No Power Without Purity — Gerhard Du Toit

I would like to say this morning it's a wonderful privilege and a blessing to be able to share with you in these two morning sessions and also this evening I was born and brought up here in South Africa and we spent, then went to spend eight years in the British Isles in Scotland and up in the islands and the highlands of Scotland across in Ireland, studied in Cape Town and then the last 22 years my wife and myself and our daughter live in the west coast of Canada.

I mean if you are here this morning and you complain about cold we just say listen welcome to humanity you know because I sometimes lecture in places in Alaska where it's minus 60 in the winter and so if you want to go fishing up there that time of the year it's going to take you a whole day to dig a hole in the ice to put your boat in you know so it's just one of those things but it's wonderful to be here.

I almost said to the Lord this morning in my choir time I for the last five weeks has been speaking in this foreign tribal language of Afrikaans and I almost this morning felt I had to relearn to speak in English again.

My wife is a typical calm cool calculated Canadian and she only knows two sentences in Afrikaans. The first one is I get your buyer by a leaf and the second one is a buyer by a good Bobby on and so you know where we are in North America they say opposite to track each other and then they attack each other you know but we never had any need of counseling the last 22 years because those two statements just does it you know and but it's wonderful wonderful to be with you.

If you want to pray for us you know we live here in Western Canada about 45 minutes outside of Vancouver but I also have a privilege to be involved in in about 30 to 40 countries mostly on on the theology of prayer seminaries and Bible colleges and and sometimes with as many as 40 or 50 60 churches that we bring together and cities for a week of prayer and I just spent time in the land of Peru we travel to North Eastern Europe Western Europe of course and then the UK and then South America and Africa countries like New Zealand and Australia.

Our daughter if you want to pray for us just went to study in New Zealand. In fact she's on a mission strip in Fiji at the moment and then she's going to study theology in New Zealand and we are back there next year I don't know if you know this I almost am afraid to tell you this because people think I'm not a true South African which I am the only reason why I live in Western Canada is because God has put us there.

My wife often said to me daddy if God wants us to come back wants you to come back to South Africa we'll be with you but you know just in North America we've got about a million South Africans we've got close to 5 ,000 doctors and people in the medical field just in Canada.

I'm sometimes in the church where they could be 30 South African families and I would just get up and say to them most of them are doctors and I would say to the people how many of you recognize this accent and then a whole bunch of hands would go up because their doctors are South Africans and so I said to them if you don't treat me well these days you're going to end up with seven flu injections for the fall and then you know they're just so wonderful to me these Canadians but my daughter you know I had this picture we were in Peru some time ago with about 6 ,000 Christian leaders and pastors brought them together for four days of prayer in the city of Lima the last night I asked him to pray for us and I said to them I want you to pray for us and I showed them this picture of Monica and I said the first young man that wants to come and visit her needs to spend a week with me in prayer and fasting.

Well there were 11 pastor's sons and I thought oh brother. And then they said to me we don't just want to meet her we want to pray with you. And so then I changed it to 40 days prayer and fasting no water so no one else has ever tried to manage that but we appreciate you know I don't have time this morning because our time is so limited and we want to get into the Word of God.

Revival, Brokenness, and the Presence of God

Let me mention to you just this evening when you come I hope to deal with the subject of the Holy Spirit in his ministry as it relates to the presence of God. You know we only have one life to live and only that which is done for Christ is going to last.

And it cost us more to be outside of the will of God than it will cost us to be inside of the will of God. And so this evening I want us to speak about this subject what does it mean to live a life under the unction and the anointing of the Holy Spirit of God.

You see brother and sister we can't go from our experiences of God to the exposition of Scripture. If you're going to do that there's the possibility that we would isolate God's Word and we will interpret God's Word in the light of experience.

And we can't do that. We see the fallout today in evangelical circles of some of the most weird things that you can think about that is taking place in the name of God. I want to tell you this morning I've been in revival twice in my life and revival is not a series of special services.

