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What do we do for preparing to be born of the Spirit?
Fred R. Coulter—May 28, 2022
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Greetings, everyone! Welcome to Sabbath services!
I got a warning e-mail that I would like to show you the picture; especially take care of your health so that you don’t get this: Beware of the Donkey Pox! In other words, beware of the Democrats!
The Democrats have turned out to be the party of the death and Satan. Someone is going to holler and scream, ‘I’ve been a Democrat all my life!’ That’s too bad! Are you going to continue to be one? or Are you going to serve God?
Look at what happened in the most liberal county in Texas—San Antonio County where they have the University of Texas—shooting and killing 19 children and 2 teachers.
It also shows that evil can come to a very young age. Remember the incident in Mark 9 where the father brought the boy who was possessed. Jesus asked him, ‘How long has it been this way with him?’ The father said, ‘since childhood’!
Whenever the family is broken up you’re going to have difficulties at best. That’s exactly what is happening—not only in America—in nearly all the countries in the world! That’s preparing the way for the coming of Satan’s final, ‘grand, wonderful’ one-world government.
I don’t know about you, but after watching the news of this shooting—and it’s been over and over again—apparently they had the most incompetent police force in America down there in that little town in Texas. One man who had been trained by the Israelis in how to handle those things, was sitting a barber shop getting his hair cut. He got word that it was happening, and he grabbed the shotgun from the barber—who probably had that gun to protect himself—and went on down and rescued a whole bunch of children; while the policemen were quivering in a corner waiting for instructions of what to do.
Evil comes in many ways! Why is the world so filled with evil? Well, they do the same thing that Adam and Eve did:
We’re going to choose our own way, don’t tell me what to do! I’m smart, intelligent, I’ve been educated! I know what to do!
Well, have a couple of generations of that and you have what we have today!
The Bible frames it this way in Rom. 8, because there has to be solution and hope. That solution is going to come from God, and the hope is through Jesus Christ! It isn’t going to come any other way!
Romans 8:19: “ For the earnest expectation of the creation itself…”
Sin has affected the whole universe, when you understand it!
“…is awaiting the manifestation of the sons of God” (v 19). That’s us, and all of those in the first resurrection!
There will be no permanent solution until Christ returns and the first resurrection takes place, and we rule and reign under Jesus Christ, and bring in:
- truegovernment
- trueworship of God
- truerelationships with each other
- trueunderstanding of why people are here
It won’t come until then! In the meantime, we need to prepare and be ready!
Verse 20: “Because the creation was subjected to vanity, not willingly, but by reason of Him who subjected it in hope, in order that the creation itself might be delivered from the bondage of corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God” (vs 20-21).
That’s quite a thing! Think about this next verse and kind of put yourself in a space capsule and go around the world find out if there is any place that is really wonderful, happy, nice, good, kind and without trouble, crime, lying, stealing, war, tribal rivalries, cutting off heads and killing your enemies.
Where in the world is there anything that’s really, really good? About the only place is with the people of God when we are right with God!
Verse 22: “For we know that all the creation is groaning together and travailing together until now.”
Since we’re getting close to Pentecost, notice the next verse; Paul emphasizes that it’s those of us who will be in the first resurrection that are going to have a major part in correcting all the world’s problems.
Verse 23: “And not only that, but even we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, also groan within ourselves, awaiting the sonship—the redemption of our bodies.”
This is what we need to have; I start here, from this point of view: If you just listen to the news, you get all depressed. Then they show all the mother’s crying; that’s a sad thing, and of course, they’re crying; they lost their children! What do you expect them to do?
Then along comes a politician and says, ‘We will fix it.’ Show me one politician who has fixed anything, except the tax code to take more! In the tax code that Biden got through Congress this last time, the maximum amount they allow for deduction of charitable institutions is $300.
The Democrats and Biden are God-haters, Christ-haters and haters of those who are good. They’re deliberately setting out to destroy this nation! I don’t know if we can last until 2024! Everybody is hoping that in 2024 we’ll get Trump in again. How do you know he wants to run again? Nobody knows anything, except this:
Those of us within the Churches of God need to stay close to God and also repent like the rest of the world, but in a greater and more profound way, because God is depending upon us to grow, change and overcome so we can become part of the solution and not be part of the problem!
