Mark O’Grady – Born of the Spirit – Class 5 – The Spirit Mind

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We’re going to start, I guess,
really looking at the role of

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the Spirit in terms of our own
personal lives and how the work

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of the Spirit can can occur in
our own personal hearts and

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minds.
And I think it’s really

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important for us to to make sure
that we’re really clear that the

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Spirit does need to be involved
in our lives.

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I mean, this passage here,
Romans 8, verse 14, as many as

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are led by the Spirit of God,
they are the sons of God.

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And when it comes to verse nine,
yeah, not in the flesh, but in

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the Spirit.
If so, be that the Spirit of God

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dwell in you.
And sometimes there’s a risk

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that because we’re so keen to
explain to Pentecostals that the

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Holy Spirit position they’re
talking about is not a thing, we

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can shy away from actually
recognising the fact that the

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Spirit of God needs to be in US.
It needs to dwell on us and we

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need to be led by the Spirit of
God.

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So we need to be clear that the
Spirit of God is continually

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actively involved in the life of
the Saints.

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And what we’re going to be
focusing on this morning is the

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Spirit mind.
What we’re going to look at

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tomorrow, God willing, in our
final study is the way in which

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God himself is active in our
lives through the work of the

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Spirit.
The question for us is this

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morning, in what way does the
Spirit of God dwell in us?

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In what way does the Spirit of
God lead us?

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Now just a bit of a recap.
To begin with, in the Old

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Testament with the word roac, in
the New Testament we have the

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word pneuma.
They both come from an idea of

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movement of air, the concept of
breathing something which is

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breathed out.
And it’s based on this, this

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idea that everything is sourced
from God and it breathes out of

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God himself.
It’s his energy that created all

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things.
It’s his mind and his values

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also which define the way he
works with the earth and because

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of that, the word spirit.
Ruach and Yuna convey many

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different things.
There’s different aspects of the

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way in which God works with His
creation as He takes us through

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the journey of the Spirit, so
that not only do our minds

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change to become the mind of the
Spirit, but ultimately, God

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willing, we become spirit beings
full of His Holy Spirit power.

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Now in yesterday’s study, we
looked at the idea of the Holy

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Spirit power which was given not
only to the Lord Jesus Christ,

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but to the believers in the 1st
century for a particular period

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of time and for some particular
purposes.

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And it was a spectacular
outpouring of the Holy Spirit

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power so that they could achieve
the things which God needed them

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to do.
But the question for us is, how

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does the Spirit dwell in US and
work in US today?

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And we’re going to be looking
this morning at the fact that

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the Spirit is used of God’s way
of thinking, his character, his

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values, his mind.
And we’ll see, therefore, that

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it broadens out to become an
expression of, of God’s word and

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in fact, even of the truth
itself working with us.

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It’s very closely linked to the
gospel.

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That’s the sense in which the
Spirit of God works in US today.

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All right, So what does the
Bible say about the way in which

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the Spirit of God works in US
today?

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And we’re going to go on a
little journey through Scripture

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to build a profile of how this
works.

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First thing is to note, of
course, that the word spirit is

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used in relation to the mind of
living beings.

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So a wise man rules his spirit.
Proverbs 16 verse 32 or blessed

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are the poor in spirit in
Matthew 5 verse 3.

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So we know that this idea of
spirit is the is the thinking

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process including of human
beings in that context.

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Unfortunately, we also know only
too well by bitter personal

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experience that the natural
heart of man automatically

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inclines to things that are
evil.

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So Jeremiah 17, verse 9, the
heart is deceitful above all

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things and desperately wicked.
Who can know it?

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So there’s this natural bias of
a human mind unenlightened by

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the things of God to deteriorate
in terms of the way it thinks.

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Mark 7, verse 21.
For within, out of the heart of

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men precede evil thoughts,
adulteries, fornications and

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murders.
Now this, this natural way of

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thinking is actually described
in Scripture in quite a few

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ways, and one of those is the
expression the carnal mind.

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So we find that in Romans 8
through 7, the carnal mind is

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enmity against God.
It’s not subject to the law of

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God, neither indeed can be.
So the carnal mind is a phrase

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that’s used in Scripture of the
natural thinking of a human mind

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which is at variance or enmity
even with the things of God.

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It’s not subject to the law of
God, neither indeed can it be.

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Notice the phrase enmity there.
There’s a real strong conflict

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now between these completely two
different ways of thinking.

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All right, that’s the phrase
carnal wine.

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Can anybody else think of
another expression used in

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Scripture of the carnal wine
just to see if we can.

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The flesh, did you say?
Is that what I do?

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Excellent.
Thank you, Brother Paul.

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The flesh, the thinking of the
flesh, It’s a, it’s a synonym,

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as it were for the carnal wine.
So we have the thinking of the

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flesh or the mind of the flesh.
So Romans 8 and verse 5, they

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that are after the flesh do mind
the things of the flesh, but

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those who are after the spirit
do mind the things of the

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spirit.
And then in verse 6, he

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describes that as being calmly
minded or spiritually minded.

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So now we see that the word
spirit can be used sometimes in

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Scripture of just the thinking.
But as we start to look at some

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of these passages in the New
Testament, actually the idea of

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being spiritually minded or the
thinking of the spirit or the

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mind of the spirit is now being
used as an expression of the way

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God thinks because that’s what
he wants to have our minds

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become.
And it’s an intimate of your

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it’s an opposing force from the
mind of the flesh or the carnal

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mind.
So this is quite simple.

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It simply says that actually the
thinking of God is the thinking

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of the spirit mind.
The natural thinking of man, the

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thinking of the flesh is the
carnal mind, and it’s the

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opposite of the mind of the
Spirit.

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So what does that tell us?
And this is where it goes from

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technical doctrine to something
that’s quite personal.

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What does it tell us?
It actually says our minds need

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to change.
It’s simple, it’s fundamental,

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our minds need to change and
thankfully that’s the process of

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the truth.
So 2nd Corinthians 7 verse one

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having therefore these promises
dearly, but I would let us

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cleanse ourselves from all
filthiness of the flesh and

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spirit, perfecting holiness in
the fear of God.

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So now the spirit can be
changed, the thinking process

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can be changed from a filthy one
to actually a holy one

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perfecting holiness in the fear
of God, or is described in

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Ephesians 4 as a making you a
renewing of the spirit of our

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minds.
We put off concerning the former

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way of life, the old man.
It’s a natural thinking, corrupt

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according to the sea for lust be
renewed in the spirit of your

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mind putting on a new man, which
after God is created in

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righteousness and true holiness.
So we’ve got these two different

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ways of thinking and the
wonderful thing that Scripture

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tells us is it’s possible to
change.

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We can actually change from one
to the other.

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The way our spirit mind thinks,
our spiritual mind thinks can be

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cleansed and renewed and changed
to become a spiritual mind or

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the thinking of the spirit, a
reflection of God’s ways.

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I like the ESP translation.
Actually I haven’t got it there.

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I’ll read it out to you.
Of the of the latter part of

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that verse, he said to put on
the new self created after the

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likeness of God in true
righteousness and holiness.

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So people now who are ruled by
the mind of the Spirit are

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reflecting the character of God.
And so therefore, not

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surprisingly, they’re described
as being spiritual.

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So in Colossians one, verse 9,
he talks about us being filled

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with the knowledge of God’s will
in all wisdom and spiritual

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understanding.
Pneumaticos Colossians 3, verse

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16 talks about us singing psalms
and hymns and spiritual songs.

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Brother Tim showed us last night
what spiritual songs actually

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are.
They’re hymns which are based on

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the beauty of the Word of God.
And so collectively as an

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ecclesia, we get built up as
living stones, as a spiritual

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house, a holy priesthood, to
OfferUp spiritual sacrifices

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acceptable to God by Jesus
Christ.

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So in this very real sense, we
are led by the Spirit of God.

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In this very real sense, the
Spirit of God has to dwell in

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US.
It’s a way of thinking.

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There’s nothing particularly
mysterious about that, is there?

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It’s actually quite
straightforward.

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The concept of the Spirit of God
dwelling in us in the New

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Testament is shown to be the
result of a changed mind that

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changes from the thinking of the
flesh to thinking of the ways of

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God.
Now this is actually a very old

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battle.
Does anybody know where the

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first reference to the Spirit in
the flesh comes up in Scripture?

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It’s very odd.
Genesis Oh, good guess is you’ve

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got you’ve got the right book.
But the two words spirit in

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flesh and actually the conflict
between them.

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Brother Daniel, Genesis 6 And he
puts his hands up like that.

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Is that a guess?
It’s a good guess.

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OK, Genesis 6, I’ll read it to
you.

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Verse 3.
Yahweh said my spirit shall not

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always strive with men for that.
He also is flesh in his days

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shall be 120 years.
So actually it’s a very whole

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battle.
It’s the thinking of man versus

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the ways of God, this conflict
between the flesh and the

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Spirit.
OK, so now the key question for

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us this morning is how is that
change going to take place?

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Because once we know how the
change takes place, we know what

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to do with our daily lives, we
know where to put our

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priorities, we know what to put
our effort into because we’re

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given the tools to help that
change take place and effect

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permanent change in terms of of
our daily life.

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So the question for us, and this
is a question actually, which

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I’m going to ask out loud as it
were to all Christianity, does

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this require God’s Holy Spirit
power to be placed into us, to

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dwell on us as a mystical force,
as an external agent or

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supernatural power to change the
way we think, to dwell and abide

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in us so that all we have to do
is surrender and submit and

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allow God’s Holy Spirit power to
change the way our minds

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operate?
In other words, an external

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tweaking by an external agent
that comes inside us and makes

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us understand, enables us to
resist some in temptation,

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because that is probably 98% of
Christianity’s view.

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Or is there some other way to
change the way our natural mind

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thinks?
So let’s go on a bit of a

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journey through Scripture now
and build up a clear scriptural

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process that shows to us what it
is that actually changes our

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mind.
But I’d like you to come with me

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to 1st of Thessalonians chapter
2, where there’s a rather simple

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but beautiful little statement
that the Apostle Paul makes, 1st

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of Thessalonians 2.
He says that he’s thanking God

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for them.
He’s been hoping that they would

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walk worthy.
In verse 12 of God who’s called

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them to his Kingdom and glory.
And in verse 13, first of

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Thessalonians 2, verse 13 for
this cause also thank we God

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without ceasing, because when
you receive the word of God

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which you heard from us, you
received it not as the word of

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men, but as it truly is the word
of God, which effectually works

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also in you that belief.
So Paul says when he visited

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Thessalonica and spoke to them,
they listened to what Paul was

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saying and said, ah, that’s not
the words of man, that’s

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actually the words of God.
He said, so you truthfully

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received it as being what God
spoke.

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And look at that beautiful
expression which effectually

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worketh also in you that belief.
So that tells us that there’s

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something about the word of God
which can effectually work

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inside everybody that actually
believes.

