0:00:05.802,0:00:07.867 I'm absolutely convinced what we need 0:00:07.867,0:00:10.656 in our families more than anything else 0:00:10.656,0:00:12.823 are men and women who are putting on the new man 0:00:12.823,0:00:15.408 in the power of God. 0:00:15.408,0:00:17.632 Men that are living by faith, 0:00:17.632,0:00:21.636 women that are living lives looking to Christ. 0:00:21.636,0:00:24.233 Full of the Spirit. Full of the power of God. 0:00:24.233,0:00:26.319 Full of joy. 0:00:26.319,0:00:31.180 I really believe that this is the heart and soul of healthy families. 0:00:31.180,0:00:35.642 That's why I don't believe, brethren, that I've strayed at all. 0:00:35.642,0:00:40.496 Last week, as I've been progressing through Ephesians 4 0:00:40.496,0:00:44.126 I came across that verse there in 4:30 0:00:44.126,0:00:48.677 that has to do with grieving the Spirit. 0:00:48.677,0:00:56.610 Well, from there I jumped back into Ephesians 3, 0:00:56.610,0:01:01.498 simply because one of the main operations 0:01:01.498,0:01:06.211 of the Spirit is described there. 0:01:06.211,0:01:10.260 And if we grieve the Spirit, 0:01:10.260,0:01:14.950 then we quench such operations. 0:01:14.950,0:01:17.926 So it's key. 0:01:17.926,0:01:21.367 If we live in families where the Spirit of God is quenched, 0:01:21.367,0:01:27.423 true Christians though you may be, 0:01:27.423,0:01:36.409 you can not survive spiritually without the power of God. 0:01:36.409,0:01:41.543 Jesus said it. "Without Me, you can do nothing." 0:01:41.543,0:01:48.267 And of course, what He means by that 0:01:48.267,0:01:50.554 as we look at His teaching, 0:01:50.554,0:01:53.280 when He said that He was leaving, 0:01:53.280,0:01:56.036 How can we live with Him - 0:01:56.036,0:01:58.193 without Him we can't do anything. 0:01:58.193,0:02:00.033 How can we live with Him when He is departed? 0:02:00.033,0:02:02.904 Well, He said, "I'm not going to leave you orphans." 0:02:02.904,0:02:07.622 And what He did was He sent us the Spirit of God 0:02:07.622,0:02:09.464 to be with us. 0:02:09.464,0:02:12.183 And He lives with us. 0:02:12.183,0:02:15.832 And in us, by way of that Spirit. 0:02:15.832,0:02:19.039 That Spirit is the channel by which, 0:02:19.039,0:02:23.805 that Spirit is the Person of the Godhead 0:02:23.805,0:02:28.958 that puts the fire and the energy 0:02:28.958,0:02:32.286 into the life of the child of God. 0:02:32.286,0:02:39.017 Now, brethren, I'm not ready to leave it. 0:02:39.017,0:02:41.885 What we dealt with last week and not grieving the Spirit. 0:02:41.885,0:02:44.949 Then I went back to Ephesians 3. 0:02:44.949,0:02:46.377 I'm not ready to leave there. 0:02:46.377,0:02:48.987 In fact, I'm probably going to stay there next week as well. 0:02:48.987,0:02:54.741 And then after that, Mack Tomlinson's coming in. 0:02:54.741,0:02:56.609 I don't know if this is going to just be more 0:02:56.609,0:03:03.788 of a devotional this morning. 0:03:03.788,0:03:05.567 I don't know what this is going to turn out to be. 0:03:05.567,0:03:08.672 I know where I want to go with it. 0:03:08.672,0:03:11.317 And I guess where I'd like us to go right now... 0:03:11.317,0:03:17.838 there's that simple passage there in Ephesians 4:30, 0:03:17.838,0:03:27.333 it says, "Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God." 0:03:27.333,0:03:29.650 And by which we've been sealed 0:03:29.650,0:03:32.515 to the day of Redemption. 0:03:32.515,0:03:35.993 Now, brethren, let me just say something about that. 0:03:35.993,0:03:40.362 Sealed. It's interesting - you find this idea 3 times 0:03:40.362,0:03:43.463 in the New Testament, twice in Ephesians, 0:03:43.463,0:03:46.778 that we've been sealed by the Spirit. 0:03:46.778,0:03:50.081 Well, actually, the first time Paul talks about this concept... 0:03:50.081,0:03:53.442 What's a seal? Before I jump any further? 0:03:53.442,0:03:56.469 What's a seal? 0:03:56.469,0:03:59.171 Basically, if you had a document, 0:03:59.171,0:04:04.633 and they would have taken some melted wax possibly, 0:04:04.633,0:04:08.559 and put it on that document right where it folded over, 0:04:08.559,0:04:11.111 and pressed a ring into it or something. 0:04:11.111,0:04:16.167 Basically, that seal would have been a mark 0:04:16.167,0:04:18.824 as to who that document was composed by, 0:04:18.824,0:04:20.384 or who it belonged to. 0:04:20.384,0:04:23.724 Whose authority stood behind it. 0:04:23.724,0:04:30.159 Now here's what the apostle says, the first time 0:04:30.159,0:04:33.081 to the Ephesians back in chapter 1 0:04:33.081,0:04:35.856 when he talks to them about the fact that they're sealed. 0:04:35.856,0:04:41.306 He says that the Spirit of God has sealed them, 0:04:41.306,0:04:44.649 and then He says this Spirit is the guarantee 0:04:44.649,0:04:49.167 of our inheritance until we acquire possession of it. 0:04:49.167,0:04:53.004 Brethren, the idea is this: 0:04:53.004,0:04:55.248 The Spirit of God has been given to us 0:04:55.248,0:04:58.080 who have not yet reached glory, 0:04:58.080,0:04:59.559 as a guarantee. 0:04:59.559,0:05:00.944 And I can tell you this: 0:05:00.944,0:05:02.584 Something is not a guarantee unless 0:05:02.584,0:05:05.444 you know it's there. 0:05:05.444,0:05:08.734 It's basically the idea of a down payment. 0:05:08.734,0:05:14.539 It's basically the idea of that pre-payment 0:05:14.539,0:05:16.498 that's made that gaurantees that 0:05:16.498,0:05:19.203 all the rest is going to come. 0:05:19.203,0:05:20.620 And I can tell you this, 0:05:20.620,0:05:22.921 if you were selling something and you demanded 0:05:22.921,0:05:25.556 a down payment from somebody, and they say, 0:05:25.556,0:05:28.271 "Well yes, I've given it to you, but you can't see it." 0:05:28.271,0:05:30.046 It's invisible, it's hidden. 0:05:30.046,0:05:32.536 There's no clear and visible marks to it. 0:05:32.536,0:05:34.309 Well, that doesn't do any good. 0:05:34.309,0:05:36.993 What guarantees us, what brings us that assurance 0:05:36.993,0:05:41.022 in this life is that the Spirit of God is in our lives. 0:05:41.022,0:05:44.221 He's within us; He's with us; He empowers us. 0:05:44.221,0:05:46.859 He does things within us that we see, 0:05:46.859,0:05:49.606 we feel, we experience, they affect us. 0:05:49.606,0:05:53.364 And in so doing we look at that and we say, 0:05:53.364,0:05:57.092 "Wow, I'm one of the Lord's." 0:05:57.092,0:06:00.339 Have you never read right there in Romans 5 0:06:00.339,0:06:01.964 that it says that the Spirit of God 0:06:01.964,0:06:03.872 pours the love of God into our heart? 0:06:03.872,0:06:06.228 Have you never read there in Romans 8, 0:06:06.228,0:06:10.008 that it says that that Spirit bears witness with our spirit 0:06:10.008,0:06:12.442 that we're children of God. 0:06:12.442,0:06:15.174 That's what happens. We have a witness bearing. 0:06:15.174,0:06:17.165 We have love being poured in. 0:06:17.165,0:06:18.823 We have operations. 0:06:18.823,0:06:23.266 The very heart of God is communicated to us 0:06:23.266,0:06:25.005 by way of the Spirit. 0:06:25.005,0:06:27.135 And that's exactly what we were looking at 0:06:27.135,0:06:28.988 in Ephesians 3 last week, 0:06:28.988,0:06:33.158 so let's go back there and read that. 0:06:33.158,0:06:36.110 Ephesians 3:14 - you see, brethren, 0:06:36.110,0:06:37.838 the reason I jump back here is 0:06:37.838,0:06:40.076 because if we grieve the Spirit Who pours 0:06:40.076,0:06:42.568 the love of God into our hearts, 0:06:42.568,0:06:45.388 if we grieve the Spirit Who 0:06:45.388,0:06:48.587 proclaims to us that we are children of God; 0:06:48.587,0:06:51.656 if we grieve the Spirit Who makes 0:06:51.656,0:06:55.489 the love of Christ comprehendable, 0:06:55.489,0:06:59.442 then His fiery influences are quenched. 0:06:59.442,0:07:01.439 And we don't want to do that. 0:07:01.439,0:07:04.654 Oh, if there's anything that's key to healthy families, 0:07:04.654,0:07:07.767 brethren, it's right here. 0:07:07.767,0:07:11.305 I'll tell you this, the most transformed families, 0:07:11.305,0:07:15.216 the most growing families, the most blessed families, 0:07:15.216,0:07:19.483 are where the Spirit of God is most powerfully 0:07:19.483,0:07:24.007 and actively demonstrating His influences. 0:07:24.007,0:07:26.676 No question about it. Brethren, we want to be sensitive 0:07:26.676,0:07:28.816 that we do not grieve Him. 0:07:28.816,0:07:35.453 So let's go back there, Ephesians 3:14 0:07:35.453,0:07:38.908 "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father, 0:07:38.908,0:07:41.876 from Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, 0:07:41.876,0:07:44.220 that according to the riches of His glory, 0:07:44.220,0:07:47.120 He may grant you to be strengthened with power 0:07:47.120,0:07:51.598 through His Spirit in your inner being, 0:07:51.598,0:07:53.836 so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, 0:07:53.836,0:07:55.534 that you being rooted and grounded in love 0:07:55.534,0:07:58.553 may have strength to comprehend with all the saints 0:07:58.553,0:08:01.196 what is the breadth, and length, and height and depth 0:08:01.196,0:08:05.531 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, 0:08:05.531,0:08:08.190 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 0:08:08.190,0:08:11.510 Now brethren, I don't know whether 0:08:11.510,0:08:14.325 it occurred to you just now, 0:08:14.325,0:08:17.092 But this is a prayer. 0:08:17.092,0:08:18.342 Do you all see that? 0:08:18.342,0:08:21.758 Paul is bowing his knees in verse 14. 0:08:21.758,0:08:25.485 Why? 0:08:25.485,0:08:29.754 Because he's praying. This is a prayer. 0:08:29.754,0:08:33.250 You bow your knees when you pray. 0:08:33.250,0:08:39.331 He's lifting up the Ephesians 0:08:39.331,0:08:41.204 in the sight of God. 0:08:41.204,0:08:44.048 He's praying for them. 0:08:44.048,0:08:48.158 Brethren, let me ask you this. 0:08:48.158,0:08:50.540 Why? 0:08:50.540,0:08:59.473 Why do you think he's praying for the Christians at Ephesus? 