0:00 hold these conferences. It's not just to listen to good teaching and to go away from it inspired, but it's that we all, the next generation of leaders, wherever we are, and for me and for those of us in this church here, God has called us to be leaders here, to be a testimony here in 0:15 Loveland. God wants to do the same, my dear brothers. Wherever you go, wherever God takes you, we believe that with all of our hearts, that the main purpose of these conferences is not that you get a chance to hear once a year with a bunch of other men some good teaching. You can 0:29 get good teaching online these days. You can get good teaching on CD. All of that is easy to do, and it's good that we can be together, but above all, we pray that the Lord will grip all of our hearts with the spirit of building the church and making that the priority in our lives, and for me, 0:48 there are, I think, of three things that we seek in our church to emphasize, and if you listen to our messages from Phil and me, you've probably heard this theme come out quite often. The first is discipleship. That's where it starts. Our relationship with God must be foremost. 1:05 This is the thing that we want to build. We want people to come in to this place and be committed to the work here who are disciples, for whom Jesus is the only thing that matters. It doesn't matter who else goes with them, like we sing in that chorus. "Though none go with me, still I will follow." We want men, 1:20 especially men, but men and women and children who have that mentality. I say often to our church here, I feel like we should have a sign outside our front door that says, "Come in here if you want to die. If you want to die, come in here." We're a bunch of people that are looking to die, and we really mean that. And we're trying to live it out. We don't do it perfectly. The flesh resists. 1:40 Often the flesh rises itself and says, "No, I will not die." But we are, men and women, broken and humble and serious about coming in here and learning how to die in practical situations of our lives. Beginning in our marriages, for example. Beginning in our homes with our children. And that's why, actually, we don't do a whole lot of meetings here. We don't have meetings every day intentionally. 2:03 Because we believe that the things we hear, we do have meetings three times a week, but the rest of the time is where we get to prove that we're really disciples. The rest of the time is where I actually have to take up my cross with my wife, with my children, with each other when we're in each other's homes. 2:18 And it's not all hunky-dory and nice and smiley and, "Hello, brother. How's your week been? Nice to see you after one week." It's not that anymore when we're walking with each other and, like we heard today, being laid next to each other brick by brick and being cemented with one another. 2:34 And I'm so thankful that the Lord allowed me the privilege and the opportunity to be a part of that work. It took some sacrifice. It took some commitment. It took a revelation of that vision that I wanted this at whatever cost. 2:46 That I was going to give up whatever and the Lord brought me here and allowed. In my case, He chose to bring me here. In your case, it could be different. But however the Lord does it, I pray that the vision that we're hearing about building the church and whom God uses to build a church 3:01 will light a fire in our hearts this weekend, like it's already been lighting fresh and fanning the flames of that fire in my heart this morning. So the first is discipleship. The second is fellowship. And I believe that in order to be a true disciple on this earth, because Jesus is in heaven, we must prove it by our fellowship with one another. 3:21 We must prove our discipleship, which is our fellowship with the head, by our fellowship with one another in the body. In other words, like we heard already, the different parts of their body prove that they are connected to the head through in their connectedness with each other. 3:36 It doesn't take away from the fact that each member of the body is hearing from the head, but that is manifest. You see this finger as connected to the hand, connected to the arm, connected to the shoulder, etc. But inwardly, it is connected to the head, and that's in secret. 3:51 So in secret, each of us is seeking to be a disciple where nobody can see it in the secret areas, especially in my thought life, my motives, my attitudes, the way I treat others in my thought life, where nobody else knows what's going on. 4:03 That's where it is most important, but that is also proven, and the world around us sees that we're really Christians like Jesus said they would, when they see our love for each other. Like that man I heard about in the first century who said the world ought to be able to look at us and say, see how they love each other. 4:20 They must be followers of Jesus. See, they're Christians. See how they love each other. So discipleship and fellowship. The third is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And I believe that in order to really have this discipleship and fellowship, we must be filled with the Holy Spirit. 4:36 We've heard a little bit about that already this, the previous session. I'd like to share a little bit in my heart also what that means to me. What the baptism in the Holy Spirit means to me personally and how the Lord has filled me with his Holy Spirit and continues to fill me day by day. 4:50 Turn with me to John chapter 16. John 16. These are words that Jesus said towards the end of his life to those disciples who had committed themselves to following him. 5:15 And these were the leaders who would then start to build a church that we are a part of now, that we're continuing the work, the foundation that has been laid on the apostles and the prophets. These were the men. He was handing off the baton to them as it were. 5:29 And I don't know if what it's like for you when you go to conferences. And I've been to a lot of conferences in my life over the years. I grew up going to conferences and I love them. I love these times of fellowship. I look forward to it even as a young boy. 5:45 But something interesting happened towards the end of the conference. When it got near the last meeting or the last day and there was a sadness in my heart that this wonderful time that we had together was coming to an end. 5:57 That we had wonderful time of singing, wonderful time of teaching, listening to God's word. I got to see my friends and all of that, but it was coming to an end. And there was that sadness in my heart that if only this could continue, if only life could really be a conference, then the Christian life would be easy. 6:15 If only we could just all stay together here and not worry about the rest of the world, wouldn't it be great? I mean, we just stay here for hours and days and keep having food and more fellowship and meeting and singing and maybe bring our wives along too. 6:27 And then one day, Jesus comes and takes us up from this very place. Now, the reality is it's not that. And God has called us to go out into the world. Now, let me show you in John chapter 16 that I believe this is the sentiment that the disciples had when Jesus told them, 6:43 "Hey, I'm leaving. This conference that you've had for three and a half years is now coming to an end." Because that's really what I think