Acts 14 - Part 3

Just take your copy of God's Word and turn to Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

Two weeks ago, we began a study of chapter 14 of Luke's second volume,

! Most commonly referred to as the Acts of the Apostles.

You can look at the beginning of this book in your Bible and see it likely titled the Acts of the Apostles.

And that's true in much measure.

We're looking at the early life of the church and the apostles and the way in which God used them to proclaim the gospel to the known world at the time.

But I think it would be more apt to call this book the Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.

And I don't say that as a rebuke of the people who translated our Bibles.

I'm very thankful for them.

But rather to set your mind headed in the right direction.

The Acts of the Risen Jesus Christ.

Luke's first account is about his ministry on earth.

His second account is about his ministry from heaven.

As he acts by the agency of the Holy Spirit in the lives of his followers.

Much of the book of Acts is aimed at helping us understand the activity of the Holy Spirit.

At the very end of chapter 13 in verse 52 Luke writes this.

And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Now remember that our chapter numbers, verse numbers, subtitles, not inspired.

So flowing from the end of chapter 13 into the beginning of chapter 14.

I believe that Luke intends this phrase and the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit to bridge us into the next chapter.

Right.

They were filled with the Spirit.

Watch.

Here's what happens when you're filled with the Spirit.

And I asserted to you the past two weeks the following.

The primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.

If you're taking notes, I'm going to give that to you again.

I'll give it to you later if you need it again.

The primary role of the Spirit of God is the exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.

And the primary means that he uses to accomplish this is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.

The primary means used to accomplish this is the word of God believed and spoken by the people of God.

Whatever the works of the Spirit you believe to be active, there's many views on this.

Whatever you believe to be active or in some cases even real, the work of the Spirit is always aimed in this direction.

The exaltation of Jesus Christ in the salvation and perfection of his church.

By causing belief in the word of God and causing the word of God to be spoken by the people of God.

The Spirit of God's job is to draw the world's attention.

Those who already are following Christ and those who have yet to follow Christ to Christ.

This is the job of the Spirit.

If this concept is new to you, I really want you to listen to the past two sermons.

Not because I think they're the most wonderful sermons on the topic.

But because I know they contain within them the biblical context you need to rightly understand this.

So go back.

Our website has it.

You can go look these sermons up.

Or just do some good study of the Spirit.

And the Spirit's activity in the life of the believer.

But for this morning, I want to prime the pump a bit from our last two weeks before we continue our study of this text.

Week 3 of Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

By reading a quotation to you by Charles Spurgeon.

And I'm actually going to do it from the book I got the quotation from.

To make a point as an aside.

On your bulletin every week, there's a quotation at the top of that.

But it's often Charles Spurgeon because of this book.

I want you to know that we don't use quotations to sound smart.

My intent is never in quoting some saint of old or someone with more accolades than myself.

To make me sound smart like I'm reading all the time.

And I come across all these gems.

And I've just got to let you know that I know what's going on out there in past and present Christianity.

Never the point.

What I find is that often, particularly the old dead guys, just say things better than I say things.

I just think they do a great job of summing up and driving the point home.

Further, all saints, all of those who are God's past and present and future are part of the universal church.

And we should love all of them.

We have access to such wonderful minds.

A grace of God to us that we can access such writing.

So that's why we're giving that to you.

A little church history.

I don't want you to think that the ideas that are being presented on Sunday morning are anything new.

They're just great old ideas.

And that's part of the reason.

So I've got this wonderful book, Through the Eyes of Spurgeon, that my wife got me for something.

I can't remember what it was exactly that I got it for.

And it's done by topic in alphabetical order.

So I can just look up quotes.

And that's why you often get Spurgeon quotes.

So I'm going to read this to you to drive the point we're making about the Spirit of God working to the exaltation of Jesus Christ using the Word as the primary means.

Spurgeon said this,

God by his Spirit brings old truth home to the heart, gives new light to our eyes, and causes the Word to exercise new power over us.

But he reveals no new facts.

And he utters no words in any man's ears concerning his condition and state.

We must be content with the old revelation and with the life and power and force with which the Holy Spirit brings it to the heart.