Revival is what Jonathan Edwards referred to when he said that the countryside was ablaze with the presence of God and revival touched the man on the street. And I need to tell you this morning from a theological perception that if God sends revival you won't fall on your back.

You will fall on your face if God sends revival you won't have people running around doing all kinds of strange things. When God sends revival we will be broken before God. And you know there's a burden on my heart for South Africa.

You know if we would have dealt with prayer in the Old Testament this morning because there are 11 Hebrew words that is speaking to us about prayer. And one of the great concepts of the Old Testament as it relates to prayer is when the Bible speaks about the burden of the Lord.

And when the prophet in the Old Testament said the burden of the Lord was upon me it's the Hebrew word Masau. And if you have time to explore what the burden of God is what is the burden of God doing to us when we come to intercessory prayer discover how the burden of God brings brokenness.

And our brokenness is not emotion. It's a lifestyle of absolute submissiveness to God. And our brokenness brings cleansing. And how cleansing when God purify us as his people. How the spirit of God in our lives becomes not just resident but president.

And how the spirit of God leads us to a spirit of prayer. And how the spirit of prayer leads us to the will of God in prayer. And how the will of God in prayer is surrounded with the promises of God in prayer.

That's why Jesus said in Luke chapter 11. If you then who are evil know how to give good gifts unto your children how much more shall your heavenly father give the Holy Spirit to those that ask him. And in the construction of the Greek language it's really emphatic you know because what he is saying is that how much more shall your heavenly father.

And it's in the present imperative mood how much more shall your heavenly father keep on giving the Holy Spirit to those who ask him. So when you are with us tonight I trust you will I want us to explore this subject.

How do I live a Christian life that demands a supernatural explanation. Why was it that my brother and sister in the life of Christ that everywhere that came from his lips never neutralize people they knew exactly where they stood with him.

That's why they were able to say no man ever spoke like this man. And so I trust that you will be with us this evening. I wish this morning I would have a time to share with you about countries where we go to Romania, Albania, Croatia and just some of the countries that is poverty is so brutal.

I wish I can take you into the underground church in China where 80 of the pastors has been arrested during the last 12 months. Take you to the countryside of China and introduce you to a little Chinese pastor with the nickname of One Tooth.

He only has one tooth left. He's been arrested so many times and abused by the secret police in China. And when my friend Garth Hunt was with him in a village in China some time ago Garth turned to him and he said listen how can we pray for you.

And he turned to my friend and he said to him you know we only have one problem in this village. And Garth said to him what is the difficulty and what is the problem. And the Chinese pastor turned to him and he said the only problem in this village is simply this there is no one in this village that needs to become a Christian.

And Garth said to him what do you mean. He said every single one of them has been born of the spirit of God. I wonder what will happen in South Africa if this takes place in our country. It's an amazing thing when you are out of the country and I come back every two years to lecture in Afrikaans and some English speaking places.

It's an amazing thing to come back and to see what's happening in our country. My brother and my sister we desperately need a move of God and I'm not interested in churches full of people. The burden of my heart is to see churches that will be full of people that will be full of God and that cost absolutely everything.

Urasius Bunar the great Puritan used to say he was a great friend of Robert Murray McChane and Robert Murray McChane used to say so much of my time of praying is preparing myself how to pray. McChane of Scotland used to say how can the Holy Spirit in me criticize the Holy Spirit in you.

And Urasius Bunar used to say I went to look for the church and I found it in the world. And I went to look for the world and I found it in the church. I hope there is a distinction this morning in our relationships with God because of the fact that we are precious to Him.

The Sermon on the Mount: Character and Conduct

I want you to turn with me in your Bible to Matthew chapter 5 if you will and just for the sake of our time why don't we just read a few verses would you mind if we stand for the reading of the word of God we change our positions.

Matthew chapter 5 and let's read a few verses from chapter 5 and just a couple of verses from the 6th chapter. Matthew chapter 5 verse number 1. And seeing the multitudes, Jesus went up into a mountain, and when He was set, His disciples came unto Him, and He opened His mouth, and He taught them, saying, Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are they that mourn, for they shall be comforted. Blessed are the meek, for they shall inherit the earth. Blessed are they which do hunger, and they thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled.

Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God. Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when men shall revile you and shall persecute you and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely for my sake. Now chapter 6 of Matthew verse number 5. The Lord Jesus said,. And when you pray, you shall not be as the hypocrites are, for they love to pray standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets, that they may be seen of men.

I say unto you that they have received their reward. But you, when you pray, enter into your closet, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father which is in secret, and your Father which seeth in secret shall reward you openly.

Heavenly Father, we just want to pray this morning as we will take some time to consider the greatness of your word. And we are so grateful that God has given unto us his word. We are reminded that the Lord Jesus said unto us that heaven and earth shall pass away, but my word shall abide forever.

We are reminded that you have said unto us that is my word not like a hammer that is able to break the rock? Is my word not like a fire? We are reminded that the Apostle Paul said to his son in the faith, the young man whom he invested his life when he said to Timothy, Study to show yourself a proof unto God, a workman not needeth to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth.

And that he said to Timothy that all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and it is profitable for reproof and for correction and for instruction in righteousness. And Father, we want to submit ourselves under the authority of your word.

The fact that you have said to us, If my people which have been called by my name shall humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven, and I will forgive their sin and I will heal their land.

And our Father God, we are thy people. We have been called by thy name, and we want to humble ourselves this Sunday morning before your throne. And we are so conscious this morning as Oswald Chambers used to say, that the ministry of humbling ourselves is not just a discipline, but that God wants it to become a disposition.

And Father, we want to submit ourselves to you. And Father God, we long to hear from heaven. And we have come this Sunday morning because we don't want to see a church just full of people. But oh God, we long to see a church that will be full of people that will be full of God.

And we do not want experiences that is going to be a mile wide and an inch deep. But we really want God to plow into every aspect of our relationships with him, because we are so precious to you. And so Father, we pray with a puritance of oath this Sunday morning, oh that we would not just be informed by the reality of scripture.

But God our Father, we pray that we will be inflamed, and that you will build up Christian character in every aspect of our relationships with you. Bless us, we pray, in Jesus' name. Amen. You may be seated.

It's very significant if you would study the Gospel of Matthew, that you will somehow come to the realization that in Matthew's Gospel, do we discover that Christ spent most of his time in what we would consider as Galilee.

And the reason why I'm saying that this morning is simply on the basis that the Bible is saying to us in Matthew, chapter 4, that after these things Jesus departed into Galilee. And right from Matthew, chapter 4, until the beginning of the 19th chapter, will you discover that the scriptures is saying to us, after these things Jesus departed out of Galilee.

And if you and I would take time to systematically study that 1071 wonderful verses in the Gospel of Matthew, you will come to the realization that you probably will come across three aspects of the ministry of the Lord Jesus.

First of all, you will discover what Dr. Sidlow Baxter referred to as that which the Lord Jesus Christ taught. In other words, the teachings of Christ. Recognizing that preaching challenges the will and teaching informs the mind.

Then we come across that which the Lord Jesus Christ wrought. That is taking us to the miracles of Christ from chapter 8 right through to the 10th chapter of the Gospel of Matthew. And from chapter 11 to chapter 18, do we come across that which the Lord Jesus Christ taught.

In other words, the reactions that came from the lips of the Savior, as men and women would respond it to the preaching and the teachings of Christ. I'm concerned this morning in the little time that we have available for us to look at some of these teachings of Christ.

Discipleship Through the Teaching of Christ

And I need to give you a little illustration out of the Greek New Testament. Because it's really emphatic for us to be able to understand this. And this is what I would like to say to you. That it seems to us that when the Lord Jesus Christ saw those multitudes of people.

That he realized that the only possible way that it will be possible for him to reach those multitudes of people. Was going to be through the lives of those early disciples. That's why the picture that is coming unto us is that when he saw them.

That he called his disciples unto him and he began to teach his disciples. You see my brother and my sister, there was a reason why Christ in John chapter 14 to 16. When he introduced to those early disciples the ministry of the Holy Spirit.

