1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:09,680 So we continue our Lent sermon series, Let Grace Be Grace, where we're looking at Jim 2 00:00:09,680 --> 00:00:16,720 Osterhaus's book that kind of turns the idea of tulip, which is from the Canons of Dort, 3 00:00:16,720 --> 00:00:18,360 our kind of reformed understanding of grace. 4 00:00:18,360 --> 00:00:24,420 He uses an acronym faith, and we've already made it now to the T, which is the transformation 5 00:00:24,420 --> 00:00:25,420 of the Holy Spirit. 6 00:00:25,420 --> 00:00:30,840 And I'm going to start by reading from John 16, but let me set a context. 7 00:00:30,840 --> 00:00:33,920 So this is in a couple weeks, we're going to celebrate Monday, Thursday, my favorite 8 00:00:33,920 --> 00:00:35,840 service of the year. 9 00:00:35,840 --> 00:00:40,240 And that is a service all about the Last Supper. 10 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:45,360 It's all about Jesus putting on a meal for his disciples, pretty much the culmination 11 00:00:45,360 --> 00:00:50,280 of all of the things that he was saying about that he was going to be put to death. 12 00:00:50,280 --> 00:00:54,680 Though we see multiple times the disciples don't really understand what it is, but here 13 00:00:54,680 --> 00:00:56,280 we have a lot of things going on. 14 00:00:56,280 --> 00:01:01,080 You have Judas getting set to betray him, Peter getting set to reject him, the disciples 15 00:01:01,080 --> 00:01:05,560 getting set to desert him, all of these things he knows, but he feeds them, he washes their 16 00:01:05,560 --> 00:01:06,560 feet. 17 00:01:06,560 --> 00:01:11,640 And so he has, in the book of John, it's very elongated, it's the high priestly prayer. 18 00:01:11,640 --> 00:01:14,360 There's multiple chapters of what is happening. 19 00:01:14,360 --> 00:01:20,800 But we get to this section in John 16, so set the stage, you're disciples, I'm a disciple, 20 00:01:20,800 --> 00:01:26,720 and Jesus has been talking about all of these kind of futuristic things, being one with 21 00:01:26,720 --> 00:01:27,720 the Father. 22 00:01:27,720 --> 00:01:32,400 Many times in John, Jesus talks about that, that me and the Father are one, all of those 23 00:01:32,400 --> 00:01:33,400 things. 24 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:37,600 But then he says this, so as disciples, I want us to receive this like we were one of 25 00:01:37,600 --> 00:01:38,600 the disciples. 26 00:01:38,600 --> 00:01:42,800 We just had a nice meal, we just ate and drank our fill, but then Jesus starts talking about 27 00:01:42,800 --> 00:01:47,920 all of these kind of futuristic things, and he says this, I did not say these things to 28 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:53,960 you from the beginning because I was with you, but now I'm going to him who sent me 29 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:57,320 and none of you asks me, where are you going? 30 00:01:57,320 --> 00:02:01,280 But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 31 00:02:01,280 --> 00:02:07,640 Nevertheless, I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. 32 00:02:07,640 --> 00:02:12,540 For if I do not go away, the helper will not come to you, but if I go, I will send him 33 00:02:12,540 --> 00:02:13,880 to you. 34 00:02:13,880 --> 00:02:19,280 And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment, 35 00:02:19,280 --> 00:02:23,960 concerning sin because they do not believe in me, concerning righteousness because I 36 00:02:23,960 --> 00:02:28,680 will go to the Father and you will see me no longer, concerning judgment because the 37 00:02:28,680 --> 00:02:31,640 ruler of this world is judged. 38 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:36,720 I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. 39 00:02:36,720 --> 00:02:41,480 When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all truth, for he will not speak 40 00:02:41,480 --> 00:02:46,880 on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you the 41 00:02:46,880 --> 00:02:48,520 things that are to come. 42 00:02:48,520 --> 00:02:53,320 He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 43 00:02:53,320 --> 00:02:55,600 All that the Father has is mine. 44 00:02:55,600 --> 00:03:00,960 Therefore, I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you. 45 00:03:00,960 --> 00:03:08,440 So now the conversation turns from being about Jesus doing a thing to somebody else. 46 00:03:08,440 --> 00:03:13,000 So a couple of people, you are a disciple, you are hearing these things from Jesus, what 47 00:03:13,000 --> 00:03:15,200 is a reaction you might have? 48 00:03:15,200 --> 00:03:20,520 And if you are new to the church, I ask questions and I love to have a dialogue. 49 00:03:20,520 --> 00:03:23,400 Confused, absolutely. 50 00:03:23,400 --> 00:03:25,440 Others. 51 00:03:25,440 --> 00:03:32,000 How is it better, Jack give Ms. Nikki a high five, how is it better if he, Jesus, leaves? 52 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:33,000 I love that. 53 00:03:33,000 --> 00:03:34,760 I didn't even think that way. 54 00:03:34,760 --> 00:03:36,320 That's a great one. 55 00:03:36,320 --> 00:03:37,320 Confused is good too. 56 00:03:37,320 --> 00:03:38,640 Others. 