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We won’t turn it up, but there’s
a passage which has been

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00:13:37,440 –> 00:13:39,360
referred to many times this
week.

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00:13:39,840 –> 00:13:45,120
Second Timothy 3, verse 16.
All scripture is given by

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00:13:45,400 –> 00:13:50,120
inspiration of God.
So God breathed Numa Theo

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00:13:50,240 –> 00:13:54,360
Neustos breathed from God.
All scripture is breathed out

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00:13:54,360 –> 00:13:58,480
from God and is profitable for
doctrine, for a proof for

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00:13:58,480 –> 00:14:02,440
correction, instruction and
instruction and righteousness,

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00:14:02,680 –> 00:14:04,520
etcetera.
I haven’t gotten quite exactly

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00:14:04,520 –> 00:14:09,240
right, but what an amazing list
of things that the word of God

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00:14:09,320 –> 00:14:13,040
is actually profitable to do.
Suggestion by the way, is that’s

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00:14:13,040 –> 00:14:15,160
drawing on the words of the Lord
Jesus Christ.

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00:14:15,160 –> 00:14:18,320
When He says that words, the
flesh prophets nothing.

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00:14:18,520 –> 00:14:22,160
The words I speak to you, they
do achieve certain things.

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We’ll look at that again
shortly, that passage.

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So it’s God’s Word which is
breathed out.

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00:14:27,440 –> 00:14:31,160
It’s the work of the Spirit.
That’s what is profitable, to

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00:14:31,200 –> 00:14:34,400
change the way in which men and
women work.

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00:14:34,400 –> 00:14:39,280
So it’s actually really simple.
The word is God’s spirit.

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00:14:40,400 –> 00:14:43,880
It breathes out of Him and it
accomplishes His will.

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00:14:44,320 –> 00:14:47,800
Of course, always remember the
Spirit is not something separate

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00:14:47,800 –> 00:14:51,200
from God.
So it’s God’s power, it’s God’s

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00:14:51,240 –> 00:14:53,400
energy.
So in this context, it’s being

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00:14:53,400 –> 00:14:57,360
breathed out of God and it’s
effective to change the way we

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00:14:57,360 –> 00:14:59,600
think.
The Word is the Spirit.

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00:14:59,800 –> 00:15:05,200
Now let’s prove that John 663.
Our Lord says it’s the Spirit

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00:15:05,320 –> 00:15:09,200
that gives life, the flesh
profits nothing.

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00:15:09,520 –> 00:15:12,920
That’s probably the passage
that’s being drawn on in second

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00:15:12,920 –> 00:15:17,520
of Timothy when he says it’s
profitable for doctrine,

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00:15:17,840 –> 00:15:20,120
correction, instruction and
righteousness and so forth.

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00:15:20,680 –> 00:15:22,160
He said the flesh profits
nothing.

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00:15:22,160 –> 00:15:26,800
The words I speak to you, they
are spirit, their life.

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00:15:27,840 –> 00:15:30,320
So when we think about the
spirit, it’s not a scary

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00:15:30,320 –> 00:15:33,520
thought.
Actually God’s words are spirit.

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00:15:33,840 –> 00:15:37,800
It’s breathed out of God.
Or David, when he’s writing

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00:15:37,800 –> 00:15:42,120
under inspiration, he says in
second Samuel 23 verse 2, the

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00:15:42,120 –> 00:15:47,680
spirit of Yahweh spake by me.
His word was in my tongue.

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00:15:48,800 –> 00:15:51,680
Or an interesting the Wonder
Woman of wisdom in Proverbs, one

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00:15:51,680 –> 00:15:54,840
which we know is used as a
symbol of of the teaching of God

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00:15:54,840 –> 00:15:58,480
as she’s entreating people to
come and take of that wisdom.

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00:15:58,480 –> 00:16:00,920
She says, turn you at my
reproof.

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00:16:01,240 –> 00:16:05,440
Behold, I will pour out my
spirit unto you.

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00:16:05,440 –> 00:16:09,120
I will make known my words unto
you.

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00:16:09,120 –> 00:16:12,200
See the parallelism there?
I’ll pour out my spirit, I’ll

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00:16:12,200 –> 00:16:16,680
make known my words unto you.
Well, the apostles, the Lord

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00:16:16,680 –> 00:16:19,280
said that when they went
speaking, it would be not you

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00:16:19,280 –> 00:16:23,720
that speak, but the Spirit of
the Father who speaks in you.

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00:16:24,600 –> 00:16:29,120
So brothers, sisters, have you
got the Spirit of God in you?

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00:16:31,160 –> 00:16:34,720
But if you’ve got the word in
you, the answer is yes.

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00:16:35,720 –> 00:16:37,640
It’s quite simple.
It’s quite beautiful.

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00:16:37,960 –> 00:16:40,040
All right, What we’re going to
do now is watch this subject

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00:16:40,040 –> 00:16:41,200
grow.
I’d like you to come with me to

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00:16:41,200 –> 00:16:46,160
1st of Peter chapter 1, because
now we have the concept of a new

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00:16:46,160 –> 00:16:49,080
birth being introduced into this
discussion.

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00:16:49,320 –> 00:16:53,760
First of Peter, chapter 1 and
verse 22.

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00:16:53,760 –> 00:16:57,880
The context, one Peter one verse
22.

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00:16:57,960 –> 00:17:02,160
Seeing you’ve purified your
souls in obeying the truth

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00:17:02,240 –> 00:17:05,200
through the Spirit unto
unfounded love of the brethren,

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00:17:05,440 –> 00:17:08,960
and notice that connection of
ideas, there’s a purification of

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00:17:08,960 –> 00:17:13,079
you as an individual because
you’ve obeyed the truth through

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00:17:13,079 –> 00:17:16,079
the Spirit.
This is the work of the Spirit.

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00:17:16,599 –> 00:17:18,800
How does it work?
Well, he said in verse 23,

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that’s because you have been
born again.

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00:17:23,880 –> 00:17:26,520
It’s interesting.
I was talking to the teens and I

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00:17:26,520 –> 00:17:30,280
said to people around you, the
churches, do they use the phrase

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00:17:30,280 –> 00:17:32,480
born again to talk about
Christianity?

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00:17:33,160 –> 00:17:35,800
And there was a blank look from
most of the Canadian young

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00:17:35,800 –> 00:17:38,360
people and those that have come
up from the States said, yeah,

283
00:17:38,360 –> 00:17:40,480
we hear the comment reasonably
frequently.

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00:17:40,760 –> 00:17:43,400
So obviously it’s a it’s a
strong expression in the US.

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00:17:43,400 –> 00:17:45,880
It certainly is at home.
If you’re a new Pentecostal,

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00:17:45,880 –> 00:17:48,960
you’re born again and you’re
born again because the spirits

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00:17:48,960 –> 00:17:50,520
coming to you.
Well, what does Peter say?

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00:17:51,360 –> 00:17:54,840
Well, you’re born again, not of
incorruptible, see, but of

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00:17:54,840 –> 00:17:59,000
incorruptible by the word of
God, which lives and abides

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00:17:59,120 –> 00:18:01,720
forever.
So here’s a process of a new

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00:18:01,720 –> 00:18:05,360
birth, which starts because
there’s a seed which gets

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00:18:05,360 –> 00:18:08,240
planted and it brings forth new
life.

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00:18:08,320 –> 00:18:11,880
And what’s the seed?
The seed that’s being planted is

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00:18:11,880 –> 00:18:15,240
the word of God, which lives and
abides forever.

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00:18:16,680 –> 00:18:21,360
Actually, the theme of this new
birth continues in chapter 2 as

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00:18:21,360 –> 00:18:25,240
newborn babes in verse 2 desire
the sincere milk of the word

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00:18:25,240 –> 00:18:28,440
that you may grow thereby.
So again, there’s an emphasis on

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00:18:28,440 –> 00:18:31,560
the role of the word, not just
bringing a new baby into

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00:18:31,560 –> 00:18:34,240
existence, but then helping the
baby to grow.

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00:18:35,040 –> 00:18:41,080
Or James, one similar concept.
Every good gift, every perfect

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00:18:41,080 –> 00:18:43,280
gift is from above, comes down
from.

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00:18:43,360 –> 00:18:46,040
Note the phrase the father of
lights.

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00:18:46,240 –> 00:18:49,400
So now we’ve got this theme
being built of a father and

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00:18:49,400 –> 00:18:53,160
children, a father and begettal.
Here’s a father who’s going to

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00:18:53,160 –> 00:18:56,640
bring forth light with whom is
no variable.

306
00:18:56,640 –> 00:19:01,800
It’s not a shadow of turning of
his own will begat he us with

307
00:19:02,080 –> 00:19:06,040
the word of truth.
You should be kind of first

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00:19:06,040 –> 00:19:09,880
roots of his creatures.
So this new way of thinking is

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00:19:09,880 –> 00:19:12,480
like a new child which comes to
the birth.

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00:19:12,680 –> 00:19:15,960
That’s the idea of being born
again and we’re begotten with

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00:19:15,960 –> 00:19:19,360
the word of truth, or as he says
in verse 21, receive with

312
00:19:19,360 –> 00:19:24,920
meekness the implanted or the
engrafted word which is able to

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00:19:24,920 –> 00:19:28,120
save your souls.
So it’s very clear from the New

314
00:19:28,120 –> 00:19:31,480
Testament writings that the
thing that brings off the new,

315
00:19:31,520 –> 00:19:35,400
brings about the new birth, is
the word of God.

316
00:19:35,400 –> 00:19:39,080
All right, now, armed with that
understanding, we’re going to go

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00:19:39,080 –> 00:19:43,080
to John chapter 3, which is one
of the main passages used by the

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00:19:43,080 –> 00:19:47,160
Christian world to say you have
to have the Holy Spirit to be a

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00:19:47,160 –> 00:19:49,320
believer.
And when they talk about having

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00:19:49,320 –> 00:19:52,000
the Holy Spirit, they’re talking
about the indwelling of the

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00:19:52,000 –> 00:19:55,600
mystical presence of the Holy
Spirit being whatever that might

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00:19:55,600 –> 00:19:58,640
actually be.
John chapter 3.

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00:19:58,880 –> 00:20:01,680
Yeah.
This is the work, the words of

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00:20:01,680 –> 00:20:03,960
our Lord Jesus Christ in the
discussion.

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00:20:04,240 –> 00:20:07,760
We’re from Nicodemus, John 3.
Nicodemus comes and says, Well

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00:20:07,760 –> 00:20:10,680
master, we know you’re from God,
because no one can do these

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00:20:10,680 –> 00:20:12,880
miracles except God be with
them.

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00:20:14,240 –> 00:20:18,760
And Jesus somewhat obliquely
says in verse 3, Verily, verily,

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00:20:18,760 –> 00:20:22,440
I say unto thee, except the man
be born again, he cannot see the

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00:20:22,440 –> 00:20:25,280
Kingdom of God.
OK, say the Pentecostals, you

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00:20:25,280 –> 00:20:28,440
have to be born again,
Christian, or else she can’t see

332
00:20:28,440 –> 00:20:31,240
the Kingdom.
Nicodemus scratches his head.