I know that it’s easy to become part of the problem, because of all the difficulties that go on. You cannot help but get depressed watching the news and all of that going on.
Prov. 29:15 labels the cause of the problem in Texas. If only they could teach in the schools—you don’t have to bring in the whole Bible, they won’t allow that: ‘We can’t have the Bible; we can’t have God!’ What does God say? You don’t want Me, I’ll just step back and let you have it!
- After a generation or two, how do you like it?
- How many of you are afflicted with the Donkey Pox?
Proverbs 29:15: “The rod and rebuke give wisdom, but a child left to himself… [this is what they found out with this shooter; just a boy] …brings shame to his mother.”
Why doesn’t it say father? Because the mother… Just look at the difference, and God designed it this way: male and female; there are no other genders, which is Donkey Pox! That’s what happens when you co-habit with Donkeys.
Why does it say mother? Because the father and mother come together and all of us came from virtually nothing! Can’t be seen with the naked eye!
Why get lifted up in vanity and all this sort of thing? That won’t do any good! Then the baby is given life, born and there is no shortage of baby formula. Mothers have built-in milk factories! God made it that way. Now that the formula is stopped, all of these selfish women who don’t want to breastfeed…
What happens with breastfeeding? You get to hold your baby and love it! The baby gets to love you and connect with you. That’s the most important thing. The baby gets all the immunity from all the diseases that mother had, by nursing! Oh, but these pediatricians know more, give them baby food. Well, what does that amount to? That’s mostly from soy! So, you get effeminate boys, because there’s a lot estrogen in soy, and you get big, fat women with so much estrogen.
‘But we have to work, we have a job.’ Satan has set the society up that way so that he can destroy the family. He’s done a pretty good job, wouldn’t you say?
This comes right afterward, follows right along; v 16: “When the wicked are multiplied, transgression increases…”
Look at it! No one wants to be a policeman anymore. A policeman is not there to stop crime. Where do you stop crime? It starts with the mother:
- nursing the baby
- taking care of the baby
- teaching the baby yesand no
The very first word that a child needs to understand is no, and understand what it means.
The mother is there with the child all the time. ‘Oh, I don’t want to be stuck at home.’ Why did you have the baby? Too many selfish women out there thinking that they can do better. They want to be important, and it’s boring staying at home and taking care of kids.
How do you like living in this society that you have no safety and where you’re supposed to go to work so you get glory working outside of the home.
Women, don’t get mad at me for attacking you; I’m just describing what’s going on.
“…but the righteous shall see their fall” (v 16).
Concerning children, I’ll tell you all this right now, don’t send them to any public school, or private school if you don’t checkout that private school. Do home-schooling! They can learn from kindergarten to PhD right at home. We had a wonderful family with us here, but they moved to Oklahoma to get away from all of the perverseness of the Donkey Pox and gender problems in school.
One man made a comment to a woman about what this right-hand man of Klaus Schwab[transcriber’s correction] Yuval Noah Harari who says that in 50 years there will be no genders. How are you going to do that?
Even in Congress they’re trying to introduce laws so they can get the government to help pay for men having children. Huh? Think about how perverse that is! That is an amazing thing, indeed!
If you have mother at home teaching the children. Isn’t that the most important time for them to learn. You say that you can get a job making lots of money. Really? Will that be enough to pay for all the difficulties you have with a child because you have to go to work? Count the cost!
Verse 17: “Correct your son, and he shall give you rest; yea, he shall give delight to your soul”—because you’ll have rest!
Have you ever had to deal with a rebellious teenage girl? Look at the movie that they have out now: Girls Gone Wild!
- What does that mean? I’ll let you use your own imagination!That can’t be a good thing!
- What about all the girls who see that? Okay, let’s have slumber party!
- What are they going to do at their slumber party?
Satan knows that if he can destroy the purpose of women and mothers, infants and children, he can control the society. Notice that with God’s way, here it is:
Verse 18: “Where there is no vision… [Isn’t that what’s happening there?] …the people perish; but happy is he who keeps the Law.”
Let’s look at some important things for us to realize. Psa. 8 is a very important Psalm. Unfortunately, in most translations it’s not translated properly. How many people in the world know this.
- talk about vision
- talk about a goal
- talk about something to really live for and put your whole being into
God has not gone way off somewhere in the universe and left us all alone! One man asked me how he could get close to God. I said, ‘As close as your knees are to the floor!’ You can be in contact with God.
