A WORD OF PERFECTION (Sixth Word from the Cross)

#106                                                             A WORD OF PERFECTION (Sixth Word from the Cross)

Scripture  John 19:29-35, NIV                                                                                                          Orig. Date 4/15/1962

                                                                                                                                                  Rewr. Dates 4/1979; 4/8/1987

Passage: 29 A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus’ lips. 30 When he had received the drink, Jesus said, “It is finished.” With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.

31 Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. 32 The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other. 33 But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. 34 Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water. 35 The man who saw it has given testimony, and his testimony is true. He knows that he tells the truth, and he testifies so that you also may believe.

Purpose: Continuing the series of last words, here using the sixth word to show the perfection of Christ’s work in our behalf.

Keywords:                           Christ as Mediator                           Easter                   Salvation

Timeline/Series:               Words from the Cross

Introduction

                All of us are interested in life and the way we are able to live it.  We want to be able to conclude that some good did come out of it.

                The annals of history record for us the signal achievements of many people and of the great things that they accomplished.  Some lived brief lives, and yet they are noted for their success.

                Alexander was a world conqueror by the age of 23.

                Hannibal had become a Carthaginian commander by the time he was 26.

                Christopher Columbus had  finalized all of his plans made and was ready to sail to the new world by the time he was 28.

                Captain John Smith had a colonial empire in this new world carved out and staked by the time he was 27.

                Martin Luther, of Reformation fame, was only 30 when he nailed his Ninety-Five Theses to the church door in Wittenberg.

                John Calvin was molding the thought that would be the basis for Presbyterian theology by the time he was 21.

                Joan of Arc had finished her work and had been burned at the stake by the time she was 19.

                At 26 Patrick Henry had already determined, “Is life so dear, or peace so sweet, as to be purchased at the price of chains and slavery?  Forbid it, Almighty God!  I know not what course others may take; but as for me, give me liberty, or give me death!”

                Alexander Hamilton was Secretary of Treasury at 32.

                John Newton discovered law of gravity at 26.

                Roger Williams was banished as an heretic at 29—because Jesus meant more than man-made laws.

                Of Jesus only, however, who died on this cross at 33, could it ever be claimed that His work was unconditionally finished.  Only He could say, and be unchallenged, “It is finished!”  Toward a greater understanding of this sixth word we move this morning.

I.             It was a Word Spoken to the Battlements of Heaven.  To the eternal praise of the Father, Jesus said, “It is finished!”

                All of the pronouncements of the WORD have been fulfilled. 

·         That the Saviour would be of David’s line.  Isaiah 11:1 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a branch shall flow out of his roots.”

·         That He would be rejected by those to whom He had come.  Psalm 118:22 “The stone which the builders refuse is become the corner stone.”

·         That all nations and cultures would be drawn to Him.  Daniel 7:14 “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should serve him:  His dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away.”

·         That God’s ultimate purpose in Him had to do with sin, our sin.  Zechariah 13:1 “In that day there shall be a fountain opened to the house of David and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem for sin and for uncleanness.”

·         That this sixth word from the cross means that the power of sin has been disengaged.  Isaiah 53:10f “. . . Thou shalt  make his soul an offering for sin, . . . by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; . . . and he bore the  sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

                This is not all that the Father had to say of the “anointed one.”  Isaiah confirms His mortal birth (Isaiah 7:14).  Micah affirms His birth in Bethlehem (Micah 5:2).  Hosea declares the flight to Egypt (Hosea 11:1).  Isaiah again, in the most beautiful passage of all, describes Calvary (Isaiah 53:4f).

                Make no mistake of it, to the eternal praise of the Father, Jesus proclaims “It is finished!”  The promises of the Godhead stand complete.  The promises and the performance await man’s profession and progression.  Hebrews 10:16 “This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord:  I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them.”  I Thessalonians 5:9, “For God hath not appointed us to wrath, but to obtain salvation by our Lord Jesus Christ.”

II.            It was a Word Spoken to the Engagements of Earth.   To a people more concerned with the sensual, and the sordid, and the sensational, Jesus declares, “It is finished.”   

                Amidst these earthly engagements, all have experienced words every bit as grand as nature’s spectacles: Words of peace after season of conflict; words of joy penetrating even grief’s sad hour; words of forgiveness after the languishing dread of broken relationship; words of hope, when it seemed that there was none.

                This word is unequal in all the earth.  “It is finished!”  In the Greek, only one word “tetelestai.”  Archaeologists have repeatedly found its Latin counterpart, “consummatum est” written across the tax-vouchers of those days.  The meaning is clear: “PAID,” the debt is paid.  Many scholars believe that this is what many at the cross heard Jesus say.

                Only the Lord Christ could declare such completeness in the face of such human limitations surrounding Him.  Pressed into this package of human flesh and blood was a faith without limits.  He had caused the blind to see.  He had caused the lame to walk.  His was a faith with such intensity that it spills over into believing hearts even now.  Philippians 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ which strengthens me.”  Hebrews 5:9 “. . . he became the author of eternal salvation unto all that obey him.”  II Corinthians 1:20 “For all the promises of God in him are ‘yes’.”

                To all earthly engagements, His and ours, He declares it: “It is finished!”  In His life and His work and His death.  And in every simple act of faith, “consummatum est: the debt is paid.”

III.           And Finally, It was a Word Spoken to the Deep Trenches of Hell.  Satan must now know absolutely, that the redemptive work of Christ forever stands.  “It is finished.”

                Make no mistake, Satan heard this once spoken word.  Everyone, and anyone, can be saved.  John 7:37 “In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried saying, If any man thirst, let him come to me and drink.”  Luke 2:10f “And the angel said unto them, Fear not, for behold I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.”  I don’t know all that we learn from Acts, but this I know, that the early church had to change their attitude to include Samaritans and gentiles.  There are still a lot of attitudes of Christians needing changes.  It is a salvation contingent upon [a] believing and obedient faith. 

                Revelation 22:14 “Blessed are they that do  his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city.”

                Thus, this word ultimately means that Satan has no power in our lives that we do not yield to Him.  There are many whom Satan has aspired to entrap in meaningless living.  There are a few who will be able to say “I have done all that I could do.”  The notables mentioned in introduction.  Only Jesus could say “It is finished!”

Conclusion

                Someone tells the story of an elderly lady who had reached her 100th year.  The local newspaper knew of the happening and sent a reporter out to do a story.  “Ma’am, you must have seen a lot in your lifetime?”

                The old lady was said to have rocked for a spell as she contemplated the question, and then replied, “Well, if  you really want to know, seemed to me everything was always over by the time I could find my glasses.”

                Because of Jesus, the spiritual quest is over.  But there are still a lot of people stymied about what to do with Him because they’re having trouble finding their “faith” glasses.

A WORD OF PAIN (Fifth Word from the Cross)

#104                                                                    A WORD OF PAIN (Fifth Word from the Cross)                                                                                            

Scripture  John 19:28 NIV                                                                                                                  Orig. Date 3/30/1980

                                                                                                                                                                 Rewr. Dates 3/30/1987

Passage: 28 Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I am thirsty.”

Purpose: In this message from the fifth word from the cross, to show the agony of intent for Jesus to live in commitment to the will of God

Keywords:           Christ Redeemer              Dedication          Commitment                     Will of God         Suffering

Timeline/Series:               Words from the Cross

Introduction

                It is easy enough to entitle the message “A Word of Pain,” and use it to point directly to the physical suffering of Jesus.  Any person who has experienced thirst knows its intense discomfort.

                Some of you have had to leave a sickroom to announce to others the nearness of death.  It is that feeling now, here at the cross, that capitalizes on the  raw edge of our emotions.  Death is imminent, but there is still no doubt as to who is in charge.

                It is normative, here at Calvary, to sustain this sense of death’s inevitability.  But, then, neither can we remain long in this place without having our sense of dread replaced by a sense of hope.  Those there then felt hope: hope that these religious leaders would become more tolerant; hope that some military authority would declare this to be illegal; hope even, that Jesus would tire of the petulance of these vengeful people, and with a wave of His hand be suddenly transformed from this place; perhaps, hope for the direct intervention of God.

                The people gathered at Golgotha are spectators.  And death is what many of them came to see.  All, but a few, are awaiting this inevitable end.  It is not unlike a suicide scene.  A quietness pervades the atmosphere.  So quiet in fact, that they hear Jesus’ low moan of pain.  It is the normative word to express “yearning” for whatever will quench His thirst.  No doubt, however, the thirst is symbolic of a stronger yearning on the part of Christ.  He “thirsts” for the will of God, for men to be at peace with God.  He “thirsted” that those who were His followers would likewise thirst for God, and for humanity.

I.             So, Consider that Jesus Thirsted to do the Will of God.  Luke 9:51 “He steadfastly set His face to go to Jerusalem.”  John 18:11 “The cup which my Father hath given me, shall I  not drink it?”

