Pastor Allen Jackson's mission is to help people become fully devoted followers of Jesus Christ.
#Religion
#Power of the Holy Spirit
#Mercy
#Grace
#Future
#Blessing
#Holy Spirit
#Baptism
#Salvation
#Allen Jackson
#Matthew 23:37-39
#Luke 3:16
#John 20:19-22
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Allen Jackson Ministries | More Powerful Than I Part 1 | June 27, 2022
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- CC by Aberdeen Captioning 1-800-688-6621 aberdeen.io
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- Allen Jackson: This is something the Lord just put
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- inside of me, and I wanted to share it with you.
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- And we'll see how formally it comes out.
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- The topic, or the theme, is more powerful than I,
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- and it comes directly from a quote that we'll look at
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- together in a moment.
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- The premise is rather simple.
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- I think we're in a troubled time,
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- and I don't believe that the solution is going to come just
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- from our collective effort.
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- I think it's gonna take more than our hard work or our pooled
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- resources or our collective intellects.
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- I think we're going to need a power from beyond ourselves.
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- But the good news is God has sent his Spirit into the earth
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- and we have held.
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- The awkward news is that we're not as comfortable with the
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- person who's the Holy Spirit as we might be.
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- Now, if you're churched, and most of us probably would be
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- for this service, we probably spent most of our lives debating
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- to the degree we would or would not cooperate or even talk about
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- the person of the Holy Spirit.
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- And I would submit to you that that season has passed.
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- It's like being abandoned in the ocean debating whether or not
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- you believed in life preservers.
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- If there's one available, I would take it.
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- And if, to the extent that the Holy Spirit is willing to help
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- and he is available to interact with you,
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- my counsel to you would be to cooperate with him as fully and
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- completely as you're capable of.
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- He will meet you to whatever extent you're willing to open
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- your heart.
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- But I want to start in Matthew 23.
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- It's kind of a statement of need,
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- and I think it reflects, in some ways,
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- the need that we have today.
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- It's Jesus in Jerusalem, and he said,
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- "Jerusalem, Jerusalem, you who kill the prophets and stone
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- those sent to you, how often I've longed to gather your
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- children together, as a hen gathers her chicks under her
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- wings, but you were not willing."
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- When I look at our nation and the history of our nation,
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- we have been given inordinate disproportionate expressions of
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- the mercy and the grace of God.
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- If you want to be a student of Christianity in our world today,
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- it's almost necessary that you would
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- learn the English language.
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- The overwhelming majority of literature that deals with the
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- history of Christianity, the history of the church,
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- of biblical studies, is put into English.
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- If you're gonna do postgraduate studies,
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- they'll require you to learn some other languages.
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- But the language that's most essential would be English,
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- so if English is your native language,
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- or your first language, you're given a disproportionate
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- advantage just by that.
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- And in our nation, the legal system and the opportunities and
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- the freedom of religions have been such,
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- they're not unique around the world.
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- They're not universal.
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- They're by no means reproduced in most places.
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- We've just had more opportunities and more freedoms.
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- And yet, we have banned Jesus from our public schools and our
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- public courtrooms and in so many quarters of our hospitals.
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- We re-brand our hospitals and take away crosses
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- and take away the Christian image.
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- We want to be more marketing savvy.
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- It feels a lot like what Jesus was saying to Jerusalem.
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- God said, "I chose you, and I established myself in a very
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- unique way and that city."
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- Well, I'm not suggesting that we have a parallel with Israel,
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- but I am suggesting that God has very uniquely blessed our nation
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- and that we have very busily pushed him to the margins.
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- And we've done that in our lifetime.
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- This is not some ancient thing.
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- This has happened on our watch.
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- They took the nativity scenes off the public property at
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- Christmas time, and we didn't say much.
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- I'm embarrassed.
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- Nevertheless, verse 38,
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- "Look, you're house is left to you desolate.
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- And I tell you--" That's very close to,
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- "I tell you the truth."
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- It's a warning statement.
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- He said, "I tell you, you will not see me again until you say,
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- 'Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.'"
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- Jesus said that "My time with you is that
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- an end and before you see me again,
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- you will be desperate to see me.
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- There'll be no longer a hesitation or a reluctance or a
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- skepticism, that the pressure will be so intense and the need
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- so great that you will welcome my arrival."
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- And I believe we're in a similar place.
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- We've had so much.
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- We've had so much freedom and such abundance and such
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- afluence and so many opportunities,
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- and our kids could have good lives.
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- We didn't really have to make our faith essential.
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- We didn't really imagine that our kids needed to be godly,
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- we wanted them to be happy.
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- If they were happy, we can deal with godly later.
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- And the same was true, to a greater extent,
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- for our grandchildren, and to an unfortunate extent,
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- for ourselves.
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- And now we find ourselves in a place where all those systems
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- seem to be in peril.
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- They're at least teetering on the brink of something that
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- doesn't look very pleasing.
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- And I believe Jesus's words are relevant to us tonight,
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- that we're really not going to see an expression of his power
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- or his deliverance or his assistance,
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- until we are in that desperate place where we're willing to
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- say, "Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord."
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- I want to start with this notion of the power of God.
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- It's uniquely connected in Scripture,
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- and particularly, in the New Testament,
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- with the person of the Holy Spirit.
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- We know God the Father.
