Mark 6:7-29- Three responses to truth

7 And he called the twelve and began to send them out two by two, and gave them authority over the unclean spirits. 8 He charged them to take nothing for their journey except a staff—no bread, no bag, no money in their belts— 9 but to wear sandals and not put on two tunics. 10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent. 13 And they cast out many demons and anointed with oil many who were sick and healed them.

The Death of John the Baptist

14 King Herod heard of it, for Jesus’ name had become known. Some said, “John the Baptist has been raised from the dead. That is why these miraculous powers are at work in him.” 15 But others said, “He is Elijah.” And others said, “He is a prophet, like one of the prophets of old.” 16 But when Herod heard of it, he said, “John, whom I beheaded, has been raised.” 17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother. 29 When his disciples heard of it, they came and took his body and laid it in a tomb.
Mk 6:7-29
Intro

How much do you want to get closer to God today? How much do you want to know him better, understand more about Him? Are you really seeking to know Him? Is that why you are here?

(matrix clip- Neo meets Morpheus, Morpheus offers him the “pill” to wake him up to the truth)

What is this clip about?
It’s about what we all know- that there is something not right here, we feel “out of touch” with something. Even unbelievers who make these movies know this. Something is not right with the world. What if you were faced with the choice to either find out the truth about the world, about yourself, about God? What if you were offered that pill tonight- would you take it?

You face the same situation tonight. Do you want to know the truth? And how do we come to see Him, to find this missing emptiness filled, how do we remove the veil over our eyes? Not with a pill, but with truth. Do you like truth? Do you want to know the truth?
Sometimes, we don’t.

This is a song by “Stephen the Levite”, it might not be what you are used to, but listen to the words. It has gotten him in some trouble, see if you can see why. It’s called “the Choir.”

The Choir
(1 John, Matt 6:15-22, Gal 1:8-9, Prov 11:9)

Steve: How do I spark this I, don't know how to start this I/ want to get to a few little issues on my heart 'cause I/ heard a few rumors and I seen things on the tube and it's/ really been movin' me to deal with these abuses this/ popular Jesus that, walks with a thievish cat/ rocks to the beat of that, new popular Jesus rap/ how many people eat this crap, that's not Jesus black/ where the believers at, who preach and agree with that/ can I get "amen" if your followin' Him/ and not just hollerin' about Him, talkin', but your not walkin' in/ can I get a witness if your not just a big hypocrite/ you spit with the quickness your faith is legitimate/ this is intimate, family business kid/ you can't get wit' this, until you repent dig it/ what you ain't feelin' it, tough God ain't feelin' sin/ but through crucifixion He saved us when we was killin' Him/ plus Jesus rose again, death can't hold 'em man/ believers receive new life killin' the older man/ already told you fam we die like soldiers man/ gotta be born again, it's more than a culture fam/ freaks on the weekdays, Sundays speakin' in clichés/ he may think he deceived me, but they who can really see say/ "he's fake", believe me, he's playin' with his life these days/ when the games over no replays, he lays in the bed he made// (his grave)

Hook: Please don't be deceived, these mislead the sheep/ teach and believe what's tweaked, they’ll reap of the seed they speak/ All this haughty talk results in body rot/ call me salty Ak’ but dog, they’re not the flock// Keepin' a Jesus piece when he and Jesus beef/ she’s perceived as freak but thinks that he is pleased/ Paul has properly taught that God will not be mocked/ so y’all should not be shocked when all of the folly stops//

Steve: Yeah I said it, so, y'all can spread it too/ but you better let them know that the Bible says it's true/ cats who disagree got half of the recipe/ that's what gets to me the facts should set them free// but know one's preachin' it, they ain't hearin' 'em/ no one's speakin' it, there's too much fear in 'em/ they should be afraid, it's easier bein' saved/ they're gonna see the grave but we're gonna see his face// plus we've known His ways, overflowin' grace/ they're in a hopeless age and believe what Oprah say/ they've been blinded cuz, facially minded bruh/ racially biased they find ways to define him but// that's irrelevant, do you know who He is/ can't rebel against ways that He told you to live/ He is Deity, not just deified/ Gotta believe Him, chief, and he won't just be defied// Read that Bible dog, media lies to you/ speak and write what's false they seekin' to hide the truth/ peeps are deceivin' the youth and God's not pleased with it/ teens are believin' it too, and the called got beef with it/ Little kanYe's in the church who ignore God's holiness/ the Beyonce's in the skirts who conform, not wholly dressed/ I'm not tryin' to cause beef but the Lord's name is mocked/ I'm not lyin' you wanna keep sinnin' don't claim His flock//

It is a hard hitting song. He doesn’t pull any punches, does he? He simply comes out and says some tough things, some true things.
Now, I know, sometimes people are not gentle enough with truth, and we are told to speak truth with love, but let’s just stop and think for a moment. Are there times, even when the truth is spoken in love, that we don’t like it? Is it that we want it spoken in love, or that we want it in teeny tiny parts, not enough to be uncomfortable? Why is truth such a problem for us? The text we just read has three different people responding to truth in three ways, none of them good. These serve as examples for us as to how not to respond to truth. We need to look at them and see if we are doing what they do.
But first, let’s stop and make sure we all understand what truth is.

What is truth?
Let me ask you something. Can two people say two contradictory things and both be right? In other words, can I say “This stand is black, not white” and someone else say “this stand is white, not black”, and both of us be right? Why or why not?
It can not be. There is one truth in this. Either the stand actually is white or black. It is no use saying “what if one is color blind” or something of that nature. The truth is this stand is absorbing and reflecting certain portions of the light spectrum. Period.
What I am trying to explain to you is a very important law of logic, one that you use everyday. You really do believe that there is a reality- something that really is, that exists. And it doesn’t change from moment to moment. It is as it is, always. So, there are facts about this reality. There are nine planets in our solar system. We have one sun. It isn’t that some people think there are two suns, and some one, and well they are both right. No, there is a reality, in the realm of existence there is just one. So to say there is zero, or more than one, this is wrong. It does not correspond to reality.
That is what truth is- a statement that corresponds to reality. It agrees with what is real. It is a fact about reality. As I said, all of you live this everyday. We might pretend this is not the case sometimes- if someone says it is wrong to steal, or lie, for example, we may try and make it “ok” somehow, because we want it to be ok. But we know that it is not both ok and not ok. We know that what the Bible says can not mean one thing to one person, and another completely different and contradictory thing to another, and both of them be right. One is wrong. We know this, that there is one reality, one truth. You do not wake up and think that perhaps you will have a different name today, your home will be in China, and your school now teaches you how to be a plumber. These things don’t just change, there is one reality, and we are in it. And there are facts about it, and these facts are truths.
Truths are facts about reality.

This is vital to understand. What this means is that if we want to be in touch with reality, we need to know truth. And to not know truth is to not be in touch with reality. So, as we talked about earlier, we would be in danger if we did not know the truth. We would be insane. That is what insanity is- we lose touch with what is real. So to deny the truth about the universe is insanity. Our goal, friends, is to be more and more sane. More and more in touch with what is real. How much insanity is there in your life? Not the good, funny, “crazy wacky fun” kind of insanity- but the scary, confusing, hopeless kind of insanity.
Truth is what helps us break free from insanity. If we can get it. If we can believe it. But too often we want nothing to do with truth. We are a people who have a hard time with truth.

Let’s look at the text and see what we often do with truth.

Three examples
Example one
10 And he said to them, “Whenever you enter a house, stay there until you depart from there. 11 And if any place will not receive you and they will not listen to you, when you leave, shake off the dust that is on your feet as a testimony against them.” 12 So they went out and proclaimed that people should repent.

Jesus sends the disciples out in pairs, to go and preach. And he expects that as they bring this message “repent”, they might meet resistance. There might be those who do not like the truth of the universe- that repentance is needed to find peace with God. And Jesus warns them and tells them that some will not even receive you, they wont listen. What you say will never even enter their ears.

Here is our first response to truth. Not even listening to it.
The truth is we are so broken and so twisted that we often hate truth. All unbelievers are this way. They hate truth. Now, what do I mean? Obviously unbelievers tell truth, and are often people who fight for it- lawyers and judges and such. Well, what I mean is that there is a huge part of the truth of the universe, a huge part of reality, that they hate. The part that has to do with God.
We all are truth suppressors.

18 For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. Ro 1:18

We suppress the truth about God’s goodness, our sinfulness, God requirements on our lives, our behavior toward others, etc. The list goes on. We suppress what we do not like, and we do not like it that God is God, and we are not.
So far from this truth, so much hatred we have for it, that we are a people who can not tolerate it. Jesus said –

43 Why do you not understand what I say? It is because you cannot bear to hear my word. 44 You are of your father the devil, and your will is to do your father’s desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, and has nothing to do with the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the father of lies. 45 But because I tell the truth, you do not believe me. Jn 8:43-45 (emphasis added.)

