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1 John 3.

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And I had hoped to deal this morning

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with testing the spirits.

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But as I wrestled with what exactly

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I should pull out of 
these verses and stress,

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I was somewhat convinced that I should not

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move beyond chapter 3 into 4.

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Lord willing, next week,

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I intend to deal with testing the spirits.

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I want to kind of transition 
into that today

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by looking at these last two verses

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of 1 John 3.

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Let's read them together.

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"And this is His commandment,

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that we believe in the name 
of His Son Jesus Christ."

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Now, that's interesting.

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I'll just pause right here for a moment.

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I've always looked at this as kind of

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a companion verse to that which we find

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in Acts 17 where we are commanded -

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"God commands all men 
everywhere to repent."

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Here we have a commandment to believe.

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Yes, we are invited to believe.

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Yes, God exhorts us to believe.

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He earnestly pleads with us to believe.

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He reasons with us.

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"Come, let us reason together."

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But remember, behind God's invitation,

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when the people didn't show up

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to the banquet,

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the Master was angry.

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It's expected that you will 
answer the invitation.

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It's commanded.

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Isn't it amazing God has to command us

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to not go to hell?

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God has to command us to have life.

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Do you recognize that?

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You are not at liberty to go to hell.

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Did you ever think about that?

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God commands us

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to believe on His Son and be saved.

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And, we've been looking at this:

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"...To love one another,

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just as He commanded us."

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Now, notice this,

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"Whoever keeps His commandments

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abides in God and God in him."

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And this is what I want us to focus on.

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We've been looking at those things.

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Remember? I told you before,

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John is circular.

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He's like the bee that 
flies around the flower.

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He keeps hitting the same 
things over and over.

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Whereas sometimes as he's circling,

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he begins to introduce some new truth.

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Well, here in this last sentence

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of 1 John 3,

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John introduces something to us

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that he has not yet introduced.

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"By this we know that He..."

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I'll just put "God" in there.

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"By this we know that God abides in us,

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by the Spirit whom He has given us."

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That's where I want our attention.

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That last sentence.

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Now, let's think about this.

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"By this we know that He abides in us."

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Now, that may just seem -

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He abides in us.

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Stop and think.

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He abides in us.

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We have Scripture.

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We have Scripture.

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We live in an age - and I'm sure

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all the ages have been like this

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ever since man has fallen -

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we're so circled by the ideas of the world

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and by the deceptions

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and by people's opinions.

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But we have the Word of God.

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We can come to it.
We can stand on it.

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This is truth.

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That's why we preach.

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Have you ever thought about it?

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The foolishness of preaching?

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Do you ever think about

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you guys actually come to 
this place every week

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and you sit there and you actually listen

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to a guy that stands in a pulpit.

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Does it ever just once in a while

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you think that's ludicrous 
that we do that?

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Why do we do that?

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Well, because God designed it.

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But see, what it is, it's 
the channel of truth.

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Because I'm not preaching to you without

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this book in front of me.

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I have this thing here.

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The idea of a preacher

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is somebody who is able to come up

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and stand before you and give you

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the facts as they are found in this book.

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That's what we do.

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That's what this is all about.

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This is all about giving you a steady diet

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of God's Word - not of my opinions.

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And the beauty is we can dive in here

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wherever we dive into this book,

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we find truth.

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And one of the truths that we find

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repeatedly in 1 John

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is that the Bible does not shy away

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from defining Christianity.

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Over and over and over.

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I mean, we need this.

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We need this.

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Because we've got religion all around us

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that doesn't correctly 
define Christianity.

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We've got a world that looks out there -

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they've got all their opinions.

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We've got the news.
The news has ideas about Christians.

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Who was it?

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Oh, it was Brandon Davidson

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who just did a message 
on Coptic Christians.

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You know how they were making a big deal

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about the Coptic Christians in Egypt

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because a number of them were beheaded

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by ISIS?

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And Brandon responded by showing

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that these Coptic Christians

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don't really fit the definition
of biblical Christianity.

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But you see, the world, 
they interpret things

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however they want to interpret them.

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But, John knows -

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God knows who inspired John -

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that we live in a world

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where we need to be reminded
again and again and again

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what true Christianity looks like.

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That's what we have.
We need the facts.

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Our only hope in this world -

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is it not true?

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Our only hope in this world rests

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in being a Christian.

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There is no hope outside 
of being a Christian.

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There is no other hope.

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And so it's important that 
we define what it is.

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The title of my message:
"How You Know You're a Christian."

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Now, obviously, John's been showing us

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numerous ways we can 
know we're a Christian.

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What are some of the other proofs?

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1 John 2:3 - you can just 
glance right there.

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You're right here in 1 John,
but we've already looked at these.

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"By this we know that we
have come to know Him..."

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How? "If we keep His commandments."

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We read that in v. 23.

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V. 24, "Whoever keeps His commandments

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abides in God."

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(There at the beginning of v. 24.)

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We saw it back in 1 John 2:3.

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"This we know, that we 
have come to know Him,

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if we keep His commandments."

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Again, this is kind of 
reiterated in 1 John 2:5.

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"Whoever keeps His Word...

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in him truly the love of God is perfected.

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By this we may know that we are in Him."

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See, you get these: "We know."

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"By this we know..."

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"We know that we know Him

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if we keep His commandments."

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"We know we know Him 
if we keep His Word."

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1 John 2:29,

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"You may be sure

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that everyone who practices righteousness

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has been born of Him."

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So you've got this: 
"keeping His commandments,"

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"keeping His Word,"
"practicing righteousness."

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1 John 3:14, "We know that we've passed

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out of death into life," how?

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How can you know you're a Christian?

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How can you know you've truly 
passed from death to life?

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"Because we love the brothers."

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You see, he's been hitting this all along.

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What we have here is we have a new one.

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We have a new proof.

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Before we look at the proof,

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I just want you to see something

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about what a Christian is.

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I think sometimes we 
need to stop and think,

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what is a Christian?

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Well, somebody that's been saved.

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Yeah, but we have to think about

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what it is that we've been saved from.

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Do you ever recognize when Adam

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would walk in the garden

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in the cool of the day,

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what happened?

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God came to him and walked with him.

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Have you ever thought about what he lost

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when he fell into sin?

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Brethren, look at chapter 3:24

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and the beginning of 
the last sentence there.

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"By this we know that He abides in us."

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John wants us to be clear

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about what it means to be a Christian,

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and here in this last verse of 1 John 3,

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here is the basic premise.

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A Christian is a home for God.

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Let that sink in a second.

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I mean, that's what it talks about.

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Abiding. God abides.

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You look up the meaning of that word.

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That's to make a home with.

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John is saying, Christian, 
do you understand,

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you are a dwelling 
place for the Most High?

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Does Paul not say,

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"you are God's temple"?

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God dwells in you.

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That's what it is to be a Christian.

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God comes to us.

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God lives in us.

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God makes His temple -

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we are the dwelling place of God.

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That's what we lost.

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That's what Adam lost when he fell.

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We lost God. We lost God with us.

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We lost the life of God

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in the soul of man - abiding in us,

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dwelling with us, communing with us,

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communicating, fellowshipping with us.

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We lost Him.

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Like the KJV says -

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God says to Abraham,

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"I am thy exceeding great reward."

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That's the reward. That's the treasure.

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It is Christ. It is God. It is the Spirit.

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It is this Triune Godhead dwelling in us.

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Manifestly dwelling in us.

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That's what this is all about.

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That's what he's laying on the table here.

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Brethren, we need to face the reality

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of what a Christian truly is.

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A Christian is no ordinary man

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like everybody else out there.

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We're not just like everybody 
else, but we go to church.

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Brethren, think with me.

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Think with me just about 
dwelling places of God.

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I mean, if you think in Scripture,

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burning bush.

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God dwelt in the burning bush.

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Moses sees a burning bush.

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It's burning. It doesn't get consumed.

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I'm going to go over and check that out.

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And God says, "Stop, 
Moses. Stop right there.

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You take your shoes off your feet."

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Why? Because where God dwells,

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it's holy ground.

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You think about the holy of holies

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inside the tabernacle.

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The shekinah glory was so intense,

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you did not go in there or you died -

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except one man once a year

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and only with blood.

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The place where God 
dwells is a holy place.

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It is a fearful place.

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It is a place unlike all other places.

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Think about Heaven.

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Heaven is the place where we think of

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where God dwells.

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And Isaiah looks at it as His beautiful

269
00:11:43,923 --> 00:11:45,986
and holy habitation.

270
00:11:45,986 --> 00:11:48,260
That's what it's like where God dwells.

271
00:11:48,260 --> 00:11:50,402
And then you think about this.

272
00:11:50,402 --> 00:11:54,326
John says to be a Christian

273
00:11:54,326 --> 00:12:00,421
is to be one of these places -

274
00:12:00,421 --> 00:12:02,905
we are the temple.

275
00:12:02,905 --> 00:12:04,925
Inside that temple was the same thing

276
00:12:04,925 --> 00:12:06,531
that was inside that tabernacle.

277
00:12:06,531 --> 00:12:08,149
The tabernacle became the temple.

278
00:12:08,149 --> 00:12:10,115
Inside there is the holy of holies.

279
00:12:10,115 --> 00:12:12,644
It is where the manifest 
glory of God dwells.

280
00:12:12,644 --> 00:12:15,211
And what we are being told in Scripture

281
00:12:15,211 --> 00:12:18,300
is we are that temple.

282
00:12:18,300 --> 00:12:20,232
You see what God saves people for -

283
00:12:20,232 --> 00:12:22,113
to inhabit them; to dwell with them;

284
00:12:22,113 --> 00:12:23,970
to walk with them; to fellowship;

285
00:12:23,970 --> 00:12:26,258
to manifest His glory there.

286
00:12:26,258 --> 00:12:28,472
That's what it is to be a saint.

287
00:12:28,472 --> 00:12:30,087
It's not this Catholic idea -

288
00:12:30,087 --> 00:12:31,890
Saint Anthony - we were talking about

289
00:12:31,890 --> 00:12:33,654
meanings of names the other day.

290
00:12:33,654 --> 00:12:35,447
San Antonio. What's that?

291
00:12:35,447 --> 00:12:37,385
I don't even know who Antonio was.

292
00:12:37,385 --> 00:12:41,249
It might not have even been 
a true saint whatsoever,

293
00:12:41,249 --> 00:12:43,004
but we have true saints in here.

294
00:12:43,004 --> 00:12:44,301
And what does it mean?

295
00:12:44,301 --> 00:12:47,285
To be a saint is to be a holy one.

296
00:12:47,285 --> 00:12:52,372
We're holy ones because we are 
the place where God dwells.

297
00:12:52,372 --> 00:12:54,054
What is a Christian?

298
00:12:54,054 --> 00:12:55,479
We need to come back to that

299
00:12:55,479 --> 00:12:56,751
again and again and again.

300
00:12:56,751 --> 00:12:58,159
We need to be clear on this.

301
00:12:58,159 --> 00:13:00,389
We are the church of the living God.

302
00:13:00,389 --> 00:13:02,823
If there is going to be 
somebody in this world

303
00:13:02,823 --> 00:13:04,304
that need to be faithful

304
00:13:04,304 --> 00:13:05,792
to be communicating truth,

305
00:13:05,792 --> 00:13:06,857
it's got to be us.

306
00:13:06,857 --> 00:13:09,073
It's got to be those of us 
that have the Word of God.

307
00:13:09,073 --> 00:13:10,336
What is a Christian?

308
00:13:10,336 --> 00:13:12,057
A Christian is this -

309
00:13:12,057 --> 00:13:15,143
is a Christian a moral person?

310
00:13:15,143 --> 00:13:17,387
Is a Christian simply a good person?

311
00:13:17,387 --> 00:13:20,191
Is it simply a member of this church?

