April 02: A Day That Will Live in Infamy-At Least for MeSteven Long 03/30/13

This Tuesday marks a year that a significant event took place in my life. It was a Monday morning, a day like every other, when I got up out of bed, got dressed, and headed for work. When I arrived at work I found what I found every Monday: a truck driver waiting to get in the gate to unload the ice cream from his truck .
I let him in the gate and he backed up partway to the dock and stopped. He asked me if he could break the seal on his truck and back in all the way. I informed the driver that because we had no power equipment and it would take two of us to unload the truck he would have to wait until the other gentleman arrived to help me.
Being that I work in a freezer that maintains temperatures of –10 degrees, and when it rains the moisture gets underneath the door and causes it to ice up. When that happens I always have to chip the ice away from the bottom of the door from the outside before it can be opened. It happened to rain that weekend and so I followed my routine of grabbing the hammer and the chisel from the dock and began chipping away the ice from the door.
The tractor trailer had no warning back-up alarms and I never heard the truck backing up. Before I realized what was happening my body had been pinned between the truck and the loading dock. I struggled to breathe and could feel the breath slowly leaving my body. I knew without a doubt that if the truck didn’t move soon I was going to die!
In that moment, in didn’t matter how much money I had ever made; it didn’t matter what kind of vehicle I happened to be driving at the time; it didn’t even matter that my wife and I would be closing on our new home just weeks later. What did matter was the scene that would transpire shortly after my soul would leave this earthly body. I wondered if, when I stood before God, if I would be able to stand before Him knowing that I had used the time He had given me. Would I be able to say that I had lived unreserved and unashamed of Him?
These were the kinds of thoughts that were running through my mind. Now, the Bible is clear that we are not saved by doing good things (Eph 2:8-9) but that we are saved unto good works (Eph 2:10). Unfortunately, our society had focused so much on a social, do-good gospel that grace has been but all removed from the process. Scripture makes it clear that our hearts are wicked and deceitful (Jer 17:9), that we are at enmity with God (Jas 4:4), that we cannot on our own receive the things of God (1Cor 2:14), and that we are dead in our trespasses in sin (Eph 2:1).
Most of us would like to think of ourselves as good people but the above passages say otherwise. When we judge “goodness” by our own standards rather that God’s standards all of us come out squeaky clean. But God is righteous and will judge all of us by the same standards. Those standards are called the Ten Commandments and we are commanded to keep ALL of them or face God’s judgment (Gal 3:10).
That is bad news, for who among us can stand before God and claim that we have never broken His commandments? None of us can! If we have lied, blasphemed God’s Name, dishonored our parents, or any of the other commandments we are guilty of breaking God’s Law! In fact, James 2:10 warns us that if we stumble in just one area of the Law then God will hold us accountable for all of it.
But there is good news! God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, who was fully God and fully Man to keep the Law for us. At the end of His ministry He voluntarily laid down His life to die on a cross in order to redeem all those who would ever believe in Him (John 10:27-28). But that death was not the end of Him. He was buried, and laid in the tomb, and on the third day God raised Him from the dead proving once and for all that He was the acceptable sacrifice for sin. He appeared to His disciples over a forty day period and then ascended into Heaven at the right hand of the Father, waiting to return in judgment. When He returns, He will not come as Savior but as Judge. He will judge all who those who have violated His commands and separate them from Himself in Hell for all eternity (Rev 20:15, Jude 15).
The Father only requires two things: repentance and faith in the Person and work of His Son on the cross for the redemption of sins. Nothing else can save you; no religion, baptism, church membership, or any righteousness you think you may have (Isa 64:6). The only way is to turn from your sins and trust in the completed, finished work of Christ, and Him alone.
I am confident that had I met the Lord on April 2, 2012 that I would have been seen clothed in Christ’s righteousness and not my own. For 16 years ago, on April 13, 1997, God reached down into this hardened and sinful heart, regenerated my dead soul, and granted me faith to believe and repentance unto life.
My friend, if you have never examined yourself in the light of God’s Holy Law, please do so immediately and pray that He will grant you repentance unto life. God bless you.