333
00:20:31,880 –> 00:20:34,120
He can’t quite understand what
the Lord’s saying.

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00:20:34,560 –> 00:20:37,360
He said How can he be born
again?

335
00:20:38,280 –> 00:20:41,000
Verse 4?
How can a man be born when he’s

336
00:20:41,000 –> 00:20:44,160
already an old person?
Can he enter the second time

337
00:20:44,160 –> 00:20:45,840
into his mother’s womb and be
born?

338
00:20:46,280 –> 00:20:49,400
And you can see that he’s just
looking blinkered at the

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00:20:49,440 –> 00:20:52,560
absolute literal interpretation
of the phrase born.

340
00:20:53,000 –> 00:20:56,320
How can you be born again?
Can you go back into your

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00:20:56,320 –> 00:20:58,360
mother’s womb?
And then Christ says, verily I

342
00:20:58,360 –> 00:21:03,560
say unto you, except a man be
born of water and born of the

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00:21:03,560 –> 00:21:07,160
Spirit, he cannot enter into the
Kingdom of God.

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00:21:07,880 –> 00:21:09,680
So the Pentecost will say, there
we are.

345
00:21:09,680 –> 00:21:11,440
We have to be born of the
Spirit.

346
00:21:11,600 –> 00:21:15,000
That means we have to receive
the Holy Spirit power to come

347
00:21:15,000 –> 00:21:18,560
into us, or else we can’t see
the Kingdom of God.

348
00:21:19,400 –> 00:21:22,640
So what’s our answers here?
Well, we’re not going to have

349
00:21:22,640 –> 00:21:25,640
time to go through a detailed
exposition, but there’s just a

350
00:21:25,640 –> 00:21:27,960
couple of keys that make this
quite straightforward.

351
00:21:29,040 –> 00:21:32,280
The first one is context.
Let’s turn back a page.

352
00:21:33,080 –> 00:21:37,720
John chapter 1 having spoken
about the Lord and about the

353
00:21:37,720 –> 00:21:46,160
role of the word in verse 12, it
says as many as received him to

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00:21:46,160 –> 00:21:51,120
them gave the power to become
the children of God, even to

355
00:21:51,120 –> 00:21:56,440
those which believe on his name,
who are born not of blood, nor

356
00:21:56,440 –> 00:21:59,840
of the will of flesh, nor of the
will of man, but of God.

357
00:22:00,040 –> 00:22:03,960
So there’s a contrast here
between a natural beginning

358
00:22:03,960 –> 00:22:09,480
process which is by the will of
man and by the power of of the

359
00:22:09,480 –> 00:22:12,680
human body, and that’s a natural
birth.

360
00:22:12,680 –> 00:22:14,720
He said, no, no, this is a
different thing that I’m

361
00:22:14,720 –> 00:22:19,720
speaking about altogether.
The second key is the one we’ve

362
00:22:19,720 –> 00:22:23,760
already noted from Peter and
John, that the process of

363
00:22:23,760 –> 00:22:28,920
begettal starts with the word of
God and that then brings forth

364
00:22:29,200 –> 00:22:33,200
this new creature.
And the third thing which helps

365
00:22:33,200 –> 00:22:35,800
with John chapter 3 is to look
at those two words.

366
00:22:35,800 –> 00:22:40,920
When he says in verse 3, the
Lord says except the man be born

367
00:22:41,320 –> 00:22:44,200
again, he cannot see the Kingdom
of God.

368
00:22:44,600 –> 00:22:48,600
It’s quite helpful to have a
look at the word born and the

369
00:22:48,600 –> 00:22:55,040
word again, those two words in
the Greek, the word born is the

370
00:22:55,040 –> 00:22:59,360
word judeo, the word again.
And I think, and you know the

371
00:22:59,360 –> 00:23:04,720
really intriguing thing, both of
those words, both of them have

372
00:23:04,720 –> 00:23:07,800
two different meanings in the
original.

373
00:23:08,840 –> 00:23:16,040
So the word to be born can mean
to bigot, to conceive, to

374
00:23:16,040 –> 00:23:21,000
gender, the start of the
process, or it can mean the

375
00:23:21,000 –> 00:23:24,800
actual physical process of birth
nine months later to be born or

376
00:23:24,800 –> 00:23:27,920
to give birth.
So when we see the word jenaeo,

377
00:23:27,920 –> 00:23:32,080
it can mean a reference to the
begettal process or to the

378
00:23:32,160 –> 00:23:35,680
actual birth.
And when it comes to the word

379
00:23:35,720 –> 00:23:41,600
again, and I think it can
literally mean again or it also

380
00:23:41,640 –> 00:23:46,720
literally means above that when
we say above, let me give you an

381
00:23:46,720 –> 00:23:51,080
example that we’ve already
looked at the Father of lights.

382
00:23:51,840 –> 00:23:54,440
See, I’ve got a key.
Let me read it out.

383
00:23:54,440 –> 00:23:59,000
Every good and every perfect
gift is from above and comes

384
00:23:59,000 –> 00:24:02,400
down from the Father of lights.
And that word above is an effect

385
00:24:02,800 –> 00:24:05,480
again.
So literally the word can mean

386
00:24:05,480 –> 00:24:09,640
again or it can mean above.
Every good and perfect gift is

387
00:24:09,720 –> 00:24:13,880
from above.
So what we have is a statement

388
00:24:13,880 –> 00:24:20,320
here from the Lord, which is
except a man be begotten from

389
00:24:20,320 –> 00:24:23,280
above, he will never see the
Kingdom of God.

390
00:24:23,280 –> 00:24:27,520
Now that makes absolute sense.
How do we get begotten from

391
00:24:27,520 –> 00:24:29,880
above?
Well, Peter tells us that we get

392
00:24:29,880 –> 00:24:34,040
begotten by the word of truth.
James tells us that the Father

393
00:24:34,040 –> 00:24:36,160
of lights begets us through the
Word.

394
00:24:36,440 –> 00:24:39,520
That’s a process of being
begotten above.

395
00:24:40,160 –> 00:24:42,360
Nicodemus can’t think on a
spiritual plane.

396
00:24:42,680 –> 00:24:45,280
He takes it literally.
He said, well, you can’t be born

397
00:24:45,280 –> 00:24:47,320
again because that means you
have to go back into your

398
00:24:47,320 –> 00:24:50,200
mother’s womb.
And Christ then picks up this

399
00:24:50,200 –> 00:24:54,080
concept of birth, and he extends
the subject further to say,

400
00:24:54,080 –> 00:24:57,560
actually, when it comes to
birth, there are two births

401
00:24:57,560 –> 00:25:00,520
needed now.
You’ve already had a natural

402
00:25:00,520 –> 00:25:05,600
one.
We now need a birth of water and

403
00:25:05,600 –> 00:25:09,480
a birth of spirit.
And Paul Nicodemus at this stage

404
00:25:09,480 –> 00:25:11,760
is really struggling.
So let’s have a look at what the

405
00:25:11,760 –> 00:25:14,840
Lord’s actually saying.
You know, there’s a principle

406
00:25:14,840 –> 00:25:20,160
established in it’s in first of
Corinthians 15 and verse 46.

407
00:25:20,720 –> 00:25:24,200
First that which is natural and
then that which is spiritual.

408
00:25:25,000 –> 00:25:29,720
So we have a a natural example
of a birth and then we have a

409
00:25:29,720 –> 00:25:33,280
spiritual application of that as
a set of principles.

410
00:25:33,520 –> 00:25:36,120
And that’s a general principle
that comes up a lot in

411
00:25:36,120 –> 00:25:38,560
Scripture.
But let’s look at the spiritual

412
00:25:38,560 –> 00:25:41,400
application.
Well, then there needs to be a

413
00:25:41,400 –> 00:25:44,320
spiritual begettal.
How does that take place?

414
00:25:44,720 –> 00:25:48,400
Well, we’re begotten by God.
How does that take place with

415
00:25:48,400 –> 00:25:52,480
the Word?
So God starts the process by

416
00:25:52,480 –> 00:25:57,800
begetting us from His Word.
That then leads on to a

417
00:25:57,800 –> 00:26:03,800
spiritual birth and actually our
birth of the Spirit, our new

418
00:26:03,800 –> 00:26:05,960
birth is actually a birth in two
stages.

419
00:26:07,600 –> 00:26:11,040
There’s first of all being born
of water, which is baptism.

420
00:26:11,920 –> 00:26:15,640
And then we have the concept of
being born of the Spirit.

421
00:26:16,640 –> 00:26:19,080
Now, what’s this birth of the
Spirit?

422
00:26:20,560 –> 00:26:23,120
Sometimes it suggests that,
well, our spiritual birth is our

423
00:26:23,120 –> 00:26:28,040
baptism as well because we’re
now a new creature in Christ.

424
00:26:28,480 –> 00:26:31,080
And you know, actually in a
moral sense that is true.

425
00:26:31,600 –> 00:26:35,640
We’re born again as a new
creature in Christ, but the

426
00:26:35,640 –> 00:26:40,360
fullness of the concept of being
born of the spirit is when we

427
00:26:40,400 –> 00:26:44,920
ultimately become spirit beings.
So Christ is described in

428
00:26:44,920 –> 00:26:50,240
Colossians one verse 18 as being
the first born from the dead

429
00:26:50,880 –> 00:26:53,400
after the resurrection,
immortality.

430
00:26:54,040 –> 00:26:57,640
So we have this concept here of
a birth of water, which is

431
00:26:57,640 –> 00:27:02,120
baptism, and then a birth of
spirit, which in a moral sense

432
00:27:02,120 –> 00:27:06,320
does start after our baptism.
But actually really the full

433
00:27:06,320 –> 00:27:09,680
birth of spirit is when we
become spirit beings.

434
00:27:10,120 –> 00:27:15,760
Now if we think about it, one of
those is the spirit mind and the

435
00:27:15,760 –> 00:27:20,160
other is actually when the
spirit power transforms us or

436
00:27:20,160 –> 00:27:26,000
another way of looking at it,
mental and moral and ultimately

437
00:27:26,000 –> 00:27:29,160
a physical rebirth when we
become spirit beings.

438
00:27:30,200 –> 00:27:32,440
So when you ask the question,
well, what is the birth of the

439
00:27:32,440 –> 00:27:33,840
spirit?
Is that in our baptism?

440
00:27:34,080 –> 00:27:36,440
Well, in a sense, yes, because
we’re begotten as a new

441
00:27:36,440 –> 00:27:38,640
creature.
But in its ultimate sense,

442
00:27:38,680 –> 00:27:42,600
actually it’s really when we
come to birth as a full spirit

443
00:27:42,600 –> 00:27:44,680
being.
So Brother Thomas refers to it

444
00:27:44,680 –> 00:27:47,120
as being.
This being begotten from above

445
00:27:47,120 –> 00:27:53,240
them leads to a twofold birth
from below, first from water and

446
00:27:53,240 –> 00:27:57,240
secondly from the grave.
And that’s just simply taking

447
00:27:57,240 –> 00:27:59,680
the concepts of begetal and
birth is they’re used in

448
00:27:59,680 –> 00:28:03,040
Scripture and overlaying them
over the top of this little

449
00:28:03,040 –> 00:28:08,520
passage here in John chapter 3.
We don’t have time for this.