Neither must any of us seek to have any additional revelation, for that would imply that the Scriptures are incomplete.

So if we're to be empowered by the Spirit, be filled by the Spirit, right, in this case that I've been making to you,

that means that we need to have the Word of Christ dwell in us richly.

It is the tool that the Spirit of God uses to bring about obedience in His people.

So if you are a follower of Jesus Christ, it will serve you well to give a careful consideration to what it means to be filled by the Spirit.

Do not neglect the third person of the Trinity.

Do not make Him into something that He is not, or magnify work attributed to Him that is not Christ-exalting,

but rather take hold of the gift that He is in the life of the believer.

Precious gift that we have.

And chapter 14 can help us to do that, right?

It can help us by showing us some things.

It's not everything, not an exhaustive way that the Spirit works in the life,

but there's things that we can observe in the lives of believers who are filled with the Spirit.

And we can hold our life up to that and wonder,

is this me?

Am I filled with the Spirit?

So I'm going to read to us Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

We'll get into it.

It's Acts chapter 14, beginning in verse 1.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

Now at Iconium, they entered together into the Jewish synagogue and spoke in such a way

that a great number of both Jews and Greeks believed.

But the unbelieving Jews stirred up the Gentiles and poisoned their minds against the brothers.

So they remained for a long time, speaking boldly for the Lord,

who bore witness to the word of His grace, granting signs and wonders to be done by their hands.

But the people of the city were divided.

Some sided with the Jews and some with the apostles.

When an attempt was made by both Gentiles and Jews with their rulers to mistreat them and to stone them,

they learned of it and fled to Lystra and Derbe, cities of Lithuania, and to the surrounding country.

And there they continued to preach the gospel.

Now at Lystra, there was a man sitting who could not use his feet.

He was crippled from birth and had never walked.

He listened to Paul speaking and Paul looked intently at him and seeing that he had faith to be made well,

said in a loud voice, stand upright on your feet.

And he sprang up and began walking.

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they lifted up their voices, saying in Lycauanian,

the gods have come down to us in the likeness of men.

Barnabas they called Zeus and Paul Hermes because he was the chief speaker.

And the priest of Zeus, whose temple was at the entrance to the city,

brought oxen and garlands to the gates and wanted to offer sacrifice with the crowds.

But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of it,

they tore their garments and rushed out into the crowd, crying out,

Men, why are you doing these things?

We also are men of like nature with you.

And we bring you good news that you should turn from these vain things

to a living God who made the heavens and the earth and the sea and all that is in them.

In past generations, he allowed all the nations to walk in their ways,

yet he did not leave himself without witness,

for he did good by giving you rains from heaven and fruitful seasons,

satisfying your hearts with food and gladness.

Even with these words, they scarcely restrained the people from offering sacrifice to them.

But Jews came from Antioch and Iconium, and having persuaded the crowds,

they stoned Paul and dragged him out of the city, supposing that he was dead.

But when the disciples gathered about him, he rose up and entered the city,

and on the next day he went on with Barnabas to Derbe.

When they had preached the gospel to that city and made many disciples,

they returned to Lystra and to Iconium and to Antioch,

strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith,

and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.

And when they had appointed elders for them in every church,

with prayer and fasting they committed them to the Lord in whom they had believed.

Then they passed through Pisidia and came to Pamphylia.

When they had spoken the word in Perga, they went down to Italia,

and from there they sailed to Antioch,

where they had been commended to the grace of God for the work that they had fulfilled.

When they arrived and gathered the church together,

they declared all that God had done with them,

and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles,

and they remained no little time with the disciples.

Beloved, this is God's word to us.

It was written for his glory and our good.

We would all do well to listen to it in order to believe its promises and obey its commands.

So we've structured our study.

So this is part three, Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

We've structured it around seven points.

I'm going to give those to you really quickly.

As I've said, this is not exhaustive of all the work of the Spirit,

but we can find all of these things in our text, and they're worth our consideration.

So the person who is filled with the Spirit,

number one is fruitful,

number two is opposed,

number three speaks boldly,

number four acts humbly,

number five develops disciples,

number six is committed,

and number seven loves fellowship.

