Our work really takes on a revival, depth, character when there is the Bible and the Cross. We need to be constantly changed. Life gets hijacked sometimes. But let us be people who don’t have to be at the center. Let us quietly serve. (Galatians 5:24)

Speaker(s): Pastor John Love, Pastor Thomas Schaller
Sermon # 11500
7:30 PM on 7/4/2018

P. Schaller

Happy 4th of July. Thank you girls. Didn’t they do a good job! How old is our country? Anyone figure it out? 242. Happy Birthday U.S.A.

We had Convention and the theme was AGAPE love, the more excellent way. Do you remember? It is still resonating in my mind. We had amazing connection to the H.S. in our fellowship and encouragement, deep encouragement and edification touching the core of who we are in the Lord. Every one of us being encouraged in thinking of love. Love thinks. The more excellent way. Without the thoughts, the wisdom, the AGAPE love mind then we are in fall back mode or general way of living is by common sense and emotion. And sentiment, just normal desires. When we bring Christ into the life, when Christ comes into our life, he’s interested in the deepest part of you and me. The H.S. is sent into the world. By the H.S., we would have truth in the inner man inside in our heart. To think people gather by faith and we put aside or we find the victory of the cross in our life. We find the filling of the H.S. I personally don’t believe when a person becomes a believer they are automatically filled with the H.S. Some are but some aren’t. They are sealed, saved and Christ baptizes them into the Body. They are part of the Body, members of his Body but they could be filled with themselves and their self- importance and their desires and lusts and habits and thoughts and God does do great things but generally I believe it’s by people in their heart realizing they are saved but they realize that they need help.

Prov. 3:5, trust in the Lord with all your heart, new heart, all our heart then that is – we’ve been taught the cross and then Pentecost. Death and then comes life. Trust and I don’t understand everything. H.S. filling me and filling us and I live in the flesh. My flesh is constantly available for me, energized, because it’s attached to my mortal body. It’s attached to my physical body. I won’t get out of it until I’m out of my body. When out of my body, there is no sin nature at all. In the grave but you and I will be with the Lord. The filling of the Spirit. What we learned and experienced in the Convention. What we saw the attendance and the focus and the direction and the guidance of God in the Body of Christ. The edification that happens simply by words of wisdom, words of life, gifts of faith, prayers. This is what we saw also. When we approached the Convention in April and started to say in our staff meeting we have a Convention coming up but don’t know how to do it. We can’t do it. We’ve been doing it for decades. This has got to be God. The H.S. has to give us the best Convention ever. P. Jason has some numbers. How many opened their homes, P. Jason? Over 80 families housed people. How about pickups at the airport? And anything on the attendance? Wed. night there was 1,400 Wed. night with the overflow crowd. I say these things to say thank you Jesus and thank you for the Body of Christ and for the prayers and people that came. Sometimes we are just surprised what God does. The guidance. I really believe that God speaks to us and guides us.

I want to give a shout out to P. Larry and Bev Speedy that live in Cyprus. I think you have a son here, P. Adam and daughter-in-law and grandchildren. Did you have a good time, pastor? Pastor [Speedy] said it was fantastic and everyone stayed on the theme and the parts came together as one whole unit. God bless you.

Andy Valaitis and Banga. Want to say something, Andy? They live in Lithuania and a great company. Andy’s dad comes here to church. Thankful for all the loving hugs. I’m still waiting for the loving rebuke!

P. Daniel T. when we asked him in the beginning he said I need a big hug and a sharp rebuke.

Andy said he appreciated all the hugs and is waiting for the sharp rebuke. Loving rebuke. It could be sharp! What good is it if it’s only loving? Actually, Okay.

Josh is dating this young lady. Do you want to stand and make a confession about it? She doesn’t want me to. Let me confess grace. My whole life I wanted a relationship. It’s grace. Josh, I lost track of you. You went to school here? When did you graduate? 2003. I moved to Texas about three years ago. 15 years of history between me graduating. I just moved back and I’m going to Bible college in the fall. You also are enjoying this relationship as you heard. It’s grace. That’s awesome.

This is our birthday as a country. Praise God for America, what God has given us. I’m thankful every day for our freedoms and spiritual heritage. Enjoy the video.

Luke 22:31, P. Brent, you’ve done a great job down there, you and Lucy. Dominic got a license to preach and your people are happy, grace minded, finished work taught. That’s such a great work of God whenever people get rooted in grace.