312
00:13:20,191 --> 00:13:21,323
No.

313
00:13:21,323 --> 00:13:23,483
That's not it.

314
00:13:23,483 --> 00:13:27,540
A Christian is one who God comes to

315
00:13:27,540 --> 00:13:29,925
and manifests His presence in.

316
00:13:29,925 --> 00:13:31,806
This is a spiritual reality.

317
00:13:31,806 --> 00:13:34,650
The life of God possesses them.

318
00:13:34,650 --> 00:13:36,219
Now, here's the thing.

319
00:13:36,219 --> 00:13:37,658
Here's what you need to see

320
00:13:37,658 --> 00:13:40,530
in the last part of the last sentence.

321
00:13:40,530 --> 00:13:43,263
Read it with me.

322
00:13:43,263 --> 00:13:46,477
"By this we know that He abides in us."

323
00:13:46,477 --> 00:13:49,514
By this we know we are a temple of God.

324
00:13:49,514 --> 00:13:53,227
By this we know we are 
His holy habitation.

325
00:13:53,227 --> 00:13:55,284
How?

326
00:13:55,284 --> 00:14:00,136
"By the Spirit whom He has given to us."

327
00:14:00,136 --> 00:14:03,604
See, John says, your 
Christianity can be proven.

328
00:14:03,604 --> 00:14:04,992
That's what he says here.

329
00:14:04,992 --> 00:14:06,432
If you want proof of the fact

330
00:14:06,432 --> 00:14:08,297
that a man is a Christian -

331
00:14:08,297 --> 00:14:09,893
one who has God dwelling in him -

332
00:14:09,893 --> 00:14:11,946
John says here it is.

333
00:14:11,946 --> 00:14:15,459
Every individual who 
possesses the Holy Spirit

334
00:14:15,459 --> 00:14:17,287
may know that he himself

335
00:14:17,287 --> 00:14:20,517
is such a dwelling place for God.

336
00:14:20,517 --> 00:14:23,708
But then of course, the next question:

337
00:14:23,708 --> 00:14:27,388
Well, how can I know if 
I possess the Spirit?

338
00:14:27,388 --> 00:14:31,326
But I think you can all feel this,

339
00:14:31,326 --> 00:14:35,381
John expects that we can tell.

340
00:14:35,381 --> 00:14:37,706
Don't you get that feel?

341
00:14:37,706 --> 00:14:41,151
By this you can know 
that God abides in you,

342
00:14:41,151 --> 00:14:42,804
how?

343
00:14:42,804 --> 00:14:44,817
"By the Spirit whom He has given us."

344
00:14:44,817 --> 00:14:46,706
He expects us to be able to know

345
00:14:46,706 --> 00:14:47,867
if we have the Spirit.

346
00:14:47,867 --> 00:14:50,336
You can see that right off.

347
00:14:50,336 --> 00:14:55,570
Every individual who 
possesses the Holy Spirit -

348
00:14:55,570 --> 00:14:58,997
he believes he's going to 
know they possess Him.

349
00:14:58,997 --> 00:15:01,564
That's the proof.

350
00:15:01,564 --> 00:15:04,554
And that's the proof that God 
has taken up residence in us.

351
00:15:04,554 --> 00:15:06,350
How can we know?
What is the proof?

352
00:15:06,350 --> 00:15:07,630
Holy Spirit.

353
00:15:07,630 --> 00:15:09,414
He's certainly not the only proof,

354
00:15:09,414 --> 00:15:11,464
but it's one of the proofs.

355
00:15:11,464 --> 00:15:13,271
You know this very well, many of you.

356
00:15:13,271 --> 00:15:15,104
Romans 8:9, "Anyone who does not have

357
00:15:15,104 --> 00:15:17,964
the Spirit of Christ does 
not belong to Him."

358
00:15:17,964 --> 00:15:19,112
So here it is.

359
00:15:19,112 --> 00:15:23,052
We're face to face with this 
great truth of Scripture.

360
00:15:23,052 --> 00:15:27,548
You have the Spirit or you don't.

361
00:15:27,548 --> 00:15:30,335
If you have the Spirit,

362
00:15:30,335 --> 00:15:32,120
God abides in you.

363
00:15:32,120 --> 00:15:35,586
If you don't, He doesn't.

364
00:15:35,586 --> 00:15:37,720
That's what he's laid on the table here.

365
00:15:37,720 --> 00:15:40,921
It's very clear.

366
00:15:40,921 --> 00:15:46,266
This is our Christian reality.

367
00:15:46,266 --> 00:15:48,626
We have the Holy Spirit.

368
00:15:48,626 --> 00:15:49,718
It's essential.

369
00:15:49,718 --> 00:15:51,141
The Holy Spirit is essential

370
00:15:51,141 --> 00:15:52,350
to your Christian life,

371
00:15:52,350 --> 00:15:53,644
to your Christian standing,

372
00:15:53,644 --> 00:15:56,016
to your Christian experience.

373
00:15:56,016 --> 00:15:58,061
I'm afraid we forget 
how essential this is.

374
00:15:58,061 --> 00:15:59,936
I forget how essential this is.

375
00:15:59,936 --> 00:16:01,394
You know what?

376
00:16:01,394 --> 00:16:02,971
Every time I read through John

377
00:16:02,971 --> 00:16:05,132
and I come across our Lord Jesus' words

378
00:16:05,132 --> 00:16:08,059
where He says to His disciples,

379
00:16:08,059 --> 00:16:10,236
"Nevertheless, I tell you the truth,

380
00:16:10,236 --> 00:16:15,440
it is to your advantage that I go away."

381
00:16:15,440 --> 00:16:17,885
Why? Why is it to our advantage?

382
00:16:17,885 --> 00:16:19,760
"For if I do not go away, the Helper -

383
00:16:19,760 --> 00:16:21,967
(or the Comforter) - will not come to you.

384
00:16:21,967 --> 00:16:25,309
But if I go, I will send Him to you."

385
00:16:25,309 --> 00:16:28,188
I often want Jesus to come.

386
00:16:28,188 --> 00:16:29,678
I'm out in the field praying.

387
00:16:29,678 --> 00:16:32,305
I want Jesus to come.

388
00:16:32,305 --> 00:16:36,213
I long to be like the 
disciples, like John,

389
00:16:36,213 --> 00:16:38,691
who could lay at the breast of Christ.

390
00:16:38,691 --> 00:16:40,575
I want that.

391
00:16:40,575 --> 00:16:42,506
Don't you want it?

392
00:16:42,506 --> 00:16:44,626
I mean, I want that,

393
00:16:44,626 --> 00:16:46,585
and when I come to this,

394
00:16:46,585 --> 00:16:49,170
I find I don't fully believe it.

395
00:16:49,170 --> 00:16:51,152
Because I want that.

396
00:16:51,152 --> 00:16:53,192
Because I don't have what I want.

397
00:16:53,192 --> 00:16:55,748
I want to be able to touch.
I want to be able to see.

398
00:16:55,748 --> 00:16:58,163
I want to be able to talk.

399
00:16:58,163 --> 00:17:00,578
We want that!

400
00:17:00,578 --> 00:17:05,429
And so when I come across 
this verse time and again -

401
00:17:05,429 --> 00:17:08,244
you know, we have to sit back and say,

402
00:17:08,244 --> 00:17:11,706
I need to believe that that's true.

403
00:17:11,706 --> 00:17:14,971
(Incomplete thought)

404
00:17:14,971 --> 00:17:17,984
Listen, Jesus is saying having the Spirit

405
00:17:17,984 --> 00:17:20,558
is more advantageous to you

406
00:17:20,558 --> 00:17:24,152
than to have Him do the things He did,

407
00:17:24,152 --> 00:17:27,230
incarnate, walking with His disciples,

408
00:17:27,230 --> 00:17:28,599
the way He did.

409
00:17:28,599 --> 00:17:30,098
This is better.

410
00:17:30,098 --> 00:17:33,139
This is more advantageous.

411
00:17:33,139 --> 00:17:34,381
We need to believe it.

412
00:17:34,381 --> 00:17:37,245
Which means, there's some advantage.

413
00:17:37,245 --> 00:17:40,145
And this is where John is pulling from.

414
00:17:40,145 --> 00:17:42,073
There is an advantage in your life

415
00:17:42,073 --> 00:17:45,039
that is observable.

416
00:17:45,039 --> 00:17:48,997
And you can tell where that advantage is.

417
00:17:48,997 --> 00:17:51,765
You can tell where the Spirit is.

418
00:17:51,765 --> 00:17:55,624
And by that, by the 
evidences of His presence,

419
00:17:55,624 --> 00:17:57,474
you can know that you are one of these

420
00:17:57,474 --> 00:17:59,303
dwelling places of God.

421
00:17:59,303 --> 00:18:02,948
That's his basic argument through here.

422
00:18:02,948 --> 00:18:05,012
And we see this truth reaffirmed

423
00:18:05,012 --> 00:18:06,390
in chapter 4:13.

424
00:18:06,390 --> 00:18:07,635
You can just look there.

425
00:18:07,635 --> 00:18:09,590
1 John 4:13, "By this we know

426
00:18:09,590 --> 00:18:12,527
that we abide in Him

427
00:18:12,527 --> 00:18:15,359
and He in us

428
00:18:15,359 --> 00:18:20,133
because He has given us of His Spirit."

429
00:18:20,133 --> 00:18:22,458
So, the thing I want to ask is this -

430
00:18:22,458 --> 00:18:24,316
this is the next obvious question.

431
00:18:24,316 --> 00:18:30,344
What sort of proof is this?

432
00:18:30,344 --> 00:18:33,181
I mean, you say to me, 
"how can I know I'm a Christian?"

433
00:18:33,181 --> 00:18:35,604
And I say to you, "by the Holy Spirit."

434
00:18:35,604 --> 00:18:37,835
What sort of proof is that?

435
00:18:37,835 --> 00:18:39,719
I mean, John the Baptist said this:

436
00:18:39,719 --> 00:18:43,840
God told me the One upon whom I see

437
00:18:43,840 --> 00:18:48,209
the Holy Spirit descend is Him.

438
00:18:48,209 --> 00:18:52,632
Okay, John saw the Spirit 
descend like a dove

439
00:18:52,632 --> 00:18:55,007
and it remained on Jesus Christ.

440
00:18:55,007 --> 00:18:56,291
And God had told him,

441
00:18:56,291 --> 00:18:57,885
you're going to know the Messiah;

442
00:18:57,885 --> 00:18:59,842
you're going to know the One 
you're the forerunner to

443
00:18:59,842 --> 00:19:02,316
because the Spirit of God is 
going to descend on Him

444
00:19:02,316 --> 00:19:04,047
and rest there.

445
00:19:04,047 --> 00:19:05,774
But how do we know?

446
00:19:05,774 --> 00:19:07,900
I mean, how do we know by the Spirit?

447
00:19:07,900 --> 00:19:14,021
We don't see that.
I've never seen that.

448
00:19:14,021 --> 00:19:15,556
What are the evidences?

449
00:19:15,556 --> 00:19:17,386
What sort of proof is this?

450
00:19:17,386 --> 00:19:20,024
Well, I'll tell you, I have twelve.

451
00:19:20,024 --> 00:19:22,001
Jesus said it's to our advantage.

452
00:19:22,001 --> 00:19:24,255
Well, there are advantages.

453
00:19:24,255 --> 00:19:25,952
There's proofs.

454
00:19:25,952 --> 00:19:27,869
And I get all these from Scripture.

455
00:19:27,869 --> 00:19:29,726
I've got twelve of them.

456
00:19:29,726 --> 00:19:32,740
And I don't want to go any 
further than this today.