450
00:28:08,520 –> 00:28:11,640
I’m going to say it anyway.
Verse 8, the wind bloweth where

451
00:28:11,640 –> 00:28:13,680
it listeth.
And thou hearest the voice, the

452
00:28:13,680 –> 00:28:16,520
sound thereof, but canst not
tell whence it comes.

453
00:28:16,720 –> 00:28:20,280
What’s that talking about?
It’s the only place in the New

454
00:28:20,280 –> 00:28:24,080
Testament where the word numa
has been translated is wind.

455
00:28:24,920 –> 00:28:27,840
It should be spirit because
that’s how it’s translated

456
00:28:27,840 –> 00:28:29,600
through all the rest of the New
Testament.

457
00:28:29,760 –> 00:28:32,680
And the word blow is neo, to
blow or to breathe.

458
00:28:34,200 –> 00:28:37,880
So the spirit breathes wherever
it chooses.

459
00:28:38,040 –> 00:28:42,760
This is God’s work.
And you can hear sound or

460
00:28:42,760 –> 00:28:46,160
literally means the voice.
You can hear its voice, but you

461
00:28:46,160 –> 00:28:47,600
don’t understand it.
Nicodemus.

462
00:28:49,000 –> 00:28:52,000
It pops up in John the Baptist.
You didn’t get it.

463
00:28:52,680 –> 00:28:55,600
It’s now in the son of a
Carpenter from Nazareth.

464
00:28:55,960 –> 00:29:00,040
You don’t understand it.
And you as a ruler in Israel are

465
00:29:00,040 –> 00:29:04,160
hearing the sound of the voice
of the Spirit that is struggling

466
00:29:04,160 –> 00:29:06,080
to understand what it’s actually
saying.

467
00:29:06,840 –> 00:29:10,560
And what our Lord’s doing is
elevating Nicodemus’s mind, a

468
00:29:10,560 –> 00:29:15,760
journey which he had just begun.
OK, all right, let’s keep going.

469
00:29:15,760 –> 00:29:18,760
Building up a picture of the of
the renewing of the power of the

470
00:29:18,760 –> 00:29:20,440
Word.
I’d like you to come with me to

471
00:29:20,440 –> 00:29:26,600
Ephesians 5 and verse 26.
It’s the passage where the Lord

472
00:29:26,600 –> 00:29:31,320
Jesus Christ describes himself
as being the the husband who

473
00:29:31,320 –> 00:29:34,680
cares for the bride.
And it becomes that beautiful

474
00:29:34,680 –> 00:29:41,360
set of of verses which we use to
to teach husbands the principles

475
00:29:41,360 –> 00:29:46,200
of of a godly or a Christ like
spirit of care for our wives.

476
00:29:46,400 –> 00:29:51,880
Ephesians 5, verse 26 Well, 25
Husbands, love your wives.

477
00:29:52,080 –> 00:29:55,800
As Christ loved the ecclesia,
and gave Himself for her, that

478
00:29:55,800 –> 00:30:00,720
he might sanctify and cleanse
her with the washing of water by

479
00:30:00,720 –> 00:30:03,920
the Word, that he might present
him to herself with glorious

480
00:30:03,920 –> 00:30:07,560
ecclesia, not having spot, or
wrinkled, or any such thing,

481
00:30:07,840 –> 00:30:12,840
holy and without blemish.
So now we have this concept of

482
00:30:12,840 –> 00:30:18,000
the word being used not just to
forget, but to cleanse, to

483
00:30:18,000 –> 00:30:22,160
sanctify and cleanse it with the
washing of water by the word.

484
00:30:22,680 –> 00:30:26,120
Sometimes the translation has
the idea of the washing in the

485
00:30:26,120 –> 00:30:30,040
labour of the word as well,
washing and cleansed in the

486
00:30:30,040 –> 00:30:35,640
labour of the water by the word.
So here we have the word now

487
00:30:35,640 –> 00:30:38,880
being used as the process that
cleanses our minds.

488
00:30:39,120 –> 00:30:42,480
And there’s some beautiful
lessons that draw from that we

489
00:30:42,480 –> 00:30:44,920
don’t have time to look at sadly
this morning.

490
00:30:45,120 –> 00:30:49,640
Husbands, for us in terms of
asking the question, are we

491
00:30:49,640 –> 00:30:55,640
consciously doing that in our
homes, washing the minds of our

492
00:30:55,640 –> 00:31:00,680
wives with the word, which
sanctifies and cleanses?

493
00:31:01,160 –> 00:31:05,200
But notice the phrase that he
might sanctify and cleanse it

494
00:31:05,320 –> 00:31:09,240
with the word.
Well, that’s interesting because

495
00:31:09,240 –> 00:31:13,120
Second of Thessalonians chapter
2 and verse 13, which we won’t

496
00:31:13,120 –> 00:31:16,640
turn up, says that that
sanctification is done by the

497
00:31:16,640 –> 00:31:19,760
Spirit.
We’re bound to give thanks

498
00:31:19,760 –> 00:31:22,480
always to God for you, brethren,
beloved of the Lord, because God

499
00:31:22,480 –> 00:31:26,040
from the beginning has chosen
you to salvation through the

500
00:31:26,040 –> 00:31:29,160
sanctification of the Spirit and
belief of the truth.

501
00:31:29,720 –> 00:31:33,120
And that passage is sometimes
put forth to say you have to

502
00:31:33,120 –> 00:31:36,560
have the Holy Spirit power come
unto you because it sanctifies

503
00:31:36,640 –> 00:31:38,920
the sanctifying work of the Holy
Spirit.

504
00:31:40,360 –> 00:31:43,880
Well, it gets more complicated
because in John 17 verse 19, he

505
00:31:43,880 –> 00:31:46,680
says that they may be sanctified
through the truth.

506
00:31:48,000 –> 00:31:51,800
So are we sanctified by the
water of the Word, or are we

507
00:31:51,800 –> 00:31:56,320
sanctified by the Spirit or are
we sanctified by the truth?

508
00:31:57,920 –> 00:31:59,440
Which one of those are you going
to choose?

509
00:32:00,760 –> 00:32:04,160
Well look at this.
Is it the Word or the truth, the

510
00:32:04,160 –> 00:32:05,920
words I speak?
Is it the Word or the Spirit?

511
00:32:05,920 –> 00:32:08,840
The words I speak to you?
They ask her, or is it the

512
00:32:08,840 –> 00:32:11,800
Spirit or the truth?
The Spirit is the truth, 1 John

513
00:32:11,800 –> 00:32:14,160
5, verse 7.
Or is it the truth?

514
00:32:14,160 –> 00:32:16,360
Or is it the Word via word is
truth.

515
00:32:16,800 –> 00:32:20,080
John 17, verse 19.
What does that tell us, brothers

516
00:32:20,080 –> 00:32:22,920
and sisters?
It simply says that actually

517
00:32:22,920 –> 00:32:27,480
God’s word is the Spirit
expressing God’s thoughts.

518
00:32:28,280 –> 00:32:31,440
What’s the truth?
The truth is God’s thoughts

519
00:32:31,440 –> 00:32:34,800
expressed in His Word, and we
see the way in which these

520
00:32:34,800 –> 00:32:38,280
concepts work together.
So when when we read passages

521
00:32:38,280 –> 00:32:42,920
which speak of the need of the
Spirit to be working in us, we

522
00:32:42,920 –> 00:32:47,480
don’t need to be confused or
concerned or puzzled as to what

523
00:32:47,480 –> 00:32:49,800
it might mean.
What we’re being told here is

524
00:32:49,800 –> 00:32:53,120
the work of God through His
Word, through the truth, through

525
00:32:53,120 –> 00:32:55,200
the Spirit.
It’s all the same process.

526
00:32:56,440 –> 00:33:00,600
It’s God sanctifying us through
what He has said and that

527
00:33:00,600 –> 00:33:04,560
creates that power to work in
our own personal lives, which is

528
00:33:04,560 –> 00:33:10,120
why the word is described as
being the power of God in Mark

529
00:33:10,120 –> 00:33:12,640
12 verse 24.
You know, not the Scriptures,

530
00:33:12,640 –> 00:33:16,840
neither the power of God.
Well, Peter there has the words

531
00:33:17,000 –> 00:33:22,000
of eternal life he says to the
Lord in John 6 verse 68, or it’s

532
00:33:22,000 –> 00:33:26,080
described as the word of truth,
the gospel of your salvation in

533
00:33:26,080 –> 00:33:31,760
Ephesians 1 and verse 13 or Paul
refers to in Acts 20 as the word

534
00:33:31,800 –> 00:33:35,400
of his grace, which is able to
build up and give an

535
00:33:35,400 –> 00:33:40,320
inheritance.
So on that basis, if it’s the

536
00:33:40,320 –> 00:33:44,120
power of God’s word, then what’s
our role?

537
00:33:45,000 –> 00:33:49,760
What do we actually do?
And Christianity at large says

538
00:33:49,760 –> 00:33:54,680
at this point, you surrender,
you just submit, and you let the

539
00:33:54,680 –> 00:33:59,800
Holy Spirit do what it does.
What does God teach us is our

540
00:33:59,840 –> 00:34:01,840
responsibility to the work of
the Spirit?

541
00:34:02,720 –> 00:34:06,560
And we’re going to turn briefly,
very briefly, to Luke chapter 8,

542
00:34:06,600 –> 00:34:10,920
a very familiar passage.
It’s the parable of the soul,

543
00:34:11,040 –> 00:34:14,480
Luke chapter 8.
Now we’re told that in the

544
00:34:14,480 –> 00:34:19,040
parable of the sower, the seed
is the word of God.

545
00:34:19,199 –> 00:34:22,400
So we’re right on top of here.
This is the impact of the word

546
00:34:22,400 –> 00:34:24,719
of God.
We know the parable well.

547
00:34:24,920 –> 00:34:26,840
We know there are four types of
ground.

548
00:34:27,040 –> 00:34:29,520
So in the parable, what’s our
responsibility?

549
00:34:29,800 –> 00:34:33,000
Actually, the question is what
type of soil am I going to be?

550
00:34:33,800 –> 00:34:36,000
Am I going to be the hard
hearted rock that won’t even

551
00:34:36,000 –> 00:34:39,360
listen?
Am I going to be the, the, the

552
00:34:39,360 –> 00:34:42,080
rock that’s very shallow, the
soil that’s very shallow?

553
00:34:42,080 –> 00:34:44,400
So the word takes root, but it
doesn’t last.

