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Pentecostal Waters (Pentecost 2023)
Christ Church on May 28, 2023
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Take Over the World (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

Paul’s vision for the church of Crete was not narrow in scope. He was’t just trying to get them to have more polite manners at the dinner table. This letter is an instruction manual for a culture war. Titus is tasked with laying the groundwork for conquering the globe with the Gospel. Crete may be a mess, but if the wind of God blows, the dry bones will live and move once more.

THE TEXT

Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work, To speak evil of no man, to be no brawlers, but gentle, shewing all meekness unto all men. For we ourselves also were sometimes foolish, disobedient, deceived, serving divers lusts and pleasures, living in malice and envy, hateful, and hating one another. But after that the kindness and love of God our Saviour toward man appeared, Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost […] Titus 3:1ff

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul’s movement of thought has gone from elders & their households specifically (1:6-9), to Christian households in general (2:1-10). He now broadens the circle a third time to encompass all Christians’ duties as citizens (3:1-3). Crete was the home of many mercenaries, as well as many busy harbors, which brought in all manner of riff-raff; the population of Crete was notorious for villainy. Christians were to live in stark contrast. They should live in mindful submission to the magistrate, eager in good works (v1), refusing to join the course banter & brawling of the unbelieving, and instead should be marked by gentleness coupled with harnessed strength (v2).

The dissolute life they (and Paul) once lived (v3), has been washed away by the kindness of God appearing (v4, Cf. 2:11-14). This salvation is “not by works” but by mercy, the two-fold mercy of regenerative washing & the renewing work of the Holy Ghost (v5). This mercy comes to us, in abundance, through Jesus Christ our Savior (v6). All the exhortations to good works throughout this epistle should be couched in this high-octane Gospel: justified by His grace (v7a). But this justification makes us heirs of God the Father & the eternal life which is found in His Son Jesus Christ (v7b, Cf. 1 Jn. 5:12, Heb. 7:16). The glory of the Gospel should cause those who believe it to maintain good works (vv8, 14); this point is clearly important because Paul repeats it once more in verse 14: “maintain good works, do not be unfruitful.” Believing in God, and being careful to maintain good works, is good and profitable unto mankind. This is how the church will subvert the ungodly world (v8b).

Paul then gives instructions as to what to do about the false teachers and division specialists who were bothering the church. Were he writing to us, he might says something like: “Don’t spend much, if any, time arguing in YouTube comment threads.” All these squabbles ––about Zeus’ birthplace (and if perhaps you were descended from him), or what specific angels did, or how thin you could slice the plain law of Moses––are all unprofitable (v9). Verse 10-11 gives us the only reference in the NT to a “heretick” and what to do about him: rebuke him a time or two, and then let him fall headlong into his self-deception (vv10-11).

Paul closes his letters with some final practical details, and final blessings of true Christian love and prayers for grace (vv12-15). One detail in this closing we shouldn’t overlook is that Paul expects Titus to get all this in place in enough time to be able to join him in Nicopolis by winter. Other men will take over what Titus’ began. An encouraging thought is found here, a true reformation doesn’t need a long time to get started, even while it will take generational faithfulness to sustain it.

ZEUS’ BIRTHPLACE

Some Greek mythology is actually at play in the background of this epistle. As the legend went, a cave on Crete was believed to be the place where Zeus’ mother hid him from his father, Cronus. Cronus had devoured all his previous children. But Zeus had been hid away on Crete, to be raised in secret. Once Zeus was strong enough, he overthrew his father, delivered his siblings from his father’s stomach, and then, by casting lots, the rule of Mt. Olympus was given over to Zeus.

Many on Crete believed that they were possible descendants of this Titan. Thus, the fables of lineage captured the social imagination. But along comes a rival story, a rival myth, and one that just so happened to be true. God the Father sent His Son. The Christ died in our stead, washed us with covenantal waters, and renews us by His indwelling Spirit. All of this means that those who trusted in Christ were made true heirs of the eternal life of God.

The divine life is yours; not by fables, but by faith. This Gospel is a potent story which upends dominant cultural narrative of their day. This divine life is yours because you have received a new paternity. In regeneration, God becomes Your Father. This takes place when you are washed in Christ & renewed by His Spirit. None of this is by your doing. It isn’t obtained your striving to get it from your Father. Rather, it comes to you by His grace & favor alone. Your Father is not a devourer like Cronus. Your Father gives you Himself, by giving you His Son (Cf. 2:14).