Technorati Tags: Near Death,The Law,The Gospel

Rejoice! Your King Cometh Steven Long 3/24/13

^{This is the manuscript of the sermon preached at Albemarle Reformed Church on Sunday, 3/24/13}

This morning I would like us to examine the prophecy found in Zecheriah 9:9 in light of the gospel account and fulfillment in the gospel of John. Consequently, John and Matthew are the only two gospel writers that mention this event as a fulfillment of Christ's coming. Of course, Matthew writing from the perspective of Jesus as King focuses on that aspect (Mt 21:4-5). On the other hand, John, who focuses on the eternalty of Christ quotes the prophecy in a matter-of-fact style and then relaying to his readers the ignorance of the disciples in picking up on the event, which is common in the gospels.

Instead of looking at this passage from an expositional view, I would simply like, this morning, to look at the implications of this prophecy. First, we need to look at the prophecy, found in Zechariah 9, in its context to gain a better understanding of how it is fulfilled in the gospels. We will look simultaneously at both passages and do our best to keep them within their given contexts.

Background Information on Zechariah

Zechariah was a contemporary of the prophet Haggai and most commentators place his first prophecy about two months after Haggai's first prophecy to Israel. While Haggai concerns his own message strictly with the rebuilding of the temple, Zechariah's message extends beyond the captivity into Israel's future. It is commonly agreed that he was a somewhat young when God called him to his prophetic ministry. He succeeds his grandfather as priest.

Zechariah is a book about the past and future of Israel. It opens with a solemn reminder of Israel's past sins and God's punishment on His people. Yet, God tenderly calls them to repentance and restoration with Himself. The name 'Zechariah' is interesting in itself in that it means Jehovah remembers. This would have been an especial encouragement for the people as they had been in captivity for seventy years. In fact, the opening verses of Zechariah reflect this.

Then the angel of the LORD said, ‘O LORD of hosts, how long will you have no mercy on Jerusalem and the cities of Judah, against which you have been angry these seventy years?’ (Zech 1:12)

The verses following show God's concern for His people as He assures them that He will judge the nations for their harsh treatment of them and that He will once again set them in the midst of their own land and guard them against their enemies. In his exposition of the entire Bible Albert Barnes notes that the book of Zechariah can be divided into four major sections. He divides them as such:

Zechariah’s book opens with a very simple, touching call to those returned from the captivity, linking himself with the former prophets, but contrasting the transitoriness of all human things, those who prophesied and those to whom they prophesied, with the abidingness of the Word of God. It consists of four parts, differing in outward character, yet with a remarkable unity of purpose and end. All begin with a foreground subsequent to the captivity; all reach on to a further end; the first two to the coming of our Lord; the third from the deliverance of the house then built, during the invasion of Alexander, and from the victories of the Maccabees, to the rejection of the true Shepherd and the curse upon the false; the last, which is connected with the third by its title, reaches from a future repentance for the death of Christ to the final conversion of the Jews and Gentiles.ⁱ

The book of Zechariah is filled with Messianic prophesies and Ernst Hengstenberg cites these prophecies as “only second to that of Isaiah.”ⁱⁱ For example, the prophecy of the Branch of David (Zech 3:8) as well as Christ being sold for thirty pieces of silver (Zech 11:13) as well as the disciples forsaking Christ at His arrest (Zech 13:7). The prophecy we are concerned with this morning comes in chapter 9 of the book.

The Context of the Prophecy

The chapter opens up with a doom for several nations. The regions of Philistia is especially prominent as are the cities of Tyre and Sidon. Chapter 2 verses 8-9 inform us that several nations “plundered Judah” and “scattered them abroad.” Though God Himself was the one that sent these nations to punish Israel for their sin many of them went to extremes in their conquests. The book of Obadiah is especially telling in Edom's treatment of Israel. The Assyrians were especially cruel in their treatment of the nations that they conquered. It is no wonder why Jonah tried to run from God when God wanted to show mercy to Nineveh.

But now the Lord was sending His retribution upon them by allowing His people a time to plunder their enemies. Here in this chapter we see that these particular nations are Israel's enemies and God stands ready to defend His people from their threats and attempted conquest of them. In verse 9 we see the salvation of the people through the promised Messiah.