Two weeks ago, we managed to make it through the first point.

So the person who is filled with the Spirit is fruitful.

That is, I mean this in the Mark chapter 4 good soil sense.

Mark 4 · chapter mention

The person who is filled with the Spirit is multiplied as they proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ.

The Spirit of God uses God's people to bring people to faith.

The person who is filled with the Spirit is fruitful.

Last week I worked to present the next three points.

So secondly, number two,

the person who is filled with the Spirit is opposed.

The gospel of Jesus Christ has been and will be

accepted by many and has been and will be rejected by many.

Rejection takes all kinds of form.

It often takes the form of direct opposition,

and we see a lot of that in our text.

You picked up on the plots and the actual stoning of Paul.

Much opposition in the text.

The person who is filled with the Spirit will be opposed by some.

Thirdly, the person who is filled with the Spirit speaks boldly.

Even in the face of great opposition,

the Christian filled with the Spirit does not shrink back when they ought to press forward.

Thirdly, Paul and Barnabas continue to preach the gospel in the face of persecution.

Fourthly, this is summary.

I thought you didn't catch that.

I'm moving us to today's points.

Fourthly, the person who is filled with the Spirit acts humbly.

Right?

The person who is filled with the Spirit is humble.

They are not self-seeking or self-promoting.

Paul and Barnabas are given the opportunity to be worshipped as gods,

but they seek only to see the God of heaven and earth exalted.

My job on a Sunday morning is not for you to think of me as a good preacher.

My job is for you to worship the risen Christ.

Get me out of the way.

I hope you can't pick me out in a crowd at the end of today,

but that you are in love with Jesus as a result of our time this morning.

So this week, Lord willing, we'll complete our study of chapter 14 with the concluding three points.

So here they are again for your note-taking benefit.

The person who is filled with the Spirit, number five, so catch the order,

number five develops disciples,

number six is committed,

and number seven loves fellowship.

So number five, the person who is filled with the Spirit develops disciples.

It's starting to feel like a list on Reddit, isn't it?

Seven ways you know you're filled with the Spirit.

Number five, develops disciples.

Paul and Barnabas carried with them the promise and the command

of what we most often call the Great Commission.

Being filled with the Holy Spirit,

they are obedient to the command of Christ,

which we find in Matthew chapter 28, verses 18 through 20.

Matthew 28:18–20

Now, hear me, the case I'm making to you

is that to be filled with the Spirit

is to have the Word of Christ dwell in you richly.

Set your mind, Romans chapter 8,

Romans 8 · chapter mention

set your minds on the things of the Spirit

and you will not fulfill the desires of the flesh.

What are the things of the Spirit that we set our minds on?

It's the book that He's written for us.

So they understand both the power for

and the command to make disciples.

Matthew 28, 18 through 20.

And Jesus came and said to them,

right, here's the power for,

all authority in heaven and earth has been given to me.

And here's the command.

Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations,

not merely converts,

but followers of Jesus Christ.

Not merely those who say they follow Jesus,

but those who actually follow Jesus.

Baptizing them in the name of the Father

and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

Verse 20, teaching them to observe

all that I have commanded you,

following Him.

And behold, I am with you.

I've got all power and I am with you.

Always.

To the end of the age.

Paul and Barnabas know this information.

They don't have it from Matthew 28, 18 through 20 at this time.

They are aware of the power that Jesus brings

and the command to go.

Oh, that we would have a vision for discipleship

that is consistent with our Lords.

Those of us who have been saved by Christ

going out and bringing about redemption

in the lives of others.

Paul instructs Timothy concerning discipleship

in the following way in 2 Timothy 2, 2.

He says,

What you have heard from me

in the presence of many witnesses

entrust to faithful men

who will be able to teach others also.

So Paul's vision for discipleship

is generational.

To raise up a generational witness

to the glory of our risen Christ.

In 2 Timothy 2, 2, there are four generations.

There's Paul, right?