                Does it raise an eyelid of  surprise anywhere that Jesus could feel thirst?  He had spoken about it:  “He who believes in me shall never thirst.” (John 6:35.)  He had declared it to be inviolate; “. . . but the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into . . . life.”  John 4:14.  But there were title rights to that stream, and Jesus was yet to lay claim to it.  Remember the Psalmist’s appeal: “O God, thou art my God; my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land where no water is.” Psalm 63:1.  Remember the picture forming in Revelation 5: “. . . I saw a book written on both sides and sealed with seven seals. . . .  Who is worthy?  No man in heaven, or in earth, or under the  earth.” No doubt that thirst is present here, but not thirst for water, rather, thirst of God-forsakenness.”  The confrontation with Satan had to come.  It had to come where man is the most accessible, in the flesh.

                To long for the will of God as Jesus did, disallows questioning His will.  Some conclude that Jesus knew His will perfectly. Scripture teaches Jesus’ life was one of change. Luke 2:52 “And Jesus grew in wisdom, and in stature, and in favor with God and man.”  Mark 13:32 “But of that day . . . knoweth no man . . . neither the Son, but the Father.”  Concluding Jesus KNEW allows us to excuse ourselves when we know we know not.  But learning from Jesus, is learning to choose what brings God glory.  Psalm 137:6 “Let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth; if I prefer not Jerusalem above my chief joy.”

                There is no evidence Jesus had prior understanding of the events being lived out.  No doubt He  had spiritual intuition which we cannot match, cannot even approach.  But He lived by faith just as we are called to do.  So the disciples were taught.  Phillip: “Show us the Father and we will be satisfied.”  Jesus: “The one who has seen me has seen the Father.”  Jesus teaches that those who long to know to the point of agony will know, and will be satisfied.  Matthew 5:6 “Blessed are they which hunger and thirst after righteous, or they shall be filled.”  Luke 12:32 “It is the Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.”

II.            Consider Also, that Jesus Thirsted to Accomplish Salvation. Matthew 20:28 “The son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom.”                 

                We have already observed Christ’s concern.  Those who put Him on the cross were forgiven.  A soldier acknowledged He was God’s son, another reached out to quench His thirst.  He insisted this  to be God’s will so that guilt would not overwhelm His followers.  To a convicted felon, He gave the promise of eternal life.  To His mother and close friend, John, He gave words of meaningful concession.

                His challenge, however, is for the lost souls.  The human condition, then as now, was sin.  That problem is a raging torrent that must somehow be bridged.  His death was not to make access to God easy, but rather, to make the way plain.  Matthew 7:13 “. . . wide is the gate . . . broad the way leading to destruction, and many . . . go in . . . .  Strait is the gate and narrow is the way leading to life, and few there be that find it.”

                It is a lostness that must be faced.  Contemporary events compromise hungry hearts.  Present disparity of televangelists.  Man in Colorado Springs picked up little girl by her ankles, dashed her head against pavement saying “Jesus saves.”  (Returned to asylum.)  It is a lostness that destroys: disrupting families, breaking up marriages, enslaving people to drugs, alcohol, sex.  It is the lostness (Psalm 63:1) . . . “of a dry and thirst land where no water is.”  To die in our sins, without Christ, is to die with this eternal thirst upon our souls.  Luke 16:23f “. . . being in torments . . . he cried send Lazarus that he may dip . . . [his finger] in water and cool my tongue.”  Christ has suffered this thirst for us, but to reject Him is to reclaim that awful thirst.

III.           Lastly, He Thirsted as an Example of Compassion to His Friends and Followers.  John 17:25f “O righteous Father, the world hath not known thee, but I have known thee, and these have known that thou hast sent me . . . that the love wherewith thou has loved me may be in them, and I in them.”

                Yes, there were those at the cross who would  quench His thirst.  One attempted to do so: soldier, temple guard, bystander. Surely, those who loved Him would have done so.  There were also those there who could have helped, but who would not.  Some waited curiously to see if Elijah would come.  Jesus had  not addressed Elijah, however, but the Father.  And this is the Father’s “beloved son.  Hear Him.”

                One thing, brethren, can quench to thirst of Jesus on the cross.  It is the quenching waters of faith when believers reach out to the lost. There are some who would and cannot.  Regrettably, too many, could, and will not. 

                Who are those who can, and will, and must?  And more importantly, are you one of them?  Matthew 25:31f “When the son of man shall come in his glory, . . . then shall he sit upon the throne . . . before him shall be gathered all nations: and he shall separate them . . . on his right hand, . . . on (his) left.  Then shall the King say unto them on his right hand, Come, ye blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom . . . For I was hungered and ye gave me meat; I was thirsty, and ye gave me drink . . . Then shall the righteous answer . . . When . . . ?  And the King shall answer and say unto them, . . . Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.”

                The call of Jesus is still the call to quench the thirst of a weary world.

Conclusion

                This Christ still thirsts.  He thirsts for your love, for your service, for your holiness, for your prayer.  Let me quote James Stalker in closing (t20p148) “Whenever the heart of a human being turns to Him with a genuine impulse of penitence, affection or consecration, the Saviour sees of the travail of His soul and is satisfied.”

CRUCIFIED TO DEATH

#485    CRUCIFIED TO DEATH                                      

Scripture  John 19:13-22                                                                                                                    Orig. Date 4/14/1968

              Rewr. Dates  3/14/1991                                                                                                                                               

Passage: 13 When Pilate heard this, he brought Jesus out and sat down on the judge’s seat at a place known as the Stone Pavement (which in Aramaic is Gabbatha). 14 It was the day of Preparation of the Passover; it was about noon.  “Here is your king,” Pilate said to the Jews.  15 But they shouted, “Take him away! Take him away! Crucify him!”  “Shall I crucify your king?” Pilate asked.  “We have no king but Caesar,” the chief priests answered.

16 Finally Pilate handed him over to them to be crucified.

The Crucifixion of Jesus

So the soldiers took charge of Jesus. 17 Carrying his own cross, he went out to the place of the Skull (which in Aramaic is called Golgotha). 18 There they crucified him, and with him two others—one on each side and Jesus in the middle.

19 Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the cross. It read: jesus of nazareth, the king of the jews. 20 Many of the Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. 21 The chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews.”  22 Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

Purpose: In a series on Christ’s nature for Easter, point to His death as an essential criterion.

Keywords:                           Christ/Death                      Easter                   Crucifixion

Timeline/Series:               Nature of Christ

Introduction

              Dr. James Stewart, noted New Testament scholar, writes of the resurrection of Jesus, “Not one line of the New Testament was written . . . not one sentence, whether of Gospels, Epistles, Acts, or Apocalypse, was penned apart from the conviction that He of whom these things were being written had conquered death and was alive forevermore.”  

              For the present, however, we must deal with, not His resurrection, but His death.  Easter cannot reach us at all if we do not pass through  the burdensome stage of crucifixion and death.

              Death, of course, touches all of us.  We want to make light of it as often as we can.  I read about a West Texas rancher who went to his local undertaker to make arrangement for his burial when the time came.  “I want to be buried in my trusty old pick-up truck,” he said.  Well, the funeral director saw the difficulties and tried to talk him out of such a notion.  “It’s like this,” said the rancher, “I ain’t never seen a hole that truck couldn’t get me out of.”

              Then I read about the Louisville, KY, woman whose husband was a retired electrician.  The local priest made arrangements for him to repair an electrical shortage in one of the confessionals.  He would have to crawl across the rafters in the highest and least protected part of the church.  She decided to be on hand if anything went wrong.  She was sitting in a pew below the work space.  Congregants entered the back part of the building for a special mass.  Unaware of the presence of the other people, and concerned because she was hearing no sound, she called out, “Sam, Sam, . . . are you up there?  Did  you make it okay?”  [The people in the mass] hear a voice answer back, “I am doing fine, Christine.  Stop worrying!”

I.           First, Consider the Covenant and the Cross.  V19 “And Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross.  And the writing was, Jesus of Nazareth, the king of the Jews.

              Pilate, an enemy of the covenant, calls Jesus King.  I remind you, it was not done in faith.  This was a man of evasive action.  Don’t do anything if  you can help it.  The Jews:  “Take Him yourselves.” Herod’s jurisdiction: sent Him back. 

              Pilate: “I find no fault.”  But then he would beat Him, a faultless man.  Then he brought up Barabbas.  Did Pilate really think the Jews would fall for that?  Vengeance, not justice.  Finally, Pilate tries to blame others for his own irresponsibility. “I am innocent of the blood of this just man.”

              Such people are all around us.  Pretending that they are beyond the claims of the gospel.  Blaming others for their own sins.

              Interestingly, the people of the covenant disclaim His sovereignty.  John 19:13 “he maketh himself . . . king.”  Mark 15:15f “purple, . . . crown of thorns, . . . Hail king.”

              But it was his message to which they objected.  Matthew 3:7 He called the Pharisees and Sadducees “generation of vipers.”  He accused religious leaders of being hypocrites. Matthew 23:13. Matthew 10:38 “He that taketh not up his cross and followeth me is not worthy of me.”