Psalm 8:1: “O LORD our Lord, how excellent is Your name in all the earth! You have set Your glory above the heavens! Out of the mouths of babes and sucklings You have ordained strength because of Your adversaries, to silence the enemy and the avenger” (vs 1-2)—prophecy of Christ!
There are certain things we need to do on a regular basis. Here it is:
Verse 3: “When I consider Your heavens…”
We’re able to see more about what the heavens are like than any other generation in the history of the world.
“…the work of Your fingers, the moon and the stars, which You have ordained” (v 3).
Look at all that vastness and you see all of that. Remember the covenant with Abraham. What did God tell Abraham? Come out here and look at the stars and number them if you can count them; so shall your seed be!
Those are the glorified sons and daughters of God that go all the way back to Abraham. That’s an amazing thing! Think about thinking on that!
Verse 4: “What is man that You are mindful of him…”
He’s mindful of us because He made us in His image, male and female. That’s a tremendous thing to understand.
“…and the son of man that You care for him?” (v 4).
Notice v 5; this is the correct translation. Most translations have angels instead of God. I wonder how much better the world would have been if all of these Protestants out there would get off the high horse of the Roman Catholic Sunday and keep the Sabbath, preach the Truth about God, and tell all the people they’re preaching to that you have been made a little lower than God, for a great and wonderful purpose!
Verse 5: “For You have made him a little lower than God… [not the angels] …and have crowned him with glory and honor. You made him to have dominion over the works of Your hands; You have put all things under his feet” (vs 5-6)—on the earth!
- look at what men can do
- look at the things they can develop
- look at how they can manufacture and make metals
- look at how they can mine precious stones
- look at how they can carve giant mammoth rocks and move them
Having such technology in past civilizations and moving those large stones/rocks that we are dumbfound as to how they did that! But they did! Even if they did, what caused the problems? Sin and Satan, always! Through every single civilization on the earth!
Let’s see how we started out. We started out as a speck of dust. We have a book: From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born? {truthofGod.org} If the world really knew why God made us, there would be a whole lot less crime, a whole lot less of the nonsense that we have going on in the world today.
Remember that crime starts in the mind! That’s where it stops! IF you want to prevent crime, you teach children how to behave, how to obey! You teach them that there is a God Who loves them, Who made them, and He’s given them free choice and he wants to know what you are going to do with your life! An amazing thing to contemplate!
Psalm 139:1: “O LORD, You have searched me and have known me.”
If everyone understood that; God knows us! There’s no such thing as a secret crime to God! He knows it all and He has a double provision for never forgetting it. He’s given every human being the spirit of man and it’s indelibly written on that spirit of man. So, you’re going to be held accountable for it one way or the other! But through Christ you can have forgiveness, and that’s what we have to go on beyond this.
Verse 2: “You know my sitting down and my rising up….”
Isn’t it amazing how we walk, how we stand, how we sit? Think about everything in your body. Let’s start with the eyeball! Everything in your body was programmed into the genes and chromosomes from your father and your mother. When you were born into the world—I’ve been there when all our children were born—the first thing you do is you look and see if everything is there. You can only see what’s on the outside, but think about what’s on the inside:
Eyes, ears, nose, throat, tongue, esophagus, stomach, liver, spleen, gall bladder, small intestines, large intestine, sex organs, hands, feet, and you’re happy, it’s all there.
Why do they make babies cry as soon as they’re born? They’ve been in a watery environment and when you’re born physically that’s when you are born of the flesh and the water. That explains John 3.
When you’re in the watery environment you can’t breathe because you would drown. God doesn’t have you breathing in the womb, but you partake of the breath of air because your mother is breathing and it gets into the bloodstream and it goes down to the placenta and then the oxygen from her blood goes into the blood of the baby developing in the womb. The baby partakes of the breath of life through the mother. But that’s secondary.
So to live now in an environment that’s not full of water, you have to be able to breathe on your own. A couple of swats on the rear end and the baby cries and cries and is filling out the lungs. Then the baby is real hungry and the mother has a lot of milk. All of that!
Verse 2: “You know my sitting down and my rising up. You understand my thoughts afar off. You measure my going about and my lying down, and are acquainted with all my ways” (vs 2-3).