Because he tells them the truth- the very fact that it is truth means they can not believe it. They have a hatred for this truth, they will just not even listen to it.
Sometimes we think that we have to change the truth of who God is, and our sin, before we can talk to unbelievers. They could never go to church and hear messages like that! And in a sense we are right- they cant.

14 The natural person does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are folly to him, and he is not able to understand them because they are spiritually discerned. 1 Co 2:14

They hate truth. But remember, so did you. God must do this work, but we do not change the message! We want to pray that we would be open to hearing the truth, not change the truth to make it something we want to hear!
Is this like you? Do you hear truth? Are you open to it? This is so important, because what happens if we do not listen is scary- after a time of hearing it, if we do not respond, if we do not welcome it, do you know what happens? What did Jesus tell the disciples to do?
These people are to be rejected. He tells them to shake off the dust of their feet against them. What does that mean? Well, for the Jew, this was a powerful statement. The Jews thought that all the ground that was not part of Israel was not as pure and holy as Israel. And if they traveled outside of their borders, they would on the way back stop and shake off the dust of the “unholy” ground, so as to not taint their holy land. Jesus is saying to the disciples “show that you have nothing to do with them, show them that they are rejected.”
There are warnings like this all over the bible-

8 And then the lawless one will be revealed, whom the Lord Jesus will kill with the breath of his mouth and bring to nothing by the appearance of his coming. 9 The coming of the lawless one is by the activity of Satan with all power and false signs and wonders, 10 and with all wicked deception for those who are perishing, because they refused to love the truth and so be saved. 11 Therefore God sends them a strong delusion, so that they may believe what is false, 12 in order that all may be condemned who did not believe the truth but had pleasure in unrighteousness. 2 Thess 2

Do you refuse to love the truth and be saved? Do you love the truth or hate it? Are you open to it, do you long for more of it, do you want to hear what this word says and understand it and find out more about reality, and regain some sanity?
Be careful, a time can come when God will no longer be patient.

6 And he told this parable: “A man had a fig tree planted in his vineyard, and he came seeking fruit on it and found none. 7 And he said to the vinedresser, ‘Look, for three years now I have come seeking fruit on this fig tree, and I find none. Cut it down. Why should it use up the ground?’ 8 And he answered him, ‘Sir, let it alone this year also, until I dig around it and put on manure. 9 Then if it should bear fruit next year, well and good; but if not, you can cut it down.’ ”Lk 13:6-9

That parable, what does it mean? Do you think it has anything to do with what Jesus said before it? Look at the verses before it-


There were some present at that very time who told him about the Galileans whose blood Pilate had mingled with their sacrifices. 2 And he answered them, “Do you think that these Galileans were worse sinners than all the other Galileans, because they suffered in this way? 3 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish. 4 Or those eighteen on whom the tower in Siloam fell and killed them: do you think that they were worse offenders than all the others who lived in Jerusalem? 5 No, I tell you; but unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.”Lk 13:1-5

Repent, turn to the truth, don’t run from it.
Ultimately when we run from the truth, we are running from God. Are you running from God and what He has to say to you? Or do you want to close your ears and not hear His Words?



Example two
Sometimes it is not enough for us to not just want to hear the truth, sometimes we want it dead. Sometimes we hear just enough of it to realize that the truth about the universe is that there is just One True God. And that frightens us- because we have other gods, gods that we love, gods that we want to protect. And in order to protect our gods we will kill truth.
This is Herod’s wife.

17 For it was Herod who had sent and seized John and bound him in prison for the sake of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife, because he had married her. 18 For John had been saying to Herod, “It is not lawful for you to have your brother’s wife.” 19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.


You see what is going on here? Herodias had been married to Herod’s brother. But for some reason she left him and married Herod. My guess is that either she loved him, which is doubtful as you read the rest of the story, or she knew that there was some great benefit for her to be married to him. Either money, or power, or something similar I’m sure. This is what drives her into the arms of Herod. Now, this thing that she is getting from Herod is tied to her marriage to him, so that when John comes around saying that it is not right for Herod to be married to her, she noticed that Herod had some respect for John, and she wondered, “is there enough respect that he would end up listening to John and leave me?”
So John and his testimony that Herod was doing wrong in this marriage scared her, it made her think that perhaps he would leave her, and she would lose what she wanted most. She would lose her idol.
You see, John’s truth about the marriage threatened Herodias’ idol.
Truth tends to do that. It threatens our idols. And sometimes we hear enough of the truth to get scared of it, to get scared of what would have to happen in order for us to live in accordance with it. And so we face this choice- admit that this is the truth, and change, or kill the truth, and keep the idol. Herodias wanted john dead, you see. She wanted to kill the truth. Do you want to do that? Do you get so mad at those who bring truth to you that you hate them? Did you ever hear the expression “don’t kill the messenger?” Sometimes a messenger would bring bad news of a war or some other misfortune to a king, and the king, so angry, would kill the messenger. Now, that’s silly, since the messenger is just relaying the information. But we cant change the information, we cant kill the truth. So we kill the messenger. The anger is at the message- Herodias hates John’s message. And so she hates him, and wants to kill him.
Do you ever find that you want to kill the truth? You wish you could just make it all go away. Only if there were no God, no rules. Only if you were god, and could just do what you wanted. You long to kill the truth. Are there idols that you are trying to protect from the truth? What does God ask you to give up, ask you to leave, that you love so much you would never leave? What are the idols? And do you protect them by killing the truth?
How would we do that? What does it mean to kill truth for us? It means to call it a lie. We kill truth when we say things like “oh, its not that bad, others do it too.” Or “that is probably not what the bible means when it says that.” When we steal the truth from the truth, make it a lie, then it is dead. It has no more impact on us. Do you do this?

Example Three
The third thing we do with truth is represented by Herod. I think this is probably what most of us here do.

19 And Herodias had a grudge against him and wanted to put him to death. But she could not, 20 for Herod feared John, knowing that he was a righteous and holy man, and he kept him safe. When he heard him, he was greatly perplexed, and yet he heard him gladly.
21 But an opportunity came when Herod on his birthday gave a banquet for his nobles and military commanders and the leading men of Galilee. 22 For when Herodias’s daughter came in and danced, she pleased Herod and his guests. And the king said to the girl, “Ask me for whatever you wish, and I will give it to you.” 23 And he vowed to her, “Whatever you ask me, I will give you, up to half of my kingdom.” 24 And she went out and said to her mother, “For what should I ask?” And she said, “The head of John the Baptist.” 25 And she came in immediately with haste to the king and asked, saying, “I want you to give me at once the head of John the Baptist on a platter.” 26 And the king was exceedingly sorry, but because of his oaths and his guests he did not want to break his word to her. 27 And immediately the king sent an executioner with orders to bring John’s head. He went and beheaded him in the prison 28 and brought his head on a platter and gave it to the girl, and the girl gave it to her mother.

What doe Herod do with the truth, and how is that like us?
Herod hears the truth, and he likes it. In a sense. Let’s observe a few things. First, Herod knew that John was righteous and holy. He knew it was truth that he spoke. While it perplexed him, that is, made him unsettled, he liked to hear it. He approved of it. He knew, in the back of his head, that this was right, and he was afraid.
This is like many of you. You hear the truth, and you agree that it is true. Now, you know that your life does not match up to it, that perhaps you are not living it- but it is true. And you fear this truth, and you even to some degree approve of it. You allow it into your life. But then you do what Herod did- you lock it up. You don’t let it effect your life, you keep it all locked up in a safe little place that cant touch the rest of your life.
Friends, do you keep the truth from touching all of your life? What do I mean? What does it look like to lock up the truth?
Well maybe you agree- Jesus is King of Kings- maybe you let Him rule in your life- in parts. As long as he and his truth do not leave their cage. You might be an expert on the gospel, read all the right books, hear all the right sermons, but the truth that you have is locked up in your mind, and has never been allowed to get at the rest of your life. You will not let it touch you at school, or at home, or your pride or anger or rebellion or selfishness, or whatever it is. This truth is a safe truth for you because you keep it caged. You can not let it out- it would be too much trouble, it would change too much of your life.
Sometimes we feel good if this is us- at least we believe the right things, right? But understand that Herod was lost, and that when pushed he killed the truth too. Our locking the truth up shows that we have idols.

I call upon you to let it go. Set the truth free in your life. Unleash the truth, let it reign in all your life. Do you know what changes it would bring!?
You read the bible, and it is boring. That would change- it is boring because it goes into the cage when you read it, you do not read it in light of all your life, but only in light of your ‘Christianity’, which is locked away from who you really are. When you hear a message, it is old and stale and boring- why? Because it is what is locked in the caged. The cage already is packed with Christianity, and Christian music, and Christian behavior and friends and activities, but the rest of your life is not touched by this. Unleash the truth, and let it spill into all the areas of your life!


