There’s a place that the Spirit draws us into. We are home. We need not wander as Satan wanders. And we have Him because His depth touches the depths in us. We can drive furiously because of our mission. (Job 1:6-7; Psalm 36; 2 Kings 9:17-22)
Speaker(s): Thomas Schaller, Glen Cannon, Roger Robbins
Sermon 12155
6:30 PM on 8/29/2021
P. Schaller-
Thank you for that. That’s good. Zoe. The liberty of the Spirit. The ministry of the Spirit, the liberty of the Holy Spirit.
Our theme today and is the ministry of the Holy Spirit, and we used Genesis 24 this morning for the
servant who went to get a wife for Isaac. It seemed impossible, 800 miles away, to find a wife
and have her come with the servant back, or take her. She’d never seen the place. She didn’t
know who Isaac and Abraham were in one sense cause she was young but related in the
family. It’s a picture how the Father gave the Son and he sent the servant, the Holy Spirit, into
the world to get us. We don’t know where we are going but we go by faith and we trust in the
plan. It’s not our plan but it’s God’s plan. We believe in Christ and followed. We find ourselves
filled with the Spirit, encouraged, learning, growing, loving and understanding that this is true.
One day we will be presented as the bride of Christ to him in heaven.
That will be an amazing, incredible fulfillment of incredible work of grace. God the Father planned it. The Son executed
the plan. And the Holy Spirit reveals to us the plan. It’s very profound. The Father planned it.
The Son executed, and the Holy Spirit is in the world revealing and showing us who Christ is.
This is church life. Church life is knowing him, learning of him, worshiping him in faith, and this
is our blessing. Tonight, we have two brothers that are going to share and then I’m going to
wrap it up I think. The first one is Roger Robbins who is traveling to Izmir, Turkey with Lizzie and
the family and Brittany. We love this family very much. They are going back by faith and we want
to hear something from him before they go on Thursday. And then the second speaker is P.
Cannon, one of the teachers here at our Bible college and one of the pastors here who has an
amazing experience, background in the ministry for decades. First of all, let’s welcome Roger.
Roger Robbins –
P. Schaller, thank you so much for this opportunity to stand before you guys. I
was so, really blessed by the message today guys, the Spirit of God in us and in this church.
So, yeah, let’s just pray. If you would turn into your Bible to 2 Kings 9. I hope this comes
together. I hope it would and it will. I say those things in faith! 2 Kings 9. After thinking from
today’s message, so much kind of spinning around. I don’t know about you. P. Schaller said go
home and read Genesis 24, and I told Lizzie, I said Lizzie, that was the chapter I read when I
was going to propose to you. She’s like, you never told me that! So, I said man, but it’s taken on
a whole new meaning. Sorry babe! That’s kind of gone and now we have a new thing going on!
Sorry! 2 Kings 9, there is a man of God who is anointed by God’s man Elijah and his name is
Jehu. I just want to make this one point. In chapter 9, vs. 17, Jehu’s been called by God and told
what to do. He’s on a mission and it’s pretty intense if you read it.
I think it relates to our life. He’s going to do what is commanded of him. But remember, he is anointed. Remember what P. Schaller pointed to today in 1 John. 2. Thinking about how the Spirit has given us power from God
and given us a sound mind. As P. Schaller mentioned to that life before Christ was just
scratching the surface. Remember the circle? But we wanted the deep things. vs. 17. He’s going
after this wicked king. Elijah told him you must destroy him. This is much like our life I think.
vs.18. And then it goes on to say in vs. 18-20. I was thinking how like the Spirit of God in this
world is changing people’s lives. It is confronting the evil in this world but also more importantly
it is confronting the souls of men. I really love this diagram of like the lines in the globe. Like,
okay, there’s lies but then there’s God’s Spirit. I always thought of that in a country that is like
99% not Christian, you know. How can it be that there is anything there, but that’s just it. We
read that the Bible says there is and it’s God’s Spirit.
This man is sent to a dark place and honestly, he is a man on a chariot going after a king in a tower. He really doesn’t have a plan. He’s just told by God what to do. Think about that. We are called out of this world, but then we
are put back in. It’s kind of ironic. No, we don’t want it but then we realize God has given us
what we need. I like this part. This is the end. vs. 20. This is the guy in the tower. He’s
describing Jehu. vs. 20b. He drives furiously. I was like that’s really cool! That’s like a Spirit-filled
life. We’re so different. I think that brings a lot of funny things to mind. It does in my mind. What
the Spirit does in our life, what he calls us to do, how he asks us to die so we can live. It’s so
contrary to the world. And so different from what this world system is saying. I was like I want to
drive furiously. And I know a lot of people that drive furiously! And I know a church that drives
furiously. That would go to West Virginia when no one goes to West Virginia.
