NT Framework - Intercede & Illuminate, not chaos

The Holy Spirit is with us to indwell and give gifts, not to overwhelm us with His presence or to overpower us with His will. His ministry is much more subtle than all of that.

More information about Beyond the Walls, including additional resources can be found at www.beyondthewalls-ministry.com 

This series included graphics to illustrate what is being taught, if you would like to watch the teachings you can do so on Rumble (https://rumble.com/user/SpokaneBibleChurch) or on YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLtV_KhFVZ_waBcnuywiRKIyEcDkiujRqP).

Jeremy Thomas is the pastor at Spokane Bible Church in Spokane, Washington and a professor at Chafer Theological Seminary. He has been teaching the Bible for over 20 years, always seeking to present its truths in a clear and understandable manner. 

Transcript

Welcome And Theme Of Prayer

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Welcome to Beyond the Walls with Jeremy Thomas and our series on the New Testament framework. Today, a smaller, bite-sized piece from the larger lesson. We hope you enjoy

When You Don’t Know How To Pray

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it.

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One of my favorite ones, let's turn to Romans 8, because this year the theme is prayer, right? So let's look at Romans chapter 8. How many times have we read Romans 8? You know, it's so many times, and yet last time I was reading through this, I was seeing some things that I hadn't, some connections I hadn't quite made before. Um, but this this this ministry of the Spirit is just interceding for us. He intercedes for us when we don't know how to pray. Have you ever been in that situation? You're so anxious, you're so worried, or you're so tired and the situation's going in life, you you can't even gather your thoughts to really even know how to pray for the situation. And yet the good the good news is, you know, you have the Spirit of God dwelling in you, and he actually picks up the ball, so to speak. And he prays for you from within you. And uh do you think his prayers get answered? Um well, he always prays in terms of the will of God. I may not, but he always does. And that's comforting. So Romans 8 26, he say in this, he says, in the same way the Spirit also helps our weaknesses or weakness. For we do not know how to pray as we should. I mean, that's coming from the Apostle Paul, folks. Paul says, I don't know how to pray. Be encouraged by that, right? Because sometimes we think, man, I don't know how to pray, and all these other believers that seem to have it together. Hey, even the Apostle Paul didn't know how to pray. So you can relax, right? We don't know how to pray as we should, he says, but the good news is that the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. That's that means it's it's basically it's obviously something we don't hear. It's basically on a private line. Okay, he has a private line to God. And so he uh intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words, verse 27, and he who searches the hearts knows what the mind of the Spirit is. It's talking about the Father and the Spirit having this close relationship because he intercedes for the saints according to God or according to the will of God.

Why All Things Work For Good

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That's usually where we stop on that passage. In fact, my my Bible has a paragraph break there. So that's the end of that idea. Wrong. Because look at the next word. What is the next word in the English translation? And we know that God causes all things. This is one of our favorite verses. God causes all things to work together for good for those who love God.

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How is it that God causes all things to work together for good?

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Because when we don't know how to pray, the Spirit of God is interceding for us from within us according to the will of God. And therefore, all things in our life work together for good. It's because of the Spirit's prayer ministry from within us. That's how he accomplishes it. This verse doesn't say, by the way, that everything that happens in your life is good. It says all things work together for good, for a good end, a good purpose. And uh sometimes we don't see that, right? It's like the story of Job. Who can see from chapters one and two how everything would work together for good? Ten of my kids were killed on a single day, and I lost all my health, and my wife was sitting there nagging me, like, what is wrong with you? Curse God and die. I mean, how can anything in this situation be good? And I lost all my wealth. So you lost all your wealth, you lost all your children, your wife is against you, and you don't even have your health. And from those two chapters, first two chapters of Job, you can't see how how anything would work together for good, and you can say none of these things are good.

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Your kid's dying isn't good. Okay. But what's Job 42? You know, what about Job 42? Could anyone have ever seen the end from the beginning?

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Well, the architect of it can see the end from the beginning. Right. But it's just an example of how God works all things together for good. And so we're to rely on these types of illustrations in the Bible to remind us that yes, my life has a lot of frustrations, but I've got the Holy Spirit working within me, praying from within me, and this is ultimately going to be the way that God causes everything to work together for good. It's such an encouragement. When you lose all hope, just turn to this passage and just dwell on that.

The Holy Spirit Illuminates Scripture

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Uh, ninth, and I think last, the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit. This is again something that the Old Testament Jewish saints did not have. Um Corinthians chapter 2. Turn there. So turn to the right, one book. 1 Corinthians chapter 2. By the way, my book was published today, so or last night. I think it's last night. So 1 Corinthians is out there. Uh, I'll probably order some copies here today if I can remember. But I'm excited it finally got out. Uh 1 Corinthians chapter 2, verse 10, 11, 12, and 13. Um, we have the Spirit in us to illuminate us. Illuminate means to shed light on, right? To shine light on something. So as we study the Word of God, what does he do? He shines light on it so that we understand the things of God. 1 Corinthians 2, verse 10, for to us God revealed them through the Spirit. So, see, there's the Spirit is the instrument in revealing things about God to us. For the Spirit searches all things, even the depths of God. Well, see, he has access, right? Um there are certain things that are kept top secret in our country. We're supposed to get some of that stuff released, right? We're supposed to be finally told, you know, what all these documents contain, get access to those. We don't have access now. We can't search those things, but hopefully soon we'll be able to. In terms of who God is and his word, the spirit is the one who searches these things out. But guess what? He's within us, and he's the one who teaches us these things. Verse 11 for who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? In other words, you cannot access my thoughts in my spirit. And I can't access your thoughts in your spirit. The only way that I can access them is you have to tell me. You have to tell me. Now, if I had a special tool that could go inside of you and mine your ideas out of your mind and bring them back and tell me, then I can know what's in your mind. Well, guess what? That's what the Spirit of God does. He has access into God. So he's able to search that out and come and give us the information. This is the illuminating ministry of the Holy Spirit. Verse 12. Now we have received not the Spirit of the world, but the Spirit who's from God, so that we may know the things freely given to us by God, which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, meaning not secular terminology, but in those taught by the Spirit, using the scriptural words, combining spiritual thoughts with spiritual words. So we we teach the things of the Word of God, which deal with the depths of who God is and what he's all about amongst ourselves so that we can know him. The Spirit of God does this. Okay, so that is another thing that Old Testament saints

Distinct Works Of The Spirit

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didn't have. So I point all these distinct works of the Spirit out because it's the distinctions that are important. Um if there are continuities, we point those out too. You know, the same things that he's done before, he's doing now. But there are things that he's doing differently now than he's done before. And that shows a change in dispensation, or what we mean is how God is managing his house, his world.

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And until next time, we hope you have a blessed and wonderful day.