              Faith was a volatile commodity.   They who believed, believed the more strongly because of the covenant.  The Messiah had come to them.  They disbelieved, crucified.  Their hands were stained with the sin that wrought His death.  How about your hands, and mine?  Only the hypocrites see themselves as guiltless.

II. [SUBTITLE LOST]

              V16, “Then delivered he him unto them to be crucified.”  Most significant were the occupants of the other two crosses.  “They crucified  him, and two others with him.”  On those two crosses were the prototypes of all who would pass by.  One would find in Jesus a source of strength.  He would die with Jesus, But it would be remorseful, repentant, forgiven.  To the other Jesus was an anomaly.  He was no more dead than the other.  But it was an angry, accusing, hopeless death.  It was also a Christless death. 

              L. Wade spoke of a lady at nursing home who asked about ______ Prison—“Why would a man die without the Lord?”  Does it concern us that there are others all around us who know the Lord?

              Speaking of crowds, there was a Roman Legion there that day as well.  They wanted to think that they were in charge.  Doing the procurator’s (Caesar’s) bidding. Punishment meted out by the book.

              But this is God’s doing, and “is wondrous to behold.”  Psalm 72:18 “Blessed be the Lord God, . . . who only doeth wondrous things.”

              Jerry Clower tells about Uncle Versie Ledbetter and his mule named Della.  She fell in a cistern (reservoir for rain water).  Tried to get Della out.  Finally, rather than see her starve, he’d bury her there.  But every time he threw in a load of dirt, she shook it off, stomped on it, [CLIMBED on it], and waited for the next load.

              Whether you understand the crucifixion or not, it’s the means of God’s choosing, to deal with our sin.  You can’t help Jesus bear that cross.  But it’s foolhardy to think that it is no more than man’s work.

III.         Lastly, We Examine Christ and the Cross.  V17 “And He bearing His cross went fort into a place . . . called . . . Golgotha.”

              You will note that it was a cross of commitment to the will of God.  RSV and NEB both translate “his own cross.”  It was expected that His followers would show evidence of their commitment.  “If you were accused of being a Christian, is there enough evidence to convince you?”  Where between 6 and 8 tonight? Last Wednesday at 6:30, four deacons for mission emphasis.  When was the last time you did something/anything for Jesus’ sake?

              It was a cross meaning pain and suffering.  It was so in the ultimate sense with Jesus.  The disciples were affected by the crucifixion as by nothing else.  Remember Stewart:  “Not one line of the New Testament . . . not one sentence , . . . was penned apart from the conviction . . . that He had conquered death and was alive forevermore.”  How does the crucifixion touch and change your life?  The lives of those around you?

              But leave here this morning remembering that it was a cross of glory. 

“In the old rugged cross stained with blood so divine,

A wondrous beauty I see,

For ‘twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,

To pardon and sanctify me.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true,

Its shame and reproach gladly bear.

Then He’ll call me some day to my home far away,

Where His glory forever I’ll share.”

Conclusion

              Listen to Donald Miller(1) in The People of God.  “The sentimentalized Jesus of our time is not one before whom men of our time would fall on their faces, and certainly, He would frighten away no devils!  He is one whom nobody would crucify, and for whom, few, if any, would be willing to die.  He could not have brought the church into being, nor could He have sustained it through all the tortuous course of the long centuries.”  Which Jesus do you follow?

(1) Miller, D. (1958). The People of God.  Religious Book Club.

BEHOLD THE MAN

#446                                                                    BEHOLD THE MAN                                                                                           

Scripture  John 19:1-7, NIV                                                                                                             Orig. Date 12/24/1967

                                                                                                                                                                   Rewr. Dates 2/5/1985

Passage: Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged. 2 The soldiers twisted together a crown of thorns and put it on his head. They clothed him in a purple robe 3 and went up to him again and again, saying, “Hail, king of the Jews!” And they slapped him in the face.

4 Once more Pilate came out and said to the Jews gathered there, “Look, I am bringing him out to you to let you know that I find no basis for a charge against him.” 5 When Jesus came out wearing the crown of thorns and the purple robe, Pilate said to them, “Here is the man!”

6 As soon as the chief priests and their officials saw him, they shouted, “Crucify! Crucify!”  But Pilate answered, “You take him and crucify him. As for me, I find no basis for a charge against him.”  7 The Jewish leaders insisted, “We have a law, and according to that law he must die, because he claimed to be the Son of God.”

Purpose: To examine, through the exclamation of Pilate, the potentials that people see in Christ.

Keywords:                           Christ, Manhood                              Sin                          Revival

Introduction

                An unclear picture fuzzes its way into our minds here.  Jesus has just come through the experience of having been scourged by these Roman soldiers. Yet, Pilate presented him to the multitude as if he were the keynote speaker at some national convocation:  “Behold, the man!”  Most of us would have trouble imagining what Jesus had been through.  He is a beaten, bloody mass of cuts, bruises, and abrasions.  Yet, Pilate says “Behold, the man!”  Over that beaten body, the Romans had placed an old, faded purple robe.  On his head was a crown of thorns, “Behold, the man!”

                It was mockery, of course.  Shock treatment say some.  Pilate’s attempt to rid himself of a politician’s dilemma.  It was his way of saying, “Look at this poor wretch!  You don’t really find him a threat, do you?”

                But seeing the robe, and the crown, they were incensed.  Thus, their answer to Pilate’s exclamation:  “Crucify!  Crucify Him!”

                It is to this vengeful spirit in man that this message is addressed.  “Behold, the man.”  It is to remind us all that there is a quality to the life of Jesus that cannot elsewhere be found.  “Behold, the Man.”  It is to remind us that the man whom we here “Behold” is none other than the same man who “His own self bare our sins in His own body on the tree. . .” (I Peter 2:24).

I.             It is Here that We See the Vitality of Man at His Best.  V4 “Behold, I bring him forth to you that you may know that I find no fault in him.”

                He was a man admired and  respected by other men.  A man of truth—John 1:14 “. . .We beheld his glory, . . . full of grace and truth.” John 5:33 “Ye sent unto John, and he bare witness unto the truth.”  A man of courage—1/4 of the gospel is from Jesus’ last week, half of that the last 24 hours; the garden better shows courage than cross: Man’s existence began in a garden; his social structure; his sin and separation; his rebirth.  He was a man of vision—a new image of God, a new understanding of God’s way.

                He had the marks of character most admired by women:  Tenderness—don’t confuse with weakness, impotence.  Gentleness set in the rough; it seems that few of us can stand by their guns without pulling the trigger.  Even with the prostitute, the publican, he was kind. Understanding—Hear him with the woman at the well.  Masculine—openness and honesty, showing our true selves.

                Not only was he a man’s man, and a woman’s man, he was God’s man.  He was sinless.  2 Corinthians 5:21 “He hath made him to be sin for us who knew no sin.”  Incorruptible—Corruptibility is a fact of life; it did not exist in Jesus.  Obedience—Compare Simon who when bidden to go and pray with Jesus was too weary.  But too weary to lift his sword though not bidden.

II.            But We See Here also the Victim of Man at His Worst.  V6 “When the chief priests, therefore, and officers saw him, they cried out, saying, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!”

                He was victim of a dissolute religion.  Nothing goes sour as fast as bad religion.  The problem was one of interpretation, not with system.  Hebrew religion was man’s noblest.  But it had disintegrated into a soulless ethic.  The Baptist faith was a Holy Ghost faith long before the Pentecostals came into being.  If we die it will be the death of soulless ethic denying the Holy Spirit His rightful place.

                He was victim of a malicious mob.  We know of mobs, but they are not new:  At Lot’s door when he entertained angels;  in Thessalonica threatening Paul and Silas at Jason’s; here at Jesus’ cross.

                A good question to ask today is “Where would I be if such a mob formed in my town?”

                He was victim of a conscienceless civil power.  To Pilate Jesus was an inconvenience.  All he had to do to go free was bend a little. Compromise!  To the soldiers, Jesus was relief for their boredom, an object of amusement.

                He was victim of man in the madness of sin.  Suppose with me for a moment: The religious leaders became reconciled, the unruly mob came to their senses, civil government stood up against injustice.  But one unkempt rowdy yelled “Crucify Him!”

                Jesus came to seek and to save the lost.

III.           Finally, He was the Vehicle, the Visible Embodiment, of God’s Saving Grace.  V7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

                Clearly, He was that.  John 3:16 “God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten son.”  I John 4:9 “God sent His only begotten son into the world that we might live through him.”  Hebrews 1:1,2 “God . . . hath in these last days spoken to us by His Son.”

                But not because he made himself to be what he was not.  With courage and truth he declared himself to be what he was.  With tenderness and manhood he declared his link with the Father.  In sinless, incorruptible obedience he was the fulfillment of all that God demanded of Him.

                Thus, he became the instrument (vehicle) of God’s saving power.  Matthew 1:21 “Thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sin.”  Romans 1:16, “The gospel of Christ . . . is the power of God unto salvation to everyone that believeth.”