Becoming lovers of Truth
It is hard to hear truth. It cuts- the word is a sword.
We find that truth is sometimes so hard for us to embrace. We run from it, we kill it, we lock it up. How can we change that? How can we love truth?
Let me tell you how to start to love truth.
First, realize who it is that hates it. Do you know who hates truth the most? The enemy. As we read earlier in John, he is the father of lies. Why do you think it is that he hates truth?
he fears it because he knows it will bring about your salvation. For the truth is that there are idols, yes, and that we have failed God, yes, but it is also true that God is mercy and love, and has made a way for us to have joy forever.
satan hates the truth that God is eternally reigning supreme. You don’t have to hate that truth. You can love it. You don’t have to hate what satan hates and fear what satan fears. You can love this truth, it is good, it is for you.
That’s the second thing we can do to learn to love the truth- learn what the truth is. Because the truth is good news! Why would we hate this good news? Yes, the truth is that God asks you to give up your idols- and that sounds bad. But the truth about your idols is that they will only kill you, and that what he offers is better. He is better! The truth is, the one who made our idols is better than the things he made!
The truth cuts, I know, but we must embrace it- it cuts away what is dead. It cuts away what is insane.

Long for the truth. He came to be a light, to show us truth, to reveal the Father to us, the glories of the Father. He came to show us how good the Father is. And then he sends us out to go take the truth to others. And I know we think that would be tough, so many don’t like the truth, but what will we do? Is it really loving to let others live in insanity, not know what is real? Is it loving to do that? Would it be loving to drug the whole world to make them feel happy, and never tell them the gospel? Would it be loving to not speak to truth to keep people comfortable, and let them go to hell?
Jesus spoke some tough things, some hard things. And they were loving. He IS Love, and He IS Truth, both. And this grace and truth showed us what it looks like to share truth- it is saying hard things, even if it costs us, because we love others and are willing to suffer for them. So hear truth, and understand what the truth is, and then spread the truth.
Unleash it, don’t lock it up in one part of your life.
Don’t misunderstand and hate it, wanting it dead.
And don’t run from it. Run to it.

Seeing Him when He returns

SEEING HIM WHEN HE RETURNS
How it relates to our greatest longings, and what we need to be ready for it.


9 And it is my prayer that your love may abound more and more, with knowledge and all discernment, 10 so that you may approve what is excellent, and so be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, 11 filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ, to the glory and praise of God.
Php 1:9-11

There is a certain longing in all your hearts. And a day is coming when something will happen with that longing- either something amazing and wonderful, or something horrific, and almost beyond speaking about.
That day is what Paul prays about in these words in this text.
Again, I find it something I long to pray for each of you- something I long to see in each of you.
What is this longing in our hearts, and how do we prepare for that day I speak of, when something either wonderful or fearful will happen with that longing?

Lewis speaks of this longing, and says that we have it in us for a very obvious reason. If it is true, as Christianity states, that we were created for Heaven- created to love God, and we are broken- then we already have a longing for Him in us, but since it is broken, it is not longer attached to Him. It is like longing for food but only having a taste for things that are poison. Which, of course, is a great insult to food. It is a great insult to God to say that though He is the thing we need and were created for, we have no taste for him.

This desire Lewis says is our desire for home- the place we were created to be in forever- the presence of God. It is a longing to be with the one we were created to love and be a part of forever.

Lewis says-
“In speaking of this desire for our own far of country, which we find in ourselves even now, I feel a certain shyness. I am almost committing an indecency. I am trying to rip open the inconsolable secret in each one of you… the secret we can not hide and can not tell, though we desire to do both. We cannot tell it because it is a desire for something that has never actually appeared in our experience. We cannot hide it because our experience is constantly suggesting it, and we betray ourselves like lovers at the mention of a name.”

If we try and think about it too much, we find that when we go back into the past and try and think about the times we have felt this longing we find only

“…a remembering. The books or the music in which we thought the beauty was located will betray us if we trust to them; it was not in them, it only came through them, and what came through them was longing. These things- the beauty, the memory of our own past- are good images of what we really desire; but if they are mistaken for the thing itself, they turn into dumb idols, breaking the hearts of their worshippers. For they are not the thing itself; they are only the scent of a flower we have not found, the echo of a tune we have not heard, news from a country we have never yet visited. Do you think I am trying to weave a spell? Perhaps I am; but remember your fairy tales. Spells are used for breaking enchantments as well as for inducing them. And you and I have the need of the strongest spell that can be found to wake us from the evil enchantment of worldliness which has been laid upon us for nearly a hundred years. Almost our whole education has been directed to silencing this shy, persistent, inner voice; almost all our modern philosophies have been devised to convince us that the good of man is to be found on this earth.”

All of the world screams at us that the problem we have with our hearts- the longing that can not be put to rest in us- can be solved by things on earth. And it simply is not so. And in our hearts I think we all know it.

2 Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread,
and your labor for that which does not satisfy?
Listen diligently to me, and eat what is good,
and delight yourselves in rich food.
Is 55:2

That is in the scriptures because the truth is we were designed to be satisfied in something more.

But we need to be clearer about this longing- let me let Lewis tell you something even more powerful and true about the longing in you-

“When I attempted a few minutes ago, to describe our spiritual longings, I was omitting one of their most curious characteristics. We usually notice it just as the moment of vision dies away, as the music ends, or as the landscape loses the celestial light… For a few minutes we have had the illusion of belonging to that world. Now we wake to find that it is no such thing. We have been mere spectators. Beauty has smiled, but not to welcome us; her face turned in our direction, but not to see us. We have not been accepted, welcomed, or taken into the dance. We may go when we please, we may stay if we can, no one cares. Now, a scientist may reply that since most of the things we call beautiful are inanimate it is not very surprising that they take no notice of us. That, of course, is true. It is not the physical objects that I am speaking of, but that indescribable Something of which they become for a moment the messengers. And part of the bitterness which mixes with the sweetness of that message is due to the fact that it so seldom seems to be a message intended for us, but rather something we have overheard… the sense that in the universe we are treated as strangers, the longing to be acknowledged, to meet with some response, the bridge some chasm that yawns between us and reality, is part of our inconsolable secret.”

In other words, what Lewis is saying is that when we see beauty in the world around us, and we have moments of longing and wonder and desire, it’s not just that we want to see such things, but that part of our longing is a longing to be a part of it- to be accepted by it- but not by it, but by what it simply was a messenger of.

So God is speaking to us, at all times, through the beauty around us, and we see it, and sometimes feel immense longing through that call He has put there. But we are not being called to the sunset or the stars, we feel a call to be loved and accepted, to be acknowledged by the one from whom all the beauty came.

This should not be surprising. We all live all the time for attention and acceptance, don’t we? It’s one of the biggest idols in our hearts. We want acceptance.
And what I am suggesting today is that the acceptance that you and I want is not just acceptance from one another, it’s His acceptance we really desire.


And a day is coming when we will stand before the one who is behind that message- and we will hear on of two things from him…

It is actually hinted at- even outright stated- that it is really possible that on the day that He returns we may receive from Him acceptance, and honor. He may bestow glory on us, we may be welcomed in.

6 In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 7 so that the tested genuineness of your faith—more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.
1 Pe 1:6-7

6 He will render to each one according to his works: 7 to those who by patience in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, he will give eternal life;
Ro 2:6-7

Matthew 25- “Well done, good and faithful servant…”

3 But if anyone loves God, he is known by God.
1 Co 8:3

To be known by God- to receive honor from Him- to be noticed.
But that’s a strange thing to say.
Doesn’t He know everyone?
And it is only when we see the opposite of this promise that the true meaning of the promise shines through- for not all will be known by Him.

21 “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but the one who does the will of my Father who is in heaven. 22 On that day many will say to me, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and cast out demons in your name, and do many mighty works in your name?’ 23 And then will I declare to them, ‘I never knew you; depart from me, you workers of lawlessness.’
Mt 7:21-23
Now this is shocking.
For humans, who long to be known, and understood, and accepted, to hear the One who knows all things, sees all things, say- “I do not know you”, this is horror beyond all horrors.
To be erased from the mind of God. To be wiped out of His thoughts. To one day see the face of Him who created all beauty and spoke to us so gently though so many longings and desires, and to hear Him say “I do not know you. You have no place with me. You are not welcome. Depart.”
That is horror. That is a nightmare.
Many, the scriptures tell us, on that day will hear exactly that.

And so that is why Paul prays this prayer, and that is why I pray it for you. And for me.

We want to be found pure and blameless on that day, do we not? We want to be welcomed. We want to be a part of all He is, for we know that He is what we want, and His acceptance and love are what we want- and no one else’s.