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- We have some imaginations around that because of our earthly
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- fathers and the relationships that that represents to us.
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- And then Jesus his Son, because of the incarnation because Jesus
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- took an earth suit in the Gospels.
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- We can connect with Jesus.
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- And Jesus also, the reason God the Father is more available to
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- us is Jesus came to make known God as Father.
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- That is the unique revelation of a son.
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- In Hebrews, it said, in the past,
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- God spoke to us through the prophets and in various ways
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- and different means.
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- But in these last days, he's spoken to us through His Son.
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- You see, the son can reveal a father in a way
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- that no one else could.
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- But God, the Holy Spirit, the person of the Holy Spirit,
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- remains, I think, a bit more removed from our awareness,
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- and that's unfortunate because Jesus said,
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- "It's better for you if I go away because if I go,
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- the Father will send you another comforter,
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- the Holy Spirit."
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- And again, in times of such abundance and liberty and
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- freedom and security, perhaps we didn't
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- have to think about that much.
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- But we're not there anymore.
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- We're reading through Exodus, if you're doing the
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- Bible reading with us.
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- And the children--the Hebrew slaves would not have flourished
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- without the abiding presence of God,
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- without the manna every day and the water,
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- when it was necessary, or the leading of the pillar of cloud
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- or the pillar of fire or the protection from the enemies.
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- Their clothing didn't wear out.
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- There were no sick people amongst them.
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- Folks, we're gonna have to learn to live in the provision of God.
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- We have lived under the idolatrous provision of the
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- government, and we haven't had to imagine that God was our
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- provider, our sustainer.
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- We haven't had to trust him in those ways,
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- but it may be that we need to know him in those ways more
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- fully to flourish in what is in front of us.
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- So coming back to the person of the Holy Spirit,
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- in Romans 15 it says, "May the God of hope fill you with all
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- joy and peace as you trust in him,
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- so that you may overflow with hope
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- by the power of the Holy Spirit."
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- It intrigues me that if we're going to overflow with hope,
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- this is the conclusion of Paul's letter to the church in Rome,
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- the most powerful city of his day.
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- Lots of challenges for the church there.
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- But as he's concluding that letter,
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- he says, "I would like you to overflow with hope."
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- But the foundation from which that emerges is the
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- power of the Holy Spirit.
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- If you and I are going to live in hope,
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- it will be because we understand and cooperate with the person of
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- the Spirit of God.
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- It's not going to come from our church buildings or our
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- theological education or the resources we've accumulated
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- because all of those things are in flux.
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- We've seen them close our church buildings and tell us we
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- couldn't meet and inject enough fear into the system of the
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- people around us that we really weren't certain.
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- It's nonsensical to think that we can secure our futures.
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- We've been to school on that in the last couple of years.
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- Our hope comes from our confidence in and our awareness
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- of the Spirit of God.
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- The power of God and the presence of the Holy Spirit are
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- a theme in Luke's writings in particular,
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- both the gospel that bears his name,
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- and the Book of Acts.
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- We don't have time to explore that in a great detail.
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- But in Luke chapter 3, this was John the Baptist.
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- "And John aren't answered them all."
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- They've come and they've said, "You know,
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- are you the Messiah?"
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- "And John answered them all, 'I baptize you with water.
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- But one more powerful than I will come,
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- the thongs of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie.
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- He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire.'"
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- I'm intrigued by that statement John made that there's someone
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- coming who is more powerful than I am.
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- And we read that and what we know about John,
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- he wore camp clothing made with camels' hair and he ate wild
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- locusts, not bugs, but something that's a tree and it grows in
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- the Judean wilderness.
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- He may have eaten bugs too, but that's not what's being
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- referenced in the Scripture.
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- He led a simple life, an ascetic life,
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- but he had a very powerful life.
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- John called the people to repentance and there was enough
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- of a groundswell of response that it threatened the power
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- system in Jerusalem.
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- And he wasn't preaching his sermons in the temple.
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- In Jerusalem, the temple was the most--one of the grandest
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- buildings in all of the Roman Empire.
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- It was a point of travel for people throughout the empire,
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- regardless of their ethnicity or their religion.
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- It was the National Bank.
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- It was the center of the power structure for the
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- Jewish community.
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- But John, the renewal, the awakening,
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- the repentance, didn't begin in the temple.
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- It didn't begin where the sacrifices were offered.
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- It didn't begin where the people of Israel were called to make
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- their three annual pilgrimage feasts.
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- He said, "You need to come out into the wilderness."
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- It was a 20-mile hike into the desert.
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- There weren't a lot of buses that ran to the Jordan River,
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- and it was a steep climb back to Jerusalem.
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- The Jordan River runs through the Rift Valley the
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- where the Dead Sea is.
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- It's the lowest place on the face of the earth.
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- Jerusalem is at elevation, so it wasn't an easy trip
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- any way you sliced it.
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- And enough people were making the trip that the power brokers
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- in Jerusalem came to see what John was doing.
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- Imagine so many people from Washington, DC,
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- and New York coming to Murfreesboro to be baptized,
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- that members of Congress start to come to see what's happening.
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- I'm not suggesting that's our future.
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- I'm suggesting that's roughly analogous to what was happening
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- with John.
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- There was something significant happening with John.
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- There was plenty of room for John to be puffed up,
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- to say he was launching a revival,
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- that God had sent him for a renewal movement.