GRACE IN THE HARBORS

We might ask, why did Paul single out this island of scoundrels and scallawags as worth devoting some his best resources? The harbors of Crete were one of the main crossroads of the Mediterranean. Paul identified correctly that if these “lymph nodes” of commerce were conquered, it would have a disproportionate impact on the Gospel effort to take over the world.

But like the hymn puts it: not with swords loud clashing, or roll of stirring drums, but with deeds of love and mercy, the heavenly kingdom comes. This overthrow will come by the Christian church being vibrantly alive. The gracious gift of the Gospel is followed by the good works of the Spirit. As A.A. Hodge put it, “Grace in the heart cannot exist without good works
as their consequent.” We should also lay stress upon the fact that Paul’s vision is not an escapist mentality. He insists that these good works are to be done publicly, in the civil sphere, with an aim to bring about the total reformation of the culture of Crete.

God’s favor has been described & depicted in some wonderful terms throughout this letter: the kindness & love of God (3:4), the blessed hope (2:13), the hope of eternal life manifested in the preaching of Christ (1:2-3). Once this grace takes root in the harbors, it will overthrow empires. Paul’s strategy works at every level, from the individual to the empire. Where is the mess? That’s where God’s grace will appear, not to leave the mess as it is. Through Christ, abundance of grace is shed upon you. The Holy Spirit brings renewal. To use one example, the dead frost of winter gives way to the fresh life of spring.

WASHED & RENEWED

Dead men have dead works. The wicked men were subverting others’ households (1:11) because they themselves were subverted (3:11). Sin is self-delusion. Paul includes himself, “For we ourselves were once” this way. Every time you sin, you, in effect are the fool saying in his heart, “There is no God.” Jesus told the Pharisees that by rejecting him as Messiah (the anointed Prince), they were showing that their father was the devil. Sin is unfruitful. Sin is dead works. Sin is the result of being a descendant of Adam, and his capitulation to Satan. The Spirit comes, and brings life. He brings a second generation. A new paternity. Pentecost wasn’t followed by the idleness of corpses, but with the activity of New Birth.

Your baptism tells you two things. First, you once were dead in Adam; and so none of your righteousness will suffice. Secondly, it tells you that God is your Father. You are an heir. Regeneration is not a matter of subjective feelings, but of the objective work of the Spirit, which renews you. Christ washes you, the Spirit renews you, and the Father calls you child. You are washed in wave after wave of the free grace of God through Christ, and then the Spirit renews you day by day, week by week, to bear the fruit of God’s life in you. Baptized in Christ you can know that God is your Father. Renewed by the Spirit, you are told to get to work taking over the world with Christ’s abundant life.

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Adoption, Forgiveness, & Glory (Pentecost 2023)

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INTRODUCTION

We live in a world that has rejected God the Father, and so we are a nation of bastards, fatherless and angry, fatherless and despairing. And this is why God sent His Son into the world: so that all the lost sons might be brought home, to adopt them as His own sons by His Spirit.

THE TEXT

“For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God…” (Rom. 8:14-17).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

Paul is in the middle of an argument, but the central point is that whoever is led by the Spirit of God is a son of God (Rom. 8:14). This Spirit is the Spirit of Christ who was obedient to the point of death, condemned sin in His flesh on the cross, and rose from the dead (Rom. 8:2-3, 9-11). This Spirit is not of bondage to fear (because all of the condemnation for our sin has fallen on Christ in our place, Rom. 8:1-3), but rather, the Spirit of adoption has been given to us which teaches us to call God ‘Our Father’ (Rom. 8:15). This Spirit has been given to assure us that we belong to God as His children (Rom. 8:16). And this assurance includes the full inheritance of Christ and all of His glory, while sharing in His suffering (Rom. 8:17).

THE SPIRIT OF ADOPTION

It has been rightly said that God has no grandchildren. The point is that salvation in Christ is a direct adoption by God the Father, in Christ, by His Spirit. Christ is the only Mediator between God and men, and what He mediates is His own relationship to the Father: we are joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). He freely shares everything with us.

Nevertheless, part of this inheritance is the people of God. Elsewhere, Paul prays that “ye may know what is the hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory of his inheritance in the saints” (Eph. 1:18). “For by one Spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free; and have been all made to drink into one Spirit. For the body is not one member but many” (1 Cor. 12:13-14). Some of us have the great blessing of having grown up in a faithful Christian family, but many are starting from scratch, either as new converts or simply as being awakened to the necessity to follow Christ more faithfully. But all of us have been given the same Spirit of the Son, and in Him, we have all been given the inheritance of the saints. God has no grandchildren, but all of God’s true children have parents and grandparents in the faith.