it was like for them. A three and a half year conference where if there was any need, let's say somebody, Peter's mother-in-law was sick. 6:59 Call Jesus. He's right there. He can lay his hands on her and heal her. Somebody else's daughter died. Call Jesus. He'll come into the room and raise her back to life. Somebody else, oh, we don't have any food. It seemed like the disciples were always without food. 7:12 You notice that in the gospels, they somehow always ran out of food. But Jesus is there. He'll make food. Just give him a little bit. He'll multiply it. And as many people as are there, he will feed them. It seemed like, okay, you're in a boat. I'm not, you didn't plan on it, but you're out there in the middle of the lake. 7:28 And then a storm comes and a huge, huge, huge storm. Guess what? Jesus is there. Everything's okay. So the disciples were used to this life where Jesus took care of all of their problems for three and a half years. And that was great. For me, that's like being in this conference where it seems like all my problems have been solved already in half a day of the conference. 7:47 You feel like that a little bit? Like, man, this is great. But we know what's waiting for us on Monday when we go back. This was a little bit what the disciples faced, I believe. They were afraid of what life was going to be like after Jesus left. 8:00 And he tells them, I'm going to leave. He says in John 16, verse 5. John 16, verse 5. He says, "Now I am going to him," that is to the Father who sent me. And none of you asked me, where are you going? But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. 8:15 Jesus, you're telling me I'm going away. And then listen to these verse, verse 7. This would be almost unbelievable if Jesus hadn't said this in verse 7. But I tell you the truth, it is to your advantage. It is to your advantage that I go away. 8:33 Because if I do not go away, the helper shall not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. Now this is the essence of what I would like us to think about this morning. Why was it to our advantage? Why is it better for us that Jesus went up to heaven? 8:49 See, I look at it like this, that when the second body, when the second person of the Trinity came down to this earth, He came in one body. Jesus had only one body. Which means that if you wanted a solution to your problem, you better go find Jesus. 9:04 Like, remember that woman who had the hemorrhage for 12 years and had gone to doctor after doctor after doctor. One day she heard, "Jesus is coming to your town." Miracle of miracles! He is coming to my town. I need to just get over there to where he is and close enough to just touch the hem of his garment and I will be healed. 9:23 And she was. The moment she touched the hem of his garment, she was healed. But I wonder if there were other women like that, maybe. Whom Jesus never came near their town. Who never got close enough to Jesus. Whose garments they weren't within arm's reach off. 9:40 And that's why Jesus had to go up to heaven. So that the same Spirit of God that dwelt in Him as the second person of the Trinity. Because it's one God, one Spirit of God. Has now come in the third person of the Trinity, the Holy Spirit, to dwell in all of us. 9:55 Which means now, when I'm at home and my child is sick, I don't have to go to Israel. I don't have to go to Galilee to find Jesus anymore. It's like the angels told those women. Why do you search for the living among the dead? 10:08 Jesus is risen. He's gone up to the right hand of the Father and He has sent His same Holy Spirit to dwell in us. So that I can have the same confidence, the same access to the power that Jesus had when He was on this earth. 10:23 In my own home. In my marriage relationship. In my home relationship with my children. In the church. In building the church. This is why Jesus said, "It is to your advantage that I go away." See, for me also, conferences were, I thought of it like this. 10:39 Like a plane. You know how a plane when it goes to, it leaves the airport terminal, it goes to the end of the runway. And turns around, reaches the end of the runway. Turns around and starts to get the engines going. The engines get faster and faster and faster. 10:52 And after the engines get revved up fast enough, the train starts to go. No. I mean the plane. The plane starts to go. It gets faster and faster. It builds up momentum. I think the takeoff speed of a plane they say is about 150 or 200 miles per hour by the time it reaches the end of the runway. 11:06 But by the time it reaches the end of the runway, as fast as that plane is going, what do you expect to happen? The runway is ending now. It's been great for the last, whatever length of runway it has been. The speed has been. 11:19 And maybe you feel like the conferences are like that for you. Your engines get revved up. You're gathering momentum. You're getting a vision of what all God can do for you. And you feel like your Christian life is gathering momentum. 11:30 And then the conference comes to an end. What would you expect out of a plane that's reached the end of its runway to take off? And yet my experience, let me tell you, as a young boy growing up, going to conference after conference after conference was this. 11:43 I'd go to the conference and think, Lord, you're going to change my life. You're going to give me victory over those sexual impure thoughts that I have. You're going to give me victory over jealousy. You're going to give me victory. 11:51 You're going to help me in my relationship with my brothers and my parents and all that thing. And then I'd reach the end of the conference. Maybe it'd be good for a little bit, but after the runway ran out, just crashing to the ground. 12:02 So I'd wait for the next conference or maybe the next Sunday. Maybe it's week by week. Go around, circle around and start over again. Think, okay, Lord, this time it will be different. This time you will really give me that which I need and I'll start. 12:14 And the conference is great and think, yes, this time it feels even better than last time. I'm going even faster. And then land in the same pit. And I lived that cycle for many years as a teenager. And even into my 20s, I longed for something more. 12:28 And then God showed me why he had sent the Holy Spirit. That the reason God had given me the Holy Spirit was that he never intended me. He didn't give me... We don't put wings and a tail on an airplane for it to run around in circles on the road, on the runway. 12:45 An airplane was never designed to be a race car. There was something greater that God had in mind for us when he made us in his image. This has really captivated me in the last few years. That there's a reason God made mankind in his image. 12:59 Because there's only that shape, that spiritual shape, in which the Holy Spirit could fit. We were designed to live like God. We were made in his image so that he could pour his Holy Spirit in us of all of his creation. 13:14 The trees don't fit God's nature. It doesn't work. It doesn't fit. The animals, you look around at them, that God's nature cannot fit in that. But God made us spiritually in his image so that he could pour out his Holy Spirit that could fill us completely. 13:28 In the same way that a plane was designed with wings and a tail and all of that to fly. And I've been recently, let me tell you the good news, been tasting a little bit more of what it means to reach the end of the runway. 