How then? How can we be ready for that day?
Paul tells us by his prayer, for he prays for what is needed.

In his prayer he talks about all these things that he wants to see take place so that- that implies purpose- so that they will be pure and blameless. We will look at them more in a moment, but notice that he then sums up what he means by it all- he says “filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ.”

We will need this.
In order for you in that day to stand pure and blameless before Him you will have to be filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ.
What does that mean? What is the righteousness that comes through Christ?

You have to understand that there is something so different about Christianity.
All other religions, when they talk about the day of judgment, or however they discuss it- reincarnation, whatever- they talk about it like this-
Vodie Baucham said it this way-
They all tell you that you must have a spiritual experience, and then, from that day on, do more good things than bad.
And this just doesn’t work. If I told you that they way to be pure and blameless at the day of Christ was to simply be good, it would be foolish.
• Because we both know- you and I cant be good. We have tried. We are bad at it.
• And not only can we not be good- what about all the bad we have already done? Will we stand before a holy and pure God and expect Him to just overlook our evil?


Christianity is different.
Let me teach you a big church word.
It’s imputation.
To impute something to someone is to put it to their credit. For instance, if I say “put the blame on me for that” I am suggesting that you impute whatever bad thing happened to me.

There are 3 imputations in Christianity.

1- Adam’s sin to us
12 Therefore, just as sin came into the world through one man, and death through sin, and so death spread to all men because all sinned—
Ro 5:12

18 Therefore, as one trespass led to condemnation for all men, so one act of righteousness leads to justification and life for all men.
Ro 5:18

2- our sin to Christ
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
1 Pe 2:24

3-Christ’s righteousness to us
30 He is the source of your life in Christ Jesus, whom God made our wisdom and our righteousness and sanctification and redemption.
1 Co 1:30

Phil 3:7-11
You see! We need righteousness to stand in the presence of God and be accepted and approved. We have none.
But we do have sin. And lot’s of it. So we have a huge problem.
Christ solves to problem for us. We can not fix it, we are helpless. We must have a righteousness that comes through Christ if we are to be accepted on that day.

Do you have such a righteousness?
Have you wanted the penalty of Christ’s death to count for you, and have you given him your sin, and accepted from Him His righteousness, and all this in order to be able to be blameless in His sight and have Him forever?
If so, the Cross is priceless to you.
You begin to understand that the Cross is beautiful in a way we can not understand. It is the bridge to God, the path made for us to get the One we want. In that day there will be rejoicing, you will see his face, He will accept you to Himself- how can it be?- all because of what Christ did, and not at all, in any way because of what you did.

21 And you, who once were alienated and hostile in mind, doing evil deeds, 22 he has now reconciled in his body of flesh by his death, in order to present you holy and blameless and above reproach before him, 23 if indeed you continue in the faith, stable and steadfast, not shifting from the hope of the gospel that you heard, which has been proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, became a minister.
Col 1:21-23

You see- what HE did is what matters, not what you did.


So, to be ready in that day we will have to be pure and blameless by the work of Christ- we will have to wear His righteousness as we approach the Father.

But Paul says something else as well.
He summarized our condition as being “Filled with the righteousness that comes through Christ”- but that summary can be broken down.


And one of the chief parts of that, one of the very things that leads us to being blameless and pure, he says, is “Approving of what is excellent.”

You see- he says , “approve of what is excellent, and SO be pure and blameless…”
This is a essential to being ready- being approving of what is excellent.
That we would have love and knowledge and discernment in such a way that we would approve of what is excellent.
What does it mean to approve of what is excellent?
It means to love what is good. It means to agree that the good things are good and the bad things are bad.

Listen-
If we are approving that which is excellent, we are ready to see Him.
If we are not, we are not ready.
And there is one thing most excellent- Him.

Have you been approving of Him as excellent?
The world teaches us to approve of many things as excellent. And all of them are poison to us. All of them lead to death. Think about how good you are at approving what the world says is excellent.

As I said, we are born not having a taste for him. He is what we were designed to feed on- yet a taste for him is not there. If that does not change, we will not enjoy His return.

So, do you want to see if you are filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Christ?
One of the ways you will see it is if you approve of what is excellent.
In other words, in order to be prepared to see Him that day, you are going to have to want to see Him that day, and you are going to have to think that He is beautiful.


Let me give you two sentences by John Owen that explain this.

1- “No man shall ever behold the glory of Christ by sight in heaven who does not, in some measure, behold it by faith in this world.”

In other words, if we do not by faith see His beauty now, we are not going to see it with our eyes then.
If we do not believe He is beautiful, we will not see Him. Like I have said before- if you do not want him, you will not get Him.

2-“If a man claims to love and desire that which he never saw, he is deceiving Himself.”

And I fear this is true with some of you.
The day will come- He will return. And on that day you will be cast from His presence. You will be told that you are not known. Not recognized.
I fear for some of you the truth is you have never seen His beauty. You have never known Him to be wonderful. You have heard of the cross, and of His mercy, and of His goodness, but He has not captured your heart.

And you think- “perhaps that’s true. But what can I do?”
How can I see His beauty more? How can I see His glory?


How do we do this? I thought we said it’s all God’s work?
And it is- notice, this is Paul’s prayer. It was what Paul is asking GOD to do in them, not what he is telling them they must conjure up themselves.

And so friends, those I love, I pray this for you, because you can not give yourselves eyes to see.
But you can beg for them. And you can believe He is willing. For He is. And he waits for you to call out. He is calling to you.

A life lived worthy of the gospel of Jesus Christ is lived in a constant looking toward to that Day when He returns, and we stand before Him. We long and yearn for that day, we desire His return, and our acceptance into that which we have longed for all our days.

Will you be ready that day?
Beg Him to make you ready.

Experiencing God in Everyday Life- Jealous for Him, anxious for His Return

Experiencing God in everyday life through suffering
Jealous for Him, anxious for His return

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. 12 So death is at work in us, but life in you.

13 Since we have the same spirit of faith according to what has been written, “I believed, and so I spoke,” we also believe, and so we also speak, 14 knowing that he who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and bring us with you into his presence. 15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

2 Co 4:7-18

Do you want this community, and your friends, and your loved ones to see and understand the power of the gospel?

And what if one of the chief ways God has given us to show the world the power of the gospel happens to be one of the things that is hardest for us to do? What if it is actually something that the enemy has worked so hard at making those of us in this country bad at doing?
I believe this is the case. One of the most central ways God has chosen to put on display the power of His gospel also happens to be one of the most difficult things for us to do. There is, in fact, a whole set of Biblical teaching that just does not quite fit into what we live each day. And I want us to change that. But it will be hard. We will really need to try and live this out as a community. The importance of community will become very clear today as we talk about these things. We will need one another in many ways. We will also face a crisis of belief. Here we are in the last week of the experiencing God series. We have talked about adjusting our lives to God, about being challenged to do that, and how that challenge brings about a crisis of belief. You may experience a crisis of belief this very morning. Are you ready?
You see, experiencing God does not just touch one part of our life, but the whole. Is that ok with us? Are we ready for all of life to be under God’s reign and rule, even if it means something that we are not comfortable with? We often are ok with experiencing God in some ways in some areas- but all the time, in all areas of our life? Isn’t that a bit extreme? Aren’t there neutral areas in life? Things that don’t really have to go with God, things that aren’t bad. Just neutral places where we can rest from glorifying Him, and also aren’t sinful? I sometimes hear Christians talk about these places in life, these things that are neutral. Shopping in neutral, this TV show is neutral, what I do with my leisure time is neutral. Brothers and sisters, what if that is not true, and nothing is neutral, but all needs to be a part of experiencing God? What if we are supposed to be a people who hate the idea of things being neutral. Shouldn’t we? Shouldn’t we, if we encounter something neutral, want to make it for him?! What if experiencing God is all the time, in all areas of life? Will that bring about a crisis of belief?
And what if one of the biggest things God is asking us to do is not even something we are familiar with? What if it is something that we are just bad at, and not used to? You will need one another’s help in this. You will experience a crisis of belief as you think about how to adjust your life to God. I know you will, and I will as well, because one of the chief ways that we can show the power of the Gospel to the world is something we are not trained at doing. We are not good at it.
Let me tell you what I am talking about. What is this way to show the power of the gospel?

Here is the sentence I want you to consider- if it is true, it has huge implication on how we minister to each other and to this community:

The suffering of His servants with endurance and joy is one of the greatest means by which God has chosen to put on display the power of the gospel to the world.

Shown in the text
Where do I see this?
Let’s examine the first few verses we read earlier.

7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us. 8 We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not driven to despair; 9 persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; 10 always carrying in the body the death of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus may also be manifested in our bodies. 11 For we who live are always being given over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh.