THE SPIRIT OF FORGIVENESS

This Spirit is not a spirit of bondage to fear (Rom. 8:15). In Hebrews it says that Jesus partook of flesh and blood “that through death he might destroy him who had the power of death, that is, the devil; and deliver them who through fear of death were all their lifetime subject to bondage” (Heb. 2:15-15). Bondage to fear is fundamentally fear of death, and the reason we fear death is because the wages of sin is death (Rom. 6:23). For guilty sinners, death is punishment, and this is the power of the devil, Satan – the Accuser. He accuses us and condemns us for our sins, and we know that we deserve to die. But the Spirit of Pentecost is the Spirit of deliverance because Christ condemned all our sin in His body on the cross (Rom. 8:3). All our offenses were nailed to the cross, and therefore all the accusations, all the condemnation was blotted out by His blood (Col. 3:14). And now Satan has nothing on us, and the sting of death is gone (1 Cor. 15:56).

This same Spirit of forgiveness sets us free to forgive others. Guilt is one kind of bondage to fear, but bitterness is another. Many people are kept in bondage to fear by sin committed against them, often by parents or others close to us: fear that it will happen again, fear that no justice will be done. But bitterness is like chaining yourself to someone else’s sin (Heb. 12:15).

Forgiveness isn’t the same thing as trust. Forgiveness is a promise, not a feeling. It’s a promise not to hold someone’s sin against them before the Lord. And if someone isn’t repentant and hasn’t asked for your forgiveness, you can’t be fully reconciled. But you can and must have forgiveness ready for them. Have forgiveness ready like bread baking in your heart; have forgiveness like a bottle of fine wine waiting by the door. Be like the father in the parable looking down the road, ready and eager to run to them, because that is how you have been forgiven (Eph. 4:31-32). This Spirit gives this glory.

THE SPIRIT OF GLORY

The Spirit has been given to guarantee our glory in the Son, and the text goes on to say this glory will include all of creation itself (Rom. 8:17ff). The Spirit restores, glorifies, and transfigures everything; the Spirit anoints for rule and battle (Rom. 8:37).

All wars are ultimately fought with and over glory. We fight for competing visions of glory, and we fight withwhatever we consider our greatest strengths. Many Christians are at a loss about what to do about the current madness assaulting what is left of Western civilization. But this is the battleplan: pursue the glory of your Father as His sons. Everything good triumphs over evil. Forgiveness triumphs over bitterness. Generosity conquers greed. Joyful marriage confounds perversion. Beauty overcomes ugliness. Therefore, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is lovely… cultivate those glorious things.

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The Holiness of the Holy Spirit (Pentecost A.D. 2022)

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INTRODUCTION

This is our observance of Pentecost, the time we set aside to commemorate the outpouring of the Holy Spirit upon the Church. There are many things that can be said about all of this, but we sometimes overlook the obvious. Today we should consider the holiness of the Holy Spirit.

THE TEXT

“For God hath not called us unto uncleanness, but unto holiness. He therefore that despiseth, despiseth not man, but God, who hath also given unto us his holy Spirit (1 Thess. 4:7-8).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

In the verses just prior to this text, the apostle Paul had been emphasizing the need for sexual purity. Then, as now, sexual corruption was readily available, right there for the asking, and Paul urged the Thessalonians to set and maintain a high standard of sexual purity. In the verses that follow this text, Paul is emphasizing the need for brotherly love. Put in one way, we show contempt for the holiness of the Holy Spirit by at least these two means—sins against eros, and sins against agape.

Paul makes very clear that we are not called to uncleanness, but rather unto holiness (v. 7). The one who is wiser than the apostle is not showing contempt for a man, but is rather showing contempt for God Himself (v. 8). This is the God, Paul says, who has given to us His Holy Spirit. There is to be a correspondence between the nature of the Spirit given to us, which is holy, and the nature of our lives, which are to be holy.

HOLINESS IS PERSONAL

Holiness is not to be thought of as an abstract standard, or a law detached from covenantal relationship between persons. The Holy Spirit is not an impersonal force, like electricity. He is not some sort of spiritual juice or power that makes us go. He is a Person, in His own right, one member of the triune Godhead. He is the Spirit of both God the Father and God the Son, and He brings with Him all the characteristics of those He indwells, and in whose name He indwells us.