The condemnation comes to each of the peoples mentioned, starting as The burden of the word of the Lord Interestingly, the word 'burden' is the same word used for a nation that paid tribute to a conquering nation. Likewise, the LXX uses the word λημμα which means an expense or something paid. The idea is that these nations were now “paying” for their actions and God's word of prophecy was the acting agent to bring that message. The message to each peoples are as follows:

Hadrach—not much is known about this particular place as it is never mentioned again in Scripture. But Old Testament scholars Keil and Delitzch surmise this:

[it] can only be a symbolical name formed by the prophet himself (as Jerome maintained, according to a Jewish tradition), from chad, acris, sharp, brave, ready for war (in Arabic, ḥdd, vehemens fuit, durus in ira, pugna), and râkh, soft, tender, in the sense of sharp-soft, or strong-tender, after the analogy of the symbolical names.ⁱⁱⁱ

Damascus—this city seems to be a part of Hadrach as it is said, “[Hadrach's] resting place.” perhaps it is the epicenter of this land. This is the same Damascus where Paul, formerly Saul, went with letters from the chief priests to arrest those who belonged to Christ, therein on his way met the Christ and was converted. The city itself is not very large, and according to the ISBE is only about a half mile wide and a mile long. It is situated on the border of desert country and is somewhat of an oasis to those traveling from that area as in certain Arabic literature it is described as a paradise. Whatever the case it is condemned by God for its part it played in Israel's past or future demise.

Tyre & Sidon—these two cities are almost always mentioned in connection. They are important cities in the Phoenician world. They are known for two things: for their impenetrable city and for their amass of silver. Yet God warns them that they will be stripped bear. This prophecy was actually fulfilled when Alexander the Great conquered the city as relayed by Jamieson, Fausset, and Brown:

Alexander, though without a navy, by incredible labor constructed a mole of the ruins of Old Tyre (fulfilling Eze 26:4-12, &c., by "scraping her dust from her," and "laying her stones, timber, and dust in the midst of the water"), from the shore to the island, and, after a seven months' siege, took the city by storm, slew with the sword about eight thousand, enslaved thirteen thousand, crucified two thousand, and set the city on "fire," as here foretold^iv

Philistia—next comes the entire region of Philistia. These people were enemies of the Israelites from of old. From the time of the judges to the established monarchy these people were a thorn in Israel's side. Samson certainly had his bouts with them and David engaged them time and time again as he sought to bring peace throughout the entire nation.

In this prophecy each province of Philisita is given special attention. Ashkelon is afraid of the destruction that it has seen of the previous two cities; Gaza is said to be in such fear that it writhes in pain; Ekron looses all hope as it sees her neighbors around her collapsing and Ashkelon abandoning its towns. The final result of Philistia will be that it is emptied of its natives and inhabited by complete foreigners (Zech 9:6).

Then comes the prophecy! Jehovah announces with clarity and certainty that He will send His servant the Messiah to come in righteousness and bring salvation to His people. But when His servant comes He will look much different. The Pulpit Commentary on Zechariah states this about the fulfillment of this prophecy:

In illustration of his poor or afflicted estate; it is this, and not merely the peace. fulness of his reign, that is meant by this symbolical action, as we see by the following clause, where the youthfulness of the animal is the point enforced. And (even, and that) upon a colt the foal of an ass; such as she asses bear, and one not trained; as the evangelist says, "whereon never man sat." Christ sat upon the foal. In old times judges and men of distinction rode upon asses; (Gen 22:3 Jud 5:10 10:4) but from Solomon"s days the horse had been used, not only in war, but on all state occasions; (Jer 17:25) and the number of horses brought back on the return from Babylon is specially mentioned.^v

Their Savior would not be quite what they expected. He is said to be lowly (not high-minded), righteous (judging rightly and impartially), and humble (no big fanfares to announce His coming). This is exactly how our Lord entered the world. For He came to lowly shepherds first, those who were despised even by the common man.

The Implications of the Fulfillment

We now return briefly to our text in John 12 to see what implications Christ had on the fulfillment of this specific prophecy.