57 00:03:38,640 --> 00:03:43,040 Is he going to come back? 58 00:03:43,040 --> 00:03:44,040 Absolutely. 59 00:03:44,040 --> 00:03:48,160 Yeah, so wait, you're leaving, but then you're going to, but you've said stuff about like, 60 00:03:48,160 --> 00:03:52,680 okay, now the confusion is really, anybody? 61 00:03:52,680 --> 00:03:54,680 Take us with you. 62 00:03:54,680 --> 00:03:57,960 Man, these are good. 63 00:03:57,960 --> 00:03:58,960 Any others? 64 00:03:58,960 --> 00:04:01,960 Where is he going? 65 00:04:01,960 --> 00:04:02,960 Absolutely. 66 00:04:02,960 --> 00:04:08,920 There's one word here that really should, if you are a disciple and you're being spoken 67 00:04:08,920 --> 00:04:16,080 to in Aramaic, if there's a word that would be after he's done, there's one word that 68 00:04:16,080 --> 00:04:22,240 would have stuck out and it was the helper translated in the ESV, also known as in the 69 00:04:22,240 --> 00:04:26,260 Greek, the parakeletos, okay, the advocate. 70 00:04:26,260 --> 00:04:29,020 So we have a couple definitions of that. 71 00:04:29,020 --> 00:04:36,060 So as a noun, a person who publicly supports or recommends a particular case or policy, 72 00:04:36,060 --> 00:04:40,560 he was an untiring advocate of economic reform. 73 00:04:40,560 --> 00:04:46,280 What I love, similar or synonyms, champion, upholder, supporter, backer, promoter, okay, 74 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:50,080 and then as a verb, publicly recommend or support. 75 00:04:50,080 --> 00:04:53,280 They advocate an ethical foreign policy. 76 00:04:53,280 --> 00:04:56,120 Don't forget, don't worry about any of those actual definitions. 77 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:58,200 That's from Google. 78 00:04:58,200 --> 00:05:03,880 But understand, the parakeletos, the advocate, is a very special word. 79 00:05:03,880 --> 00:05:07,360 It is describing the person of the Holy Spirit. 80 00:05:07,360 --> 00:05:16,320 So let me ask right out, when is the last time you guys thought about the Holy Spirit? 81 00:05:16,320 --> 00:05:19,080 You don't really, let that one just be rhetorical because it's a weird question. 82 00:05:19,080 --> 00:05:20,520 I get it. 83 00:05:20,520 --> 00:05:24,060 Because I don't know how many times I actually think about it. 84 00:05:24,060 --> 00:05:28,120 For a lot of us, we like to go to God because we're like, why go to the Spirit when I can 85 00:05:28,120 --> 00:05:29,120 just go to God? 86 00:05:29,120 --> 00:05:31,560 Okay, well then I'm just going to pray to Jesus. 87 00:05:31,560 --> 00:05:33,200 The Spirit, that's weird. 88 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:34,560 All right. 89 00:05:34,560 --> 00:05:39,000 The reason why I'm doing that annoying sound is because we like to parse and parcel this 90 00:05:39,000 --> 00:05:41,720 Trinity thing and we can't. 91 00:05:41,720 --> 00:05:46,800 And there are so many definitions, there are so many illustrations that we try to use that 92 00:05:46,800 --> 00:05:52,720 are all, for the most part, pretty bad because God is three persons, right? 93 00:05:52,720 --> 00:05:54,800 God, Son, Spirit. 94 00:05:54,800 --> 00:05:59,300 And if you look at it in the Advent and if you look at it in the journey of Scripture, 95 00:05:59,300 --> 00:06:05,200 we start with God, creator of all, creating and establishing order, establishing a people. 96 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:08,700 We see Christ coming as the Redeemer. 97 00:06:08,700 --> 00:06:10,380 But a question has to be begged. 98 00:06:10,380 --> 00:06:12,040 So we have redemption. 99 00:06:12,040 --> 00:06:13,040 Fantastic. 100 00:06:13,040 --> 00:06:14,040 Love it. 101 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,040 Go into heaven. 102 00:06:15,040 --> 00:06:16,920 Heaven bound. 103 00:06:16,920 --> 00:06:20,040 But we're not there yet. 104 00:06:20,040 --> 00:06:24,720 We look around for two seconds and we know in the world that we live in, it is not heaven. 105 00:06:24,720 --> 00:06:29,200 That if this is heaven, I don't want to go there. 106 00:06:29,200 --> 00:06:32,120 If what we have on earth is heaven, I don't want to go here. 107 00:06:32,120 --> 00:06:37,360 Or you go back to, what is that movie with Kevin Costner in the Field of Dreams, the 108 00:06:37,360 --> 00:06:38,360 guy, is this heaven? 109 00:06:38,360 --> 00:06:39,360 He says, no, it's Iowa. 110 00:06:39,360 --> 00:06:42,720 If heaven's like Iowa, I don't want to go there either. 111 00:06:42,720 --> 00:06:48,840 But understand that there's this understanding that as we're still on earth, something changes 112 00:06:48,840 --> 00:06:52,760 and if Jesus is gone, if Jesus is back up with the Father, knowing he's going to come 113 00:06:52,760 --> 00:06:59,640 again, that's the book of Revelation in the fall, how are we supposed to do this life? 114 00:06:59,640 --> 00:07:02,560 We do this life because of the Holy Spirit. 115 00:07:02,560 --> 00:07:06,800 We do this life because the Holy Spirit is the one at work. 116 00:07:06,800 --> 00:07:12,920 Whether using him as a verb or a noun, it's all good things that sound pretty good. 117 00:07:12,920 --> 00:07:16,280 That he's going to promote, he's going to advocate, he's going to walk alongside, he's 118 00:07:16,280 --> 00:07:18,720 going to back us. 119 00:07:18,720 --> 00:07:23,640 As we said with Cam's profession, of Cam's own volition, he would not come up and do 120 00:07:23,640 --> 00:07:24,640 this. 121 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:26,800 He would not go meet with the elders. 