457
00:19:32,740 --> 00:19:35,710
I'm going to give you twelve proofs

458
00:19:35,710 --> 00:19:37,536
that Scripture gives to us

459
00:19:37,536 --> 00:19:39,769
that are evidences of the presence

460
00:19:39,769 --> 00:19:41,964
of the Holy Spirit, which in turn

461
00:19:41,964 --> 00:19:43,721
is evidence that God abides in us

462
00:19:43,721 --> 00:19:45,653
and we abide in Him.

463
00:19:45,653 --> 00:19:48,373
That we're real; we're genuine.

464
00:19:48,373 --> 00:19:50,733
So what are these things?

465
00:19:50,733 --> 00:19:53,010
What are they?

466
00:19:53,010 --> 00:19:56,373
How to know you are a Christian.

467
00:19:56,373 --> 00:19:58,597
That's the title.

468
00:19:58,597 --> 00:20:00,726
Or, how to know you have the Spirit

469
00:20:00,726 --> 00:20:03,586
by which you know you are a Christian.

470
00:20:03,586 --> 00:20:07,004
So here's the first one.

471
00:20:07,004 --> 00:20:10,527
Jesus Christ told us this.

472
00:20:10,527 --> 00:20:13,641
John 16:8 - you can mark these down.

473
00:20:13,641 --> 00:20:16,055
You can try to turn to all of them, 
but I'm going to go through them fast

474
00:20:16,055 --> 00:20:17,440
and I think by the time you get there,

475
00:20:17,440 --> 00:20:18,966
I'm already going to be 
done with the point.

476
00:20:18,966 --> 00:20:21,019
So, you might just want to hear these.

477
00:20:21,019 --> 00:20:23,148
I'll give you the reference 
because I want you to see

478
00:20:23,148 --> 00:20:25,159
that all of these are 
truly coming from Scripture.

479
00:20:25,159 --> 00:20:26,575
John 16:8,

480
00:20:26,575 --> 00:20:31,462
The Holy Spirit - 
"He will convict the world

481
00:20:31,462 --> 00:20:35,614
concerning sin and 
righteousness and judgment.

482
00:20:35,614 --> 00:20:38,473
Now, you think here.

483
00:20:38,473 --> 00:20:42,742
We're going along in our life.

484
00:20:42,742 --> 00:20:47,873
We're going along happy in our sin.

485
00:20:47,873 --> 00:20:49,107
Remember that?

486
00:20:49,107 --> 00:20:51,239
Remember how that was?

487
00:20:51,239 --> 00:20:52,945
You're looking forward to your sin.

488
00:20:52,945 --> 00:20:54,655
But then something happens.

489
00:20:54,655 --> 00:20:58,912
What happens?

490
00:20:58,912 --> 00:21:00,246
Something happens.

491
00:21:00,246 --> 00:21:02,927
Something happens in the conscience.

492
00:21:02,927 --> 00:21:09,966
Suddenly, there's a disturbance.

493
00:21:09,966 --> 00:21:11,340
That's what conviction is.

494
00:21:11,340 --> 00:21:13,526
It's a disturbance.

495
00:21:13,526 --> 00:21:18,399
Suddenly, we're troubled.

496
00:21:18,399 --> 00:21:21,107
We feel something.

497
00:21:21,107 --> 00:21:25,546
Sin suddenly is not just

498
00:21:25,546 --> 00:21:26,837
the vomit of the dog

499
00:21:26,837 --> 00:21:29,804
that I want to run over and 
can't wait to get to.

500
00:21:29,804 --> 00:21:32,838
There's a hesitation.

501
00:21:32,838 --> 00:21:35,465
That doesn't mean I totally
lose the pull of that sin,

502
00:21:35,465 --> 00:21:37,554
but there's a check in my soul.

503
00:21:37,554 --> 00:21:41,135
Something isn't right any longer.

504
00:21:41,135 --> 00:21:43,956
That's what he's talking about here.

505
00:21:43,956 --> 00:21:45,447
Conviction.

506
00:21:45,447 --> 00:21:47,334
There's a gnawing disturbance.

507
00:21:47,334 --> 00:21:49,676
There may be a hollowness

508
00:21:49,676 --> 00:21:50,704
or an emptiness.

509
00:21:50,704 --> 00:21:52,268
Things are not right.

510
00:21:52,268 --> 00:21:53,655
Something is wrong.

511
00:21:53,655 --> 00:21:55,126
Something is happening.

512
00:21:55,126 --> 00:21:56,640
This is the Spirit's doing.

513
00:21:56,640 --> 00:21:59,906
I used to be able to 
easily dismiss my sin.

514
00:21:59,906 --> 00:22:03,457
I could justify it like that.

515
00:22:03,457 --> 00:22:06,732
But then something happened.

516
00:22:06,732 --> 00:22:11,968
And you can't just dismiss it so easily.

517
00:22:11,968 --> 00:22:14,099
I used to think of God out there.

518
00:22:14,099 --> 00:22:16,282
Oh, He understands my sin.

519
00:22:16,282 --> 00:22:17,829
He just overlooks it.

520
00:22:17,829 --> 00:22:19,510
But now something had happened.

521
00:22:19,510 --> 00:22:21,726
I could no longer enjoy 
my sin as I once did.

522
00:22:21,726 --> 00:22:24,118
I'm unsettled.

523
00:22:24,118 --> 00:22:27,941
This is what Jesus says 
the Holy Spirit will do.

524
00:22:27,941 --> 00:22:29,572
You know, my friends, my family

525
00:22:29,572 --> 00:22:30,854
couldn't understand me.

526
00:22:30,854 --> 00:22:33,010
You know, the people out there

527
00:22:33,010 --> 00:22:34,997
still enjoy all their sin

528
00:22:34,997 --> 00:22:36,707
who are your companions in the sin,

529
00:22:36,707 --> 00:22:38,102
who run with you in the sin,

530
00:22:38,102 --> 00:22:40,145
suddenly there's a check in your spirit -

531
00:22:40,145 --> 00:22:41,485
they don't understand you.

532
00:22:41,485 --> 00:22:42,891
What's wrong with you?

533
00:22:42,891 --> 00:22:44,629
You need another drink.

534
00:22:44,629 --> 00:22:46,013
Shrug that off.

535
00:22:46,013 --> 00:22:50,425
But you can't shrug it off. Why?
Because of the Spirit of God.

536
00:22:50,425 --> 00:22:54,383
And He's speaking.

537
00:22:54,383 --> 00:22:55,678
What's the next thing?

538
00:22:55,678 --> 00:22:57,583
That's not all.

539
00:22:57,583 --> 00:22:58,824
There's something else.

540
00:22:58,824 --> 00:23:00,521
We read in Romans 8:14,

541
00:23:00,521 --> 00:23:03,442
"All who are led by the Spirit of God

542
00:23:03,442 --> 00:23:04,801
are sons of God."

543
00:23:04,801 --> 00:23:06,773
So the Spirit not only convicts,

544
00:23:06,773 --> 00:23:11,349
the Spirit leads.

545
00:23:11,349 --> 00:23:13,412
I mean, something else happens.

546
00:23:13,412 --> 00:23:18,015
Suddenly - well, it may not be so sudden.

547
00:23:18,015 --> 00:23:19,590
Sometimes it's not as sudden.

548
00:23:19,590 --> 00:23:21,560
In some it's sudden.

549
00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:26,954
In some, it happens almost undiscernibly

550
00:23:26,954 --> 00:23:28,367
like the rising of the sun,

551
00:23:28,367 --> 00:23:29,357
but it's happening.

552
00:23:29,357 --> 00:23:31,469
What's happening?

553
00:23:31,469 --> 00:23:33,285
Desires.

554
00:23:33,285 --> 00:23:36,060
My desires, my impulses,

555
00:23:36,060 --> 00:23:41,410
I'm being led in ways 
I was never led before.

556
00:23:41,410 --> 00:23:42,979
What led me before?

557
00:23:42,979 --> 00:23:44,575
Animal passions.

558
00:23:44,575 --> 00:23:46,859
Base lusts.

559
00:23:46,859 --> 00:23:52,293
My desire for what I wanted led me.

560
00:23:52,293 --> 00:23:54,575
But something happens.

561
00:23:54,575 --> 00:23:59,930
I'm being led by desires 
I never had before.

562
00:23:59,930 --> 00:24:02,314
There's impulses that shoot through me

563
00:24:02,314 --> 00:24:05,576
that are rising beyond 
my bodily appetites.

564
00:24:05,576 --> 00:24:07,897
I'm being pulled by something else.

565
00:24:07,897 --> 00:24:09,783
And you know what? You know it.

566
00:24:09,783 --> 00:24:11,533
You know it. It's different now.

567
00:24:11,533 --> 00:24:13,032
And people are looking at you -

568
00:24:13,032 --> 00:24:14,406
what's wrong with you?

569
00:24:14,406 --> 00:24:16,161
Well, you feel it inside.

570
00:24:16,161 --> 00:24:17,341
I'm being pulled.

571
00:24:17,341 --> 00:24:19,070
I'm being pulled away from that sin.

572
00:24:19,070 --> 00:24:21,606
It's a pull towards God.
That's what it is.

573
00:24:21,606 --> 00:24:23,744
It's a pull not just forward,

574
00:24:23,744 --> 00:24:25,126
it's a pull upward.

575
00:24:25,126 --> 00:24:26,921
You feel something happening.

576
00:24:26,921 --> 00:24:28,978
There's leadership.

577
00:24:28,978 --> 00:24:31,368
There's conviction. There's leadership.

578
00:24:31,368 --> 00:24:32,932
How about the thought life?

579
00:24:32,932 --> 00:24:35,751
You know, in Romans 8:5, we get this:

580
00:24:35,751 --> 00:24:38,814
"Those who live according to the Spirit

581
00:24:38,814 --> 00:24:41,235
set their minds on the 
things of the Spirit."

582
00:24:41,235 --> 00:24:44,052
So, if you live according to the Spirit -
what does that mean?

583
00:24:44,052 --> 00:24:45,853
According to His power;
according to His presence;

584
00:24:45,853 --> 00:24:47,778
according to His operation in your life;

585
00:24:47,778 --> 00:24:49,083
what happens to your mind?

586
00:24:49,083 --> 00:24:50,621
What happens to your thoughts?

587
00:24:50,621 --> 00:24:54,485
The mind is drawn towards things of God.

588
00:24:54,485 --> 00:24:56,995
You know that! You know that!

589
00:24:56,995 --> 00:24:58,539
Not only did conviction come;

590
00:24:58,539 --> 00:25:00,383
not only did this lead come,

591
00:25:00,383 --> 00:25:02,013
but suddenly your mind -

592
00:25:02,013 --> 00:25:06,209
you are thinking about spiritual things.

593
00:25:06,209 --> 00:25:07,593
They're on your mind now.

594
00:25:07,593 --> 00:25:10,204
You wake up and you start 
thinking about eternity.

595
00:25:10,204 --> 00:25:12,415
You start thinking that 
there is a God out there

596
00:25:12,415 --> 00:25:14,342
who I'm going to have 
to give an account to.

597
00:25:14,342 --> 00:25:16,848
You start thinking about 
what is the cross all about.

598
00:25:16,848 --> 00:25:18,766
What did Christ actually do?

599
00:25:18,766 --> 00:25:19,967
You're troubled.

600
00:25:19,967 --> 00:25:23,210
You're thinking of eternity.
You're thinking of judgment day.

601
00:25:23,210 --> 00:25:27,010
Suddenly the mind is going 
to these other things.

602
00:25:27,010 --> 00:25:30,350
Any interest in religion before,

603
00:25:30,350 --> 00:25:31,798
you know it was mechanical.

604
00:25:31,798 --> 00:25:33,030
How can I do my thing?

605
00:25:33,030 --> 00:25:35,192
I remember how it was.

606
00:25:35,192 --> 00:25:37,478
It's this idea of the good and the bad

607
00:25:37,478 --> 00:25:39,359
and hopefully the good will outweigh.