Conclusion

                R.G. Lee (1)(T43P114) “No artist can frame a picture large enough to include all the glories of the evening sunset—when human eyes see the glory of God’s robe where the last fires of sunset burn.  So no voice can compass, no pen include, the full statement of Christ’s character. But what he was toward the child and the  mother, to the publican, to the prodigal, the hypocrite, the harlot; toward sinner and disciple, that is God toward all men, in all times, in all places. . . Be not hard to convince, not slow of heart to believe . . . .”

(1) Lee, R.G.  (1935).  A Greater than Solomon. Le Roi Publishers

THE OUTRAGE OF MISGUIDED FAITH

#302                                                 THE OUTRAGE OF MISGUIDED FAITH

                                                                        Fleeing from Fickle Fires

Scripture          Mark 14:54, 66-72                                                                                 Orig. Date 8/28/1966 (4/1979)

                            John 21:18                                                                                                             Rewr. Dates 10/10/1985

Passage: Mark 14:54, 66-72; John 21:18, NIV

Mark 14:54, 66-72  54 Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.  66 While Peter was below in the courtyard, one of the servant girls of the high priest came by. 67 When she saw Peter warming himself, she looked closely at him.  “You also were with that Nazarene, Jesus,” she said.  68 But he denied it. “I don’t know or understand what you’re talking about,” he said, and went out into the entryway.[g]

 69 When the servant girl saw him there, she said again to those standing around, “This fellow is one of them.” 70 Again he denied it.  After a little while, those standing near said to Peter, “Surely you are one of them, for you are a Galilean.”  71 He began to call down curses, and he swore to them, “I don’t know this man you’re talking about.”  72 Immediately the rooster crowed the second time.[h] Then Peter remembered the word Jesus had spoken to him: “Before the rooster crows twice[i] you will disown me three times.” And he broke down and wept.

John 21:18  18 Very truly I tell you, when you were younger you dressed yourself and went where you wanted; but when you are old you will stretch out your hands, and someone else will dress you and lead you where you do not want to go.”

Purpose: To remind my people that from time to time we need to re-examine the methods of our faith.

Keywords:                           Denial                   Discipline             Faith

Timeline/Series:               New Testament Church

Introduction

                Just a few short years ago, one of the best loved and most highly respected ministers in America was Peter Marshall.  He briefly held the position of Chaplain of the U.S. Senate.  The story of his  life, from boyhood in Scotland to his death was the subject of a Hollywood film.

                His wife, Catherine, never one to be bashful about her own Christian convictions did not reach prominence until after her husband’s death.  She became an accomplished author writing the happy reflections of two people sustained by the wonderful grace of God, and of the greater sustenance that came to her in his death.  In actual fact, more people have been blessed by the contribution of her writings than could ever have been touched by a Presbyterian minister, even the Chaplain of the Senate.

                In her book, Beyond Ourselves(1), she includes a personal manifesto.  She writes of her tragedy, and of a greater door that was opened to her through her personal suffering.  It is a personal record of her escape from grief.  Along the way, she advises what is at stake and what the potential cost may be.  She wrote, “Don’t surrender to God unless you mean it, because He may have to take some sizable chunks out of us.” 

                Simon Peter is an example of the outrage of a man’s misguided faith.  Even so, the cost of commitment is likewise outrageous.  Perhaps there is something for us to learn from the experience of Simon Peter.

I.             Physically, We See a Man Following at a Distance.  V54 “But Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest.” 

                A curious man.  It had driven him into the water to walk beside Jesus.  (Matthew 14.)  When Jesus first spoke of death it roused him to rebuke Jesus.  Just before this, he takes sword in hand to defend Jesus.  Now he is torn between love for Jesus, and fear of his enemies.  Curiosity is not uncommon in the faith.  John 4 “Jesus said, ‘Except you see signs and wonders you will not believe.’”  Again, John 12, “They came not for Jesus’ sake only, but to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.”

                A complex man.  He was another with much to offer.  Under controlled circumstances he would give completely.  It is said by some that his death was the death of crucifixion in Rome.  Like many of us he needed simple answers to complex questions.  He heard the answer to John’s question (Luke 7) “Are you the One that was to come, or do we look for another?”  Though Jesus answered affirmatively, faith in that response would come ever so slowly.

                A concerned man.  He knew the anguish of the people around him.   He had seen Jesus confront pseudoreligion, and draw believable pictures of God.  He wanted to believe, but how long would it take to convince him?  Gene Bartlett’s hymn tells the story needed by Simon and most of us.  “Set my soul afire, Lord, for Thy holy word.  Burn it deep within me, let Thy voice be heard. Millions grope in darkness, in this day and hour, I will be a witness, fill me with Thy power.  Set my soul afire, Lord, set my soul afire.  Make my life a witness of Thy saving power. Millions grope in darkness waiting for Thy word, set my soul afire Lord, set my soul afire.”

II.            But Socially, Simon’s Witness was Degraded by Denial.  V67 “You also were with Jesus of Nazareth.”  V68 “But he denied it, saying. . . .” V70 “But he denied it again.”  V71 “I do not know this man.”

                Simon is  here accused of being a Christian.  He is honest in his denial in that he is open about it.  How often do we do the same and hide it? Faith is something to put on on Sunday, a mask to paint over our real feelings.  We grow satisfied with the bleachers of faith because the participants look uncomfortable and overworked.   

                I sometimes have genuine pity for folks who find excuses to stay away from church.  Some may be believers.  They are going to feel so out of place in Heaven, if they make it.  They  will be on edge all the time fearing that someone made a mistake and they are going to be kicked out.  And when the heavenly chorus starts to sing Amazing Grace, they are not even going to know the words.

                It is one thing to deny by word.  That can be quickly changed. We can deny our denial.  We can prove our fealty by our faith.

                But it’s a terrible thing when denial becomes so ingrained it’s worn like a badge of honor.  Jesus makes it clear that we are not free to deny Him.  He refuted the comfortable “logic” that we are free to do as we please.  Matthew 7:26 “Everyone that heareth these sayings of mine and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man which built his house upon sand.”

                It is evidently clear that there is light enough and we are responsible for denials.  John 3:19 “And this is the condemnation, that  light is come into the world, and men loved darkness rather than light . . . deeds are evil.”  Misquote “better than light” division of loyalty for “rather than light” error in value judgment.

III.           Third Denial is Purgative.  Psychologically, We See a Man Disarmed by Defection.  V72 “And Peter called to mind the word that Jesus had said to him ‘Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.’”  Matthew and Luke “wept bitterly.”

                It is when the soul is desperate that we can best encounter God.  The prodigal.  Isaiah—“Woe is me, I am a man of unclean lips and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips. . . .”  David—“Restore unto me the joy of my salvation.”

                Such desperation is the enabler of faith.  Some need such an encounter to experience forgiveness and faith.  Others grow up believing.  They can’t imagine not believing.  The occasion deepens faith and widens horizons of Christian living.

                For Simon, the experience broke him free from the traditions that bound him.  Distance would become directness.  Simon becomes a new man in Christ.  His denial becomes discipleship.  Still many  hurdles to surpass.  John 21:18 “Another shall gird thee and carry thee whither thou wouldst not go.”  His defection becomes death to self and life in Christ.  Singly, and in  single stages we are brought into the kingdom.  Isaiah 27:12 “You shall be gathered one by one.”  Luke 15:7 “Joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth” –Jesus’ parable of one lost sheep.  Barabbas released (John 18:39). Cornelius dazzling in Acts 10.  There is a right thing, a right way, a right time, and a right purpose.

Conclusion

                In my first pastorate another preacher suggested to me one day that I ought to get a tent.  In my youthful enthusiasm, I thought he was complimenting me and suggesting  that I share my ministry on a wider scale.

                In a later, saner moment of spiritual crisis, the Lord convicted me that the tone of my ministry was a bit too formal and I needed to break out of it.  That may have been what my friend had been trying to tell me all the time.  From time to time, we need to take a good look at our faith and allow the Lord to take some of those “chunks” (C. Marshall) out of us.

1-Marshall, C. (1961). Beyond Ourselves. McGraw-Hill.

THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

#584                        THE WORK OF THE HOLY SPIRIT                                                                              

Scripture  John 16:7-16 NIV                                                                                           Orig. Date 9/17/1972

                                                                                                                                     Rewr. Dates 10/20/1974

Passage: 7 But very truly I tell you, it is for your good that I am going away. Unless I go away, the Advocate will not come to you; but if I go, I will send him to you. 8 When he comes, he will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: 9 about sin, because people do not believe in me; 10 about righteousness, because I am going to the Father, where you can see me no longer; 11 and about judgment, because the prince of this world now stands condemned.

12 “I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. 13 But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth. He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come. 14 He will glorify me because it is from me that he will receive what he will make known to you. 15 All that belongs to the Father is mine. That is why I said the Spirit will receive from me what he will make known to you.”

