His Wonderful Light

19 September 2010 - Dr. Timothy Keller

1 Peter 2:9-12

⁹But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

¹¹Dear friends, I urge you, as aliens and strangers in the world, to abstain from sinful desires, which war against your soul. ¹²Live such good lives among the pagans that, though they accuse you of doing wrong, they may see your good deeds and glorify God on the day he visits us.

God saves you and then obey him---not vice versa.

1. Promise - Experience of grace and form a community and God will dwell in your midst.
2. Purpose - the church is the declaration of God's glory.
3. Method of declaring God's glory--we are all prophets, priests, and kings so we should all hold each other accountable.
4. Power to do these things comes from recognizing a new identity that God has chosen us.

We're not arguing the existence of God, but rather sharing in the wonder of God.

Understanding that we came from darkness into the light is a sign of a converted Christian as we e

xperience a sense of wonder.

The Cosmic Spirit

11th Sermon in the Series: The Holy Spirit

12 September 2010 - Dr. Timothy Keller

Romans 8 15:27

¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children. ¹⁷Now if we are children, then we are heirs—heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory.

¹⁸I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. ¹⁹The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. ²⁰For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope ²¹that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God.

²²We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. ²³Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.²⁴For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? ²⁵But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

• When we lose our relationship to God, we experience bondage to other things and are not free to be what God originally had in mind for us.
• Transformation of our Body as described in Phillipians 3:21

²⁰But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ,²¹who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.

• Things are always falling apart in this world except for the Holy Spirit
• First Fruit - Taste of what's to come.
• What we know about the future determines how we process the present.

Praying in The Spirit

10th Sermon in the Series : The Holy Spirit.

05 September 2010 Reverend David Bisgrove

Romans 8:12-16, 26-27

¹²Therefore, brothers, we have an obligation—but it is not to the sinful nature, to live according to it. ¹³For if you live according to the sinful nature, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live, ¹⁴because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God. ¹⁵For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba,Father." ¹⁶The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.

²⁶In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. ²⁷And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.

• It is beyond our natural ability to truly understand Jesus.
• We are all in debt to God otherwise we choose to worship superficial accomplishments.
• Putting to death the misdeeds of the body is rejection those things that we know is wrong.
• Our Father prayer makes Jesus our brother.
• Fear of God's law doesn't change us, it's the knowledge of his love for us that changes us.
• Prayer is a deeper dialogue with God--it is mostly listening, not speaking. It is about intimacy.

The Gifts of the Spirit

9th Sermon in the Series - The Holy Spirit

29 August 2010 - Dr Timothy Keller.

Ephesians 4:7-16

⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." ⁹(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

1. Spiritual Gifts - abilities to meet people's needs through teaching, showing mercy, encouraging, etc.
2. Differing gifts of being able to offer wisdom, leadership.
3. Kingly gifts of building up the body of Christ to the level of Jesus.

Christ's likeness is being reproduced in the people.

No passive Christians - Ephesian 2:8-10

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

Expect Contention
Get Rid of jealousy and pride.
Remember the spiritual fruits of behavior from Galatians 5.

That is our character and it takes precedence over gifts.

The fruit is staying happy when circumstances are bad.

Galatians 5:22-23

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.

The Gifts of the Spirit

9th Sermon in the Series - The Holy Spirit

29 August 2010 - Dr Timothy Keller.

Ephesians 4:7-16

⁷But to each one of us grace has been given as Christ apportioned it. ⁸This is why it says:
"When he ascended on high,
he led captives in his train
and gave gifts to men." ⁹(What does "he ascended" mean except that he also descended to the lower, earthly regions? ¹⁰He who descended is the very one who ascended higher than all the heavens, in order to fill the whole universe.) ¹¹It was he who gave some to be apostles, some to be prophets, some to be evangelists, and some to be pastors and teachers, ¹²to prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up ¹³until we all reach unity in the faith and in the knowledge of the Son of God and become mature, attaining to the whole measure of the fullness of Christ.

¹⁴Then we will no longer be infants, tossed back and forth by the waves, and blown here and there by every wind of teaching and by the cunning and craftiness of men in their deceitful scheming. ¹⁵Instead, speaking the truth in love, we will in all things grow up into him who is the Head, that is, Christ. ¹⁶From him the whole body, joined and held together by every supporting ligament, grows and builds itself up in love, as each part does its work.

1. Spiritual Gifts - abilities to meet people's needs through teaching, showing mercy, encouraging, etc.
2. Differing gifts of being able to offer wisdom, leadership.
3. Kingly gifts of building up the body of Christ to the level of Jesus.

Christ's likeness is being reproduced in the people.

No passive Christians - Ephesian 2:8-10

⁸For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— ⁹not by works, so that no one can boast. ¹⁰For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.

1. Expect Contention
2. Get Rid of jealousy and pride.

Remember the spiritual fruits of behavior from Galatians 5; that is our character and it takes precedence over gifts; the fruit is staying happy when circumstances are bad. Galatians 5:22-23

²²But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness,²³gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.