0:08:59.473,0:09:03.746 Brethren, probably because as an apostle 0:09:03.746,0:09:06.520 who had visited many churches and started many churches 0:09:06.520,0:09:08.610 and planted many churches, and as one 0:09:08.610,0:09:13.161 who was a Christian himself, 0:09:13.161,0:09:17.225 he likely understood that the people at Ephesus 0:09:17.225,0:09:19.682 were just like you and me. 0:09:19.682,0:09:23.537 Struggling people. Real people. 0:09:23.537,0:09:25.657 Brethren, I think sometimes we can get to thinking 0:09:25.657,0:09:29.610 that because somebody - you know, the Ephesians, 0:09:29.610,0:09:38.027 there they are, they're addressed by an apostle of Jesus Christ. 0:09:38.027,0:09:40.712 They're called faithful. 0:09:40.712,0:09:43.968 And I think sometimes we get the idea 0:09:43.968,0:09:46.254 that because people are mentioned in the Bible, 0:09:46.254,0:09:52.169 and they lived a long way away, a long time in the past, 0:09:52.169,0:09:53.870 and because we don't know them personally, 0:09:53.870,0:09:55.759 we can make super-Christians out of them. 0:09:55.759,0:09:58.376 We can think them to be something that they weren't. 0:09:58.376,0:10:02.634 You know what? Look, I know reality. 0:10:02.634,0:10:05.350 Reality in this church. 0:10:05.350,0:10:08.802 You know what reality in this church is? 0:10:08.802,0:10:10.922 Men and women get married. 0:10:10.922,0:10:14.614 They find out that Paul, when he said that 0:10:14.614,0:10:17.667 he would spare people from difficulties, 0:10:17.667,0:10:19.293 they get into marriage, and they find out, 0:10:19.293,0:10:23.079 wow, that was true, we've got difficulties. 0:10:23.079,0:10:25.207 We've got men who are striving to learn 0:10:25.207,0:10:26.842 how to love their wives, 0:10:26.842,0:10:28.191 women who are striving to learn how to 0:10:28.191,0:10:30.370 submit to their husbands. 0:10:30.370,0:10:32.686 Love their husbands. 0:10:32.686,0:10:34.721 Men and women that are struggling to figure out 0:10:34.721,0:10:36.948 how to raise their children; love their children. 0:10:36.948,0:10:39.664 Properly discipline their children. 0:10:39.664,0:10:43.727 I mean, you haven't had children if you think it's easy 0:10:43.727,0:10:48.910 to just tow the line with regard to spanking and discipline 0:10:48.910,0:10:54.591 and basically to set up the boundaries and to keep that perfectly, 0:10:54.591,0:10:57.431 and to not compromise. 0:10:57.431,0:11:01.050 Brethren, you know what? 0:11:01.050,0:11:05.690 The ravages of divorce were real in that day. 0:11:05.690,0:11:09.431 There were families without fathers, families without mothers. 0:11:09.431,0:11:12.396 There were families where deaths occurred. 0:11:12.396,0:11:15.601 There were people that were struggling. 0:11:15.601,0:11:18.321 Look! Sometimes we have problems in our marraiges 0:11:18.321,0:11:19.636 that we feel embarrassed. 0:11:19.636,0:11:22.578 Sometimes there's sexual issues 0:11:22.578,0:11:26.234 and there's struggles between husband and wife. 0:11:26.234,0:11:28.369 Things that a lot of times we're embarrassed. 0:11:28.369,0:11:31.181 Brethren, I'll tell you, it was real life back then. 0:11:31.181,0:11:33.925 The same things that you struggle with, 0:11:33.925,0:11:37.252 that you get angry over, that you have problems with, 0:11:37.252,0:11:41.510 making ends meet, getting angry over your wife 0:11:41.510,0:11:43.625 because she spent too much money, 0:11:43.625,0:11:45.478 you don't know how you're going to be able to pay the bills 0:11:45.478,0:11:48.859 and she's out there buying this and that. 0:11:48.859,0:11:51.105 Men can do the same thing. 0:11:51.105,0:11:53.977 Brethren, the realities, the things that cause frustration 0:11:53.977,0:11:57.612 in your life, in my life, the greatest hindrances 0:11:57.612,0:12:01.043 to moving and excelling in our families, 0:12:01.043,0:12:03.836 they were real back then, brethren. 0:12:03.836,0:12:07.833 The people back then were just like us. 0:12:07.833,0:12:13.174 Paul wrote this letter to the Ephesians. 0:12:13.174,0:12:15.166 When you and I read it, we find, 0:12:15.166,0:12:17.553 wow, it helps us. It's really tremendous. 0:12:17.553,0:12:19.837 It's helpful. You know what?[br] 0:12:19.837,0:12:21.294 It was to them too. 0:12:21.294,0:12:24.303 Why? Because they're just like us. 0:12:24.303,0:12:28.715 Brethren, the same thing... 0:12:28.715,0:12:30.630 the reason Paul's words seem so real, 0:12:30.630,0:12:33.496 so alive, so applicable to us, 0:12:33.496,0:12:36.256 when they were in fact first spoken to the Ephesians 0:12:36.256,0:12:38.667 is because we're the same. 0:12:38.667,0:12:41.713 There's nothing new under the sun. 0:12:41.713,0:12:44.346 But here's the thing. 0:12:44.346,0:12:46.545 Brethren, think with me. 0:12:46.545,0:12:48.533 Here we are. We're in prayer meeting. 0:12:48.533,0:12:51.386 It's not Sunday morning anyways, it's Wednesday evening. 0:12:51.386,0:12:54.344 We meet here. We get together to pray. 0:12:54.344,0:13:01.058 Let's just say, a sister says, 0:13:01.058,0:13:05.005 "I'm married to a lost husband." 0:13:05.005,0:13:06.911 She's here by herself, with her children. 0:13:06.911,0:13:08.631 I'm married to a lost husband. 0:13:08.631,0:13:10.570 Church would you please pray for me? 0:13:10.570,0:13:12.500 I'm really having problems. 0:13:12.500,0:13:15.195 Maybe the husband hits her. 0:13:15.195,0:13:17.503 Maybe the husband is just lazy. 0:13:17.503,0:13:20.750 Maybe he's a heavy drinker. 0:13:20.750,0:13:24.903 Any number of these kind of problems can come up. 0:13:24.903,0:13:28.937 Brethren, think about how we typically pray. 0:13:28.937,0:13:31.210 How do we typically pray? 0:13:31.210,0:13:34.507 Think. How would you? 0:13:34.507,0:13:37.073 We have several brethren and they pray, [br] 0:13:37.073,0:13:42.874 "Lord, please help our sister." 0:13:42.874,0:13:46.088 There's nothing wrong with that. That's good, that's fine. 0:13:46.088,0:13:48.711 I mean what I'm about to say is just an example. 0:13:48.711,0:13:51.249 I've been to prayer meetings for the last twenty years of my life. 0:13:51.249,0:13:55.454 I've heard lots of them. I know how the brethren pray. 0:13:55.454,0:13:58.937 And I'm not fault finding at all. 0:13:58.937,0:14:00.834 It's fine. It's good. It's well. 0:14:00.834,0:14:03.262 We'll get together and we'll pray. 0:14:03.262,0:14:05.424 And there are different levels of maturity 0:14:05.424,0:14:07.988 obviously in the prayers that come forth. 0:14:07.988,0:14:12.235 But how often the prayer is, "Lord, bless them." 0:14:12.235,0:14:14.095 That's a very common thing. 0:14:14.095,0:14:18.084 "Lord, bless them." That's kind of where the new Christian goes. 0:14:18.084,0:14:21.986 There's not a whole lot of depth there, but just "bless them." 0:14:21.986,0:14:26.208 "Lord, help them." "Lord, our sister..." 0:14:26.208,0:14:29.759 we recite back the things that are happening. 0:14:29.759,0:14:32.494 "Lord, please protect her." 0:14:32.494,0:14:38.702 A lot of times we pray, "correct the problem, Lord." 0:14:38.702,0:14:41.140 She's got a lazy husband - make him work. 0:14:41.140,0:14:44.119 She's got a drunk husband - make him quit. 0:14:44.119,0:14:47.947 She's got a husband that beats her - make him stop. 0:14:47.947,0:14:50.401 Lord, save him. 0:14:50.401,0:14:53.197 Those are very common ways to pray. 0:14:53.197,0:14:58.530 Listen. You know this is true. 0:14:58.530,0:15:02.740 The ways that Paul prays 0:15:02.740,0:15:04.678 they almost stagger us. 0:15:04.678,0:15:06.848 It's almost like, "what?" 0:15:06.848,0:15:09.292 It's like his words are so profound and so deep 0:15:09.292,0:15:11.132 and he's got so many thoughts in there, 0:15:11.132,0:15:13.433 it's like you almost have to read the thing for six weeks 0:15:13.433,0:15:18.626 to even draw out what he's saying. 0:15:18.626,0:15:22.418 Brethren, listen to this: 0:15:22.418,0:15:24.694 "For this reason I bow my knees before the Father." 0:15:24.694,0:15:29.496 Ok, so far we're good. Right? We kind of get that. 0:15:29.496,0:15:33.536 "From Whom every family in heaven and on earth is named." 0:15:33.536,0:15:36.574 Now there I stop getting everything. 0:15:36.574,0:15:40.424 "Every family in heaven and on earth is named." 0:15:40.424,0:15:45.974 It's crossed my mind, I need to look at the original there 0:15:45.974,0:15:47.772 and really scope that out. 0:15:47.772,0:15:50.101 There's some concepts there that Paul's hitting on 0:15:50.101,0:15:52.599 that I think are probably phenomenal. 0:15:52.599,0:15:55.861 "That according to the riches of His glory, He may grant you 0:15:55.861,0:15:59.489 to be strengthened with power..." 0:15:59.489,0:16:03.106 Strength. Now, just catch that. 0:16:03.106,0:16:05.558 That's a good thing. We want to be strong. 0:16:05.559,0:16:08.119 And he's of course speaking about spiritual strength. 0:16:08.119,0:16:11.037 And that spiritual strength comes from power. 0:16:11.037,0:16:14.971 Right? Power. Energy. 0:16:14.971,0:16:18.860 Power is what brings strength. 0:16:18.860,0:16:23.665 "Through His Spirit." So the Spirit is that Person 0:16:23.665,0:16:29.544 Who dispenses this power of God to us. 0:16:29.544,0:16:31.427 "So that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, 0:16:31.427,0:16:34.199 that you being rooted and grounded in love." 0:16:34.199,0:16:36.032 So, I mean, he's saying this stuff, 0:16:36.032,0:16:37.849 "That Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith." 0:16:37.849,0:16:41.360 We get that. By faith, He dwells in us. 0:16:41.360,0:16:45.466 Of course, He dwells in us by this very Spirit. 