That he said unto them it is to your advantage that I go away. Because he said if I do not go away the comforter will not be able to come to you. And then he made this profound statement and he said but when the comforter will come.

He said you will do greater things than me. And so what we are really want to say to ourselves this morning. Is that it will cost us more to miss the will of God for our lives than it will cost us to find it.

That you and I as a Christian we are not able to take people further spiritually than we are ourselves. That we are only able to impart to men and women that which we possess in our relationships with God.

And from the fact that 75 of our growth as Christians will be determined by what we learn or what we read. And also that God is in the process of building up Christian character although we are born with a personality.

And so the setting was important, it was a mountain. The speaker was important because it was a historical voice of authority that came from the lips of Christ. It was a dynamic voice of authority because no one ever spoke like this man.

It was a prophetic voice of authority because he spoke into the lives of people. May I say to you this morning my brother and my sister. When you and I would study the Sermon on the Mount. You know one of my great difficulties with the Christian world today as we travel to many many countries.

And sometimes find myself doing conferences with a man with the name of Rabbi Zachariah. But one of the things that I'm astonished by is the fact that we know so much about the word of God. And yet God's word knows so little about us.

And so when we come to the Sermon on the Mount. The Sermon on the Mount is not a set of rules and regulations. The Sermon on the Mount is the fulfillment of the law of the spirit of life that we read about in Romans chapter 8.

In your life and in my life. Now you sit here this morning you say, so what is this all about? Well it's very significant. Because the Beatitudes is speaking about the imputed righteousness of God. And the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is dealing with the imparted righteousness of God.

How the imputed righteousness of God becomes part of my relationship with God. The Beatitudes is dealing with Christian character. And the rest of the Sermon on the Mount is unfolding to us the great reality of that which Christian conduct is all about.

The Blessing of the Beatitudes and the New Birth

I want us in the few minutes that we have available to concentrate on just one or two aspects of the greatness of the teachings of Christ. And let me start with the very first word. You see the Lord Jesus when he looked upon those early disciples.

My brother and my sister he did not look at their infirmities. He did not concentrate on their weaknesses. But he turned to those early disciples. And he began with what we would consider as the abundance of the blessings of God.

He turned upon them and he said to them, bless it. I want to tell you something this morning and this morning's service. I want you to know that you are really important to God. I want you to know that there is no one like you.

I want you to know this morning that if you are the only person on this planet earth. That your life is so vital for God. That he still would have sent his son so that you would be able to have life and abundance of life.

And I want you to let you know that God wants you to be blessed. That God has got a plan for your life. And that you need to find it and you need to follow it. And my brother and my sister you need to finish it.

And so when you go and I've got a great love for the Greek New Testament. You know Dr. F .P. Meyer used to say, I read no other New Testament than the Greek New Testament. But there is this wonderful word that refers to the understanding of this word, bless it.

It comes from that blessed island. It's called, it's the word Makarios. And if you and I would take the word blessed. And we would systematically go through the scriptures. You will discover that the word blessed is speaking to us about two possibilities.

It is speaking to us about the incoming and the indwelling of God the Holy Spirit. And then it's focusing us not just on the incoming and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. But it's focusing on part of our inheritance which is the infilling of God the Holy Spirit.

Now let me explain to you what I'm trying to say. You see it's quite possible that you are here in this morning service. And you do not know Christ as your personal savior. If you die today and you need to stand in the presence of God.

Is there no reason why he would allow you to come into his kingdom. Because you have never received Christ as your personal savior. You say, why do you say that? Well let me explain to you something. I was saved while I was studying theology.

I was brought up in the Dutch Reformed Church here in South Africa. And as we were brought up in the church we had no concept of what does it mean to be born of the spirit of God. I mean we were real Dutch Reformers you know.

In fact you know we used to say on the farm that our ducks wouldn't even bark on a Sunday afternoon. I mean that's the way that we were brought up you know. And I went to study theology. And when I went to study theology at the end of my first year.