554
00:34:45,199 –> 00:34:47,560
Or am I going to be the ground
that’s filled its filled its

555
00:34:47,560 –> 00:34:51,600
life up with the the the cares
and deceitfulness of riches, the

556
00:34:51,600 –> 00:34:53,920
cares of this life and the lusts
of other things?

557
00:34:54,280 –> 00:34:56,239
Or am I going to be the good
soil?

558
00:34:56,520 –> 00:35:00,200
So actually the parable is about
personal responsibility in terms

559
00:35:00,200 –> 00:35:03,480
of how we respond to the word.
And I’d just like to pick up the

560
00:35:03,480 –> 00:35:14,920
phrase in Luke chapter 8 and
verse 15 that on the good ground

561
00:35:15,480 –> 00:35:17,840
are they?
And I just note these words,

562
00:35:18,440 –> 00:35:26,520
which in an honest and good
heart, having heard the word,

563
00:35:26,520 –> 00:35:29,240
keep it and bring forth fruit,
patience.

564
00:35:30,280 –> 00:35:34,080
So our responsibility here,
brothers and sisters, is to have

565
00:35:34,080 –> 00:35:38,640
a good and honest heart.
It’s interesting as you read

566
00:35:38,640 –> 00:35:43,760
through the works of our, of our
earlier brethren, many, many

567
00:35:43,760 –> 00:35:46,880
different brethren, actually,
the phrase they keep using in

568
00:35:46,880 –> 00:35:50,120
terms of how we respond to the
work of the Spirit is they keep

569
00:35:50,120 –> 00:35:51,840
using the phrase of good and
honest heart.

570
00:35:52,840 –> 00:35:55,480
You just see it over and over
and over again, a good and

571
00:35:55,480 –> 00:35:57,160
honest heart, a good and honest
heart.

572
00:35:57,520 –> 00:36:00,680
Because what that’s telling us
is we have a responsibility in

573
00:36:00,680 –> 00:36:04,160
terms of how we receive the word
and how we respond to it.

574
00:36:04,360 –> 00:36:07,200
We have to have a good and
honest heart which having heard

575
00:36:07,200 –> 00:36:12,400
the word keeps it and therefore
brings forth good fruit.

576
00:36:12,640 –> 00:36:17,840
So that’s our responsibility.
That’s why, for example, in in

577
00:36:17,840 –> 00:36:21,320
Joshua 1, Joshua was told this
book of the more shall not

578
00:36:21,320 –> 00:36:25,720
depart out of thy mouth.
Thou shalt meditate therein day

579
00:36:25,920 –> 00:36:30,520
and night that thou shalt have
good success make thy way

580
00:36:30,520 –> 00:36:33,040
prosperous.
Well, what about the Bereans?

581
00:36:33,880 –> 00:36:37,520
Well, we know in Acts 17 verse
11, they were more noble than

582
00:36:37,520 –> 00:36:39,360
the than the verse in
Thessalonica.

583
00:36:39,360 –> 00:36:40,960
They searched the scriptures
daily.

584
00:36:40,960 –> 00:36:43,080
It’s an interesting little
phrase.

585
00:36:43,640 –> 00:36:47,720
They searched the Scriptures
daily with all readiness of

586
00:36:47,720 –> 00:36:50,440
mind.
So actually there is a

587
00:36:50,440 –> 00:36:53,320
responsibility.
It’s how we listen to and

588
00:36:53,320 –> 00:36:57,320
receive the word of God.
We don’t have time to turn it

589
00:36:57,320 –> 00:37:01,080
up, unfortunately.
But Romans chapter 10 is, is a

590
00:37:01,080 –> 00:37:03,720
magnificent passage in your own
time.

591
00:37:03,720 –> 00:37:07,840
Read through from verse 4 right
through to verse 17 because he’s

592
00:37:07,840 –> 00:37:13,120
talking about belief or faith.
And what he sees is there’s a

593
00:37:13,120 –> 00:37:18,480
preacher who preaches the word
and he said, and that’s the word

594
00:37:18,480 –> 00:37:21,600
that we receive that’s nigh us.
It’s near to us.

595
00:37:21,600 –> 00:37:23,680
The word he said, it’s in our
mouth, it’s in our heart.

596
00:37:23,800 –> 00:37:26,560
It’s the word which we believe.
It’s the word that brings

597
00:37:26,560 –> 00:37:29,280
righteousness.
And as he goes through there, he

598
00:37:29,280 –> 00:37:33,040
shows not that the Holy Spirit
gifts and power to come into us

599
00:37:33,200 –> 00:37:36,600
to make us believe, but it’s our
closeness to the word of God,

600
00:37:36,720 –> 00:37:38,600
which is in our hearts and our
mouths.

601
00:37:38,920 –> 00:37:42,600
We express it in our faith.
It’s the power of the word.

602
00:37:42,720 –> 00:37:48,440
And then he goes on to say faith
comes by hearing, and hearing by

603
00:37:48,560 –> 00:37:51,600
the Word of God.
Scripture is so delightfully

604
00:37:51,600 –> 00:37:54,720
clear in telling us what it is
that makes a difference.

605
00:37:54,720 –> 00:38:00,120
The Word is the medium that God
is using to develop the mind of

606
00:38:00,120 –> 00:38:05,240
the Spirit or the Spirit of God
in us as individuals.

607
00:38:05,240 –> 00:38:10,400
And that’s why the New Testament
is so full of the concept of

608
00:38:10,400 –> 00:38:14,440
faith.
Faith is not something we just

609
00:38:14,440 –> 00:38:18,320
sit there and the Holy Spirit
comes and puts faith in what is

610
00:38:18,320 –> 00:38:20,600
faith.
It’s so simple.

611
00:38:20,880 –> 00:38:24,120
God speaks and we listen to
believe.

612
00:38:26,040 –> 00:38:30,880
God made a promise to Abraham,
and Abraham heard it and he

613
00:38:30,880 –> 00:38:33,840
believed and it was counted to
him for righteousness.

614
00:38:34,880 –> 00:38:38,480
That’s why the New Testament is
actually written for us.

615
00:38:39,640 –> 00:38:42,720
John 17 verse 20.
Our Lord says, I pray not for

616
00:38:42,720 –> 00:38:47,280
them only for the apostles, but
for them also, which shall

617
00:38:47,280 –> 00:38:50,560
believe on me through their
words.

618
00:38:51,760 –> 00:38:56,120
And they wrote down, they first
of all spoke to those they met,

619
00:38:56,280 –> 00:39:01,080
and then thankfully for us, they
wrote down their witness of what

620
00:39:01,080 –> 00:39:04,520
they’ve seen and heard.
And we come along and we believe

621
00:39:04,680 –> 00:39:08,280
through their words.
That’s the power of faith.

622
00:39:08,480 –> 00:39:11,800
Faith which is the substance of
things hoped for and the

623
00:39:11,840 –> 00:39:15,400
evidence of the things that we
didn’t see.

624
00:39:16,040 –> 00:39:19,280
We believe the Lord Jesus Christ
came and walked on earth.

625
00:39:20,080 –> 00:39:22,000
We believe He lived the perfect
life.

626
00:39:22,520 –> 00:39:25,840
We believe he made a sacrifice
for the forgiveness of sins of

627
00:39:25,840 –> 00:39:28,440
those that would come to the
Father, and we believe he’s in

628
00:39:28,440 –> 00:39:32,400
heaven and will shortly return.
It’s the evidence to us, the

629
00:39:32,400 –> 00:39:37,600
certainty of the things that we
haven’t seen right.

630
00:39:37,840 –> 00:39:40,360
What I’m going to do for a few
minutes now is completely

631
00:39:40,360 –> 00:39:42,680
switch.
Switch this and have a look at

632
00:39:42,680 –> 00:39:46,320
what the churches teach and it
will drive home to us brothers

633
00:39:46,320 –> 00:39:50,160
and sisters the preciousness of
the truth that we actually have.

634
00:39:50,400 –> 00:39:52,640
Remember they believe in the
Trinity.

635
00:39:52,800 –> 00:39:56,600
Remember, they’re described as
the hard system and the mystery

636
00:39:56,600 –> 00:40:00,720
of iniquity which was already
working, who have changed the

637
00:40:00,720 –> 00:40:05,120
truth of God into a lie.
They have a triune God here,

638
00:40:05,120 –> 00:40:08,960
which has very old roots way
back in the Egyptian mythology.

639
00:40:09,640 –> 00:40:13,120
The concept Plato, the Greek
philosopher picked up this this

640
00:40:13,120 –> 00:40:17,080
three person concept and a lot
of his philosophies have been

641
00:40:17,480 –> 00:40:20,280
incorporated into the teaching
of the Trinity.

642
00:40:21,520 –> 00:40:25,080
So we won’t go through this in
any detail, but there are clear

643
00:40:25,080 –> 00:40:29,000
instances of Plato’s influence
upon the 2nd century Christian

644
00:40:29,000 –> 00:40:31,280
writers.
They talk about the interaction

645
00:40:31,280 –> 00:40:33,720
of the world with the Holy
Spirit.

646
00:40:34,160 –> 00:40:35,760
We just go down to the section
here.

647
00:40:36,320 –> 00:40:41,200
Platonism became ingrained in
Christian discourse about God.

648
00:40:41,840 –> 00:40:45,120
Therefore, Christian Trinity, or
the inner dynamics of the

649
00:40:45,120 –> 00:40:50,480
relationship between the Father
and the Son and the Holy Spirit

650
00:40:50,480 –> 00:40:54,200
have been formulated using
Plato’s distinction between the

651
00:40:54,200 –> 00:40:58,200
good, the Naus and the Newman.
So Greek philosophy is a

652
00:40:58,200 –> 00:41:00,800
fundamental part of Christian
teaching.

653
00:41:00,920 –> 00:41:04,840
So what do you get as a result?
The Moody Institute.

654
00:41:05,800 –> 00:41:08,640
The Holy Spirit today plays a
major role in the application of

655
00:41:08,640 –> 00:41:13,520
salvation to the individual.
It’s the Spirit who brings

656
00:41:13,520 –> 00:41:17,680
conviction to the unbeliever.
Get that In comes the Holy

657
00:41:17,680 –> 00:41:20,960
Spirit and it brings conviction.
What have we just been seeing

658
00:41:20,960 –> 00:41:23,920
brings conviction?
Us reading and believing the

659
00:41:23,920 –> 00:41:26,080
word of God?
No, the Holy Spirit will come in

660
00:41:26,080 –> 00:41:29,400
and bring a conviction to the
unbeliever and cause him to see

661
00:41:29,600 –> 00:41:32,600
the light of the truth of the
gospel in a clear light.

662
00:41:33,720 –> 00:41:36,400
The Holy Spirit unites the
believer with Christ.

663
00:41:36,800 –> 00:41:39,120
It places him in the body of
Christ, the church.

664
00:41:39,560 –> 00:41:41,160
He unites the believer with
Christ.