P. Mike Colby did a great job at the communion and good to have you and Nicky and the family here. I’m so thankful.

Luke 22:31-32, P. Love mentioned it the other day about being saved, regenerated and as I said at the beginning I could be saved, born again and sealed with the Spirit but not filled with the Spirit and thinking with God.

Gal 5:24, this is where many of us are different. We live with our affections and our lusts and I can’t get free from my affections and my lusts. I’m born again but I continue in my lifestyle and my way with my affections and my lusts. I don’t know why I don’t change. I don’t know why I can’t get free from my affections and my lusts.

This is relating to the book of Jonah because Jonah in the story got free from the fish and went and preached in the city. P. Ganesh said and I read also that there was a sailor who was swallowed by a big fish and was in it 24 hours. The fish was caught, sliced open, and he went insane and his skin became blotchy, like white from the acid of the stomach of the fish. True story. You can look it up. P. Ganesh said maybe when Jonah went to Nineveh after having been in the fish three days, he didn’t look too good. That maybe was one of the reasons the people repented. He had such a story. But mostly the Spirit of God broke those people and he was on a mission and God was in it. Why didn’t it change Jonah inside? Why was he angry that God had decided not to judge these people?

It says in Jonah 3:10 it displeased Jonah exceedingly and was very angry.

Jonah 4:2, I’m angry that you are gracious, God. You were thrown in the sea and the fish swallowed you and he gave mercy and he gives mercy to Nineveh and now you’re angry you are a gracious God. I’ve been forgiven of my sin but I don’t want God to forgive him of what he did. When God forgives him, I’m angry about it. Jonah is a prophet. Jonah is a believer. Jonah has the H.S. in his ministry but does he have it in his mind and heart? Has he found the more excellent way? Has he found AGAPE love? Has he found God’s mind? I was thinking of our missionaries and the great work they do but I have to say also that the work of God is hinging – a deep work of God is hinging on conversion. If people are not converted, meaning Jonah has some growing to do. He has to find Christ. He hasn’t found him. You know the story here. God planted a gourd. It grew. Jonah was attached to the gourd.

Jonah 4:6 let’s say God gives you a house and you get attached to it. Or God gives you some nice thing. It’s a beautiful thing that happens in life that you enjoy.

vs. 6. It would be a shadow, a shade from the sun to deliver him from his grief. I love that. I’m in the flesh. I’m angry God is so gracious. God gives more grace. Jonah was exceeding glad of the gourd. It ministered to him. Who else got ministered to by something natural but King Saul. When David played the music, it ministered to him. The world is filled with people who are searching to find a ministry to them, something to bless them or minister to them. Looking for a girlfriend, a pet, a nice vacation home. We call it sublimation, the relief from life and the burdens of life. Jonah had grief and God gave him something to play with, some pre-occupation.

vs. 7 God prepared a worm. Now he takes it away from him. Now it’s gone.

vs. 8. You know what he needed? Conversion. He needed God to change his heart and mind. He needed the Spirit to fill him. He needed a change in his life. The only way I have ever seen this happen in a person’s life is through the Bible by the H.S. teaching me that I could live through the cross and receive a ministry from God that will build me up and help me in my inner man. Release in my inner man. This is what I mean by mission work. It’s possible to go to a country, evangelize and they get saved but how are you going to teach them and lead them in that way that they are changed from glory to glory without a lot of Bible. The only way I see it working is a lot of Bible. I think of it with us here in our church in Baltimore. I see people in Baltimore struggle with different things and I understand it. Jonah was amazing but didn’t have that most important change in his life. Peter was amazing but Jesus knew he had some – whatever we want to say. He knew Peter needed converted. You can’t be a nice guy and produce Christ’s life in people. You and I literally it’s experienced a deep victory in our heart. A deep one in our hearts.

I’ve told this story. I used to live in Finland. The climate isn’t always the best. You could complain as a foreigner. We had one of our ladies, a great disciple, marry a man from another country. I met him and he was negative about the country. I shared with him. You can’t be negative. You can’t complain about where you live. It will ruin you and the people around you. You can’t do that. The marriage ended in divorce. He went back to his country and it was a sad story. I can say that I loved it that I didn’t go to Finland for a better life. I went to Finland because I was converted in my heart. For me to live is Christ and that became the message we shared with people.

I’m not trying to draw attention to myself. I’m trying to say something. The greatest thing that could happen in a minister and a church is we would find a way of living where the Holy Spirit would minister to us and set us free from ourselves. Finland is not the issue or China or Hungary or the U.S. or any other place. God is dwelling in you and me and he is AGAPE love. He has a way of thinking. I’m with you in this, not above or beyond. I believe that conversion happens to people. They find and begin to listen and think with God. They start to bring God into everything, every area of their life. I love the gourd but bring God into it. If you took it away, that’s your business. I worship you not the gourd. I have this happen to me. By the way, God you forgave the Ninevites. Help me have your mind. I want to think with you. If you give them grace and love them, I want to be with them in what you are doing.