What is the treasure he is talking about? The treasure is the gospel message. Paul has been talking about his faithful preaching of this message, even though it brought him great persecution and suffering. This message is the treasure- this message about the glories of Christ, this message that he says a few verses earlier shows the beauty of our God. It is a treasure.

Let’s take a second and understand that. Before we talk about suffering to show the power of the gospel, let’s talk about what a treasure it is. Let’s define it. Paul does define what this gospel message is that he has shared with the Corinthians in 1 Corinthians chapter 15 in a well known text-


Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand, 2 and by which you are being saved, if you hold fast to the word I preached to you—unless you believed in vain.
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures, 4 that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day in accordance with the Scriptures, 5 and that he appeared to Cephas, then to the twelve. 6 Then he appeared to more than five hundred brothers at one time, most of whom are still alive, though some have fallen asleep. 7 Then he appeared to James, then to all the apostles. 8 Last of all, as to one untimely born, he appeared also to me. 9 For I am the least of the apostles, unworthy to be called an apostle, because I persecuted the church of God. 10 But by the grace of God I am what I am, and his grace toward me was not in vain. On the contrary, I worked harder than any of them, though it was not I, but the grace of God that is with me. 11 Whether then it was I or they, so we preach and so you believed.
1 Co 15:1-11

Jesus Christ dies for our sins, is buried, and rises again. This is what Paul preached, and it is a treasure.
We have to remember how beautiful a treasure this is. We have to remember what it all means. That God has from the beginning of time done nothing but show us good. He has blessed us over and over, and our response to His blessings has consistently been rebellion, hatred, and curses. We have turned our backs on the good things he has given to us, even loved them more than we love Him, bringing great pain and misery to the world, and then gone and even blamed him for them. We have dishonored Him. And now we are a condemned people. Cut off from our Maker. His anger at our rebellion hangs over us, and we barely understand the weight of it. Think about it. God, the perfect judge of all things, in His wisdom and mercy and goodness has examined our offense and concluded that it is worthy of what? One hour of horrific torture and agony? No. One day? No. A week of it? A year? Ten years? We cant even imagine a day of it let alone ten years. Yet God has looked and said that even if we were to spend one million years in the agonies of hell, after the one million years, we would still have just as much debt to pay. After a billion years, the debt would still be the same. In other words, we do not possess any of the currency needed to pay him back. We can not clear the charges. Do you know what can clear the charge? Do you know what payment is needed to take away this debt?
Blood. And you might think that perhaps there is a chance- you have blood! And many work, in many religions, spilling their blood, working their hardest, to pay God back to earn a place with him. But this will not due, because your blood is not the right kind. It is sin-stained. And only perfect blood will pay this debt off. And you do not have a drop of it.
And so, the King of Kings, robed in majesty, he leaves heaven. Think about it. He takes His robes of majestic splendor, and sets them aside. And then he dresses in flesh. Common. Ordinary. Not majestic. And not only that, but He, with His veins cursing with perfect blood, does the unthinkable. He comes to you, dressed in filthy sin stained garments, and takes your filthy robes off of you, and puts them on His holiness. And He drags them to the Cross where he dies in your place. He suffers in a few hours enough to bear for you what would have been for you an eternal punishment. Does that give you a taste of what he bore? And not just for you, but for many.
Then, he can not be kept by death. Though He dies in your place, he rises again, dressed in perfect righteousness, because His perfect spotless blood was not tainted by our sin stained garments, but his perfect blood makes them new! He comes to us now, friends, and offers us His perfect robes of majesty! He will dress us in His righteousness, so that we can enter into His presence forever! This message,

19 that is, in Christ God was reconciling the world to himself, not counting their trespasses against them, and entrusting to us the message of reconciliation. 2 Co 5:19


This is the treasure! It is a treasure in that it shows His beauty, in that it takes away our sin, but most of all, it is a treasure because Christ now becomes a bridge to God- we can now have God, be at peace with Him, live with Him forever. This is what we ache for, this is our longing.



That gospel message, that is the treasure. And we are the jars of clay- that is, weak vessels. Fragile. Not really noble, not really honorable. And Paul says that, in order to show the great power of the gospel God placed it in weak things.
How does that show it’s power?
Well, that alone doesn’t. but read on. In verses 8 and 9 Paul lists a series of events that certainly do not fit anything that we might experience in normal life. You see, he talks about affliction, and not being crushed by it, and of being bewildered, but not despairing. Persecuted, yet not forsaken, struck down, and not destroyed. This is not normal. Normally, affliction brings about crushing. When we are confused and bewildered we despair. When we are persecuted we are forsaken. And when we are struck down, we are destroyed- keep in mind this is a far of clay- if you struck down a jar of clay, what happens? It is destroyed. For it to not be destroyed demonstrates a power that is not natural, not normal. Something else is going on with this far of clay for it to be able to be cast down and not break into a million pieces. It is a weak jar, it is a nothing. How is it withstanding such trials? So you see, the power is displayed as we endure and are not destroyed. We endure suffering with joy, and this is not normal. This puts on display the power of the treasure that we have inside us.
Paul goes on and affirms that this is indeed what he means in the next verses. First, in verse 10 he tells us that the life of Jesus, that is, His resurrecting power, is on display in us as we do what? As we carry about the death of Jesus. What is that? It is affliction, persecution, being struck down, etc- all that he just mentioned. When we go through those things without having the natural reaction that would be expected- destruction and despair- we put on display the life of Christ. And then verse 11, he even more clearly says it. The life of Jesus is manifested in our bodies, for all to see, when? When can the world see the life of Jesus in us? When we are being given over to death for Jesus’ sake.
So we are to be jars of clay that are cast down and not destroyed, so that the world might look at us and wonder by what power this is happening.
The suffering of His servants with endurance and joy is one of the greatest means by which God has chosen to put on display the power of the gospel to the world. If we want to put on display the power of the gospel to the world we will have to suffer with endurance and joy. We will have to not break, not despair, not be crushed. All while suffering greatly.
Do you see why I say that this is not like what we are used to? This is not American. This is not typical for us- suffering? We do not do hard things. We are a people who are trained to eliminate as much suffering as we can from our lives- and do you see how the enemy has destroyed our ability to show the power of the gospel? Now we show the power of the gospel by the size of our church building, by the greatness of it’s sound system, by the greatness of the entertainment we have at our churches. But not through suffering, not through picking up our cross and following Him. That is old fashioned, out of style, not going to work anymore. It’s too hard for American’s to adjust their daily lives to that. Just think about what we are used to, and how the enemy has robbed us of this. We live in this Disneyland of fake peace, fake smiles, fake everything. All for our ease. Are we going to show the world the power of the gospel by how nice a car we drive and by how much we can be like them? We are good at that, but we are not good at suffering.
But what if this is God’s way- will that bring about for you this very morning a crises of belief? will you adjust your life? What would that look like? What kind of suffering would we face? How would we ever be able to handle it this way?

What does that suffering look like?
How will we suffer in this country? We are not being arrested for our gathering here this morning. What suffering would we face? It amazes me that so often Christians are at a loss as to how to suffer. Are we really that out of touch? Have we really lost touch with the fact that Christianity goes hand in hand with suffering?

12 Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery trial when it comes upon you to test you, as though something strange were happening to you. 1 Pe 4:12

21 When they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch, 22 strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God. Ac 14:21-22

Through many tribulations. Much suffering.
Let me tell you of at least three ways you suffer here.

1- the suffering of being human
All of you will face suffering just because of the fact that you are human, living in a fallen world, still held fast in the arms of the curse.
Listen, it’s hard to think about, but every one of you will experience great pain in your lives. Slowly you will grow old, and your body will hurt more and more, and you will move toward death. You will be sick. You will lose loved ones. Every one of you in here who loves anyone, you must face this- you will see them die, or they will see you die. This is what we face, people. There are disasters that overtake us. Crimes. Accidents. The world is not a place that suffering is rare. Even here in picture perfect America, we all know that suffering is just under the surface, just a moment away for each of us all the time. When suffering comes to you, and know that it will, how will you respond? Will there be despair? Will there be crushing? Or will your hope and faith remain, so that when those who know you in that time see you they think “where is their hope that they can withstand such a tragedy?”

Greg Laurie, as many of you know, lost his son in an automobile accident last week. At the service for his son, Greg, always the evangelist, made sure to suffer with hope in front of the world. In talking about the death of his son he said of God, “He made this choice. And I say He does all things well and I give glory to God." That is a hard thing to say a few days after you lose your child. That is not the way the world suffers. But that is a jar of clay that is not crushed, that has not despaired. And it makes us look for what in the world is different.


I remember when I was a Sr in high school going to the funeral of a friend who had died suddenly. His mother and father were believers, I knew this well. And I went in to the viewing, and sat down after greeting the family. And I was stunned as I watched his mother, as shaken by grief as she was, standing in the front of the room comforting all his friends and loved ones who came in unable to bear the grief themselves. I thought to myself “where does this woman get her strength?”


