Supernatural Revelation
John 16:13
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SupernaturalRevelation.html
When Billy Graham was a young preacher he got lost in a town in which he had
travelled to preach. He was trying to mail some letters, and couldn't find
the post office. He rolled down his window and asked a kid on a bicycle for
directions. "Oh sure, it's just down this way, mister." Graham said,
"Thank you, and if you'll come to the crusade tonite I'll tell you how to
get to heaven." "I don't think so...you don't even know the way to the post
office!"
The Holy Spirit is our guide, given us by God to show us the way. In this
church age He does not just 'come upon us' like in the OT. He's not just
'with' us. He is 'in' us! Our body is His temple!
Why does God place His Spirit in us when we get saved?
1. As a mark of ownership.
Ephesians 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of
redemption.
We are stamped with His seal of ownership. [like a brand]
2. As a promise of heaven.
It's not presumptuous to say you know you are going to heaven, so long as
you base that on what Christ did for you, and not what you have done.
Ephesians 1:13-14
13 In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the
gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were
sealed with that holy Spirit of promise,
14 Which is the earnest [down payment] of our inheritance until the
redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.
God: "I'm so sure THIS ONE is going to heaven, that I will advance you the
Holy Spirit as a down payment [earnest money]"
For God to send me to hell He would have to send the Holy Spirit to
hell. [not gonna happen!]
3. As a means to overcome our flesh.
Galatians 5:16
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the
flesh.
We don't get victory over sin by mere willpower, but by the power of the
Spirit. When a believer continues to live a life of sin, it is not because
the HAS TO, but because he WANTS TO. Anytime we choose we can draw on the
Spirit's power ... the power to say no!
4. As an intercessor for our prayers.
Romans 8:26
26 Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we
should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for
us with groanings which cannot be uttered.
Sometimes there's no words, but the feelings are there, and we can lay those
burdens on God's back as well. Tears are a language that God understands!
5. As a fruit bearer.
Galatians 5:22-23
22 But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, longsuffering,
gentleness, goodness, faith,
23 Meekness, temperance: against such there is no law.
These aren't qualities we must seek to possess. These are the fruit which
we naturally bear when filled with the Spirit. [not simply indwelt, but
surrendering full control]
ill.--an apple tree bears apples by its very nature. It does not struggle
to produce, so long as it has nutrients to draw on and deliver. So, don't
be a sap ... let the Spirit of God flow thru you. He is the vine, we are
the branches!
6. As our teacher and guide.
We don't have to be super smart or highly educated. We just have to be
teachable. Are you? If not, your growth stops right there.
ill.--we should honor all our teachers. They exist to help us learn. Let's
show them appreciation now!
I only had one mean teacher, Ms. Madden [mad dog]. She was so mean.
We put tacks on her chair and snakes in her drawer. She was really mean!
A girl in our class brought her a boxed gift for teacher
appreciation day. Her dad owned a flower shop. Ms. Madden sniffed it and
asked, is it roses? No. Lilies? No. What is it? Tulips!
A boy whose dad owned a candy shop brought a box. She smelled the
box and asked, is it chocolate covered cherries? No. Buckeyes? No. What
is it? Chocolate covered almonds!
Another boy whose dad owned a Starbucks brought up his box and a
little warm fluid was leaking out. Ms. Madden licked her fingers and asked,
Is that French vanilla? No. Is it hazelnut? No. What is it? It's a
puppy!
That didn't really happen, but if it did, it couldn't have happened to a
nicer person than Ms. Madden!
v. 13 The deep truths about God are concealed from the world and
revealed to His people.
We live in a postmodern society where the masses place much importance on
reason and understanding. They believe that "You can know all there is to
know with the power of your intellect."
ill.--Bill Maher is a devoted atheist, motivated anti-Christian, and capital
J Jerk. He said, "We are unenlightened because of religion...I believe it
stops people from thinking." He is saying that you can either be an
intellectual or a Christian, but not both. He continued, "Christians,
infected with delusional beliefs, think and reason like schizophrenics or
temporal lobe epileptics, their morality is dictated by an invisible friend
called Jesus."
He paints us as being stupid people who set our brains on the shelf
and choose to believe in a fairy tale because it makes us feel better.
Why does he genuinely believe this? Because everything God reveals to us
about His nature is contrary to the philosophies of this world. Worldly
wisdom and Godly wisdom are always at odds with one another.
The deep truths about God are concealed from the world and revealed
to His people. Only the Holy Spirit can guide us into all truth, as v. 13
says.
"Supernatural revelation" [turn to 1 cor. 2]
1 Corinthians 2:10-11
10 But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit: for the Spirit
searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
11 For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is
in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.