665
00:41:41,160 –> 00:41:45,480
In Christ’s death, you notice,
enabling the believer to live

666
00:41:45,480 –> 00:41:49,240
victoriously over sin.
You can conquer sin.

667
00:41:49,560 –> 00:41:52,000
The Holy Spirit comes in and
does it for you.

668
00:41:52,480 –> 00:41:57,240
The Holy Spirit, note those
words, controls the believer who

669
00:41:57,240 –> 00:41:59,960
yields to God.
You get the sense of what’s

670
00:41:59,960 –> 00:42:03,680
being talked about here, that
the Holy Spirit comes in and

671
00:42:03,680 –> 00:42:07,360
controls you, and your role is
simply to submit to it.

672
00:42:08,240 –> 00:42:11,800
The CS Lewis Institute, The
Spirit’s ready and willing and

673
00:42:11,840 –> 00:42:15,040
eager to reign in US.
Get the idea of the Spirit being

674
00:42:15,040 –> 00:42:17,680
a different thing.
It’s a being and it’s going

675
00:42:17,680 –> 00:42:21,360
around and it’s looking for a
home and it’s wanting to get

676
00:42:21,400 –> 00:42:24,960
inside you.
No, the Spirit is actually God

677
00:42:25,040 –> 00:42:27,400
at work.
So they talk about the Spirit as

678
00:42:27,400 –> 00:42:30,680
if it’s another being wanting to
get inside you, but its power is

679
00:42:30,680 –> 00:42:33,280
blocked until we surrender fully
to God.

680
00:42:33,920 –> 00:42:39,280
Once we surrender to God and ask
the Spirit to fill us, then it

681
00:42:39,280 –> 00:42:42,240
changes our life in ways that
will amaze and delight you.

682
00:42:42,240 –> 00:42:45,440
The Holy Spirit will actively
carry forward the process of

683
00:42:45,440 –> 00:42:50,720
transforming you.
But for now, let’s be clear that

684
00:42:50,720 –> 00:42:53,720
as we allow the Spirit to
influence directly empower us,

685
00:42:53,720 –> 00:42:58,440
we can overcome the flesh.
Certainly about this is crucial.

686
00:42:58,600 –> 00:43:02,600
Uncertainty is self defeating.
God’s given us the Holy Spirit

687
00:43:02,840 –> 00:43:06,680
because they see it as being a
power that will actually come

688
00:43:06,760 –> 00:43:09,120
into you.
And in the process, what you’re

689
00:43:09,120 –> 00:43:12,120
blurring together is all
differentiation between the Holy

690
00:43:12,120 –> 00:43:14,440
Spirit power of God and the
Spirit mind.

691
00:43:15,120 –> 00:43:18,280
The mind of Christ, the Spirit,
the Holy, it’s all merged

692
00:43:18,280 –> 00:43:22,400
together and they take quotes
that refer to different aspects

693
00:43:22,400 –> 00:43:26,880
of the work of the Spirit, and
they put them all together into

694
00:43:26,880 –> 00:43:28,600
one.
They actually teach that you

695
00:43:28,600 –> 00:43:32,560
have to have the indwelling of
the Holy Spirit to mediate the

696
00:43:32,560 –> 00:43:37,360
influence of God and Jesus, and
that the Holy Spirit dwelling in

697
00:43:37,360 –> 00:43:41,040
you is proof that God is
dwelling in you.

698
00:43:44,880 –> 00:43:51,200
Our community from its inception
has been fundamentally opposed

699
00:43:51,200 –> 00:43:53,840
to that teaching.
And it’s been very clear.

700
00:43:54,080 –> 00:43:58,200
It is probably close to the
number one thing that

701
00:43:58,200 –> 00:44:02,040
differentiates between the truth
and false Christianity, and it’s

702
00:44:02,040 –> 00:44:05,640
been foundation of our community
from its beginning.

703
00:44:07,000 –> 00:44:09,920
So Brother Tony Benson and
Brother Reg Carr in the book

704
00:44:10,200 –> 00:44:12,960
Built upon a Rock.
What is distinctive about the

705
00:44:12,960 –> 00:44:17,280
Christadelphian view is that
they accept the Holy Scriptures

706
00:44:17,400 –> 00:44:21,520
as the very words of God and as
their sole authority.

707
00:44:22,680 –> 00:44:25,120
They believe that an
understanding of God’s will and

708
00:44:25,120 –> 00:44:29,640
purpose can be obtained from the
Bible without the need for any

709
00:44:29,640 –> 00:44:33,040
additional guidance by the Holy
Spirit or by any spiritual

710
00:44:33,040 –> 00:44:36,280
authority operating extremely to
the Word of God.

711
00:44:38,280 –> 00:44:40,920
Brother Thomas in the Apostolic
Advocate, 1835.

712
00:44:41,480 –> 00:44:46,400
The Scrutiny of the Testimony,
reading the Bible, OK, the

713
00:44:46,400 –> 00:44:51,320
scrutiny of the testimony and a
conviction that it is true is

714
00:44:51,320 –> 00:44:53,960
faith.
That is the Lord putting His law

715
00:44:53,960 –> 00:44:56,400
into our minds and inscribing
them on the hearts.

716
00:44:56,720 –> 00:45:00,480
It’s by the testimony of the
Holy Spirit, written all spoken,

717
00:45:00,720 –> 00:45:04,880
that the world is convinced of.
So we are built on the

718
00:45:04,880 –> 00:45:08,120
testimonial, the testimony of
the apostles and prophets.

719
00:45:09,120 –> 00:45:13,760
Faith then results from the
examination of the testimony,

720
00:45:13,880 –> 00:45:16,240
the witness, the Bible, what we
read.

721
00:45:16,680 –> 00:45:21,000
It’s not an infusion, and
therefore it’s not wrought in

722
00:45:21,000 –> 00:45:24,720
the heart by any supernatural
and indefinable process.

723
00:45:25,120 –> 00:45:28,520
Those who profess to have been
the subjects of that process are

724
00:45:28,520 –> 00:45:31,000
courageous, their theological
system.

725
00:45:31,200 –> 00:45:33,600
Superstition.
Brother Robertson, The

726
00:45:33,600 –> 00:45:37,720
Christadelphia in 1877.
The Orthodox idea, which has so

727
00:45:37,720 –> 00:45:41,240
completely nullified the
Scriptures and superseded the

728
00:45:41,240 –> 00:45:45,320
study of the Bible, is that the
Spirit of God acts directly and

729
00:45:45,320 –> 00:45:48,440
physically on the minds of men
in order to enable them to be

730
00:45:48,440 –> 00:45:51,640
obedient.
This idea cannot be too strongly

731
00:45:51,640 –> 00:45:56,440
reprobated as containing the
seeds of spiritual decay and

732
00:45:56,440 –> 00:46:00,440
death.
It’s really clear the Spirit of

733
00:46:00,440 –> 00:46:04,480
God as a moral power does not
come to us directly, not at all

734
00:46:04,480 –> 00:46:06,520
as a physical or constraining
power.

735
00:46:06,680 –> 00:46:10,480
It comes to us in the ideas,
what it has embodied in the

736
00:46:10,480 –> 00:46:13,200
Word.
And it’s only in proportion as

737
00:46:13,200 –> 00:46:17,400
these ideas obtain and abiding
place in our minds by the

738
00:46:17,400 –> 00:46:21,240
constant companionship of the
Word that we become spiritually

739
00:46:21,240 –> 00:46:25,520
minded seasons of comfort.
It’s wise, therefore, though

740
00:46:25,520 –> 00:46:29,680
disagreeable, to repudiate the
popular claim to the possession

741
00:46:29,680 –> 00:46:33,680
and guidance of the Holy Spirit.
It’s a false claim and a

742
00:46:33,680 –> 00:46:36,760
mischievous one.
It leads people to look to the

743
00:46:36,760 –> 00:46:39,560
wrong direction.
It leads them to attach great

744
00:46:39,560 –> 00:46:43,080
importance to the changeful
moods and tempers of the human

745
00:46:43,080 –> 00:46:45,280
mind.
If I’ve got the Spirit in me

746
00:46:45,440 –> 00:46:49,520
guiding my thoughts, then I’m
now captured by how I feel.

747
00:46:51,080 –> 00:46:52,200
On the other hand.
On one.

748
00:46:52,280 –> 00:46:55,160
On the other hand, it leads them
to practically make light off

749
00:46:55,480 –> 00:46:59,360
and neglect the Bible, which is
the only safe and sure guide.

750
00:46:59,640 –> 00:47:01,720
Like the lighthouse on the
dangerous coast.

751
00:47:02,520 –> 00:47:05,360
In fact, the result of the
popular era on this point cannot

752
00:47:05,360 –> 00:47:08,280
visibly describe that in the
language of the prophets.

753
00:47:08,280 –> 00:47:11,480
They forsake in the fountain of
living waters, and hewed

754
00:47:11,480 –> 00:47:15,280
themselves out systems broken
systems that can hold no water.

755
00:47:16,080 –> 00:47:19,480
They neglect the true counsel by
which God guides His people in

756
00:47:19,480 –> 00:47:23,600
the Scriptures of truth, and
they run after human thoughts,

757
00:47:23,720 –> 00:47:26,920
feelings, and sentiments which
lead away from that council.

758
00:47:27,560 –> 00:47:30,960
Or by the CC Walker.
Men have so much of the Holy

759
00:47:30,960 –> 00:47:33,960
Spirit in them as they have of
the Word of God and their

760
00:47:33,960 –> 00:47:37,160
understandings and affections.
To that extent, they’re not in

761
00:47:37,160 –> 00:47:41,080
the flesh, but in the Spirit, as
Paul testified to the Romans.

762
00:47:42,280 –> 00:47:46,680
And so in the BASF Doctrines to
be rejected, clause six, that

763
00:47:46,680 –> 00:47:50,480
the Holy Spirit is a person
distinct from the Father, and

764
00:47:50,480 –> 00:47:54,080
clause 25, that a man cannot
believe without possessing the

765
00:47:54,080 –> 00:47:56,960
Spirit of God.
It’s been fundamental in our

766
00:47:56,960 –> 00:48:00,960
community since its inception
that it’s the power of the word

767
00:48:01,200 –> 00:48:03,840
transforms the minds of men and
women.

768
00:48:04,080 –> 00:48:07,440
It’s not the Holy Spirit coming
into people that actually does

769
00:48:07,440 –> 00:48:09,600
that as some sort of a remote
power.

770
00:48:11,200 –> 00:48:14,400
What about this little book
familiar with that, a guide, the

771
00:48:14,400 –> 00:48:18,280
ecclesial guide.
You know that often the those

772
00:48:18,280 –> 00:48:21,480
earlier writings have a short
title and then they have a

773
00:48:21,480 –> 00:48:23,800
longer title when you look
inside the front page.

774
00:48:24,600 –> 00:48:27,920
So there’s the longer title on
the inside of the front page.

