Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North Sermons - Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North

Jeff Miller
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Weekly sermon notes and audio recording from Harvest Bible Chapel Pittsburgh North.

  1. 5d ago

    Unified and Purified: We Live in Grace

    Introduction: Daniel 12:2 - And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt. John 5:29 - ...those who have done good to the resurrection of life, and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. Romans 10:9 - because, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved. 3 Evidences of the Resurrection of Jesus Christ (1 Corinthians 15:1-8): The CHURCH . (1 Cor 15:1-2) SCRIPTURE . (1 Cor 15:3-4) Isaiah 53:10 - Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Psalm 16:10 (Acts 2) - For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption. EYEWITNESSES . (1 Cor 15:5-8) 3 Evidences You Have Received God's Grace (1 Corinthians 15:9-11): You don't think you're WORTHY . (1 Cor 15:9) You SEFINE yourself by grace. (1 Cor 15:10a) You are motivated to WORK by grace. (1 Cor 15:10b-11) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Unified and Purified: We Live in Grace Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:04 1 Corinthians chapter 15. My wife Erin was talking to a good friend of hers, Sharon. And Sharon told her this story that I've been thinking about all week. She said she took a bunch of youth to this youth conference. And they asked everybody to stand up. We're not going to do this here today. But she asked everybody to stand up. 00:34 I asked everybody to stand up and asked who had been saved for a year. And did they know at least one Bible verse? And if not, sit down. Right? And then who'd been saved for two years? You know two Bible verses. If not, you can sit down. And it went up. Who's been saved five years? Do you know five Bible verses? If not, sit down. And by the time the exercise was done, nobody was standing. 01:04 And I keep thinking about that. It's not a matter of learning Bible verses to be like ready for Bible bowl or just in case you're on Jeopardy and New Testament is one of the categories. That's not the purpose of learning the Word of God. What is the purpose of learning the Word of God? 01:35 What you really believe shapes how you live. That's just a reality. You live according to what you really believe is true. We just finished a section of 1 Corinthians with Q&A. And I think it's where this Bible knowledge intersects with the biggest question. 02:04 we really discover the biblical ignorance of a lot of people in church. And the biggest question is, what happens after we die? You know, thinking about all of those matters, you know, our death and rapture and return of Jesus and resurrection and heaven and hell, and what about all of that? Look, I've been doing this a long time, and I've been part, of so many funerals. 02:40 And it's always astounding to me, at a funeral, even people that say they've been following Christ for many, many years, it's astounding to me some of the crazy unbiblical things people say. 02:56 For example, I've heard this many times at a funeral. 03:00 They're like, well, you know what? God just needed another angel. And I'm like, there is so much wrong with that statement. First of all, God needs nothing, right? Second of all, we don't turn into angels when we die. Where did you get that concept? It's biblical ignorance. That's not really the place. That's not really the place to correct people, right? You don't want a shot block there. I guess that would help to have Miles there with me, I guess, at a funeral. 03:30 next time that happens. 03:32 Like, God needs another angel. 03:33 Miles would just be like, you don't turn into an angel when you die. 03:38 If you know, you know. 03:43 Another crazy thing I've heard people say is, well, you know, grandma's just watching over me. 03:52 You know, little Joey was supposed to have a t-ball game and they were calling for tornadoes and thunderstorms and hail and blizzards and all that. 03:59 And it didn't. 04:00 We had perfect weather. Thank you, Grandma. Grandma was watching over me. Well, your Grandma might have been wonderful, but she's not God. Okay? But that's one of the crazy things people believe is our departed loved ones are orchestrating things. You know, another crazy thing, and this might be the craziest, is regarding what happens when we die afterwards, all of these matters. Some people say, well, nobody really knows. 04:30 That could be the craziest thing because God wrote it all down for us. And when I talk about our Bible ignorance, I hope you don't take that as a guilt trip as much as over the next few weeks we are looking at a chapter in the Bible that answers so many of the questions that so many Christians get wrong. 05:00 I encourage you to tune in and take notes and look very closely at what God has said. So with that said, let's just bow our heads for a second. I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to be faithful, to clearly and accurately communicate the word of God. And I will pray for you to have your heart open to receive what it is that God said. All right. Let's just take a moment and pray. 05:30 before you today with Thanksgiving. I thank you for your word that clears up all of these questions that we wouldn't have answers to otherwise. I thank you for the noise of the children in this room right now. It's a sign of life. And I thank you for parents that want to come and worship you and hear your word and will bring their kids. I thank you for that. Father, I just pray that you eliminate any distractions in our hearts and minds so that we can laser focus on what it is you've said in your word today. 06:00 This is the most important message there is. And what a tragedy it would be to leave here and have missed it. What it is you've said here in this absolutely awe-inspiring portion of your word. God, we thank you. And we pray in Jesus' name. And all of God's people said, okay, some of God's people said it. The rest weren't ready. 06:30 We'll try again next week. Come back to Second Service. You can try then too. Okay, so what happens when we die? Well, among many other things the Bible teaches, the Bible is crystal clear on this. You will resurrect from the dead. You will. Everybody, not just believers actually, Everybody rises from the dead. The Bible says unbelievers get an eternal body that's suited for hell and judgment. And believers in Jesus Christ get an eternal body that they will use in glory in heaven forever. Right? Daniel chapter 12 verse 2. Old Testament talks about this. And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake. Some to everlasting life. And some to shame and everlasting contempt. Jesus taught this, John chapter 5. Those who have done good to the resurrection of life and those who have done evil to the resurrection of judgment. There are two resurrections, one for believers, one for non-believers, an eternal body that will live forever somewhere. And 1 Corinthians chapter 15 is all about resurrection. 08:00 The first stretch is, appropriately, about the resurrection of Jesus Christ. And then the back nine of 1 Corinthians 15 is about our resurrection. Look at chapter 15, verse 1. Paul says, Now I would remind you, brothers, of the gospel I preached to you, which you received, in which you stand. 08:31 You see, we just spent a lot of time, 1 Corinthians 11, 12, 13, 14, they had all these corporate worship problems. And Paul's like, okay guys, we cleared up some of the details, but the most important thing is getting back to the basics of the gospel itself. And he's talking about resurrection in this chapter. As we said, it is not resurrection. 09:00 Resurrection is not a part of what we believe. Resurrection is the heart of the gospel. It is the core. It is the very, it's essential to being a Christian. It is absolutely a necessary doctrine that we got to embrace. Look at what Romans chapter 10 says. Because if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that what? God raised him from the dead. You will be saved. Do you see how a belief in resurrection is directly tied to your salvation? It's non-negotiable. But of course, there's always skeptics, right? You can study the ancient Greeks. Many of the Greeks who lived in Corinth, they didn't believe in a bodily resurrection at all. 10:04 And even Christians today, they're just not entirely sure what happens. 10:14 You know, I know there's, okay, so we die, but we're with Jesus, but there is a, oka