0:16:45.466,0:16:48.748 "You being rooted and grounded in love." 0:16:48.748,0:16:52.627 So it's like you're planted. You're a plant of God's planting, 0:16:52.627,0:16:55.873 and you're planted in the soil of love. 0:16:55.873,0:16:59.973 And in this soil of love, with by faith Christ and His Spirit 0:16:59.973,0:17:04.221 dwelling within you, the Spirit Who is this power giver, 0:17:04.221,0:17:06.774 That gives strength, to do what? 0:17:06.774,0:17:09.523 What's all this strength about anyway? 0:17:09.523,0:17:12.395 Verse 18, "may have strength to comprehend with all the saints 0:17:12.395,0:17:15.147 what is the breadth and length and height and depth 0:17:15.147,0:17:17.498 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge 0:17:17.498,0:17:22.690 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 0:17:22.690,0:17:26.883 Now brethren, this is the way to pray. 0:17:26.883,0:17:29.945 Because let me tell you something. 0:17:29.945,0:17:35.187 Think with me here, brethren. Think with me. 0:17:35.187,0:17:39.126 You've got a mother. This is real life. 0:17:39.126,0:17:43.845 A mother who is about going over the edge. 0:17:43.845,0:17:48.192 Her head's about going under the water. 0:17:48.192,0:17:51.528 I mean, here she is, she's trying to figure out how to be a mother. 0:17:51.528,0:17:54.642 Trying to figure out how to raise some little children. 0:17:54.642,0:17:57.631 She's trying to figure out how to dish out her time. 0:17:57.631,0:17:59.173 And then her husband comes home. 0:17:59.173,0:18:00.931 He wants her attention. He wants to talk to her. 0:18:00.931,0:18:02.707 He wants to communicate with her. 0:18:02.707,0:18:05.037 He wants dinner. He wants intimacy. 0:18:05.037,0:18:08.220 He wants this... she's just staggering all over the place. 0:18:08.220,0:18:10.195 There she is at home one day, 0:18:10.195,0:18:14.173 and you come along and pray like this. 0:18:14.173,0:18:17.992 I come along and I call her up pastorally, 0:18:17.992,0:18:19.282 and say, "Sister, I know you're struggling here, 0:18:19.282,0:18:21.009 I'm going to bow my knees before the Father, 0:18:21.009,0:18:23.363 I'm going to begin to pray to Him from Whom 0:18:23.363,0:18:27.406 every family in heaven and on earth is named. 0:18:27.406,0:18:29.345 That according to the riches of His glory He may grant 0:18:29.345,0:18:31.269 you to be strengthened with power through His Spirit 0:18:31.269,0:18:33.320 in your inner being so that Christ may dwell in your heart 0:18:33.320,0:18:36.886 through faith, sister, so that you being rooted and gounded 0:18:36.886,0:18:38.855 in love may have strength to comprehend with all the saints 0:18:38.855,0:18:41.342 what is the breadth and length and height and depth 0:18:41.342,0:18:43.902 and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge 0:18:43.902,0:18:49.239 that you may be filled with all the fullness of God." 0:18:49.239,0:18:53.709 Now I don't know, typically, but I'm thinking that 0:18:53.709,0:19:01.636 if I just rattled that off, it'd just be like whew... 0:19:01.636,0:19:07.360 that's nice, brother. 0:19:07.360,0:19:09.586 But I think she gets off the phone 0:19:09.586,0:19:15.988 and she goes back to being overwhelmed, right? 0:19:15.988,0:19:22.816 Brethren, we can look at this and we can think, 0:19:22.816,0:19:26.490 "Come on, Paul! You're dealing with real people 0:19:26.490,0:19:31.201 here with real problems. Can't you just pray, 0:19:31.201,0:19:35.755 God, help the ladies in the church that are 0:19:35.755,0:19:38.231 struggling with raising children? 0:19:38.231,0:19:41.469 Can't you just come down off your theological high horse here 0:19:41.469,0:19:45.334 and just meet us where we live? 0:19:45.334,0:19:51.195 Brethren, I can only imagine Paul might answer 0:19:51.195,0:19:53.686 something like this, you know, you read it there 0:19:53.686,0:20:02.222 1 Thessalonians 2, he had a nursing heart, 0:20:02.222,0:20:04.864 like a mother who nursed her children. 0:20:04.864,0:20:09.553 He said that he was like a father to his children. 0:20:09.553,0:20:12.576 I'll tell you this, he'd come along and he'd say, 0:20:12.576,0:20:15.403 "Oh, my precious, precious children, 0:20:15.403,0:20:19.059 in the midst of all your struggles and trials, 0:20:19.059,0:20:23.787 do you not realize that the reason I pray this way for you 0:20:23.787,0:20:27.863 is this is exactly what you need more than anything else." 0:20:27.863,0:20:30.187 Now it's true there may be complexities here, 0:20:30.187,0:20:32.466 and there may be depth here, 0:20:32.466,0:20:36.568 but brethren, 0:20:36.568,0:20:39.295 this is what we need. 0:20:39.295,0:20:41.831 More than anything else. 0:20:41.831,0:20:45.956 If you could just comprehend. 0:20:45.956,0:20:51.868 Brethren, I want you to see what's going on. 0:20:51.868,0:20:55.495 Paul is praying for comprehension. 0:20:55.495,0:21:00.319 He realizes this: He realizes that when that mother, 0:21:00.319,0:21:05.380 in that place, is sitting there with those children 0:21:05.380,0:21:09.441 in that home, with her certain set of 0:21:09.441,0:21:12.010 struggles and trials, 0:21:12.010,0:21:14.911 or that man as he's trying to make ends meet 0:21:14.911,0:21:16.195 as he's trying to provide for his family, 0:21:16.195,0:21:19.173 lead his wife, love his wife, lead his children, 0:21:19.173,0:21:22.027 instruct his children - in all these things, 0:21:22.027,0:21:25.706 as he feels his failures, he feels the struggles of the flesh, 0:21:25.706,0:21:27.813 he feels these things. 0:21:27.813,0:21:31.817 Singles that are trying to keep single 0:21:31.817,0:21:34.898 and to do it with contentment, 0:21:34.898,0:21:37.043 as you feel these struggles of life. 0:21:37.043,0:21:40.008 What Paul breaks in there and says, 0:21:40.008,0:21:46.000 Look, it's fine to pray that God bless one another, 0:21:46.000,0:21:49.380 it's fine to pray that God help one another, 0:21:49.380,0:21:51.585 but what you folks need more than anything 0:21:51.585,0:21:53.926 is what I'm praying for right here. 0:21:53.926,0:21:58.664 You need a comprehension of certain realities. 0:21:58.664,0:22:00.948 But if you could just see them, if you could feel them 0:22:00.948,0:22:02.334 if you could touch them, 0:22:02.334,0:22:05.421 if you could have the hope in those things, 0:22:05.421,0:22:09.460 you would come back to this world's cares and troubles 0:22:09.460,0:22:15.421 as one has said, like giants refreshed with new wine 0:22:15.421,0:22:17.989 caring nothing for anything that might happen. 0:22:17.989,0:22:21.161 Christ would be so sweetly and blessedly within you 0:22:21.161,0:22:24.487 that you could bear the burden and think nothing of it. 0:22:24.487,0:22:26.914 Brethren, that's precisely where Paul is going, 0:22:26.914,0:22:28.580 that's what he's praying for. 0:22:28.580,0:22:36.737 The ability in you, in me, to be able to comprehend. 0:22:36.737,0:22:40.494 The greatest realities - 0:22:40.494,0:22:45.072 the love Christ has for His chosen people. 0:22:45.072,0:22:51.450 Brethren, what was it it said in that song?[br] 0:22:51.450,0:22:59.015 It was that last stanza of "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing." 0:22:59.015,0:23:06.506 It said something about, "Lord, don't deny me Yourself." 0:23:06.506,0:23:12.029 Brethren, the love of Christ... 0:23:12.029,0:23:14.523 it was Spurgeon that said that giant thing. 0:23:14.523,0:23:17.659 He's right. 0:23:17.659,0:23:25.286 You will be like a giant refreshed with new wine, 0:23:25.286,0:23:30.224 if you'll be struck by the love of Christ. 0:23:30.224,0:23:36.918 You see, Paul wasn't trying to drown us theologically. 0:23:36.918,0:23:41.183 He was bypassing the lesser things, 0:23:41.183,0:23:42.957 the more trivial things, 0:23:42.957,0:23:45.389 and he was going right to the heart of the matter. 0:23:45.389,0:23:49.115 He knows if that sister with the lost husband 0:23:49.115,0:23:52.832 would realize her true and heavenly Husband, 0:23:52.832,0:23:55.273 and the love that He had for her, 0:23:55.273,0:23:57.867 Oh, brethren, has it ever just swept into you 0:23:57.867,0:24:01.793 where Christ is like there in John 17, 0:24:01.793,0:24:08.197 and He's saying, "Father, I pray that they may be where I am." 0:24:08.197,0:24:12.313 "I pray that they may see My glory." 0:24:12.313,0:24:15.071 Brethren, I'll tell you this, have you ever read 0:24:15.071,0:24:17.541 where it talks about the love that a man ought to have 0:24:17.541,0:24:21.102 for his wife, but then Paul pulls back and 0:24:21.102,0:24:24.574 shows us the love that Christ has for the church. 0:24:24.574,0:24:34.316 Brethren, Christ - His whole heart is set on it. 0:24:34.316,0:24:37.311 You have to understand something, 0:24:37.311,0:24:42.741 God has chosen to put an infinite love on you. 0:24:42.741,0:24:44.978 Do you know why Christ went to that cross 0:24:44.978,0:24:49.797 and bore infinite wrath? He did it out of love. 0:24:49.797,0:24:52.946 Scripture repeatedly tells us it's love that 0:24:52.946,0:24:55.483 drove Him to that cross. 0:24:55.483,0:24:59.129 It's love that as in the garden, He just trembled 0:24:59.129,0:25:01.992 under that coming horror. 0:25:01.992,0:25:04.692 He sorrowed nigh unto death. 0:25:04.692,0:25:06.224 Why did He keep going? 0:25:06.224,0:25:07.901 Yes, there was a joy there, brethren, 0:25:07.901,0:25:10.338 but I'll tell you this, it's the joy. 0:25:10.338,0:25:13.376 It is that joy to be with His people. 0:25:13.376,0:25:17.137 It is that joy to have them and be with them. 0:25:17.137,0:25:18.840 He longs for that. 0:25:18.840,0:25:20.504 The Christ longs for it. 0:25:20.504,0:25:22.772 He prayed to His Father for it. 0:25:22.772,0:25:30.166 He wants you with inexpressible love to be where He is. 0:25:30.166,0:25:35.269 Brethren, I'll tell you this, if it wasn't for love, 0:25:35.269,0:25:39.063 for the purposes of love, and for the sake of love 0:25:39.063,0:25:43.245 to leave you right here where you have your present struggles 0:25:43.245,0:25:45.702 love would bust open right now 0:25:45.702,0:25:48.730 and He would pull you into His arms and take you to glory. 