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- And when they came to ask John a question,
- 00:11:27.403 --> 00:11:29.138
- "You know, what are your credentials?
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- You're disrupting our--we're doing."
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- And John said to them, "There's one more powerful than I am."
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- He deflects completely.
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- "There's one more powerful than I am."
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- And I think that's where we want to start our discussion with the
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- recognition that we are dependent upon one who is more
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- powerful than we are.
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- I don't want us to imagine we're gonna outthink evil or outwork
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- evil or, you know, that it's gonna be a group effort.
- 00:12:00.770 --> 00:12:03.839
- We're gonna get enough people, we're gonna mobilize,
- 00:12:03.839 --> 00:12:06.876
- we're gonna get sophisticated enough,
- 00:12:06.876 --> 00:12:10.279
- we're gonna get rid of all of the illegalities or the
- 00:12:10.279 --> 00:12:14.517
- legitimacy or whatever we think is causing the problem.
- 00:12:14.517 --> 00:12:18.420
- We are dependent upon something more powerful than we are.
- 00:12:18.420 --> 00:12:22.658
- Can we agree on that?
- 00:12:22.658 --> 00:12:24.827
- Can we have the courage to say that with the boldness
- 00:12:24.827 --> 00:12:26.996
- that John did?
- 00:12:26.996 --> 00:12:28.364
- He's being interviewed.
- 00:12:28.364 --> 00:12:29.698
- "Tell us the secret of your success."
- 00:12:29.698 --> 00:12:32.234
- "Listen, you know, it's not my success."
- 00:12:32.234 --> 00:12:33.702
- He said, "There's one coming who's more powerful than I am,
- 00:12:33.702 --> 00:12:36.972
- and you need to get ready for him."
- 00:12:36.972 --> 00:12:39.108
- And that's our message.
- 00:12:39.108 --> 00:12:41.043
- Folks, if you don't like what we're saying,
- 00:12:41.043 --> 00:12:42.378
- there's one coming who's more powerful than we are,
- 00:12:42.378 --> 00:12:45.815
- and you want to be prepared to meet him.
- 00:12:45.815 --> 00:12:48.651
- You want everybody that knows you to be prepared to meet him.
- 00:12:48.651 --> 00:12:50.653
- You at least want them to have heard you say,
- 00:12:50.653 --> 00:12:53.088
- "You want to be prepared to meet him."
- 00:12:53.088 --> 00:12:55.858
- We've been timid long enough. What exactly are we afraid of?
- 00:12:55.858 --> 00:12:58.194
- We're gonna be taken off an invitation list?
- 00:12:58.194 --> 00:13:00.863
- Oh, bother.
- 00:13:00.863 --> 00:13:03.966
- They'll think you're too zealous?
- 00:13:03.966 --> 00:13:05.301
- Oh, okay.
- 00:13:05.301 --> 00:13:07.203
- I mean, just exactly what is it we're afraid of?
- 00:13:07.203 --> 00:13:10.206
- We'll be canceled? Woo.
- 00:13:10.206 --> 00:13:11.807
- ♪♪♪
- 00:13:11.807 --> 00:13:17.313
- Allen: Hey, this is Pastor Allen,
- 00:13:19.248 --> 00:13:20.749
- and I want to tell you about a new tool we have built for you.
- 00:13:20.749 --> 00:13:22.985
- It's called "Lessons From Israel."
- 00:13:22.985 --> 00:13:24.987
- I want to invite you to go with me on a micro tour
- 00:13:24.987 --> 00:13:27.256
- to the land of Israel.
- 00:13:27.256 --> 00:13:29.158
- We're gonna make a little circle around the nation.
- 00:13:29.158 --> 00:13:30.926
- You'll get to see some of the very significant biblical
- 00:13:30.926 --> 00:13:34.230
- sights, and we'll talk a little bit there about what happened.
- 00:13:34.230 --> 00:13:37.466
- We'll visit Mount Carmel where Elijah
- 00:13:37.466 --> 00:13:39.535
- called fire down from heaven.
- 00:13:39.535 --> 00:13:41.337
- You can stand on Mount Carmel.
- 00:13:41.337 --> 00:13:42.671
- If we look one direction, we can see the Mediterranean.
- 00:13:42.671 --> 00:13:45.641
- Elijah sent his servant to look for the clouds,
- 00:13:45.641 --> 00:13:47.943
- the rain clouds, coming in from the Mediterranean.
- 00:13:47.943 --> 00:13:50.446
- If you turn and look the other way,
- 00:13:50.446 --> 00:13:52.248
- there's the Jezreel Valley.
- 00:13:52.248 --> 00:13:53.582
- It's where the Battle of Armageddon will be fought.
- 00:13:53.582 --> 00:13:56.785
- We'll cross that Jezreel Valley,
- 00:13:56.785 --> 00:13:58.621
- and we'll go visit the Sea of Galilee.
- 00:13:58.621 --> 00:14:01.156
- Two-thirds of Jesus's miracles took place in about a five-mile
- 00:14:01.156 --> 00:14:04.360
- radius around that northern end of the Sea of Galilee.
- 00:14:04.360 --> 00:14:07.763
- It's just an amazing place to get to see.
- 00:14:07.763 --> 00:14:10.232
- It's actually a freshwater lake.