No one knows a man like he knows himself. You can't know what's truly
inside like that person knows.
It matters not how high your IQ is, you can't know what's inside of me. The
only way you'll know what's inside is if I choose to reveal it to you.
ill.--I'm thinking about something right now...guess what it is. [several
have guessed, but they were all way off]
In the same way, just as I have the ability to conceal or reveal things, God
has the same ability. Back up one verse and we see...
1. The limitations of man's wisdom
1 Corinthians 2:9
But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love
him.
This is often misunderstood in regards to heaven and eternity. It's a good
application, but that's not the interpretation. In context, this is talking
about the wisdom of God's truths...the deep things of God!
There is a realm of truth that you will never see with human eyes or hear
with human ears or understand with the human heart. [these things are
beyond observation/information/contemplation]
ill.--the advent of the telescope and microscope opened up new worlds to
humanity, but no lens can reveal truths about God. It takes an entirely
different focus to see it, and we don't possess a strong enough prescription
unless we have the Spirit within us to guide us to those truths.
ill.--imagine you are witnessing to someone about God and they say, "I just
can't see it." Don't be disappointed in them...they speak the truth. They
CAN'T SEE IT! They need spiritual eyes.
Trying to win them to the Lord without the Spirit opening their eyes
is like trying to explain how the world looks to a man born blind / explain
music and sound to one born deaf.
John 6:44
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent me draw him...
1 Corinthians 2:14
But the natural man receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God: for they
are foolishness unto him: neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned.
And so, they can't see it with salvation. Also, you'll have the same
trouble when explaining any spiritual belief to them...such as the sanctity
of life. You say, "I believe abortion is wrong, EVEN in the case of rape or
incest." And the world gasps! They go berserk at how ridiculous we are
thinking! "How could you subject a girl to giving birth under such
reprehensible circumstances?"
But when you have your eyes opened to Godly wisdom you realize it
runs the opposite of worldly wisdom. "The circumstances surrounding the
conception of a child do not determine the value of the innocent child."
Try to get them to agree with your position on homosexuality and see if they
can understand. Do the same with evolution and creation, or any spiritual
subject. You'll spin your wheels a long time unless and until the Spirit of
God opens their eyes! They need a supernatural revelation. No amount of
proof, facts, logic or reasoning will make the difference.
This is how a man can be a genius, intellectually speaking, and be
spiritually ignorant.
ill.--John Lennon of the Beatles was a genius. He was a musical, poetic
genius, no question about it. But here is what he had to say about
spiritual matters: "Christianity will go. It will vanish and shrink. I
needn't argue about that; I'm right, and I will be proven right. We are more
popular than Jesus now; I don't know which will go first -- rock'n'roll or
Christianity." Folks, Lennon has been dead for decades, and Christianity
lives on!
He was a genius, and yet had no spiritual understanding. The
smartest person in the room can't know what I'm thinking unless I reveal it.
ill.--in John 3, Jesus is talking to a very smart man, Nicodemus, a
ruler/judge who was in line to replace Gamaliel, the great teacher of
Israel. He was the equivalent of a double PhD. Many believe that Nicodemus
engineered the elaborate water system of Jerusalem. He was brilliant with
an IQ off the charts no doubt, and when Jesus told him he had to be born
again he couldn't grasp it.
This is the limitation of man's wisdom.
2. The revelation of God's wisdom.
1 Corinthians 2:7-8
7 But we speak the wisdom of God in a mystery, even the hidden wisdom, which
God ordained before the world unto our glory:
8 Which none of the princes of this world knew: for had they known it, they
would not have crucified the Lord of glory.
'Mystery' in the Bible is not what we think today, like a mystery novel
where you're trying to figure out 'who dunnit'. Because a Sherlock Holmes
with a keen intellect can unravel a mystery like that. In the Bible, a
mystery is a sacred truth which remains hidden until God chooses to reveal
it. It is unsearchable!
For instance, the church age was a mystery, never alluded to in your OT, and
only revealed when God showed it to the Apostle Paul.
Early in Jesus' ministry He asked His disciples, "Who do men say I am?"
They said, some say you're John the Baptist or a resurrected Elijah or
Jeremiah. Peter stepped up and said, "Thou art the Christ, the son of the
living God!" Jesus said, you're right Peter, and you didn't figure that out
on your own. You had help from the Father in heaven! [supernatural
revelation]
Tonight, spiritual illumination!
Our text says the Spirit guides us into all truth. That's our only hope of
being right, and our only protection against error!
http://gbcdecatur.org/sermons/SupernaturalRevelation.html