122 00:07:26,800 --> 00:07:27,800 Nobody would. 123 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:30,920 Without the work of the Holy Spirit, nobody would join a church. 124 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:33,960 No one would probably become a pastor or an elder or a deacon. 125 00:07:33,960 --> 00:07:37,760 No one would work in a life of Christ without the Holy Spirit. 126 00:07:37,760 --> 00:07:38,760 Why? 127 00:07:38,760 --> 00:07:40,480 Because Jesus says that. 128 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:44,720 I have to go to the Father so the Spirit can come. 129 00:07:44,720 --> 00:07:48,960 Just for a cup of coffee, now I'm going to put lunch on this, and if you're an elder 130 00:07:48,960 --> 00:07:53,260 or deacon, you can't answer because we talked about this on Monday at our meeting. 131 00:07:53,260 --> 00:07:57,720 What is the biggest kind of initial thing the Holy Spirit does? 132 00:07:57,720 --> 00:07:59,720 Huh? 133 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:01,720 Faith? 134 00:08:01,720 --> 00:08:05,800 It's good, that's not the right answer. 135 00:08:05,800 --> 00:08:09,760 He fixes our sin. 136 00:08:09,760 --> 00:08:13,360 Convicts us of sin, that's a point that I have Larry, but you still don't get lunch 137 00:08:13,360 --> 00:08:15,560 because that's not the right answer. 138 00:08:15,560 --> 00:08:16,560 Huh? 139 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:18,640 Well, that's easy because that's the name of the sermon. 140 00:08:18,640 --> 00:08:21,400 Cole, you don't get lunch either. 141 00:08:21,400 --> 00:08:25,760 What is the first thing the Holy Spirit comes and does? 142 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:26,760 Seals us in baptism. 143 00:08:26,760 --> 00:08:32,560 Todd, get ready to give her a high five, then pull it back because it's the wrong answer. 144 00:08:32,560 --> 00:08:36,760 I have office hours for now, the conflict I just started in your marriage. 145 00:08:36,760 --> 00:08:38,160 Max? 146 00:08:38,160 --> 00:08:40,160 Nope. 147 00:08:40,160 --> 00:08:43,560 What's the first thing the Holy Spirit does? 148 00:08:43,560 --> 00:08:44,880 No. 149 00:08:44,880 --> 00:08:48,320 All of these are true, but it's not the answer. 150 00:08:48,320 --> 00:08:50,860 Go to the book of Acts. 151 00:08:50,860 --> 00:08:54,760 What is the first thing the Holy Spirit does? 152 00:08:54,760 --> 00:08:58,560 Okay, we got to go to the book of Acts. 153 00:08:58,560 --> 00:09:01,580 I'm going to, okay, we got to bump that sermon series up. 154 00:09:01,580 --> 00:09:05,640 He starts the church, right? 155 00:09:05,640 --> 00:09:12,320 The Holy Spirit comes down in the day of Pentecost and he starts the church. 156 00:09:12,320 --> 00:09:16,680 Notice that Jesus leaves, the Holy Spirit comes because like I said to Cam, it's time 157 00:09:16,680 --> 00:09:19,000 to get to work. 158 00:09:19,000 --> 00:09:23,920 This is not a works righteousness, this is post redemption, now the Holy Spirit comes. 159 00:09:23,920 --> 00:09:26,320 How is the Holy Spirit going to do that? 160 00:09:26,320 --> 00:09:29,960 What we're going to walk through is now that the atonement is completed, we talked about 161 00:09:29,960 --> 00:09:33,560 that last week, the Holy Spirit is now coming to transform. 162 00:09:33,560 --> 00:09:38,160 Again, all of your answers were right, they just were not lunch worthy. 163 00:09:38,160 --> 00:09:44,120 Understanding that the Holy Spirit has come to do a job until such time as Jesus comes 164 00:09:44,120 --> 00:09:45,160 back. 165 00:09:45,160 --> 00:09:46,720 We are in that time. 166 00:09:46,720 --> 00:09:51,240 None of us know how long, I'm millennial, pre-millennial, post-millennial. 167 00:09:51,240 --> 00:09:55,320 As I've said in the beginning, I will continue to say, I'm a pan-millennialist. 168 00:09:55,320 --> 00:09:57,520 All will pan out in the end. 169 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:02,040 Understanding that when Jesus comes back, the fulfillment of everything Jesus says is 170 00:10:02,040 --> 00:10:05,240 going to come to be, but the Holy Spirit has a job to do. 171 00:10:05,240 --> 00:10:08,720 So we're going to walk through what in the world does the Holy Spirit does, or what does 172 00:10:08,720 --> 00:10:09,880 the Holy Spirit do? 173 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:16,000 First, the Holy Spirit transforms and enables. 174 00:10:16,000 --> 00:10:21,000 First Corinthians, the natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, 175 00:10:21,000 --> 00:10:26,880 for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually 176 00:10:26,880 --> 00:10:30,800 discerned. 177 00:10:30,800 --> 00:10:36,640 So the life of a believer, so we're going to use Hope and Cam as these examples, as 178 00:10:36,640 --> 00:10:42,240 the two new believers in the church, that the Holy Spirit is transforming them and enabling 179 00:10:42,240 --> 00:10:45,000 them of the ways of the Spirit. 