- 00:14:10.232 --> 00:14:11.700
- The lowest--it's the freshwater lake furthest below sea level
- 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:14.403
- anyplace in the region, largest freshwater source in the region.
- 00:14:14.403 --> 00:14:18.040
- It's why it was so heavily populated in Jesus's day.
- 00:14:18.040 --> 00:14:21.043
- Then we'll start down the Jordan Valley.
- 00:14:21.043 --> 00:14:22.578
- It's that rift valley that runs from Central Turkey
- 00:14:22.578 --> 00:14:24.446
- to the heart of Africa.
- 00:14:24.446 --> 00:14:26.382
- We'll visit the Dead Sea.
- 00:14:26.382 --> 00:14:28.384
- Lowest place on the earth, Jericho that ancient
- 00:14:28.384 --> 00:14:31.720
- city is right there.
- 00:14:31.720 --> 00:14:33.055
- But before we get to the Dead Sea,
- 00:14:33.055 --> 00:14:34.390
- we'll stop at Beit Shean.
- 00:14:34.390 --> 00:14:36.458
- It's an ancient city.
- 00:14:36.458 --> 00:14:37.960
- It's in your Bible in a number of places.
- 00:14:37.960 --> 00:14:40.796
- We'll visit the Roman city, it was buried by a mudslide after
- 00:14:40.796 --> 00:14:44.433
- an earthquake so it wasn't looted by the people plundering
- 00:14:44.433 --> 00:14:47.536
- looking for all the archaeological relics.
- 00:14:47.536 --> 00:14:49.638
- It's like walking through
- 00:14:49.638 --> 00:14:50.973
- an ancient Roman city that's intact.
- 00:14:50.973 --> 00:14:53.943
- In fact, they found a home that had collapsed during the
- 00:14:53.943 --> 00:14:56.312
- earthquake and in the home was a man,
- 00:14:56.312 --> 00:14:58.347
- in the palm of his hand was a bag of gold coins.
- 00:14:58.347 --> 00:15:00.950
- He'd gone back in his house to get his money,
- 00:15:00.950 --> 00:15:03.552
- and the house had collapsed on him.
- 00:15:03.552 --> 00:15:05.220
- Then we'll go to Jerusalem,
- 00:15:05.220 --> 00:15:06.555
- there's just no place quite like it.
- 00:15:06.555 --> 00:15:08.457
- "Lessons From Israel," a little micro tour together.
- 00:15:08.457 --> 00:15:11.260
- I believe it'll bless you and your friends.
- 00:15:11.260 --> 00:15:13.562
- Enjoy it.
- 00:15:13.562 --> 00:15:15.698
- female announcer: With the "Lessons From Israel,"
- 00:15:15.698 --> 00:15:17.166
- you can join Pastor Allen as he visits the Land of Israel,
- 00:15:17.166 --> 00:15:20.569
- including places like the Sea of Galilee,
- 00:15:20.569 --> 00:15:22.871
- Jerusalem, Mount Carmel, and the Jezreel Valley,
- 00:15:22.871 --> 00:15:26.608
- offering a little insight at each location.
- 00:15:26.608 --> 00:15:29.945
- As the trip unfolds, you'll see evidence of God's consistent
- 00:15:29.945 --> 00:15:33.349
- faithfulness to Israel and how the Jewish people are central to
- 00:15:33.349 --> 00:15:37.353
- his plan, and so are we.
- 00:15:37.353 --> 00:15:41.390
- Complete "Lessons From Israel" as a personal study
- 00:15:41.390 --> 00:15:44.159
- or with a group.
- 00:15:44.159 --> 00:15:45.861
- Watch the short lessons from Pastor Allen,
- 00:15:45.861 --> 00:15:48.163
- then go deeper with the included guidebook.
- 00:15:48.163 --> 00:15:51.200
- You can request the "Lessons From Israel" DVD and guidebook
- 00:15:51.200 --> 00:15:54.470
- set when you donate $45 or more today at AllenJackson.com or by
- 00:15:54.470 --> 00:16:01.143
- calling...
- 00:16:01.143 --> 00:16:06.348
- That's...
- 00:16:06.348 --> 00:16:17.026
- Allen: Luke chapter 1, this is Mary.
- 00:16:20.796 --> 00:16:24.466
- Gabriel is come with a birth announcement.
- 00:16:24.466 --> 00:16:25.801
- It's an invitation.
- 00:16:25.801 --> 00:16:27.136
- You know how easy it would have been for Mary to say,
- 00:16:27.136 --> 00:16:28.737
- "No. Sounds like an intrusion to me.
- 00:16:28.737 --> 00:16:32.107
- I've already planned a wedding.
- 00:16:32.107 --> 00:16:34.743
- I've already picked out a dress and pregnant
- 00:16:34.743 --> 00:16:36.078
- won't work."
- 00:16:36.078 --> 00:16:38.647
- Well, there was a hundred reasons for her to say no.
- 00:16:38.647 --> 00:16:42.918
- And she asks a question, an appropriate question.
- 00:16:42.918 --> 00:16:44.286
- "How can this be?
- 00:16:44.286 --> 00:16:45.621
- I'm not engaged in the behaviors
- 00:16:45.621 --> 00:16:46.955
- that make pregnancy a possibility."
- 00:16:46.955 --> 00:16:50.325
- "And the angel answered, Gabriel said,
- 00:16:50.325 --> 00:16:51.660
- 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you,
- 00:16:51.660 --> 00:16:53.162
- and the power of the Most High will overshadow you.