13:40 And have the Lord lift me up into a deeper revelation of himself. And then maybe next Sunday I come back to the church meeting and now I'm on another runway. And he says, now build up a little bit more momentum. I want to show you more of yourself, more of myself. 13:54 The Lord has been showing me a little bit, a little bit at a time. And if your testimony is like that, like it was for me for many years as a defeated Christian up and down and up and down. And circling the runway, circling the runway and coming back and thinking, Lord this time is going to be different. 14:09 Maybe you've come to this conference like that. I want to ask you and urge you and encourage you to seek for the power of the Holy Spirit. Like we've been hearing already this morning. Seek for that baptism. Seek for the genuine power that will lift you up into God's presence. 14:23 Seek for that that Jesus purchased your life for. Not just to have your sins forgiven. Not just to be justified. But that he could pour his very spirit in us, his image. So, John 16:7 he says, I tell you to the truth, it is to your advantage that I go away. 14:39 Because if I do not go away, then the helper will not come. But if I do go, then I will send him to you and the Holy Spirit will come. And then he goes on to show us the ministry of the Holy Spirit. I'd like us to look at that because this is very important. 14:53 Now that I look around at Christendom and I see that because this is such a powerful truth. Because there is such a thing as the real power of the Holy Spirit. The devil has confused it and counterfeited it. He's made a counterfeit experience of the Holy Spirit which looks so ugly. 15:08 And a lot of people are being drawn to it. But it isn't what Jesus said we would get when we got the Holy Spirit. Listen to what he said the Holy Spirit would do for us. First of all, verse 8. When he, that is the Holy Spirit comes, will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. 15:26 Concerning sin and righteousness and judgment. A three-fold ministry of the Holy Spirit. What does this mean? I think of sin as the Holy Spirit telling me this is what Jesus would not do. What is your definition of sin? 15:38 Is it the Ten Commandments? Is it, well the Ten Commandments say do not steal. So I don't steal. The Ten Commandments say do not commit murder. So I don't kill. The Ten Commandments say do not commit adultery. So I feel good that my standard of sin has been set based on what I see in the law of God. 15:55 But when we get the Holy Spirit, when we are truly filled with the Holy Spirit, something wonderful happens. It says verse 9, concerning sin because they do not believe in me. In other words, you'll look around at the world, that world that does not believe in him. 16:09 And your standard of sin will be, what would Jesus do that? If Jesus wouldn't do something, then you don't do it. You need the power. We need the power of the Holy Spirit for that. Because now my definition of sin, let's say I'm watching an R-rated movie. 16:23 And you think, well I can't find a verse in the Bible that says I shouldn't watch R-rated movies. But your standard of sin, my standard of sin now is, would Jesus sit there and watch that movie? Would Jesus sit there and watch that commercial in the midst of that sports game or whatever? 16:36 Would Jesus send that email? Would Jesus send that text? Would Jesus say that word? Would Jesus speak with that tone to your wife, to your children? My standard of sin has been raised to the standard of what Jesus wouldn't do because of the Holy Spirit revealing to me. 16:53 And I think for many years, I was content with a standard of sin that just looked around at the world around me, that didn't believe in Jesus and thought, well this is great. I compare my life with others and it's no wonder my spiritual life was so dry. 17:06 I wasn't allowing the Holy Spirit to convict me. I hadn't sought for that conviction of the Holy Spirit. I hadn't sought for that filling of the Holy Spirit. And even when the Holy Spirit did convict me, I thought, well, I didn't really take it that seriously. 17:19 I silenced the voice of the Holy Spirit at times because I loved it. I loved that it pleased my flesh. I loved that I was more interested in reading the newspaper or following sports or spending time on the news or reading Facebook or whatever than reading God's word. 17:34 And the Holy Spirit would convict me of it and say, what are you serious, what are you interested in? Do you really want me to fill every area of your life? Concerning sin, concerning righteousness. So, like I said, I think of sin as my standard of sin was what would Jesus not do? 17:48 Then I don't want to do it. It doesn't matter if even all of Christendom is doing it, I don't want to do it because my standard of sin is what Jesus wouldn't do. Concerning righteousness, and I think of this as verse 10, it says, concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer behold me. 18:05 In other words, the disciples, if they wanted to know what God was like, what are the things that God would do, they had Jesus there. They would see how Jesus would interact with a woman caught in adultery or a five times divorced woman like we heard this morning or the Pharisees or the rulers or whoever it was. 18:23 They saw Jesus interact and like Jesus told Philip, if you've seen me, you've seen the Father. And now the world is looking for what does Jesus look like? And he's placed us on this earth to show them what are the things Jesus would do. 18:35 You know, for many years, my Christian life was about not doing things. I didn't want to lust. I didn't want to get angry. I would not do this, not do this, not do this. And then I realized that there's more to the Christian life than that. 18:48 Yes, I am running away from sin, but there is something I'm running to. I do have a goal. I don't want to reach the end of my life and say, Lord, look at my life. I didn't do this thing and I didn't do the other thing and I didn't do the other thing and here I am. 19:00 That's like saying my life is not negative, it's zero. And the Lord said, no, I want to give you my righteousness. I want to perfect my work in you. I want to conform you into my image so that when I see you and you see me, you will be made just like me. 19:16 That's 1 John 3:2. When we see him, we shall be like him. That doesn't come from just avoiding sin. That comes from pursuing righteousness, pursuing Jesus, having him as the goal of my life and the only goal of my life. 19:27 And say, Lord, make me like you. I need the Holy Spirit. I need the Holy Spirit to disclose these things to me. Concerning righteousness because I go to the Father and you no longer behold me. Now how do I know how to speak to a woman five times divorced and living with another man? 19:42 How do I know? I don't have Jesus here physically. How do I know how to deal with a woman caught in adultery? How do I know? The Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit reveals to me the things of Jesus. And verse 11. Thirdly. Concerning judgment. 