  2. Aug 2

    Gratitude Service - Part 2

    Introduction: Why Are We Doing This? (Psalm 90): Because TIME IS SHORT . (Ps 90:1-12) Because GOD IS GOOD . (Ps 90:13-15) Because THERE IS WORK TO DO . (Ps 90:16-17) Hint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Gratitude - Part 2 Jeff Miller / Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript Paster Jeff 00:00 Open up your Bibles with me please to the book of Psalms. And we will be looking at the 90th Psalm. I can think of a couple reasons now why we need a building on that property. Both of them pretty evident today, right? Alright, let's get into God's Word together. Pray for me please. Paster Jeff 00:30 A sermon in three acts. So you pray for Pastor Rich and Pastor Taylor. All right? And we all will pray for you. All right? Let's pray. Father in heaven, as we turn to your word now, I just pray for all of us that our hearts are open to receive what it is that you've taught us through your eternal word. Thank you, Father. Thank you for All that you have so richly blessed us with, but most of all, Father, for the salvation that we find in Christ, because otherwise we would be so lost and hopeless. Father, I thank you that you have left us a guarantee of your love for us, the provision of salvation, the means by which eternal life can be restored, Father. And I pray that you would help us all to just Zero in now in your word. We pray in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. I love the kid sounds, by the way. Not a distraction up here. Don't let it distract you. It's a sign of life. I love it. Alright? I told you before when I hear kids making noise, in my mind I just hear, Amen! Amen! Amen! That's how I hear that. So it just encourages me, alright? Psalm 90. Let's take a look. Paster Jeff 02:00 This is a prayer of Moses, the man of God. Verse 1, Lord, you have been our dwelling place in all generations. Again, this was written by Moses. And I thought, what an appropriate place for us to land today after this last series that Pastor Taylor took us through. Paster Jeff 02:29 The Psalm that was actually written by Moses. And look at what he says again in verse 1. Look close. Lord, You have been our dwelling place in all generations. That's really a funny statement when you consider what was going on when Moses wrote this. You could say that Israel was between homes. Paster Jeff 02:59 Right? What is home? Anyways, I was thinking about that a lot as I was preparing for this. All the places I lived. I grew up in Shakura. Moved to Ohio for school where I lived probably a half a dozen different places during my years in Ohio. Then moved back to Butler where I lived on Locust Street and then on North Street and then on Pearl Street. Paster Jeff 03:29 And then we moved to Renfrew, Prospect, Chicago, back to Prospect, then to Economy, and now in beautiful Zillian Opal. Every time I moved, I swore it was the last time I was ever going to move. So I stopped doing that. But what is home? What is it? I think about the church, right? Paster Jeff 03:59 met at the meeting room in Pantera Bread. Lo these many years ago. Then we were in a man's basement. He knew. He was there. Then we met in the chiropractor's office. Marshall Middle School. Then 12330 Perry Highway Suite 100. And then almost 414 Klein Road, but right back to 12330. Paster Jeff 04:29 Perry Highway Suite 100. What is home? Well, if you're a believer, there's no place on earth that's ever really going to feel like home. Because earth is not our home. Wherever we are, wherever we are, that's what Moses is talking about here. Lord, You have been our dwelling place. Paster Jeff 04:59 Church, our dwelling place isn't this office building or even Klein Road or wherever the Lord has. Our dwelling place, Church, is the Lord. Wherever geographically that is, He is our dwelling place. Well, if this isn't our home, and if the new church building isn't something any of us are going to enjoy forever, then why are we... Paster Jeff 05:29 Why are we going to joyfully and gratefully go after the work of this church building? Why? Paster Jeff 05:40 So what's the point? Well, there's three points actually. Here's the first one that Moses reminds us this. Time is short. Paster Jeff 05:52 Time is short. Paster Jeff 05:55 Look at verses 2 through 6. He says, For the mountains were brought forth, or ever you had formed the earth and the world, from everlasting to everlasting, you are God. Paster Jeff 06:08 You return man to dust and say, Return, O children of man. Paster Jeff 06:14 For a thousand years in your sight are but as yesterday, when it is past, or as a watch in the night. Paster Jeff 06:23 You sweep them away as with a flood. Paster Jeff 06:26 They are like a dream, like grass that is renewed in the morning. In the morning, it flourishes and is renewed. In the evening, it fades and withers. Time is short. Oh, not for God, right? He made that clear. From everlasting to everlasting, you are God. When God revealed to Moses what His name is, He said, his name is I Am. And that tells us everything we need to know about God. God's not I was, like you should have seen me in high school. I was in shape and good looking. No, no, God's not the I was. And God is not the I will be. Right? Like, you know what, Moses, I might not look like much now, but I'm exercising and I'm on this paleo diet. Paster Jeff 07:26 and I just did a juice cleanse and I'm seeing a good chiropractor and I'm going to be something great. No, no, no. He's not the I will be. He is the I am. He is the I am in Moses' day and he is the I am today. And Moses points out here, God is from everlasting to everlasting, but I think it's pretty obvious he says we are not. He says we're not. Paster Jeff 07:56 around you, you and I are here and gone. Right? Gone like what he tells us in verse 5. He uses three pictures here. First of all, he sweeped them away as with a flood. Could you imagine? Some of you can. Then he says, they're like a dream. I love that image. Have you ever, this happens to me all the the time. Have you ever had one of those dreams that seem like they take place over the course of like days or weeks and then you wake up and it's only been like, you've only been in bed like an hour? Has that ever happened to you? He's like, that's what man's like. We think this is like such a long thing, but it's over quick. He uses another image here that shouldn't be lost on us. He says, we're like grass. We're renewed in the morning. We flourish. We grow. Paster Jeff 08:56 in the evening we fade. Paster Jeff 09:00 We wither. Paster Jeff 09:02 Why is life so short? Paster Jeff 09:05 He tells us, look at verse 7. Paster Jeff 09:07 He says, For we are brought to an end by your anger. Paster Jeff 09:13 By your wrath, we are dismayed. Paster Jeff 09:17 You have set our iniquities before you, our secret sins, in the light of your presence. Paster Jeff 09:23 For all our days pass away under your wrath. We bring our years to an end like a sigh. The years of our life are 70, or even by reason of strength 80, yet their span is but toil and trouble. They are soon gone, and we fly away. Paster Jeff 09:53 the power of your anger and your wrath according to the fear of you. Why is life so short? He just basically very poetically sums it up just as one concept. It's the curse of sin. It's because of sin that life is short. God promised Adam, the first man, if you sin against me, God literally says, dying you will die. You're going to get old and wear out and die. Dying you will die. Paster Jeff 10:22 It's an act of judgment from God on a world that's rejected Him. Paster Jeff 10:30 You're like, so what's the point? Paster Jeff 10:33 Why would Moses bring this up? Paster Jeff 10:36 Verse 12 is Moses' point. Paster Jeff 10:39 He says, so, this is his prayer to the Lord, should be ours. Paster Jeff 10:43 So, teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. Paster Jeff 10:55 Teach us to number our days. Okay, so the Bible says that we should number our days. So let's obey, shall we? How many days do you have left on this earth? How many days? Well, we'll take Moses' average here, right? Did you notice he says, in verse 10, 70 or 80. So we'll take the average, which is 75. All right, thank you, accountants. So if we take Moses' average, 75. Now that's just the average. This is an exercise, right? I did the math for you. Okay, so if you're 50, I'm not going to ask you to raise your hand with your age or anything like that, right? Okay, so So if you're 15 years old, you're sitting here today and you're 15 years old, do you know how many days you have left on this earth? 21,900. All right? If you're 25, you have 18,250. If you're 35, you have 14,600 days left on this earth. If you're 45, you have 10,950 days left on the earth. Paster Jeff 12:21 If you're 55, you have 7,300 days left o