- 00:16:53.162 --> 00:16:56.665
- So the holy one to be born will be called the Son of God.'"
- 00:16:56.665 --> 00:17:00.169
- As if that were an explanation.
- 00:17:00.169 --> 00:17:03.672
- "I'm not engaged in the behaviors
- 00:17:03.672 --> 00:17:05.007
- that make pregnancy a possibility.
- 00:17:05.007 --> 00:17:06.475
- How can this be?"
- 00:17:06.475 --> 00:17:07.810
- And this isn't the angel's answer,
- 00:17:07.810 --> 00:17:09.144
- this is the angel, the response from the archangel,
- 00:17:09.144 --> 00:17:12.414
- "The Holy Spirit will come upon you
- 00:17:12.414 --> 00:17:13.749
- and the power of the Most High will overshadow you."
- 00:17:13.749 --> 00:17:17.086
- Oh, well, that clarifies everything.
- 00:17:17.086 --> 00:17:20.956
- Suppose you prayed and fasted for 40 days,
- 00:17:20.956 --> 00:17:22.891
- and you had a vision of an archangel and he said,
- 00:17:22.891 --> 00:17:24.860
- "I have come to tell you that God's going to use you to change
- 00:17:24.860 --> 00:17:28.163
- the direction of Rutherford County."
- 00:17:28.163 --> 00:17:32.601
- And you say, "Well, how will that happen?"
- 00:17:32.601 --> 00:17:35.337
- He said, "Well, the power of the Most High will come upon you."
- 00:17:35.337 --> 00:17:42.177
- "Well, you mean like I'll glow in the dark?"
- 00:17:42.177 --> 00:17:45.681
- I mean, Mary doesn't know anyone else
- 00:17:45.681 --> 00:17:47.216
- who has conceived immaculately.
- 00:17:47.216 --> 00:17:51.086
- There's no peer group. She can't google it.
- 00:17:51.086 --> 00:17:56.925
- I think, to me, the invitation, both in John's case and in
- 00:17:56.925 --> 00:18:00.996
- Mary's case, is this willingness to believe that there is
- 00:18:00.996 --> 00:18:03.966
- something more powerful than I am,
- 00:18:03.966 --> 00:18:07.069
- and we serve at his pleasure.
- 00:18:07.069 --> 00:18:10.772
- And we're not just content with that,
- 00:18:10.772 --> 00:18:13.275
- we're enthused about that.
- 00:18:13.275 --> 00:18:15.210
- We're all in with that.
- 00:18:15.210 --> 00:18:16.578
- Folks, we've been in the skeptics seats long enough.
- 00:18:16.578 --> 00:18:19.915
- We've been halfhearted, disinterested.
- 00:18:19.915 --> 00:18:22.217
- We'll pray when nothing else works.
- 00:18:22.217 --> 00:18:24.286
- We've exhausted every other resource and looked under every
- 00:18:24.286 --> 00:18:26.421
- other rock and pursued every other possible solution,
- 00:18:26.421 --> 00:18:29.424
- then well, you know, maybe God could do something.
- 00:18:29.424 --> 00:18:31.493
- Maybe he could, and maybe he's gracious enough to accept that
- 00:18:31.493 --> 00:18:35.764
- place in the line.
- 00:18:35.764 --> 00:18:37.266
- But we're at a different time.
- 00:18:37.266 --> 00:18:40.602
- In Luke chapter 4 it says of Jesus,
- 00:18:40.602 --> 00:18:41.970
- "He returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit,
- 00:18:41.970 --> 00:18:45.574
- and the news about him spread
- 00:18:45.574 --> 00:18:46.909
- throughout the whole countryside."
- 00:18:46.909 --> 00:18:48.243
- He's lived 30 years anonymously, for the most part.
- 00:18:48.243 --> 00:18:50.712
- Below the radar, very little attention,
- 00:18:50.712 --> 00:18:52.214
- no public life, no public ministry.
- 00:18:52.214 --> 00:18:54.616
- Mary's aware, I'm sure his brothers have some clue
- 00:18:54.616 --> 00:18:58.620
- that--you know, I don't know how that worked at home, right?
- 00:18:58.620 --> 00:19:04.760
- Did Jesus get put in timeout?
- 00:19:04.760 --> 00:19:08.197
- You know, and if he did, did the clock melt?
- 00:19:08.197 --> 00:19:09.531
- I don't know.
- 00:19:09.531 --> 00:19:10.866
- I don't know how all that worked,
- 00:19:10.866 --> 00:19:12.434
- but we know that after his baptism,
- 00:19:12.434 --> 00:19:13.902
- Luke tells us he came back to Galilee,
- 00:19:13.902 --> 00:19:15.804
- the region where he'd grown up in the power of the Spirit,
- 00:19:15.804 --> 00:19:18.106
- that his whole life changed.
- 00:19:18.106 --> 00:19:19.708
- He didn't--his ministry didn't begin.
- 00:19:19.708 --> 00:19:21.677
- The miracles didn't begin.
- 00:19:21.677 --> 00:19:23.512
- The supernatural things didn't begin until the descent of the
- 00:19:23.512 --> 00:19:26.782
- Spirit at Jesus's baptism.
