How Spiritual are you? (Part 2)

Thanks for tuning in to No Compromise Radio with pastor and author, Dr. Mike Avendroff. Today on No Compromise Radio, we'll be hearing

Pastor Mike open the Word of God in a recent message he preached at Bethlehem Bible Church in West Boylston, Massachusetts.

Now let's join Pastor Mike in progress as he preaches through the Scriptures verse by verse with No Compromise.

Second Peter chapter 1 verse 16, for we did not follow cleverly devised myths when we made known to you the power and coming of our

Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. What's he talking about there, remember?

Transfiguration? Can you imagine being there? That'd be pretty interesting. That'd be flooring.

For when he received honor and glory from God the Father and the voice was born to him by majestic glory, not just eyewitnessing but earwitnessing, this is my beloved

Son with whom I am well pleased. Can you imagine Peter, James, and John, they're there, they're listening, they're seeing.

Are they experiencing it? Is it in their gizzard? Is it in their gut? Is it in their mind? Is it made up?

This is external, outside of themselves, real experience. For we ourselves emphatically heard this very voice born from heaven.

We were with him on the holy mountain. What made the mountain holy? Jesus was there and we have the prophetic word more fully confirmed, or the more sure word.

What is it more fully confirmed? Against what is it more fully confirmed?

What's it more sure than? The experience. The word is more than the experience of actually seeing

Jesus on the mountain. One writer said Peter's point is precisely the issue that many charismatics fail to understand.

The pilgrimage from experience to experience and more and more spectacular is not only frustrating, it is counterproductive spiritually.

Peter says, I had an experience, a real one, but I have a more sure word than my own senses.

I can't even trust my own senses in a real experience of seeing the glory of Christ.

That's why it says at the end of verse 19, do you see it in 2 Peter 1, to which you do well to pay attention.

Talking about the word. As to a shining lamp in a dark place until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your heart.

To study the scriptures, to be governed by them, to meditate on them. Yes, but you just haven't experienced the gift,

Mike, therefore you don't know. Faulty hermeneutics, Fred Zaspel said, without exception.

Each time I have endeavored to show that the one who believes that miraculous and revelatory gifts are for today, that the word of God teaches these gifts are no longer given to the church, the response is, but I've seen it happen, but it happened to me.

How can you deny that? How can sincere Christians be wrong?

The fact of the matter is someone is wrong. Whether or not he is sincere, he may be sincerely wrong, but wrong nonetheless.

This is what I have tried to point out to the man with my reply. What saith the scriptures?

Let's just give you another one right off the top of my head. Heaven is for real. Who believes heaven is for real?

I believe heaven is for real. Why do you believe heaven is real? Because in the little yellow book it says it.

Some kid was oxygen deprived and he went up to heaven and talked to God and did a bunch of stuff that the Bible says is contradictory to his word, but it happened, it's for real, and for $35 you can go to the auditorium in Nebraska and meet that young man.

I just was in Nebraska a while ago, right down the street almost, actually they don't have streets in this part of Nebraska, it was like a country road, where this young boy was, heaven is for real.

He's talking about things that aren't true about heaven, and he said, I've experienced it therefore it must be true.

I reject all that. He didn't go to heaven. You go, boy, that doesn't sell a lot of books.

Well, that's true, it doesn't sell a lot of books, but you can't say I've gone to heaven and describe things about heaven that aren't in the

Bible or actually anti -Bible. You say, well, he experienced it, how can it be wrong? You can experience all kinds of things, just turn down the oxygen a little bit and you'll experience a lot of things.

I'm not kidding. Isn't it funny when you preach, and earlier I thought you might giggle a little bit, but I wasn't expecting giggling there at all.

You're giggling in the spirit now. Wait till the word gets out. Second Corinthians makes it clear.

This is what the Bible teaches about heaven, and Paul said, I can't even talk about it because it's so wild.

Yet some kid in Nebraska with a charismatic father says, oh yeah, that's what it is, let's write a book, and it's a million -seller.

People are saying God is using it. Well, God uses donkeys too, that doesn't make any difference at all.

How do I know anything? The Bible teaches it. And the more you dabble with watching

TBN and all this other crazy stuff, I'm not talking about some solid scholars whom I respect, whether it's a

Gordon Fee or a Wayne Grudem, but you're over here on the fringe and you're dabbling with that, you are just going to become more and more confused because the authority doesn't go back to what the

Bible says the authority goes back to, I need to have an experience. If you want to be confused, read wild charismatic stuff and watch wild charismatic stuff and you'll be very confused.

You say, well, it's helped me, these people were kind to me. Charismatics have been kind to me, that's not the point, but what does the

Bible teach? Paul says to the church of Corinth, stop being led around like you used to be led around by your feelings.