  3. Jul 12

    For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Doubters

    Introduction: I Will Doubt... (Numbers 13:1-14:38) If I Am Paralyzed by MY CIRCUMSTANCES . (Num 13:25-33) If I Choose the Comfort of MY PAST . (Num 14:1-4) Romans 6:20-21 - For when you were slaves of sin, you were free in regard to righteousness. But what fruit were you getting at that time from the things of which you are now ashamed? For the end of those things is death. If I Tune Out GODLY COUNSEL . (Num 14:5-10a) James 1:22-25 - But be doers of the Word, and not hearers only, deceiving yourselves. For if anyone is a hearer of the Word and not a doer, he is like a man who looks intently at his natural face in a mirror. For he looks at himself and goes away and at once forgets what he was like. But the one who looks into the perfect law, the law of liberty, and perseveres, being no hearer who forgets but a doer who acts, he will be blessed in his doing. If I Follow the CROWD . (Num 14:10b-38) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Doubters Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:48 Well, please turn your Bibles to Numbers chapter 13. Numbers chapter 13. 00:55 Now, as you turn there, I have a question for you. Have you ever been sent on a spy mission? 01:02 Really, nobody. I was sent on a spy mission in college. Do you want to hear about it? 01:09 All right, so in college, I worked for a pet sitting service. I would walk dogs, feed cats, and stay at people's houses while they were on vacation. And one day, my boss asked me to come into her office, and she sat me down for story time. Apparently, she had a client who was a local celebrity, who I won't name here, but this guy was having romantic troubles, to say the least. He and his girlfriend couldn't even be in the same room as each other anymore. And so he asked her to move out and take her stuff with her. 01:45 And I thought to myself, okay. Interesting, but what does this have to do with me? My boss told me, well, our client doesn't want to go to the house to see if his girlfriend has left or not. He wants one of us to do it. He's going to pay us to do it. And you're the only guy on my payroll, and I don't want to ask the women to do it. Don't worry, you're not breaking and entering. We have his garage code. We have his permission. I know this is a lot to ask, but I'll pay After a lot of reassurance, I would not be arrested or stabbed. 02:20 I drove over to this guy's house, and I sat on his street for a while. 02:25 Just like, what am I doing? 02:27 And there was no car in the driveway. 02:30 So I eventually get the courage to get out of my car, walk up the driveway. 02:34 I peek into the garage. 02:35 It's empty. 02:38 Type in the garage code. 02:40 Slip in. 02:41 And I just keep yelling out, hello, hello. 02:44 Don't worry. 02:45 I'm not a burglar. Your boyfriend sent me over. I don't know if that would have really been helpful. Or not. I don't really know. It's what I said. I was really nervous. I wasn't getting sneak attacked or pepper sprayed. But it became very clear that the woman was not there. But here's the problem. All of her stuff was still there. So I had to go back to my boss and our client with a bad report. The woman is gone, but her stuff ain't. 03:15 I knew that my boss and my client would not be very happy with this bad report from my spy mission. This morning we are studying a biblical spy mission. Twelve Israelite spies are sent on an important assignment and most of the spies come back with a report that won't make Moses or God himself very happy. In my case, I simply reported what I saw all those years ago. 03:45 But when it comes to the Israelite spies, the unfaithful Israelite spies, they report what they wanted to see. They report what they saw through the eyes of fear when they should report on what they saw through the eyes of faith. These unfaithful spies experience doubt. And at its core, doubt is distrust in the character, purposes, and promises of God. They allow doubt to cloud their vision and make their decisions for them. 04:23 What about you? You may not be a spy like me, but can you relate to the 10 unfaithful spies at all? Do you ever experience doubt? Do you ever look at your life through the eyes of fear instead of the eyes of faith? 04:46 Do you ever allow doubt to cloud your vision and make your decisions for you? We are taking a short pause on the book of 1 Corinthians to focus on the books of Exodus and Numbers. This is the second week of our latest series for our example, Ancient Warnings for the Church today. Ancient Israel's history of disobedience should be studied for the sake of our obedience. 05:16 today. Throughout Exodus and Numbers, the Israelites set negative examples for us to avoid, and God provides warnings that we should not ignore. Last week, we studied the golden calf incident at Mount Sinai, and we received the warning to not be idolaters. This morning, we will receive another warning from God. Do not be doubters. Do not be doubters. 05:45 You know, heeding this warning, listening to this command from God may be a tall order for some of you. We live in such a stressed out and anxious culture where worry is normalized and excused. Everyone is worried about something. Politics, gas prices, the economy, house projects, young children inside the home, grown-up children outside the home. 06:15 the home, personal appearance, public opinion, the list is endless. You know, worry and doubt are not just problems out there. Worry and doubt are problems in this room. The outside culture has invaded the church. Many professing Christians are just as stressed out and worried as the unbelievers around them. 06:45 of faithful dependence upon God, we can so often be negative examples of disbelief in God and his plans for our lives. Maybe your worry is obvious to everyone around you besides you. Maybe you justify your worry in saying, well, I can't help it. This is my personality type. There's nothing I can do. Or maybe you are very well aware of your anxiety. 07:15 The doubts pile up in your mind, and you don't know what to do next. You don't know how to handle this serious issue. Thankfully, no matter where you fall on the spectrum of doubt, the Lord tells you what to do next in His Word. In Numbers chapter 13 through 14, the Lord calls you to avoid the negative examples of the 10 unfaithful Israelite spies, and He calls you to follow the positive of the two faithful spies. In these chapters, God shines a light on the potholes and pitfalls that will trip you up and cause you to fall into doubt. So before we continue, let's go to the Lord and ask for his help. Please pray for me. I will faithfully proclaim God's word and I will pray for you that you will faithfully receive God's word. Father, you have never once given us a reason to doubt you. 08:18 But we come before you today to acknowledge that we doubt you all the time. 08:23 We worry, we stress, we give ourselves over to anxiety. 08:30 Father, we repent of this and we ask for your help to change. 08:35 May you use your word to transform us. 08:39 May you use your word to remind us of your past faithfulness. 08:44 So the Israelites have escaped slavery in Egypt. They were delivered from the Egyptian army and they passed through the Red Sea. Last week we learned they survived their horrible act of idolatry at the base of Mount Sinai. 09:14 of disobedience, they're finally at the edge of the promised land. They made it. This journey was a lot harder than it needed to be, but they're finally here. It's like when you're driving on vacation in bumper to bumper traffic and your kids are arguing the whole time. The trip was really painful, but it's going to be worth it, right? The trip's going to be worth it. The destination is going to make all that worth it, right? 09:44 of the Israelites. Not so much when it comes to the Israelite family vacation. 09:50 They botched the trip to the promised land, and they're about to botch the trip into the promised land. 09:58 Twelve spies are sent to spy out the land, scope out the enemies that occupy it, and bring back a report. 10:05 Before they head out, Moses gives them a pep talk in chapter 13, verse 20. 10:10 He says, be of good courage and bring some of the fruit of the land. As you discussed, only two of the spies listen to Moses. Only two of them are of good courage and bring back a good report. Ten of them are cowards and they bring back a very negative report. These men choose to travel down the path that leads to doubt. And their path to doubt is the same exact path to doubt that you and I willingly walk down all the time. 10:45 So what is the path to doubt? 10:49 There are