It is not possible to vex or grieve an abstraction. “But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them” (Is. 63:10). And the New Testament speaks the same way. “Let no corrupt communication proceed out of your mouth, but that which is good to the use of edifying, that it may minister grace unto the hearers. And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption. Let all bitterness, and wrath, and anger, and clamour, and evil speaking, be put away from you, with all malice: And be ye kind one to another, tenderhearted, forgiving one another, even as God for Christ’s sake hath forgiven you” (Eph. 4:29-32).

The Holy Spirit is a Person. He takes aim at things. He kills things. “For if ye live after the flesh, ye shall die: but if ye through the Spirit do mortify the deeds of the body, ye shall live” (Rom. 8:13)

We must consider how we live in light of this kind of personal relationship. “But Peter said, Ananias, why hath Satan filled thine heart to lie to the Holy Ghost, and to keep back part of the price of the land? Whiles it remained, was it not thine own? and after it was sold, was it not in thine own power? why hast thou conceived this thing in thine heart? thou hast not lied unto men, but unto God” (Acts 5:3-4).

THE CENTER OF RELATIONSHIP

The central duty in all personal relations is that of love. God the Father loves the Son, and the Son loves the Father. Their mutual love for one another is so strong (remember, this is mutual love between two infinite Persons) is therefore Himself a Spirit of love. “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ: By whom also we have access by faith into this grace wherein we stand, and rejoice in hope of the glory of God. And not only so, but we glory in tribulations also: knowing that tribulation worketh patience; And patience, experience; and experience, hope: And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us” (Rom. 5:1-5).

HOLINESS OF MIND

The Spirit is given in order to sanctify a people. The Spirit was poured out in the New Testament in order to sanctify the Gentiles, who previous to this had been a pretty greasy crew. “That I should be the minister of Jesus Christ to the Gentiles, ministering the gospel of God, that the offering up of the Gentiles might be acceptable, being sanctified by the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 15:16). The point was to set the Gentiles apart from the world, making them part of the holy nation, the royal priesthood.

This requires the mind of Christ. When we hear phrases like this (the mind of Christ), we have a tendency (because of false Enlightenment assumptions) to limit this to rolling of propositions around in our brains. But this is not the mind of Christ. A good way to realize this is to begin realizing that there is such a thing as intellectual holiness. We are to be transformed in the renewing of our minds (Rom. 12:1-2). But what is the result? That we may prove in our lives what the will of God is.

“Which things also we speak, not in the words which man’s wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual. But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. But he that is spiritual judgeth all things, yet he himself is judged of no man. For who hath known the mind of the Lord, that he may instruct him? But we have the mind of Christ” (1 Cor. 2:13-14).

“Let not then your good be evil spoken of: For the kingdom of God is not meat and drink; but righteousness, and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost” (Rom. 14:16-17). This is what the kingdom of God is.

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A House Filled With Fire (How God Builds #1)

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INTRODUCTION

As we embark on a new work here in Moscow, we must begin by getting our thinking in line as to how God builds. History is the story of how God built His house. He didn’t do a cost/benefit analysis. He built it despite all the conniving of hell & earth. He built it without outside investors. He built it at the cost of His only Begotten Son. And, as we shall see, He’s now filled it with fire.

THE TEXT

Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. And they continued stedfastly in the apostles’ doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. And all that believed were together, and had all things common; And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved (Acts 2:41-47).

SUMMARY OF THE TEXT

As the miraculous day of Pentecost concluded, the shockwaves were only just beginning. At the end of Peter’s sermon a multitude (3000 to be precise) gladly received his word and were baptized (v41); this is a callback to the first “Pentecost,” when 3000 Israelite idolaters were cut down after the Golden Calf debacle (Ex. 32:28).

The early church is described in its corporate worship as being steadfast in the Apostles’ teaching––the basis for their fellowship––breaking the bread, and prayers (v42). The remarkable signs & wonders continued––fulfilling the prophetic word in Joel 2:19, 30––and great awe came upon every soul (v43).

Their corporate worship, daily in the temple, spilled over into the rest of life. The Believers were marked by generosity without compulsion, which manifested in a particular care for the host of sojourners in Jerusalem (vs.44-45). Not only did they gather daily in the temple, but also from house to house. The fellowship which they enjoyed through the Apostles’ doctrine spilled over into a joyful singularity of heart (v46), and faithful praise to God. The fruit of their faithful diligence in formal & informal worship & fellowship was favor amongst the people. This, in turn, produced rapid growth (v47).