608
00:25:39,359 --> 00:25:40,811
Once in awhile, you need to

609
00:25:40,811 --> 00:25:42,587
do something kind for one another.

610
00:25:42,587 --> 00:25:43,924
But suddenly, your thoughts

611
00:25:43,924 --> 00:25:46,227
are not just mechanical thoughts

612
00:25:46,227 --> 00:25:50,274
about religion.

613
00:25:50,274 --> 00:25:52,845
The thoughts.

614
00:25:52,845 --> 00:25:57,144
The Spirit pulls the mind towards God

615
00:25:57,144 --> 00:26:00,245
and towards the Word of God.

616
00:26:00,245 --> 00:26:02,577
The thought life.

617
00:26:02,577 --> 00:26:04,336
Led to think about God

618
00:26:04,336 --> 00:26:05,639
and think about sin

619
00:26:05,639 --> 00:26:07,054
and think about eternity

620
00:26:07,054 --> 00:26:08,457
and think about judgment.

621
00:26:08,457 --> 00:26:11,717
One becomes amazed.

622
00:26:11,717 --> 00:26:13,359
Isn't that what happens?

623
00:26:13,359 --> 00:26:16,443
We wake up and suddenly we're amazed

624
00:26:16,443 --> 00:26:18,581
that we didn't think about the things

625
00:26:18,581 --> 00:26:20,338
that we're thinking about right now;

626
00:26:20,338 --> 00:26:23,564
that we walked so long in the dark.

627
00:26:23,564 --> 00:26:26,534
Then, oh, there's more.

628
00:26:26,534 --> 00:26:28,068
What?

629
00:26:28,068 --> 00:26:32,599
In John 16:14, Jesus says this.

630
00:26:32,599 --> 00:26:40,077
The Holy Spirit will glorify Me.

631
00:26:40,077 --> 00:26:42,321
You know what? We basically spend

632
00:26:42,321 --> 00:26:44,765
our lost lives dismissing

633
00:26:44,765 --> 00:26:47,912
the Christ of the Bible.

634
00:26:47,912 --> 00:26:51,092
Trivializing Him.

635
00:26:51,092 --> 00:26:56,106
But then, it happens.

636
00:26:56,106 --> 00:27:03,796
I mean, it happens.

637
00:27:03,796 --> 00:27:08,938
Suddenly, gradually, it happens.

638
00:27:08,938 --> 00:27:18,712
We see Christ as we've 
never seen Him before.

639
00:27:18,712 --> 00:27:27,010
It sets us back.

640
00:27:27,010 --> 00:27:31,670
The Spirit causes us to see.

641
00:27:31,670 --> 00:27:38,877
He doesn't just make it 
possible for us to see.

642
00:27:38,877 --> 00:27:40,865
He sets Christ before us

643
00:27:40,865 --> 00:27:45,608
and gives us eyes to see Him.

644
00:27:45,608 --> 00:27:48,382
That happens.

645
00:27:48,382 --> 00:27:53,366
He causes us to wake up.

646
00:27:53,366 --> 00:27:55,564
I mean, there suddenly is an attraction.

647
00:27:55,564 --> 00:27:57,750
We behold a beauty,

648
00:27:57,750 --> 00:28:03,173
a magnificence in the Lord Jesus Christ.

649
00:28:03,173 --> 00:28:06,185
Christians, do you 
remember that happening?

650
00:28:06,185 --> 00:28:08,642
He's no longer just a historical figure.

651
00:28:08,642 --> 00:28:12,672
He is the historical figure.

652
00:28:12,672 --> 00:28:17,565
You recognize that everything 
revolves around Him.

653
00:28:17,565 --> 00:28:20,279
You begin to recognize,

654
00:28:20,279 --> 00:28:28,543
wow - everything in 
Scripture is about Him!

655
00:28:28,543 --> 00:28:30,879
Everything about creation is for Him

656
00:28:30,879 --> 00:28:32,650
and in Him and through Him

657
00:28:32,650 --> 00:28:34,321
and He sustains it all.

658
00:28:34,321 --> 00:28:37,543
And suddenly, you just recognize,

659
00:28:37,543 --> 00:28:40,693
He's not just one among many.

660
00:28:40,693 --> 00:28:42,335
He is the One.

661
00:28:42,335 --> 00:28:44,300
Everything else revolves around Him.

662
00:28:44,300 --> 00:28:46,620
He is like the sun in the solar system.

663
00:28:46,620 --> 00:28:48,578
Everything revolves around Him.

664
00:28:48,578 --> 00:28:50,941
Everything has to do with Him.

665
00:28:50,941 --> 00:28:52,874
Everything comes back to Him.

666
00:28:52,874 --> 00:28:56,572
However you saw it,

667
00:28:56,572 --> 00:29:00,396
Christ - when the Spirit comes,

668
00:29:00,396 --> 00:29:02,363
Christ just is getting bigger

669
00:29:02,363 --> 00:29:06,560
and bigger and bigger and bigger.

670
00:29:06,560 --> 00:29:07,621
That's what happens.

671
00:29:07,621 --> 00:29:09,984
There's no greater proof 
of the Spirit's presence

672
00:29:09,984 --> 00:29:16,156
in an individual or in a church than this.

673
00:29:16,156 --> 00:29:17,709
You want to look for evidences

674
00:29:17,709 --> 00:29:20,320
of whether the Spirit of God -

675
00:29:20,320 --> 00:29:25,089
people love to talk 
about the Spirit of God,

676
00:29:25,089 --> 00:29:28,749
but one thing we find about the Spirit,

677
00:29:28,749 --> 00:29:32,039
He is not self-promoting.

678
00:29:32,039 --> 00:29:34,622
He is Christ-promoting.

679
00:29:34,622 --> 00:29:36,519
You can tell His presence

680
00:29:36,519 --> 00:29:39,856
not by where there's a 
lot of talk about the Spirit.

681
00:29:39,856 --> 00:29:42,117
You can tell the Spirit's presence

682
00:29:42,117 --> 00:29:47,815
when you find them 
preoccupied with Christ.

683
00:29:47,815 --> 00:29:50,623
That's where the Spirit is.

684
00:29:50,623 --> 00:29:55,243
That's what we find here.

685
00:29:55,243 --> 00:29:56,464
Isn't that what happens?

686
00:29:56,464 --> 00:30:00,429
You begin to find I have no hope

687
00:30:00,429 --> 00:30:03,117
without Him.

688
00:30:03,117 --> 00:30:06,585
I begin to face all the facts about Him.

689
00:30:06,585 --> 00:30:07,988
It is Him.

690
00:30:07,988 --> 00:30:10,366
I recognize without the incarnation,

691
00:30:10,366 --> 00:30:12,118
there is no hope for me.

692
00:30:12,118 --> 00:30:14,607
I recognize that if He 
doesn't go to the cross,

693
00:30:14,607 --> 00:30:15,957
there is no hope.

694
00:30:15,957 --> 00:30:18,173
I recognize if He doesn't 
rise from the dead,

695
00:30:18,173 --> 00:30:19,270
there is no hope.

696
00:30:19,270 --> 00:30:21,276
I recognize Him ascending to God -

697
00:30:21,276 --> 00:30:22,825
in that is my hope.

698
00:30:22,825 --> 00:30:24,551
All of this - what Christ did,

699
00:30:24,551 --> 00:30:25,614
all the way through,

700
00:30:25,614 --> 00:30:27,356
my hope is built on that.

701
00:30:27,356 --> 00:30:28,775
I begin to see these things.

702
00:30:28,775 --> 00:30:30,418
He came. He was incarnate.

703
00:30:30,418 --> 00:30:31,944
He did these miracles.

704
00:30:31,944 --> 00:30:33,548
He went on trial.

705
00:30:33,548 --> 00:30:35,152
He faced Jerusalem.

706
00:30:35,152 --> 00:30:36,201
He went there.

707
00:30:36,201 --> 00:30:38,212
They beat Him and they buffeted Him.

708
00:30:38,212 --> 00:30:39,608
They scourged Him.

709
00:30:39,608 --> 00:30:41,287
They laid that cross on Him.

710
00:30:41,287 --> 00:30:43,137
He went up there to Calvary.

711
00:30:43,137 --> 00:30:46,339
They nailed spikes in His hands 
and they crucified Him.

712
00:30:46,339 --> 00:30:47,977
And you begin to look at all this

713
00:30:47,977 --> 00:30:48,924
and you recognize,

714
00:30:48,924 --> 00:30:51,641
this is not just some 
other part of history

715
00:30:51,641 --> 00:30:53,133
to throw out there

716
00:30:53,133 --> 00:30:56,415
like the study of World War II.

717
00:30:56,415 --> 00:30:57,597
This is it.

718
00:30:57,597 --> 00:30:59,813
Everything revolves around this.

719
00:30:59,813 --> 00:31:01,536
That's what the Spirit does.

720
00:31:01,536 --> 00:31:02,929
Our eyes are opened to it.

721
00:31:02,929 --> 00:31:05,225
We're rocked by the reality.

722
00:31:05,225 --> 00:31:07,173
They crucified Him.

723
00:31:07,173 --> 00:31:11,250
And suddenly, the Spirit does this.

724
00:31:11,250 --> 00:31:12,719
How do you relate to this?

725
00:31:12,719 --> 00:31:14,717
This is a proof of the Spirit's presence

726
00:31:14,717 --> 00:31:15,976
which in turn is the proof

727
00:31:15,976 --> 00:31:18,009
that we are God's temple.

728
00:31:18,009 --> 00:31:19,120
We're going along.

729
00:31:19,120 --> 00:31:25,367
We're going along absorbed 
with all else but Christ.

730
00:31:25,367 --> 00:31:28,256
Then something happens.

731
00:31:28,256 --> 00:31:30,783
We sing it in the song.

732
00:31:30,783 --> 00:31:34,721
Almighty love arrests that man.

733
00:31:34,721 --> 00:31:39,426
We're arrested.
We're spiritually arrested.

734
00:31:39,426 --> 00:31:46,375
And like Paul, we talked 
about a few weeks ago,

735
00:31:46,375 --> 00:31:48,193
"Who are You, Lord?"

736
00:31:48,193 --> 00:31:50,871
"I am Jesus."

737
00:31:50,871 --> 00:31:54,543
And suddenly, that name...

738
00:31:54,543 --> 00:31:56,534
that name's not a curse word.

739
00:31:56,534 --> 00:31:59,849
That name's not just 
religious terminology.

740
00:31:59,849 --> 00:32:02,556
The Spirit opens our eyes and our soul

741
00:32:02,556 --> 00:32:05,036
and draws it out to Christ.

742
00:32:05,036 --> 00:32:07,743
The Spirit always glorifies Christ.

743
00:32:07,743 --> 00:32:11,031
Our estimation of Christ 
is altogether reworked

744
00:32:11,031 --> 00:32:13,065
by the power and 
influence of the Spirit.

745
00:32:13,065 --> 00:32:15,193
This is Christianity.

746
00:32:15,193 --> 00:32:17,119
That's Christianity.

747
00:32:17,119 --> 00:32:19,176
Being absorbed with Christ.

748
00:32:19,176 --> 00:32:20,192
Honoring Christ.

749
00:32:20,192 --> 00:32:21,813
Finding in Christ our all.

750
00:32:21,813 --> 00:32:24,350
This is the heart and 
soul of Christianity.

751
00:32:24,350 --> 00:32:26,697
Brethren, I remember how it was.

752
00:32:26,697 --> 00:32:28,439
Suddenly Christ's deity is

753
00:32:28,439 --> 00:32:31,762
the most important thing 
you ever imagined.

754
00:32:31,762 --> 00:32:34,479
The cross is the most important thing

755
00:32:34,479 --> 00:32:36,778
you ever imagined.