No one wants to fly to another part of the world. I had lunch with Marty and Sue. I don’t know if you know Marty
and Sue, but they gave up their lives to be on the mission field. They went to Helsinki. They went to Vienna. They went to Budapest. And then they went here and they have nothing but
given their lives. They have driven furiously, and now they are loving my children. I was thinking
that this is what we have in the Spirit of God. Lastly, do you guys remember in Luke 9 it says
Jesus set his face to Jerusalem. He was driving there. He was so driven by the Spirit. God
anointed him and then the disciples, remember, they got it wrong. They were like, let’s destroy
this town. What do you think? And Jesus said, that’s the wrong spirit. I didn’t come here to
destroy man and his life. I came to save it. And this is what we are called to. I felt that way
today, and I know we all did. I think as we go into this new year, kind of calendar year with Bible
school, missions trips, day school, all of us kind of going back in a way, that we would drive
furiously and not care what everyone else thinks.
We are just led by the Spirit, our teacher. I’m so thankful we can come here and get that same directive and same Spirit, same sound. And lastly, to have people that drive like that. I love that. This past springtime, I had a plumber who I
invited to the play. He’s like oh yeah, I heard of that place, that church. You guys are the ones
that are not shutting down. You guys are the ones preaching on the roof! And it’s true. We are
driving furiously with a mission. I love that. We are a part of that in Jesus’ name.
P. Glen Cannon –
Hello, everyone. That was awesome. Thank you, Scott. A double portion of
that song today. I think we need it. I think that’s the Lord’s will for us. It’s such an honor. Thank
you, P. Schaller, for today’s messages. Wow! Isn’t it just fantastic. I did my homework. Thank
God I went home and read the chapter in Genesis. There are some portions in my Bible
whenever I read it, I think of P. Schaller. This is one of those portions. I think it’s because when
we were in Bible college, this was as you were teaching I remember especially the part at the
end of the story when Isaac is at nighttime in a field meditating. Did you read the story? He’s in
a field and it says he’s meditating. He lifts up his eyes, and he sees the camels. He sees the
camels. Rebekah was on the camels. He didn’t see her. He saw the camels, but I love this story
because it’s a love story. I love it because she sees him. She gets off of the camel and says
who is this man? Who is this man?
The servant was very quick to say, that’s the master. That’s the master. So in light of the service tonight as we are here to meet the Master. The Holy Spirit through every single message is ministering Christ to us, and we can be like Rebekah and say, who is that man? She lifted up her eyes, and Isaac also lifted up his eyes as he was meditating
in the field and we see what God is doing. Isn’t that great. As I share this portion, I’m going to be
in Psalm 36 tonight just sharing my heart. Not too long ago, Psalm 36, I was at the veterinarian
with my dog. I have a beautiful miniature schnauzer. Her’s name is Gracie. She’s the joy of our
lives, my wife and I. The veterinarian as he was inspecting her doing his, he said I can tell how
the masters of the dogs treat their dogs by looking at their bodies, just sort of doing his whatever
his points, whatever they’re doing, those veterinarians. And the moment he said it I got a little
introspective! What if my dog is really sick? You know, it’s like, and is my dog, how my dog, can
you really tell? He probably could.
I could sort of rest in my heart because I love my dog so much, that there is nothing really, you know, that’s what he is going to see. He’s going to see how greatly we love this dog. And thank God she’s not overweight cause, you know, we
definitely spoil her, but she is not one of those kinds of dogs. So what does this have to do with
the message tonight? We have such a good God, such a loving God. He is the greatest pastor.
He cares so much for us. He takes such good care of us. And the church is a witness. This
ministry is a witness to the greatness and the goodness and the love of God. People say it all
the time when they come in here. That’s what Psalm 36 is about. If you have your Bibles, it’s a
psalm of David, servant of the Lord. I was thinking about being a servant. This is Rebekah in
that story this morning. She just had to hear the servant say could you give me something to
drink and not only did she give him but he had ten camels. I don’t know how much they drink,
but she said I’m also going to give waters to your camels. She must have been a very strong
lady. God bless Rebekah. She went to work.