180 00:10:45,000 --> 00:10:52,320 Prior to this, and this is where you talk to spiritualists, you talk to, you know, Scientologists, 181 00:10:52,320 --> 00:10:58,200 you talk to transmeditationalists, all of these world religions and cults, they think 182 00:10:58,200 --> 00:11:00,440 that they understand the things of the Spirit. 183 00:11:00,440 --> 00:11:01,880 They don't. 184 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:07,240 You cannot understand the Spirit until you acknowledge Jesus as Lord in your life, because 185 00:11:07,240 --> 00:11:11,240 you may be discerning a spirit, but it's not the Holy Spirit, it's not the paracletos, 186 00:11:11,240 --> 00:11:17,840 it's not the advocate, it's something else, probably evil, probably a demon. 187 00:11:17,840 --> 00:11:23,160 So understanding that when we have the Spirit at work in our lives, he's transforming us, 188 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:28,000 he's enabling us to think of things of the Spirit. 189 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:36,040 And the one area that we get this so wrong as believers, our battle is not against flesh 190 00:11:36,040 --> 00:11:40,720 and blood, yet we love to make our battles against flesh and blood. 191 00:11:40,720 --> 00:11:47,480 We love to hate people, we love to judge people, we love to lie, we love to hurt, we love to 192 00:11:47,480 --> 00:11:52,280 do all of those things, but no one can say, the Holy Spirit is calling me to lie about 193 00:11:52,280 --> 00:11:53,280 this person. 194 00:11:53,280 --> 00:11:54,280 Eh. 195 00:11:54,280 --> 00:11:57,040 That's not how it works. 196 00:11:57,040 --> 00:12:01,280 That's you and your depravity and the Spirit at war, which is something we will continue 197 00:12:01,280 --> 00:12:03,580 to do until we get to heaven. 198 00:12:03,580 --> 00:12:06,160 But what does the Holy Spirit enable us to do? 199 00:12:06,160 --> 00:12:12,680 To understand spiritual things, which help us live in harmony with the Spirit. 200 00:12:12,680 --> 00:12:17,560 So if there's someone in your life you have not forgiven, and you are harboring hurt or 201 00:12:17,560 --> 00:12:23,600 negative feelings towards, you are not walking in line with the Spirit, because the Spirit 202 00:12:23,600 --> 00:12:27,400 has already called that out, you just aren't doing it. 203 00:12:27,400 --> 00:12:34,880 That we are, the Holy Spirit enables us through conviction, correction, calling, and care. 204 00:12:34,880 --> 00:12:38,720 How can you say you care for someone if you're going to harbor negative feelings about them? 205 00:12:38,720 --> 00:12:43,660 How are you going to say you truly love them when their back is turned, you start all sorts 206 00:12:43,660 --> 00:12:45,440 of drama? 207 00:12:45,440 --> 00:12:47,740 You are not walking in line with the Spirit. 208 00:12:47,740 --> 00:12:52,600 You may say Jesus is Lord, you may live the life of a believer in your heart, but your 209 00:12:52,600 --> 00:12:57,160 outward fruit is pretty tainted, pretty poisonous. 210 00:12:57,160 --> 00:12:58,520 So what else does the Spirit do? 211 00:12:58,520 --> 00:13:05,520 The Spirit transforms and replaces Ezekiel 36, and I will give you a new heart and a 212 00:13:05,520 --> 00:13:07,560 new spirit I will put within you. 213 00:13:07,560 --> 00:13:15,680 I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. 214 00:13:15,680 --> 00:13:20,320 He opens our hearts to receive the things of God. 215 00:13:20,320 --> 00:13:25,720 He removes our spiritual blindness and he gives us the gift of faith. 216 00:13:25,720 --> 00:13:27,880 There was one of the first things one of you said. 217 00:13:27,880 --> 00:13:33,720 The greatest thing that the Spirit gives us is faith. 218 00:13:33,720 --> 00:13:37,280 Faith to believe God knows what he is doing. 219 00:13:37,280 --> 00:13:40,760 Faith to understand that when we look out in the chaos of the world or when life just 220 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:44,160 doesn't go our way that Jesus is still on the throne. 221 00:13:44,160 --> 00:13:48,640 Without the Spirit, how many of us would give Jesus a second chance? 222 00:13:48,640 --> 00:13:50,260 None of us. 223 00:13:50,260 --> 00:13:52,920 Because Jesus doesn't work the way we want him to work. 224 00:13:52,920 --> 00:13:56,920 Because Jesus is not the genie from Aladdin. 225 00:13:56,920 --> 00:13:59,140 It's not three wishes. 226 00:13:59,140 --> 00:14:05,500 That if we confess that Jesus is Lord and we live that out, then we are doing our best 227 00:14:05,500 --> 00:14:11,520 to replace the things of the flesh, the things that are of stone. 228 00:14:11,520 --> 00:14:14,200 And we lean in to true faith. 229 00:14:14,200 --> 00:14:17,960 Well you may be asking, what in the world is true faith? 230 00:14:17,960 --> 00:14:20,680 I've never thought about faith that way. 231 00:14:20,680 --> 00:14:24,360 For a lot of us, we think faith is coming out of us. 232 00:14:24,360 --> 00:14:25,360 It's not. 233 00:14:25,360 --> 00:14:31,520 It is something given to us by the Holy Spirit, the Heideberg Catechism, Lord's Day 7, question 234 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,040 answer 21, helps us with this. 235 00:14:34,040 --> 00:14:35,720 What is true faith? 