And I have my friends who are charismatic and that's exactly where they are, running around led by their feelings, intuitions, impressions, and everything else.

Have an impression, have an intuition, but they're just fallible. There's more to say, so let's go to truth two.

Truth two about charismatics, spiritual gifts, introductory things, one, the

Bible can tell you clearly what the truth is, there need to be no more confusion, two, the

Holy Spirit gives gifts to the church to highlight Jesus. Everything was so far just an introduction.

This is where we get down to the really wonderful focus. How do you know you're spiritual?

When I grew up in the church, it was, I try to speak in tongues, I couldn't speak in tongues.

I did everything I could. It was like trying to ride some Triumph or BMW motorcycle or Harley, and I'm just trying to kickstart that thing and kickstart that thing and kickstart that thing, trying to do it.

Because I was told, you want to be on the in crowd, you want to be a really spiritual person, then you got to speak in tongues.

Don't you want to really be spiritual? Don't you want everything that God has for you? Don't you want to experience

God to the fullest? Then you better start jumpstarting that thing because you need that. That's my thinking. Do you know what

Paul's going to say here? The most spiritual thing anybody could ever do is say, Jesus Christ is the risen

Lord. That's the epitome of spirituality. There's nothing more spiritual than to say,

I used to think Jesus was a prophet. He used to be a good teacher. He used to be a liar or a lunatic or somebody else, but now he's my master.

He's my savior, substitutionary atonement, literal resurrection. Jesus is Lord. That's the height.

And by the way, that means every Christian has all that God has for him or her.

Let's look at the verse. Chapter 12, verse 3, therefore, I make known to you that no one speaking by the spirit of God says,

Jesus is accursed. Now, people would say that, especially in light of their

Jewish background and Deuteronomy 21, anyone hanging on a cross or on a tree is what?

Accursed? The Jews think that the Messiah is to be triumphant, and he was, but the

Messiah was to suffer first, and so Jews could easily say, he's cursed. But that's not the spirit of God making them say that, is it?

Is the Holy Spirit making people say, Jesus is accursed? Some say, even my old pastor would say, that it could be a possibility that people were standing up in the church of Corinth saying they're controlled by the spirit of God saying,

Jesus is to be damned. That'd make a short service. We have ushers for that.

People were claiming, I have the inside knowledge. Paul says, you know what the inside knowledge is?

If Jesus is your Lord and Savior. Some people say Jesus is accursed, and no one can say, take a look at the end of the verse there, chapter 12, verse 3,

Jesus is Lord, except by the Holy Spirit. Now, what does he say there?

You can't say the words? Well, many will say to me on that day, Lord, Lord, didn't we do all these great charismatic things?

And I'll say to you, I never knew you, depart from me, you who practice lawlessness. Can a pagan say,

Jesus is Lord? We're not talking about the words coming out of the mouth. You can make your computer talk, too,

Jesus is Lord, oh, it's the spirit of God working through my computer. It has nothing to do with that. I believe with all my heart, not just with intellect, not just with assent, but my true saving faith, believing

God with all his promises to back it up, that Jesus is Lord.

This is a confession of faith. Every Christian says Jesus is

Lord. This has nothing to do with prophetic utterance. Jesus is my King, he's the

Lord. And so if some people at Corinth say, we've got tongues, we've got healings, we're better than you,

Paul is trying to say, when speaking in tongues was true back here in the book of Corinth, those people who even have those gifts, when they were operating,

Paul says, they're not more spiritual than you are because the height of spirituality is when the Holy Spirit works in your heart and you say,

Jesus is my Lord. They're not better, you're equal.

Jesus is Lord. By the way, I have a question for you.

It says here in the text, in chapter 12, verse 3, no one can say Jesus is

Lord except by the Holy Spirit. What does that do for people who say,

I came to God by my own free will? Well, I hope it destroys their free will -ism because you're a slave to Satan, 2

Timothy chapter 2, you're enslaved to your own sin, Romans chapter 6, you're a slave to the world.

People say, oh, I have free will, free from external influences. You can't even watch a commercial about a steak without getting hungry, let alone any kind of spiritual things with Satan having you be captive to do his will, thinking you're free but bound.

But then one day you just say, you know what? You pick up the microphone and say, Jesus is God, I did it all my own. No, the only way you said

Jesus is God is because you were worked upon by the

Spirit of God. It didn't arise out of your will. The reason you can say

Jesus is Lord is because the Lord has worked in your heart through the Spirit of God, and Lydia says, about Lydia it says, he opened her heart.