There will be grief, and we will face suffering and loss. Will we in those times grieve like those who have no hope? Or will the world see something different in us as we face suffering?




2- Suffer by sharing the load
There is another way we can suffer. We can chose suffering. Why would we ever want to chose suffering? What do I mean by that?
We can find the suffering of others, and then bear it for them. Listen, do you want to really impact this community, those who you come into contact with, those in this body? Find out where people suffer. Find their pain. And then help them, bear it with them. Bear it for them.

A story that paints the picture of this for me so well is that of the missionary Esther Kim. She was a Korean missionary, she went to Japan to share the gospel, was arrested and imprisoned back in Korea, and there she had a wonderful time of ministering to her cell mates. One young girl, just 16, who was sentenced to die was put in her cell with all the other women. As night came she became to cry and call out, and the other prisoners became annoyed with her, and pushed her into the corner by the toilet, where all the new prisoners were forced to sleep. Her crying became worse and worse, and Esther Kim went over to her, and held her, and took her place by the toilet. She shared with the young girl the love of Jesus. For the next four days Esther ate nothing. But, seeing the frail condition of the girl, took every bowl of rice she was given and passed it on to the girl. Not understanding how she could this, the girl asked her why. Esther replied “I have given all I have to Jesus, even the food that is offered to me. It is His, not mine. And He wants to give it to you.” The girl was so moved that she begin to listen as Esther quoted Scripture to her, and before long she became a believer. One night Esther, suffering terribly from a cough, woke to find the girl praying in the middle of the night. She asked her why she was spending so much time awake at night praying, and the girl shyly answered “I have seen how badly you are suffering from your cough. I have been begging God that he would take it from you and give it to me so that I could bear it for you.”

This is what it means to bear another’s pain.
But I know, that’s Esther Kim in prison. You aren’t in prison, you cant do that. What bowl of rice will you give away? It is easy for her to suffer for another, the suffering is right there, so plain. How in the world can we do that?
Brothers and sisters I need to tell you something; the suffering that is all around you is just as great, and just as pressing as any suffering that Esther Kim saw. You just are numb to it. Is there not enough pain in this fallen world for you to find somewhere you could share it? Are you really that blind to the agony all around you? Do you believe the painted smiles on those you come into contact with? Aren’t we aware that there is deep heartache? Listen, one thing I have learned in ministry- in high school students are very willing to talk about heartache and pain, and there’s plenty of pain to come alongside of, and weep over students, and cry out to God for them, and share with them in it. And adults are the same, they just don’t talk about it. There is pain all around you- are you getting involved in the lives of those around you and suffering with them? Bearing their pain?


You see, we bear the pain of those around us not by giving our bowl of rice. But by going to them, and sacrificially spending time to get to see what hurts them, why they suffer. Church, do you want to reach the lost, and show them Christ? Then find out where their pain is, and help carry it.
Where is the pain in this community? Perhaps there are some who need a bowl of rice, but more than that, in our country we will find different pain besides hunger. We will find broken lives and broken marriages and lonely people. Can we find their pain and help carry it? What if we decided to help with that pain? What if we saw the need around us, and we advertised a series of classes free to the community- classes on how to parent, how to restore a marriage, how to handle anger, how to handle money? What if all of you, with the skill and trades that are represented in this room, gave of your time in this way, to teach others in your area of expertise? Or what if we got a group of us to become NANC certified (the counseling certification related to the counseling seminars some have gone to) and offered free counseling to the community? The church that the staff and elders fly out to for this training each year does this, and they have an endless line of people waiting for help.
There are plenty of ways. What about the employee that never does their job, and you cover for them over and over? What about someone who owes you something, and you just forget about it? What about someone who is financially struggling and you struggle for them, by giving of your finances, sacrificing something you want, so that they will not be in want? Maybe we don’t need to just use the word “suffer”- how about the idea of doing something costly and difficult for those around you? Something sacrificial? Doing the dishes when its not your turn. Mowing your neighbors lawn. But let’s try and find the greatest pains of our neighbors and help them bear them. That will take relationships and love and really listening and helping. Let’s do that with one another. Are you willing to bear another’s pain? Parents, do you seek to bear your child’s pain, to find out what brings them suffering, and bear it with them? Do you bear their pain, or cause it? Spouses, do you bear the pain of your spouse, or cause it?
When was the last time you wept over a lost person? When was the last time your heart ached because of someone’s lost condition?

This idea of bearing another’s pain should not surprise us or be strange to us. This is what Christ did for us, isn’t it? This was the Cross- bearing our pain, taking our suffering upon Him. And we are to follow in His steps.


3- Persecution
And that brings me to one more way that we will find suffering.
You see, all that I have talked about so far is not uniquely Christian. Unbelievers experience pain, unbelievers even suffer for one another. They suffer for the civil rights of another, they suffer for better working conditions for others, they burst into plane cabins and push the controls toward the earth so that the plane doesn’t crash into the capitol, saving many lives as the cost of their own- the greatest form of love, so says Jesus, suffering death for another. All these things even unbelievers do. You see, there is nothing uniquely Christian about showing mercy or suffering for an enemy or enduring pain. That is no different than what many have done. This is not uniquely Christian. And not only is it not uniquely Christian, but ultimately it solves nothing- if we do not talk about the greatest source of the lack of peace in their lives- the broken relationship they have with their Creator. Do you really want to be a part of removing pain from the lives of those around you? They must be reconciled to God.

What we do is different, because what we do is always tied to a message. It is tied to the gospel.
That doesn’t mean that every time we sacrifice something we hand out a tract. But it does mean that we are the kind of people who do the things we do in order to bring the greatest good to others- peace with God. You see, when you are the vessel that does not break, what happens is you cause others to wonder- and they ask. Opportunity to speak about the power that we are using arises. The treasure we have been given, we get to show it. We get to show the treasure! And inevitably, most of the time, we will at that point face persecution. People are usually ok with us suffering for them, but there is something about the name of Jesus, when we bring Him into it, that makes them repel. This is normal. They are criminals in God’s universe, and hate what is right, and run from the light.

Someone this week was telling me about how they experienced this. That in many times at their work, in doing good to others, they were appreciated. But the second that they revealed why they did what they did, they experienced rejection.
This should not surprise us, this experiencing rejection, and even persecution, at the hands of those we are suffering for. Isn't this what our savior Himself experienced? Suffering at the hands of those he was suffering for. And that will be our lot as well. This is especially painful. To open our hearts, our homes, or lives to someone, to bear their suffering with them, and then ultimately to be mistreated by them because they hate the God we love. Are you ready for that kind of suffering? Are you willing to open yourself up to that kind of hurt?

We do not lose heart
How in the world would we ever be able to do this? Wouldn’t we be miserable?
How can we be happy in suffering? How can we absorb another’s suffering? How can we face ridicule?
Paul tells us his means of doing this. Now, more than anything else I have said, this is most important. You see, what I fear is that we would become a people who are excited about suffering for others, and doing good to our neighbors, and living in community, but not for any reasons that make what we do Christian, and not tied to any message that makes what we do Christ centered. And I know that the fear is also out there that we would think our job is to just tell people about Jesus but never suffer. But I think that if we fail anywhere, it will be in telling them about Jesus. While it might be easy to lay some tracts around, it’s hard to speak the name of Jesus to someone, and share the gospel- often much harder than just being nice to them.
What is good about Paul’s means of being able to bear suffering is that if they are our means, they not only give us the power to bear suffering, they give us all that we need to do it in a Christ centered way. They make us become people who are not going to be able to show mercy without wanting to speak about Christ at some point.
What are these motives that Paul has? He has two. Let’s look at verses 16-18.


16 So we do not lose heart. Though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. 17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.


Jealous for His glory
There is where we want to be- not losing heart. How, Paul? The first reason is hinted at with what he starts the sentence with. He starts the sentence with the word “so”. It is, more literally- “for this reason”- it is a word that is looking back on what was just said. Part of the reason that he does not lose heart is before this verse in what was just said. And what was just said? Verse 15-

15 For it is all for your sake, so that as grace extends to more and more people it may increase thanksgiving, to the glory of God.