236 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:38,000 And I love the response. 237 00:14:38,000 --> 00:14:44,760 True faith is not only a sure knowledge by which I hold as true all that God has revealed 238 00:14:44,760 --> 00:14:51,640 to us in the scriptures, so it is a knowledge that faith is the understanding. 239 00:14:51,640 --> 00:14:56,360 You have to have understanding to confess Jesus is Lord, to believe that God raised 240 00:14:56,360 --> 00:14:58,440 him from the dead. 241 00:14:58,440 --> 00:15:01,560 Nobody comes out of the womb understanding that. 242 00:15:01,560 --> 00:15:04,520 No one just kind of comes at it on their own. 243 00:15:04,520 --> 00:15:07,040 The Holy Spirit does the work. 244 00:15:07,040 --> 00:15:10,840 And to me, that helps me understand depravity. 245 00:15:10,840 --> 00:15:14,300 That helps me understand how bad and evil I actually am. 246 00:15:14,300 --> 00:15:19,640 That given in of myself, we would want nothing to do with this. 247 00:15:19,640 --> 00:15:23,920 Because let's face it, sinning is much more fun. 248 00:15:23,920 --> 00:15:28,680 Now, I'm not sure where you stand on the whole murder issue. 249 00:15:28,680 --> 00:15:33,520 And I'd hopefully, like in our depravity, like, man, I really wish I could murder people. 250 00:15:33,520 --> 00:15:35,120 Maybe some of us have thought that in our minds. 251 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:38,880 And I go there because that's kind of more the extreme example. 252 00:15:38,880 --> 00:15:41,240 But I mean, it goes back to the Ten Commandments. 253 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:47,720 It's not rocket science that we are called to live moral lives because God has defined 254 00:15:47,720 --> 00:15:49,000 us that way. 255 00:15:49,000 --> 00:15:52,360 If you love God, you will not have any other gods. 256 00:15:52,360 --> 00:15:54,000 You will keep the Sabbath day holy. 257 00:15:54,000 --> 00:15:57,040 You will not take the name of the Lord your God in vain. 258 00:15:57,040 --> 00:15:58,840 You will not create an idol for yourself. 259 00:15:58,840 --> 00:15:59,840 That's how we love God. 260 00:15:59,840 --> 00:16:00,840 Where do we get that from? 261 00:16:00,840 --> 00:16:02,260 The Ten Commandments. 262 00:16:02,260 --> 00:16:03,880 And then we love people. 263 00:16:03,880 --> 00:16:05,680 And those are those six, right? 264 00:16:05,680 --> 00:16:06,680 We won't lie. 265 00:16:06,680 --> 00:16:07,680 We won't murder. 266 00:16:07,680 --> 00:16:08,680 We won't cheat. 267 00:16:08,680 --> 00:16:11,680 We won't desire things that aren't ours. 268 00:16:11,680 --> 00:16:13,320 That is how we can love people. 269 00:16:13,320 --> 00:16:15,280 That is the spirit at work in us. 270 00:16:15,280 --> 00:16:16,320 Because hear this. 271 00:16:16,320 --> 00:16:23,080 If the spirit didn't come, if there was no advocate, we would all be in jail. 272 00:16:23,080 --> 00:16:26,480 Because whether spiritually or physically, I know physically I would be. 273 00:16:26,480 --> 00:16:29,000 And under, I just admitted that from the pulpit. 274 00:16:29,000 --> 00:16:30,320 I apologize. 275 00:16:30,320 --> 00:16:35,240 But understand, I'm sure a bunch of you would be in the cell right next to me. 276 00:16:35,240 --> 00:16:37,300 Because that's ultimately depravity. 277 00:16:37,300 --> 00:16:39,320 That is ultimately the evil that is in the world. 278 00:16:39,320 --> 00:16:46,120 So not only is it a true and sure knowledge, it is a wholehearted trust, which the Holy 279 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:51,680 Spirit creates in me by the gospel that God has freely granted. 280 00:16:51,680 --> 00:16:54,320 Not only to others, but also to me. 281 00:16:54,320 --> 00:16:58,420 Forgiveness of sin, eternal righteousness, and salvation. 282 00:16:58,420 --> 00:17:05,320 These are gifts of sheer grace granted solely by Christ's merit. 283 00:17:05,320 --> 00:17:10,720 How do you apply the atonement of Christ that we talked about last week to our lives? 284 00:17:10,720 --> 00:17:12,340 It's this. 285 00:17:12,340 --> 00:17:15,160 That the Holy Spirit gives us true faith. 286 00:17:15,160 --> 00:17:19,720 I'm going to pause. 287 00:17:19,720 --> 00:17:23,400 What about us that have been burned by people of faith? 288 00:17:23,400 --> 00:17:27,240 What about us, people that maybe have been burned by the church, by leadership, by all 289 00:17:27,240 --> 00:17:29,680 of these things? 290 00:17:29,680 --> 00:17:32,040 That's a reality in our church today. 291 00:17:32,040 --> 00:17:35,220 Part of the reason why is because we have too many in my opinion. 292 00:17:35,220 --> 00:17:37,200 Look at just the Ileana area. 293 00:17:37,200 --> 00:17:38,840 Inundated. 294 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:41,360 Inundated with churches. 295 00:17:41,360 --> 00:17:45,800 Hundred years ago, less churches, but they all kind of said the same thing. 296 00:17:45,800 --> 00:17:51,280 You could probably go to any Reformed church on Ridge Road or down I-65 and you probably 297 00:17:51,280 --> 00:17:52,560 would hear the same thing. 298 00:17:52,560 --> 00:17:54,840 We call that Christendom. 299 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,320 Everybody was pretty much given the same message. 