God moves our wills, changes our will, transforms our will, and brings our will to say

Jesus is Lord. Anyone here come to Christ without the

Holy Spirit working in your life first? Of course not. Jesus is

Lord is the high point of the Christian testimony. Not speaking in tongues, the ultimate criteria of the

Spirit of God's working is saying Jesus is Lord in your life. So I have a question, if that's the epitome, that's the top, that's the apex, then why do some, not all, but why do some charismatics say they have the full gospel, we're a full gospel church?

What does that mean? I'll tell you what that means. That means you don't have the full gospel if you're a dry cessationist.

The full gospel, preaching

Jesus Christ and him crucified, is that not enough? Am I lacking in anything?

Romans chapter 8, he that spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us what?

All things. I have a challenge to my charismatic friends who believe that, not all again, some solid charismatic scholars these days, but to the ones that do deny it,

I ask them this question, can you tell me one single solitary thing that I need as a

Christian that's not found in Christ Jesus, the risen Savior? Is there one thing?

The answer is no. How about this? If the epitome of Christianity is

Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father, then do you need a second blessing?

What's a second blessing? I thought I was blessed with everything that I need, Ephesians chapter 1, blessed be the

God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.

I thought I was complete in him, Colossians 2 .9. You say, well, yeah, you might have the full gospel regarding Jesus and maybe you don't really have to have the baptism of the

Spirit, but you need to be filled with the Spirit. You need to speak in tongues to be filled with the Spirit. Well, I am filled with the

Spirit and the Spirit -filled person says Jesus is Lord and then their life exudes love, joy, peace.

Now let's look back at this text again for a second, 1 Corinthians chapter 12, verse 3.

No one can say Jesus is Lord except in the Holy Spirit. Now that word

Lord in the New Testament is the equivalent to Lord in the Old Testament, Kurios in the

New Lord, but it was used in place of Yahweh in the Old, right?

L -O -R -D, all caps in the Old. When you want to translate that and you're saying

I'm going to take Isaiah and it says all caps Yahweh in the Old Testament, I want to write it in the

New Testament, they write Kurios. Who can say Jesus is Yahweh without Spirit of God working?

That's what Paul is saying. Born of the Virgin, manifest in the flesh, truly

God, truly man. No wonder it says in Matthew 16, blessed art thou Simon Bar -Jonah, for flesh and blood has not revealed this to you but my

Father who is in heaven. 1 John chapter 4, hereby you know the

Spirit of God. Every spirit that confesses that Jesus has come in the flesh is of God. Whoever confesses that Jesus is the

Son of God, God dwells in him. This is a basic matter that you believe in the

Lordship of Christ Jesus. Remember the language back in the old days when people would say you just need to say

Nero is Lord and you could live? Nero, Kurios.

The faithful Christians would say Jesus Kurios, Jesus Kurios. Yesus.

Polycarp lost his life. The demand of pro -council, Quadratus said, say away with the atheists, swear by the

Godhood of Caesar and blaspheme Christ. And you know the response. Eighty and six years have

I served Christ and he has never done me wrong. How can I blaspheme my King who saved me? No one can say

Jesus is Lord and mean it without the Spirit of God working. Listen to this fascinating passage.

I won't even tell you where, just listen. When it was evening, he reclined at the table with the twelve and they were eating.

He said, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me. And they were very sorrowful and began to say to him one after another.

Is it I? What's the next word? Lord. Is it

I, Lord? One after another. You can imagine Peter. Is it I, Lord? Is it

I? Is it me? He answered. He who has dipped his hand in the dish with me will betray me.

The Son of Man goes as it is written of him. But woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.

It would have been better for that man if he had not been born. Judas, who would betray him, answered.

Is it I, Rabbi? Is it

I, Rabbi? He said to him, you have said so. Because no one can say

Jesus is Lord except by the Holy Spirit. Jesus' spirit was not in Judas. Is it

I, Rabbi? Turn with me to John chapter 15. We'll look at a couple passages and we need to wrap this up.

John chapter 15 and 16. Here's my question for you. If you're visiting today or if you have friends at a

Charismatic Church, here's what we're after and I think some Charismatic Churches do this very well. So it can't be anything but a general statement.

But the Holy Spirit's focus is to point to Christ Jesus. How do you know this is a

Holy Spirit -filled church? Your Charismatic friends, when they talk to you about Bethlehem Bible Church, do you ever say to them, we're a

Holy Ghost -filled church? I dare you to say that. Now, some people mean

Holy Ghost -filled that they can feel the Spirit of God through the drumbeat, Eric.

Other people because all kinds of gifts. But I just want to remind you with a couple of short verses that just like in chapter 12 of 1

Corinthians, verse 3, the Spirit of God's pleasure is to hide behind the corner, as it were, and point to Jesus.