1. The Messiah came not as a conqueror of men, but of sin (vv. 14-15). All of Israel, including Christ's own disciples expected a warrior-king to deliver them. Tired of Roman oppression and rule they were ready to do whatever it took to find their “savior.” They demonstrated this after the miracle of the feeding of the five thousand when the crowds wanted to force Jesus to be their leader and deliverer (John 6:14-15). The Jews were so tired of their burden that a group of assassins known as Zealots often plotted against Roman authorities and those Jewish leaders that were in cohorts with them. In fact, it was one of these men, Simon, that Jesus chose as one of His disciples. But Christ would not meet their expectations for His mission was to be a spiritual Savior not physical one. It is only at His second advent will He rule and reign the nations as the completed fulfillment of His Kingdom.
2. The Messiah had come to be glorified (vv. 23-24). The glory of the cross lay before Him. And though others would see it as a defeat Christ saw it as part of His triumphant entry into the city. He explains the cost of this glory in verse 24, giving the illustration of a kernel of wheat falling to the ground. The wheat itself dies but the seeds that it leaves behind falls to the fertile soil and brings forth new life. Even so, His death and the shedding of His blood (the “seed” so to speak) would produce an untold harvest of worshipers. It was this glory that caused Him to “set His face to go to Jerusalem.” (Lk 9:51) Though He Himself would express a human fear and concern as demonstrated by His sweat drops of blood during His petition to the Father at Gethsemane. Yet His own words, “Nevertheless, not my will, but your will be done,” is the echo of this glory. The culmination of His entire earthly existence was about to take place. Once He had borne the sins of His people (Mt 1:21) He would once again have the same glory with the Father that He enjoyed before the foundation of the world (John 17:5).
3. The Messiah had come to cast out the ruler of this world (vv. 31-32). When Adam and Eve traded God's glory for their own Satan became the ruler of this world. He ever lives to make trouble for the saints of God. He is a liar, a deceiver, a murderer, but most of all he is the accuser of God's people. He stands before the throne of God calling out the sins and atrocities that God's own people have committed against Him. And if it were not for our advocate we would doubtless fall into the deepest recesses of Hell and burn with the enemies of Jehovah. But thanks be to God for His unending mercy in the death and glorification of His Son, Jesus Christ. We see the the intercession of Christ for His people in the New Testament, but here in the book of Zechariah is one of the most comforting and endearing intercessions of all: (Zech 3:1 -12)

Then he showed me Joshua the high priest standing before the angel of the LORD, and Satan standing at his right hand to accuse him.

And the LORD said to Satan, “The LORD rebuke you, O Satan! The LORD who has chosen Jerusalem rebuke you! Is not this a brand plucked from the fire?”

Now Joshua was standing before the angel, clothed with filthy garments.

And the angel said to those who were standing before him, “Remove the filthy garments from him.” And to him he said, “Behold, I have taken your iniquity away from you, and I will clothe you with pure vestments.”

And I said, “Let them put a clean turban on his head.” So they put a clean turban on his head and clothed him with garments. And the angel of the LORD was standing by.

And the angel of the LORD solemnly assured Joshua,

“Thus says the LORD of hosts: If you will walk in my ways and keep my charge, then you shall rule my house and have charge of my courts, and I will give you the right of access among those who are standing here.

Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, you and your friends who sit before you, for they are men who are a sign: behold, I will bring my servant the Branch.

For behold, on the stone that I have set before Joshua, on a single stone with seven eyes, I will engrave its inscription, declares the LORD of hosts, and I will remove the iniquity of this land in a single day.

In that day, declares the LORD of hosts, every one of you will invite his neighbor to come under his vine and under his fig tree.”

What a comfort, brothers and sisters, that God defended His priest from Satan, who aptly pointed out his faults! And a comfort even still knowing that this man was a priest chosen by God to minister before Him. If God's own priest, chosen by Him would be accused by Satan, how much more us? Yet we can rejoice with the apostle Paul when he states, “Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus.” (Rom 8:1) This is what it meant for Christ to become poor for our sake so that we may become rich. The miracle of the cross is an extraordinary thing: the innocent (Christ, a Lamb without spot or blemish) is condemned and the guilty (us, whose righteousness are as filthy rags, Isa 64:6) are set free. It is as the apostle states in Romans 3:26 that God is just (in punishing sin in Christ) and at the same time the justifier of those who have faith in His Son.