  4. Jul 5

    For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Idolaters

    Introduction: 1 Corinthians 10:6 - Now these things took place as examples for us, that we might not desire evil as they did. 1 Corinthians 10:11 - Now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instruction, on whom the end of the ages has come. My Idolatry... (Exodus 32:1-35) Disgraces ME and Dishonors the LORD. (Ex 32:1-6) Exodus 20:3 - “You shall have no other gods before me.” Exodus 20:4 - “You shall not make for yourself a carved image, or any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath.” Exodus 20:7 - “You shall not take the name of the LORD your God in vain.” Exodus 20:14 - “You shall not commit adultery.” Will Not Go UNNOTICED . (Ex 32:7-14) Cannot Be EXPLAINED AWAY or BLAMED ON OTHERS. (Ex 32:15-24) Leads to SERIOUS CONSEQUENCES . (Ex 32:25-29) Can Be FORGIVEN . (Ex 32:30-35) 1 Timothy 1:15 - The saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners, of whom I am the foremost. Titus 2:11-12 - For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people, training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions, and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age... Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! For Our Example: Ancient Warnings for the Church Today - Do Not Be Idolaters Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:48 So please turn your Bibles to Exodus chapter 32. 00:52 Exodus chapter 32. 00:57 Have you ever been warned against doing something, but you did it anyway? 01:02 Have you ever been given the option between learning the easy way or the hard way and chosen the hard way? 01:11 Every single one of us would say yes to both those questions. 01:16 Do you want to hear about a time when I had to learn the hard way? When I was warned against doing something, but I did it anyway. Well, in 2018, my side of the family planned a vacation to Hilton Head, South Carolina. But there was one problem. The trip went from Saturday to Saturday, and my wife Kate and I were booked to photograph a wedding on that first Saturday. So we were already going to miss a big chunk of the vacation. 01:44 And I thought to myself, I have a great idea. That ended up not being so great. My idea was after working a 12-hour day in the hot sun, let's drive 12 straight hours through the night to Hilton Head, South Carolina. I'll be fine. Every single person I shared that plan with said that's a really bad idea and you shouldn't do it. I heeded none of those warnings and I took a risk. 02:13 And again, I was totally fine until about 5 a.m. At that point, Kate had been asleep for hours, and I was trying to keep myself awake with caffeine and true crime podcasts, but my eyes were heavy. I was trying, I was opening my eyelids, I was slapping myself, I was trying everything. And I kept thinking to myself, this isn't good, this is going to be bad, but then I kept telling myself, just a few more minutes, just a few more miles. 02:43 Everything will be fine. 02:46 As it turns out, everything would not be fine. 02:48 One moment, I was conscious and kind of alert. 02:53 And then one minute, I was awakened by the sound of slamming into multiple traffic barrels on the highway. 03:01 Worst wake-up call in the history of my entire sleeping career. 03:06 Thankfully, I was able to steer away from the traffic barrels and get over to the shoulder. 03:10 I checked on my wife who had woken up and was not very happy with me. And I went out to inspect the damage. Our entire hood was destroyed. There was a traffic barrel shoved under the front of the car. I was able to get it out and put it back where I found it. It wasn't as good as new. It looked pretty bad. But the car was drivable. So Kate said, I'm driving. So I get in the passenger seat while mentally beating myself up while Kate drove the rest of the way. 03:40 And no, I was not able to fall asleep during the rest of the trip. Learning the hard way isn't a fun road to drive on. But many of us willingly drive down it anyway, don't we? Learning the easy way is a far simpler path, but for some reason, it doesn't appeal to us in the moment. It doesn't seem like the best route to take on the journey of life. Thankfully, the Lord knows. 04:10 our destructive tendencies. 04:13 And he fills his words with warnings of what we shouldn't do. 04:17 He fills his word with warnings of where we shouldn't go. 04:23 And many of these warnings take place in the Old Testament. 04:27 As we see the Israelites make the same mistakes over and over and over again. 04:34 A few months ago, Pastor Jeff preached on 1 Corinthians 10, verses 1-13, in which Paul makes it clear that Israel's shady past of disobedience should cause us to be obedient today. We should look to their negative examples and avoid what they did. Listen to what Paul says in verse 6 of chapter 10. He says, these things took place as examples for us that we might not desire evil as they did. And he goes on to say, now these things happened to them as an example, but they were written down for our instructions. The Israelites learned the hard way so that you could learn the easy way. This morning we are starting a brand new series called For Our Example, Ancient Warnings for the Church Today. We will study the books of Exodus and Numbers that we can receive four specific warnings from God Himself. Do not be idolaters. 05:39 Do not be doubters. Do not be fake repenters. Do not be complainers. And this morning we're going to focus on the first warning from God. Do not be idolaters. Do not give other people and other things the worship and love that God alone deserves. Do not put anything or anyone else on the throne of your heart. Do not take God off the top of your priority list. 06:10 I know what some of you are thinking at this point. Pastor Taylor, I don't want to obnoxiously call you out, but Pastor Jeff did preach a sermon on idolatry pretty recently. I guess you weren't paying attention. You know what? Pastor Jeff, you did preach a sermon on idolatry, didn't you? That was a good sermon. Let me ask you, have you committed idolatry since you heard that sermon? You have? 06:39 Me too. Have you committed idolatry many times since hearing that sermon? Yeah, me too. It sounds like we need to hear it again. It sounds like we need to receive this warning from the Lord again. So let's go to the Lord and ask for His help. Please pray for me that I will faithfully proclaim God's Word while I pray for you that you will faithfully receive it. 07:10 Father, we come before you as your people to acknowledge we so often forget what you say. 07:17 We do not live in light of what you say. 07:20 We've heard this kind of sermon many times, but we often fail to keep it. 07:26 Lord, give us eyes to see, ears to hear, a heart to receive, and hands and feet that are willing to do what your word says this morning. 07:35 May your word do your work. 07:37 May you bring transformation and change because I cannot. We ask all these things in the mighty name of Jesus Christ. Amen. So before we dig into Exodus chapter 32, we have to rewind to the beginning of the books that we can understand the backstory. The Israelites were slaves in Egypt. For years they were mistreated, abused, and sentenced to back-breaking labor. 08:07 Pharaoh even commands the Egyptians, yeah, get the Hebrew boys and throw them into the Nile River whenever they are born. They are suffering. The worst fate imaginable. But God did not forget them. God heard their cries for help. He saw their suffering and he raised up Moses to deliver them out of Egypt. He told Moses, tell Pharaoh to let my people go. And Pharaoh repeatedly refused. 08:38 that command. So God sent ten plagues upon the nation of Egypt. And eventually Pharaoh said, fine, get out of here. The people of God pack up and head out. And they are led by a pillar of cloud by day and a pillar of fire by night. And at one point Pharaoh's sitting there thinking, what have I done? My entire workforce is gone. I've made a huge mistake. So he stalled up his army and they went after the people of God. 09:07 Did that go well for Pharaoh? Was that a great plan? No. The people of God pass through the Red Sea by a miracle and then the Egyptians are swallowed up by that same water. And after this divine intervention, the Israelites are brought to Mount Sinai. They're commanded, stay at the base of the mountain while Moses goes up for 40 days and 40 nights to receive the Ten Commandments and other instructions from God. 09:37 Backstory leads us to one of the most depressing stories in t

  5. Jun 7

    How Do I Love?