Paul is excited about the prospect of grace extending to more and more people, so that as they understand and experience the grace of God in conversion, they glorify God. This is what he is passionate about, this excites him, this is why he does not lose heart- that ultimately God would receive more glory. We could say that Paul, in a sense, is jealous for God, eager to see him get more glory.
I don’t know if I can stress enough the importance of this. Not just for suffering, but for all of the Christian life. This protects us greatly from so many wrongs- to have a strong jealousy for God’s glory, for Jesus’ sake and His Name.
What does this mean, a “jealousy” for God? It means a longing, a deep, heart wrenching yearning to see Christ get what he deserves- the praise of every mouth, the full affection of every heart, the full submission of every will.
Oh, people of God, do you groan for this? Do you weep that this is not the case? This must be our deepest cry, our most passionate plea. Like the Moravians, the German mission minded believers, who would sail off to distant lands, or sell themselves into slavery to witness to those in bonds, and cry out as they left family and home, “May the Lamb receive the reward of His sufferings!” This is the heart cry of all who are His children. Friends, is this your deepest heart cry?
Listen, brothers and sisters, do you know what the most important, and huge, act of faith we can perform is? The one that is most important to our spiritual well being as a body? The greatest act of faith we can perform is not raising the dead, not canvassing this neighborhood for Christ, not deciding that we will in faith purchase the Pitman Hotel and open an outreach center- all things I would love to do!- but do you know what the greatest thing would be, the most important act of faith? For each one of us to look at ourselves in the mirror this day, and really see the truth of how desperately wicked we are, how fallen, how weak, how undeserving we are, and still believe that our Jesus loves us just the same, just as much as His word says He does, and will never love us less, or leave us, or forget us. To embrace who we are as God’s beloved children, rescued at the Cross. To really believe it. To understand first that this treasure we carry is a treasure that applies to us. And then, and only then, we will see well up in us a passion for His glory, for this our Jesus, our savior, our lover, our King! Then we will not be comfortable with anything neutral in our lives. We will not be willing to see the lost live without a knowledge of His beauty. We will want His beauty to be seen and loved and appreciated by all who breathe. It is only when you realize that you carry a treasure that you will be jealous enough for that treasure to suffer with joy for it.


Being heavenly minded
So there must be a jealousy for Christ, that he would get all the glory and praise He deserves. That will give us the foundation we need to suffer, and to do it in a way that honors Him. And there is another way that Paul was able to suffer without losing heart. Not only was he so very jealous for Christ and His glory, but he also kept his eyes firmly looking forward to what he would one day have with Christ.

17 For this slight momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, 18 as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

I have heard it said from time to time that some people are too heavenly minded to be of any earthly good- have you heard that? Paul seems to think that the only way to be of any earthly good is to be heavenly minded. The way that he did not lose heart in the midst of suffering was because he looked forward to the day when His Jesus would return.
Believers, the way to get through earth, the way to get through the suffering of life here is to understand verses 17 and 18. This is Paul’s secret for how to endure the suffering. He sees the suffering three ways in relation to what is to come –
1- As that which prepares for us the good things to come.
The affliction he says is preparing glory for him. What does that mean? It means he is storing up treasure elsewhere through his suffering. We suffer now, and our reward is still future. Like the great heroes of faith in Hebrews 11, we look forward to a home, a place of rest, and we do not find it on this earth. We await the reward with the coming King. He will bring us our reward! He will bring us His very presence, His thanks, His “well done, good and faithful servant.”
2- As much shorter in duration than that which is to come.
He calls what we suffer now as momentary- very light, very quick, very short. You see, suffering is not hard when we see the end in sight. Running a race is easier when you are close to the finish line. The last day of school is so much more light and enjoyable than the first of the year. I remember the story of a prisoner who many years ago was put in jail and made to work at hard labor in a stone quarry. He was chained to another prisoner, and set about his task. His partner sang as he worked, all day, happy songs, big smiles on his face. Finally the new prisoner asked “why do you sing so much? How can you be happy in the midst of this?” And he answered “because today is the last day of my sentence. Tomorrow I will be home with my family.”
Brothers and sisters, tomorrow we will be home with our family. The King returns, and it could be at any moment. He is due back, soon! This affliction we suffer is momentary, especially in comparison to how long the reward is- eternal. All that we see now, the seen realm, it is transient, the unseen, it is eternal. Forever. In a sense it is more real. This is not all there is.
3- As not even worth mentioning compared with the greatness of that which is to come.
Imagine I hire you to work hard outside in a field digging holes all day for 30 cents an hour. For 12 hours. What do you think your attitude would be? Now imagine I hire you for the same job, and I pay you a million dollars an hour. What would be different about the way you dug those holes? You see, when we can look forward to a joy, a great joy, we can suffer now patiently. There is hope.
Paul makes sure he gets this across. He says that the weight of glory, the reward that we will receive, is beyond anything he can describe. He can not compare it to anything. He says similar things throughout the NT.


18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. Ro 8:18

(See also 1 peter 1, the end of Hebrews 10).
This idea of a future good that is so much greater than anything we can imagine as an incentive to endure suffering is a key part of living the Christian life. If we are going to successfully adjust our lives to God’s plan for us, and trust Him as He leads us toward suffering, our eyes will have to be on the future, on His return, and our living and reigning with Him forever, if we are to suffer with joy and endurance. We must know that our Redeemer lives, and that we will stand with Him on that day! And that must be the joy in our hearts that pulls us forward through the suffering now.

So the question is, do you see that reward as something worth suffering for? Are you jealous enough for His glory to suffer? And do you see the reward of seeing His face, standing with Him, being fully accepted by Him, and known and loved and perfectly one with Him, is that reward enough? Do you long and ache for it? For that union, that perfect and final union? Do you today, believer, ache with an ache that is beyond words, for the day you will stand as His Bride with Him, beginning an eternity with Him, as His beloved? This is what the treasure of the gospel gets us, the real Treasure, Jesus Christ!


This is the mystery of the Kingdom of God! It moves forward in the world not as we would expect. It progresses through the suffering of it’s citizens, as they show themselves to be a peculiar people to the world. The power that they have, the treasure that they have, it’s worth is shown as they suffer. For us to show the world the power of the gospel, we will have to be jars of clay that do not break, but absorb suffering with joy. The suffering of His servants with endurance and joy is one of the greatest means by which God has chosen to put on display the power of the gospel to the world. Do you want to display the power of this gospel? Out of a deep jealousy for His glory, do you want to see that power on display? Will you suffer for that display, setting your eyes on the day of His return?

11 Besides this you know the time, that the hour has come for you to wake from sleep. For salvation is nearer to us now than when we first believed. 12 The night is far gone; the day is at hand. So then let us cast off the works of darkness and put on the armor of light.
Ro 13:11-12

24 And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, 25 not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near.
Heb 10:24-25

A People Led by the Spirit

A people led by the Spirit

16 But I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh. 17 For the desires of the flesh are against the Spirit, and the desires of the Spirit are against the flesh, for these are opposed to each other, to keep you from doing the things you want to do. 18 But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. 19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. 24 And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.
25 If we live by the Spirit, let us also walk by the Spirit. 26 Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another.
Ga 5:16-26

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. 14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Ro 8:13-14

I want to tell you about what Impact is going to look like in the fall. Changes are coming for us, and they are good changes. But before I tell you about changes that will take place, I want to tell you what I would love to see Impact be in the Fall. What is it that we as leaders are pushing Impact to become? What direction do we want it to go? I want to talk about this because I want you to hear it, and then think “yes, that is what I want too, that is the direction I want to go”, or, I want you to say “no, that is not for me. I don’t want that.” I want you to understand what you really think. I want you to see the truth of where you are with God in your walk with Him. But really I want to find those in here who are going to say “yes, I will do that with you. That is what I want.” And many of you may not. Some of you may act like you will say “yes, I will!” but your heart is far from it, and you have never joined in in what we are doing. So what are we doing?

I would summarize the direction of Impact for this next year as this- A people who gather together in the Holy Spirit.
Before I explain what that means, let me show you what I want to see happen here.
Right now this instant, I wonder if there is anything I could name that would drive all of you to be excited about it. Any one thing. Just consider this- is there one thing that all of us would be excited about together? What has the power to unite us?
What if I said let’s all have pizza?
Let’s all go to the movies?
Let’s all go on a trip to Florida?
Let’s start an orphanage?
What would unite us? And if we found something that did unite us, would we find that it is something Christian?


Having the Spirit of God
What in the world does that mean? To “Gather in the Holy Spirit”?
Let me first explain something I think is very important for us to understand. All Christians have the Holy Spirit. He indwells them.

15 “If you love me, you will keep my commandments. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever, 17 even the Spirit of truth, whom the world cannot receive, because it neither sees him nor knows him. You know him, for he dwells with you and will be in you.
Jn 14:15-17

And as He indwells them, some things happen in them. Listen, one of the best ways for us to understand, or examine, if we are in the faith is to understand this concept.
Let me say something that is going to sound weird- Every human being on earth is led by a spirit. Every one of us in this room is led by a Spirit. Does that sound crazy?
Well, read Ephesians 2 with me, and tell me if I am crazy or not.