19:57 Because the ruler of this world has been judged. And this is an area I think for many years I missed. And I find that many Christians don't recognize this as well. That the ruler of this world has been judged. And I believe that God has left, Jesus has left the Holy Spirit here. 20:13 He went up into the heavens and sent the Holy Spirit now so that we would have a confidence that the enemy that we deal with, the devil, is a judged enemy. And for many years without the power of the Holy Spirit the devil wreaked havoc in my life. 20:29 He had authority in this area and the other area. Because I didn't see that he was a defeated enemy. A judged enemy. That it wasn't me running away from the devil because I was afraid of him. But the devil running away from me. 20:41 Now you can't fake that. I realized I can't fake that. I can't pretend to tell the devil be gone when I really am unsure whether he's really defeated. And if he's got a foothold in my life, you know, it's like those, remember the sons of Sceva? 20:54 They tried to cast out a demon in the name of Jesus that Paul preached about. And the demon said, you can't fool us. Because we're in the spiritual realm. And my eyes were opened through the baptism in the Holy Spirit. Through the seeking of the power and the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 21:06 To a spiritual reality. That the devil was a judged enemy. And that I didn't have to allow him to have any opportunity in my life. Not in my thought life. Not in my motives. Not in my marriage. Not in my relationship with my children. 21:20 Not in my home at all. And I could claim spiritual authority over those that God had placed in my care. My wife. My children. Those in the church that God had given me responsibility for. Why? Because the Holy Spirit opened my eyes to see that the ruler of this world has been judged. 21:36 I pray that your eyes also will be opened to that, my dear brothers. It will transform our marriages. It has transformed mine little by little. It is transforming mine. It will transform our relationships with our children. 21:47 Where we know how to pray for them. Have you wondered? I don't know how you raise your children. And how much they get exposed to the world around them. And I feel often helpless with that. Because I see that the world that we live in. 22:00 And the generation, the culture that they're growing up in. And the amount of worldliness and wickedness that is just blatantly apparent in the world. Through just going to, I mean you sit in an airport and there's the TV showing all those images. 22:14 You go to a restaurant and there's the TV on it. It's just, we're being bombarded in this age with that. And I don't know about you fathers if you feel that care for your children where you think, "Lord, how are my children going to be preserved?" 22:26 The world seems so much worse than when I grew up, when I was their age. How are they going to survive if it was hard for me? How are they going to survive? Do you know that God wants us to have spiritual authority over our children? 22:37 That we can exercise spiritual authority in the heavenlies. And win a victory there that has an effect here on this earth. I believe that. Now without the power of the Holy Spirit. Without the Holy Spirit filling me and opening my eyes to see that the ruler of this world is judged. 22:54 I went on my way thinking, well knowing that Jesus defeated Satan. And that's, it's something, it's one thing to know that Jesus defeated Satan. And for that to be an abstract truth. Yes, I knew intellectually that the devil was defeated on the cross. 23:09 But it became something different, my dear brothers. I'll tell you honestly from the bottom of my heart. It was something completely different when I was filled with the Holy Spirit. And I lived in the reality of the fact that the devil was defeated. 23:19 It started to set me free from fear and anxiety and worry. Because I look at Christians, so many Christians. I almost think there are more, there's more worry among Christians and more fear among Christians. Because fear is the devil's, one of the devil's greatest weapons. 23:35 He loves to hold us in fear over what's going to happen down the road. What's going to happen in the future. What's going to happen to this world. And you look at the world. I look at even conservative Christians in this country are taken up, are caught up with the spirit of fear. 23:48 Which I don't believe is of the Holy Spirit at all. Doomsday mentality because of who's in power or which party it is and all of that. I think all of it, if it's the spirit of fear, it's off the devil. It's very clear in God's word that God has not given us a spirit of fear. 24:03 But of power and of love and a sound disciplined mind. This is the Holy, this is the fullness of the Holy Spirit. And so if you, like me, lived a life that was bound in fear and trapped by the devil in many other areas. 24:17 And yet I was born again, my sins were forgiven and I wanted to live a victorious life. But I found that the devil had his claws on me. I said Lord fill me with your Holy Spirit. I don't, I don't care whether you give me tongues. 24:27 I don't care if you give me the gift of prophecy. I really don't care about the gifts because for most people that I've met who are seeking for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. They're looking for a gift. They're looking for tongues. 24:38 They're looking for prophecy, healing maybe or something like that. Now those are gifts. It says desire, the spiritual gifts, especially the gift of prophecy. But long before that, I had to have my eyes open to why I really needed to be filled with the Holy Spirit. 24:52 When Jesus mentioned the Holy Spirit coming to the apostles, he didn't say anything about those kinds of gifts. Paul talked about it as doctrine later on in Romans and in 1 Corinthians and in Ephesians. You can read about those gifts. 25:06 But today it's like we're looking at it backwards. We're trying to get it to Ephesians 4 from, from the back of the Bible. Instead, I think let's go through John first and see what has God really given us through the power of the Holy Spirit. 25:18 And then however he chooses to exercise and manifest that gift in this earth, that's up to him. If he chooses to give me the gifts of tongues. If he chooses to give me the gifts of teaching or to be an evangelist. And I think of so many Christians who are seeking these gifts, but haven't even seen yet what sin, righteousness and judgment are. 25:38 And I thank God for showing me that. He goes on to say, however, here in verse 12. Verse 12. And this verse really struck me one day. I still remember. I'll never forget it. When I was reading this, he says, Jesus says, 25:50 "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now." And immediately I felt like Jesus asked me through the Holy Spirit, Have you heard those things? Have these many more things that Jesus wanted to say to me? 26:07 Is it? Well, I only hear from the Holy Spirit what's written here in God's Word. That's it. The red, you know, in my Bible it's written in red. So I know what all Jesus said in red. What about the things that he says in verse 13 that these many other things that Jesus wants to say to me, 26:22 which I can, they could not bear then. Is he still waiting to speak it to you? He says in verse 13, but when he, the spirit of truth comes, he will reveal it to you. He will tell you these many more things that the disciples couldn't bear at that time. 26:38 He will guide you into all the truth. He will tell you how to live, how to speak, how to act, how to write, how to text, how to spend your time, how to think in areas in which there's not only so much that God could record in his word, it seems like. 26:56 When he, the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth. For he will not speak on his own initiative. But whatever he hears, he will speak and he will disclose to you what is to come. Now this word disclose is a powerful word, I think. 