The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy

16 Jesus went on to say, “In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while you will see me.”

Keywords:           Holy Spirit                            Fruits of the  Spirit

Introduction

                A pastor went calling one Monday morning, and came finally to the home of a member of the church.  He knocked upon the door, and it was opened by the lady of the house in her cleaning clothes and with mop in hand.  He recognized that it was an inconvenient time, and made excuses to leave.

                The housewife graciously encouraged him to stay and visit.  She said, “I have wanted to tell you how much your sermon yesterday helped me.” 

                The pastor, of course, was immediately interested.  He replied, “I am glad to hear that.  But tell me please what it was I said that helped you so much.”

                The lady then said that she did not remember exactly what had been said, but that it had helped her.

                The preacher then, with a little of his vanity showing said, “How can the message have possibly helped you if you cannot even remember what was said?”

                The housewife then preached a sermon in few words to her pastor.  She said, “Bro. Pastor, I don’t keep the water my clothes are washing in, but it sure does help while it is going through.”

                The work of the Holy Spirit is to take the mundane  as well as the ennobling events of our lives and to give them spiritual clarity and meaning.

I.             The Holy Spirit is at Work in the World to Lift Up the Name of Jesus.  John 16:13-14 “he (the Spirit) shall not speak of  himself; . . . he shall glorify me.”

                This is the most important function of the Holy Spirit for at least three reasons.

                If we would truly honor and praise God, then we must honor Him through His Son.  Luke 2:12-14 declares a sign to men, “You will find the baby . . . in a manger.”  Then there came a multitude of the heavenly host praising God and saying, Glory to God and peace among men.

                Luke 19:37-40 When Jesus entered Jerusalem the disciples began to shout their praise of God through what they had seen in Jesus.  The Pharisees wanted Jesus to rebuke them.  If they are quiet, the stones will cry out.

                It is through the name of Jesus that people are being saved.  Jesus is the deed of God.  Jesus takes religion out of the ethereal and makes it personal.  Jesus came and taught man the language which God speaks.

                Acts 4:12 There is none other name under heaven given among men  whereby ye must be saved.

                The unity of mankind is served in exact measure as the Holy Spirit magnifies the work of Jesus. 

                The problems in Palestine are a case in point.

                                Arabs – Ishmael – Abraham

                                Jews – Isaac – Abraham

                And let it be known that the burden of world peace is upon the Christian.  If we say that we have what they need and must have, then our lives must show the glow of it.

                All of the new and encouraging emphasis upon the Holy Spirit in the lives of followers of Jesus, teaches us that what unites us as Christians is far more important that what divides us.

II.            The Holy Spirit is at Work in the World to Implant Truth.  John 16:13, When the spirit of truth is come, he will guide you to all truth.

                Man has returned to an agnostic dilemma in his pursuit of truth.  Jesus said to Pilate “I am  here to bring truth to the world.”  Pilate said “What is truth?”  And man today is saying “How can I be sure about anything?”

                How can you be sure of anything that really matters?  How can you be sure of air and sunshine and rain and breath and sight and hearing and love? 

                (The 1982-1983 El Niño)

                It is in the area of the working  of the Holy Spirit in our lives that the ability to get the most out of every magnificent minute [rests].

                But truth in the simple terms of God, Jesus, and the Holy Spirit is none other than trust.  Hebrews 6:12 “be . . . followers of them who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

                In the book God’s Smuggler, the authors tell the story of Brother Andrew(1) and a faith in God that knew no bounds.  Chapter 6 is entitled “The Game of the Royal Way.”  It tells how, as a  young man, God provided his needs against near impossible odds: the expired visa and a shilling going to the gutter; the man from the mission; the postman and thirty shillings.

                As there are those who trust to receive, there are also those who trust to share.  In Bro. Andrew’s need there as a prayer group at a place where he was formerly employed.  There are different kinds of needs in our lives.  For some of us the need is to share.

III.           The Scripture has Much More to Say About the Work of the Holy Spirit.

                The Holy Spirit gives to men the gifts of God’s choosing.

                Ephesians 4:11-12, Some of us have been given special ability as apostles; to others he has given the ability to be able to preach well; some have special ability in winning people to Christ; still others have a gift for caring for God’s people as a shepherd does his sheep, leading and teaching them in the ways of God.  Why?  To equip us to better serve Him.

                I Corinthians 12:4, God gives us many kinds of special abilities, but it is the same Holy Spirit who is the source of them all.

                (Go into this in greater depth next week.)

                The Holy Spirit brings conviction to men.  See John 16:8:  KJ-reprove/LB-convince/NEB-confute/___-convict. 1) conviction of sin; 2) conviction of righteousness; 3) conviction of judgment.

                The Holy Spirit is the Resource through whom we may know that we are children of God.  Romans 8:16, The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit.  1 John 5:6, 10, 6 This is the one who came by water and blood—Jesus Christ. He did not come by water only, but by water and blood. And it is the Spirit who testifies, because

                Spirit is the truth. . . .  10 Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son.

Closing

                And time does not here permit us to [speak] of the fruits of the Spirit of God in our lives.  Of love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control.

                But time does permit us to say that the Holy Spirit is the crowning gift of God to His people to enable us in following the example and the teaching of Christ.  And like any other gift, we do not ask for it, we just receive it from the hand of a friend.  What we ask for is wisdom and knowledge in using this gift as the Friend intended.

(1) Sherrill, J., and Sherrill E. (2001). God's Smuggler. Chosen Books.

THE WAY—VITAL SIGNS FOR LIFE

#708ab                                                 THE WAY--VITAL SIGNS FOR LIFE

Scripture  John 14:6/Acts 16:31, NIV                                                                                      Orig. 5/31/1978

                                                                                                                                                 Rewr. 8/24/1987

Passage:               John 14:6             6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

                                Acts 16:31            31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.”

Purpose:              To call attention to the vital signs of salvation so that we may know the way that God has opened for us.

Keywords:           Christ as Saviour               Lostness              New Birth            Promise               Repentance       Revival

Introduction

                We had been in New Orleans only a few short weeks.  A day or so after I had come to the assistance of some travelers I had a most disconcerting experience. 

                During the early weeks, my most common occurrence was asking someone else for directions.  This time, however, I was the askee, rather than the asker.

                It was Friday evening, and I was gassing up at the old Shell station.  A car pulled up, the driver stepped out, came over to me, informed me that he was on the way to a wedding and needed to know how to get to LaBarre Road. Any time one is standing on a service station apron, he is assumed to know directions to anywhere.

                But I digress…

                Well, as it worked out, we had a family living on LaBarre Road, and I could direct him.  Though it has been fifteen years, I still remember the precise directions given.  Go down Jefferson Highway, thru Harahan to the traffic circle at the bridge, follow it around to the north, away from the bridge.  You will be on Clearview. Continue north to Airline Highway.  Turn right, go about one mile, looking for the street sign for your street.  I added, “You can’t miss it.”  He returned to his car, and drove away.

                As his tail lights disappeared, I recalled having seen no church in that area, and he had mentioned a church.  But I shrugged it off and went back to filling my tank.

                A few days later I was in the Jefferson area, near Ochsner Hospital, and discovered an extension of LaBarre Road.  I couldn’t resist looking for the church, and, there it was.

                A young couple, on their way to a wedding, didn’t know the way, and compounded their problem by asking someone for help who also didn’t know, but he didn’t know that he didn’t know.  Well, if you are confused, so were they.  I just hope that they were not in the wedding party.  I never did go back to that Shell station on a Friday night.

                It is important that if we claim to be heaven bound, we be able to tell those who are searching, “the way.”

I.             Finding the Way Requires an Admission of Lostness.

                Romans 3:23, “ For all have sinned and come short of the glory of God.”  I Corinthians 2:14, “The natural man receiveth not the things of the spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him.”

                Recall the  number of times you have sought help while on a journey.  Visitor centers offer intermediate help.  Major gas companies offer the service of trip planning.  Most of us, at one time or the other, used AAA “Trip-Tik.”   These are simple admissions of fallibility.

                Often we have had to call on someone else when faced by some unfamiliar struggle.  Problem with a child/family member.  Student needing help with an assignment.  Facing some medical emergency.  The expression “I am lost” is a not uncommon declaration.

                Some extra help with algebra would be nice.  Second opinions mean a great deal if surgery is in the offing.  But if it’s just a matter of going to heaven, I’ll take my chances.

                Do we somehow perceive that we can make the journey God-ward without any outside assistance?  If driving to New Orleans, I want a co-pilot.  Jean Middendorf once said to Ann, “I don’t merge.  You look and I’ll go [hands over head, eyes squeezed shut].” On a journey God-ward, admit at some point your lostness.

                Psalm 53:2f, “See if there were any that did understand, that did seek God.  . . . Not even one.”  Romans 3:11, “There is none that understand, none that seek God.  All have turned away. . . .” 