- 00:19:26.782 --> 00:19:29.618
- And I think if you and I are going to imagine that through
- 00:19:29.618 --> 00:19:31.720
- Bible study and the focused intent of our intellect,
- 00:19:31.720 --> 00:19:36.058
- and I'm not opposed to that, but if we think that those things
- 00:19:36.058 --> 00:19:38.527
- alone are going to deliver us to a more empowered spiritual
- 00:19:38.527 --> 00:19:41.430
- life, we're deceived.
- 00:19:41.430 --> 00:19:42.764
- We're ignoring the counsel of Scripture.
- 00:19:42.764 --> 00:19:45.667
- We need the help of the Spirit of God.
- 00:19:45.667 --> 00:19:50.172
- Now, one of the statements that's made about Jesus in all
- 00:19:50.172 --> 00:19:52.007
- four of the Gospels, which there are very few things that are
- 00:19:52.007 --> 00:19:55.344
- repeated in each of those four Gospels.
- 00:19:55.344 --> 00:19:57.312
- And this particular title of Jesus comes to us as his
- 00:19:57.312 --> 00:20:00.549
- introduction in each of the four Gospels.
- 00:20:00.549 --> 00:20:02.484
- And we've read it once, but I'll give it back to you.
- 00:20:02.484 --> 00:20:04.519
- In Matthew 3, this is John, he said,
- 00:20:04.519 --> 00:20:07.522
- "I'll baptize you with water for repentance.
- 00:20:07.522 --> 00:20:09.191
- But after me will come one who is more powerful than I,
- 00:20:09.191 --> 00:20:12.261
- whose sandals I'm not fit to carry.
- 00:20:12.261 --> 00:20:13.795
- He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit in fire."
- 00:20:13.795 --> 00:20:16.999
- Think of all the things that could have been said about
- 00:20:16.999 --> 00:20:18.500
- Jesus, the Savior, the Redeemer.
- 00:20:18.500 --> 00:20:20.636
- I mean, there's dozens and dozens and dozens of titles,
- 00:20:20.636 --> 00:20:22.838
- accurate descriptions of the redemptive work of Jesus,
- 00:20:22.838 --> 00:20:26.141
- but the one that is chosen by the Spirit of God is that he
- 00:20:26.141 --> 00:20:29.678
- will baptize us with the Holy Spirit and fire.
- 00:20:29.678 --> 00:20:33.315
- Mark chapter 1, this was his message,
- 00:20:33.315 --> 00:20:36.084
- "After me will come one more powerful than I,
- 00:20:36.084 --> 00:20:37.753
- the thongs of whose sandals
- 00:20:37.753 --> 00:20:39.087
- I'm not worthy to stoop down and untie.
- 00:20:39.087 --> 00:20:40.756
- I baptize you with water, but he'll baptize you
- 00:20:40.756 --> 00:20:42.791
- with the Holy Spirit."
- 00:20:42.791 --> 00:20:44.126
- Sounds familiar?
- 00:20:44.126 --> 00:20:46.328
- Luke 3, we have already looked at.
- 00:20:46.328 --> 00:20:48.930
- John answered and says, "I baptize you with water.
- 00:20:48.930 --> 00:20:50.732
- But one more powerful than I will come,
- 00:20:50.732 --> 00:20:53.235
- the thongs of whose sandals I'm not worthy to untie.
- 00:20:53.235 --> 00:20:55.504
- He'll baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."
- 00:20:55.504 --> 00:20:59.341
- John's gospel, different from the other three.
- 00:20:59.341 --> 00:21:03.345
- "I would not have known him, except that the one who sent me
- 00:21:03.345 --> 00:21:05.213
- to baptize with water told me.
- 00:21:05.213 --> 00:21:06.615
- 'The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and remain is
- 00:21:06.615 --> 00:21:09.484
- he who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.'
- 00:21:09.484 --> 00:21:12.688
- I have seen and I testify that this is the Son of God."
- 00:21:12.688 --> 00:21:16.291
- In all four gospels, Jesus is introduced to us.
- 00:21:16.291 --> 00:21:19.328
- Before his public ministry, before the miracles,
- 00:21:19.328 --> 00:21:21.330
- before the drama is unfold, before we even know
- 00:21:21.330 --> 00:21:24.266
- the remarkable aspects of his birth narrative,
- 00:21:24.266 --> 00:21:27.436
- he's introduced to us as the one who will baptize us
- 00:21:27.436 --> 00:21:29.738
- with the Holy Spirit.
- 00:21:29.738 --> 00:21:31.239
- May I suggest, if that's the way he's introduced to us in each of
- 00:21:31.239 --> 00:21:34.776
- the Gospels, that we need to get to know Jesus as the baptizer
- 00:21:34.776 --> 00:21:38.413
- and the Holy Spirit?
- 00:21:38.413 --> 00:21:40.582
- It just seems like a logical conclusion to me.
- 00:21:40.582 --> 00:21:43.819
- It has nothing to do with the denomination you affiliate or
- 00:21:43.819 --> 00:21:46.555
- where you want to place yourself on a theological spectrum.
- 00:21:46.555 --> 00:21:49.524
- If that's the way Jesus is introduced to us,
- 00:21:49.524 --> 00:21:51.760
- I want to know him that way.
- 00:21:51.760 --> 00:21:58.233
- In John chapter 20, it's the evening
- 00:21:58.233 --> 00:22:01.103
- of the first day of the week.