0:25:48.730,0:25:52.204 It is only love that keeps you here. 0:25:52.204,0:25:56.002 Brethren, the love... 0:25:56.002,0:25:59.343 and Paul is saying if you could just comprehend 0:25:59.343,0:26:03.477 that Christ is there and His heart longs for you. 0:26:03.477,0:26:06.334 He wants you to be where He is. 0:26:06.334,0:26:08.303 He is your heavenly Lover. 0:26:08.303,0:26:11.417 And He loves you with a love that this world does not know. 0:26:11.417,0:26:14.899 That your husband and wife relationships don't know. 0:26:14.899,0:26:16.905 He loves you passionately. 0:26:16.905,0:26:19.694 He means to make you pure and spotless, 0:26:19.694,0:26:25.998 and to bring you to Him an undefiled, chaste virgin. 0:26:25.998,0:26:29.995 A virgin, brethren. 0:26:29.995,0:26:32.914 A virgin pure. 0:26:32.914,0:26:34.763 And He will take you to Himself, 0:26:34.763,0:26:37.466 and He will love on you, 0:26:37.466,0:26:40.916 and pour His love into you forever 0:26:40.916,0:26:43.889 and forever and forever and forever. 0:26:43.889,0:26:46.980 Brethren, you'll go to Him a virgin but you will not stay a virgin 0:26:46.980,0:26:49.881 because He will love you in ways that what we have 0:26:49.881,0:26:56.674 in the human realm, in the physical realm, are only but glimpses. 0:26:56.674,0:26:59.130 And I'm telling you, brethren, He'd break through right now 0:26:59.130,0:27:02.053 and come get you, if it wasn't for the fact 0:27:02.053,0:27:06.152 that love stays His hand. 0:27:06.152,0:27:10.770 Because it is the very temporary light afflictions 0:27:10.770,0:27:15.628 that work in you the eternal weight of glory. 0:27:15.628,0:27:17.724 And it's working. You see, brethren, 0:27:17.724,0:27:22.718 you suffer now because it's granted you to suffer, 0:27:22.718,0:27:25.360 because it's good for you right now. 0:27:25.360,0:27:28.518 We're following that path where He went. 0:27:28.518,0:27:32.660 And Paul's coming in and saying, "Brothers and sisters, 0:27:32.660,0:27:35.885 I am not trying to lose you theologically.[br] 0:27:35.885,0:27:39.104 I am simply trying to pray that you would have the best thing, 0:27:39.104,0:27:42.621 the greatest thing, brethren, we need to pray this way! 0:27:42.621,0:27:46.063 When you see that brother, that sister, struggling, 0:27:46.063,0:27:50.778 you pray that God open up to their comprehension 0:27:50.778,0:27:55.618 an understanding of the love that Christ has for them. 0:27:55.618,0:27:58.345 Because brethren, Spurgeon's right: 0:27:58.345,0:28:00.619 Giants you will be, 0:28:00.619,0:28:06.599 refreshed with the wine of Christ's own vintage. 0:28:06.599,0:28:08.862 And you will face those things, and you will be able 0:28:08.862,0:28:11.737 to march through them, and have victory. 0:28:11.737,0:28:15.645 Brethren, when you're overcome with love, 0:28:15.645,0:28:20.672 the problems and the struggles and the trials in this world 0:28:20.672,0:28:25.496 they just, they don't disappear and go away altogether, 0:28:25.496,0:28:27.920 but they become small in comparison. 0:28:27.920,0:28:30.826 Brethren, do you realize it? 0:28:30.826,0:28:37.155 I went out front this morning of my house. 0:28:37.155,0:28:39.243 And I've planted various trees there 0:28:39.243,0:28:42.503 to try to recreate Michigan. 0:28:42.503,0:28:45.975 Hey, don't laugh, it's kind of worked. 0:28:45.975,0:28:52.999 I have maples that are red, and yellow, and orange. 0:28:52.999,0:28:54.703 And I was out there looking at them, 0:28:54.703,0:28:56.383 and I was admiring the beauty, 0:28:56.383,0:29:02.859 and brethren, the love of Christ is like a garden, 0:29:02.859,0:29:06.431 where as you walk through, there is beauty, 0:29:06.431,0:29:10.787 there's roses, and the scents that comes, and there's fruits. 0:29:10.787,0:29:13.140 And let me tell you something, brethren. 0:29:13.140,0:29:17.195 Those that find eternal life, 0:29:17.195,0:29:20.746 Christ is the way, the truth, and the life. 0:29:20.746,0:29:24.213 Brethren, those that find Him are few. 0:29:24.213,0:29:33.582 Do you realize, brethren, not just anybody can tread that garden. 0:29:33.582,0:29:43.207 Only a few.. brethren, only a chosen few can tread there. 0:29:43.207,0:29:47.141 In that garden, there is beauty and there are flowers. 0:29:47.141,0:29:52.466 It is full of healing and singing and color and wonder. 0:29:52.466,0:29:57.145 And I'm telling you folks, if you have license to walk there, 0:29:57.145,0:30:01.541 Oh brethren, why do you forfeit it? 0:30:01.541,0:30:07.916 Only a very choice few, select few, can walk there. 0:30:07.916,0:30:12.808 How often we purposely do not walk there, brethren! 0:30:12.808,0:30:17.800 But to walk in the air of that place, in that garden. 0:30:17.800,0:30:21.578 Only the redeemed of the Lord can walk in that place. 0:30:21.578,0:30:24.085 Only the redeemed of the Lord, brethren, 0:30:24.085,0:30:27.865 can go up and smell those roses! Or pick that fruit! 0:30:27.865,0:30:30.557 And you have the opportunity. 0:30:30.557,0:30:33.242 Are you going to be like the man in Pilgrim's Progress 0:30:33.242,0:30:35.810 where you're just raking the muck, raking the muck, 0:30:35.810,0:30:37.874 here the garden is all about you. 0:30:37.874,0:30:40.148 We're Christians, brethren, we're Christians! 0:30:40.148,0:30:41.999 Christ loves us! 0:30:41.999,0:30:44.815 And even in this world, there is a comprehension. 0:30:44.815,0:30:49.821 If you don't grieve the Spirit, the Spirit has a power 0:30:49.821,0:30:52.706 that He endows upon the children of God 0:30:52.706,0:30:56.298 to cause us to comprehend such vastness, 0:30:56.298,0:31:00.005 such breadth and length and height and depth, brethren, 0:31:00.005,0:31:02.493 to stagger us, even in this life! 0:31:02.493,0:31:07.133 We don't have to wait for heaven to get all of it. 0:31:07.133,0:31:10.867 And oh, brethren, if we've been invited to walk here, why? 0:31:10.867,0:31:16.585 Why so much of the world? Why so much of just raking, 0:31:16.585,0:31:20.129 brethren, raking the muck? 0:31:20.129,0:31:23.063 When it's held out there to us? 0:31:23.063,0:31:28.676 Brethren, I just say in light of all this, 0:31:28.676,0:31:31.918 don't grieve the Spirit. 0:31:31.918,0:31:35.857 Brethren, when you grieve the Spirit, 0:31:35.857,0:31:41.161 the scent wafts away. 0:31:41.161,0:31:45.395 All of a sudden, in your sight, the fruit shrivels. 0:31:45.395,0:31:52.431 The Spirit is the One that gives the comprehension. 0:31:52.431,0:31:57.655 Brethren, listen to this: 0:31:57.655,0:32:01.977 I came across this in my reading. 0:32:01.977,0:32:06.200 And I really want to finish out this message on this note. 0:32:06.200,0:32:08.376 A man by the name of Edward Payson, 0:32:08.376,0:32:12.002 anyone ever hear that name? Edward Payson. 0:32:12.002,0:32:16.319 He was a godly man who lived here in the United States 0:32:16.319,0:32:20.686 during the time just after the American Revolution. 0:32:20.686,0:32:31.979 Listen, listen to him describe how the ungrieved Spirit... 0:32:31.979,0:32:37.763 the Spirit wasn't grieved in his life - ungrieved. 0:32:37.763,0:32:41.702 How that Spirit flooded His comprehensions. 0:32:41.702,0:32:44.744 He says this, "The Son of Righteousness has been 0:32:44.744,0:32:50.411 gradually drawing nearer and nearer." 0:32:50.411,0:32:53.264 Brethren, I know we've been talking about revival. 0:32:53.264,0:32:57.422 And I know that there have been times in history 0:32:57.422,0:33:00.758 where the Spirit of God has fallen suddenly. 0:33:00.758,0:33:02.530 But brethren, one of the things I'm encouraging 0:33:02.530,0:33:07.048 and arguing for here is that you make it a practice 0:33:07.048,0:33:12.748 to seek to habitually live with the Spirit ungrieved. 0:33:12.748,0:33:18.474 Habitually living in the beauties of this garden. 0:33:18.474,0:33:20.513 Oh, revival's great. 0:33:20.513,0:33:22.526 And when people are smothered by the love of God 0:33:22.526,0:33:26.245 instantaneously and miraculously and extraordinarily 0:33:26.245,0:33:29.585 that's great, but brethren, there are people who walk 0:33:29.585,0:33:34.033 in these choice places far more than others. 0:33:34.033,0:33:37.311 They tend to live there. They tend to dwell there. 0:33:37.311,0:33:39.222 And here's a man, brethren, here's a man 0:33:39.222,0:33:41.012 that didn't always know it was so. 0:33:41.012,0:33:44.245 He didn't know the realms into which it was possible. 0:33:44.245,0:33:45.904 Listen to how he expresses this. 0:33:45.904,0:33:49.416 It's like he gets to the end and he's just kicking himself. 0:33:49.416,0:33:52.232 He's saying, "Oh, if only I would have realized 0:33:52.232,0:33:56.259 twenty years ago that this was all real! That it was so!" 0:33:56.259,0:33:59.084 Listen to him, "the Son of Righteousness 0:33:59.084,0:34:02.246 has been gradually drawing nearer and nearer. 0:34:02.246,0:34:06.305 Appearing larger and brighter as He approached." 0:34:06.305,0:34:08.993 I mean, through his spiritual senses he feels 0:34:08.993,0:34:13.208 and senses and sees and hears and smells 0:34:13.208,0:34:15.880 the approach of Christ. 0:34:15.880,0:34:19.799 "And now Christ fills the whole hemisphere. 0:34:19.799,0:34:24.448 Pouring forth a flood of glory in which I seem to float, 0:34:24.448,0:34:27.385 like an insect in the beams of the sun. 0:34:27.385,0:34:31.047 Exalting yet almost trembling while I gaze on this almost 0:34:31.047,0:34:33.920 excessive brightness and wondering with 0:34:33.920,0:34:37.765 unutterable wonder why God should deign to shine 0:34:37.765,0:34:40.547 upon a sinful world." 