Instructed by Christ himself, an apostle,

who now has imparted this knowledge

of the Gospel of Jesus to Timothy,

who he's now instructing to impart that

to faithful men

who will impart that to others.

This picture of the Gospel going forth

through loving, truthful relationship

from person to person to person.

And we can see in our text,

in the face of opposition,

when they first arrive in Iconium,

there's this opposition to them.

There's a stirring up.

There's an embittering of people's hearts

toward them.

So verse 3 says,

So they remained for a long time,

speaking boldly for the Lord.

Here's a people,

young converts to Christ,

that desperately need instruction.

So they stay on

in the face of this opposition

to help raise them up in Jesus.

Verse 21,

When they had preached the Gospel

to that city,

he's referring to Derbe,

and had made many disciples,

so these are converts coming to faith,

what do they do?

They return.

Go back to the places

where they have been preaching the Gospel,

and people have been coming to faith,

that there's opposition.

They go back to these places,

to Lystra,

and to Iconium,

and to Antioch,

doing what?

Verse 22,

strengthening the souls

of the disciples,

encouraging them to continue

in the faith,

helping them to be sanctified,

to be raised up in Christ,

and saying that through many tribulations,

we must enter the kingdom of God.

Paul and Barnabas

did not just see people converted,

but also growing in grace and truth.

But they did not stop there.

They also appointed leadership

to continue this work

of generational witness.

Verse 23,

they appointed elders for them

in every church.

They pray,

and they fast,

and they commit these elders

to the Lord

in whom they had believed.

And there's an important lesson

in this,

probably particularly

for church leaders,

but if you'll hear me for a second,

note the way that Paul and Barnabas

trust that Christ

is the head of the church.

They do the work

that they're called to do.

They're obedient

to be disciple makers.

They appoint elders,

and then what do they do?

They commit them to the Lord.

They're able to go on.

They're able to finish

their missionary journey

and go away

because who is with them?

Jesus Christ working

by the agency of the Spirit

with the Word of God.

They're able to press on

to a new work beyond

once they've established

these things amongst them.

So they were disciple makers.

They developed disciples

being filled with the Spirit.

Beloved,

this is the work of the church.

Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

I want you to turn there with me, please.

Ephesians chapter 4,

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

just verses 11 and 12.

I want you to see this for yourself.

We will go back to Acts 14.

Ephesians chapter 4, verse 11.

Ephesians 4:11

Paul has just talked about

how Christ ascended.

What does that also mean?

But it also means that He descended,

He came down to earth,

and He gave gifts to men.

And he begins to talk about

these gifts that He gave

for the sake of the church.

Verse 11.

And He gave the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

and teachers

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry

for building up

the body of Christ.

As a side note,

it was so hard for me

to stop at that point.

The chapter gets so good

after that.

But to stay on point,

verses 11 and 12,

He gave the apostles,

the prophets,

the evangelists,

the shepherds,

and teachers

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry

for building up

the body of Christ.

Now,

I want you to understand this text.

That's why I want you there.

I want you looking

at this text.

Okay?

So,

Christ gives gifts

to the church.

And there's a lot

of various views

on this particular text.

And I will admit

that I have a view.

I can't say

with 100% confidence

that it's right.

But I think it's right

and I want to show you why.

Right?

So,

of these gifts,

these positions

that have been given,

right,

the question would be

which of them

are active still?

All of them are,

but there's not people,

I would argue,

that are actively apostles,

actively prophets.

Okay?

Let me show you why

I think that.

Okay?

So,

if you back up in Ephesians

to chapter 2,

verse 19 and 20,

Paul says,

so then you are no longer

strangers and aliens,

a result of God's redeeming

work in your life.

You're no longer

strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens

with the saints

and members

of the household of God.

I'm in Ephesians 2,

19.

Right?

This is what's happened

as a result.

You're no longer

strangers and aliens,

but you are fellow citizens

with the saints

and members

of the household of God.

Verse 20,

built on the foundation

of the apostles

and prophets,

Christ Jesus himself

being the cornerstone.

Okay?

Now go to Ephesians chapter 3,

Ephesians 3:4

verses 4 and 5.