27:09 I think of disclose like this, that I think of the additional words of Jesus that are not written here. These words of Jesus are available for everyone to see. But there are many more things that Jesus wanted to say and couldn't say and is speaking now. 27:24 That's why you see that the word to the churches in Revelation, in Revelation chapters 2 and 3. In all of the churches, both the good churches and the bad churches, all seven of them. You hear this consistently. He who has years to hear what the spirit is saying to the church. 27:41 Did they have Bibles? Yes, I think they did. They had some form of it at least. They had the teaching of the apostles and they had the Old Testament certainly. So what was it that the spirit was saying? Do you have years to hear? 27:52 And I find myself faced with that same question. As a member of the church, as a member of Christ's body and especially as a leader. As a leader in the home, in my marriage and with my children and in the local church here. 28:03 That God has called me to be a leader. Do I have years to hear what the spirit is saying now? Those additional things that Jesus longs to speak to me. It says he will disclose it to you. So the Holy Spirit says, "Do you want to know those things?" 28:16 If I don't have a hunger, if I don't have a burden, if I'm not careful with God's word, if I just gloss over these words that Jesus said and says, "I have many more things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. But when he, the spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth," etc., etc., etc. 28:32 Go on, speed on past it and don't stop and meditate on it. It says, "Lord." And the Lord did that for me one day. He says, "What about those things that I want to speak to you? Have you heard them yet? Have you, as the Holy Spirit is speaking to you?" 28:43 And then I went before the Lord and said, "Lord, fill me with the Holy Spirit. I'm not hearing these things. I want to hear them. I want to hear them." But whatever he hears, he will speak and he will disclose to you what has come. 28:54 Verse 14, "He shall glorify me, for he shall take of mine and shall disclose it to you." And the Holy Spirit moves in marvelous ways. This disclosing is a very interesting thing. I remember once I was reading the Bible. 29:10 I think I had to share a message a few days later or something. And I was just sitting there studying God's Word, thinking, "Lord, what should I speak? What should I share?" And I said, "Lord, speak to me. Speak to me." 29:20 And then I heard one of my children crying, one of my little babies crying. I said, "Lord, speak to me. I'm trying to tune out my baby so I can hear the voice of the Holy Spirit." And the Holy Spirit revealed Jesus to me, disclosed to me a little bit of Jesus. 29:33 He says, "You want to see what Jesus is like?" He says, "I'm going to go up there where the baby is crying and see what's the matter. And think about your wife. And go change the diaper. But Lord, I want to hear you." And the Holy Spirit was saying, "No. 29:44 I'm telling you to go up there and change the diaper." It was as simple as that. Or another time, I remember I was praying. And I heard my wife doing the dishes in the kitchen. And the Holy Spirit very specifically said, "Get up. Go do the dishes. 29:59 You'll hear me there." When Jesus gets up from the prayer closet and goes to the kitchen, will you go with him? Or will you stay on your knees saying, "Lord, speak to me. Lord, I want to hear from you." And he's there in the kitchen. 30:09 Because your wife's there. Or in the child's bedroom. I'll tell you, my dear brothers and sisters, this actually happened to me. And I'm thankful for it. That Jesus, now, if I was just relying on a religious... Oh, I spend five hours in prayer. 30:23 And I seek for the baptism of the Holy Spirit. I spend all night praying. And I'm not in tune to the real power of the Holy Spirit. Actually speaking to me specific things on how to live my life. And I'm not hearing that voice in my ear. 30:35 Do you know about that verse? It's in Isaiah 30, I think. Let me show you that. Isaiah chapter 30. This is written in the context of building the church. In the context of Zion. Isaiah is a wonderful book that talks about how God takes his people from captivity 30:56 and brings them back to the church, to Zion. Whenever you read Zion in the Old Testament, it's a picture of the church. The New Covenant church. So he says, verse 19, verse 18. Let's read verse 18 first. Isaiah 30, verse 18. 31:07 Therefore the Lord longs to be gracious to you. Because you read the earlier verses, I don't have time to show you. But it says, you know, they say, oh, the Lord has been harsh to us. And the Lord has been oppressed us, etc, etc. 31:22 But he says, no, let me remind you, verse 18. The Lord longs to be gracious to you. He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the Lord is a God of justice. How blessed are all those who long for him. Oh, people in Zion who are seeking to build a church. 31:37 Inhabitants in Jerusalem. You will weep no longer. He will surely be gracious to you at the sound of your cry. When he hears it, he will answer you. Although the Lord has given you the bread of privation and water of oppression. 31:49 He, your teacher, will no longer hide himself. This helper. Your teacher. The Holy Spirit. He won't hide himself any longer. This is a wonderful prophecy of the life we are called to live. In the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 32:02 Your teacher. You will have a teacher who will no longer hide himself. But your eyes will behold your teacher. And your ears will hear a word behind you. This is what I was talking about. Really specifically hearing a voice in my ear. 32:16 In my spiritual ear saying. This is the way. Walk in it. Whenever you turn to the right or to the left. When you are unsure about a decision to make. You think, well should I do this or should I do that? Should I invest in this or in that? 32:28 Should I go here to this church or do that? Should I gather a group of people in my living room and start meeting there? Or should I continue to attend that church? Are you being led by the Holy Spirit? Or are you looking for an answer from your right to brother Zach and say. 32:42 What should I do? Should I continue to meet? No, no. If the Lord leads you to do that. Do that. He might give you some guidance. But I am quite sure he will do to you what he has done for us. When we ask him some questions. 32:51 He says. I can give you my opinion and some wisdom. But you must hear that voice in your ear. Saying. This is the way. Walk in it. And that is the way that Phil and I are seeking to go as elders in the church here. Every week when we meet. 33:04 We pray. And together even as men when we meet for our Bible studies and other gatherings. We are constantly tuning our ear to the voice of the Holy Spirit who is saying. This is the way. Walk in it. And that is why sometimes. 