300 00:17:57,320 --> 00:18:02,520 The church still held authority and that there was an attractional nature to the church. 301 00:18:02,520 --> 00:18:06,760 Not attractional and smoke machines and all of that, but that people all went to church 302 00:18:06,760 --> 00:18:08,320 on Sunday. 303 00:18:08,320 --> 00:18:12,560 You still go to pockets of kind of the middle of nowhere and it's like that. 304 00:18:12,560 --> 00:18:16,880 A professor of mine, actually my advisor in seminary, Dave Fitch, wrote a lot about this 305 00:18:16,880 --> 00:18:19,160 and it's fascinating. 306 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:26,220 But over the years, what Dave would say is that we lost sight of what true faith is. 307 00:18:26,220 --> 00:18:29,000 Because now you go to a bunch of churches on Ridge Road, you're not going to hear the 308 00:18:29,000 --> 00:18:30,000 same thing. 309 00:18:30,000 --> 00:18:33,320 You're going to go down I-65, you're not going to hear the same thing. 310 00:18:33,320 --> 00:18:40,080 That we have been inundated with worldlyism that has changed the way this book is read. 311 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:45,440 The main charge that I have by your elders overseeing me is to preach what is in this 312 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:46,440 book. 313 00:18:46,440 --> 00:18:49,320 Herm, when you were here, was that charge the same? 314 00:18:49,320 --> 00:18:50,320 To preach what's in this book. 315 00:18:50,320 --> 00:18:52,280 This is Herm Scott, two pastors ago. 316 00:18:52,280 --> 00:18:55,880 His picture's there, but you can meet him in person here after service. 317 00:18:55,880 --> 00:18:57,360 Good guy. 318 00:18:57,360 --> 00:18:58,520 He was the same thing. 319 00:18:58,520 --> 00:19:02,320 We don't change this to make us feel good. 320 00:19:02,320 --> 00:19:03,320 Because guess what? 321 00:19:03,320 --> 00:19:06,400 When we do that, the Holy Spirit's going to convict us. 322 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:09,320 He's going to throw those roadblocks up and say, no, no, no, no, no. 323 00:19:09,320 --> 00:19:11,920 You're making it about yourself. 324 00:19:11,920 --> 00:19:14,380 And Christianity has never been about you. 325 00:19:14,380 --> 00:19:17,040 It's been about God's love for you. 326 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:22,240 And for us to receive that love and then show that love to the world. 327 00:19:22,240 --> 00:19:23,240 R.C. 328 00:19:23,240 --> 00:19:27,360 Sprouls, a great reformer of the faith who passed away a couple years ago, writes this 329 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:29,800 in his book, Grace Unknown. 330 00:19:29,800 --> 00:19:35,600 Once we grasp the doctrine of total depravity, humanity's total fall, we know that human 331 00:19:35,600 --> 00:19:41,120 beings will not incline themselves to faith in the intoning work of Christ. 332 00:19:41,120 --> 00:19:47,160 If God does not supply the means of appropriating the atonement's benefits, namely faith, then 333 00:19:47,160 --> 00:19:52,760 the potential redemption of all would result in the actual redemption of none. 334 00:19:52,760 --> 00:19:55,640 I found that so, leave that up. 335 00:19:55,640 --> 00:19:58,960 I found that so powerful, that last part. 336 00:19:58,960 --> 00:20:06,400 If God does not supply a means of giving us the understanding of Christ's atonement, 337 00:20:06,400 --> 00:20:11,520 which is faith, there's some other things, but as R.C. says, it's namely faith, then 338 00:20:11,520 --> 00:20:18,080 the potential redemption of the world's the result in the actual redemption of no one. 339 00:20:18,080 --> 00:20:23,000 Friends, because that's how evil we are. 340 00:20:23,000 --> 00:20:27,160 I don't like saying that from the pulpit, but it's true, and I'm looking at myself 341 00:20:27,160 --> 00:20:29,520 in the mirror first. 342 00:20:29,520 --> 00:20:33,560 Friends, deep inside all of us is evil. 343 00:20:33,560 --> 00:20:34,560 It's called depravity. 344 00:20:34,560 --> 00:20:36,280 It's a bent against God. 345 00:20:36,280 --> 00:20:42,120 Now, whether you choose to walk in that actively or not, that's a different story, but understand 346 00:20:42,120 --> 00:20:45,520 that that is inherent in all of us. 347 00:20:45,520 --> 00:20:47,880 The one thing we have in common, we're all sinners. 348 00:20:47,880 --> 00:20:50,160 Again, this is a PSA. 349 00:20:50,160 --> 00:20:57,200 If you are perfect, you do not need to come here, because you're not amongst perfect people. 350 00:20:57,200 --> 00:21:01,720 What I love about Munster Church is that it's an imperfect church looking at a perfect God 351 00:21:01,720 --> 00:21:06,880 trying to do our best to live like him, but like Easton said in the liturgy, we all fall 352 00:21:06,880 --> 00:21:07,880 short. 353 00:21:07,880 --> 00:21:10,560 That's why we need grace. 354 00:21:10,560 --> 00:21:13,040 Hopefully it's starting to come full circle. 355 00:21:13,040 --> 00:21:19,240 So, you, me, where does the change happen? 356 00:21:19,240 --> 00:21:22,600 The regeneration starts where? 357 00:21:22,600 --> 00:21:26,480 In the heart. 