756
00:32:36,778 --> 00:32:38,088
The resurrection -

757
00:32:38,088 --> 00:32:41,147
the most important 
thing you ever imagined.

758
00:32:41,147 --> 00:32:42,652
Christ's perfect obedience -

759
00:32:42,652 --> 00:32:45,771
the most important 
thing you ever imagined.

760
00:32:45,771 --> 00:32:47,954
Pleasing Christ - the 
most important thing.

761
00:32:47,954 --> 00:32:50,181
You say, they can't all be most important,

762
00:32:50,181 --> 00:32:51,442
but that's the way it is.

763
00:32:51,442 --> 00:32:54,136
The Spirit shows you one thing 
about Christ after another,

764
00:32:54,136 --> 00:32:55,652
and it's like that's the greatest thing!

765
00:32:55,652 --> 00:32:57,781
Oh, look over here!
That's the greatest thing!

766
00:32:57,781 --> 00:32:59,759
Because everything about 
Him is just so great

767
00:32:59,759 --> 00:33:01,484
and for the first time in your life,

768
00:33:01,484 --> 00:33:03,452
you're made aware.

769
00:33:03,452 --> 00:33:07,235
That's what the Spirit does.

770
00:33:07,235 --> 00:33:08,865
What else?

771
00:33:08,865 --> 00:33:12,469
What other proofs that the Spirit's there?

772
00:33:12,469 --> 00:33:14,105
Romans 5:5 says,

773
00:33:14,105 --> 00:33:17,459
"God's love has been 
poured into your hearts

774
00:33:17,459 --> 00:33:18,674
through the Holy Spirit

775
00:33:18,674 --> 00:33:20,227
who has been given to us."

776
00:33:20,227 --> 00:33:25,029
So when the Holy Spirit 
has been given to us,

777
00:33:25,029 --> 00:33:30,818
it seems like by nature all of us -

778
00:33:30,818 --> 00:33:32,518
now, you think about this -

779
00:33:32,518 --> 00:33:37,804
by nature, all of us create a god

780
00:33:37,804 --> 00:33:40,941
of our own imagination.

781
00:33:40,941 --> 00:33:42,936
This god approves of us.

782
00:33:42,936 --> 00:33:45,634
This god loves us whatever 
condition we're in.

783
00:33:45,634 --> 00:33:47,496
I mean, that's the sort of god

784
00:33:47,496 --> 00:33:49,922
that appeals to the natural man.

785
00:33:49,922 --> 00:33:52,043
But what happens?

786
00:33:52,043 --> 00:33:58,262
The Spirit brings conviction of sin.

787
00:33:58,262 --> 00:34:02,584
The Spirit hits our consciences.

788
00:34:02,584 --> 00:34:04,693
We're aware of sin and judgment

789
00:34:04,693 --> 00:34:06,149
and how righteous God is

790
00:34:06,149 --> 00:34:07,900
to bring us to judgment.

791
00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:09,643
It breaks in upon us

792
00:34:09,643 --> 00:34:12,137
that there is a living 
Almighty God out there

793
00:34:12,137 --> 00:34:13,372
with whom we have to do,

794
00:34:13,372 --> 00:34:15,852
and He's so holy, He can't look upon sin.

795
00:34:15,852 --> 00:34:18,135
I mean, this is what we're awakened to.

796
00:34:18,135 --> 00:34:19,821
This god of our imagination -

797
00:34:19,821 --> 00:34:23,060
like a mist that goes away.

798
00:34:23,060 --> 00:34:25,960
Suddenly, we are face 
to face with a big God.

799
00:34:25,960 --> 00:34:28,040
And what this is all about

800
00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,172
is when we see this holy God -

801
00:34:30,172 --> 00:34:32,626
we see this God who cannot look upon sin -

802
00:34:32,626 --> 00:34:34,373
not the God of our imagination.

803
00:34:34,373 --> 00:34:35,853
The true God. The living God.

804
00:34:35,853 --> 00:34:38,765
The terribly holy, holy, 
holy God of Scripture

805
00:34:38,765 --> 00:34:43,447
before whom the seraphim 
shield their faces.

806
00:34:43,447 --> 00:34:50,596
The Spirit says that God loves me.

807
00:34:50,596 --> 00:34:53,962
He loves me!

808
00:34:53,962 --> 00:34:58,092
He gave His Son for me.

809
00:34:58,092 --> 00:35:00,803
That's what's being communicated.

810
00:35:00,803 --> 00:35:05,556
You just look at the context of Romans 5.

811
00:35:05,556 --> 00:35:07,695
He showed His love,

812
00:35:07,695 --> 00:35:11,130
and it's shown on the cross.

813
00:35:11,130 --> 00:35:14,312
And suddenly the Spirit communicates that.

814
00:35:14,312 --> 00:35:16,921
I remember my brother-in-law Rick.

815
00:35:16,921 --> 00:35:19,491
He said he was laying in bed one morning,

816
00:35:19,491 --> 00:35:24,230
and just like a lightning bolt...

817
00:35:24,230 --> 00:35:29,447
he was musing on, contemplating the cross,

818
00:35:29,447 --> 00:35:33,893
and God just said, "Rick, it's for you."

819
00:35:33,893 --> 00:35:36,327
"I did that for you."

820
00:35:36,327 --> 00:35:39,197
That's what happens.

821
00:35:39,197 --> 00:35:40,466
The love of God.

822
00:35:40,466 --> 00:35:42,367
He sent His Son to die for me.

823
00:35:42,367 --> 00:35:44,298
And this one's so closely related.

824
00:35:44,298 --> 00:35:46,145
Romans 8:15

825
00:35:46,145 --> 00:35:49,432
"You've received the Spirit 
of adoption as sons."

826
00:35:49,432 --> 00:35:51,017
Here's the Spirit.

827
00:35:51,017 --> 00:35:53,193
The Spirit of adoption. We receive Him.

828
00:35:53,193 --> 00:35:54,456
What does He do?

829
00:35:54,456 --> 00:35:56,798
"...By whom we cry, 'Abba, Father.'"

830
00:35:56,798 --> 00:36:01,547
There it is.

831
00:36:01,547 --> 00:36:05,026
God is not just some 
distant power anymore.

832
00:36:05,026 --> 00:36:13,683
He's no longer the pushover 
god of our imaginations.

833
00:36:13,683 --> 00:36:16,932
He's the God of Scripture.

834
00:36:16,932 --> 00:36:19,170
But He no longer presents Himself to me

835
00:36:19,170 --> 00:36:21,338
as an angry God

836
00:36:21,338 --> 00:36:25,156
whose wrath I'm under.

837
00:36:25,156 --> 00:36:31,281
But now, look at that.

838
00:36:31,281 --> 00:36:33,228
The Spirit makes us conscious

839
00:36:33,228 --> 00:36:37,412
of the fact that He who 
is the Most High God

840
00:36:37,412 --> 00:36:39,640
is my Father.

841
00:36:39,640 --> 00:36:41,521
He cares for me.
He loves me.

842
00:36:41,521 --> 00:36:42,968
He sent His Son to die for me.

843
00:36:42,968 --> 00:36:46,353
I cry to Him now as a Father.

844
00:36:46,353 --> 00:36:49,111
Father, Father.

845
00:36:49,111 --> 00:36:51,577
What a title!

846
00:36:51,577 --> 00:36:55,098
Christian, when you pray -

847
00:36:55,098 --> 00:37:04,107
I hear some Christians that 
address God as God.

848
00:37:04,107 --> 00:37:08,260
Now, theologically, there's 
nothing wrong with that.

849
00:37:08,260 --> 00:37:11,579
But it always feels impersonal to me.

850
00:37:11,579 --> 00:37:15,374
To keep addressing God repeatedly as God,

851
00:37:15,374 --> 00:37:18,742
when the Spirit comes and says,

852
00:37:18,742 --> 00:37:20,989
He is God,

853
00:37:20,989 --> 00:37:23,809
but He makes Himself known to you

854
00:37:23,809 --> 00:37:25,178
as your Father.

855
00:37:25,178 --> 00:37:27,335
Not just as Father - Abba.

856
00:37:27,335 --> 00:37:31,805
I mean, what an endearing word.

857
00:37:31,805 --> 00:37:33,832
Do you know this reality?

858
00:37:33,832 --> 00:37:36,923
Brethren, we want true Christianity.

859
00:37:36,923 --> 00:37:40,034
The kind of Christianity that God 
is not just a far away power,

860
00:37:40,034 --> 00:37:41,621
not the pushover god of my mind,

861
00:37:41,621 --> 00:37:43,798
but it is the God of Scripture

862
00:37:43,798 --> 00:37:47,520
in all of His highness and transcendence

863
00:37:47,520 --> 00:37:48,866
and vastness.

864
00:37:48,866 --> 00:37:52,974
He's personally come to me

865
00:37:52,974 --> 00:37:57,444
and He says, "I'm your Father."

866
00:37:57,444 --> 00:37:59,436
This is an operation of the Spirit.

867
00:37:59,436 --> 00:38:02,494
By this we know God dwells 
within and we're real.

868
00:38:02,494 --> 00:38:05,170
How about this? Romans 8:16.

869
00:38:05,170 --> 00:38:08,443
"The Spirit Himself bears witness

870
00:38:08,443 --> 00:38:12,697
with our spirit that 
we're children of God."

871
00:38:12,697 --> 00:38:15,022
There's the Spirit on the witness stand.

872
00:38:15,022 --> 00:38:18,390
The devil can come 
and sling his accusations.

873
00:38:18,390 --> 00:38:21,378
But the witness is this:

874
00:38:21,378 --> 00:38:24,311
"I own you as My own.

875
00:38:24,311 --> 00:38:28,115
You are My child. You are My son."

876
00:38:28,115 --> 00:38:30,925
But there's still sin.

877
00:38:30,925 --> 00:38:32,776
"Yes, but you're My child.

878
00:38:32,776 --> 00:38:36,013
I've sent My Son to die for your sin.

879
00:38:36,013 --> 00:38:37,553
You belong to Me.

880
00:38:37,553 --> 00:38:40,324
I bought you with a price.

881
00:38:40,324 --> 00:38:43,317
I brought you into My family."

882
00:38:43,317 --> 00:38:49,867
The Spirit bids us

883
00:38:49,867 --> 00:38:52,224
to see this sonship.

884
00:38:52,224 --> 00:38:54,180
He witnesses to us.

885
00:38:54,180 --> 00:38:56,195
What does a witness do?

886
00:38:56,195 --> 00:38:59,150
What do you want a witness to 
do when they go on the stand?

887
00:38:59,150 --> 00:39:01,331
Just give the facts. Tell the truth.

888
00:39:01,331 --> 00:39:02,061
That's it.

889
00:39:02,061 --> 00:39:03,535
That's what the Spirit's doing.

890
00:39:03,535 --> 00:39:06,133
You want to know what the truth is?

891
00:39:06,133 --> 00:39:09,066
You haven't just been saved from sin,

892
00:39:09,066 --> 00:39:17,631
you've been saved 
from just wandering, lost.

893
00:39:17,631 --> 00:39:21,523
God has brought you into His household.

894
00:39:21,523 --> 00:39:23,799
He's your Father. You're His son.

895
00:39:23,799 --> 00:39:28,065
He's bestowed His love upon you.

896
00:39:28,065 --> 00:39:29,124
That's it.

897
00:39:29,124 --> 00:39:31,190
The Spirit does that.
The Spirit witnesses.

898
00:39:31,190 --> 00:39:32,970
How about number 8?

899
00:39:32,970 --> 00:39:34,412
Romans 8:13,

900
00:39:34,412 --> 00:39:36,971
"By the Spirit, you put to death

901
00:39:36,971 --> 00:39:38,512
the deeds of the body."

902
00:39:38,512 --> 00:39:40,736
If you do that, you live.

903
00:39:40,736 --> 00:39:41,988
That's life.