0:34:40.547,0:34:43.348 Listen, he goes on, 0:34:43.348,0:34:49.528 "Christians might avoid much trouble and inconvenience 0:34:49.528,0:34:52.902 if they would only believe what they profess. 0:34:52.902,0:34:56.310 That God is able to make them happy without anything else." 0:34:56.310,0:34:58.961 Do you know what he's saying, brethren? 0:34:58.961,0:35:02.297 He's saying take everything else away. 0:35:02.297,0:35:06.626 Take all your comforts away. All your enjoyments away. 0:35:06.626,0:35:09.133 All your pleasures away. All your toys away. 0:35:09.133,0:35:13.367 All the idols away. All the stuff. Clear it all out. 0:35:13.367,0:35:17.271 All the relationships. 0:35:17.271,0:35:20.915 And walk through this garden. 0:35:20.915,0:35:27.001 And it's enough. It will make you happy 0:35:27.001,0:35:32.778 with a joy that only comes from heaven, folks. 0:35:32.778,0:35:36.467 "They imagine that if such-and-such a dear friend were to die 0:35:36.467,0:35:39.156 or if such blessings were to be removed, 0:35:39.156,0:35:41.253 they would be miserable. 0:35:41.253,0:35:44.634 Whereas God can make them a thousand times 0:35:44.634,0:35:47.576 happier without those things. 0:35:47.576,0:35:50.121 To mention my own case, 0:35:50.121,0:35:55.232 God has been depriving me of one blessing after another. 0:35:55.232,0:35:58.313 But as each one was removed, 0:35:58.313,0:36:01.023 He has come in and filled its place. 0:36:01.023,0:36:04.810 And now, when I'm a cripple, and I'm not able to move, 0:36:04.810,0:36:07.483 I'm happier than ever. 0:36:07.483,0:36:09.485 I'm happer than ever I was in my life 0:36:09.485,0:36:13.963 before or ever expected to be. 0:36:13.963,0:36:17.566 And if I had believed this twenty years ago, 0:36:17.566,0:36:26.498 I might have been spared much anxiety." 0:36:26.498,0:36:30.118 So here it is. 0:36:30.118,0:36:34.295 Listen to this. 0:36:34.295,0:36:42.995 Here's a test put forth by the same man. 0:36:42.995,0:36:46.077 He gives a very practical way to examine ourselves, 0:36:46.077,0:36:49.498 in order to test where we're at with regards 0:36:49.498,0:36:51.920 to the love of Christ. 0:36:51.920,0:36:54.616 And whether we may have grieved the Spirit away 0:36:54.616,0:36:56.875 from pouring the love of God into our hearts. 0:36:56.875,0:36:58.320 Now listen to this: 0:36:58.320,0:37:02.833 Brethren, I know this is true. 0:37:02.833,0:37:05.033 It caught my attention because I know it. 0:37:05.033,0:37:07.167 I know it. I've seen it as a Christian. 0:37:07.167,0:37:08.995 I've felt it in my own life. 0:37:08.995,0:37:10.674 I've gone through seasons. 0:37:10.674,0:37:13.297 I've met other Christians. 0:37:13.297,0:37:16.988 I've read of other Christians. 0:37:16.988,0:37:19.933 Not just people who've had the Spirit of God fall on them, 0:37:19.933,0:37:21.663 and been filled with the Spirit, 0:37:21.663,0:37:24.771 and had some sensation of the love of Christ 0:37:24.771,0:37:27.066 that was just momentary or for a short season. 0:37:27.066,0:37:29.114 Now that's happened, and we certainly don't want 0:37:29.114,0:37:31.436 to despise that, but I'm talking more here 0:37:31.436,0:37:34.775 about a way of life. 0:37:34.775,0:37:37.900 Listen to what Payson says, 0:37:37.900,0:37:42.063 "Suppose professors of religion, 0:37:42.063,0:37:46.484 (those who profess to be Christians), 0:37:46.484,0:37:51.554 to be ranged in different concentric circles around Christ." 0:37:51.554,0:37:55.832 So He's imagining Christ in the center, 0:37:55.832,0:37:58.642 and then you have these concentric circles. 0:37:58.642,0:38:03.951 A concentric circle is another circle with the same center. 0:38:03.951,0:38:05.641 But they're getting bigger. 0:38:05.641,0:38:09.867 Same center. Which is Christ. There He is in the middle. 0:38:09.867,0:38:13.425 But then you have these concentric circles moving out from there. 0:38:13.425,0:38:16.725 And he says each of these concentric circles is 0:38:16.725,0:38:19.191 like different Christians. 0:38:19.191,0:38:24.349 Different Christians live at these different concentric circles, 0:38:24.349,0:38:29.654 moving out and away from the middle. 0:38:29.654,0:38:35.932 He says, "Some value the presence of their Savior so highly 0:38:35.932,0:38:41.524 they cannot bear to be at any removed from Him. 0:38:41.524,0:38:43.478 Even their work, they will bring up and do it 0:38:43.478,0:38:45.642 in the light of His countenance." 0:38:45.642,0:38:48.410 And I want you to see what Payson recognized, 0:38:48.410,0:38:52.121 you don't have to be a pastor or a missionary 0:38:52.121,0:38:59.724 or in some certain designated church ministry 0:38:59.724,0:39:03.114 for this to happen. 0:39:03.114,0:39:06.881 That's not the case. 0:39:06.881,0:39:10.211 Remember, brethren, remember! 0:39:10.211,0:39:13.833 That you might have strength to comprehend 0:39:13.833,0:39:16.059 with all the saints 0:39:16.059,0:39:21.109 what is the breadth and length and height and depth. 0:39:21.109,0:39:28.246 It's for all the saints, brethren, it's not just for the pastor. 0:39:28.246,0:39:31.091 "They cannot bear to be at any removed from Christ, 0:39:31.091,0:39:33.373 even their work they will bring up and do it 0:39:33.373,0:39:36.561 in the light of His countenance. Whatever work that is. 0:39:36.561,0:39:38.119 Whether it's in ministry, whether it's building, 0:39:38.119,0:39:43.786 construction, plumber... and while engaged in it 0:39:43.786,0:39:47.005 will be seen constantly raising their eyes to Him 0:39:47.005,0:39:52.977 as if fearful of losing one beam of His light." 0:39:52.977,0:39:55.571 Brethren, here's the truth, every child of God 0:39:55.571,0:39:58.843 definitely knows the love of Christ. 0:39:58.843,0:40:02.416 But not every child of God definitely knows that love 0:40:02.416,0:40:04.077 to the same degree. 0:40:04.077,0:40:07.140 Not all of us walk in the same circles. 0:40:07.140,0:40:12.414 Not all of us live as close to Christ as others do or have. 0:40:12.414,0:40:14.529 That's just a reality. 0:40:14.529,0:40:19.371 Brethren, the innermost circle represents those... 0:40:19.371,0:40:23.058 I can tell you this, 0:40:23.058,0:40:27.278 when you live in the innermost circles, 0:40:27.278,0:40:32.538 you are sensitive to Christ's love. 0:40:32.538,0:40:38.920 Brethren, Christ saved us to love us. 0:40:38.920,0:40:40.648 He loved us and He saved us, 0:40:40.648,0:40:44.610 and He saved us to love us. 0:40:44.610,0:40:50.289 And those that live closest, they are sensitive 0:40:50.289,0:40:52.064 to His approaches, they are sensitive. 0:40:52.064,0:40:57.800 That's what characterizes people here. 0:40:57.800,0:40:59.523 They watch for that love. 0:40:59.523,0:41:01.549 They watch to respond to that love. 0:41:01.549,0:41:03.924 Brethren, this is the real test of whether you're 0:41:03.924,0:41:05.733 maturing as a Christian. 0:41:05.733,0:41:08.388 It isn't simple whether today you can articulate 0:41:08.388,0:41:12.993 limited atonement where you couldn't a year ago. 0:41:12.993,0:41:16.601 Brethren, the real test, the real key to maturing 0:41:16.601,0:41:22.084 in the Christian life is how close to Christ you're walking. 0:41:22.084,0:41:24.519 How close to Him you live. 0:41:24.519,0:41:26.566 How much of His love you're bathed in. 0:41:26.566,0:41:30.445 And I gaurantee this, just that reality of 2 Cointhians 3:18 0:41:30.445,0:41:32.834 Brethren, the closer you live to the glory, 0:41:32.834,0:41:34.746 the more you behold His glory, 0:41:34.746,0:41:40.362 the more you are becoming conformed to that image. 0:41:40.362,0:41:42.823 Brethren, some just live closer. 0:41:42.823,0:41:45.681 That's a fact. 0:41:45.681,0:41:50.261 They live where there's greater apprehensions of Christ's love. 0:41:50.261,0:41:55.039 And I'll tell you this, children of God that live 0:41:55.039,0:42:02.413 in this innermost circle, they must be careful. 0:42:02.413,0:42:04.357 You say, what do you mean? 0:42:04.357,0:42:07.909 Have you ever thought about Moses? 0:42:07.909,0:42:11.317 God would say if I'm going to speak to one 0:42:11.317,0:42:13.548 of the prophets, I'm going to do it through a vision, 0:42:13.548,0:42:14.750 through a dream. 0:42:14.750,0:42:19.828 He says when I speak to Moses, it's face to face. 0:42:19.828,0:42:23.516 Can I tell you this? 0:42:23.516,0:42:28.733 Moses struck the rock. 0:42:28.733,0:42:32.420 How many of us have done some fool thing like that? 0:42:32.420,0:42:35.546 in disobedience to God? 0:42:35.546,0:42:40.776 Yet the consequences were not so severe. Why? 0:42:40.776,0:42:43.359 Brethren, I'll tell you what, when you live 0:42:43.359,0:42:50.391 in those inner circles, you must walk carefully. 0:42:50.391,0:42:58.904 Martyn Lloyd-Jones says the air here is very pure 0:42:58.904,0:43:01.170 and very rarified, 0:43:01.170,0:43:04.690 and slight changes are immediately felt. 0:43:04.690,0:43:09.008 Responsiveness to Christ's approaches must set us to 0:43:09.008,0:43:11.169 a careful watch, brethren. 0:43:11.169,0:43:13.141 Think about Moses. 0:43:13.141,0:43:15.823 Those who walk in the innermost concentric circles, 0:43:15.823,0:43:20.662 must develop a holy sensitivity to the advances of Christ. 0:43:20.662,0:43:24.214 They must be sensitive to sin. Sensitive to their conscience. 0:43:24.214,0:43:29.129 Sensitive to any grieving of the Spirit of God. 0:43:29.129,0:43:31.831 Brethren, do you remember how it was? 0:43:31.831,0:43:35.268 There in the Song of Solomon 5? 