too old. 00:24:36.535 --> 00:24:37.960 Her name was Elizabeth. 00:24:37.960 --> 00:24:44.674 One of them was really young, but she wasn't married yet and had never slept with a man. 00:24:44.674 --> 00:24:48.795 So how in the world free the one of them and check it out. 00:24:48.795 --> 00:24:50.220 Both of them were related. 00:24:50.220 --> 00:24:53.021 Elizabeth was the older lady. 00:24:53.021 --> 00:24:55.870 She gets pregnant and they're able to have children. 00:24:55.870 --> 00:24:56.474 She's pregnant. 00:24:56.474 --> 00:24:59.483 She's even told supernaturally it's going to be a boy. 00:24:59.483 --> 00:25:03.846 She's into her pregnancy about six months into her pregnancy. 00:25:03.846 --> 00:25:14.807 Guess who walks into the door to visit her because they were related Mary the girl, teenage girl who is pregnant, although she's not been with a man yet. 00:25:15.134 --> 00:25:27.501 When she entered the room, the Bible says that in utero, the fetus inside of Elizabeth jumped so hard that she instantly knew what was happening. 00:25:27.501 --> 00:25:33.845 And Elizabeth shouted out the mother of my savior has just come in the room. 00:25:33.845 --> 00:25:35.300 How did she know that? 00:25:35.300 --> 00:25:40.925 Well, I didn't finish the verse by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:40.925 --> 00:25:45.694 She said that the Spirit is always going to reveal who Jesus is. 00:25:45.694 --> 00:25:58.214 Then Elizabeth starts just singing this praise song about how fortunate she was to be the mother of the savior. 00:25:58.214 --> 00:25:59.761 How in the world did she know it? 00:25:59.761 --> 00:26:19.587 Earlier, she has a visitation from God through an angel and the Spirit tells her Later, at the end of the chapter, the father to be of Elizabeth, the priest Zachariah, starts to praise God too and say things that he did not know before all that adventure. 00:26:19.895 --> 00:26:20.855 How did he know it. 00:26:20.855 --> 00:26:23.644 It says the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:26:23.644 --> 00:26:27.724 The Spirit will always reveal who Jesus is. 00:26:27.724 --> 00:26:31.705 He may not solve all your problems or give you all the answers or the lies. 00:26:31.705 --> 00:26:34.134 We're on a need to know basis for that. 00:26:34.134 --> 00:26:42.507 Sometimes you will, sometimes you won't, but what we need to know every single day is what the Spirit has to say about who Jesus is right. 00:26:42.507 --> 00:26:51.729 If we are hanging there, we will mature and we will become better in our pursuit as Christ followers. 00:26:51.729 --> 00:27:07.344 So if you have some things in your life that need to be clarified, please go to the source and say I know I might not get all my answers of the wise, but I just need to know what to do with where I am now. 00:27:07.344 --> 00:27:08.714 This has happened. 00:27:08.714 --> 00:27:09.799 This is where I am. 00:27:09.799 --> 00:27:10.999 This is where's not. 00:27:10.999 --> 00:27:12.163 What's not happening? 00:27:12.163 --> 00:27:14.923 Will you just clarify my role? 00:27:14.923 --> 00:27:17.643 Some of you are going to grin because you have been here. 00:27:18.095 --> 00:27:33.223 There are times, if you're really pursuing Jesus through the Spirit, that you'll hear somebody like me reading some scripture or you'll be reading it for yourself and the verse you read has nothing to do with what you feel. 00:27:33.223 --> 00:27:38.544 The Spirit is telling you in your brain and in your heart and you're like how can that be? 00:27:38.544 --> 00:27:41.464 Because he's not talking about this, but this word. 00:27:41.464 --> 00:27:44.615 Somebody told me the other day this happened to them. 00:27:44.615 --> 00:27:58.847 They're being falsely accused of some stuff, and they read in the New Testament a verse that Paul wrote, where he said if we are walking with Christ, we will be free from accusations. 