775
00:48:28,320 –> 00:48:29,960
I’ll just expand.
This is so, this is the

776
00:48:29,960 –> 00:48:32,400
ecclesial guide which we’re so
familiar with.

777
00:48:33,160 –> 00:48:36,360
This is what it actually says.
A guide to the formation and

778
00:48:36,360 –> 00:48:39,280
conduct of Christadelphian
ecclesias in the characteristic

779
00:48:39,280 –> 00:48:43,240
circumstances of an age when the
truth is apostolically delivered

780
00:48:43,240 –> 00:48:49,040
has been revived in the ways of
divine Providence without the

781
00:48:49,040 –> 00:48:53,760
cooperation and living guidance
of the Holy Spirit as enjoyed in

782
00:48:53,760 –> 00:48:58,120
the Apostolic age.
So this has been really clear in

783
00:48:58,120 –> 00:49:09,980
our community right since the
beginning of its inception, and

784
00:49:09,980 –> 00:49:14,620
yet describe this being
incredibly clear in Scripture

785
00:49:15,380 –> 00:49:19,020
and a fundamental position of
our belief and understanding.

786
00:49:19,580 –> 00:49:24,760
Incredibly, every few decades,
church teaching on the Holy

787
00:49:24,760 –> 00:49:28,840
Spirit comes back into the
brotherhood and gets raised up

788
00:49:28,920 –> 00:49:31,480
again.
And when it does, it’s a

789
00:49:31,520 –> 00:49:35,880
fundamental challenge to the
most basic of the doctrines of

790
00:49:35,880 –> 00:49:37,760
the truth.
And it’s certainly the case

791
00:49:37,760 –> 00:49:42,040
today around the ecclesial
world, the concepts of the need

792
00:49:42,040 –> 00:49:45,040
for the Holy Spirit to come into
us and dwell on us to help us

793
00:49:45,040 –> 00:49:47,640
understand.
I’m hearing those expressions

794
00:49:47,640 –> 00:49:51,800
being used again around the
ecclesial world, and it’s driven

795
00:49:51,800 –> 00:49:54,720
by the same errors that the
churches make.

796
00:49:54,720 –> 00:49:58,640
All right, it’s going to be our
responsibility, brothers and

797
00:49:58,640 –> 00:50:02,440
sisters, to defend the integrity
of the truth and the doctrines

798
00:50:02,440 –> 00:50:06,680
which are so clear in Scripture.
So let’s ask ourselves the

799
00:50:06,680 –> 00:50:10,760
question, does it really matter
in what is the impact?

800
00:50:11,440 –> 00:50:14,760
And it actually cuts right to
the core of many of our

801
00:50:14,760 –> 00:50:18,200
fundamental doctrines, and it
cuts right to the core of our

802
00:50:18,200 –> 00:50:21,920
beliefs and our foundation on
the rock of infallible

803
00:50:21,920 –> 00:50:24,360
scripture.
I’m just going to look very

804
00:50:24,360 –> 00:50:27,880
briefly at these four areas.
The impact on our attitude and

805
00:50:27,880 –> 00:50:31,440
approach to the scriptures, the
impact on our personal

806
00:50:31,440 –> 00:50:35,480
responsibility and
accountability, its implications

807
00:50:35,480 –> 00:50:39,120
when it comes to resisting
temptation and the implications

808
00:50:39,120 –> 00:50:43,160
of thinking that I have Spirit
guided decision making and

809
00:50:43,200 –> 00:50:46,120
understanding.
All right, So what about our

810
00:50:46,120 –> 00:50:47,680
attitude towards the Word of
God?

811
00:50:47,800 –> 00:50:50,640
And this is where it cuts
straight and deep.

812
00:50:51,840 –> 00:50:57,560
If I think that God’s Spirit is
now inside me, guiding me, it

813
00:50:57,560 –> 00:51:02,840
lessens my dependence on the
veracity of the Word of truth.

814
00:51:03,760 –> 00:51:06,840
In fact, as Brother Rich Kahn
notes, almost all Christian

815
00:51:06,840 –> 00:51:10,640
donations hold the view that the
Holy Spirit, as a coequal person

816
00:51:10,640 –> 00:51:14,080
of a triune Godhead, acts
directly on the minds of men and

817
00:51:14,080 –> 00:51:16,800
women to inspire influence and
control.

818
00:51:17,640 –> 00:51:24,440
With such a view, the written
Word of God inevitably takes a

819
00:51:24,480 –> 00:51:28,440
subordinate place.
And when these doctrines come

820
00:51:28,440 –> 00:51:31,080
into the brotherhood, that’s
exactly what happens.

821
00:51:31,520 –> 00:51:34,960
Now, these are phrases that I
have heard in recent times.

822
00:51:36,840 –> 00:51:39,120
When you keep talking about
having to read the Bible, you’re

823
00:51:39,120 –> 00:51:42,360
doing what Paul warned about,
focusing on the letter of the

824
00:51:42,360 –> 00:51:47,280
law rather than the Spirit.
Now that’s a fundamental

825
00:51:47,280 –> 00:51:53,120
misquote of the ideas of Paul in
Romans 7 verse six, in second of

826
00:51:53,120 –> 00:51:56,960
Corinthians 3, verse 6, when
he’s contrasting the law of

827
00:51:56,960 –> 00:52:00,800
Moses with the gospel.
Or try this one.

828
00:52:02,600 –> 00:52:06,600
If you just say we need to be
reading the Bible, well, Paul at

829
00:52:06,600 –> 00:52:08,600
the feet of Gamaliel showed that
that doesn’t help.

830
00:52:13,000 –> 00:52:15,560
Actually, it wasn’t the Bible
that was the problem back then.

831
00:52:16,720 –> 00:52:19,440
It was the fact that there was a
veil over the eyes of the Jews

832
00:52:19,440 –> 00:52:22,920
when they read the Bible.
Or try this.

833
00:52:24,520 –> 00:52:27,400
Well, for the last 150 years,
the Brotherhood’s got it wrong,

834
00:52:27,400 –> 00:52:30,160
saying you need to burn the
midnight oil reading the Bible.

835
00:52:31,960 –> 00:52:35,840
Really.
How does that work when we look

836
00:52:35,840 –> 00:52:37,800
at the passages that we’ve just
looked at?

837
00:52:37,960 –> 00:52:40,960
We’ll try this.
Your emphasis on reading the

838
00:52:40,960 –> 00:52:45,560
Bible is salvation by works.
Really.

839
00:52:46,440 –> 00:52:49,720
It’s listening to what God says
and believing Him.

840
00:52:50,080 –> 00:52:53,160
That’s faith.
That’s not salvation by works.

841
00:52:53,960 –> 00:52:57,080
Or are you think you can do it
all yourself by reading the

842
00:52:57,080 –> 00:52:58,480
Bible?
That’s just internal.

843
00:52:58,640 –> 00:53:01,120
What we rely on is the Holy
Spirit, something which is

844
00:53:01,120 –> 00:53:03,200
external.
Hang on a moment.

845
00:53:03,360 –> 00:53:07,000
It’s actually the inverse.
What we’re saying is what helps

846
00:53:07,000 –> 00:53:09,520
us resist temptation is God’s
Word.

847
00:53:10,120 –> 00:53:14,200
That’s not natural to me.
That’s is something external.

848
00:53:14,640 –> 00:53:17,360
But if I start believing, I’ve
now got the Holy Spirit in me.

849
00:53:17,480 –> 00:53:21,160
And so I’m guided when I make
decisions, well, that’s me

850
00:53:21,360 –> 00:53:23,600
internally.
See how it gets reversed?

851
00:53:24,640 –> 00:53:27,200
But these are all comments,
brothers and sisters, which I’ve

852
00:53:27,200 –> 00:53:28,640
heard.
Well, by all means, read the

853
00:53:28,640 –> 00:53:32,720
Bible, but it’s not enough.
And you see how it underlines

854
00:53:32,720 –> 00:53:35,680
the importance of the word in
terms of it being our

855
00:53:35,680 –> 00:53:38,240
foundation.
Brother Roberts faced the same

856
00:53:39,000 –> 00:53:41,320
He had people that said, oh,
you’re just, you’re just that’s

857
00:53:41,320 –> 00:53:43,960
just a passive relation of
things implied in the mere

858
00:53:43,960 –> 00:53:46,920
position of a book.
That’s what Brother Roberts

859
00:53:46,920 –> 00:53:51,480
faced back in 18 in seasons of
comfort actually in one of his

860
00:53:51,480 –> 00:53:54,400
ex or said.
But the subtle impact of it

861
00:53:54,400 –> 00:53:56,320
actually goes even further than
that.

862
00:53:58,160 –> 00:54:02,400
What’s the impact of inferring
that we need the Spirit to come

863
00:54:02,400 –> 00:54:04,320
into us to enable us to
understand?

864
00:54:05,760 –> 00:54:10,160
What’s the implication of that?
The implication of that is that

865
00:54:10,160 –> 00:54:13,400
men and women can’t pick up the
Bible and read and understand.

866
00:54:14,720 –> 00:54:19,520
That underpins the claim of
authority for the hierarchy of

867
00:54:19,520 –> 00:54:23,040
the Catholic Church.
They have the Spirit, therefore

868
00:54:23,040 –> 00:54:25,600
they’re the ones that should
actually expound what Scripture

869
00:54:25,600 –> 00:54:29,920
is to their followers.
Whereas the concept of scripture

870
00:54:29,920 –> 00:54:34,800
is that actually it’s there for
men and women to be able to read

871
00:54:35,160 –> 00:54:38,400
and to thrill to and to learn
from and to understand.

872
00:54:39,640 –> 00:54:41,600
There’s not a particle of
scriptural evidence.

873
00:54:41,600 –> 00:54:44,280
This is the book Spirit in the
New Testament by brother Edward

874
00:54:44,280 –> 00:54:47,280
Whitaker and brother Reg Carr.
There’s not a particle of

875
00:54:47,280 –> 00:54:50,680
Scripture evidence to suggest
that the understanding and

876
00:54:50,680 –> 00:54:53,320
acceptance of the spoken or
written Word of God ever

877
00:54:53,560 –> 00:55:00,280
depended on anything other than
a good and honest heart to

878
00:55:00,280 –> 00:55:02,720
receive it and to bring forth
fruit to salvation.

879
00:55:03,120 –> 00:55:06,760
The Word of God can be
understood by any or all who

880
00:55:06,760 –> 00:55:09,960
will make the effort to listen
with careful attention to the

881
00:55:09,960 –> 00:55:14,880
voice of the Spirit which speaks
from its pages.

882
00:55:18,520 –> 00:55:24,320
As God Himself said to this man,
will I look even to him?

883
00:55:25,040 –> 00:55:30,680
It is poor and have a contrite
spirit who trembles in my word.

884
00:55:31,240 –> 00:55:34,840
Isaiah 66.
All right, well, let’s think

885
00:55:34,840 –> 00:55:36,480
about responsibility and
accountability.