    Introduction: Introduction: How Do I Love? (1 Corinthians 13:1-7) Love ABSENT. (1 Cor 13:1-3) Love ACTIVE. (1 Cor 13:4-7) 1 John 4:8 – God is love. Ephesians 5:1 – Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. LOVE is Patient. LOVE is Kind. LOVE Does Not Envy. LOVE Does Not Boast. LOVE Is Not Arrogant. LOVE Is Not Rude. LOVE Does Not Insist On Its Own Way. LOVE Is Not Irritable. LOVE Is Not Resentful. LOVE Does Not Rejoice At Wrongdoing. LOVE Rejoices With The Truth. LOVE Bears All Things. LOVE Believes All Things. LOVE Hopes All Things. LOVE Endures All Things. Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: How Do I Love? Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:36 Open up your Bibles with me please to the book of 1 Corinthians and chapter 13 While you're turning there as is our custom I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me to communicate God's word clearly and accurately as I should and I will pray for you to have a heart open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us from his word today All right? Let's just take a moment and pray. Father, just a few minutes ago we were talking about being watchful in prayer. Father, make us watchful for the fruit that will come as your word is applied. The radical difference There will be when your people in this church apply what it is you've told us in this passage we're looking at today. Let your Spirit be our teacher. Father, open our hearts up. Remove any distractions from our hearts and minds. Help us to really dial in right now. We ask in Jesus' name. 02:03 And all of God's people said, Amen. Amen. 1 Corinthians chapter 13. If you've been with us through this study in 1 Corinthians, you've seen that Paul was going through problem after problem after problem after problem in the church. This church had a lot of problems. There were cliques and there were lawsuits There was sexual sin, and there was people insisting on their rights, and they made the Lord's Supper a fiasco. But really, if you wanted to sum up chapters 1 through 12, it really all boils down to one thing. Paul's saying, your lack of love for one another is the problem. 03:04 They just didn't love each other the way that God has called us to love. And because that's the problem, now we get to chapter 13 where we get to the solution. It's love. It's love. And some of you might be like, ah, yes, yes, yes. 1 Corinthians 13, I know this one. This is where Paul writes the wedding poem. 03:34 But this passage is used a lot at weddings, but I want you to understand, Paul wasn't in the middle of addressing the church's problems and was like, yeah, we've got to figure out this spiritual gift thing because you're all messed up. Oh, I just had an idea for a wedding poem. I better write this down while it's fresh. It's not a wedding poem. 04:00 Pastor Taylor talked last week about how the Corinthian church was so messed up about spiritual gifts. And Paul's like, no, no, no, I'm going to show you a more excellent way. Here's the more excellent way. The heart of ministry. The heart of using spiritual gifts. It's not talent. 04:30 It's not who works the hardest. It's not who puts in the most hours. It's not who's the most creative. The heart of ministry is love. And if you're sitting here today and you're like, yeah, love's not really my thing. Well, it's God's thing. And if you're like, well, you know, I'm just not really a loving person. 05:00 Well, then you better get on board. Because love is at the top, according to God. When the fruit of the Spirit is listed in Galatians 5, what's first? It's love, right? Paul tells us in Romans 13 that love fulfills the law. Jesus in John 13 said, Do you know? Oh, come on. I gave you so many hints. It's love. It's love. We've got to get on board. We have a little problem, though, in our language. We use the word love so generically, right? We say love for everything, right? But it doesn't all mean the same thing, right? 06:00 I can say I love hockey and I love my dog and I love my wife, but I don't love all those things the same way. You see, the Greek was a more specific language. They had different words for love. One word was eros. That's where we get the word erotic. That's the hubba hubba, husband and wife kind of love. Another word for love is, That's friendship love. Like Philadelphia, the city of brotherly love. But the grandest word for love we're going to be talking about today is agape love. Agape. Agape is self-sacrificing. Agape is you ahead of me. 07:02 And understand that love isn't about feeling. All right? Feelings come, sure. And feelings go. But love isn't about feeling. Love is about doing. Right? Did Jesus love? Did Jesus love? How do we know? Everything from washing the disciples' feet to laying down his life on the cross, everything he did was an experience. 07:30 of love. 07:35 So how about you? 07:38 Are you a loving person? 07:45 Oh, in church we certainly idealize it. 07:49 Right? 07:52 But do we actually do it? 07:56 So on your outline today, how do I love? 08:00 I want to encourage you to not let, look, okay. 08:04 Because some of you have told me that you like to try to fill in the blanks ahead of time. 08:10 All right, fess up. Who does that? Raise your hand. Who tries to fill in the blanks? Okay. 08:14 Come on, this is a safe place to confess, and it's also a good place to repent. 08:18 I'm going to ask you to please not do that, because you're going to look at the outline today, and be like, oh, this one's easy. Love, love, love, love, love, love. 08:25 I'm going to ask you to hold on, hold on, all right? 08:28 and just walk in step with me. Will you do that? All right. So how do I love? In this passage we're looking, it's a very familiar passage, and he just talks about two things. There's two things here, right? And the first one is love absent. Love absent. Look at the first three verses. He says, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love. 09:01 I'm a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 09:08 And if I have prophetic powers and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith so as to remove mountains but have not love, I am nothing. 09:22 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned I have not love. 09:31 I gain nothing. 09:36 You see this list here, what he's doing. 09:38 He's mentioning certain spiritual gifts here. 09:42 Did you see that? 09:43 And what he's doing is he's giving exaggerated examples of using spiritual gifts. 09:51 Like using them to the max. 09:54 But he says, if I use spiritual gifts, even to their peak performance, if I use them, but I don't genuinely love people, it results in, you see it? Nothing. It's not worth a thing if you don't love. See, the Corinthians, like us, so many times want the gifts of the Spirit, but not the fruit of the Spirit. 10:24 Paul says anything done without love is useless. Look at this example list of spiritual gifts. First of all, he talks about tongues. We're going to spend in a couple weeks quite a bit of time talking about what the spiritual gift of speaking in tongues is about. But notice here, he says, if I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, like what's angel language? What is that? Well, biblically, there is no such thing. 10:54 You see throughout these verses, He's exaggerating everything. He's saying, even if I speak a language that they only speak in heaven. He says, even if I did that, but I don't genuinely love people, it's just noise. It's just like banging a gong over and over. 11:24 How would you last? Probably not very long, right? And somebody would say, well, what happened in church? And you would say, nothing happened in church today. Well, there was some great music. And then the pastor got up and thought he was on the gong show. It was ridiculous. Next, he talks about prophecy. 11:54 Oh, by the way, he says prophecy is the greatest gift. In chapter 14, verse 1, we talked about this before. Prophecy literally means speak before. It's speaking God's truth before people. We cannot possibly overstate the magnitude of what happens when the Word of God is proclaimed. 12:24 I was reading about preaching this past week, and one preacher put it this way. He says, when the Word of God is proclaimed, we are bringing eternity into time. I was like, wow, wow, that's what's happening. But to get up and proclaim the Word of God, motivated by self-glory or fame or pride, but not motivated by loving people, it's nothing. 12:54 Next gift he talks about is knowledge. Do you notice the exaggeration? Here it is again. He says, understand all mysteries and all knowledge. More

  6. May 31

    What About Spiritual Gifts?