33:16 If you ask those who are members of the church. Sometimes there are changes in the administration. Now we do things a little bit differently. And it is not that we have a rule book. Or that we have changed our minds or anything like that. 33:27 We are listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. And seeking to tune our radio to the frequency of the Holy Spirit. You know that there is music right now in this room. In the airwaves. We can't hear it. Because our ears are listening to a different frequency. 33:41 But if I brought a radio in here and tuned it to that frequency. You could hear Mozart and Bach and rap music and jazz. And all kinds of stuff. You could hear talk radio. All of that is going on here. And in the same way the Holy Spirit is speaking. 33:54 Spiritually on a wavelength. That most Christians aren't even aware that he is still trying to speak. And that is why the devil would love for us to deny or to limit or to neglect the fullness of the Holy Spirit. That life of being filled with the Holy Spirit. 34:10 So back in John 16. The Holy Spirit will take of mine. He says he shall take of mine and shall disclose it to you. And if I am content with an experience of the life of Jesus that I read in the Gospels and I read in the Acts. 34:26 Now let me be clear. I should say this. That the Holy Spirit will always give me direction that is in sync. That confirms the word of God. It is never out of sync. That is why there is no such thing as a manifestation of the Holy Spirit that the apostles and the early church didn't have and that Jesus didn't have. 34:45 When I see people rolling on the ground laughing and barking like dogs and falling down when so called men of God lay their hands on them. I know that is false. Because you cannot read it in the Bible in the New Testament at all. 34:58 The Holy Spirit will always speak to me. And that has been my experience as well. And I have been taught this. And I believe this is true. That the Holy Spirit will always speak to me in confirmed by his word. And if I don't know God's word I will be led astray. 35:11 And I am saddened to see so many young people. I was traveling recently in Europe. And came across many young people who are being taken up with this. Because they have not been taught God's word. They have not been taught the word of God. 35:23 They have not been taught to be students of God's word. And so they see a quote unquote man of God speaking with and manifesting certain works of power even perhaps. And they are awed by that. And the things that he teaches and the way he says the Holy Spirit is manifest through him. 35:41 And they are completely fooled. It doesn't lead them into a more Christ-like life. They are not drawn more to Jesus. They are not hearing Jesus whisper things to them on how to live with their parents or with their brothers and sisters. 35:52 Or with their husbands and wives and children. He will confirm. He will take the things of mine and shall disclose it to you. All things that the Father has are mine. Therefore I said that he takes of mine. That is these things. 36:05 That all things that the Father has given to Jesus and discloses it to you. So the way I would describe this is that I see the Holy Spirit as preparing us for Christ's return. So that when I see Jesus I will be like him. 36:22 Do you know that verse in 1 John chapter 3? Let me show it to you. 1 John chapter 3. This is the hope that I have fixed on Jesus. And this is the hope that carries me through my life. Through the trials of this life. When things go up and down. 36:34 This is the hope I have. 1 John chapter 3 verse 3. Everyone who has this hope fixed on Jesus. On him. Purifies himself as he is pure. What is this hope? The previous verse says that. Verse 2. We know that when he appears. 36:51 The latter part of verse 2. We know that when he appears we shall be like him. Because we shall see him just as he is. So the Holy Spirit's work is to draw me away from the things of this world. And make me more like Jesus. 37:06 This is the prime ministry of the Holy Spirit. The most important ministry of the Holy Spirit. Is to draw me away. To detach me from the things of this world. From the things of this world. Increasingly I am being detached through the fullness of the Holy Spirit. 37:19 And being made more like Jesus. Detached and attached to Christ. The ministry of the Holy Spirit should always be doing that. There is a beautiful picture of that in the Old Testament. When Abraham was looking for a bride for his wife. 37:32 For his son Isaac. Abraham's wife Sarah had died. Now Isaac was of age to be married. And Abraham knowing the call he had. That God had given him a land. A promised land. That was for him. And his descendants would be as the stars in the sky. 37:48 And the sand on the seashore. And he knew that Isaac was the fulfillment of that promise. That through Isaac. And through his descendants through Isaac. That promise would be fulfilled. Eventually Jesus would come. And Abraham had this sense of wanting to preserve Isaac. 38:04 I don't know if he could see it all. He saw it with faith. But he couldn't see that Jesus would come. Holy through Mary. Born of a virgin. And that Isaac couldn't just marry anybody. It had to be somebody pure. It had to be somebody who could preserve that spirit of Abraham. 38:20 Who could unite with Isaac. Just like Sarah did. It says that Sarah honored Abraham. Calling him Lord. And there was a faith that Sarah had as well. Which is why Abraham and Sarah could have a child. Isaac. And it was important for Isaac also. 38:35 To have a wife like that. Let's turn to that. Genesis chapter 24. You can read the whole chapter sometime. Because it's a wonderful picture of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. Genesis chapter 24. And it's interesting in passing. 38:53 I don't know if this has any significance. But in passing. The Abraham's servant's name was Eliezer. A name that means helper. God. A divine helper. A helper from God. Again, I think a picture perhaps of how the Holy Spirit today is that Eliezer to us. 39:08 A helper who says, I'm going to make you like Jesus. And here's how. I'm going to speak to you directly in your ear about things to do at this moment in time. So that when Jesus Christ returns, you'll be ready. I don't know how to make myself ready. 39:22 I feel helpless. I often don't know how Jesus is. But that's why I have the Holy Spirit. That's why I have the Holy Spirit dwelling in me and seek to be filled with him more and more. So that in every circumstance, I do know how Jesus is. 39:35 So that I am purifying myself as Jesus is pure. Do you know the purity of Jesus? I find that I don't, honestly. Because there is so much about the thought life of Jesus. The motive life of Jesus. The attitude life of Jesus that is not recorded in scripture. 