What is the implication of the fulfillment of this prophecy? I believe it can be summed up with one passage of Scripture:

Beloved, we are God's children now, and what we will be has not yet appeared; but we know that when he appears we shall be like him, because we shall see him as he is. And everyone who thus hopes in him purifies himself as he is pure. (1John 3:2-3)

For believers the fulfillment of this prophecy has the greatest implication of all: that we will one day, not only be freed from our burden of sin, but that we will spend an eternity in the presence of the One came “righteous and having salvation; humbled, and mounted on a donkey.” What greater implication can there be for mankind?

i Barnes, A., 2012. Barnes’ Notes on the Old Testament-Book of Zechariah. Graceworks Multimedia.

ii Hengstenberg, Ernst Wilhelm. Christologie Des Alten Testamentes Und Commentar Über Die Messianischen, vol 3, pg. 296, Weissagungen. English. T. & T. Clark, 1858.

iii Carl Friedrich Keil, The Twelve Minor Prophets (T. & T. Clark, 1871), vol 2, pg. 322

ivJamieson, Robert, Andrew Robert Fausset, and David Brown. A Commentary, Critical and Explanatory, on the Old and New Testaments, vol 1, pg. 727. S.S. Scranton, 1875.

v Spence-Jones, Henry Donald Maurice. The Pulpit Commentary, vol 34, pg. 314Funk & Wagnalls Company, 189AD.

Who is the Holy Spirit? (pt2)Steven Long 3/17/13

^{This is a recap of tonight's podcast Who is the Holy Spirit (part 2)}


Tonight's podcast was part 2 on the Holy Spirit. We focused on the Spirit's deity and personality. The graph above shows the relation between each member of the Trinity. One of the things brought to the forefront during the podcast was the fact that the distinction of role in no way diminishes the Deity of the Holy Spirit. The Spirit has voluntarily taken a "back seat" position, if you will, pointing to the work of Christ and bearing witness with God's children while sanctifying and sealing them.

Unfortunately, a lot of people in the church treat the Spirit as a force, or a power to accomplish what they desire. The Benny Hinn video clip we played at the beginning demonstrated this. Using the Holy Spirit in this manner is taking God's Name in vain (vain simply means useless or empty) and is a direct violation of the third commandment (Ex 20:7).

Next week we will focus more on the Trinity as a whole. Thanks for reading (and listening) and God be with you.

Dan & Steve (AKA) The Truth Team

Beware of "Jesus Calling"Steven Long 3/17/13

The book Jesus Calling is making waves in the evangelical church. The book is a devotional type book by Sarah Young. The devotionals cover a year and meant to be read every day. However, don't be too quick to pick up this book  to hear "Jesus calling" you. The book is a mixture of a dangerous practice called Contemplative Prayer. Even from the description given by Amazon one can see the dangers of such a book:

Jesus Calling is a devotional filled with uniquely inspired treasures from heaven for every day of the year. After many years of writing in her prayer journal, missionary Sarah Young decided to listen to God with pen in hand, writing down whatever she believed He was saying to her. It was awkward at first, but gradually her journaling changed from monologue to dialogue. She knew her writings were not inspired as Scripture is, but journaling helped her grow closer to God. Others were blessed as she shared her writings, until people all over the world were using her messages. They are written from Jesus' point of view, thus the title Jesus Calling. It is Sarah's fervent prayer that our Savior may bless readers with His presence and His peace in ever deeper measure.

I've put in bold some things that caused some red flags to immediately go off in my brain.

1. My first concern was the fact that Young admits that she believed these were the things Jesus was saying to her. There are many problems with this: First, we don't base what God is saying on what we believe He is saying but what His Word actually says what it is saying. If we live the Christian life looking for what God is saying rather than obeying His clear, written word, we will never be certain of anything. Does God actually expect us to guess what He wants us to do?
2. Another concern was with the sentence 'her journaling turned from monologue to dialogue.' The connotation seems to be that Sarah moved from simply listening to God speak to interacting with Him through her journaling. Journaling is nothing new and the practice of writing down things we learn from Scripture is not in and of itself a dangerous thing. But to actually state that you dialogue with God through journaling leaves one to believe that her methods are a way to intimately communicate with God. Scripture is clear that God's Word is sufficient for everything a believer needs (2Tim 3:16, 2Pe 1:3-6).
3. The next red flag came when the review stated that people all over the world were "using her message." This is a concern mainly because people in the Church lack so much discernment that they would abandon the sufficiency of Scripture for a new and "fresh" message. I wrote a little diddy about that danger in a previous post.
4. My last concern was the idea that these devotionals were written from "Jesus' point of view." This is, whether Young would admit it or not, an affirmation of extra-Biblical revelation. When we claim to have revelation from God then we abandon God's already sufficient Word for what we "believe" God is telling us.
   