God figured out how you’re going to be before He ever made Adam and Eve.
Verse 4: “For there is not a word on my tongue, but, lo, O LORD, You know it altogether.”
- What does it say in the Proverbs? No thought can be withheld from God!
- What does that mean? No thought can be withheld from God!
He knows it! That’s why He’s given repentance! All thoughts are not good thoughts. In fact, a lot of thoughts are pretty bad thoughts. As a matter of fact, growing up with kids, a lot of thoughts are foolish thoughts; and mom and dad have to be there to correct them to show them the right way.
Verse 5: “You have enclosed me behind and in front, and laid Your hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for me; it is high, I cannot attain unto it” (vs 5-7).
How does God know all of that? Even with our modern technology we can have a little inkling of it, but we really don’t know!
Verse 7: “Where shall I go from Your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from Your presence? If I go up into heaven, You are there; if I make my bed in the grave, behold, You are there. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the farthest parts of the sea, even there Your hand shall lead me, and Your right hand shall hold me. If I say, ‘Surely the darkness shall cover me, and the light around me shall be night’; even the darkness does not hide from You, but the night shines as the day; as is the darkness, so is the light to You, for You have possessed my reins…” (vs 7-13)
That’s quite an interesting statement! None of the commentaries have been able to figure it out. The best we can figure it out is this:
Revelation 2:23[transcriber’s correction]: “…He Who searches the reins and hearts…”
What are the reins? I believe the reins is the way that God created our mind with the spirit of man so that at anytime He can know:
- what we’re thinking
- what we’re doing
- He can inspire us
- He can lead us
- He can encourage us
That’s the best we can figure out from that!
Psalm 139:13: “…You have knit me together in my mother’s womb” (v 13).
That’s quite an interesting statement! By the time you’re six weeks old in the womb, you are a miniature, miniature you having nearly all your parts. Now you understand why God hates abortion!
Verse 14: “I will praise You, for I am awesomely and wonderfully made; Your works are marvelous and my soul knows it very well. My substance was not hidden from You when I was made in secret and intricately formed in the lowest parts of the earth” (vs 14-15)—a synonym for the mother’s womb!
“...My substance…”—when you are first conceived you are that substance. We’ll talk about this in just bit because this is important.
“…I was made in secret and intricately formed…”—A woman doesn’t know she’s pregnant for about six weeks. So, the baby is already there. All of this that we just read has been going on within her and she doesn’t know it. That’s quite an amazing thing!
Verse 16: “Your eyes did see my substance, yet, being unformed; and in Your book all my members were written…”
Scientists call this the genome; in other words, the written book of what they’ve been able to find out about genes and chromosomes they call the human genome. Now they think they’ve gotten to the point that they understand it so much that now; ‘we’re going to have post-humans.’ We’re going to enhance them with computer chips and all these modern technologies and we will make better humans than God. Guess what? When they do it’s going to be worse!
I just read where they ran an experiment with hamsters. The scientists figured that if they took a gene and remove it then hamsters will be more friendly and will be wonderful pets for kids and they will sell many more hamsters and make lots of money.
What happened? It didn’t work that way! The hamsters became more vicious, aggressive and killers!
Verse 16: “Your eyes did see my substance, yet, being unformed; and in Your book all my members were written, which in continuance were fashioned, when as yet, there were none of them. How precious also are Your thoughts to me, O God! How great is the sum of them!” (vs 16-17).
People ask about something that seems to say that God knew us before we were formed from the foundation of the world. But that not what it means. Here we have God’s own definition. David said, ‘You saw my substance unformed.’
Jeremiah 1:4: “And it came to pass, the Word of the LORD came to me, saying, ‘Before I formed you in the belly I knew you…’” (vs 4-5).
That could only refer to the very instant that he was conceived in his mother’s womb. You are not a person when one set of the chromosomes come from the father and one set of the chromosomes come from the mother and they are not joined in conception.
You don’t exist! You’re just part of the bodily function of your father or mother at that particular time. When you are conceived, you’re not formed, but God knows you! It’s not way back before the ages of anything that came to be that you were somehow a speck of something somewhere that God had in a bottle placed waiting for the creation to take place.
God make it clear, before you were formed! He didn’t say before you were conceived!
That means that God knew Jeremiah right at the instant of conception that he was the one He was going to choose to be the prophet to warn the children of Israel and Judah.