2 Chron 22 there is a constant hijacking that happens in our life. Constant replacement of Christ in our lives by somebody else. In this case this woman Athaliah.

vs. 10-11. So someone saved the seed of David. Snatched up and hid in a bedchamber as she did her evil work and murdered the seed of David except this baby survived. There is always a hijacking in life. Christianity would be replaced with good people that are saved. I praise God for anyone saved but the work takes on a revival and a depth and a change and a character that is anointed when there is a cross. When there is high dosages of doctrine. When people listen to the doctrine and receive it from the H.S. We are speaking not from the word of men but the word of God.

The Russians in the 90s would sit until 2 and 3 in the morning with notebooks asking questions and eating it up. There were changes going on in their lives. We saw it in Finland in the Bible college. They needed a pastor that was going to feed them not once a week. It was small and grew and grew. I was fascinated with P. Ben because everywhere you looked he had 40 people around him with not a loud voice sharing his insights. People are hungry for someone studying and has a word in season. We know that because that is where we came from. We showed up and were part of the raps and thoughts and studying our Bible intensively. When we see this happening with a group of people, there are conversions. Probably many of them that happen in one life. I am converted in this area. I was jealous and now I’m not anymore. I have the doctrine that changed my life. 10 years later you need someone not jealous and there is the guy. He has been converted and strengthens the brethren. Here’s another guy who needs to be the center of things.

Mr. Personality. There he is and he is the class clown, the smart guy that knows everything but he’s not converted. He’s saved but hasn’t changed. People are gathered around him but there is nothing on a spiritual level happening through his life. It’s like Jonah. Jonah is sitting under a gourd unhappy the Ninevites are saved.

We are relaxed tonight and it’s on my mind and I enjoy thinking about it. Producing people that don’t have to be at the center. They are simple servants. They don’t have to be noticed. They don’t have to be at the center. They have found the joy of serving. Quietly serving and the H.S. is using them. There may be a time when they are in the center. They don’t need it. They have been changed. That’s amazing. What would happen in any movement of God when get saved but not converted. Live by affections and lusts and a tendency to hypocrisy where I give the impression but there is no real change in me. I give the impression but personally I’m simply not finding what I really need. That’s our prayer. That’s our prayer.

He said it to Peter. You don’t have what it takes to defeat the devil. You’ll deny me. You can’t do it. No matter how great you are, you have to be converted. Your heart and mind have to be under the influence of God’s government and authority. There is a hijacking in this story. This woman wants to take over. When you see God’s work going on there is a takeover.

We are not in the Bible. We are not teaching the Bible. We are not getting high dosages of the Bible. We are not interested in the Bible so much. Good people doing good things but no real change happening in my life that is confronted by the cross. Lord, I know I don’t have what it takes. I know I need you. Give me a word. That’s all.

Martin Luther said in A Mighty Fortress is our God that “one little word shall fell him.”

The devil. I heard it all through the Convention week. One small word was so much like the H.S. saying like an arrow from heaven goes into my heart. That guy hit the target. That believer. Those people are finding Christ in their life and building us up and we are taking it into the world. We want to make people something like us. They are going to get tempted by maybe money but they have something from God. Tempted by a woman. A man could be tempted by a woman or opportunity but there is some conversion he knows about in his mind and heart. He knows the liberty and freedom and the nature of Christ in his heart. It is the more excellent way. That’s the message today.

Athaliah took over for six years. The little boy was hid for six years. Chapter 22:12. Athaliah reigned over the land. She got it all sewed up. She’s the queen. Behind in the house of God is a little boy who is the real king. He’s going to come out and become king. Think of him with big clothes on, seven years old, the crown is so heavy. He is the king. He doesn’t look like it but he is the king.

I would like to think that we have that same kind of way of thinking. I don’t want to believe a lie. I want to believe the truth. If she’s a liar, she’s a liar. It doesn’t matter what people say or are believing. I want to find the truth. This book to go into our spirit and heart and believe it with all our heart. We will find Christ in this world and we are changed from glory to glory and with a lot of confidence about it.

Let’s make disciples this coming year. Let’s lead them in their liberty and freedom and let’s have a great 4th. We need not only Christians but converted ones that will live a unique life that will be salt and life.

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