So one letter,

Paul's writing here,

we're carrying thoughts,

we're carrying these thoughts

with us

from Ephesians chapter 2

Ephesians 2 · chapter mention

into Ephesians chapter 3

Ephesians 3 · chapter mention

into Ephesians chapter 4.

Ephesians 4 · chapter mention

Okay?

So he's talked about

the church

has been built

on the foundation,

built on a foundation,

it's been laid,

right?

The foundation has been laid,

it's being built

on top of that.

Apostles,

prophets.

It has a past tense

feeling to it.

Ephesians 3,

Ephesians 3:4

verses 4 and 5,

when you read this,

you can perceive

my insight

into the mystery

of Christ,

which was not made known

to the sons of men

in other generations,

as it has now

been revealed

to his holy apostles

and prophets

by the Spirit.

So now,

these insights

into who Christ is,

right,

has been revealed

in the apostles

and prophets.

So he's using

the apostles and prophets

in a very specific way,

and when we get

to chapter 4,

I would suggest

he's still using it

in that way.

Not new apostle,

not new prophet,

which would suggest

the way he's been using it

in Acts chapter 2

Acts 2 · chapter mention

and Acts chapter 3,

Acts 3 · chapter mention

that there's going

to be new revelation.

What I'm suggesting

to you is that

the word of God

is the apostles

and the prophets.

It's built on this foundation.

They were active

in this day,

still writing the canon,

and now we have

apostles and prophets

active.

God's given us a gift.

Apostles and prophets

were people

that wrote

a book

used by the Spirit

to write this book.

So the word of God

is employed

by evangelists

and shepherd teachers.

Shepherd teachers.

Right?

Are you tracking me?

I hope you are.

This is what I would suggest

is the way in which

God has given us

a book

and he's given us

people particularly gifted

to be evangelists

and people particularly gifted

to be shepherd teachers.

But to what end?

But to what end?

To equip the saints

for the work of ministry

for building up

the body

of Christ.

I want you to note

there is

no

grammar,

there's no

punctuation,

excuse me,

punctuation

in New Testament Greek.

There's no punctuation.

So the translators

have to do

this difficult work

of figuring out

where to stick

our English punctuation.

Like where does

the sentence end?

Where does the

comma belong?

I'm using an ESV.

I think they did

a really good job

on this verse.

Okay?

And here's why.

I want you to note

that they did not

put a comma

after the word

saints

in verse 12.

Had they put

a comma there,

here's how I think

we would understand it.

Right?

Christ gives gifts,

the word of God

and evangelists

and shepherd teachers

for three things.

To equip the saints

for the work,

excuse me,

to equip the saints,

thing one.

For the work of ministry,

thing two.

For building up

the body of Christ,

thing three.

So my job description

as a shepherd teacher

needs to include

those three things.

That's the work

I'm meant to do.

But note instead,

without the comma there,

the way we would

read the text.

Right?

He gave these gifts,

the word of God

and people,

leaders,

verse 12,

to equip the saints

for the work of ministry.

You catching the difference?

So what is it

that these gifts

are meant to do?

Right?

My job this morning

is to equip you,

the saints,

for the work of ministry.

I'm supposed to do

work of ministry,

but that primarily

is equipping you

for the work of ministry.

And then,

with the comma after ministry,

it's an addition to,

it is helping us

understand what

that looks like.

Your work of ministry

is the building up

of the body of Christ,

bringing people to faith,

making disciples.

I hope you're tracking me there.

We can go back

to Acts chapter 14.

Acts 14 · chapter mention

The person who is filled

with the Spirit

develops disciples.

If you are a follower

of Jesus Christ,

you have the Spirit of God,

you are commanded

by Paul to be filled,

and Ephesians,

to be filled

with the Spirit of God,

that person makes disciples.

And it's your job

as a Christian

to be a disciple maker.

So the person who is

filled with the Spirit

develops disciples.

The person who is filled

with the Spirit

also,

number six,

is committed.

Is committed.

In our text,

we observe

the completion

of the first

missionary journey.

The first missionary journey.

This is Paul's

first missionary journey.

Barnabas is with him

on this one.