    Introduction: Mark 1:8 - I have baptized you with water, but he will baptize you with the Holy Spirit.” Since I’m a Member of the Body of Christ… (1 Corinthians 12:12-31) I shouldn’t DOUBT the Part I Play (1 Cor 12:14-20) Because That DENIES My Purpose (1 Cor 12:14-17) Because That DISHONORS God’s Design (1 Cor 12:18-20) I shouldn’t DOWNPLAY the Roles of Others (1 Cor 12:21-26) By Acting Like I Don’t Need ANYONE ELSE (1 Cor 12:21-24) By Exclusively Focusing on My NEEDS (1 Cor 12:25-26) By Shining the Spotlight onto ME (1 Cor 12:27-31) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: How is the Church Like a Body? Taylor Brown Download Audio Transcript 00:36 Please turn your Bibles to 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. 1 Corinthians 12, verses 12-31. Isn't it frustrating to witness someone not do his or her job correctly? Maybe you have an employee or a direct report who constantly comes late, makes excuses, or has a suspicious number of grandparents that he has funerals he has to attend. 01:06 How many grandparents do you actually have? You hire a contractor to carry out a project in your house and he makes huge mistakes. And he acts very inconvenient when you come, when you ask him to come back and fix those mistakes. Your waitress has a horrible attitude and never checks on your table because she is constantly texting. You know what's even more frustrating than that? Witnessing or experiencing someone else. 01:36 not allow others to do their jobs correctly. You watch your favorite team lose yet again because one key player can't get his act together and he messes it up for everybody. You have a boss who is an expert in incompetence. He expects everyone to do their jobs as well as his job. You have a co-worker who makes your job so hard you can't finish this project at work because she has constantly dragging your feet and she is not communicating with you. 02:10 And instead of accepting that blame, taking it on herself, she points the finger of blame at you and says that it's your fault. 02:19 You know what's infinitely more frustrating than all the examples I've given already? 02:24 Witnessing a Christian refuse to do his or her job in the church. 02:30 or experiencing another Christian attempt to hinder you from carrying out your job in the church. Instead of contributing to the team, this person backs away, tries to go solo and do his or her own thing. Instead of building others up and encouraging them, they tear others down and diminish them. Wasted potential is a sorry sight to behold. Misused talents are squandered resources. 03:02 Missed opportunities for ministry are to be grieved. As you learned over the past eight months in 1 Corinthians, the church is commanded to be unified and purified. Unfortunately, this unity is undervalued, ignored, and tested by many who should know better. This purity is jeopardized, abused, and cast aside by many who claim to know and love Jesus Christ. 03:30 Excuses are made and commitments are unkept. Complaints are spoken instead of genuine praise. Zooming in on me and what I want is far more common than focusing on us and what we need. Am I describing you? Am I describing your contribution to the church? 04:00 Ask yourself, am I contributing to the unity and purity of Harvest Bible Chapel, or am I subtracting from it? Are you neglecting to do your job in the church? Are you standing in the way of others and making it hard for them to carry out their jobs in the church? Take a moment to go before the Lord and consider those questions. 04:32 Quiet your heart and ask God to convict you today. Ask God to challenge you today. Ask God to change you today. Go to the Lord in prayer. Father, we come before you as your people for the most important appointment of the week. May we not be distracted. Or may we truly dial in to what what you want to teach us this morning. Lord, may you show us who you've called us to be and what you've commanded us to do. I pray we'd all walk out of this room with a different vision of the church and a different idea of what we are called to do individually in the church. I ask all these things in Jesus' name. Amen. We are in the Q&A section of 1 Corinthians. Paul is addressing questions that this congregation asked him in a previous And last week, Pastor Jeff showed us Paul's answer to the Corinthians' question about spiritual gifts. Every single believer is given at least one spiritual gift that is to be used to bless the church and advance the gospel. No one is skipped over. No one is forgotten. No one is left giftless. And these gifts are to unite, not divide. 06:00 And Paul continues to answer this question in chapter 12, verses 12 through 31, by providing a powerful illustration. He compares the unity of the church body to the unity of a physical human body. Check out what he has to say in verse 12 of chapter 12. 06:30 So it is with Christ. I'm going to ask you a very easy question, and I'm even going to let you cheat to get the right answer. So everyone, look down and give yourself a quick once-over. Come on, go do it. Are you ready for my question? How many bodies do you have? It's not your question. Just one, you got the answer right. Great job. 07:01 I'm asking you an easy follow-up question. You can look down again if you have to. How many body parts do you have? Do you have more than one body part? Yes, you have more than one. According to Dr. Google, which is never wrong, you have 78 organs, 206 bones, and 30 to 40 trillion cells. You have individual body parts, legs, feet, toes, toenails, arms, Arms, Hands, Hands, Fingers, Fingernails, Heart, Lungs, Kidney, Stomach, Pancreas, Head, Eyes, Ears, Nose, Nose, Nose, Hairs, Mouth, Teeth, Gums, Tongue, Uvula. 07:41 And on the list goes. Sorry, Pastor Jeff's uvula was swollen this week, and you're talking about it a lot, so I had to add that. 07:50 He was sick. That was the reason why. 07:54 But these individual parts do not operate or function independently from one another. 08:00 Instead, they work together as one body. They serve different roles. They carry out the same mission to keep you alive and kicking. And Paul is saying this truth about your physical body applies to the church body as well. Yes, we all have different roles. We all have different functions. But we do not operate independently from one another. We work together as one body. 08:30 same mission to lift high the name of Jesus Christ by making disciples. 08:37 And you may be thinking, hold on a minute. 08:39 This illustration seems to break down a bit because I've always had my physical body. 08:44 It's the only one I've got. 08:46 How did I become a part of the church body? 08:48 When did that happen? 08:50 It's a great question. 08:52 Thankfully, Paul answers it in verse 13. 08:55 He says, For in one Spirit we were all baptized into one body. Jews or Greeks, slaves or free, and all were made to drink of one Spirit. You realize at one point you didn't exist. There was no you. Then you popped into existence and you grew in your mother's womb. And at one point you were born into this world with your physical But if you are a true follower of Jesus Christ, if you have been saved and given new life in Him, you have experienced more than just one birth. According to God's Word, you've experienced a new birth. And on your spiritual birthday, you were brought into the body of Christ. You became a part of the body of Christ. And this second birth is a work of the Holy Spirit, who Paul That sounds really cool. What in the world does that mean? Baptized in the Holy Spirit. Well, 2,000 years ago, John the Baptist baptized men and women in water as a sign of their repentance. But John was up front. He was very clear that he was not the point. He was not the be-all and end-all. He came to point to someone greater than him. He says, He says, I baptize with water, but He will baptize with the Holy Spirit. 10:37 Who is this greater person? 10:39 Who baptizes with the Holy Spirit? 10:42 Jesus Christ Himself. 10:46 This has massive implications for my life, your life, and the life of this church body. 10:52 This means that I, Taylor Samuel Brown, wasn't just baptized in water on July 30, 2000 by Pastor Jesse Boggs at Northgate Church. Yes, that was an important day. That was an important baptism. But I experienced an even more important day, an even more important baptism years prior. Before that, I was baptized in the Holy Spirit by Jesus Christ. I was saved from my sins. 11:25 I was made into a new person. 11:27 I was brought i

  7. May 24

    What About Spiritual Gifts?