For those who think I am being a bit over-critical, blogger and author Tim Challies offers a review of this book. In his review he gives a direct quote in Young's own words of her first encounter with Jesus.

One night I found myself leaving the warmth of our cozy chalet to walk alone in the snowy mountains. I went into a deeply wooded area, feeling vulnerable and awed by cold, moonlit beauty. The air was crisp and dry, piercing to inhale. Suddenly I felt as if a warm mist enveloped me. I became aware of a lovely Presence, and my involuntary response was to whisper, ‘Sweet Jesus.’ This utterance was totally uncharacteristic of me, and I was shocked to hear myself speaking so tenderly to Jesus. As I pondered this brief communication, I realized it was the response of a converted heart; at that moment I knew I belonged to Him. This was far more than the intellectual answers for which I’d been searching. This was a relationship with the Creator of the universe.

Challies' full book review can be found here.

Reading her own description of her encounter one would be left with the idea of an esoteric experience. Are we really supposed to put our trust in warm mist that envelopes us? The esoteric experience is what John warned his congregation about in 1John. The book is written to warn of false teachers called gnostics. The Gnostics believed in the the higher power of knowledge and that this knowledge would lead one to "experience" the same kind of things that Young has described in her book.

All-in-all, Jesus Calling is something to stay away from. At best, the book leaves you with the warm fuzzies, and at the worst will lead your soul to trust in something other that God's promise to His people. For more information you can listen to the podcast Beware of Jesus Calling.

The Holy Spirit (part 1) Who Is the Holy Spirit?Dan Long 3/11/13

Here is a recap of tonight's (3-11-13) podcast. The videos made reference to in the podcast are embedded below the notes. 

THREE MAIN QUESTIONS:

1. Who is the Holy Spirit?
2. When do we receive the Holy Spirit?
3. What does the Holy Spirit do in the life of the Believer?

1. Who is the Holy Spirit?

A.The Holy Spirit is a Person

Main emphasis: THE ROLE OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN THE NEW TESTAMENT IS TO POINT TO CHRIST.

James White from his book THE FORGOTTEN TRINITY says this:

There is a reason why the Holy Spirit does not receive the same level and kind of attention that is focused upon the Father and the Son: it is not His purpose to attract that kind of attention to himself. Just as the Son voluntarily chose to take the role of Suffering Servant so as to redeem God's people, so, too, the Spirit has chosen to take the role as Sanctifier and Advocate of the people of God. But since it is the Spirit's role to direct the hearts of men to Christ, and to conform them to His image, He does not seek to push himself into the forefront and gain attention for himself.

Acts 13:1-2

Now there were in the church at Antioch prophets and teachers, Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen a lifelong friend of Herod the tetrarch, and Saul. While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

1. The Holy Spirit speaks. "the Holy Spirit said."

2. Notice the personal pronouns: "the Holy Spirit said, “Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

3. He calls people to a specific work“Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them.”

One of the things that is very easy to do is to refer to the Holy Spirit as "it" rather than thinking of Him as a Person.

Jesus referred to the Holy Spirit as a Person.

John 15:26

“But when the Helper comes, whom I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the Father, he will bear witness about me.

TN: I would like to point out two things in the next set of verses.

1 Corinthians 2:10-11

Now God has revealed these things to us by the Spirit, for the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the spirit of the man that is in him? In the same way, no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.

Acts 10:19-20

And while Peter was pondering the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Behold, three men are looking for you. Rise and go down and accompany them without hesitation, for I have sent them.”

NOTICE AGAIN, THE HOLLY SPIRIT SPEAKS AND USES PERSONAL PRONOUNS.

TN: 1. An impersonal force doesn't search anything. Searching requires looking into something.

2. Because the thoughts of God are infinite, Romans 11:34 “For who has known the mind of the Lord, or who has been his counselor?” what mere creature, human or angel, can know the thoughts of God but God alone?

B. The Holy Spirit is God!

James White- The Forgotten Trinity: "difference in function does not indicate inferiority of nature."