And you were dead in the trespasses and sins 2 in which you once walked, following the course of this world, following the prince of the power of the air, the spirit that is now at work in the sons of disobedience— 3 among whom we all once lived in the passions of our flesh, carrying out the desires of the body and the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, like the rest of mankind. 4 But God, being rich in mercy, because of the great love with which he loved us, 5 even when we were dead in our trespasses, made us alive together with Christ—by grace you have been saved— 6 and raised us up with him and seated us with him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, 7 so that in the coming ages he might show the immeasurable riches of his grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. 8 For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, 9 not a result of works, so that no one may boast. 10 For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand, that we should walk in them.Eph 2:1-10

It seems to sound like we all once were following a spirit. We were led by the spirit of the prince of the power of the air, and because of that we followed the course of this world. We carried out the desires of the flesh and the mind, we were under wrath.
But, if God has made us new, then we are no longer dead in sin. We are born again- and we now qualify as those who Jesus promised the Holy Spirit to in John 14. So we are all led by a Spirit.
Friends, what spirit are you led by today? What spirit led you to this place? What spirit led you to do what you did this week? What spirit controls you each day and help you decide what it is you do?


How can we tell what spirit we have leading us?
Turn with me to Romans 8.

14 For all who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. Ro 8:14

Here we have in this verse a sure statement of how God’s children are. Those who are led by His Spirit. They are His children. So, we can say without a doubt that anyone who is led by the Spirit of God is a child of God, a believer. This is good- because it is not like other things that we often use to tell if we are in the faith. You see, there are things that believers AND unbelievers can claim. We can not say “those who are baptized as children of God”, because unbelievers do this. We can not say “those who believe in Jesus are children of God”, because many unbelievers, and even the demons, they believe in Jesus. We can not say those who God to church, or tell others about Jesus, or try and be good, or who don’t smoke, or who have certain feelings about Jesus, none of this can be used as evidence that we are believers, because even unbelievers do these things. So here we have a statement that cuts all of that out- here we have something that only is for believers. Being led by the Spirit of God. Never, ever will an unbeliever be led by the Spirit of God, because ALL who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.

But what does that mean?
You see, it does us no good to hear this and then have no idea what it means to be led by the Spirit of God. And we have to be careful, because it is a bit tricky. There are those in the OT, for instance, who are “led” in a sense by God’s Spirit to do this or that, and they are not God’s children. (i.e. Balaam) So, what does this mean?
Well, do you see the word at the beginning of verse 14- “for”? That means that this thought is joined (“for” is a conjunction) to the thought before it in verse 13. So let’s look at verse 13.

13 For if you live according to the flesh you will die, but if by the Spirit you put to death the deeds of the body, you will live. Ro 8:13

That last part of the verse is the thought we are looking for- if by the Spirit we put to death the deeds of the body. That seems to be what is meant by being “led” by the Spirit of God in verse 14. At least we must say that, from the context, it is one big part of what it means.
So then, we can ask this- “Are we putting to death the deeds of the body”? In other words, are we making war on sin in our lives?

But again, it gets tricky- because there are unbelievers that seem to work to destroy sin in their lives. There are unbelievers who try and kill sin, aren’t there?
No.
Unbelievers never ever do this. But you might say “that’s not true! I know an unbeliever who tries to not lie, or smoke, or etc.” what do we make of this?
Listen. Unbelievers who try and do good are sinning even in the good they try and do. This is because of the motive behind why they do what they do. They are not trying to stop lying in order to glorify God, or because of any love for Christ. They do it because they don’t want to get caught. It’s selfish. They do it because they want to feel good about themselves. They do it because they want to produce their own righteousness so they can boast before God. These are all sin. This is not putting to death the deeds of the body, it is just exchanging one deed of the body for another.
Christians put to death the deeds of the body because they see Christ as more valuable than those deeds, and they want Him, not those deeds. Christians put to death the deeds of the body in order to be more like Christ, so that the world would see more of Him in us. These are things that unbelievers never do.

So now ask yourself- do you ever put to death the deeds of the body? Do you ever try and fight sin because of a love for Christ, and a desire to make Him known? In other words- does the Spirit lead you to turn from sin because its just ugly to you? Do you really feel that pull of the Spirit away from it? Or is it that your life really is not filled with turning from sin? And its not just turning from sin, but its also doing what is right!
The two lists- one that we will see less and less of- and the one we will see more and more of- are found in the text we read earlier-

19 Now the works of the flesh are evident: sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, 20 idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, 21 envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. 22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, 23 gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law.

Do you see what the fruit is? No no, I mean, do you see what it comes from? It is fruit of the Spirit! Not fruit of the human! It comes from the Spirit’s work in us. Do you see this in you? Do you see a growth in love? Do you love those around you in this room? Do you love to be with them, or do you resist it? I fear there are those who do not like it. They don’t want to be like the others, the don’t want to be like “him” or “her”, and so they despise the very children of God, and in pride will not join together with other believers, even if that means casting aside God’s purpose for them. is that you? Do you actually have hate toward believers?
What about joy? Or peace? Do you bring peace with you were you go? Or do you simply criticize and bring up what is wrong? Kindness? Do you see what I am getting at here? I am not saying that you have to live a perfect life to prove you are a Christian. Not at all. I am saying this;
1- if you are led by the Spirit of God you will be being led to put to death the deeds of the flesh
2- if you are led by the Spirit of God, you will see more and more of His fruit in your life as you grow.

Do you see either of these things? How is your life different from an unbeliever? Because you talk about Jesus? Because you know certain facts? Because you read certain books? Because your music is different? Or are you led by the Spirit?


Where do the spirits lead?

The spirit of the world leads to death. Do you understand that? The spirit of the world is leading those we love, those around us, toward eternal death.

The Spirit of God leads to life- and more. He leads us to groan inwardly for that day when Christ returns. He leads us to want to fight. He gives us a common theme- a common thing that will excite us.
For instance- the mercy of God. Look at the display of God’s mercy in John 8 with the woman caught in the act of adultery. Does anyone here see such beauty in that mercy that they think “I want the world to know about that”? that is the Spirit working in you to want to make that known. And it is that that we must focus on and let unite us.


What results this should have at Impact
Now, my point in all of that is to explain that not all have the Spirit. Some are led by the spirit of the world, and so they do what the world does. I want impact, the leaders here are leading impact, to be a place where we do what those who are led by the Spirit do. This is the direction we are going to for the next year. Living together being led by the Spirit. Because when those who have the Spirit of God in them gather together, that Spirit leads them together as well!
Who leads you when you gather? What Spirit? When you gather are you led by the Spirit of God or the Spirit of the world? What does your time together look like? The world? Or something else?
Now, I know what often is thought when I say that- isn’t it ok to sometimes gather like the world? Ok, listen. I don’t even want to debate that- I don’t think it is good to gather in the spirit of the world, ever- why? Do you know who the Spirit of the world is? The Bible tells us- the prince of the power of this age. The enemy. But let’s just say its ok to sometimes gather in a worldly way. It’s ok to sometimes act like they act, and joke like they joke, and laugh at what they laugh at, and do the same things they do. Lets say its ok- now, let me ask you, if you do gather in that way and feel like it’s ok- do you ever- EVER- gather in any OTHER Spirit? And, can THIS be the place that happens? Or do you find that all you ever want to do is gather in a worldly spirit, and do the things of the world?

I want this to be a place where those who are led by the Spirit of God can be led by the Spirit of God together. No matter what differences we may have, no matter how different we are personally. No matter what differences there are in what we like to do, or what we like to eat, or what we like to listen to, or what we like to do in our spare time- if we are led by the same spirit, we will find a unity when we gather together.

So if there is any encouragement in Christ, any comfort from love, any participation in the Spirit, any affection and sympathy, 2 complete my joy by being of the same mind, having the same love, being in full accord and of one mind. Php 2:1-2

You see- participation in the Spirit, this is the reason for one mind, same love, being in “Full accord.” That means being in harmony. If I played three notes in a piano and they did not go together, there would not be “accord.” But if I play the three that compliment, that go together, though they are different, they agree- they are “in accord”- or in a chord! This agreement is what all Christians do have when they gather.


14 The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ and the love of God and the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all.
2 Co 13:14

This is what Paul wished for the believers. This fellowship of the Holy Spirit. This is what I want for us- the same Spirit leading us all. Fighting together for the same cause. Dancing for joy together because of the same truth. Loving the same God together, shining the same light together.

Now, I know for a fact that there are believers in this room. And so I say to you believers- you have the same Spirit- stop resisting that Spirit, and join together in that same Spirit, and fight together!
What would that mean?

-It would mean spending time together.
-It would mean talking together about what He is saying to you.
-It would mean serving together to show Him to the world.
-It would mean enjoying one another so much more than you do.

How would Impact serve you in these ways?
1- It would continue to serve you with pictures of Christ’s beauty, that we could all grow more and more in love with Him.
2- it would provide for you other like-minded believers to fight along side you and encourage and equip you.
3- it would provide a place to fight, and to reach out to others.