II.            Finding the Way Starts at the Altar of Repentance/The Initial Act in Conquering Lostness is Repentance.  Acts 3:19, “Repent ye, therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out.”  Let me be sure you understand my use of altar.  I’m not suggesting that the only place that you can repent is in church.  I am saying that repentance is a spiritual experience.  I’m saying that it has to do with your relationship with God.  I’m saying that one must recognize the  reality of wrong choices and of need for reconciliation.

                The Greek word for repent means “I have taken the wrong road.”  The very nature of repentance is the nature of change.  Having taken the wrong road, I must find the right way.  Seeing where I am, and that danger lurks, I must act.  Turning from, I must also turn to.  In the Old Testament, repentance is national, cultural.  But by the time of Jesus, it clearly has become an individual, personal need.  Matthew 4:17/Mark 1:15 agree that the first proclaimed message of Jesus was exhortation to repent.

                Equally important in the exhilaration of turning from something is the consideration of what we turn to.  Jesus’ story of the unclean spirit driven out, but not replaced becomes a case in point to help us understand.  Matthew 12:44-45 tells of a man cleansed of an impure spirit and seven devils took its place.  “And the final condition  of that person is worse than the first.”

III.           Finding the Way Compels a Commitment of Will/After Repentance, We can Address Ourselves to the “Way.”  I John 1:9 “If we confess our sins to God, He will keep His promise and do what is right: He will forgive us our sins, and purify us from all wrongdoing.”  GNV

                Think back to the last time you remember having taken a wrong road.  Every time I go to Dallas I try to take I20 SL rather than getting on I30 thru.   Remember the pleasant sensation of recovery and return to road of choice.  So  you lost an  hour, big deal.  You went 70 miles out of your way, could be, even this was fortuitous.

                What made the difference was a determination to continue.  Commitment of will is a major thrust of personality in all experiences.  In relation to God, it is vital.  Seeing that it is my sin that has separated us, it is my acknowledgement of faith that restores.  If I were preaching on grace, I’d say it differently.  I am a conditional Calvinist confident that without God, my will would never be evoked.  But my will is my own, and response of will figures mightily.

                I must get all the way to faith: 1) Admission, 2) Repentance, 3) Commitment.

IV.          Finally, on the Way, I See the Need for Perseverance/Turning to “The Way” in Confession and Confidence Demands that Other Ways Be Forsaken.  Isaiah 55:7, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteousness man his thoughts; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him; and to our God for He will abundantly pardon.”

                Too many of us come into the kingdom thinking that our options are unchanged.  We purchase a ticket on the glory train just in case.  The church is often guilty of leaving the notion that all we want is their money.  Especially churches  hurting financially.  Remind you again of Paul’s admonition to Corinthians (II Corinthians 12:14), “I seek not yours but you.”

                Another mistake is in thinking that involvement in good causes earns God’s approval.  We are to involve ourselves thusly.  It is the Christian’s new nature.  It is what should have sent more to the poll to reject the local option.  Now we must go through the rigors of removal.  But right causes earn nothing but the sense of right choice.  Romans 6:4, “. . . Just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.”

                Our faith in Christ should dispel the convenience/pleasure of wrong.  Ezekiel 36:26, “A new  heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you:  and I will take away the stony heart.”

                Admission/Repentance/Commitment/Perseverance.  It is the means of finding the way.  It will enable us to help others also.

Conclusion

                While on the State BSU Advisory Committee, I had to fly from New Orleans to Shreveport.  Driving to the airport, I was oblivious of cloud cover.  But quickly airborne, we became aware.  It covered Louisiana like a blanket all the way.  Then I heard the announcement of preparation for landing.  We were above the clouds, the sky a beautiful blue.  The clouds like cotton.  As the plane descended, we moved into that blanket, so thick that not even the wings could be seen.  We were a blip on a radar screen.  Nothing more.  Within  minutes we were safe on the ground, at the ramp.

THREE LORDLY TRUTHS

#755                                                               THREE LORDLY TRUTHS

Scripture  John 14:1-20, NIV                                                                                                                          Orig. 9/7/1979

                                                                                                                                                                               Rewr. 2/3/1989

Passage:               “Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God[a]; believe also in me. 2 My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? 3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. 4 You know the way to the place where I am going.”

Jesus the Way to the Father

5 Thomas said to him, “Lord, we don’t know where you are going, so how can we know the way?”

6 Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. 7 If you really know me, you will know[b] my Father as well. From now on, you do know him and have seen him.”

8 Philip said, “Lord, show us the Father and that will be enough for us.”

9 Jesus answered: “Don’t you know me, Philip, even after I have been among you such a long time? Anyone who has seen me has seen the Father. How can you say, ‘Show us the Father’? 10 Don’t you believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in me? The words I say to you I do not speak on my own authority. Rather, it is the Father, living in me, who is doing his work. 11 Believe me when I say that I am in the Father and the Father is in me; or at least believe on the evidence of the works themselves. 12 Very truly I tell you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. 13 And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. 14 You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[c] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.

Purpose: To encourage my people with the three supreme truths that Jesus has come, He has emptied His Holy Spirit, and He is coming again.

Keywords:           Christ the Lord                   Holy Spirit                            Revival                  Christ the Messiah                          

                                Incarnation                         Second Coming                 Faith in Christ                    Faith in Heaven

                                Faith in Christ’s Return

Timeline/Series:               none

Introduction

                The body was picked up off of the side of the road, cold and stiff.  Apparently, the man, somewhat older, was hit by a car or truck as he walked the dimly lit road.  Whether the driver stopped, nobody knows.  Cursory examinations were made.  No sign of heartbeat, obviously dead.  So, the supposed corpse wound up in the morgue.

                All the proper formalities were followed.  The death notice was signed, next of kin notified.  He would shortly be released to the undertakers for burial.

                It was presumed to be a simple case of hit and run.  Simple that is to everyone but the victim.  Tire marks, and location of the body told investigators how far the body had been thrown, and therefore, some idea of the speed of the vehicle.  The chances were good that damage to the car/truck, with a little public awareness help, might locate the driver.

                But a strange thing happened in the morgue.  Although the body had been checked as closely as circumstances would seem to dictate, a morgue attendant noticed what appeared to be a tear, and then another.

                In the report I read (B92p9), the oversight was caused by “a strange, Hitchcock-style affliction triggered by the impact” masking a faint, and almost undiscovered heartbeat.

                There are morgue attendants out there who are ready to bury the church.  Some are nominal Christians, or worse, nominal church members.  They are thinking in terms of burial, and “The sooner, the better.”  I want to tell you this morning, brethren, that the church isn’t dead.  In fact, there are 3 lordly truths that manifest that the church can’t die.

I.             Jesus, the Son of God, Has Come As Messiah and Lord.  V1, “Let not your heart be troubled, ye believe in God, believe also in me.”  V9 “Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me?”

                Jesus had, at this time, invaded the Hebrew world as Messiah.  They were debating who He was, but His presence was undeniable.  In Genesis 12-17, Abraham is repeatedly promised that Messiah will come through him.  A millennium later David was assured that his “throne” would be established.  II Samuel 7:16 “And thine house and thy kingdom shall be established forever before thee: thy throne will be established forever.”

                Believers today have no difficulty whatever relating Jesus to all predictions.  Matthew 1 contains 17 verses of the genealogy of Jesus as David’s son.  Scripture and early church affirm the virgin birth prophesied.  Luke 3 even contains Jesus’ kingly genealogy through His mother, that He is descendant of Abraham and David.  Isaiah 7:13f “And he said, Hear ye now, O house of David; Is it a small thing for you to weary men, but will ye weary my God also?  Therefore the Lord himself shall give you a sign; Behold a virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and shall call his name Immanuel.”

                It is not through the traditions of our faith, but the trustworthiness of scripture that proclaims Jesus, Lord.  New Testament writings make much of the term “Lord.”  A term denoting deity.  Paul, legally and religiously trained, would not have used “Lord” had he any doubt about Jesus.

                Revelation background helps us to understand the change of Rome to Christianity.  Yearly, citizens “burned pinch of incense and say ‘Caesar is Lord.’” J4p419.  Believers refused.  “Jesus is Lord!”

II.            The Second Truth Is of His Sustained Spiritual Presence with the Believing Fellowship.  V15f “If ye love  me, keep my commandments.  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another comforter, that he may abide with you forever.”  Jesus knew that at times in history faith would dim.  He knows the limitations of our humanity.  Exodus 29:46, “And they shall know that I am the LORD their God, that brought them forth out of the land of Egypt, that I may dwell among them.”

                Heartbeat almost undetected.  Perhaps, only our tears, would give us away.  At least 9 Old Testament books  mention such.  In the New Testament, they are tears of affirmation.  II Timothy 1:4 “Recalling  your tears, I long to see you so that I might be filled with joy.”  Revelation 7:17, 21:4 “wipe away every tear.”

                It is through this sustained Spirit that Christ’s presence is marked today.  Hebrews 7:25 “Wherefore he is able to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession from them.”