She was doing it unto the Lord I’m sure. It wasn’t like – and the servant is looking at her serving and in his heart he is saying, yes! Yes! Isn’t it great like sometimes when you meet somebody or you are speaking to somebody and they say
I was just thinking about that question you just asked this morning. And you are sort of there in
God’s place. I think God sends us so often to represent him and really have a word in season
and to serve. I have written in my Bible about this psalm, where sin abounded, grace did much
more abound. Isn’t that great? Romans 5:20. This is a pauline psalm you could say. This is the
truth of the grace of God in this passage like none other in the psalms. The reason is is because the first four verses have to do with the deceitfulness and the depths of sin. It’s really talking
about how dark. Thank God we can come to church and hear how dark our sin is. So the first
verse is interesting. vs. 1. This is NKJV. I don’t know what they have up there, or even if they
have it up there. An oracle within my heart.
Thank you, you have the NKJV. That’s amazing. One translation I read rather than just saying “within my heart” says “deep within my heart.” It’s sort of like the transgression of the wicked that it’s an oracle. How deeply it’s in the sinner’s
heart. The first thing that we hear about that is there is no fear of God before his eyes. I was
reading yesterday about, it was on the psalms because I’m going to be teaching the psalms.
The writer was saying that the modern mind, modern people sort of think that their philosophy is
new, that this is like – but he is saying it’s old. It’s epicurianism. He talked about this, sort of this
pleasure. Living to be happy. Just serving yourself and this idea that there is no God and there
is no accountability. I thought isn’t that the thing that is so precious about us. We know not only
that there is a God but that we have to give an account. An without the blood of Jesus, we
would be so lost, but because of the blood of Christ we’re like running right to the throne of God.
We can’t wait. We wake up thinking about the bema seat because of forgiveness and because
of the heart of our God.
It goes from bad to worse in this psalm, the first four verses, but I wanted to concentrate on the second part. Let me get some water here. Thank God for water. Thirsty for God. The deep calls to the deep (Psalm 42:7). Thinking about that, thirsty for God. Here’s this woman at a well. She’s giving water to the servant. She’s feeding the camels. In the
New Testament, we have Jesus at a well and it’s the Samaritan woman. He’s asking her for a
drink. He’s ministering to her. All of this these well meetings. It’s the deep calling to the deep. I
was thinking about the deepness of sin being met by the depth of God’s love which is what
basically happens here. The psalmist takes us into the depths. vs. 4. This is the world, but vs. 5-
6. Isn’t that great. The mountains of God, the depths of God, his judgments, his righteousness,
faithfulness reaching to the clouds, mercy is higher than the heavens. This is showing us how
great God’s attributes are. They are so awesome and so much greater than us in our sin. This is
the Lord. This is what he is and what he has to offer.
His righteousness and our sinfulness. But then vs. 7. I love it. This is almost like his mercy, his faithfulness, his righteousness, his judgments are like attributes you could say, but his love, his lovingkindess is his person. This is
the most precious of all. This is the most personal you could say. This is what I love about this.
Okay, God is so big. He has so much to offer. He is just so great but then his lovingkindness it
says “therefore the children of men put their trust under the shadow of thy wings.” I was thinking
of that word. I underlined it, “children of men.” It’s like it’s for children. This truth about God’s
excellent love, the love of God, the precious love of God is for children. And it causes us not to
run away but we are looking for the mother hen. We are looking for protection. We are looking
for a God who will cover us. Will take the heat for us. That mother hen picture is something
Jesus used with Jerusalem as he looked over the city.
This is at the heart of our God. This is the verse. When I was thinking about the church, actually this message somebody gave such an edifying comment today about God’s provision. Isn’t it great how God – we sort of give
everything without forethought for our futures. We never really like, are like the people in the
world sort of calculate to retire, to live in ease. We don’t but we can say at the end of our life
God has been so good. I mean more than good. We can’t even – this is the verse. It says “they
are abundantly satisfied in the fulness of your house.” In the King James it says “the fatness of
your house.” When I was a missionary in India, I used to come here for Convention. I would go
back to India and they would say, P. Cannon, you’re looking so fat! I’d be like, oh no! And he’d
say, no, that’s very good. Fatness is good in the sense that we are healthy. We are eating so
well. The fatness here I think this fullness that abundantly satisfies us is the anointing. It’s this
presence of the Holy Spirit. It’s words that fell the devil but they pierce us.