0:43:35.268,0:43:38.743 We find that the woman there, 0:43:38.743,0:43:42.383 she had taken her clothes off. 0:43:42.383,0:43:46.238 She had removed her garment, it says, 0:43:46.238,0:43:48.604 and she had washed her feet. 0:43:48.604,0:43:50.229 And she was there at the bed, 0:43:50.229,0:43:53.186 and her beloved came to the door. 0:43:53.186,0:43:58.273 And you get that wonderful intimacy, that language there, 0:43:58.273,0:44:05.093 that just flows out of that first part of Song of Solomon 5. 0:44:05.093,0:44:11.611 But what happened? He's knocking on the door. 0:44:11.611,0:44:17.363 Here's the advance. He's come to just immerse her in love. 0:44:17.363,0:44:19.532 And there was hesitation. Did you catch that? 0:44:19.532,0:44:21.460 There was a hesitation. 0:44:21.460,0:44:24.311 She had the thought go through her head. 0:44:24.311,0:44:27.395 Wait, I've put my garment off, I've washed my feet. 0:44:27.395,0:44:29.934 There was the hesitation. 0:44:29.934,0:44:31.823 Brethern, the people that walk in those 0:44:31.823,0:44:33.632 innermost concentric circles... 0:44:33.632,0:44:36.158 By the way, that lady was not at that moment 0:44:36.158,0:44:41.813 living in the inner circle. 0:44:41.813,0:44:44.547 There was a hesitation. 0:44:44.547,0:44:49.095 And when she got to the door, her beloved was gone. 0:44:49.095,0:44:54.791 Brethren, I guarantee you, there are times in life 0:44:54.791,0:44:58.337 that Christ waits to smother you in His love. 0:44:58.337,0:45:01.612 But you do not respond to His advances. 0:45:01.612,0:45:04.022 You say, can you prove that from the Scriptures? 0:45:04.022,0:45:06.647 Well, brethren, it's everywhere. 0:45:06.647,0:45:08.829 But how about this? 0:45:08.829,0:45:11.829 I mean, speaking to a church, 0:45:11.829,0:45:16.615 speaking to a group of covenant people, 0:45:16.615,0:45:19.444 not the lost indiscriminate masses. 0:45:19.444,0:45:23.053 He's speaking to a church, brethren. 0:45:23.053,0:45:28.622 And He says, "Behold, I stand at the door and knock." 0:45:28.622,0:45:32.141 And He says, "if you will open to Me, I will come in." 0:45:32.141,0:45:34.164 And do what? 0:45:34.164,0:45:37.219 "Dine with you." Brethren, in that near Eastern, 0:45:37.219,0:45:40.007 middle Eastern mindset, to have somebody 0:45:40.007,0:45:42.338 come into your house and dine with you 0:45:42.338,0:45:43.908 was a sign of intimacy. 0:45:43.908,0:45:45.333 You know in the Muslim world, 0:45:45.333,0:45:47.020 for them to bring you in 0:45:47.020,0:45:49.779 and have you for dinner in their home 0:45:49.779,0:45:54.451 means that they are now under an obligation now to protect you. 0:45:54.451,0:45:56.317 Brethren, there's an intimacy I think that sometimes 0:45:56.317,0:45:58.288 we don't feel in our culture. 0:45:58.288,0:46:02.702 But Christ was saying, "I stand here." 0:46:02.702,0:46:06.792 Brethren, those that have used that illustration for 0:46:06.792,0:46:09.287 Christ calling the lost multitudes, 0:46:09.287,0:46:11.466 that's just simply not what this is talking about. 0:46:11.466,0:46:14.472 Don't use that verse in that context. 0:46:14.472,0:46:16.031 That's not what it means. 0:46:16.031,0:46:18.315 He's speaking to His covenant people, 0:46:18.315,0:46:22.066 and He's saying, "Look, I stand here." 0:46:22.066,0:46:26.927 He just got done saying, "Those that I love, I chasten." 0:46:26.927,0:46:29.160 And He's saying, "I stand here." 0:46:29.160,0:46:33.368 He's been talking to those He loves, brethren. 0:46:33.368,0:46:44.537 Brethren, to live in this inner circle, 0:46:44.537,0:46:47.643 here's what it takes: 0:46:47.643,0:46:50.165 the slightest tug of heart... 0:46:50.165,0:46:53.879 I mean, you're sitting down to a meal, 0:46:53.879,0:46:56.607 and you feel "Christ wants me to fast," 0:46:56.607,0:46:58.122 "He wants me to go be with Him." 0:46:58.122,0:46:59.495 You're laying down on your bed, 0:46:59.495,0:47:01.550 you feel Christ wants me to put my clothes on 0:47:01.550,0:47:04.745 and go out and walk the fields and commune with Him. 0:47:04.745,0:47:06.978 You're at work, you're in the middle of something, 0:47:06.978,0:47:09.560 but you feel like God wants me to pray right now, 0:47:09.560,0:47:11.127 the Lord is calling me. 0:47:11.127,0:47:14.932 Brethren, we put it off. No, just not yet. 0:47:14.932,0:47:16.985 But when we go there, it's like the young lady, 0:47:16.985,0:47:19.136 she goes to the door and He's gone! 0:47:19.136,0:47:20.999 Brethren, that happens. That happens when 0:47:20.999,0:47:25.499 you put off the loving advances of a lover. 0:47:25.499,0:47:28.904 That happens. That's how we cause grief. 0:47:28.904,0:47:31.267 Brethren, it's not like Christ is somehow foreign 0:47:31.267,0:47:34.333 and far removed. He's a Lover of His people. 0:47:34.333,0:47:40.250 And we know what grieves two people that are in love. 0:47:40.250,0:47:42.480 We know where the grief comes from. 0:47:42.480,0:47:45.051 We know the kind of things... 0:47:45.051,0:47:48.913 Brethren, when one lover is making an advance to another, 0:47:48.913,0:47:51.271 and it's put off, and it's resisted. 0:47:51.271,0:47:55.364 Or something is deemed to be more important, 0:47:55.364,0:47:57.295 then we come to the door and He's gone. 0:47:57.295,0:47:59.679 Boy, if we would have gone right when He called us. 0:47:59.679,0:48:02.471 He was calling us to His Word. He wanted to speak to us. 0:48:02.471,0:48:04.150 And when we get there... 0:48:04.150,0:48:07.854 well, it's not there now. 0:48:07.854,0:48:11.342 Brethren, if we're going to live in the innermost 0:48:11.342,0:48:16.496 concentric circles, there must be sensitivity. 0:48:16.496,0:48:20.956 Sensitivity, brethren, sensitivity! 0:48:20.956,0:48:24.362 Too many of us have too much noise, 0:48:24.362,0:48:25.825 too much clutter. 0:48:25.825,0:48:28.891 We can't hear when He's knocking at the door. 0:48:28.891,0:48:31.093 And brethren, you know how it is, 0:48:31.093,0:48:33.187 when two people are in love, 0:48:33.187,0:48:35.556 sometimes it's just - what? 0:48:35.556,0:48:39.939 You catch a glance from one another, right? 0:48:39.939,0:48:42.035 I mean, come on, you that are married... 0:48:42.035,0:48:46.074 it's just a look. It's a fleeting glance of the eyes, 0:48:46.074,0:48:47.958 and you saw something in your wife's eyes 0:48:47.958,0:48:50.640 or your husband's eyes that just shot back to you, 0:48:50.640,0:48:53.330 "I love you." 0:48:53.330,0:48:56.444 Brethren, Christ is the same, and His ways 0:48:56.444,0:49:00.794 of communicating His love are manifold. 0:49:00.794,0:49:04.218 But brethren, so often we've got so much noise, 0:49:04.218,0:49:05.814 we don't hear His voice. 0:49:05.814,0:49:07.588 We don't hear the knock. 0:49:07.588,0:49:09.886 Or we're so preoccupied with other things. 0:49:09.886,0:49:13.026 Brethren, Payson's describing the people in 0:49:13.026,0:49:17.362 these innermost circles, not as reading their Bibles perpetually. 0:49:17.362,0:49:19.932 But even when they're in the workplace, 0:49:19.932,0:49:22.145 they constantly have their eyes lifted up. 0:49:22.145,0:49:24.538 "Lord, is this pleasing to You?" "Lord, is this right?" 0:49:24.538,0:49:27.043 They're constantly talking. They're constantly singing. 0:49:27.043,0:49:29.972 Their minds are constantly set on things above. 0:49:29.972,0:49:33.121 They're constantly looking. They're constantly going there. 0:49:33.121,0:49:36.354 They're afraid - they don't ever want to get to the place 0:49:36.354,0:49:39.161 where they look up and "where is He?" 0:49:39.161,0:49:42.000 "He's gone," or "I've drifted away," 0:49:42.000,0:49:43.248 "I've wandered away." 0:49:43.248,0:49:46.341 There's a fear, brethren, there's a fear 0:49:46.341,0:49:48.712 to live in this circle. 0:49:48.712,0:49:52.363 That you don't want to strike the rock 0:49:52.363,0:49:53.874 and now I can't go into the land of Canaan. 0:49:53.874,0:49:57.849 There's a sensitivity here. We need to be careful. 0:49:57.849,0:50:00.332 Remember Moses, brethren, remember. 0:50:00.332,0:50:04.689 The apostle Paul was one who sought to live in this realm. 0:50:04.689,0:50:07.808 Do you know there in 1 Corinthians 4:4, he says, 0:50:07.808,0:50:13.393 "I know nothing against myself." 0:50:13.393,0:50:16.468 Paul was a man who lived with a conscience 0:50:16.468,0:50:20.394 that was undefiled, all the time, before God and man. 0:50:20.394,0:50:22.297 Nothing, brethren, nothing. 0:50:22.297,0:50:24.233 I'm not saying he lived a perfect life, 0:50:24.233,0:50:27.070 but I'm saying he kept his conscience clear. 0:50:27.070,0:50:31.356 He let nothing stand between Him and Christ - nothing! 0:50:31.356,0:50:34.290 No idol in his life. No sin in his life. 0:50:34.290,0:50:37.235 Short accounts. He dealt with it right away, right away. 0:50:37.235,0:50:40.293 People that dwell in this innermost circle 0:50:40.293,0:50:43.813 of the love of Christ, that bask in that glow 0:50:43.813,0:50:46.602 more perpetually than all the rest of us. 0:50:46.602,0:50:50.886 Brethren, they're sensitive. They're sensitive. 0:50:50.886,0:50:52.532 They don't want to grieve Him, they don't want to 0:50:52.532,0:50:54.832 grieve His Spirit at all. 0:50:54.832,0:50:57.714 And this power just floods them. 0:50:57.714,0:51:00.457 And the more we strive, the more we give ourselves, 0:51:00.457,0:51:03.684 the more we try to be attentive to His advances, 0:51:03.684,0:51:05.890 and His glances, and His voice, brethren, 0:51:05.890,0:51:08.399 the more we will find that voice being heard. 0:51:08.399,0:51:11.209 And we will find that glance coming to our eye. 0:51:11.209,0:51:13.286 The more, brethren, the more.[br] 0:51:13.286,0:51:19.731 Christ is not slow, brethren. 0:51:19.731,0:51:21.623 We need to be sensitive. 0:51:21.623,0:51:24.988 Brainerd. You guys know David Brainerd, many of you. 0:51:24.988,0:51:30.512 He worked among the Indians in the 1700's. 0:51:30.512,0:51:39.220 Brethren, he would confess his pride somewhat hourly 0:51:39.220,0:51:43.240 trying to keep sensitive, trying to keep short accounts, 0:51:43.240,0:51:45.660 trying to keep in the Presence. 