                Thus Jesus promised and the Holy Spirit has come to manifest that promise.  Being a church member is not what distinguishes believers.  It’s easier to join than the country club.  Less demand upon the average church member than on non-resident Rotarian.  Percentage support is minimal.  40-50% attend one or both Sunday school and worship.  20-25% attend church training or prayer meeting.  10-20% pay 70-80% of the bills.

                But a believer showing evidence of protracted Spirit presence, all rejoice to call friend.  Every believer was baptized into the body of Christ at Pentecost.  It is pointless to beg for what was provided by prior arrangement. 

                Seek instead a deeper application of the Spirit’s presence in your life.  Discover your spiritual gifts.  Find opportunities to share your faith with others.  Study to show yourself approved.  Find  ways to improve prayer time.  Seek Spirit’s help to forgive.

III.           The Final Truth Is That Jesus is Coming Again as King and Righteous Judge.  V20 “At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.”  John 16:16, “Jesus went on to say, ‘In a little while you will see me no more, and then after a little while  you will see me.’”  John 16:22, “So with  you:  Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again and  you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.”  John 16:28, “I came from the Father and entered the world; now I am leaving the world and going back to the Father.”

                John 14:6, Jesus answered, “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”  Do not be confused about the return of Jesus.  Remember that the most honest person who ever lived forecast this.  Christians throughout history have not only believed it, they have expected it.  John 14:3, “I will come again and receive you unto myself, that where I am ye may be also.”

                His coming will address the inequities that continue in this world.  Abused children will be no more for the abusers will be gone.  AIDS will disappear because sexual promiscuity will be removed.  Racial strife will cease because hate cannot exist where Christ is.  War will become a non-entity because the Prince of Peace reigns.  Every imaginable inequity and horror shall have ceased to be.

                One final word is that we must remember that He comes as righteous judge.  Jeremiah 23:5 “Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, that I shall raise unto David a righteous Branch, and a king shall reign and prosper, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the earth.”

Conclusion

                Dwight L. Moody tells of a young woman in one of his crusades.  She was near the front, listening with great interest to everything that was said.  He commented, “It is precious to preach to people like that.  They generally get good even if the sermon is poor.”

                After the service he spoke to her.  She was not a Christian, but wanted to be.  Dr. Moody asked her of belief.  She responded, “I have been trying to believe for three years.  I am sick of the word.”  Moody pointed out that something was wrong.  It doesn’t take an anxious sinner three years to find an anxious Saviour.”  He changed belief to trust.  “I do trust, but I still don’t feel any better.”  “You’ve been looking for feelings instead of for Jesus.”

THE WORD MADE CLEAR

#195                                                             THE WORD MADE CLEAR

Scripture  John 10:22-42, NIV                                                                                                                     Orig. 3/28/1971

                                                                                                                                                               Rewr. 5/1977, 2/3/1985

Passage: 22 Then came the Festival of Dedication[a] at Jerusalem. It was winter, 23 and Jesus was in the temple courts walking in Solomon’s Colonnade. 24 The Jews who were there gathered around him, saying, “How long will you keep us in suspense? If you are the Messiah, tell us plainly.” 25 Jesus answered, “I did tell you, but you do not believe. The works I do in my Father’s name testify about me, 26 but you do not believe because you are not my sheep. 27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. 28 I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; no one will snatch them out of my hand. 29 My Father, who has given them to me, is greater than all[b]; no one can snatch them out of my Father’s hand. 30 I and the Father are one.”

31 Again his Jewish opponents picked up stones to stone him, 32 but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many good works from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?” 33 “We are not stoning you for any good work,” they replied, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.” 34 Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are “gods”’[c]? 35 If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came—and Scripture cannot be set aside— 36 what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’? 37 Do not believe me unless I do the works of my Father. 38 But if I do them, even though you do not believe me, believe the works, that you may know and understand that the Father is in me, and I in the Father.” 39 Again they tried to seize him, but he escaped their grasp.

40 Then Jesus went back across the Jordan to the place where John had been baptizing in the early days. There he stayed, 41 and many people came to him. They said, “Though John never performed a sign, all that John said about this man was true.” 42 And in that place many believed in Jesus.

Purpose: To make clear the authority of God’s Word as the instrument through which the message of salvation is made known to all people.

Keywords:           Bible                      Christ the Son of God                     Word of God                      Salvation

Introduction

                Have you ever been so over-whelmed with words that they somehow lost their meaning?  Perhaps a doctor’s explanation of some serious illness suddenly confused you with too much information.  Or, an agent’s identification of certain clauses in some important financial contract, and the harder you tried, the less you understood.  Maybe some matter involving pending litigation, and the lawyer is trying to cover some potential traps and uncertainty surrounds you.

                If you have not already, you will soon take tax forms in hand.  You were referred from Form 1040 to Form 2950SE.  Then to 3903 and 2120.  Then you noted that there were exclusions of 2950SE that you had over-looked, and you suddenly realize that the best tax deduction is that paid to a consultant.  You are reeling under the load of annuities, exemptions, tax write-offs, casualty losses, reimbursed expenses, and percentile exclusions.  You glance at your watch and discover that it is April 16th.  “Words!  Words!  Words!” (Hamlet, Act 2, scene 2).

                Many people treat the Bible this way.  They let themselves get lost in words.  A second grader could apply what he has learned and tell you that there are 66 books in the Bible.  Two  or three years later, he has learned enough to add the chapters of these books and amass a total 1189.  By the time he is a freshman in high school, with a little luck and … [text lost]… are 773,692 words.  He may know certain facts about the Bible: The longest chapter is Psalm 119; the shortest Psalm 117; the longest verse is Esther 8:9; the shortest John 11:35.  He may know facts, or words, and be totally ignorant about the message contained within.

I.             There Is the Establishment of Authority.  V36 “Do you say of Him whom the Father sanctified and sent into the world, ‘You are blaspheming,’ because I said, ‘I am the Son of God’?”  V35 reminds us “The scripture cannot be broken.”

                William Tyndale was a man used of God to bring His word to the language of men.  Burned at the stake, betrayed by a friend.  Most persistent enemy—the church.  Engraving of William Tyndale standing before a burning stake with a Bible tied.  Out of the fire numberless Bibles take wing to the ends of the earth.

                Jesus came to bear witness to the Word of God.  Isaiah 55:11 “So shall  my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth; it shall not return to me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please. . . .”

                Jesus came as the redemptive agent of God.  V27f “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.  And I give them eternal life.”  So many people lack assurance of salvation.  Tyndale opposed the 16th Century church that was selling indulgences.  Do you have assurance of salvation?  I Samuel 12:22 “The Lord will not forsake His people, for His great name’s sake.”  V29, “No man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hands.”

                Jesus came to assert His right in every life as personal Lord.  V37f, “If I do the works of the Father, though you don’t believe me, believe the works:  that you may know and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in Him.”

                Early in the 20th Century, Albert Einstein, a lifetime pacifist, spoke to a convocation of scientists.  He wrote E=MC2, energy is proportional to mass: the first stumbling steps toward atomic fission.  Twenty centuries ago “I am the way, the truth, and the life.”

II.            There Is the Anticipation of Response.  Regrettably, the first clear response was a negative one.  V33 “The Jews answered him saying, for a good work we stone thee not, but for blasphemy, and because that thou, being a man,  makest thyself God.”  They were the people of the book, yet they understood not.  Shakespeare somewhere said “words without thoughts never to heaven go.”  Too often we try to blame our sin on failure of the word to attest, rather than failure to believe.

                The needed response is one of faith and acquiescence.  Do we genuinely seek to know the will of God?  Romans 12:2, “That you may prove what is that good, and acceptable and perfect, will of God.”  Ephesians 5:17 “Wherefore, be ye not unwise, but understanding what the will of the Lord is.”  And knowing God’s will are we content to live accordingly?

                Wilbur Rees(1) has a piece entitled “$3.00 worth of God.”  “I’d like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please, not enough to explode my soul or disturb my sleep, but just enough to equal a cup of warm milk or a snooze in the sunshine.  I don’t want enough of Him to make me love a black man or pick beets with a migrant.  I want ecstasy not transformation; I want the warmth of the womb, not a new birth.  I want a pound of the eternal in a paper sack.  I’d like to buy $3.00 worth of God, please.”  I58p29.

                In other words, simple words, having learned the truth, to act upon it.  What do you say of him?  Few words—“He blasphemeth.”  Many words that tout truth, but do not testify of it.  Or, “He is the Son of God,” then to treat myself to faith, and others to forgiveness.

III.           The Word Makes Clear the Assertion of Salvation.  V28 “I give them eternal life; and they shall never perish.”

                The first essence of belief is in the reality of God.  Many of these “believers” are Deists.  They believe that God made and wound-up the world, as a watchmaker would a clock.  Then He went off, and to sleep, to let it wind down of its own accord.

                But the essential essence of belief is in a God of contemporary relationship.  He is not off somewhere asleep.  Clearly, He doesn’t always take my need as His first consideration.  But His activity is that of caring and loving parent.

                Salvation teaches us this belief.  It teaches of relationship.  It teaches of security.  It teaches of belonging.