904
00:39:41,988 --> 00:39:43,541
Remember?

905
00:39:43,541 --> 00:39:46,438
We're alive. We're Christians 
if we have the Spirit.

906
00:39:46,438 --> 00:39:47,953
By the Spirit, we know

907
00:39:47,953 --> 00:39:50,895
that God abides in us.

908
00:39:50,895 --> 00:39:52,938
If you have the Spirit, what do you do?

909
00:39:52,938 --> 00:39:56,117
You put to death the deeds of the body.

910
00:39:56,117 --> 00:39:59,896
The daily practice of killing sin matters

911
00:39:59,896 --> 00:40:02,906
because it's an evidence of 
whether the Spirit's there or not.

912
00:40:02,906 --> 00:40:04,946
And look, a lot of people in the world,

913
00:40:04,946 --> 00:40:07,593
they intend to make changes in their life.

914
00:40:07,593 --> 00:40:09,317
They make New Year's resolutions

915
00:40:09,317 --> 00:40:10,895
to make changes in their life.

916
00:40:10,895 --> 00:40:16,420
They grit their teeth to 
make changes in their life.

917
00:40:16,420 --> 00:40:18,357
But I'll tell you this, true change -

918
00:40:18,357 --> 00:40:21,342
radical change, the purity

919
00:40:21,342 --> 00:40:23,463
that God desires from us -

920
00:40:23,463 --> 00:40:25,047
the only way that we can do that;

921
00:40:25,047 --> 00:40:27,836
the only way that we truly

922
00:40:27,836 --> 00:40:32,771
can put off these deeds is by the Spirit.

923
00:40:32,771 --> 00:40:34,991
God's Spirit is the Holy Spirit.

924
00:40:34,991 --> 00:40:37,387
He will not leave God's people unholy.

925
00:40:37,387 --> 00:40:39,444
God's Spirit is a mighty Spirit.

926
00:40:39,444 --> 00:40:42,962
He is more powerful than our sin.

927
00:40:42,962 --> 00:40:45,131
I mean, this is the thing.

928
00:40:45,131 --> 00:40:48,307
When the Spirit is put 
within the child of God,

929
00:40:48,307 --> 00:40:50,020
you have to think about this.

930
00:40:50,020 --> 00:40:52,555
You've got sin. You've got the Spirit.

931
00:40:52,555 --> 00:40:55,828
Sin is viewed in Scripture as 
this kind of dark force

932
00:40:55,828 --> 00:40:56,937
or a dark lord.

933
00:40:56,937 --> 00:41:00,549
"Sin reigning in the mortal body."

934
00:41:00,549 --> 00:41:02,227
That's how Scripture describes it.

935
00:41:02,227 --> 00:41:04,401
Then you have the Spirit who comes up

936
00:41:04,401 --> 00:41:06,679
and takes residence in the Christian.

937
00:41:06,679 --> 00:41:08,557
You've got these competing powers,

938
00:41:08,557 --> 00:41:10,908
but who's stronger?

939
00:41:10,908 --> 00:41:12,486
Of course, the Spirit is.

940
00:41:12,486 --> 00:41:15,174
And the Spirit will always win.

941
00:41:15,174 --> 00:41:18,113
The Spirit will always win.

942
00:41:18,113 --> 00:41:20,600
He is in the business of making saints;

943
00:41:20,600 --> 00:41:22,647
of making holy people.

944
00:41:22,647 --> 00:41:24,502
Men can create.

945
00:41:24,502 --> 00:41:26,151
Men in their own strength -

946
00:41:26,151 --> 00:41:28,536
think about what men in 
their own strength can do.

947
00:41:28,536 --> 00:41:30,077
Well, they can come to church.

948
00:41:30,077 --> 00:41:32,028
They can create religious settings.

949
00:41:32,028 --> 00:41:33,180
They can do that.

950
00:41:33,180 --> 00:41:35,261
They may create morality

951
00:41:35,261 --> 00:41:39,482
or formality or civility.

952
00:41:39,482 --> 00:41:42,859
Customs, rituals, ceremonies -

953
00:41:42,859 --> 00:41:44,679
all that's possible.

954
00:41:44,679 --> 00:41:46,800
Church attendance, baptism.

955
00:41:46,800 --> 00:41:48,396
But there's no mistaking it.

956
00:41:48,396 --> 00:41:51,549
Whenever and wherever somebody's desire -

957
00:41:51,549 --> 00:41:53,012
you have to think about this.

958
00:41:53,012 --> 00:41:55,977
This is really what it is.

959
00:41:55,977 --> 00:41:58,677
We're not told that the Spirit comes in

960
00:41:58,677 --> 00:42:01,285
and turns off bodily desires.

961
00:42:01,285 --> 00:42:03,198
You know how it is we put to death

962
00:42:03,198 --> 00:42:05,018
the deeds of this body?

963
00:42:05,018 --> 00:42:06,552
It's not because all of a sudden

964
00:42:06,552 --> 00:42:08,972
you've lost all your longings

965
00:42:08,972 --> 00:42:12,147
to please this body and gratify this body.

966
00:42:12,147 --> 00:42:13,873
What happens?

967
00:42:13,873 --> 00:42:17,869
Your desires to please 
Christ become stronger.

968
00:42:17,869 --> 00:42:20,035
That's what happens.

969
00:42:20,035 --> 00:42:23,316
It's a battle of desire.

970
00:42:23,316 --> 00:42:27,295
And where the Spirit is -

971
00:42:27,295 --> 00:42:30,490
look, just because you get saved

972
00:42:30,490 --> 00:42:32,963
doesn't mean you lose sexual desire.

973
00:42:32,963 --> 00:42:34,951
Just because you get saved doesn't mean

974
00:42:34,951 --> 00:42:37,816
you lose desire to feel pleasure

975
00:42:37,816 --> 00:42:41,153
or to feel relaxation;

976
00:42:41,153 --> 00:42:47,987
to feel good; to eat food; to drink.

977
00:42:47,987 --> 00:42:51,378
The body has appetites.

978
00:42:51,378 --> 00:42:54,552
But what happens is it's like Joseph.

979
00:42:54,552 --> 00:42:56,920
Do you think there 
was temptation in Joseph

980
00:42:56,920 --> 00:42:58,491
when Potiphar's wife came?

981
00:42:58,491 --> 00:43:00,694
I mean, she's the wife

982
00:43:00,694 --> 00:43:02,151
of a high ranking official.

983
00:43:02,151 --> 00:43:03,657
She's probably beautiful.

984
00:43:03,657 --> 00:43:05,813
And who's going to know?

985
00:43:05,813 --> 00:43:08,331
God's going to know.

986
00:43:08,331 --> 00:43:11,221
And there's a desire there.

987
00:43:11,221 --> 00:43:14,522
I'm not going to sin against God this way.

988
00:43:14,522 --> 00:43:17,127
I know He's watching.

989
00:43:17,127 --> 00:43:20,073
My fellowship with Him is more important

990
00:43:20,073 --> 00:43:24,583
than my gratifying this bodily appetite.

991
00:43:24,583 --> 00:43:27,717
And that's where the battle is won.

992
00:43:27,717 --> 00:43:31,271
Our desire for other 
things become greater.

993
00:43:31,271 --> 00:43:34,280
And that is the proof that

994
00:43:34,280 --> 00:43:36,810
there's just no other 
explanation when that happens

995
00:43:36,810 --> 00:43:38,573
than the Spirit of God is doing that.

996
00:43:38,573 --> 00:43:39,902
And where He does that,

997
00:43:39,902 --> 00:43:41,727
God has taken up residence.

998
00:43:41,727 --> 00:43:43,570
How about number nine?

999
00:43:43,570 --> 00:43:45,052
Christlikeness.

1000
00:43:45,052 --> 00:43:46,677
2 Corinthians 3:18

1001
00:43:46,677 --> 00:43:47,901
Many of you know this.

1002
00:43:47,901 --> 00:43:50,411
"We all with unveiled face

1003
00:43:50,411 --> 00:43:52,373
beholding the glory of the Lord

1004
00:43:52,373 --> 00:43:55,125
are being transformed 
into the same image..."

1005
00:43:55,125 --> 00:43:57,952
What same image?
Well, the image of the Lord.

1006
00:43:57,952 --> 00:44:00,084
"...From one degree of glory to another.

1007
00:44:00,084 --> 00:44:02,466
For this comes from 
the Lord who is the Spirit."

1008
00:44:02,466 --> 00:44:04,885
Here's another operation of the Spirit.

1009
00:44:04,885 --> 00:44:06,532
What does the Spirit do?

1010
00:44:06,532 --> 00:44:09,692
Transforms us into the likeness of Christ.

1011
00:44:09,692 --> 00:44:14,378
Now, this is kind of 
similar to the last one.

1012
00:44:14,378 --> 00:44:18,658
Killing the appetites of the body.

1013
00:44:18,658 --> 00:44:20,005
How is it similar?

1014
00:44:20,005 --> 00:44:22,500
Well, it's kind of the opposite.

1015
00:44:22,500 --> 00:44:25,294
This one here in 2 Corinthians comes at us

1016
00:44:25,294 --> 00:44:26,680
from the positive side,

1017
00:44:26,680 --> 00:44:28,741
whereas Romans 8 comes at us

1018
00:44:28,741 --> 00:44:29,895
from the negative side.

1019
00:44:29,895 --> 00:44:32,908
Romans 8 is the negative - we kill sin.

1020
00:44:32,908 --> 00:44:38,181
Here in 2 Corinthians, 
we have the positive.

1021
00:44:38,181 --> 00:44:41,020
It's the image of Christ -

1022
00:44:41,020 --> 00:44:42,986
more and more resembling Him.

1023
00:44:42,986 --> 00:44:47,604
It's like the mercury 
rising in a thermometer.

1024
00:44:47,604 --> 00:44:49,405
It's just going up and up and up.

1025
00:44:49,405 --> 00:44:51,462
That's how it is in our life.

1026
00:44:51,462 --> 00:44:53,745
What is that?

1027
00:44:53,745 --> 00:44:56,860
Well, if you imagine,

1028
00:44:56,860 --> 00:45:01,475
sometimes people do 
these time lapse photography.

1029
00:45:01,475 --> 00:45:03,125
You've seen that kind of thing?

1030
00:45:03,125 --> 00:45:05,289
You know, I saw just recently,

1031
00:45:05,289 --> 00:45:07,377
I was on Drudge and I 
saw somebody did that

1032
00:45:07,377 --> 00:45:09,349
on Hillary Clinton

1033
00:45:09,349 --> 00:45:12,498
from when she was in her 
20's or whatever to now.

1034
00:45:12,498 --> 00:45:14,520
And they just went 
through all these photos,

1035
00:45:14,520 --> 00:45:17,821
and they kind of morphed 
them into one another.

1036
00:45:17,821 --> 00:45:19,680
But you've seen time lapse photography

1037
00:45:19,680 --> 00:45:21,353
maybe of a flower or something.

1038
00:45:21,353 --> 00:45:24,216
But if you can do time lapse 
photography on a Christian,

1039
00:45:24,216 --> 00:45:26,129
this is an operation of the Spirit.

1040
00:45:26,129 --> 00:45:30,306
But if you do the time lapse,

1041
00:45:30,306 --> 00:45:33,080
they are becoming more and more beautiful.

1042
00:45:33,080 --> 00:45:36,746
And I'm not saying a time 
lapse on your outer body.

1043
00:45:36,746 --> 00:45:38,745
Because that's getting uglier and uglier.

1044
00:45:38,745 --> 00:45:41,075
I say that based on Scripture.

1045
00:45:41,075 --> 00:45:43,366
The outer man is what?

1046
00:45:43,366 --> 00:45:45,908
(Wasting away). There you go.

1047
00:45:45,908 --> 00:45:47,090
Except for my wife.