39:51 And if it wasn't for the Holy Spirit filling me and speaking to me and saying, Hey. I mean, like that example about going to the kitchen and doing the dishes. I didn't get it from here. It's confirmed in here that it says, 40:04 Husband, love your wives and live in an understanding way with them as with a weaker vessel. That's a verse that confirms what the Holy Spirit was telling me to do. But I could have sat there and thought, Well, I should pray because that seems like the holy thing to do. 40:16 The righteous thing to do. And there's my wife slaving over there. Maybe she's tired. Maybe she's had a long day with the children at home. And the Holy Spirit saying, Get up from your knees and go help her. That's where I will be. 40:27 So in Genesis chapter 24, We see that Abraham sends Eliezer to this far off country. And he puts him in charge and says, Verse 3, You shall not take a wife for my son from the daughters of the Canaanites among whom I live. 40:44 But you shall go to my country and to my relatives and take a wife for my son Isaac from there. And so you probably know the story that Eliezer goes over there and miraculously, supernaturally, He says, He prays to God and says, 40:59 God, you must lead me to who this woman is. And he says, Let it be a woman who not only offers water to me, but also to my camels. A laborious work. Somebody who is not afraid to work and go the extra mile of service. Somebody with the maximum mentality towards God's work, not the minimum. 41:15 Somebody who says, The conference is going on. I'll come the day before and I'll make myself available for whatever. Somebody says, We're going to meet for church on 10 o'clock. I'll be there at 9. Why? I want them. I have the maximum mentality towards God's work. 41:28 Not okay. I guess they start at 10. I'll show up at 10:01. Fashionably late. That's how many churches operate. People who have the minimum mentality. You want 10%. Here it is. Very calculating. Maybe 9.9999% of my money. 41:43 I'll give it to you. The minimum mentality towards God's work. And I needed the Holy Spirit to fill me, to show me that what a wonderful, blessed life it is to have the maximum mentality. I'll tell you, my dear brothers and sisters, the more I give to God today of my time, my 41:59 energy, my resources, my money, or whatever, and my family, they come along with me in it. The more I give and pour myself out for him and his kingdom, the happier I am. Honestly, I really mean that. I'm so angry at the devil that he held me in bondage into thinking that if I thought about me and my family, 42:18 and I've got to look out for my interests, like we sang in that song. If my thoughts are taken up with thoughts of me and my family and selfishness of this, it's going to impact my family this way so I can't do it. No. I said, Lord, your kingdom, your people will be my people. 42:33 And look, God has taken care of my family. He has. He's blessed. He's taken care of my needs. He's taken care of my job needs. He's taken care of my financial needs more than I need. Because he's a good, loving Heavenly Father. 42:44 God is not a debtor to any man. I remember my father saying that many years as I was growing up as a child. And I've been increasingly taken up with that vision that if I give everything to God, God gives everything to me. 42:55 Which is a better trade? Is that a fair trade? That I would give everything to God and say, you have all of me, the fullness of the Holy Spirit, if you will give all that you're holding in your little tin can. And the devil held me and fooled me, deceived me for many years into thinking that if I gave up that, that I liked so much. 43:13 Maybe it's a ministry that you're attached to or that I was attached to. Maybe it's a habit. Maybe it's a hobby. Maybe it's a time of the week that you think is yours, that you deserve to be able to spend doing that which you really enjoy 43:26 because you work so hard during the week. Maybe the Lord will call you to give that up. I remember hearing the testimony of David Wilkerson in his book, The Cross and the Switchblade, how the Lord called him to give up a half hour or 20 minutes or whatever of watching the news on TV. 43:39 And it was during that time where the Lord said, I want you to give me that time, David, and devote yourself in prayer that God called him to go to New York and used him. And used him. Times Square Church came as a result of that ministry. 43:50 And God used him mightily. And I'm challenged by the testimony of him and many others like that who made a sacrifice and said, Lord, I will give you this, that which is dearest to me. And saw the Lord fulfill, build the church, his universal church through that sacrifice. 44:05 The Lord doesn't build his church unless we sacrifice that which is dearest to us. And so Eliezer goes there to the far off land. And it's confirmed, it's Rebecca. She goes back to her house. And he has brought gifts. And I've thought about this. 44:17 Imagine if Rebecca had seen those gifts. The bracelets and the necklace and the, I don't know what, maybe dresses and gifts even for her family that Eliezer brought with him. And had been taken up with the gifts like many people are taken up with the gifts of the Holy Spirit today. 44:31 And had thought, wow, this is great. Let me just live here with my family and my father and my mother and my brothers and sisters. And Eliezer, why don't you go back and tell Isaac how much I love him and have him send some more gifts. 44:43 What would she have missed? And I think for so many years, in seeking for the gifts of the Holy Spirit, I missed the giver himself. In seeking for this ministry and that other ministry and some other manifestation of power. 44:55 I missed Jesus himself who says, I want to marry you. If you come and marry and live with me, you will have no end of gifts. But instead I sat there in the far off country saying, give me some more gifts. Bless me Lord, bless me Lord, give me some more. 45:08 Help me in this work and this business project I have. And that other thing, living in the far off country, far away from the bridegroom. And I believe with all of my heart that the gifts of the Holy Spirit are to draw us to Jesus. 45:19 And if there are outward manifestations of the gifts, it's to draw others to Jesus as well. Why has God given the gift of prophecy in the church? I believe it's for this, so that in exercising the gift of prophecy, others are drawn to Jesus, to the bridegroom. 45:33 If God gives the gift of tongues or the gift of healing, it shouldn't be for me to be so excited about that gift and say, look at me with my gift. Or the gift of teaching, even me standing up here. What is it for? Is that we might all be drawn more to Jesus, our bridegroom, who calls from the far off country saying, come. 45:50 And then Eliezer, finally, you know, Rebecca's family, I think, tried to hold her back. They said, let her think about it. And she had to make a decision for herself. This man whom she hasn't seen with her eyes, he sent her these gifts. 46:02 And God started to do a work, I think, in her heart of confirming that this was the man that should be married. I mean, talk about an arranged marriage. She's never even seen the guy. And she's going to commit her life far, far, far away to a man she's never met, never even seen. 46:16 You think she wondered if she would be attracted to him? I'm sure she did. She was not a perfect woman. But she went with Eliezer. And I wonder what that conversation with Eliezer was like. I think Rebecca was taken up with Isaac by the time she left home. 46:30 She was willing to forsake her father, mother, brother, sister, wife, brother, sister, and friends. Like Jesus said, if anyone wants to be my disciple, let him forsake that. Rebecca was a disciple. And that's why she got Isaac, the bridegroom. 