- 00:22:01.103 --> 00:22:02.437
- It's a Sunday evening.
- 00:22:02.437 --> 00:22:04.873
- It's Resurrection Day, so it's Resurrection Sunday.
- 00:22:04.873 --> 00:22:09.911
- And the disciples were together with the doors locked
- 00:22:09.911 --> 00:22:12.180
- for fear of the Jews.
- 00:22:12.180 --> 00:22:13.515
- You know why they had the doors locked, right?
- 00:22:13.515 --> 00:22:14.850
- They have tortured to death their leader,
- 00:22:14.850 --> 00:22:18.153
- their best friend, the public face of the group that defines
- 00:22:18.153 --> 00:22:23.525
- them, and there's a reasonable expectation they could be next.
- 00:22:23.525 --> 00:22:29.264
- And if they could take Jesus down,
- 00:22:29.264 --> 00:22:30.832
- they feel very vulnerable.
- 00:22:30.832 --> 00:22:33.301
- So they're in hiding.
- 00:22:33.301 --> 00:22:35.670
- And Jesus came and stood among them and the last time they saw
- 00:22:35.670 --> 00:22:38.140
- him, he had died on the cross and his body had been placed in
- 00:22:38.140 --> 00:22:41.943
- that borrowed tomb.
- 00:22:41.943 --> 00:22:44.579
- And when the women went to the tomb early on the morning,
- 00:22:44.579 --> 00:22:46.782
- they couldn't find Jesus.
- 00:22:46.782 --> 00:22:49.418
- And Peter and John went and investigated,
- 00:22:49.418 --> 00:22:51.119
- and they couldn't find Jesus.
- 00:22:51.119 --> 00:22:53.789
- So there's been some discussion amongst them,
- 00:22:53.789 --> 00:22:55.323
- but there is no conclusion.
- 00:22:55.323 --> 00:22:56.658
- There's certainly no imagination that he's alive.
- 00:22:56.658 --> 00:22:58.427
- They think someone's stolen the body and now they're behind
- 00:22:58.427 --> 00:23:01.329
- locked doors.
- 00:23:01.329 --> 00:23:03.432
- And John says that Jesus came and stood among them with this
- 00:23:03.432 --> 00:23:05.867
- remarkable gift of understatement,
- 00:23:05.867 --> 00:23:11.573
- "'Peace be with you!'" And after he said this,
- 00:23:11.573 --> 00:23:14.376
- he showed them his hands and his side.
- 00:23:14.376 --> 00:23:16.678
- And the disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord."
- 00:23:16.678 --> 00:23:21.016
- How many of you think that might be just a bit of low-key
- 00:23:21.016 --> 00:23:25.520
- characterization of the emotion in the room, right?
- 00:23:25.520 --> 00:23:30.158
- Jesus is standing there, and he's shown them the signs of his
- 00:23:30.158 --> 00:23:33.028
- passion, the nail prints and the wound in his side.
- 00:23:33.028 --> 00:23:36.932
- And John says, "The disciples were overjoyed."
- 00:23:36.932 --> 00:23:41.069
- I would submit they're operating right at the very fringe limit
- 00:23:41.069 --> 00:23:45.340
- of what they can even process, ecstatic,
- 00:23:45.340 --> 00:23:50.445
- uproariously, hilariously overwhelmed.
- 00:23:50.445 --> 00:23:55.817
- It's beyond any life experience they have had.
- 00:23:55.817 --> 00:23:58.220
- They have nothing to connect it to,
- 00:23:58.220 --> 00:24:00.255
- but it's our friend and he's here.
- 00:24:00.255 --> 00:24:04.359
- Suffice it to say, it's a good day.
- 00:24:04.359 --> 00:24:07.662
- And then watch Jesus's response.
- 00:24:07.662 --> 00:24:09.331
- "Again Jesus said, 'Peace be with you!
- 00:24:09.331 --> 00:24:10.866
- As the Father has sent me, I'm sending you.
- 00:24:10.866 --> 00:24:14.102
- And with that he breathed on them and said,
- 00:24:14.102 --> 00:24:15.837
- 'Receive the Holy Spirit.'"
- 00:24:15.837 --> 00:24:18.240
- That reminds you of anything in Scripture?
- 00:24:18.240 --> 00:24:20.809
- It reminds me a great deal of the Genesis narrative when God
- 00:24:20.809 --> 00:24:23.011
- formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and it says,
- 00:24:23.011 --> 00:24:24.846
- "He breathed in him, and he became a living being."
- 00:24:24.846 --> 00:24:29.251
- You know, we could go into the language
- 00:24:29.251 --> 00:24:30.619
- of that and the specifics.
- 00:24:30.619 --> 00:24:31.953
- I think, if we break it down, technically,
- 00:24:31.953 --> 00:24:34.556
- Jesus breathed on them individually.
- 00:24:34.556 --> 00:24:37.959
- I think it was a very personal experience for the people in
- 00:24:37.959 --> 00:24:41.096
- that room that evening.
- 00:24:41.096 --> 00:24:43.899
- I would submit to you that qualifies for the new birth.
- 00:24:43.899 --> 00:24:46.535
- They had a personal encounter with a resurrected Christ,
- 00:24:46.535 --> 00:24:49.871
- and he breathed on them and said,
- 00:24:49.871 --> 00:24:51.206
- "Receive the Holy Spirit."