0:51:45.660,0:51:47.836 Oh, brethren, as you are more and more 0:51:47.836,0:51:51.838 responsive to Christ and all His loving approaches, 0:51:51.838,0:51:56.069 your comprehension of His love will grow. 0:51:56.069,0:52:01.496 Don't let a frown of grief come across that Spirit at all. 0:52:01.496,0:52:04.743 Keep all the channels open. All of them flowing. 0:52:04.743,0:52:09.808 It's like that song says, "Nothing between, nothing between." 0:52:09.808,0:52:13.535 All of it out of there. 0:52:13.535,0:52:18.315 As Jude says, "Keep yourselves in the love of God." 0:52:18.315,0:52:21.227 Brethren, that's not about being saved. 0:52:21.227,0:52:27.570 That's about people, as our missionary in China loves to say, 0:52:27.570,0:52:33.219 brethren, it's a sensible sense of God's love. 0:52:33.219,0:52:35.158 Keep yourselves in the love of God. 0:52:35.158,0:52:37.972 That doesn't mean that once God loves me, 0:52:37.972,0:52:40.297 I can get away from His love. 0:52:40.297,0:52:42.826 His love is eternal. His love is everlasting. 0:52:42.826,0:52:44.554 When He lays His love upon somebody, 0:52:44.554,0:52:46.874 nobody can pluck them out of His hand. 0:52:46.874,0:52:48.795 That's not what He's talking about there. 0:52:48.795,0:52:51.464 The idea is, brethren, there is a place 0:52:51.464,0:52:54.958 where the love of Christ flows. 0:52:54.958,0:53:00.899 Get you there. Get there. Sit there. Find that place. 0:53:00.899,0:53:03.691 It takes sensitivity. It takes awareness. 0:53:03.691,0:53:09.247 I'll tell you this, the lazy aren't going to find that place. 0:53:09.247,0:53:11.715 Those that aren't committed to this; 0:53:11.715,0:53:14.004 those that are in love with the world; 0:53:14.004,0:53:16.225 those that would rather play at Christianity... 0:53:16.225,0:53:20.393 you're not going to find this place. 0:53:20.393,0:53:24.136 Keep yourselves sensitive, keep yourselves alert 0:53:24.136,0:53:27.992 in this rarified air, brethren, of the inner circles. 0:53:27.992,0:53:30.581 But then, here's Edward Payson. 0:53:30.581,0:53:34.274 "Others, to be sure, 0:53:34.274,0:53:39.424 would not be content to live out of Christ's presence, 0:53:39.424,0:53:45.966 but they're yet less wholly absorbed by it than these first ones 0:53:45.966,0:53:48.414 and may be seen a little further off, 0:53:48.414,0:53:51.254 engaged here and there in other various callings; 0:53:51.254,0:53:54.748 their eyes generally upon their work, 0:53:54.748,0:53:59.635 but often looking up for the light which they love." 0:53:59.635,0:54:03.789 You see, people, as we fall and we move further out 0:54:03.789,0:54:07.539 of these concentric circles, 0:54:07.539,0:54:11.710 the Spirit's work is somewhat more resisted. 0:54:11.710,0:54:15.641 We allow somewhat more of the grieving of the Spirit. 0:54:15.641,0:54:18.899 People in this category allow more noise, 0:54:18.899,0:54:20.478 more distractions. 0:54:20.478,0:54:23.484 Christ's knock at the door is less obvious. 0:54:23.484,0:54:26.421 It gets mistaken for other noises. 0:54:26.421,0:54:31.312 Their minds tend to stray from Christ for longer periods. 0:54:31.315,0:54:32.958 The young lady from the Song of Solomon, 0:54:32.958,0:54:35.393 at least at that point there where she put off her lover, 0:54:35.393,0:54:40.580 at least at that moment, she was in more 0:54:40.580,0:54:42.541 of these outward circles. 0:54:42.541,0:54:45.278 Brethren, you know what happens? 0:54:45.278,0:54:49.746 There's a hesitation in our obedience. 0:54:49.746,0:54:52.237 There's a hesitation in our love. 0:54:52.237,0:54:53.959 Isn't that what happened? 0:54:53.959,0:54:57.746 That lady when her lover came to the door, 0:54:57.746,0:55:01.414 she hesitated. Isn't that what happened? 0:55:01.414,0:55:03.420 She got to thinking, "well, I put my garment off, 0:55:03.420,0:55:06.972 I washed my feet." There was a hesitation. 0:55:06.972,0:55:09.279 Brethren, that is often what characterizes 0:55:09.279,0:55:12.664 what the difference is that characterizes 0:55:12.664,0:55:15.725 those in the innermost circles from the outermost. 0:55:15.725,0:55:17.812 We tend to move more outward from those 0:55:17.812,0:55:20.791 concentric circles of the love of Christ 0:55:20.791,0:55:23.614 when there's more hesitation. 0:55:23.614,0:55:27.670 There's more justifying that which probably 0:55:27.670,0:55:29.887 isn't good in our life. 0:55:29.887,0:55:32.389 They may be somewhat neutral things, but they're just stuff. 0:55:32.389,0:55:34.421 They're just filler. 0:55:34.421,0:55:38.488 We move more into the realm - 0:55:38.488,0:55:41.368 you know how it says in Philippians, 0:55:41.368,0:55:43.790 we need to approve what is excellent. 0:55:43.790,0:55:45.820 The ones in the innermost circles, they approve 0:55:45.820,0:55:47.492 what is most excellent. 0:55:47.492,0:55:50.927 As you begin to move out, people tolerate stuff that's good 0:55:50.927,0:55:53.405 at the expense of stuff that's excellent. 0:55:53.405,0:55:55.926 People in this realm, to be sure, 0:55:55.926,0:56:04.337 they're people that do love Christ. 0:56:04.337,0:56:07.256 People in this camp, the love for Christ is full, 0:56:07.256,0:56:09.334 it's rich, it's strong. 0:56:09.334,0:56:13.659 But that recently put off garment; those freshly washed feet, 0:56:13.659,0:56:15.698 often are the kinds of things that give rise to 0:56:15.698,0:56:22.030 such the hesitation that puts them in a class 0:56:22.030,0:56:24.226 as to where they get to the door and they don't enjoy 0:56:24.226,0:56:27.946 the overwhelming embraces of Christ. 0:56:27.946,0:56:29.869 He's gone. 0:56:29.869,0:56:31.891 Brethren, some of us are too calculated. 0:56:31.891,0:56:33.465 Over much calculation, over much deliberation, 0:56:33.465,0:56:36.071 over much hesitation - hesitations of doubt, 0:56:36.071,0:56:38.717 distractions by the world. 0:56:38.717,0:56:43.628 Brethren, it costs. 0:56:43.628,0:56:46.095 But moving outward still, Payson goes on to describe 0:56:46.095,0:56:48.205 this last category. He says this, 0:56:48.205,0:56:53.101 "A third class beyond these, but yet within the life-giving rays." 0:56:53.101,0:56:56.126 In his estimation, as he lived his life when he's writing this, 0:56:56.126,0:56:58.116 he's at the end of his life. He's observed, 0:56:58.116,0:57:01.175 there are people who are genuinely saved. 0:57:01.175,0:57:04.520 They're within the life-giving rays. 0:57:04.520,0:57:06.888 It includes a doubtful multitude. 0:57:06.888,0:57:10.437 "Many of whom are so much engaged in their worldly schemes, 0:57:10.437,0:57:13.772 that they may be seen standing sideways to Christ, 0:57:13.772,0:57:16.376 looking mostly the other way, and 0:57:16.376,0:57:20.436 only now and then turning their faces towards the light." 0:57:20.436,0:57:22.140 Brethren, you can see the picture, right? 0:57:22.140,0:57:25.314 Christ is here in the center, and they're in these fading 0:57:25.314,0:57:29.605 concentric circles, and they're standing sideways. 0:57:29.605,0:57:32.254 Which means, they can turn and glance. 0:57:32.254,0:57:34.156 The people in the inner circles, 0:57:34.156,0:57:36.219 they've got their eyes on Christ. 0:57:36.219,0:57:39.999 They're just afraid, lest they take them off. 0:57:39.999,0:57:42.983 The people as you move out, they tend to turn. 0:57:42.983,0:57:46.277 They tend to turn more and more to the side. 0:57:46.277,0:57:49.106 Until you get in the outer concentric circles 0:57:49.106,0:57:52.745 of what still remains to be true Christianity.[br] 0:57:52.745,0:57:55.903 And brethren, a lot of people live there. 0:57:55.903,0:57:58.701 It's kind of like that picture that Spurgeon paints 0:57:58.701,0:58:03.423 of the love of Christ being an ocean to swim in. 0:58:03.423,0:58:11.000 And that most Chrsitians wade ankle deep. 0:58:11.000,0:58:18.842 Very, very few dive in to find it an ocean to swim in. 0:58:18.842,0:58:22.027 Brethren, what I want to ask you right now 0:58:22.027,0:58:25.286 is let's just bring it home. 0:58:25.286,0:58:27.374 Where are you at? 0:58:27.374,0:58:29.296 I mean is this true of you? 0:58:29.296,0:58:33.569 Where are you living? What are you content with?[br] 0:58:33.569,0:58:37.044 Brethren, what happens in our life? 0:58:37.044,0:58:38.362 Can I tell you this? 0:58:38.362,0:58:44.533 Can you be a Christian and grieve the Spirit? 0:58:44.533,0:58:48.220 Obviously, or Paul wouldn't be telling those Ephesians not to do it. 0:58:48.220,0:58:49.517 Can you grieve the Spirit 0:58:49.517,0:58:55.470 and then His fiery influences are quenched? 0:58:55.470,0:58:59.075 And now this power doesn't flow in us, to comprehend this love? 0:58:59.075,0:59:01.565 Obviously, brethren, that's why there's danger 0:59:01.565,0:59:03.314 in quenching the Spirit. 0:59:03.314,0:59:05.464 That's why there's danger in grieving the Spirit. 0:59:05.464,0:59:08.813 We woudn't be told not to do it if it didn't matter. 0:59:08.813,0:59:10.585 It does matter. 0:59:10.585,0:59:13.087 It greatly matters. 0:59:13.087,0:59:16.777 But think about grieving the Spirit. 0:59:16.777,0:59:19.934 Think about it. What happens? 0:59:19.934,0:59:22.318 Brethren, I can remember one time as a kid, 0:59:22.318,0:59:25.017 my brother and I, we went to this carnival, 0:59:25.017,0:59:28.173 up there in Michigan, and we got on this 0:59:28.173,0:59:31.586 thing that went around in circles. 0:59:31.586,0:59:35.673 And what made it fun was that once it got going around, 0:59:35.673,0:59:45.513 it would shoot you way up in the air. 0:59:45.513,0:59:48.533 So there we were. My brother and I got in this thing, 0:59:48.533,0:59:51.262 we were spinning around, and every time we went around 0:59:51.262,0:59:53.392 by the ride operator, he'd shout something at us. 0:59:53.392,0:59:56.866 All the other cars are going up, ours wouldn't go up. 0:59:56.866,0:59:59.069 We just kept going in circles. 