A fellow student turned to me on a Sunday night and he said to me. He said, Gerard if you die tonight where will you spend eternity? And I said, well I must be a Christian. I mean I'm studying theology.

I love God's word. I was brought up with the scriptures and all those things. And then he turned to me. And he said to me, but do you have a witness of the spirit of God that you are born again? And I had no idea what he was speaking about.

And that Sunday night in that room on my own I went alone. And three o 'clock the next morning God revealed to me my last condition. Do you know what? I was missing heaven by 18 inches. I had it all in my mind.

I had a passion for theology. But I had no personal experience of God. And three o 'clock that morning I asked him to come into my life. That Monday morning when we stood in our lecture room and one of our professors gave us a hymn to sing.

As we were singing that hymn, the spirit of God be a witness with my spirit that I was a child of God. I remember I stood in our lecture room that morning in Cape Town and I grabbed that student who asked me the previous night.

I took his arm and I turned to him and I said to him, I'm saved by the grace of God and I know it. And can I tell you something this morning my brother and sister? In my quiet time this morning it was as fresh as it was more than 30 years ago.

Let me tell you a huge theological error. There are times in my life when I'm so excited about this that I would say to God I wish I can be saved all over again. And I wonder this morning if I can ask you.

Do you are the witness of God the Holy Spirit that you are born again? Saved by the greatness of the blood of Christ. Receive the wonders of the new life in Christ. In North America where I live, it takes me about 3 to 4 hours to lead people to Christ.

You say why does it take you so much time? Because if you are a Christian and you lead someone to Christ, you are doing the most important thing that any person on this planet will ever be able to do.

And it takes me about 3 hours. You say what happens? We sit down with two Bibles and I systematically take them through God's plan of salvation. We look at man's condition that it's lost. Look at God's provision that Christ came.

We look at man's responsibility in the doctrine of repentance. And then we look at God's promise which is eternal life. And it takes me about 3 hours to systematically do that. And sometimes I go through, it could be 150 passages of scripture.

I let them read it, we discuss it. I make sure that the mind is satisfied by the word of God. That the heart is stirred by the Spirit of God. And that the decision to become a follower of Christ is taking place in the realm of the will.

Pastor asked me some time ago and said, Why do you need to spend so much time with people that want to come to Christ? Do you know what I said to him? It saved me so much time in the future. I don't have to run after them to see if they are half born.

If we are dealing with a spiritual abortion. And when you begin to speak about discipleship. And when you begin to speak about accountability. And when you speak about the place of God's word. Sometimes there is just nothing.

And so you see what I said, you see it's the word blessed. I was in Macedonia some time ago at the missions conference. And there were about 450 missionaries from Eastern Europe together. And the first night after the service a Dutch missionary came to me.

He was a missionary for about 25 years. And we sat down and I said to him, how can I help you? Well he said, you know I need to tell you something. I said, what is it? He said, I don't understand the word that you are saying about the Holy Spirit.

And I looked at him and I said to him, I'm so sorry to hear that. But would you mind to share with me your testimony. And you know he began to share with me his testimony. And he came out of the Dutch Reformed Church in Holland.

And as I listened to that you know there was no life. And I said, well you know you are Dutch. And I said, the Dutch people in Canada are saying to me that if you are Dutch, you are wearing wooden shoes and you've got a wooden head and you wouldn't listen.

And he kind of looked at me and said, well I guess you're right about that one. But I said to him, my friend, I said, would you mind, do you want me to explain to you what does it mean to be born from above?

And he said, I want you to do that. And for three hours I sat to this missionary of 25 years in Macedonia. And I systematically went through God's plan of salvation. And when we came to around 12 o 'clock that night, he turned to me and he said to me, Gerard, he said, I need to tell you that I've never been born of the Spirit of God.

God gloriously saved him that evening. That's what this word is all about. Now, let me go a little step further if I may. You see, it's not just speaking to us about the incoming of the Holy Spirit. It's not just speaking to us about the indwelling of the Holy Spirit.