They return in this

to their sending church.

Verse 24.

They passed through Pisidia

and came to Pamphylia.

And when they had spoken

the word in Perga,

they went down to Italia,

and from there

they sailed to Antioch.

Now, this Antioch

is the Antioch of Cilicia,

not Antioch in Pisidia.

There's two Antiochs.

They go back to

Antioch of Cilicia,

and that's where

they were commissioned

to go on this journey.

We can see that

at the beginning

of Acts chapter 13.

Acts 13 · chapter mention

So they go on a trip

from Antioch of Cilicia.

They end up in

Antioch of Pisidia.

They go back to Antioch

in Cilicia.

Okay?

Where they had been

commended

to the grace of God

for the work

that they had fulfilled.

They were committed.

They stayed the course.

They finished the task

that was laid before them.

In the face

of a difficult journey,

a treacherous journey,

they completed the task.

And notice

that they spoke

in this return journey,

they spoke the word

in Perga.

And to my point

that they were committed,

look back just a little bit

in Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13:13

verse 13 and 14.

This is the journey out.

Chapter 14 is talking

about the journey back.

Acts chapter 13,

Acts 13 · chapter mention

beginning in verse 13,

Now Paul and his companions

set sail from Paphos

and came to Perga

in Pamphylia.

And John left them.

This is John Mark

and returned to Jerusalem.

But they went on

from Perga

and came to Antioch

in Pisidia.

And on the Sabbath day,

they went into the synagogue

and sat down.

Now notice what doesn't

seem to happen in Perga.

They don't seem to preach

the gospel there.

For whatever reason,

right,

the occasion didn't

present itself.

I believe they're filled

with the Spirit.

The occasion didn't

present itself, though,

for them to preach

the gospel in Perga.

So what did they do

on the return journey?

I just think it's fantastic.

They preached the gospel

in Perga

on their way back.

Man, we didn't proclaim

the gospel in Perga.

So they didn't neglect

the preaching of the Word

in any city.

They were committed

to the making of disciples

amongst the Gentiles.

So the person

who's filled with the Spirit

develops disciples,

is committed,

and number seven,

loves fellowship.

Loves fellowship.

Verse 27,

when they arrived,

this is Antioch in Cilicia,

back to the city

that they started

their journey on,

they gathered the church

together,

and they told the church

all that God had done

on this trip.

They exalted the work of God

in their lives

on this trip

that they had done.

And how,

verse 27,

the last part,

says how he had opened

a door of faith

to the Gentiles,

right,

to those who were not Jewish,

taking the gospel

to the nations

as a starting point.

And then verse 28 says,

and they remained

no little time

with the disciples.

Now on your bulletin

there's a very brief quotation

from Charles Spurgeon

just says,

sheep go in flocks

and so do God's people.

I think that would make

a fantastic t-shirt.

I'm going to read to you

the longer form

of that quotation.

So listen carefully.

Some Christians

try to go to heaven

alone in solitude,

but believers

are not compared

to bears

or lions

or other animals

that wander alone.

But those who belong

to Christ

are sheep

in this respect

that they love

to get together.

Sheep go in flocks

and so do God's people.

Often when I talk

about the great need

of fellowship,

there will be a person

or some people

in my mind

that I haven't seen

in a long time

that I know

really need to hear

and guess who tends

to not be there

that Sunday?

Sometimes it feels

like I'm preaching

to the choir

when I tell people

who are at church

that they should be

at church.

So here's the exhortation

to you, right?

Like maybe this morning

this is not the normal

thing for you

that you're a follower

of Jesus

but you're not committed

to a fellowship

of believers

and you really need

just to hear it

for yourself, right?

Come back

or find another fellowship

to be part of

and commit to

and live life with.

Or it could be

that you are

and many of you are.

Many of you are

so committed.

Wonderfully committed

to the life

of this church

but you know

people who aren't, right?

You know that person

that should be sitting

here with you this morning

in fellowship

with Christians

and they're not.

And you need to take

this truth

be a developing

disciple maker

and help people

understand their

great need

of a church fellowship.