0:59:59.069,1:00:02.184 What made the ride fun was the fact you got to go up in the air. 1:00:02.184,1:00:05.135 But he kept shouting something. We couldn't hear him. 1:00:05.135,1:00:06.913 So we're moving around, moving this way, 1:00:06.913,1:00:09.104 going over here, we thought he wanted us 1:00:09.104,1:00:10.838 to move further in, further out. 1:00:10.838,1:00:12.928 We're moving all over, we're doing all this stuff. 1:00:12.928,1:00:16.670 In the end, the ride's over, and we never got to go up. 1:00:16.670,1:00:19.929 But you know that's a lot like a lot of Christians. 1:00:19.929,1:00:22.454 You know what he was saying, 1:00:22.454,1:00:24.664 "Pull the safety bar back." 1:00:24.664,1:00:27.787 We never did hear it. 1:00:27.787,1:00:30.994 But it's like that with a lot of Christians. 1:00:30.994,1:00:34.045 Brethren, you're being told by the apostle. 1:00:34.045,1:00:36.167 He's the ride operator. You're on the ride. 1:00:36.167,1:00:38.579 He's shouting to you: 1:00:38.579,1:00:41.292 "Don't grieve the Spirit." 1:00:41.292,1:00:43.958 "Pull into the inner circles, 1:00:43.958,1:00:50.400 that you might comprehend the love of Christ." 1:00:50.400,1:00:52.448 The vastness of it. 1:00:52.448,1:00:56.533 To be filled with all the fullness of God. 1:00:56.533,1:00:58.418 It will bring you power, folks. 1:00:58.418,1:01:00.880 It will help you. It will pull you through this life. 1:01:00.880,1:01:04.759 It will pull you through the problems. 1:01:04.759,1:01:11.478 Brethren, what does grieve the Holy Spirit? 1:01:11.478,1:01:14.317 And it comes back to this aspect of love. 1:01:14.317,1:01:16.144 It really does. 1:01:16.144,1:01:17.628 Somebody will come along and say, 1:01:17.628,1:01:19.587 well, the only possible thing that could grieve 1:01:19.587,1:01:24.044 the Holy Spirit is sin. 1:01:24.044,1:01:26.966 You know what I find? 1:01:26.966,1:01:31.461 I find even when there's sin, such as, 1:01:31.461,1:01:35.456 remember the prodigal son? 1:01:35.456,1:01:37.503 He lived in all sorts of sin. 1:01:37.503,1:01:39.397 And when he came back to his father, 1:01:39.397,1:01:43.381 his father didn't meet him with a grieved smile. 1:01:43.381,1:01:46.197 Remember, what grieves the Father, grieves the Son, 1:01:46.197,1:01:48.812 grieves the Spirit. They're all One. 1:01:48.812,1:01:50.868 As far as what grieves them. What grieves the Spirit 1:01:50.868,1:01:53.798 would be the same thing that grieves the Father. 1:01:53.798,1:01:56.920 But here's the picture Christ is painting for us of the Father. 1:01:56.920,1:02:00.118 Despite all the sin, the Father did not welcome him back 1:02:00.118,1:02:03.711 with a frown of grief. 1:02:03.711,1:02:07.119 There is joy in heaven over one sinner that repents, 1:02:07.119,1:02:09.774 than over 99 that need no repentance. 1:02:09.774,1:02:13.039 Brethren, you cannot just nail it down to the fact 1:02:13.039,1:02:16.165 that sin... 1:02:16.165,1:02:20.146 brethren, it comes back to the intimacy thing. 1:02:20.146,1:02:24.525 The Father's rejoicing because here comes one now, 1:02:24.525,1:02:29.141 a repentant sinner, that's seeking the intimacy. 1:02:29.141,1:02:31.686 Coming back, returning to the Father, 1:02:31.686,1:02:37.115 the Father throws His arms, kisses, robes, sandals, 1:02:37.115,1:02:39.852 fatted calf, rings on finger... 1:02:39.852,1:02:43.474 brethren, again, it's intimacy. 1:02:43.474,1:02:46.139 You want to know what grieves the Spirit? 1:02:46.139,1:02:47.607 Listen to this, you say, well 1:02:47.607,1:02:50.259 certainly not keeping His commandments. 1:02:50.259,1:02:53.910 Yeah, but He says, listen to how He says it. 1:02:53.910,1:02:56.717 Yes, that's true, but that's not all the truth of it. 1:02:56.717,1:03:00.800 The truth is, if you love Me, keep My commandments. 1:03:00.800,1:03:04.650 Even there, Christ is making it an intimacy thing. 1:03:04.650,1:03:08.713 A relational thing. He's appealing, brethren. 1:03:08.713,1:03:10.846 If you love Me, keep My commandments. 1:03:10.846,1:03:13.187 I'm not so much interested in people 1:03:13.187,1:03:14.974 walking around through life who coldly 1:03:14.974,1:03:18.023 and mechanically just try to be law keepers. 1:03:18.023,1:03:21.313 I'm looking for people who are like these people 1:03:21.313,1:03:24.370 in the innermost concentric cirlces; they're afraid 1:03:24.370,1:03:27.976 they fear lest they should fall out of His love, 1:03:27.976,1:03:31.008 out of His loving beams, out of His gaze. 1:03:31.008,1:03:33.447 Keep yourselves in the love of God. 1:03:33.447,1:03:37.428 The reason that they're wanting to be so meticulous 1:03:37.428,1:03:40.321 is lest they should have any cloud come between them. 1:03:40.321,1:03:42.500 Brethren, when that's what drives you, 1:03:42.500,1:03:45.338 look how pleasing that is to Him. 1:03:45.338,1:03:49.957 Brethren, He says, have you ever read 1:03:49.957,1:03:53.185 what was said of the Ephesian church there 1:03:53.185,1:03:55.284 in Revelation 2? 1:03:55.284,1:03:58.228 Brethren, they were a good church. They were good. 1:03:58.228,1:04:00.038 If you go through the list of everything that Christ says, 1:04:00.038,1:04:03.661 positively about them, they are a tremendous church. 1:04:03.689,1:04:05.460 But in the end, He says this, 1:04:05.460,1:04:08.734 despite all that looks tremendous, 1:04:08.734,1:04:11.567 despite all that may seem to the contrary, 1:04:11.567,1:04:13.442 "You've lost your first love, 1:04:13.442,1:04:15.684 and that I hold against you." 1:04:15.684,1:04:18.816 Brethren, you want to know something that grieves the Spirit? 1:04:18.816,1:04:21.376 When you begin to lose this first love. 1:04:21.376,1:04:26.441 That in itself is grieving. 1:04:26.441,1:04:27.589 It's grieving. 1:04:27.589,1:04:32.524 Brethren, when you look at these things? 1:04:32.524,1:04:34.671 Where are we? 1:04:34.671,1:04:37.006 Where are you? 1:04:37.006,1:04:39.063 Where have you been? 1:04:39.063,1:04:42.461 Where have you been living? 1:04:42.461,1:04:49.591 Brethren, if we can press in. Press in. Press upward. 1:04:49.591,1:04:53.474 Brethren, I not only love reading about these guys 1:04:53.474,1:04:58.103 that have this burst of love come upon them. 1:04:58.103,1:05:02.015 But these men, these women, who lived 1:05:02.015,1:05:06.422 year in, year out, in the blazing glory. 1:05:06.422,1:05:09.515 Samuel Rutherford, I'll just end on this: 1:05:09.515,1:05:11.903 Spurgeon says of him, 1:05:11.903,1:05:19.013 "Old Samuel Rutherford used expressions sometimes so rapturous," 1:05:19.013,1:05:24.316 Spurgeon says, "I won't even quote them." 1:05:24.316,1:05:26.014 And here's why. Spurgeon said, 1:05:26.014,1:05:30.690 "Love letters are not to be read in the streets. 1:05:30.690,1:05:33.495 And the words which souls inflamed with heavenly fire 1:05:33.495,1:05:38.435 sometimes use towards Christ are not fit for public repetition. 1:05:38.435,1:05:40.570 For there are passages of love, there are 1:05:40.570,1:05:45.278 sweet embraces of affections of which we must not tell. 1:05:45.278,1:05:48.292 For this were to commit treason such as Paul might have done 1:05:48.292,1:05:52.686 if he had told on earth those things that He had heard in heaven. 1:05:52.686,1:05:57.114 And which it would not be lawful for a man to utter here." 1:05:57.114,1:05:59.029 Brethren, do you know anything of that? 1:05:59.029,1:06:02.635 Do you know anything of such words, such exchanges 1:06:02.635,1:06:11.436 between you and Christ that it's almost unfit for the public? 1:06:11.456,1:06:15.909 They're there in the inner circles. 1:06:15.909,1:06:19.921 That you might be able to comprehend with all the saints 1:06:19.921,1:06:23.493 that you might be able to press into these inner circles 1:06:23.493,1:06:25.584 that's what that means. 1:06:25.584,1:06:29.483 Brethren, the power of the Spirit of God is there. 1:06:29.483,1:06:30.847 Don't grieve Him. 1:06:30.847,1:06:33.055 This is your life. 1:06:33.055,1:06:38.802 This is it. Basking in the glow of Christ's love is it. 1:06:38.802,1:06:42.594 That's what fills us with all the fullness of God. 1:06:42.594,1:06:49.519 You can't go in further. 1:06:49.519,1:06:54.879 There's no more further in than the innermost circles, brethren. 1:06:54.879,1:06:59.611 Now we will get swept, unless it's just to go into Christ Himself, 1:06:59.611,1:07:03.191 which we are in there. 1:07:03.191,1:07:08.501 We'll just be swept off into glory forever and ever, 1:07:08.501,1:07:15.683 just to be ravished by this love. 1:07:15.683,1:07:22.053 Well, I'm sorry I can't - I can guarantee you 1:07:22.053,1:07:25.796 there is a glory here to be brought out 1:07:25.796,1:07:32.421 that I feel I fail tremendously to be able to do, 1:07:32.421,1:07:36.356 but seek to dwell on these things. 1:07:36.356,1:07:39.535 Go after them. 1:07:39.535,1:07:41.958 Brethren, walk carefully. 1:07:41.958,1:07:47.732 Strive to know nothing against yourself, nothing at all. 1:07:47.732,1:07:49.373 Be careful. 1:07:49.373,1:07:51.378 Don't hesitate. 1:07:51.378,1:07:56.518 When Christ beckons you, go at once. 1:07:56.518,1:07:59.522 When He calls you to prayer, jump. 1:07:59.522,1:08:01.744 When He calls you to the Word, jump. 1:08:01.744,1:08:05.722 When He calls you to fast, move, brethren. 1:08:05.722,1:08:10.058 When He calls your name... don't be slow. 1:08:10.058,1:08:12.578 "Here am I." 1:08:12.578,1:08:15.796 When He puts that tinge in your conscience, don't go that way, 1:08:15.796,1:08:18.403 brethren, don't go that way. 1:08:18.403,1:08:24.021 When He knocks at the door, run to that door and open it. 1:08:24.021,1:08:26.070 And may God help us.