It’s that word that makes us lift up our eyes and see the camels. It’s the word that makes us feed the camels, give
water to the camels. We are abundantly satisfied in the fullness of your house and you give
them drink from the river of your pleasures. What a translation that is. It’s almost like we are
back to Eden. It’s almost like I think about the thirst. I don’t know about you, but I’m thirsty for
God. I came to church tonight because I need to hear from God. I need to sense his love. I
need a word from him to get me through the night. This is what comes. It’s not just a trickle, but
it’s a river. I often think about the throne of God and the river coming out of the throne and
breaking through the city and going right down the center and the trees of life. This is our God.
This is basically what Jesus Christ said in John 7. Come unto me all you who thirst and I’ll give you drink.
Not only that, but there’s going to be a river of living water flowing out of you, flowing
out of us. It happens. We have something to give people. We really do. vs. 9. The fountain of
life. People are staving off death. Don’t talk about death, Pastor Schaller was saying. I don’t
want to hear about death. Where is the fountain of life. They are looking for a fountain of youth
or whatever. A fountain of youth. We have found it. It’s the Lord Jesus Christ. He’s the fountain
of life and it’s in his light that we see light. I was thinking about the calling of the deep to the
deep. I was thinking of the light of God, uncreated light. No more sun in the New Jerusalem and
the new heaven cause God is the light of that city. Jesus shone and this is where we are coming
to that light and we are receiving light. Our depths are being ministered to and we are so
abundantly satisfied. It’s like, in closing,
Psalm 23. There’s a shift in that psalm. God is now the
host and we are sitting at a table in the presence of our enemy and God is pouring a cup and
our cup is overflowing and he’s anointing our head with oil. It’s such a beautiful picture of
feasting and fun and life. God is for us. He is providing for us. We have a daily bread and more
than enough. Our thirst is satisfied. This is like our life with God. This is we come to get filled up
and then go in the strength of that. Whatever we are eating, we go in the strength of that to
ministry his life to others. Hallelujah. Father, thank you.
P. Schaller –
P. Glen, what class are you teaching? Psalms. Okay. If you want to take Psalms
class this semester with P. Cannon, sounds like a good idea. Huh? Psalm 36. I’m going to just
be for five minutes or so cause that really ministered to us. I was thinking when he was
speaking that the Holy Spirit makes us a family. We’re like a family. When you are in a family,
you have a home. You have a dad. You have sisters and brothers. So I want you to look at this
one verse in Job 1, please. Job 1. I realized this I don’t know where. I don’t know if I read it or
heard it or what it was. Job 1. When the devil came before the Lord. Job. 1:6 How many know
this portion? You know this text? Yes. Satan. Where this meeting was we don’t know. Was it in
the first heaven? Was it in the second heaven? He’d been thrown out of the third heaven but the
sons of God. The “sons of God” is a phrase in the Old Testament for angels. So angels
assembled with God and Satan came into the meeting too. Satan came into the meeting. Then
God said in vs. 7.
Where are you coming from? Good question, huh? What would you say to
Satan if Satan showed up in your livingroom? Where are you coming from? Or get out! Hey,
you’re in the wrong place. Wait a minute. It’s not my point. My point is his answer. What did
Satan say? vs. 7b. Do you know what that means? He doesn’t have a home? Where are coming
from? Walking around. Walking around the earth, going to and fro. You don’t have a home? He
didn’t say that but I’m saying it to you and me. You don’t have a place? You don’t have a father?
You’re without a father? You don’t have a comforter? You don’t have a home? You don’t have a
place to rest? You don’t have a place to be edified? You don’t have a place to receive truth?
The truth comes into us Jesus said and it sets us free. You don’t have that? You don’t have the
truth setting you free? You don’t have a home? You don’t have love? You don’t have peace?
You don’t have edification? No, he doesn’t. It’s only one step more and you can talk about
people. Where are you coming from?
There are people that say just I’m lost. I don’t have a
home. I don’t have it. I’m restless, walking around. I’m goofing around. I’m wasting my life. I’m
empty. I’m hurting. I’m in trouble. Who are you the person could say? Please come in. I
understand you. You are not rejected. I thought of that today. I wonder how many people come
into our church and they say in their heart – Satan can say it to them when they leave. They can
say it in their heart when they are here. They can say I don’t have a place here. These people
have. I don’t have a place. Yeah. I would like to say to them, no. You have a place. God is for
you. No. You see, God could not evangelize Satan in this chapter because they are too
separate kingdoms and God is not giving him one. He is not taking him back. God is not saving
Satan. He’s not saying come back into heaven.