The Apostle John

writes in 1 John 4, 7 and 8

Beloved,

let us love one another

for love is from God

and whoever loves

has been born of God

and knows God.

Anyone who does not love

does not know God

because God is love.

It should be the natural response

for those of us

who have been loved by God

to love one another.

He's not speaking generically

although there's definitely

an overflowing,

outflowing,

loving response

to the community around us.

But he's primarily talking about

those of us who are in Christ

loving one another.

Get together

with the people

that you love.

Paul prays

for the Thessalonian believers

in 1 Thessalonians 3, 12.

May the Lord

make you increase

and abound

in love

for one another

and for all

as we do

for you.

The Spirit-filled

Christian

loves the church.

both universal,

loves the church generally,

but also loves

the church

local.

And beloved,

I know

this is not

always easy.

There are many times

that I am thankful

that I have a job

to do

and it would be

neglectful of that job

if I didn't show up

and do that job.

There are some times

I just don't feel

like being

with people.

I'm thankful

that I'm driven

to be with you

and I'm always

really thankful

when I am.

I'm glad that I'm here

once I get together.

Community group night,

those of you

who are in my community group,

there's a rare Tuesday night

that I just feel like

bopping out the door

and spending the evening out.

Usually I would rather

sit on the couch

at home,

right?

But I'm compelled,

right?

It's an argument

I'm making.

Fill with the Spirit.

Fill with the Spirit.

Love.

God's.

People.

Last week I told you

that the Monday prior to that

I fell out of a tree.

Now that I know

I'm not going to have

to go to the hospital,

it was a tree here.

If you understand

workers' comp,

you'll understand that.

I'm pretty sure

I cracked two ribs.

I'm pretty sure

that I cracked two ribs.

And in the pain

of that week,

Clay offered to preach

for me last Sunday

and it would have been

really easy to go,

yeah,

I'm going to stay home.

A heating pad feels great

right now.

But I love being with you guys.

And I wasn't going to come

and not preach.

I couldn't say,

oh, my ribs are cracked.

I'm going to sit down.

No, no, I'll get up

and I'll preach all the same.

This morning,

Clay called me.

So I'm downstairs.

Clay calls me.

For Clay to call me

on a Sunday morning,

I'm thinking,

oh, what's going on?

So I call him.

He sounded horrible.

He's got the flu.

And he called me

and he asked my permission

not to come this morning.

I said, Clay,

of course don't come, man.

Like no one else wants the flu

and you need to get better.

And he said,

and he said,

and I just wouldn't

have expected this.

He said, man,

I just really want to come.

I just really want to be there.

And I was,

little of me was hoping

you'd make me.

I said, no,

you need to stay home

this morning.

Do we long

to be

with God's people?

And hear me say,

it's not just that you come in

and you sit down

and you observe a show.

If that's what you think

of as church,

yeah, skip it.

You're not missing that much

if that's all

that you're getting out of it.

You can listen

to a fantastic sermon

and sing wonderful songs

in your car

by yourself.

If that was church,

I will tell you

that my Sunday mornings

would be spent

heading somewhere

to get out in the woods

and I'd listen

to a good sermon

and I'd listen

to some great music

and that would satisfy.

It's not that.

It's people living

in relationship together.

That's why I said

not the person

still in the spirit

loves church

because I think

we have a misunderstanding

of what that word means

but loves fellowship.

Loves being in relationship

with one another.

We can do that

in some shape and form

on a Sunday morning.

More than that,

it needs to be happening

in other ways.

We have activities

and just life,

just getting together

because you long

to be with God's people.

The church is not perfect

but the church

is our faith family,

our refuge

in a world of trouble.

Too often we are troubled,

we run to our solitude.

Beloved,

I am guilty of this.

I'm an introvert.

I would rather be alone

most of the time,

especially when things

aren't going well for me.

But what I need most

is to be with God's people.

We ought to flee

to be together,

to be reminded

of the hope

that we have

in this world.

Michael Horton,

professor of theology

and apologetics

at Westminster Theological Seminary

said this

in a foreword of a book

that I actually did read.