886
00:55:36,920 –> 00:55:40,400
What happens if there’s a
teaching which says that the

887
00:55:40,400 –> 00:55:45,600
spirit comes down into me and by
its indwelling in an indefinable

888
00:55:45,600 –> 00:55:48,880
way, it changes the way I think
and it gives me the power to

889
00:55:48,880 –> 00:55:54,040
live a godly life.
It removes the responsibility.

890
00:55:54,040 –> 00:55:58,840
Listen and obey God’s simple
commands and right from the

891
00:55:58,840 –> 00:56:04,000
Garden of Eden, the concept of
choice is a fundamental

892
00:56:04,000 –> 00:56:05,840
principle.
The idea of free will or

893
00:56:05,840 –> 00:56:09,000
voluntary submission is a
fundamental principle of the

894
00:56:09,000 –> 00:56:11,720
structure of God’s interaction
with the human race.

895
00:56:12,480 –> 00:56:16,520
He sets forth two ways.
Moses says I’ve set before you

896
00:56:16,560 –> 00:56:20,480
life and death.
Choose life, but you have the

897
00:56:20,480 –> 00:56:23,960
power not to in the Garden of
Eden.

898
00:56:24,040 –> 00:56:26,000
Here you are.
I’ve provided all the trees to

899
00:56:26,000 –> 00:56:27,720
eat.
Don’t eat that tree.

900
00:56:27,800 –> 00:56:30,240
Here’s the tree of life.
But if you eat that tree, it

901
00:56:30,240 –> 00:56:33,280
will bring death.
But they have the choice.

902
00:56:34,560 –> 00:56:36,800
Joshua, choose you this day whom
you shall serve.

903
00:56:37,680 –> 00:56:40,800
Moses, Deuteronomy 28.
If you do these various things,

904
00:56:41,000 –> 00:56:43,680
these are the blessings.
If you do these things, these

905
00:56:43,680 –> 00:56:46,680
are the curses.
But the way God works is that

906
00:56:46,680 –> 00:56:50,800
men and women have the autonomy
to choose whether they will

907
00:56:50,800 –> 00:56:55,480
voluntarily obey Him or not.
That’s because it’s voluntary

908
00:56:55,480 –> 00:56:58,120
submission which brings honor to
God.

909
00:56:58,560 –> 00:57:02,960
Men and women who say I love you
and I want to obey you.

910
00:57:04,760 –> 00:57:07,400
And so the concept of the Holy
Spirit coming in, and you saw

911
00:57:07,480 –> 00:57:12,400
the word before controlling,
completely undermines the basis

912
00:57:12,560 –> 00:57:18,680
on which God works with us in
the Christadelphia in 1877.

913
00:57:18,680 –> 00:57:24,400
Free will is the basis of the
whole work of God with man or

914
00:57:24,400 –> 00:57:27,240
Alps Israel, page 176.
The principle lay down on the

915
00:57:27,240 –> 00:57:31,960
Scriptures is that man honours
God in believing His Word and

916
00:57:31,960 –> 00:57:35,360
obeying His laws.
There is no other way in which

917
00:57:35,360 –> 00:57:40,440
men can honor their Creator.
This honor, however, consists

918
00:57:40,440 –> 00:57:45,040
not in a mechanical obedience or
mere action without intelligence

919
00:57:45,040 –> 00:57:49,800
and free will, such as matter
yields to natural laws, but an

920
00:57:49,800 –> 00:57:54,160
enlightened, hearty, involuntary
obedience, while the individual

921
00:57:54,160 –> 00:57:58,840
possesses the power not to obey
if he thinks best.

922
00:58:00,560 –> 00:58:04,200
If the Holy Spirit comes in and
changes the way we think, make

923
00:58:04,360 –> 00:58:09,680
us believe, and obey, the
concept of voluntary obedience

924
00:58:09,680 –> 00:58:15,240
is fundamentally undermined.
It’s actually so typical of

925
00:58:15,240 –> 00:58:17,960
modern Christianity.
Jesus loves you.

926
00:58:18,800 –> 00:58:22,680
Salvation’s automatic.
All you have to do is let go.

927
00:58:23,400 –> 00:58:26,880
You don’t actually have to do
anything other than just

928
00:58:26,880 –> 00:58:29,480
surrender.
And the Holy Spirit then does it

929
00:58:29,480 –> 00:58:31,080
for us.
Fact.

930
00:58:31,080 –> 00:58:33,600
It is, as I said, the update,
the equal opposite of the

931
00:58:33,600 –> 00:58:36,280
doctrine of the devil.
If I do something wrong, it’s

932
00:58:36,280 –> 00:58:38,400
not my fault the devil made me
do it.

933
00:58:38,640 –> 00:58:41,440
If I have to do what’s right,
actually go out and do it.

934
00:58:41,440 –> 00:58:44,760
I don’t have to have a
responsibility or accountability

935
00:58:45,000 –> 00:58:47,040
myself.
And that flows straight into the

936
00:58:47,040 –> 00:58:50,440
next one, which is the concept
of resisting temptation in sin.

937
00:58:50,720 –> 00:58:55,000
And you saw the passages there.
When wrong doctrine comes up

938
00:58:55,000 –> 00:58:58,640
even in the Brotherhood on this,
it heads straight down that line

939
00:58:59,160 –> 00:59:03,440
of being able to overcome sin
and resist temptation because

940
00:59:03,440 –> 00:59:07,440
God’s power enables us to do it.
I’m going to use the word

941
00:59:07,440 –> 00:59:11,640
carefully, supernaturally and
actually has very significant

942
00:59:11,640 –> 00:59:15,360
implications as far as the
atonement is concerned as well.

943
00:59:15,720 –> 00:59:18,200
So what overcomes the power of
sin in our lives?

944
00:59:18,560 –> 00:59:20,800
How did the Lord overcome sin in
this temptation?

945
00:59:21,360 –> 00:59:25,320
What did he say?
It is written.

946
00:59:26,480 –> 00:59:27,920
Man shall not live by bread
alone.

947
00:59:28,520 –> 00:59:32,600
It is written again.
Thou shalt not tempt the law.

948
00:59:34,120 –> 00:59:37,240
Get the hints safe and for it is
written.

949
00:59:37,760 –> 00:59:41,160
Thou shalt worship the law.
How do we overcome temptation?

950
00:59:41,160 –> 00:59:45,800
Brothers and sisters, it is
written, it’s the influence of

951
00:59:45,800 –> 00:59:50,560
the word of God which helps us
to resist the impulses of the

952
00:59:50,560 –> 00:59:54,480
flesh.
All right, we need to wrap it

953
00:59:54,480 –> 00:59:55,720
up.
I’m not going to look at the the

954
00:59:55,720 –> 00:59:58,400
implications of thinking I’m
Spirit guided.

955
00:59:58,640 –> 01:00:01,000
You’ll be able to work out for
yourself pretty easily what

956
01:00:01,000 –> 01:00:03,680
happens once we start thinking
that actually I’ve got the

957
01:00:03,680 –> 01:00:07,920
Spirit in me governing the way I
think in my beliefs and my

958
01:00:07,920 –> 01:00:10,320
understanding.
I just want to finish.

959
01:00:10,600 –> 01:00:12,080
We want.
I’m just going to skip over

960
01:00:12,080 –> 01:00:14,440
there.
I want to finish with this.

961
01:00:14,520 –> 01:00:19,440
What’s the essence of the issue?
And I thought a lot about this

962
01:00:19,440 –> 01:00:22,360
actually, because I, you know,
there’s so much information,

963
01:00:22,520 –> 01:00:25,920
there’s so many books written on
this subject and, and the debate

964
01:00:25,920 –> 01:00:30,280
comes up in so many different
actually actual places.

965
01:00:31,840 –> 01:00:34,360
For example, you can argue about
what the word gift means.

966
01:00:34,440 –> 01:00:36,640
What does it mean when there’s a
promise of the Holy Spirit?

967
01:00:36,760 –> 01:00:38,680
Well, how does the work about
the comfort of work?

968
01:00:38,840 –> 01:00:40,840
Well, what about the fellowship
of the Holy Spirit?

969
01:00:40,920 –> 01:00:42,840
What about the moral qualities
of the Holy Spirit?

970
01:00:42,840 –> 01:00:45,600
What about the phrase?
There’s so many areas you can

971
01:00:45,640 –> 01:00:48,000
argue.
They’re all sideshows actually

972
01:00:48,000 –> 01:00:50,000
to the real issue.
And the real issue, when you

973
01:00:50,000 –> 01:00:55,160
boil it all down, comes to this.
It’s the difference between, on

974
01:00:55,160 –> 01:01:00,240
one hand, our minds believing
and responding to what God says

975
01:01:00,240 –> 01:01:04,560
to us in his word and therefore
changing to become like his

976
01:01:04,560 –> 01:01:09,480
spirit mind, or the alternative,
which is that God puts an

977
01:01:09,480 –> 01:01:14,280
external agent of His power into
your mind to change how you

978
01:01:14,280 –> 01:01:16,840
think.
And you just surreal and

979
01:01:16,840 –> 01:01:21,240
actually when you boil it all
down, that’s the essence of what

980
01:01:21,240 –> 01:01:26,840
this is.
Now just look at those two and

981
01:01:26,840 –> 01:01:30,200
step back and helicopter and
what do you get?

982
01:01:31,520 –> 01:01:36,320
In the first one, there’s a
recognition that my mind needs

983
01:01:36,320 –> 01:01:44,480
to change to become like God.
In the second one, God does

984
01:01:44,480 –> 01:01:52,520
these things to save me.
God manifestation or humans

985
01:01:52,520 –> 01:01:56,280
being saved regardless.
Or as Brother Thomas put it so

986
01:01:56,280 –> 01:01:59,680
succinctly, men weren’t ushered
into being for the purpose of

987
01:01:59,680 –> 01:02:04,000
being saved or lost.
God manifestation, not human

988
01:02:04,000 –> 01:02:07,480
salvation, was the great purpose
of the eternal Spirit.

989
01:02:07,920 –> 01:02:11,320
And that actually is the key
difference with our

990
01:02:11,320 –> 01:02:14,280
understanding of Scripture and
of the subject of the Spirit.

991
01:02:14,680 –> 01:02:16,880
I’ve gone slightly overtime,
brothers and sisters, I’m going

992
01:02:16,880 –> 01:02:19,360
to have to stop there.
But the key thing for us to

993
01:02:19,360 –> 01:02:23,240
remember is we have the most
beautiful and precious heritage

994
01:02:23,240 –> 01:02:26,920
in the Word of God and our
families and our community.

995
01:02:26,920 –> 01:02:30,520
And our own spiritual
development is fundamentally

996
01:02:30,520 –> 01:02:34,680
based on us understanding and
absorbing the Spirit of God from

997
01:02:34,680 –> 01:02:37,720
His Word.
And that way we will be led by

998
01:02:37,720 –> 01:02:41,560
the Spirit and have the Spirit
of God dwelling in US.