He’s not saying accept me again. Believe in me.
Trust in me. He’s not saying that to him. But we are saying it in a satanic world. We are giving
the Gospel. By the way, I kind of feel that there are people that don’t understand the Gospel. Let
me say it to you simply. Every one of us as people there is no way that any of us can be
righteous. There is no way any of us could be accepted. There is no way. No more than if I took
a dead man and said to the dead man, rise up. Go ahead. Be raised from the dead. It’s the
same miracle that comes from God that he would say, rise up. And he rises up. Not because of
the man but because of God. It’s the same with salvation. There is no way that you could be
saved except God saved you. God regenerated you and gave you a new life. God gave you a family. God gave you a resting place. God sent the Holy Spirit into the world. The Gospel is the
greatest news to come to a human being. It’s so totally a work of grace, a work of God. God
pays such a high price for that to happen.
The Holy Spirit is in the world with us. Let me close with that. The Holy Spirit is in the world with us to say to people that our being lied to. I have no place. I don’t want any God. I don’t want God. I don’t believe in God. All of those kind of people that are around us in this world. Many times they don’t want it because they don’t understand it.
But if God can raise the dead, he can save a soul. If he can raise the dead, he can wash our sin
away. If he can call you by name, he can call you by name and make you a child of God by the
grace of God and you have a place. Today, we have been speaking about the Holy Spirit, and
we just heard these two amazing messages. Jehu was driving furiously because he was on a
mission. The world comes out concerned. Are you for peace? Jehu said, what do you have to
do with peace. Get behind me. I’m on a mission. I’m going to go execute somebody. That’s what
he was going to do. I’m going to go execute some people. That’s what Jehu was doing. Jesus
came with a Spirit of Truth and you can’t buy him. You cannot convince him to compromise. You
cannot make a deal. You can’t cut a deal with Jesus.
Jesus is here in the world to give us a home where there is no compromise. To make God our heavenly Father. To indwell us with the Holy Spirit and commission us to a mission of reconciliation. That’s such an honor. Okay. So,
how do we close this message? Just to say I’m sorry for people. I’m sorry for people that are so
deeply troubled. Where are you coming from? You don’t want to know where I am coming from?
Do you know you have a place here? I don’t know if I have a place here. You have. God has a
place for you here. God is the one you need. Come to him. Turn to him. Start praying to him. I
said that to somebody on the street recently. I shared a little bit. I didn’t have the time or wasn’t
able to articulate the Gospel or whatever, but I just said to the person – I think it was a young
person. Listen to me. I want you to start praying to God. He will answer you. Is that okay? Will
you start praying to God? Yes, of course. You can pray to God. He will answer you. This is
about God not about you and me. This is about God. He has a home, a bulwark, a tower, a
place of refuge, a hiding place, a salvation, the gift.
He has a family. He has a home. He has the Holy Spirit. I’ve heard about these many miracles in Afghanistan where people had dreams of Christ, and how many thousands of people in Afghanistan have turned to Christ. I love to hear
those stories and hear about it. If you pray to God, he will answer you. He doesn’t want anybody
lost like Satan is lost. Where are you coming from? Going to and fro, riding my motorcycle up
and down the highway, doing wheelies. Where are you coming from? Here and there and I do
this and that. I don’t really have it. I don’t have it. Jesus is saying I am the way, the truth. Come
to me and sit with Mary and listen and this will change your life. I sent the Holy Spirit into the
world so this would be real. I sent the Holy Spirit so you wouldn’t be alone. You’d have sisters
and brothers. I sent the Holy Spirit so you could be like Joshua who had wisdom and Othniel in
Judges 3:10 and Gideon in Judges 6. And you could be like a man of God, like Solomon with
his wisdom and David with his mercy and Elijah with his courage. I sent the Holy Spirit into the
world to do this work. He is with you. Walk with him. You have a place. Wow. Amen. Would you
pray with me please?
Please enjoy these sermon notes from the messages preached at Greater Grace Church in Baltimore. These notes are provided to aid in your study and understanding of the Word. Note that these notes do not represent complete, word-for-word transcriptions. Also, they may contain omissions as well as some errors in spelling and structure, etc., as we attempt to provide them as soon as possible. Our hope is that these notes serve as a way to help you search and connect with messages on related subjects and passages. Thank you for your interest in the ministry of Greater Grace.