At least on this day we’re not going to get the Donkey Pox! I want to remind you of the way that things are going in the world, we don’t know how long we will be able to have all of this digital access. So, my suggestion to you is, get some thumb-drives that have a lot of storage room and download from the websites as much as you can, so you will have available for Sabbath services in case we are cutoff entirely from the Internet. Who knows when that may or may not be!
The best thing to do is be prepared! I will assure you that you will have enough to keep you going for however long you need.
Now, we talked about what it was to be born of the flesh; how important that was and what needs to be done. Likewise, there is to be born of the spirit in the future, which means: What do we do for preparing to be born of the Spirit?
Also know this: The Protestants do not understand the Bible! Even the understanding that they have is so shallow and narrow that it’s almost worth nothing.
John 3:2: “He [Nicodemus] came to Jesus by night…”
At that time Nicodemus was a timid politician. He wanted to believe Jesus, but he was still hooked onto the Sanhedrin, so he came to Jesus at night.
“…and said to Him, ‘Rabbi, we know that You are a teacher Who has come from God; because no one is able to do the miracles that You are doing unless God is with him’” (v 2).
Here’s something Jesus did over and over again in what He taught: He never answered the question! But He told him the whole goal and purpose of His coming.
Verse 3: “Jesus answered and said to him, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone is born again, he cannot see the Kingdom of God.’”
The reason I’m bringing these things up is to prepare us for Pentecost, next week!
Verse 4: “Nicodemus said to Him, ‘How can a man who is old be born? Can he enter his mother’s womb a second time and be born?’” No! He didn’t have a clue!
Verse 5: “Jesus answered, ‘Truly, truly I say to you, unless anyone has been born of water and of Spirit, he cannot enter the Kingdom of God.’” There a two things here:
- cannot see it
- cannot enter it
Verse 6: “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh… [that is true and you know it] …and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit.” The parallel follows:
- if you’re born of the flesh you are 100% flesh
- if you’re born of the Spirit you are 100% spirit
When you’re baptized and put under the water and come out from underneath the water and receive the Spirit of God:
- Are you complete?
- Are you a changed person?
- Are you a spirit being?
NO!
Verse 6: “That which has been born of the flesh is flesh, and that which has been born of the Spirit is spirit. Do not be amazed that I said to you, ‘It is necessary… [obligatory] …for you to be born again.’”
If you want to enter the Kingdom of God, if you want to see the Kingdom of God, you have to be born again 100% sprit!
Jesus explains something here that is very important, because a lot of people in Protestantville who believe that they’ve been ‘born again.’ Here’s a test IF you’ve been born again:
Verse 8: “The wind blows where it wills, and you hear its sound, but you do not know the place from which it comes and the place to which it goes; so also is everyone who has been born of the Spirit.”
- Can you be like the wind?
- What did Jesus do after He was resurrected? John 20, he had to walk through a wall, a door or drop down through a ceiling to all of a sudden appear to where the apostles were gathered and talk with them!
- Matt. 1:18—Jesus is Mary’s firstborn
- Rev. 1:5[transcriber’s correction]—Jesus Christ is the Firstborn from among the dead
- What does this tell us? You cannot be born as a spirit being unless you first die!
- Was Jesus dead when He was put in the tomb? Yes!
He had to be, otherwise when He was resurrected He could not be the Firstborn from among the dead.
What does this tell us about born again? It is not an emotional experience, it is a substance change from flesh to spirit, and you become a spirit being! You can go just like the wind!
1-Cor. 15 is the resurrection chapter; a very important chapter. Pentecost pictures the first resurrection! We find in Matt. 13 that the whole process of salvation is likened unto a harvest. The seed is planted, it grows and brings forth fruit. Then it’s harvested. Let’s see what the Apostle Paul says concerning being born again:
1-Corinthians 15:47: “The first man is of the earth—made of dust…. [Adam] …The second Man is the Lord from heaven. As isthe one made of dust, so also are all those who are made of dust… [we all have the same flesh] …and as is the heavenly One, so also are all those who are heavenly” (vs 47-48).
So, if you are born again, you have to be born from flesh to spirit. That won’t happen until the resurrection takes place.
