...by My Spirit Pt. XVIII

Sunday 10/16/16

Series: …but by My Spirit Pt. 18

Message – Knowing the Holy Spirit I

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Living in the Kingdom

Knowing the Holy Spirit

Intimacy with the Spirit will give you His heart

Php 2:12-13 “(12) Therefore, my beloved, as you have always obeyed, not as in my presence only, but now much more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and trembling; (13) for it is God Who works in you both to will and to do for His good pleasure.”
What part of the Godhead has been given to us to lead us, guide us, teach us, enable us, comfort us and steer our hearts into the image of Christ? – The HOLY SPIRIT!
The Father & Son trust the Holy Spirit’s words to clearly and accurately represent Them. His words, leadings and teachings are entirely unique to Him – they are NOT Dictated to Him from the Father or the Son (just like the scriptures).
- He is always 100% clearly representing the Father to us through revelation of the Son, but HOW He does it, they heart by which He expresses Himself – they depth and expression of His desires are HIS alone…
Therefore, we learn the Spirit by EXPERIENCING HIM.
- Ex: Leading Bret in the Baptism of the Holy Spirit.

Praying in the Spirit strengthens our Trust in God’s good heart.

Jude 1:19-21 “(19) These are sensual persons, who cause divisions, not having the Spirit. (20) But you, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, (21) keep yourselves in the love of God, looking for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ unto eternal life.”
Build up is epoi-kodomeo. Epi – upon & oikodomeo – to build. To build a superstructure, to edify.
Notice it is YOUR faith – not THE faith. We are NOT talking about building yourself up in doctrine (though that is commendable and encouraged in other places) this is talking about growing in your relational trust in God’s good heart.
Faith begins where the will (heart) of God is known. In other words you can only trust God for Who He IS by Self-revelation, NOT by what you have heard OF Him. (Spurgeon)
You will only trust God to the degree that you have come to know Him as trustworthy – this is why I say “His good heart”.
Praying in the Spirit is a VITAL necessity to the development of Christ in You – Rom. 8:26 says He helps us in our weaknesses FOR we do not know what and how to pray AS WE MUST. This was in a greater context of Christ being formed in us (remember this is something the Spirit is PASSIONATE about because it glorifies God)
IMPORTANT – esp. For ex-WoF’ers
- The help that the Holy Spirit brings to express our groanings which cannot be uttered may include tongues, but it is certainly not limited to praying in an unknown tongue.
- The idea is simply of communication beyond our ability to express – deep groanings within us, which cannot be articulated apart from the interceding work of the Holy Spirit.
  - Personal experience – groaning (Bret, my own sin, the sins of others, God’s heart for His church…etc.)
- This, of course, is the purpose of tongues – to enable us to communicate with God in a manner that is not limited to our own knowledge or ability to express either God’s heart or our own weakness.

Verbal Exhaltation is JOINT WORSHIP (to kiss the hand). It is a form of intimacy probably MOST akin to “godly” physical intercourse. The two of you (Spirit & you) joined hands in verbal expressions of adoration and devotion to God.

Psa 50:23,“(23) Whoever offers praise glorifies Me; And to him who orders his conduct aright I will show the salvation of God.” – do you believe this?

We will continue here next week….Blessings!

I hope this teaching will challenge you and encourage you to place your trust in the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord.

You have a special place in God’s family & kingdom. If you do not know Him, please use our ‘Contact Us‘ page and reach out so we may have the privilege of introducing you to the Lord. Neither money nor attendance at our church will be mentioned.

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Blessings!

Pastor Mark

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Hi my name is Mark and though I am opposed to titles, I am currently the only Pastor (shepherd/elder) serving our assembly right now.

I have been Pastoring in one capacity or another for nearly 30 years now, though never quite like I am today.

Early in 2009 the Lord revealed to me that the way we had structured our assembly (church) was not scriptural in that it was out of sync with what Paul modeled for us in the New Testament. In truth, I (like many pastors I am sure) never even gave this fundamental issue of church structure the first thought. I had always assumed that church structure was largely the same everywhere and had been so from the beginning. While I knew Paul had some very stringent things to say about the local assembly of believers, the point of our gatherings together and who may or may not lead, I never even considered studying these issues but assumed we were all pretty much doing it right...safety in numbers right?! Boy, I couldn't have been more wrong!

So needless to say, my discovery that we had been doing it wrong for nearly two decades was a bit of a shock to me! Now, this "revelation" did not come about all at once but over the course of a few weeks. We were a traditional single pastor led congregation. It was a top-bottom model of ministry which is in part biblical, but not in the form of a monarchy.

The needed change did not come into focus until following 9 very intense months of study and discussions with those who were leaders in our church at the time.

We now understand and believe that the Bible teaches co-leadership with equal authority in each local assembly. Having multiple shepherds with God's heart and equal authority protects both Shepherds and sheep. Equal accountability keeps authority and doctrine in check. Multiple shepherds also provide teaching with various styles and giftings with leadership skills which are both different and complementary.

For a while we had two co-pastors (elders) (myself and one other man) who led the church with equal authority, but different giftings. We both taught in our own ways and styles, and our leadership skills were quite different, but complimentary. We were in complete submission to each other and worked side-by-side in the labor of shepherding the flock.

Our other Pastor has since moved on to other ministry which has left us with just myself. While we currently only have one Pastor/Elder, it is our desire that God, in His faithfulness and timing, may bring us more as we grow in maturity and even in numbers.

As to my home, I have been married since 1995 to my wonderful wife Terissa Woodson who is my closest friend and most trusted ally.

As far as my education goes, I grew up in a Christian home, but questioned everything I was ever taught.

I graduated from Bible college in 1990 and continued to question everything I was ever taught (I do not mention my college in order to avoid being labeled).

Perhaps my greatest preparation for ministry has been life and ministry itself. To quote an author I have come to enjoy namely Fredrick Buechner in his writing entitled, Now and Then, "If God speaks to us at all other than through such official channels as the Bible and the church, then I think that He speaks to us largely through what happens to us...if we keep our hearts open as well as our ears, if we listen with patience and hope, if we remember at all deeply and honestly, then I think we come to recognize beyond all doubt, that, however faintly we may hear Him, He is indeed speaking to us, and that, however little we may understand of it, His word to each of us is both recoverable and precious beyond telling." ~ Fredrick Buechner

Well that is about all there is of interest to tell you about me.

I hope our ministry here is a blessing to you and your family. I also hope that it is only a supplement to a local church where you are committed to other believers in a community of grace.

~God Bless!