00:27:58.847 --> 00:28:14.959 He was not talking about her situation whatsoever, but she got this unbelievable peace and sense of well-being and like it's going to be all right because she said that applied to my situation. 00:28:14.959 --> 00:28:16.223 So much you following me. 00:28:16.223 --> 00:28:33.569 And he will do that, not every day, but he will do that when he decides to do it as a measure of his love and as a measure of his guidance for us in the challenging times as well as the good times. 00:28:33.569 --> 00:28:36.122 Okay, so what's going to? 00:28:36.122 --> 00:28:37.495 How do I get motivated? 00:28:37.495 --> 00:28:40.795 I mean, how do I know I'm even on the right track of engaging? 00:28:40.795 --> 00:28:46.694 I'm well, that's what we're going to talk about in verse nine, because in verse nine we're going to be introduced to love. 00:28:46.694 --> 00:28:48.320 So here's your deal with number three. 00:28:48.341 --> 00:28:51.403 The third point Love for God opens doors. 00:28:51.403 --> 00:28:55.144 Love for God will always open doors. 00:28:55.144 --> 00:29:05.926 Verse nine however it is written, no eye has seen, no ear has heard, no mind has conceived what God has prepared for those who what Love Him. 00:29:05.926 --> 00:29:08.121 We can't leave out love. 00:29:08.121 --> 00:29:12.154 Paul says in another place man, you can do everything. 00:29:12.154 --> 00:29:14.623 You can be one of the greatest people in the world. 00:29:14.623 --> 00:29:19.086 You can be the smartest, most talented, most adored. 00:29:19.086 --> 00:29:21.759 You can do magical things. 00:29:21.759 --> 00:29:28.865 But if it is not done with love, it is what Useless vanity he says. 00:29:28.865 --> 00:29:30.740 It doesn't amount to anything. 00:29:30.740 --> 00:29:35.495 Love has to be the primary motive for all of us. 00:29:35.495 --> 00:29:42.454 If we're seeking God and the Holy Spirit through love, we will always have doors opened. 00:29:43.477 --> 00:29:47.808 Hey y'all, there's always a hiddenness that we're going to deal with. 00:29:47.808 --> 00:30:03.194 There's things about this old world and about me and you that we'll never know, we'll never fully understand, and if we live to be 110, we're still not going to know it. 00:30:03.194 --> 00:30:04.930 That's just the way it is. 00:30:04.930 --> 00:30:05.434 You know why? 00:30:05.434 --> 00:30:08.106 Because he is God. 00:30:08.106 --> 00:30:11.522 Would you really want to serve a God? 00:30:11.522 --> 00:30:13.448 That's on your intellectual level? 00:30:13.448 --> 00:30:14.611 Come on. 00:30:14.611 --> 00:30:33.434 There are other things that you'll get, this partial knowledge of partial revelation 80 percent, I still don't know, but I know just enough light into this to continue to follow Him and to know that he has my back. 00:30:33.434 --> 00:30:42.228 There's other things that, because we're not mature enough, we can't handle it. 00:30:42.228 --> 00:30:45.035 But in the buying buys. 00:30:45.035 --> 00:30:48.888 We continue to reach out to him and try to mature and grow bang. 00:30:48.888 --> 00:30:53.972 One day we're gonna say why couldn't I have seen this 20 years ago? 00:30:53.972 --> 00:31:00.678 And he would say he would say because you weren't mature enough yet, you weren't close enough to me yet. 00:31:00.678 --> 00:31:10.356 There are things that only are revealed when you get deeper with them, and it's always worth the adventure y'all. 00:31:10.356 --> 00:31:11.621 It's always worth it. 00:31:12.531 --> 00:31:16.021 First thing we got to decide, though, is do I really belong to Jesus? 