The visible church

is where you will find

Christ's kingdom on earth

and to disregard the kingdom

is to disregard

its king.

So,

the person who is filled

with the Spirit

is fruitful,

is opposed,

speaks boldly,

acts humbly,

develops disciples,

and is committed.

Let me ask you

some questions

for application.

Number one,

have you been baptized

in the Holy Spirit?

Jesus' promise

is the baptism

of the Holy Spirit

in Acts 1,

Acts 1:5

verse 5.

In brief,

this phrase

is only used

seven times

in the New Testament.

It occurs four times

in the prediction

of John the Baptist

concerning Jesus' promise

to baptize believers

in the Spirit.

The next two,

directly to the day

of Pentecost,

fulfilling that promise,

the only other reference,

and it is a variation

of the statement

is found in the New Testament

in 1 Corinthians 12,

1 Corinthians 12:12

verses 12 and 13.

For just as the body

is one

and has many members

and all the members

of the body,

though many,

are one body,

so it is with Christ.

For in one Spirit

we were all baptized

into one body.

Jews are Greek,

slaves are free,

and all were made

to drink of one Spirit.

I want you to look

at this further,

especially if you're

wrestling with the notion

that I've laid out

for you today.

But from that text,

1 Corinthians 12,

12 and 13,

the Spirit

is the element

in which the believers

were baptized,

which moved them

positionally

from outside the church

to positionally

in the church.

This is what Paul

is communicating

in 1 Corinthians 12.

They were baptized

in the Spirit

and found themselves

in the church.

Paul writes

in Romans 8,

Romans 8:9

verse 9,

anyone who does not

have the Spirit

of Christ

does not belong

to him.

So,

to be baptized

in the Holy Spirit

is to be regenerate,

is to be saved

by God

in Christ.

If you are a follower

of Jesus,

you have the Spirit

of God.

You have been

baptized.

And you cannot be

filled with the Spirit

if you have not been

baptized in him.

So having been baptized

as a Christian,

it's possible for him

both to be filled

and to not be filled.

That's what we've

been talking about.

How do we know?

If we're believers,

how do we know?

But the question

that must precede that

is,

are you a Christian?

Do you ever

produce fruit

of the Spirit?

And I would suggest

to you that you

ponder that yourself,

but I would also

suggest to you

that you talk to people

who are followers

of Jesus Christ,

who know you,

if you're not sure.

Do you think

I'm regenerate?

Do you see

a growth

in holiness

in my life?

And if your friends

won't be honest

with you,

find new friends.

You cannot be

filled with the Spirit

if you have not

been baptized

in him.

So if you would

honestly answer

the question,

have you been

baptized in the Spirit?

No.

Repent and believe.

Flee from the wrath

to come.

Repent and believe

in the sufficient

work of the gospel

of Jesus Christ.

If you answer

yes to that question,

yes, I've been

baptized in the Spirit.

Do you develop

disciples?

Are you at work

with people?

Are you investing

something?

All of us have

something to invest.

You may not feel

equipped for that.

You may not feel

like you have

some wealth of

knowledge to impart

to somebody else.

You have something

to invest in somebody

who's younger in the

faith than you

or even a peer.

Invest into others.

Do you develop

disciples?

Are you committed

to the cause

of Christ?

Are you committed

to the cause

of Christ?

Are you chasing

your dream?

Are you chasing

his dream?

Is your life

given to the

building of the

kingdom of God?

And beloved,

we do this in all

kinds of practical

ways.

We do this as

students.

We do this as

employees.

We do this as

husbands and fathers

and parents.

All kinds of

very practical

ways we build

the kingdom

of God.

Do you love

the fellowship

of God's

people?

Do you love

the fellowship

of God's

people?

If you answer

yes to these

questions,

then there are

signs that you

are being filled

with the Spirit.

The Word of

Christ is dwelling

in you richly,

at least at times.

If you answer

no, then why

not?

Why not?

Why are you

not being filled

with the Spirit?

What is it that

you believe that

is not consistent

with what the

Bible has to say

about you,

what it has to

say about the

world around you,

and what it has

to say about

our great God?

Let's pray

together.