THE GOD WHO SCATTERS

The day of Pentecost is unmistakably mirroring the ancient events which took place at the Tower of Babel. Babel was man’s attempt to climb into heaven to obtain a name for himself. Whereas God had tasked Adam & Eve to fill the world with His glory & name. The project of Babel was to find a unifying principle for the universe in man apart from God. So God scattered this blasphemous work. He confounded their language, fulfilling their worst fears (Gen. 11:4) of being scattering across the face of the earth.

This imagery is picked up later in the warnings to Israel, when the Lord threatens them with being scattered due to covenant breaking. “And the LORD shall scatter you among the nations, and ye shall be left few in number among the heathen, whither the LORD shall lead you (Deu. 4:27).” Israel was also to be God’s means of frustrating and scattering the city of man, which we see in their battle hymn, “And it came to pass, when the ark set forward, that Moses said, Rise up, LORD, and let thine enemies be scattered; and let them that hate thee flee before thee (Num 10:35).”

When man sets out to build apart from God, and in rivalry to God, God will scatter him. The Hebrew word used for “scatter” means dashing a vessel into a million shattered pieces. When man sets himself in rivalry to God the end result isn’t unity, it’s all the unity of a tornado in a trailer park. If Israel, the household of God, abandoned God and sought to build the kingdom apart from their Covenant King, the result would be what we find in the book of Acts: an Israel scattered to the four winds.

GATHERED TOGETHER IN CHRIST

The nations which are represented at Pentecost echoes the Table of Nations in Genesis 10. These Seventy nations had been scattered and frustrated in their opposition to God’s redemptive purposes. Now, however, these scattered nations, represented by Jews from the Diaspora, are gathered together as one by the mighty work of the Spirit.

Peter warned the Pentecost crowd to flee from this wicked generation (Acts 2:40), referring to unbelieving Israel, which itself had become a new Babel, of sorts. The Lord Jehovah who’d descended upon Altars, and the Tabernacle/Temple as a flaming fire (Cf. Gen. 15:17, Lev. 9:24, Jdg. 13:20, 1 Kg. 18:38,  1Ch 21:26, 2Ch 7:1ff), now sent His Spirit to dwell in a house of people; even people from all nations.

What marked these early Christians as a result of the Spirit’s working? Fidelity to the Gospel as taught by the Apostles, fellowship, breaking the bread, prayers both spoken and sung, hospitality, glad simplicity, and praise to God.

This was (and is) the secret sauce to church growth. Modern Christians think they can build the kingdom of God by using the bricks of Babel. We see it in the way evangelical leaders capitulate to the talking points of godless politicians. We see it in the way worship services are turned into entertainment events. We see it in how the plain Word of the Gospel is dulled and blunted in order to nuzzle into the same space as Oprah, Dr. Phil, and the self-care counselors on TikTok. We see it in the way we ignore the plain command to show hospitality, considering it an inconvenience to our personal schedule and possessions.

But God gathers people into His house by the faithful preaching of the scandal of the Gospel. The house of Israel crucified Jesus, the promised Messiah, the rejected cornerstone. But God wasn’t thwarted in His purpose. That same Jesus was now exalted to be the true & eternal King of Israel. His first act was to accompany the preaching of His Kingdom with the power of the Spirit to enable His citizens to joyfully obey their King.

FILLED UP TO WORK OUT

The Spirit was poured out, and the people weren’t idle. Just as the Spirit equipped the ancient saints with skill to build the tabernacle, the Spirit now fills His people to build a temple of people. People in whom God pleases to dwell. The Spirit’s outpouring became a flood of good works: fellowship, praise, covenant faithfulness, hospitality, and simplicity of heart.

So, what is the work that God has set in front of you to do? The progression of our text makes one thing plain, the Apostles’ doctrine was inseparable from the practice of the saints. The Word went forth, and the people lived out the Word. The works of righteousness followed the Word of the Righteous One.

Nothing, in principle, has been altered since that day of Pentecost. The description of the early church is what the true church is & always shall be defined by. Pentecost displays in vivid detail how God builds. God builds by scattering the proud and their vain imaginations. Then, just because He can, He gathers up the humble as a house of people.

God then filled that house with fire. The Spirit’s fire equips the saints with His presence, the presence of the Almighty. Thus we’re enabled to minister in His house. God’s household isn’t a silent, empty cathedral; it’s full of the bustle & hum of joyful saints busy with sacred work.

And what is that work? Our first duty is to believe the Apostles’ teaching: God has made Jesus, whom the House of Israel crucified, both Lord & Christ (Acts. 2:36). Secondly, we faithfully worship. Third, we throw the best parties.

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