358 00:21:26,480 --> 00:21:33,120 The regeneration of the spirit, and I'm not sure, Cam, I'm going to use you as an example 359 00:21:33,120 --> 00:21:34,520 because I can. 360 00:21:34,520 --> 00:21:35,520 I'm not sure. 361 00:21:35,520 --> 00:21:39,560 When Cam and I met for Chipotle, we talked about it. 362 00:21:39,560 --> 00:21:44,840 I don't know if he can put on a calendar, ooh, the regeneration started at 1147 or that 363 00:21:44,840 --> 00:21:50,800 day, but something happened in Cam that was not the work of Cam, but it was the work of 364 00:21:50,800 --> 00:21:52,560 the Holy Spirit. 365 00:21:52,560 --> 00:21:58,800 Last week with Hope, that something changed in her heart, in her life because of the examples 366 00:21:58,800 --> 00:22:03,160 of her siblings and her parents, of her church, that all of a sudden she goes to her mom and 367 00:22:03,160 --> 00:22:05,960 dad and says something's now different. 368 00:22:05,960 --> 00:22:10,640 Friends, none of us are good enough to make up that feeling. 369 00:22:10,640 --> 00:22:13,260 None of us will get there ever on our own. 370 00:22:13,260 --> 00:22:14,960 And what I love is they leaned into it. 371 00:22:14,960 --> 00:22:20,080 They were supported to come to the elders, to make profession. 372 00:22:20,080 --> 00:22:22,680 Some people say, well, if they don't come before the elders, does that mean they're 373 00:22:22,680 --> 00:22:24,400 not saved? 374 00:22:24,400 --> 00:22:25,800 No. 375 00:22:25,800 --> 00:22:27,480 That is the work of the Holy Spirit. 376 00:22:27,480 --> 00:22:32,240 The processing, if you will, of a profession is to bring about membership in our church. 377 00:22:32,240 --> 00:22:33,240 That is our church order. 378 00:22:33,240 --> 00:22:38,520 That is the Reformed theology that we lean into, and it's beautiful. 379 00:22:38,520 --> 00:22:43,820 If you look at it more as logistical and kind of a pain in the neck, check your heart because 380 00:22:43,820 --> 00:22:45,800 it's a beautiful thing. 381 00:22:45,800 --> 00:22:51,000 Other denominations do it in a different way, though it ends the same way. 382 00:22:51,000 --> 00:22:52,960 Do you believe in your heart? 383 00:22:52,960 --> 00:22:56,520 Do you confess your sins and do you believe in your heart that God raised you from the 384 00:22:56,520 --> 00:22:57,520 dead? 385 00:22:57,520 --> 00:22:59,580 Then you shall be saved. 386 00:22:59,580 --> 00:23:00,720 That is how it works. 387 00:23:00,720 --> 00:23:03,160 It starts in the heart. 388 00:23:03,160 --> 00:23:06,720 Yet for some of us, we fight it. 389 00:23:06,720 --> 00:23:09,720 I believe in God, but I want to live by myself. 390 00:23:09,720 --> 00:23:11,560 I want to live by my means. 391 00:23:11,560 --> 00:23:17,000 Friends, that's not how it works because what is your means? 392 00:23:17,000 --> 00:23:19,960 Your means are sin, and what are the wages of sin? 393 00:23:19,960 --> 00:23:26,840 The wages of sin is, ooh, is that what we want for our life? 394 00:23:26,840 --> 00:23:30,120 I want death all over my life. 395 00:23:30,120 --> 00:23:31,400 No. 396 00:23:31,400 --> 00:23:36,440 What Jesus has come is to give us life, give us life to the fullest. 397 00:23:36,440 --> 00:23:41,600 But maybe God, Jesus, Spirit, sounds good on some days, but not every day. 398 00:23:41,600 --> 00:23:43,040 And why? 399 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:47,640 Because we love to hold the cards of hate and selfishness, revenge, and judgment. 400 00:23:47,640 --> 00:23:50,920 But friends, the Spirit shows a better way. 401 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:59,240 The transformation of the Holy Spirit is a better way, always. 402 00:23:59,240 --> 00:24:04,520 Remember in the beginning, Jesus says he had more to tell the disciples at the Last Supper, 403 00:24:04,520 --> 00:24:07,480 but he knew we couldn't handle it. 404 00:24:07,480 --> 00:24:10,480 I don't know if you've ever thought about that part of John. 405 00:24:10,480 --> 00:24:13,240 I always skip over that part. 406 00:24:13,240 --> 00:24:19,320 This week I leaned into it, that Jesus had more to give us, but we weren't ready for 407 00:24:19,320 --> 00:24:20,320 it. 408 00:24:20,320 --> 00:24:21,840 Why weren't we ready for that? 409 00:24:21,840 --> 00:24:25,120 Because the work wasn't done yet. 410 00:24:25,120 --> 00:24:27,720 Jesus still had to go through the Garden of Gethsemane. 411 00:24:27,720 --> 00:24:31,480 He still had to go through the courts of Herod and Pilate. 412 00:24:31,480 --> 00:24:34,720 He still had to go through the Pharisees and the Sadducees. 413 00:24:34,720 --> 00:24:37,720 He still had to go through the flogging and the mocking. 414 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,560 He still had to go through the crucifixion. 415 00:24:40,560 --> 00:24:47,320 He still had to go through death itself, buried in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea, to then 416 00:24:47,320 --> 00:24:50,360 conquer death three days later. 417 00:24:50,360 --> 00:24:57,360 See there's a process to this, and it's done solely for you and for me. 418 00:24:57,360 --> 00:24:59,320 Think about that. 419 00:24:59,320 --> 00:25:04,400 Jesus could have been any time, and I've said this before, after the first flog, after the 420 00:25:04,400 --> 00:25:07,720 first whip, he could have been like, I'm out. 421 00:25:07,720 --> 00:25:09,360 This is not worth it. 422 00:25:09,360 --> 00:25:12,880 God, you said, or Father, you said you're not going to do this again by flood. 