But it's speaking to us about our inheritance as it relates to the fullness of the Spirit of God. I want to explain to you exactly what I'm trying to say. You see, my brother and my sister, when we are speaking about the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit of God is not an eat.

The Holy Spirit of God is not a manifestation. The Holy Spirit of God is not an influence. The Holy Spirit of God is a person. And the Holy Spirit of God never ever speaks about himself or about what he does, is that he brings us back to the Word of God, and his ministry is to bring us to the life of Christ.

And so you sit here this Sunday morning and you say, well, I know that I'm a Christian. I know that I'm a trichotomy. That God has given unto me a body to make me conscious of this environment. God has given unto me a soul to make me conscious of myself.

And God has given unto me a spirit so that he can make me conscious of himself. And you say, I know that I've been born of the Spirit of God. You see, if we are saying this Sunday morning that God the Holy Spirit is a person, then you and I need to recognize that when we speak about the personality of the Holy Spirit, that we are speaking about the mind of the Spirit.

That we are speaking about the will of the Spirit. And that we are speaking about the emotions of God the Holy Spirit. It's a wonderful word in the Greek language, you know, when Paul said, the Spirit of God grown within us.

In Romans chapter 8. It's a great word in the Greek language because it's the word, And so we discover the personality of the Holy Spirit. And so my brother and my sister, when you and I receive Christ, and the Spirit of God came and be a witness of our spirit, that we are a child of God, what actually happens is that we receive the person of the Holy Spirit.

Now you can't divide a personality. In other words, that when He came into my life, I did not receive a little part of the Holy Spirit because He is a person. But you know what happens to so many of us?

You are able to sit here this morning and say, you know Gerard, I know that the Spirit of God is in my life. I know it's right that you say that I've received Him as a person. But you know my brother and sister, there are some of us, and the Spirit of God is in my life, and He's resident there, and yet He has never become president.

You say, what are you saying? There's the possibility that there are areas of my life that has never been surrendered to God. There must be a reason why the Apostle Paul is saying to us, in Romans chapter 12, I beseech you by the mercies of God, that you present your bodies as a living sacrifice unto God.

And then he said, now why is he saying that? He said, this is your reasonable service. And then he said, be not conformed to this world, but he said, be transformed by the renewing of your mind. So what Paul is saying, it's going to be confirmation or transformation.

And then he said, I beseech you by the mercies of God. You know, I love the Apostle Paul, that when Paul said in Romans chapter 8, the Spirit of God help our infirmities, and people say to me, so how do I discover the infirmities?

And I said, just go to the first 25 verses and they're all there. And when he said in Romans chapter 12, I beseech you by the mercies of God, and people say, what are the mercies of God? I said, just go to the first 11 chapters, and you discover the mercies of God.

The building up of the understanding of justification by faith, sanctification by faith, the greatness of the supremacy of God. And he brings us to the 12th chapter, and he said, you don't have an option.

Absolute Surrender and the Christian Life

Can I ask you this morning, you know, I was greatly influenced by Dr. Martin Lloyd-Jones when I was in Britain. And you know, he was one of my great heroes. He spent 14 years preaching through Romans.

He spent 8 years in Ephesians. I don't want your pastor to hear that, because he probably will try to do the same. But you know, he spent 8 years in Ephesians, and it was a standing thing to say in the British Isles those days, that Martin Lloyd-Jones began to preach out of Ephesians.

Young people got married, they went to the mission field, they came back with children, and he was in chapter 1, verse 3. I don't think it was true, by the way. But I wonder this morning if I can ask you.

My brother and my sister, is your life at God's disposal? You say, what are you speaking about? Let me explain to you. It's my life and its relationships. I need to surrender them to God. It's my mind and its thoughts.

You see, everything that I read as a Christian, I'm forcing the Holy Spirit of God to read it with me. It's my heart and its affections. I need to surrender them to God. It's my body and its instincts.

I need to surrender them to God. It's my personality and its prejudice. I need to surrender them to God. You say, what is it? It's absolute surrender to God. You say, pastor, what is it going to cost me?