    Introduction: What About Spiritual Gifts? (1 Corinthians 12:1-11) Spiritual Gifts are FROM God and FOR Every Believer. (1 Cor 12:4-6) Spiritual Gifts Are to Be Used to BLESS the CHURCH. (1 Cor 12:7) Spiritual Gifts Come in Many FORMS. (1 Cor 12:8-10) 2 Corinthians 12:12 - The signs of a true apostle were performed among you with utmost patience, with signs and wonders and mighty works. Hebrews 2:4 - while God also bore witness by signs and wonders and various miracles and by gifts of the Holy Spirit distributed according to his will. Wisdom Knowledge Faith Healing Miracles Luke 9:1 – And he called the twelve together and gave them power and authority over all demons and to cure diseases Prophecy Distinguish between spirits Tongues Interpretation of tongues Spiritual Gifts Are Given at the HOLY SPIRIT'S DISCRETION. (1 Cor 12:11) SEEK God. Consider the INTERSECTION. Take an ASSESSMENT. Take the Spiritual Gifts Test! Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: What About Spiritual Gifts? Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:38 Open up your Bibles with me, please, to the book of 1 Corinthians 12. 00:45 While you're turning there, let's just pause for a second, and I'm going to ask that you would please pray for me 00:53 to be faithful to communicate God's Word accurately and clearly as I should. 01:01 And I will pray for you to be open to receive what it is that God said. All right, let's pray. Father, sometimes we come to your word and I guess some passages seem to hit some of us more than others. And we're about to enter into a section that according to your word literally is for every single one of us. So I pray. 01:31 That Your Spirit would be the power behind the wisdom of Your Word and that You would continue to conform us into the image of Your Son, not just individually, but as a church body. Father, glorify Your name as we immerse ourselves into Your Word now. We pray in Jesus' name and all of God's people, 02:02 Amen. Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 1. Paul says, 02:07 Now concerning spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be uninformed. 02:18 This section of 1 Corinthians has been a big Q&A section. 02:25 They had sent Paul questions and he was responding with answers. 02:28 And up to this point, we've mainly been dealing with earthly matters. We've been talking about liberty and marriage and gender. And now we're on to more, I guess you could say, spiritual matters. And he says, concerning spiritual gifts, look at that verse 1, I do not want you to be uninformed. I don't want you to be ignorant about spiritual gifts. 02:58 Spiritual Gifts. Wow, that's a phrase that really describes the church today. Right? Because as always, church, we will go to either side of the extreme. When we talk about spiritual gifts, immediately you're going to have some people on one end of the spectrum that just completely neglect or ignore them. And think, oh, that's just like, 03:28 Goofy, charismatic stuff, but we're like sober-minded people. You completely dismiss the role that the Holy Spirit has in the work of the church. They're just neglected. And we do church according to human intellect and creativity. And then you have people on the other end of the spectrum that don't neglect the gifts. You could say they misrepresent the gifts of the Holy Spirit. 03:58 And over on the other extreme, people are doing all kinds of goofy things in church saying that it's a work of the Holy Spirit. We're slain in the Spirit and we're hooping and hollering and barking and howling. It's a gift of the Spirit. Excuse me. Absolutely essential in your work for Christ. Absolutely essential 04:28 in the health of the church, in the health of this church, you have to understand what spiritual gifts are, and you have to use your spiritual gift in the church. All right, look at verse 2. He says, you know that when you were pagans, you were led astray to mute idols. However, you were led. What he's doing here is he's setting up a contrast. 04:58 by idols. 05:00 And we're going to see this as we go throughout this section, 05:03 but the Corinthians in their former pagan lifestyle 05:07 learned a lot of bad methods of worship. 05:11 Pagan methods of worship. 05:13 And they brought those into the church. 05:15 Like, I guess this is how we worship. 05:17 And Paul here is making the contrast. 05:20 Like, look, no, no, no. 05:22 You used to be led by idols. 05:24 Now, now you are led by the Holy Spirit of God. 05:30 The Holy Spirit. Somehow, despite how essential His role is in the church, He just doesn't seem to get the press that the other members of the Trinity get, right? I mean, we talk about Jesus a lot. His sacrifice on the cross for our sins. His resurrection from the dead. 05:58 We talk about God the Father a lot. But God the Holy Spirit, just is essential. The Bible says that every Christian, every born-again Christian receives the Holy Spirit. That's Romans 8 and 9, among other places. That's God's presence abiding in you. Why? Why does God's Spirit live in you? Well, there's two main reasons. One is for character, right? 06:28 The Holy Spirit manifests the character of Christ in you. That's the fruit of the Spirit. That's Galatians 5. That's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. That's what the Holy Spirit does in the life of the believer manifesting those characteristics. So it's character. The other reason the Holy Spirit lives in believers is for service. 06:58 And that's what we're talking about in this passage today. Every believer is given a spiritual gift to be used in the church. And you're like, wow, you know, how do I know that I even have the Holy Spirit? Well, look at verse 3. Paul says, therefore, I want you to understand that no one speaking in the Spirit of God ever says, 07:28 Jesus is accursed. And no one can say, Jesus is Lord, except in the Holy Spirit. So how do you know you have the Holy Spirit? Here's a foundational test. How do you regard Jesus? And I don't just mean what do you say about Jesus here in church on Sunday morning or at small group. I mean in your heart, in your innermost being privately, 07:58 How do you regard Jesus Christ? In your heart, is Jesus Christ everything to you? Because your true heart disposition towards Jesus is manifest by the Spirit. If you're born again, Paul says, you cannot curse Jesus. And apparently some of that stuff was happening in the Corinthian church. That's a whole other study for another time. 08:28 Paul says, if you have the Holy Spirit living in you, you absolutely will regard Jesus Christ as your Lord. The Holy Spirit. He's not just for preachers and missionaries, by the way. The Christian life, every Christian's life, is a Holy Spirit-led and empowered life. So the question that Paul's getting into here, and Pastor Taylor's going to be talking about this more next week, here's the question on the table. 08:58 They asked. He's answering, so what about spiritual gifts? I mean, what are spiritual gifts? And how is it that the Holy Spirit uses spiritual gifts in the church? So on your outline, what about spiritual gifts? What about them? Paul's giving us a great foundational teaching on Holy Spirit gifts. 09:28 Number one, write this down. Spiritual gifts are from God and for every believer. Look at verses four through six. He says, now there are varieties of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are varieties of service, but the same Lord. And there are varieties of activities, 09:58 is the same God who empowers them all in everyone. He says there's many kinds of spiritual gifts, but notice he says they all come from God. And he really wants to make that point clear because you notice he mentioned every member of the Trinity as being the source of spiritual gifts. You notice that? He talks about the Holy Spirit in verse 4. He talks about Jesus Christ, the Lord, in verse 5. He talks about God, the Father, 10:28 in verse 6. Spiritual gifts are gifts that come from God. Now, understand that spiritual gifts are different than talents. Okay? Like a skill that you have to play an instrument or to paint a mural. Spiritual gifts are different, but listen. I can show you biblically, and that's a study for another time. 10:58 come from God. Absolutely. 11:03 But here we're talking about ministry gifts. 11:06 Church ministry must be Spirit-powered, not done in the flesh. 11:15 Why? 11:19 Because if

  8. May 17

    How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper?