00:31:16.021 --> 00:31:19.659 Do I really belong to Jesus? 00:31:19.659 --> 00:31:23.556 The Bible, again, is our best authority on that. 00:31:23.556 --> 00:31:27.845 There's three things going on that should give us either confidence or not confidence. 00:31:27.845 --> 00:31:29.476 One is the assurance. 00:31:29.476 --> 00:31:40.409 That's Romans right down Romans 8 16 the spirit testifies with our spirit, capital, capital S spirit with our spirit, that we are sons and daughters of God. 00:31:40.409 --> 00:31:43.759 Right, that's that inner knowledge that gives you peace. 00:31:43.759 --> 00:31:47.557 Another is the term adoption. 00:31:47.557 --> 00:31:55.640 It's used in the New Testament to say that once you become a Christ follower, you're adopted, you're chosen into the family of God. 00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:59.109 That's the verse before that Romans 8 15. 00:31:59.109 --> 00:32:06.440 We have the spirit of adoption, so there's assurance we can look for there's. 00:32:06.440 --> 00:32:07.704 Am I in the family? 00:32:07.704 --> 00:32:09.109 Do I know I'm in the family or not. 00:32:09.250 --> 00:32:13.741 There's also something called in Ephesians 1 13, the seal of the spirit. 00:32:13.741 --> 00:32:17.069 S e a ale, the seal of the spirit. 00:32:17.069 --> 00:32:36.439 It's not like a Baggy wrapping around you, it's more the seal of the, the governor, or the king or Herod had a ring and it would be like in a wax Thing they would if it's belong, if it was an edict he made or something he said or something that he was causing. 00:32:36.439 --> 00:32:41.997 He would press that ring and make an impression Onto that wax. 00:32:41.997 --> 00:32:50.382 Then it hardened and it was called the king or the or the governor's seal, either seal of approval or seal of authority, and nobody would mess with it. 00:32:50.382 --> 00:33:01.037 Nobody would mess with it if he, if you have that on your life and the spirits telling you you do, you're in good shape, you're, you're in the game. 00:33:01.217 --> 00:33:04.298 It's just a matter of running after him, right? 00:33:04.298 --> 00:33:19.777 If you have no peace about that, if you have no Clue what I just talked about, if this is all far into you, I'm so glad that you're listening, because today is a day you can step out and get there. 00:33:19.777 --> 00:33:21.421 You can start that process. 00:33:21.421 --> 00:33:22.423 I'm not kidding you. 00:33:22.423 --> 00:33:25.537 He loves you just like you are. 00:33:25.537 --> 00:33:29.769 He'll kind of get you where you need to be after you make a commitment to it. 00:33:29.769 --> 00:33:34.001 That's all this required, and I hope we'll see you down front it. 00:33:34.671 --> 00:33:38.897 You know, at the end of this or out of the ten, either one, but we got to start with. 00:33:38.897 --> 00:33:40.928 Do we really even belong to him? 00:33:40.928 --> 00:33:49.865 Okay, that's when harmony takes over conflict and that's when your behavior means more to you than your status in the community. 00:33:49.865 --> 00:33:57.168 Those are evidences of I am maturing in Christ, because there's things I used to care about a lot, but now I care about him more. 00:33:57.168 --> 00:34:02.105 And and obedience comes first, the consequences come second. 00:34:02.105 --> 00:34:03.710 How many you don't have to raise your hand? 00:34:03.710 --> 00:34:06.576 How many have been in situations where it clears the bell? 00:34:06.576 --> 00:34:10.603 It's like, oh man, he's asking me to do this, go here, not do this. 00:34:10.603 --> 00:34:14.779 Everything in my world is crying out. 00:34:14.779 --> 00:34:19.494 It would be easier to do that, say that, do that, but he said not to do so. 00:34:19.494 --> 00:34:20.857 I'm gonna not do it. 00:34:20.857 --> 00:34:24.662 I know there's gonna be some Consequences on the other side of you. 00:34:24.662 --> 00:34:25.569 You've been there right. 