Conclusion

                My family was involved in an auto accident several years ago just north of Alexandria.  Ann and both girls were hospitalized.    Ann was in bed for 8 weeks.  Two had injuries serious enough that they could not be moved.  The back half of my car was on the highway.  As I tried to comfort them and await the ambulance, I was unaware of a transport truck that had stopped, blocking the lane.  Should I have accosted him to determine the contents of his truck?  I may not want such protecting my family.  How many times I have wished for just the name of the company.

                God offers  you eternal life.  You are quibbling over word meanings.  You reject

***THE REMAINDER OF THIS SERMON HAS BEEN LOST***

(1) Rees,W. (1910). $3.00 Worth of God. Judson Press.

THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

#582                                                     THE PERSON OF THE HOLY SPIRIT

Scripture  John 14:15-31, NIV                                                                                                                     Orig. 9/10/1972

                                                                                                                                                                             Rewr. 5/28/1987

Passage: 15 “If you love me, keep my commands. 16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another advocate to help you and be with you forever— 17 the Spirit of truth. The world cannot accept him, because it neither sees him nor knows him. But you know him, for he lives with you and will be[a] in you. 18 I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you. 19 Before long, the world will not see me anymore, but you will see me. Because I live, you also will live. 20 On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you. 21 Whoever has my commands and keeps them is the one who loves me. The one who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I too will love them and show myself to them.”

22 Then Judas (not Judas Iscariot) said, “But, Lord, why do you intend to show yourself to us and not to the world?” 23 Jesus replied, “Anyone who loves me will obey my teaching. My Father will love them, and we will come to them and make our home with them. 24 Anyone who does not love me will not obey my teaching. These words you hear are not my own; they belong to the Father who sent me. 25 “All this I have spoken while still with you. 26 But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.

28 “You heard me say, ‘I am going away and I am coming back to you.’ If you loved me, you would be glad that I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I. 29 I have told you now before it happens, so that when it does happen you will believe. 30 I will not say much more to you, for the prince of this world is coming. He has no hold over me, 31 but he comes so that the world may learn that I love the Father and do exactly what my Father has commanded me.

Purpose:  Continuing a Sunday evening series on the Holy Spirit, here sharing scripture relative to His personality.

Keywords:                           Communication                Person of the Holy Spirit

Timeline/Series:               Holy Spirit

Introduction

                August 9th finally rolled around that distant year and I was glad of it.  That day meant that VBS was about over, and vacation was about to begin.  In fact, we were to leave immediately after Parents’ Night, for the first leg of a nearly five thousand mile journey.

                The afternoon was spent with some final VBS details, and visiting some people who needed to know about the extensions of our plans.  It was a busy day.   At 7:15p.m., just before Parents’ Night was to begin, a knock was heard at my door.  It was an alcoholic needing help.  Fortunately, I knew where that help could be found, placed the phone call, found my  A.A. friend at home.

                That busy day passed successfully, in large measure, because I felt God’s presence.  I knew that the Holy Spirit had succeeded, where I, alone, would have failed.  I knew that He was not with me alone.

                Half way around the world, a friend was experiencing another kind of day.  His day was not being spent in happy pastoral experiences and preparation for vacation.  An Indonesian missionary, John Ingouf, spent that same August 9th at the bedside of his 11-year old daughter, who was dying of lymphosarcoma.  In a letter written five days later, John wrote, “Praise the Lord for His grace.  Pray that He will continue to be glorified in Ann’s illness and home-going.  We are convinced already that much good has come from  this experience.

                The same Holy Spirit who undergirded my work that happy day, ministered to my friend in sadness 12,000 miles away.  I can only do one thing at a time, but the Holy Spirit graces our lives in that He is without limitation.  Wherever we are, whatever our need, He reaches out to us through our companionship with Christ

I.             The Holy Spirit as Transmitter of the Voice of God.  V26 “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.”

                This is not to say that before Pentecost God had no voice.  He spoke to Israel in the wilderness. They built a tabernacle as outward display of God’s glory and presence.  Exodus 40:34-35, “34 Then the cloud covered the tent of meeting, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle. 35 Moses could not enter the tent of meeting because the cloud had settled on it, and the glory of the Lord filled the tabernacle.”  It followed specific directions.

                Centuries later a beautiful temple was erected. David disallowed/Solomon instructed.  I Kings 8:10-11, “glory of the Lord filled.”  A common link: Moses’ tabernacle in the wilderness was temporary, Solomon’s temple in the city was temporary.  The promise was of a new, permanent confine for God’s indwelling.

                John 1:14, “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father.”  John 2:19, Jesus: “Destroy this temple, and in three days, I will raise it  up.”

                Paul perceived this transition to completion. I Corinthians 6:19, “What? Know ye  not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost, which is in you?”

                It is thus, in the Holy Spirit, that God’s purpose of direct communication.  There are inherent dangers,  Men are careless with their brand of truth.  It is that of which liberals are made.  It is also the ground of fundamentalism.  But the good that can come of it prescribes it. 

                He is the teacher of the teachable, not molder of organized mind, not maker of instant intellect, not maintainer of structured creed.  Acts 1:8 “. . . Ye shall receive power after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you, and ye shall be [empowered to perform as followers of Jesus].”

                He is likewise the toucher of the untouchable.  Jesus exercised this touch. Leper/Gentile/woman with issue of blood.  The Holy Spirit confirms and exercises through us.  Men make themselves untouchable.  John 3:18, “This is the condemnation, that light is come into the world, and men love darkness rather than light.”

II.            The Holy Spirit is the Amplifier of the Deeds of Christ.  John 15:26, “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send to you from the Father, even the  Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, He shall testify of me.  The word “testify” is significant.  It is the word of martyrs’ witness, they who honored the truth by paying with their lives. The Holy Spirit communicates absolutely.

                His singular purpose is to magnify Christ.  John 16:13, “When the Spirit of truth is come, He will guide you to all truth.”  Romans 8:16, “The Spirit beareth witness with our spirit, that we are the children of God.”  I Corinthians 12:7, “The manifestation of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal.”

                As someone correctly observes, the Holy Spirit is not interested in magnifying the Holy Spirit.  Those who do so are manifesting their own spiritual value system.  Their values may not be wrong.  They may be good.  But the Holy Spirit magnifies Christ, not Himself.

                We can likewise be sure of this.  When the  human spirit seeks the spiritual nurture to faith and understanding, then the Holy Spirit and the human spirit are going to get together. 

                History’s most significant event was Calvary.  We are in a time slot to magnify the Constitution.  Called “greatest single accomplishment of the mind of man.”  Seated in Philadelphia in May 1787. No doubt, the source of America’s uniqueness.  What the Constitution is to liberty, to time, and to America, Calvary is to soul liberty, to eternity, and to the world.

                God didn’t love any more because of Calvary.  It did not change God.  It changed our perception of God.  At Calvary, we begin to see what God is really like.  There was an Old Testament Spirit.  But He had an Old Testament man to communicate to.

                John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word” . . . v14 “and the Word was made flesh and dwelt among us.” 

                God is not changed, nor the Holy Spirit, but what happened at Calvary changes us, praise God.  The Holy Spirit is the person and is the instrument of amplification.

III.           The Holy Spirit is Many Things.  We Assess One Thing More.  He is the Receiver of Man’s Spiritual Comprehension.  John 14:16f, “I will pray the Father and He will give you another Comforter that He may abide with you forever.  Even the spirit of truth whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him; but ye know Him, for He dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.”               John 14:26, “. . . He shall teach you all things, . . . whatsoever I have said unto you.”

                A major problem for most of us seems that we bore ourselves with simplicity.  The more complicated life is, the better.  A new thing to try, a new toy to entertain.  Drugs and alcohol, are, in reality, an attempt at personality adjustment.  The Holy Spirit’s purpose is to aid in determining what we ought to be, and to bring contentment (peace) in the choice.  John 14:27, “Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you.”

                We don’t have to be plagued with this dissatisfaction with singleness.  How often have we watched a sporting event, and heard filtered tones of some other event.  We watched Russian gymnasts in New Orleans, and a spectator brought a radio to listen to LSU.  What would happen, do you suppose, if a coach found playoff participant listening to a hockey game?  John 14:16f “. . . He shall give you another Comforter, . . . even the Spirit of truth; whom the world can not receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him.”

                Humanly speaking Solomon sensed the problem.  Ecclesiastes 1:8, “The eye is not satisfied with seeing, nor the ear filled with hearing.”

                Thus, the Holy Spirit may communicate, and likewise close out all peripheral disturbances.  Job 42:5, “I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear; but now mine eye seeth thee.”

Conclusion

                The name of R.G. LeTourneau was synonymous with oilfield machinery for a  half century.  He who knew machinery so well pointed out often that friction was the chiefest enemy, could rob a machine of half its power.  As a Christian, he would likewise point out the danger of friction to people.  The Holy Spirit is the person of God in the life of the believer to minimize inward, as well as outward, friction.