- 00:24:51.206 --> 00:24:52.541
- And the Holy Spirit had taken up residence within them.
- 00:24:52.541 --> 00:24:54.109
- That describes the new birth as I understand it.
- 00:24:54.109 --> 00:24:58.146
- If we did this in more detail, we could walk through a dozen
- 00:24:58.146 --> 00:24:59.948
- passages of Scripture trying to outline
- 00:24:59.948 --> 00:25:01.616
- the fullness of what happened.
- 00:25:01.616 --> 00:25:02.951
- But whether we call it conversion or the new birth or
- 00:25:02.951 --> 00:25:05.420
- salvation, that was their initiation into the kingdom of
- 00:25:05.420 --> 00:25:08.323
- God because until they had experienced a resurrected
- 00:25:08.323 --> 00:25:13.194
- Christ, that opportunity wasn't available to them.
- 00:25:13.194 --> 00:25:16.064
- It wasn't available before the cross.
- 00:25:16.064 --> 00:25:18.967
- That's why the Book of Hebrews says to us when it lists the
- 00:25:18.967 --> 00:25:21.069
- Hall of Fame of those men and women,
- 00:25:21.069 --> 00:25:23.471
- it says, "These people did all of these things by faith,
- 00:25:23.471 --> 00:25:25.840
- but there was something better for us and only together could
- 00:25:25.840 --> 00:25:29.878
- we experience what God has for us."
- 00:25:29.878 --> 00:25:32.747
- Allen: Hey, we're living in a season of almost unprecedented
- 00:25:32.747 --> 00:25:35.884
- turmoil wherever you look.
- 00:25:35.884 --> 00:25:37.719
- It's true in the church, it's true in the economy,
- 00:25:37.719 --> 00:25:39.955
- it's true in the government, it's true internationally,
- 00:25:39.955 --> 00:25:42.357
- it's true in our schools.
- 00:25:42.357 --> 00:25:43.925
- It's just consistent.
- 00:25:43.925 --> 00:25:45.427
- Well, in the midst of that, we want to take what John the
- 00:25:45.427 --> 00:25:47.762
- Baptist said, "There's one who's greater than I am."
- 00:25:47.762 --> 00:25:51.066
- Well, we have that same anticipation that there's one
- 00:25:51.066 --> 00:25:53.735
- who is greater than we are to help us,
- 00:25:53.735 --> 00:25:56.137
- the Spirit of the living God.
- 00:25:56.137 --> 00:25:57.939
- When you're born again, that same Holy Spirit comes to live
- 00:25:57.939 --> 00:26:00.241
- within you, but we don't always give him permission to speak to
- 00:26:00.241 --> 00:26:02.711
- us, to lead us, to guide us.
- 00:26:02.711 --> 00:26:04.946
- We haven't always been cooperative.
- 00:26:04.946 --> 00:26:06.581
- It's kind of like we've been moving forward
- 00:26:06.581 --> 00:26:07.916
- with the parking brake on.
- 00:26:07.916 --> 00:26:09.484
- Well, before we go, let's pray.
- 00:26:09.484 --> 00:26:11.186
- Let's take off the parking brake and give him permission.
- 00:26:11.186 --> 00:26:14.022
- Let's pray.
- 00:26:14.022 --> 00:26:15.357
- Heavenly Father, we want to welcome your Spirit into our
- 00:26:15.357 --> 00:26:17.425
- lives without measure, without reluctance,
- 00:26:17.425 --> 00:26:19.461
- without hesitation.
- 00:26:19.461 --> 00:26:20.795
- We need your help.
- 00:26:20.795 --> 00:26:22.430
- Show us your pathway.
- 00:26:22.430 --> 00:26:24.699
- Help us to recognize your voice and have the courage to say yes
- 00:26:24.699 --> 00:26:27.569
- to you each day.
- 00:26:27.569 --> 00:26:29.304
- I thank you for it. In Jesus's name, amen.
- 00:26:29.304 --> 00:26:34.376
- male announcer: Join us every week for another exciting
- 00:26:38.480 --> 00:26:40.181
- message from Pastor Allen Jackson.
- 00:26:40.181 --> 00:26:42.651
- And until then, visit us online and discover remarkable
- 00:26:42.651 --> 00:26:46.054
- information and resources to help take your Christian life to
- 00:26:46.054 --> 00:26:49.824
- the next level.
- 00:26:49.824 --> 00:26:51.459
- And if you're visiting the Nashville area,
- 00:26:51.459 --> 00:26:53.361
- we'd love to see you at World Outreach Church in Murfreesboro.
- 00:26:53.361 --> 00:26:56.965
- We're easy to find, so look us up when you're traveling through
- 00:26:56.965 --> 00:26:59.768
- and don't forget to connect with Pastor Jackson every day through
- 00:26:59.768 --> 00:27:02.570
- social media.
- 00:27:02.570 --> 00:27:04.539
- Thanks so much for joining us
- 00:27:04.539 --> 00:27:05.940
- and being a part of this ministry.
- 00:27:05.940 --> 00:27:07.642
- We'll see you again next time for another encounter
- 00:27:07.642 --> 00:27:09.911
- with Pastor Allen Jackson.
- 00:27:09.911 --> 00:27:27.095