    Introduction: How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper? 3 Things You'd Better Get Right: (1 Corinthians 11:17-34) PURPOSE. (1 Cor 11:23-26) What is the Purpose of the Lord's Supper? REMEMBRANCE. (1 Cor 11:24-25) PROCLAMATION. (1 Cor 11:26) ANTICIPATION. (1 Cor 11:26) Luke 22:15-16 - And he said to them, “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” POSTURE. (1 Cor 11:27) PREPARATION. (1 Cor 11:28-34) Sermon Notes (PDF): BLANKHint: Highlight blanks above for answers! Questions and Answers: How Should I Receive the Lord's Supper? Jeff Miller Download Audio Transcript 00:36 Open up your Bibles with me please to the book of 1 Corinthians. So 1 Corinthians chapter 11 and let's just bow our heads and I'm going to ask that you would please just take a moment to pray for me that I would be faithful to do nothing but clearly communicate the Word of God as presented. And I will pray for you to have your hearts open to receive what it is the Lord wants to teach us today in this passage. Let's pray. 01:07 Father in heaven, we are talking today about something that is very serious to you and therefore should be to us. So I pray we would all be dialed in. That we would, as Pastor Taylor prayed earlier, our hearts would be ready to receive what it is you want to tell us and that we would, respond accordingly. 01:41 Thank you, Father, for being a God of truth, being a God of grace, the love that you've shown us, Father. 01:51 We praise you in the mighty name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. 01:56 All of God's people said, Amen. 01:59 1 Corinthians 11. 02:01 Many, many, many years ago at a previous church, before our Wednesday night kids activities, one time a month, we would have a potluck. And somehow, this particular potluck Wednesday snuck up on us. And Erin was like, oh no, tonight's the church meal thing. And she was running around the house trying to find something. 02:31 to take over. And lo and behold, Mother Hubbard's cupboards were bare. And she goes, what are we going to... Well, she found in the cupboard that once upon a time, she bought a whole bunch of rice bowls from Big Lots. They were on clearance. She bought a whole bunch of these. They were like these individual serving thing, you know, you put water in it and throw it in the microwave and ta-da, cheap lunch. 03:01 So she bought a whole bunch of these on clearance. And she's like, this is all that I have to share at the meal. So she made a whole bunch of rice bowls. And by the way, they were all different flavors. She's like, I'll just make them all and just mix them together. Like I said, it came in several mouth-watering versions. 03:33 So we had jasmine and teriyaki and salmon and I don't know, chocolate caramel. And anyway, she took all of these rice bowls and put them like in a casserole dish. And she goes, all right, now here's what I need you to do. She says, I need you to get over there early and sneak this in so that nobody knows where it came from. And I'm telling you this because you need to know that I was an accessory to this crime. 04:00 So mission accomplished. I snuck the bowl in. I was poof gone like a ninja. Nobody knew where that dish came from. So we had our meal. We had our kids program. And at the end of the night, I went to sneak back to get our casserole dish. And inside the dish was a note. And the note said, whoever made this, please give me the recipe. 04:35 So today we're going to be talking about a good old-fashioned potluck because Corinth had a fellowship meal. Sort of like the one we had that one Wednesday night a month. And they would have this fellowship meal. They'd have their potluck and then afterwards they would take the Lord's Supper together and they made it a Real Seen. 05:03 Look at verse 17. 05:06 Paul says, But in the following instructions, I do not commend you. 05:12 Because when you come together, it is not for the better, but for the worse. 05:20 Paul's like, You guys, you're ruining worship. 05:28 You're ruining your worship time. 05:30 And that's a theme that goes through chapter 11, 12, 13, 14. Paul's like, you're ruining it. Look at verse 14. I'm sorry, verse 18, excuse me. He says, for in the first place, when you come together as a church, I hear that there are divisions among you, and I believe it in part. Divisions. We spent a whole lot of time talking about that. There were cliques. Everybody had their favorite preacher, and there were divisions. 05:59 Literally, the word divisions means arguing over opinions. And there was a lot of that. Paul says, yeah, I certainly believe it. Verse 19, interesting side note, he says, for there must be factions among you in order that those who are genuine among you may be recognized. As I said, we spent a lot of time talking about the factions. 06:29 the cliques and the divisions in chapters 1-4. 06:34 But Paul points out here, you know, there is one good thing about factions. 06:42 He says all of the fighting has a way of showing you who is genuine. 06:50 Who's an authentic, mature believer and who's not. 06:56 But Paul says, you want to learn who's spiritual? 06:59 You want to learn who is unspiritual and probably unsaved? Paul says, just watch how people handle disputes. And that is 100% true. Watch how people handle disputes, and you'll see how spiritual they are. But he goes on. Verse 20, he says, when you come together, it is not the Lord's Supper that you eat, For in eating, each one goes ahead with his own meal. One goes hungry, another gets drunk. You see what's going on here? Paul says you're making the Lord's Supper into something that is not the Lord's Supper. At their fellowship meal, first of all, we saw there's cliques. Everybody sit with their people. 07:59 Don't sit with anybody else. Make sure you sit with your people. And Paul pointed out some of them were, they were showing up early and just eating all the stuff that they brought to share. They're showing up with their casserole dish full of the hodgepodge rice bowls, and they're just sitting and eating it all themselves. They got their tuna noodle casserole or their beef stroganoff that they meant to share with everyone. 08:29 and they're just hogging it down themselves. 08:35 He says, you're not sharing. 08:37 And as a result, some of the poorer people were going hungry. 08:44 Oh, and if that's not enough, some of them were showing up early, not only eating too much, but they were drinking too much. 08:52 He says, some of you are drunk. 08:53 I mean, can you see this scene? 08:56 You're showing up for church for a fellowship meal before the Lord's Supper is even served. Some people were drunk. Paul was rightly outraged. Look at verse 22. He kind of lets them have it. He goes, what? Do you not have houses to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate? 09:26 those who have nothing. What shall I say to you? Shall I commend you in this? No, I will not. Paul's like, what are you doing? Can't you be a hog at home? Like, what's going on here? Do you hate the church? Is that what's going on here? Do you get happy about being cruel to poor people? Paul's like, what do you want me to say? What do you want me to say? 09:57 I'm not going to say that. 10:01 It's a serious rebuke. 10:04 Because there's a serious problem. 10:07 They were making a mockery of something that should be absolutely sacred to the church. 10:14 And that's the Lord's Supper. 10:19 What is the Lord's Supper? 10:23 You read about the Lord's Supper in all the Gospels. 10:26 But it was Jesus' last meal with His disciples before He died on the cross. They were Jews celebrating the Passover meal. So what is the Passover meal? Well, that was a sacred observance that God gave the nation of Israel to remember that they were hopeless slaves in Egypt and God saved them. He sent someone to deliver them from bondage. 10:56 The Passover meal would have four different cups at different intervals in the meeting. You would eat bitter herbs together. There would be a retelling of the Exodus story. They would eat unleavened bread. They would sing some of the Psalms. That's what the Passover meal was. And in the Lord's Supper, when Jesus had it with His disciples, He made it new. You see, it went from, remember, the Exodus to remember that Jesus Christ came to save you from your sins. And you can trace this in your Bible. The early church did it on a regular basis, Acts 2.42. And at some point, the early church started doing it weekly, apparently, from Acts 20.7. 11:52 But in Corinth, th

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