1048
00:45:47,090 --> 00:45:52,575
Seriously, she is becoming 
more beautiful all the time.

1049
00:45:52,575 --> 00:45:59,598
But if you could time 
lapse us spiritually,

1050
00:45:59,598 --> 00:46:01,957
you know what you see?

1051
00:46:01,957 --> 00:46:07,121
It's like wow!

1052
00:46:07,121 --> 00:46:11,336
The ugliness, the blemishes 
are falling off.

1053
00:46:11,336 --> 00:46:14,537
The wrinkles are disappearing.

1054
00:46:14,537 --> 00:46:16,860
How is that happening?

1055
00:46:16,860 --> 00:46:18,476
The Spirit.

1056
00:46:18,476 --> 00:46:19,621
That's what happens.

1057
00:46:19,621 --> 00:46:21,946
The Spirit. Christikeness.

1058
00:46:21,946 --> 00:46:23,393
We heard it from our brother.

1059
00:46:23,393 --> 00:46:25,157
It's like the dawn

1060
00:46:25,157 --> 00:46:27,526
shining brighter and brighter

1061
00:46:27,526 --> 00:46:29,142
until the full day.

1062
00:46:29,142 --> 00:46:30,322
That's how it is.

1063
00:46:30,322 --> 00:46:31,757
If you look at the sun,

1064
00:46:31,757 --> 00:46:33,381
you can't visibly see it,

1065
00:46:33,381 --> 00:46:36,321
but it is by degrees
climbing higher in that sky.

1066
00:46:36,321 --> 00:46:38,299
And it's the same way here.

1067
00:46:38,299 --> 00:46:40,368
You know how it is with people's children?

1068
00:46:40,368 --> 00:46:42,587
We just went out to 
the Community conference

1069
00:46:42,587 --> 00:46:43,889
and you see people -

1070
00:46:43,889 --> 00:46:46,411
you see people and it's 
like the last time I saw you,

1071
00:46:46,411 --> 00:46:47,771
you were this big!

1072
00:46:47,771 --> 00:46:50,629
And you just went forward and bang!

1073
00:46:50,629 --> 00:46:51,923
There's this difference.

1074
00:46:51,923 --> 00:46:53,062
Well, that's how it is

1075
00:46:53,062 --> 00:46:56,028
if a true Christian - 
if you don't see them

1076
00:46:56,028 --> 00:46:59,139
for five years,

1077
00:46:59,139 --> 00:47:02,323
there should be noticeably 
something more Christlike.

1078
00:47:02,323 --> 00:47:04,236
Why? Because that Spirit has operated.

1079
00:47:04,236 --> 00:47:07,526
This is exactly what He does.

1080
00:47:07,526 --> 00:47:09,605
How about fruit?

1081
00:47:09,605 --> 00:47:10,793
This is the tenth.

1082
00:47:10,793 --> 00:47:12,411
Galatian 5:22.

1083
00:47:12,411 --> 00:47:13,750
You know this very well.

1084
00:47:13,750 --> 00:47:15,872
"The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy,

1085
00:47:15,872 --> 00:47:17,851
peace, patience, kindness, goodness,

1086
00:47:17,851 --> 00:47:20,093
faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.

1087
00:47:20,093 --> 00:47:23,776
Against such things, there is no law."

1088
00:47:23,776 --> 00:47:25,978
Once the Spirit comes in,

1089
00:47:25,978 --> 00:47:28,143
fruit. Fruit begins to show.

1090
00:47:28,143 --> 00:47:30,393
And I know this is 
similar to the last one.

1091
00:47:30,393 --> 00:47:33,152
I have fruit trees in my yard.

1092
00:47:33,152 --> 00:47:39,015
I have a lemon tree. (Thank you, Haney's.)

1093
00:47:39,015 --> 00:47:40,640
And it bears.

1094
00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:42,955
I have two fig trees.

1095
00:47:42,955 --> 00:47:45,345
And I have a number of peach trees.

1096
00:47:45,345 --> 00:47:48,595
And all of them are producing

1097
00:47:48,595 --> 00:47:51,246
already this year.

1098
00:47:51,246 --> 00:47:52,565
Fruit.

1099
00:47:52,565 --> 00:47:54,195
The fruit is coming out.

1100
00:47:54,195 --> 00:47:56,480
The trees are known by their fruit.

1101
00:47:56,480 --> 00:47:58,133
And I'll tell you this,

1102
00:47:58,133 --> 00:48:01,659
where the Spirit is cultivating

1103
00:48:01,659 --> 00:48:05,608
and fertilizing and gardening,

1104
00:48:05,608 --> 00:48:08,543
beautiful things come forth.

1105
00:48:08,543 --> 00:48:09,822
That's what we have.

1106
00:48:09,822 --> 00:48:11,419
Beautiful things grow.

1107
00:48:11,419 --> 00:48:13,494
Love. Love for God.

1108
00:48:13,494 --> 00:48:15,138
Love for the brethren.

1109
00:48:15,138 --> 00:48:17,000
A joy.

1110
00:48:17,000 --> 00:48:19,399
Brethren, a joy the world can't take away.

1111
00:48:19,399 --> 00:48:20,998
Why? Because our hope

1112
00:48:20,998 --> 00:48:23,051
is in something higher.

1113
00:48:23,051 --> 00:48:24,701
Our hope is outside this world.

1114
00:48:24,701 --> 00:48:28,781
Our hope is beyond our circumstances.

1115
00:48:28,781 --> 00:48:30,481
Brethren, do you know

1116
00:48:30,481 --> 00:48:34,195
that even if CPS showed up at my door

1117
00:48:34,195 --> 00:48:38,319
and took my two youngest children away,

1118
00:48:38,319 --> 00:48:41,902
my hope in Christ is unshaken.

1119
00:48:41,902 --> 00:48:44,749
I have a joy that transcends

1120
00:48:44,749 --> 00:48:48,478
my circumstances in this world.

1121
00:48:48,478 --> 00:48:51,344
A joy that passes understanding.

1122
00:48:51,344 --> 00:48:53,105
There's peace in the soul;

1123
00:48:53,105 --> 00:48:55,463
a sense of sins forgiven.

1124
00:48:55,463 --> 00:48:57,349
This is what the Spirit does.

1125
00:48:57,349 --> 00:49:01,060
The Spirit makes unkind people kind,

1126
00:49:01,060 --> 00:49:03,404
and harsh people gentle.

1127
00:49:03,404 --> 00:49:06,039
He changes people.

1128
00:49:06,039 --> 00:49:10,366
People say, "Oh, you got religion."

1129
00:49:10,366 --> 00:49:13,110
I'll tell you this, if 
it's God's religion,

1130
00:49:13,110 --> 00:49:16,551
you're going to get more than that.

1131
00:49:16,551 --> 00:49:18,649
You're going to get a lot more than that.

1132
00:49:18,649 --> 00:49:19,985
You're going to get this -

1133
00:49:19,985 --> 00:49:21,926
self control.

1134
00:49:21,926 --> 00:49:24,590
You're going to become good by degrees,

1135
00:49:24,590 --> 00:49:26,347
but it's real, it's true.

1136
00:49:26,347 --> 00:49:31,072
Brethren, this is what 
our Bibles teach us.

1137
00:49:31,072 --> 00:49:33,711
This is what it says about 
what true Christianity is.

1138
00:49:33,711 --> 00:49:39,732
This is what it says 
about where the Spirit is.

1139
00:49:39,732 --> 00:49:43,166
Eleven: Alienation.

1140
00:49:43,166 --> 00:49:44,903
You say, what do you mean by that?

1141
00:49:44,903 --> 00:49:46,316
Ephesians 4:30.

1142
00:49:46,316 --> 00:49:48,582
"Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God

1143
00:49:48,582 --> 00:49:49,710
by whom you were sealed

1144
00:49:49,710 --> 00:49:53,282
for the day of redemption."

1145
00:49:53,282 --> 00:49:57,750
Look, the Spirit is the member

1146
00:49:57,750 --> 00:50:00,936
of the Godhead that we are told

1147
00:50:00,936 --> 00:50:07,889
is grieved by our sin.

1148
00:50:07,889 --> 00:50:08,904
I mean, listen,

1149
00:50:08,904 --> 00:50:12,315
David describes this 
sort of thing in Psalm 32.

1150
00:50:12,315 --> 00:50:13,817
Don't turn there, but listen.

1151
00:50:13,817 --> 00:50:15,766
David says this, "When I kept silent..."

1152
00:50:15,766 --> 00:50:17,531
In other words, when I did not deal

1153
00:50:17,531 --> 00:50:21,290
with my sin before God,

1154
00:50:21,290 --> 00:50:24,457
"my bones wasted away

1155
00:50:24,457 --> 00:50:27,480
through my groaning all day long.

1156
00:50:27,480 --> 00:50:29,904
Day and night Your hand 
was heavy against me,

1157
00:50:29,904 --> 00:50:31,240
my strength was dried up

1158
00:50:31,240 --> 00:50:33,855
by the heat of summer. Selah.

1159
00:50:33,855 --> 00:50:35,561
I acknowledged my sin to You.

1160
00:50:35,561 --> 00:50:36,985
I did not cover my iniquity.

1161
00:50:36,985 --> 00:50:39,480
I said I will confess my 
transgressions to the Lord,

1162
00:50:39,480 --> 00:50:41,554
and You forgave the iniquity of my sin."

1163
00:50:41,554 --> 00:50:44,092
And I would just ask you, Christian,
do you know this?

1164
00:50:44,092 --> 00:50:47,067
Do you know this about 
the presence of the Holy Spirit?

1165
00:50:47,067 --> 00:50:53,345
Do you know the reality of the 
bone-wasting work of the Spirit?

1166
00:50:53,345 --> 00:50:57,044
You know what I mean.

1167
00:50:57,044 --> 00:50:59,120
(Incomplete thought)

1168
00:50:59,120 --> 00:51:02,844
You know how it was when you're lost?

1169
00:51:02,844 --> 00:51:05,414
You sinned and you were happy

1170
00:51:05,414 --> 00:51:08,217
and you wanted more.

1171
00:51:08,217 --> 00:51:10,861
That's not what 
happens in the child of God.

1172
00:51:10,861 --> 00:51:14,354
You sin because you think 
it's going to make you happy,

1173
00:51:14,354 --> 00:51:16,623
and your bones waste away.

1174
00:51:16,623 --> 00:51:21,230
And it's not happy.

1175
00:51:21,230 --> 00:51:25,476
Where'd the smile of God go to?

1176
00:51:25,476 --> 00:51:27,440
Have you had that happen?

1177
00:51:27,440 --> 00:51:29,832
You know what happens 
when God smiles on us?

1178
00:51:29,832 --> 00:51:32,178
We can get careless.

1179
00:51:32,178 --> 00:51:33,322
Oh, this is great!

1180
00:51:33,322 --> 00:51:36,463
Sun shining. Birds singing.

1181
00:51:36,463 --> 00:51:39,295
Life is great! It's wonderful 
to be a Christian.

1182
00:51:39,295 --> 00:51:42,729
And you get sloppy in your Christian life.

1183
00:51:42,729 --> 00:51:44,007
And what happens?

1184
00:51:44,007 --> 00:51:45,585
Suddenly, you look up -

1185
00:51:45,585 --> 00:51:47,216
where'd the smile of God go?

1186
00:51:47,216 --> 00:51:50,426
And beyond that, you begin 
to feel it in your bones

1187
00:51:50,426 --> 00:51:51,961
like David did.

1188
00:51:51,961 --> 00:51:54,353
You feel this.

1189
00:51:54,353 --> 00:51:55,840
Bone wasting. Why?

1190
00:51:55,840 --> 00:51:58,250
Because God is grieved and it's the Spirit

1191
00:51:58,250 --> 00:52:00,406
who expresses His grief.