Does he merit worship? Is he fully God? The answer is the

Spirit of God is fully God, but by his good condescending pleasure and own free will, he points to Jesus.

Spirit -filled churches preach Jesus Christ and him crucified. They're not always preaching, have this gift, have this slain, have this tongue, have this feeling, have this baptism, all regarding the

Holy Spirit because the Spirit of God isn't in that. The Spirit of God is pointing, look to Jesus. Now, look at John chapter 15, and you can see it even in Jesus' words.

John 15, as he's talking to the disciples, he's got to go. It's going to be bad when

Jesus isn't around, but Jesus very comfortingly says, but when the helper comes, John 15, 26, whom

I will send to you from the Father, the Spirit of truth, who proceeds from the

Father, he will, what, bear witness about me.

That's what the Spirit of God does. He bears witness to Jesus. Spirit -filled churches, how do you tell?

They've determined to know nothing among you except Jesus Christ and him crucified. And you will also bear witness because you have been with me from the beginning.

John 16, 14, please, there's an echo of the same truth. We are not going to have a

Holy Spirit focus here because it goes against the grain of Scripture. Those who say the

Spirit of God should be the focus, it's a Holy Ghost -filled church, I think they need to rethink these verses.

Verse 14 of John 16, he, speaking of the Spirit, will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you.

Now, some people have visited our church and they haven't made it past the music. They haven't heard the preaching because they've left because of the music.

It's not Spirit -filled enough. Now, if they would have just thought for a moment about these several verses, if the songs are, in Christ arose, my hope is built on Jesus Christ, whatever the songs are, there's no song called that.

I was trying to think of Solid Rock. It's harder than what it looks like, by the way.

My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and righteousness. Spirit of God just told me that.

No, I'm just kidding. If you read songs and they're all about Christ's life, death, resurrection, soon return, those are

Holy Spirit -filled songs. Now, how fast you want to sing them and what the backbeat is and all that, that's completely irrelevant.

Well, that's not a Holy Ghost -filled church, really. The most you can get is to say the pinnacle is,

Jesus is Lord. We all get together and we say, Jesus is our Lord and Savior. And we bow to him.

We are thankful to him. The exaltation of Christ Jesus. 1

Corinthians had said earlier, and because of him you are in Christ Jesus, who became to us wisdom from God, righteousness, sanctification, and redemption.

No wonder Paul preached in 2 Corinthians 4, for it is Christ Jesus as Lord whom we preach.

He's not even preaching the Holy Spirit. Where's Paul's Spirit of God sermon? Spirit of God sermon was every sermon because the

Spirit of God was working behind the scenes to Paul, in Paul, to say, preach Jesus. Holy Spirit -filled churches preach about Christ Jesus.

And by the way, we're going to learn next week that all, or in two weeks, that all the gifts you were given, no matter what they are, all should make you say,

Jesus is great. Jesus is God. Whether they're tongues, interpretation, healings, or anything else, they should all make the congregation and those watching redound to the glory that Jesus Christ is

Lord. That's why spiritual gifts exist. Spiritual gifts don't exist so that you can help in the nursery directly.

Helping in the nursery with the gift of helps should redound to the glory of the grace of Christ Jesus, my

Lord. That's why we're going to see in weeks to come, it's going to be so refreshing. You say, well, my ministry at the church is

I mow lawns. I'm going to try to get it through your spirit -filled head for the full gospel in your brain that you just don't mow lawns.

What do you do? Yes, you mow lawns, but you're serving Christ Jesus. And as an outgrowth of your lordship of Christ, you serve the body of Christ.

So if I ask you the question again, as we started, are you spiritual? Are you a spiritual person?

Now, our society loves to say it, don't they? I'm so spiritual. Now, the next time, here's what

I like to do. When people say I'm spiritual, I always think to myself, is that one syllable, two syllables or three spiritual?

Like they're bragging, I'm spiritual, meaning I don't have anything to do with Jesus and golf courses rule.

I'm spiritual on Sunday mornings. So the next time someone says to you,

I'm spiritual, why don't you just look over at them and smile, big holy ghost smile, say,

I am too. And my spirituality's apex is

Jesus Christ is Lord. And I have another question for you.

How good do you have to be to get to heaven? And then you can preach Christ's adequacy.

The church of Corinth was all messed up because they bought into all this pagan frenzied emotional spirituality that had subjectiveness written all over it.

And Paul said, let me move you over to the word of God. Think clearly, rationally about the sufficient word of God.

And when you do, you won't be confused. And you'll say, Jesus is Lord. Holy spirit filled churches say