00:34:25.569 --> 00:34:34.356 If you do it anyway, you're maturing in your faith with Christ, because you're voting for life, maybe to get harder. 00:34:34.376 --> 00:34:36.681 The last thing we talked about maturity. 00:34:36.681 --> 00:34:38.715 We talked about the mysteries open doors. 00:34:38.715 --> 00:34:43.089 If we love God love each other, doors will be open to us. 00:34:43.089 --> 00:34:44.974 The last one's from verse 10. 00:34:44.974 --> 00:34:47.841 The spirit reveals family secrets. 00:34:47.841 --> 00:34:51.027 Every family has secrets, right? 00:34:51.027 --> 00:34:56.965 I Just need probably go ahead and warn you Ronda can back this up. 00:34:56.965 --> 00:35:02.209 If you have like a five year old or a first grader, chances are we probably already know all your family secrets. 00:35:02.209 --> 00:35:03.986 They're pretty open. 00:35:06.078 --> 00:35:07.063 Let's read verse 10,. 00:35:07.063 --> 00:35:08.228 But God has revealed it. 00:35:08.228 --> 00:35:17.920 What his message of salvation and our life intent to us by his Spirit. 00:35:17.920 --> 00:35:19.607 The Spirit searches all things. 00:35:19.607 --> 00:35:20.049 Now look, look, look. 00:35:20.049 --> 00:35:21.513 Now, look, look, look, look. 00:35:21.513 --> 00:35:24.641 Even the deeper things of God. 00:35:24.641 --> 00:35:35.076 He goes on to say there is one person in the world who knows what God's mind is, what's on God's mind, and it's the Spirit. 00:35:35.076 --> 00:35:52.257 So doesn't it make sense that we should pursue a vital relationship with the Holy Spirit to be informed about Jesus well enough to where we can live a life that pleases God and is His calling on our life? 00:35:52.257 --> 00:35:54.054 That's exactly what Jesus did. 00:35:55.409 --> 00:36:08.034 If Jesus, being the Son of God and being all-powerful, said, what I do is by the power of the Spirit, not by the fact that he was the Son of God, man, that's pretty good instruction for us, don't you think we need to do the same thing? 00:36:08.034 --> 00:36:12.799 I think so, because that was exactly His plan. 00:36:12.799 --> 00:36:14.756 Well, how do you know, randy? 00:36:14.756 --> 00:36:17.417 Well, I can give you case after case from the Scripture. 00:36:17.417 --> 00:36:19.532 How about the night? 00:36:19.532 --> 00:36:25.669 He prayed all night long for guidance on who he was going to pick as His twelve followers. 00:36:25.669 --> 00:36:26.713 How about that one? 00:36:26.713 --> 00:36:35.250 He's seeking God through the Spirit all night long in prayer and he comes up with twelve men. 00:36:35.250 --> 00:36:44.979 It'd be like you in the marketplace or something in your role at work like, oh my goodness, I've suddenly got to replace twelve people, like now. 00:36:44.979 --> 00:36:47.793 That's an overwhelming thing. 00:36:47.793 --> 00:36:55.976 So Jesus spends all night and there's some who, after he chose those twelve, would have said man, is that the best you could do? 00:36:55.976 --> 00:37:01.217 But Jesus and His wisdom given by the Spirit got it right. 00:37:03.109 --> 00:37:09.614 But we still like to look at sometimes their incompetence and their inept makes me feel better. 00:37:09.614 --> 00:37:15.139 Makes me feel better to see them slipping and sliding and they're with them in person. 00:37:15.139 --> 00:37:18.656 Right A few years ago, somebody wrote us a spoof. 00:37:18.656 --> 00:37:21.637 I don't know if you've heard it ever before, but I enjoyed it. 00:37:21.637 --> 00:37:34.756