Why is it important to know that the Holy Spirit is God?

To know God dwells within us should change how we view ourselves.

False teaching.

HE IS SPECIFICALLY CALLED GOD.

Acts 5:3-5

But Peter said, “Ananias, why has Satan filled your heart to lie to the Holy Spirit and to keep back for yourself part of the proceeds of the land? While it remained unsold, did it not remain

your own? And after it was sold, was it not at your disposal? Why is it that you have contrived this deed in your heart? You have not lied to man but to God.” When Ananias heard these words, he fell down and breathed his last. And great fear came upon all who heard of it.

Isaiah 40:13-18 Who has directed the Spirit of the Lord,or who gave Him His counsel? Who did He consult with? Who gave Him understanding and taught Him the paths of justice? Who taught Him knowledge and showed Him the way of understanding? Look, the nations are like a drop in a bucket; they are considered as a speck of dust in the scales; He lifts up the islands like fine dust. Lebanon is not enough for fuel, or its animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations

are as nothing before Him; they are considered by Him as nothingness and emptiness.

Who will you compare God with? What likeness will you compare Him to?

1. The Spirit took part in creation.

Genesis 1:1-2

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.

Job 33:4

The Spirit of God has made me, and the breath of the Almighty gives me life.

2. When Israel resisted the Holy Spirit they were resisting God.

Hebrews 3:7-10

Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts as in the rebellion, on the day of testing in the wilderness, where your fathers put me to the test and saw my works for forty years. Therefore I was provoked with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart; they have not known my ways. ’

3. New converts are to be baptized in the name of the Holy Spirit.

Matthew 28:19

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit,

4. The Holy Spirit can be blasphemed.

Matthew 12:31-32

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven people, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven. And whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come.

The Doctrine of Election Is Not About Predestination Steven Long 3/01/13

Without doubt the Doctrine of Election stirs up emotions. And with the recent buzz just months ago in the Southern Baptist Convention concerning the issue it is beginning to once again make an appearance in the forefront of evangelicalism. For some time the Convention seemed at peace with the idea that Calvinist and non-Calvinist could co-exist alongside in cooperation regarding the issue. But many of the rising leaders made it clear that this could not be the case. For example, the opening lines of the source article in the link above states,

“Every generation of Southern Baptists has the duty to articulate the truths of its faith with particular attention to the issues that are impacting contemporary mission and ministry. The precipitating issue for this statement is the rise of a movement called “New Calvinism” among Southern Baptists. This movement is committed to advancing in the churches an exclusively Calvinistic understanding of salvation, characterized by an aggressive insistence on the “Doctrines of Grace” (“TULIP”), and to the goal of making Calvinism the central Southern Baptist position on God’s plan of salvation.”

The drafters of this new statement make it abundantly clear that Calvinism’s doctrines (namely that of election) are no longer acceptable within the Convention.


It seems that the traditional understanding of the Doctrine of Election from a non-Calvinist perspective focuses solely on predestination, and consequently double predestination, rather than on the real scope of this beloved truth. The Doctrine of Predestination is not about election--that is, it is not primarily based on God’s choice of His elect from eternity past. It’s primary focus is on God’s grace to underserving sinners.


It is all too often forgotten that God is not obligated to show His grace to any one person in particular, and more specifically to the entire human race. It is essentially agreed among Calvinists and non-Calvinists alike that if God were to send the entire human race to Hell He would be just in doing so. If this is so, why then do we tend to focus on the logistics of election rather than on the scope of its effects; the salvation of poor, blind, wretched, and wicked God-hating people?


Just as an inmate on death row deserves to die because of his/her atrocities against other people, so we too deserve nothing less than an eternity separated from God’s presence in Hell for our crimes against the Most High Court of all. If then, that judge, being gracious to the offender decides to pardon the offender for mercy’s sake, yet does not pardon all those on death row he would not be unjust for letting the others die for their crimes. They are simply reaping the consequences of their own actions.
In the same way, God has chosen to pardon a mass of the human race who have been on death row for their crimes against Him. This is the scope and meaning of Election. It is not that God has chosen not to pardon all, but that He has chosen to pardon any.


And in that lies the beauty of the Doctrines of Grace!