46:44 She said goodbye to her father and mother and brothers and sisters and said, I'm going with Eliezer, this mighty divine helper. And I think, I imagine that conversation being something like this. What's Isaac like? What's the color of his eyes? 46:55 What's his favorite color? What kind of clothes does he like to wear? Does he like purple or pink? I'm going to make sure I wear that pink dress when I see him. How does he like me to do my hair? What do you think? What is Isaac interested in? 47:07 This is what would have captivated Rebecca. So that when she met him, it says, Isaac loved her. When they saw each other, she loved Isaac. What is Isaac taken up with? This is what I see the Holy Spirit revealing to me today. 47:18 This is why I want to be more filled with the Holy Spirit. Because I want to know, what is Jesus interested in? Does he want us to gather here with a group of 30, 40, 50 people? Or 10 maybe? Or go to that other, that congregational church where life is easy? 47:30 What is Jesus interested in? What kind of a testimony does he want in this town of Loveland? That's what I'm after. That's why I seek for the fullness of the Holy Spirit all the time. What kind of a home should I have? What should we do with our children? 47:43 How should they dress? What activities should they be involved in? Should we do this? Should we allow them to watch that? Should we allow them to do this? Should we allow them to hang out with those people? What is Jesus interested in? 47:54 Where WWJD becomes more than just a bracelet that the world is made fashionable now. But I really know more than what he would do. What he wants me to do. What he did do when he was here on this earth. This is the ministry of the Holy Spirit. 48:07 Where I'm not left in doubt anymore. I thank you. Again, I want to be careful my brothers. I don't speak as one who is attained. I'm so far from it. But I'm increasingly being captured with like we sing in that other hymn with the same tune. 48:21 With a gleam of glory bright. I'm seeing a little bit more clearly what my bridegroom is like. The Holy Spirit is revealing him to me. Him to me more and more day by day. And I'm excited about it. He's revealing the body of Christ and the church. 48:34 And what it looks like in its messiness. And its power in the midst of that messiness. And I'm excited by it. I'm thankful to be a part of brothers and sisters here in this church that meets in this building. Which this is in the church. 48:46 It's the brothers and sisters and the children that meet in this place. That God has called me to be a part of. And I'll tell you. Any sacrifice that the Lord would call you to make for the sake of his church. A local expression of the body of Christ is worth it. 48:57 My dear brothers and sisters. It's absolutely worth it. You ask the brothers here whom you see. Who you know are from this church. And ask them and see if it isn't worth it. Yes, there was pain. Yes, there was doubt. Yes, there was failure. 49:07 Yes, there were people that left. Yes, we get reproach all the time. I'm sure Rebecca faced reproach when she left her people. And says, you mean you're saying goodbye to us forever? And you're going to some... You don't even know what that guy is like. 49:19 We face all kinds of reproach in this town. And from people who know about us and know of us. We've been called all kinds of names. Phil and I have been called all kinds of names too. But none of that compares to what... 49:29 The beauty of being taken up with Jesus. And I'll show you one more verse in closing. Revelation chapter 19. 49:49 This ministry of the Holy Spirit is so much greater than even... I'll tell you honestly. I desire for this more than even if God would give me the gift to raise somebody back from the dead. If He chooses to do that through me or through any of you, that's great. 50:00 Praise the Lord for it. It's for some purpose. But it's in order to draw us more to Jesus. What good would it be if I raised somebody from the dead and left him still defeated in his Christian life? And I was still defeated in my Christian life. 50:11 And neither of us was drawn to Jesus. But if God uses, manifests His power in some supernatural way, that's great. But after that, what will we do? Will we say thank you for these gifts? Thank you for the gift you've given me, Lord. 50:23 I exercise it to bless your people. Now draw me closer to you, to yourself, Lord Jesus. In Revelation 19, you see these four hallelujahs, really about two things essentially. And it says the first hallelujah is Revelation 19 verse 1. 50:38 Hallelujah! Salvation and glory and power belong to our God. Why? Because His judgments are true and righteous. And He has judged the great harlot who was corrupting the earth and her immorality. And has avenged the blood of His bond servants on her. 50:50 And the second time they said hallelujah, she is destroyed. Her smoke, verse 3, rises up forever and ever. And the 24 elders and the four living creatures fell down and worship God, who sits on the throne saying, Amen, hallelujah. 51:03 And then they go to the second thing that they say hallelujah. This is the only place in the Bible, I believe, certainly the only place in Revelation. And I think it's the only place in the Bible where you read hallelujah. 51:12 And I missed it for many years. I used that word. It means praise the Lord essentially in Hebrew. And maybe it's a heavenly language. But either way, these are the things that we say hallelujah about. And now when I say hallelujah, I think about this. 51:26 Hallelujah! The devil is a judged enemy. What's the second one? Verse 7, the end of verse 6. Hallelujah! For the Lord our God, the Almighty reigns. Let us rejoice and be glad and give the glory to Him. For the marriage of the Lamb has come and His bride has made herself ready. 51:42 Rebecca is ready. The church is ready. This is the hallelujah I want to be there to hear. When whoever it is, the throngs there in heaven say, Hallelujah! The bride of Christ is ready. She has purified herself. Verse 8, it says, 51:56 It was given to her to clothe herself in the fine linen, bright and clean. For the fine linen is the righteous acts of the saints. Purifies Himself as Jesus is pure. This is our calling, my dear brothers and sisters. This is the church, the bride of Christ, that Jesus through the Holy Spirit is making pure. 52:14 Let's hunger and thirst to be filled more than we have yet in the Holy Spirit. Filled with that power that we might experience everything that God wants. And we might experience the reality of the church. Amen. Let's pray. 52:28 For giving us your Holy Spirit. Thank you, Lord. I pray that we will never take it for granted. And we will never cease to have that hunger and thirst to be filled with your Holy Spirit all the time. To be continually filled with the Holy Spirit so that we know, so that we are very conscious about how we follow you, Lord. 52:47 So that we know exactly how to follow you in the midst of this world, in the midst of all the uncertainty where we can't see with our eyes. Open our eyes, Lord Jesus. So fill us with your Holy Spirit so that we can hear that clear voice directing us, each of us individually, how to lead our wives, how to lead our children, how to be leaders in the church, how to be leaders in our workplaces, wherever you call us to be. 53:09 Thank you, Father. You will do it. In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Okay. We'll take a break for a half hour.