1192
00:52:00,406 --> 00:52:02,783
Why would He say don't 
grieve the Holy Spirit?

1193
00:52:02,783 --> 00:52:05,093
Why? Because the Spirit of God is the one

1194
00:52:05,093 --> 00:52:07,320
who so actively is doing all these things

1195
00:52:07,320 --> 00:52:08,499
in our life.

1196
00:52:08,499 --> 00:52:10,599
And it's so much to our advantage

1197
00:52:10,599 --> 00:52:11,967
that we have Him,

1198
00:52:11,967 --> 00:52:14,033
even beyond the advantage of what it was

1199
00:52:14,033 --> 00:52:15,594
to have Christ Himself walking,

1200
00:52:15,594 --> 00:52:16,914
and you grieve that Spirit,

1201
00:52:16,914 --> 00:52:22,331
and you are going to 
bear the consequences.

1202
00:52:22,331 --> 00:52:23,711
You don't want to say,

1203
00:52:23,711 --> 00:52:25,573
well, I'm saved by the grace of God

1204
00:52:25,573 --> 00:52:26,756
and I'm under the blood,

1205
00:52:26,756 --> 00:52:28,442
and so you know what,
my sin shouldn't matter.

1206
00:52:28,442 --> 00:52:30,495
It should be forgiven.
But you see what happened.

1207
00:52:30,495 --> 00:52:31,961
It was forgiven in David,

1208
00:52:31,961 --> 00:52:33,832
but it wasn't until he repented of it

1209
00:52:33,832 --> 00:52:35,501
and he acknowledged it,

1210
00:52:35,501 --> 00:52:38,663
and then the joy of 
his salvation returned.

1211
00:52:38,663 --> 00:52:40,752
But this is another work of the Spirit.

1212
00:52:40,752 --> 00:52:42,736
Christian, do you not know what it is

1213
00:52:42,736 --> 00:52:47,031
to have that happen in your life?

1214
00:52:47,031 --> 00:52:49,539
The Spirit is going to see to it:

1215
00:52:49,539 --> 00:52:53,190
Sin is not going to be a joyful ride.

1216
00:52:53,190 --> 00:52:57,017
He's not going to allow you 
to enjoy it like you once did.

1217
00:52:57,017 --> 00:52:59,527
Christian, the Spirit sees to it

1218
00:52:59,527 --> 00:53:03,215
that you hurt for sin.

1219
00:53:03,215 --> 00:53:05,048
He'll make you groan under it.

1220
00:53:05,048 --> 00:53:06,249
And here's the last one,

1221
00:53:06,249 --> 00:53:08,005
and this really is going to lead out

1222
00:53:08,005 --> 00:53:10,240
into what I want to deal with next week

1223
00:53:10,240 --> 00:53:11,641
in testing the spirits.

1224
00:53:11,641 --> 00:53:14,770
But you see this truth in 1 John 4:2,

1225
00:53:14,770 --> 00:53:16,187
where we're going next week,

1226
00:53:16,187 --> 00:53:19,941
but it would be this: right doctrine.

1227
00:53:19,941 --> 00:53:23,789
John argues that - this is interesting -

1228
00:53:23,789 --> 00:53:28,679
John argues that there are spirits

1229
00:53:28,679 --> 00:53:32,373
behind doctrine.

1230
00:53:32,373 --> 00:53:38,523
Whether good or bad.

1231
00:53:38,523 --> 00:53:42,742
In fact, Paul talks about demon doctrines.

1232
00:53:42,742 --> 00:53:51,012
When you hear people or religions

1233
00:53:51,012 --> 00:53:58,824
that speak truth or that speak error,

1234
00:53:58,824 --> 00:54:01,801
there are spirits behind that.

1235
00:54:01,801 --> 00:54:04,590
And what he says here in 1 John 4:2,

1236
00:54:04,590 --> 00:54:07,217
"By this we know the Spirit of God..."

1237
00:54:07,217 --> 00:54:08,779
In other words, those who have

1238
00:54:08,779 --> 00:54:10,817
the Spirit of God can be known. How?

1239
00:54:10,817 --> 00:54:12,656
"Because every spirit that confesses

1240
00:54:12,656 --> 00:54:15,156
that Jesus Christ has come 
in the flesh is from God,

1241
00:54:15,156 --> 00:54:17,405
and every spirit that 
does not confess Jesus

1242
00:54:17,405 --> 00:54:19,331
is not from God."

1243
00:54:19,331 --> 00:54:22,042
John argues that there's 
always spirits behind doctrine.

1244
00:54:22,042 --> 00:54:24,299
The Spirit of God is the Spirit of truth.

1245
00:54:24,299 --> 00:54:25,885
The Spirit of God is the Spirit

1246
00:54:25,885 --> 00:54:28,599
who carried along 
the authors of Scripture.

1247
00:54:28,599 --> 00:54:30,912
In fact, if you go down a little further,

1248
00:54:30,912 --> 00:54:33,133
you can find that whoever is of God;

1249
00:54:33,133 --> 00:54:36,101
whoever has the Spirit listens to us,

1250
00:54:36,101 --> 00:54:37,065
John says.

1251
00:54:37,065 --> 00:54:39,111
In other words, they 
listen to the apostles.

1252
00:54:39,111 --> 00:54:40,903
They listen to the apostle's doctrine

1253
00:54:40,903 --> 00:54:42,002
which is in here.

1254
00:54:42,002 --> 00:54:43,973
You can know the Spirit of God

1255
00:54:43,973 --> 00:54:46,209
because the Spirit of God will always

1256
00:54:46,209 --> 00:54:50,213
affirm and assert what 
is written in Scripture.

1257
00:54:50,213 --> 00:54:51,906
He will never contradict it.

1258
00:54:51,906 --> 00:54:53,735
We can test the spirits that way.

1259
00:54:53,735 --> 00:54:56,848
We can know the Spirit by which people

1260
00:54:56,848 --> 00:54:59,589
are indwelt by their doctrine.

1261
00:54:59,589 --> 00:55:05,659
And especially, he's saying,
by their doctrine of Christ.

1262
00:55:05,659 --> 00:55:07,726
Listen to what people say about Christ.

1263
00:55:07,726 --> 00:55:09,566
His Person. His work.

1264
00:55:09,566 --> 00:55:11,810
That's what we find here.

1265
00:55:11,810 --> 00:55:15,929
The Spirit of God - mark a man's doctrine;

1266
00:55:15,929 --> 00:55:18,794
especially His doctrine of Jesus Christ.

1267
00:55:18,794 --> 00:55:20,730
Who Christ is;

1268
00:55:20,730 --> 00:55:23,723
what Christ has accomplished.

1269
00:55:23,723 --> 00:55:30,580
The Spirit always proclaims 
a glorious Christ.

1270
00:55:30,580 --> 00:55:33,784
I mean, when you see doctrine;

1271
00:55:33,784 --> 00:55:35,083
you hear doctrine;

1272
00:55:35,083 --> 00:55:38,683
you read doctrine - doctrine is teaching -

1273
00:55:38,683 --> 00:55:41,161
it sets forth Christ glorious.

1274
00:55:41,161 --> 00:55:43,823
The Spirit always is going to proclaim

1275
00:55:43,823 --> 00:55:45,719
a salvation that leaves us

1276
00:55:45,719 --> 00:55:47,936
not boasting in ourselves,

1277
00:55:47,936 --> 00:55:49,390
but boasting in the cross

1278
00:55:49,390 --> 00:55:51,640
and boasting in Christ.

1279
00:55:51,640 --> 00:55:55,297
That's absolutely essential.

1280
00:55:55,297 --> 00:55:58,719
The Spirit shows us a Person.

1281
00:55:58,719 --> 00:56:01,963
The Spirit shows the person

1282
00:56:01,963 --> 00:56:04,353
that He indwells,

1283
00:56:04,353 --> 00:56:07,237
that He is active in.

1284
00:56:07,237 --> 00:56:13,450
He shows them that Christ matters.

1285
00:56:13,450 --> 00:56:15,635
What we think about Christ matters.

1286
00:56:15,635 --> 00:56:17,677
The real Christ. The biblical Christ.

1287
00:56:17,677 --> 00:56:19,738
The true Christ.

1288
00:56:19,738 --> 00:56:23,290
This is the Spirit of Christianity.

1289
00:56:23,290 --> 00:56:24,898
Right doctrine.

1290
00:56:24,898 --> 00:56:27,225
So you think about all these.

1291
00:56:27,225 --> 00:56:31,281
If the Spirit is present,

1292
00:56:31,281 --> 00:56:34,386
we have conviction,

1293
00:56:34,386 --> 00:56:36,889
we have His leadership,

1294
00:56:36,889 --> 00:56:38,956
we have a thought life

1295
00:56:38,956 --> 00:56:41,513
with a mind set on 
the things of the Spirit,

1296
00:56:41,513 --> 00:56:47,431
Christ is glorified,

1297
00:56:47,431 --> 00:56:50,520
five - the love of God is shed abroad

1298
00:56:50,520 --> 00:56:52,578
in our hearts by the Spirit;

1299
00:56:52,578 --> 00:56:58,263
six - the Spirit of adoption 
causes us to cry, "Abba, Father;"

1300
00:56:58,263 --> 00:57:00,289
seven - the Spirit bears witness

1301
00:57:00,289 --> 00:57:02,013
that we are children of God;

1302
00:57:02,013 --> 00:57:04,827
eight - by the Spirit, you put to death

1303
00:57:04,827 --> 00:57:06,804
the deeds of the body;

1304
00:57:06,804 --> 00:57:11,012
nine - by the Spirit who is the Lord

1305
00:57:11,012 --> 00:57:12,601
we are transformed

1306
00:57:12,601 --> 00:57:14,528
from one degree of glory to another

1307
00:57:14,528 --> 00:57:18,265
in this image of Christ;

1308
00:57:18,265 --> 00:57:21,067
ten - the fruit of the Spirit:

1309
00:57:21,067 --> 00:57:23,708
love, joy, peace, patience, kindness,

1310
00:57:23,708 --> 00:57:25,540
goodness, faithfulness, gentleness,

1311
00:57:25,540 --> 00:57:26,609
self-control -

1312
00:57:26,609 --> 00:57:28,686
that is going to be evident;

1313
00:57:28,686 --> 00:57:30,561
this grieving of the Spirit,

1314
00:57:30,561 --> 00:57:33,123
the alienation that when Christians

1315
00:57:33,123 --> 00:57:35,489
fall into sin, we grieve the Spirit;

1316
00:57:35,489 --> 00:57:40,308
we reap consequences in the bone-wasting

1317
00:57:40,308 --> 00:57:41,810
work of the Spirit;

1318
00:57:41,810 --> 00:57:43,963
and then this last one, number 12,

1319
00:57:43,963 --> 00:57:45,666
was right doctrine.

1320
00:57:45,666 --> 00:57:48,286
The Spirit teaches us and leads us

1321
00:57:48,286 --> 00:57:49,586
into the truth -

1322
00:57:49,586 --> 00:57:52,597
especially the truth concerning Christ.

1323
00:57:52,597 --> 00:57:55,596
These are 12 evidences.

1324
00:57:55,596 --> 00:57:57,886
And remember what John says.

1325
00:57:57,886 --> 00:58:06,186
"By this, we know..."

1326
00:58:06,186 --> 00:58:11,594
By this, we know

1327
00:58:11,594 --> 00:58:13,312
that God abides in us.

1328
00:58:13,312 --> 00:58:18,268
We are the dwelling place of God.

1329
00:58:18,268 --> 00:58:19,935
How?

1330
00:58:19,935 --> 00:58:22,770
By the Holy Spirit.

1331
00:58:22,770 --> 00:58:26,064
So that's what John teaches us

1332
00:58:26,064 --> 00:58:27,491
in these passages.