423 00:25:12,880 --> 00:25:13,880 Do it by fire. 424 00:25:13,880 --> 00:25:16,180 And just go, and he went back to the ranch. 425 00:25:16,180 --> 00:25:17,180 He could have. 426 00:25:17,180 --> 00:25:18,180 Spoiler alert, that's coming. 427 00:25:18,180 --> 00:25:22,940 It's the book of Revelation in the fall. 428 00:25:22,940 --> 00:25:27,820 But understand he didn't, because there was work that needed to be done, work that you 429 00:25:27,820 --> 00:25:34,240 and I could not, cannot, will not ever be able to accomplish. 430 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:36,880 Hence why we get grace. 431 00:25:36,880 --> 00:25:41,680 Because the work has been done, sin has been defeated, the spirit, our advocate, walks 432 00:25:41,680 --> 00:25:48,480 with us, points out where we fall, when we fall, lifts our confessions to God, and lifts 433 00:25:48,480 --> 00:25:50,900 us to our feet. 434 00:25:50,900 --> 00:25:54,240 The spirit is the one that dusts us off. 435 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,200 Why? 436 00:25:56,200 --> 00:26:02,040 So that we can be advocates for the lost. 437 00:26:02,040 --> 00:26:04,560 That's the power of testimony. 438 00:26:04,560 --> 00:26:06,760 When and where have you been lost? 439 00:26:06,760 --> 00:26:13,040 That we can tell our redemptive story, we can't tell it without talking about Jesus. 440 00:26:13,040 --> 00:26:20,600 Our life pre-crossed through the cross and now should be different. 441 00:26:20,600 --> 00:26:26,520 So we can advocate for the lost, so we can shine a little light to wayward ships. 442 00:26:26,520 --> 00:26:33,720 We've been transformed so we can show others not in a prideful way, but in a way of grace. 443 00:26:33,720 --> 00:26:38,600 So as I close, a couple questions to wreck your week in mine. 444 00:26:38,600 --> 00:26:42,000 Who do you need to show grace to today? 445 00:26:42,000 --> 00:26:49,360 Your spouse, your kids, a family member, maybe your boss. 446 00:26:49,360 --> 00:26:51,880 Maybe those who are marginalized in your eyes. 447 00:26:51,880 --> 00:26:55,480 Maybe those who you hate. 448 00:26:55,480 --> 00:26:58,920 Maybe you need to show grace to yourself. 449 00:26:58,920 --> 00:27:08,360 But it's hard because we like to insert whatever depraved thought you have. 450 00:27:08,360 --> 00:27:12,760 Would you rather live, what would you rather have in your life? 451 00:27:12,760 --> 00:27:23,040 The transforming grace and forgiveness of Christ or your control to do what you want? 452 00:27:23,040 --> 00:27:26,560 In church it's easy to say, oh we'll take the grace all day, transformation, sign me 453 00:27:26,560 --> 00:27:27,560 up. 454 00:27:27,560 --> 00:27:29,800 But do you really want that? 455 00:27:29,800 --> 00:27:32,560 Do I really want that? 456 00:27:32,560 --> 00:27:37,600 Because when someone who is transformed by grace and transformed to recognize Jesus as 457 00:27:37,600 --> 00:27:44,640 Lord, the first thing Christ calls us to do is die to ourself. 458 00:27:44,640 --> 00:27:48,480 Die to our emotions, not saying you can't have them. 459 00:27:48,480 --> 00:27:53,200 Dying to our desires, not saying that they won't come to pass. 460 00:27:53,200 --> 00:27:56,560 Dying to our agenda, absolutely. 461 00:27:56,560 --> 00:28:02,320 Dying to our hurt and our pain, our grudges, our pound of flesh, absolutely we've got to 462 00:28:02,320 --> 00:28:03,320 give those up. 463 00:28:03,320 --> 00:28:06,880 Because how in the world can you extend the grace of the spirit if you're holding on to 464 00:28:06,880 --> 00:28:11,560 a pound of flesh that actually doesn't exist? 465 00:28:11,560 --> 00:28:20,000 It can be scary because we have to give up what we hold dear, our name, our possessions, 466 00:28:20,000 --> 00:28:21,000 our power. 467 00:28:21,000 --> 00:28:26,200 But what we don't realize is we don't actually hold those. 468 00:28:26,200 --> 00:28:28,680 They shackle us. 469 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:34,400 That when we give into that sin, sin's not like hey, way to go, let's have a relationship. 470 00:28:34,400 --> 00:28:42,400 No, sin says I want you all and I want to shackle you down to live my way. 471 00:28:42,400 --> 00:28:45,800 Because that sin becomes God's in our life. 472 00:28:45,800 --> 00:28:54,800 That's worldly transformation, worldly cancellation if you will. 473 00:28:54,800 --> 00:29:01,840 We need the Holy Spirit to use us to drop our desire for what we want, but to hold dear 474 00:29:01,840 --> 00:29:05,560 to Christ and then to the world. 475 00:29:05,560 --> 00:29:08,520 And here's the kicker. 476 00:29:08,520 --> 00:29:14,560 The whole transformation that is happening, the whole work of the Holy Spirit is showing 477 00:29:14,560 --> 00:29:21,640 us one giant aspect of your and my, the person over there, the person over there, relationship 478 00:29:21,640 --> 00:29:22,640 with God. 479 00:29:22,640 --> 00:29:31,040 That all the while this is happening, we are being held by a God who loves us dearly. 480 00:29:31,040 --> 00:29:31,920 More on that next week.