Verse 49: “And as we have borne the image of the one made of dust, we shall also bear the image of the heavenly One. Now this I say, brethren, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the Kingdom of God…” (vs 49-50).
- Doesn’t that agree with what Jesus said? Absolutely!
After you’re baptized, or after you’ve accepted Jesus as your personal Savior:
- Are you transformed from flesh to spirit? No! You’re still flesh!
- you are not born again
- you cannot enter the Kingdom of God
- you cannot see the Kingdom of God
“…nor does corruption inherit incorruption. Behold, I show you a mystery: we shall not all fall asleep, but we shall all be changed, in an instant, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet…” (vs 50-52).
When you accepted Jesus, you Protestants out there, did you hear a trumpet blow? Since there a lot of people accepting conversion, there must have been a lot of trumpets blowing. But how can there be a lot of trumpets blowing when you’re only raised from the dead at the last trump! We’ll find out on Pentecost when that occurs.
“…for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible… [Are you incorruptible?] …and we shall be changed” (v 52)—from flesh to spirit!
Here’s how Paul explains it; v 53: “For this corruptible must put on incorruptibility, and this mortal must put on immortality. Now, when this corruptible shall have put on incorruptibility, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall come to pass the saying that is written: ‘Death is swallowed up in victory’” (vs 53-54).
Are you still alive in the flesh? No! That answers the question about entering the Kingdom of God! Now let’s see who is going to be there. We know in Matt. 22 it says that many are called, but few are chosen! What does that mean? A lot of people are willing!
I can go on TBN and Daystar, and I keep track of what’s going on with them. They go to these foreign countries and get hundreds of thousands coming to hear them, and it’s all an emotional demonic thing. You would think that those countries had the most converted number of people in the world. But they don’t! It’s all an emotional thing, and then when it’s all over and the missionaries leave, they feel good about themselves and fly home in the jets that they’ve purchased with the tithes and offering of those supporters.
They say, ‘We have done a great work and thousands have been converted, but here they are all of them left behind and life is still the same.
Let’s see who God chooses. Quite an eye-opener. What does a calling amount to? A spiritual intervention in your life, because you’re seeking God! And God answers that call by helping you to come to understand that you need Him! Everything else depends on the Word of God.
When you answer the call you must be baptized, have hands laid on you for the receiving of the Holy Spirit, and you are to ‘walk in newness of life’ by keeping the commandments of God and the Truth of God! That’s must be! The main commandment you have heard me say for 50+ years is the Sabbath!
How important is the Sabbath? It’s the middle commandment of the Ten! Liken that to your car. If you took the middle portion of your car and cut it out and put at the front where your radiator is, what kind of car are you going to have? It isn’t going to work!
Remember this; this is important for everybody all the time everywhere to remember and never forget: You cannot improve upon God! So, you have to start keeping the commandments of God with the seventh-day Sabbath! That’s what they were doing here in Corinth:
1-Corinthians 1:24: “But to those who are called—both Jews and Greeks—Christ is God’s power and God’s wisdom, because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. For you see your calling, brethren, that there are not many who are wise according to the flesh, not many who are powerful, not many who are highborn among you. Rather, God has chosen the foolish things of the world…” (vs 24-27).
I had to learn that lesson. The first time I went to Sabbath services, I was living in the Bay area at that time—Redwood City—and just got baptized, and they told me where I could go to Church in Sacramento and who to contact to get a ride. We would ride up to Sacramento.
I remember walking in. here’s a big group of people, and I didn’t know this Scripture about ‘not many highborn’ and all this sort of thing. You could tell that they were just ordinary people, nothing special. There were farmers and others and so forth. I kind of, in my own mind, expected to see a more intellectual kind of group that you would find in a big college like Stanford or something like that.
It kind of took me back for a little bit, but then got to reading and found this Scripture: “…your calling, brethren, that there are not many who are wise…”
Verse 27: “Rather, God has chosen the foolish things of the world so that He might put to shame those who are wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world so that He might put to shame the strong things. And the lowborn of the world, and the despised has God chosen…” (vs 27-28).
Think about that! How many people in the world know you and love you as bosom-buddy type of person. Even before your were called and converted. Not many! Why? God starts with the outcasts first! We’re the outcasts!.
“…even the things that are counted as nothing—in order that He might bring to nothing the things that are; so that no flesh might glory in His presence” (vs 28-29).
Remember Job, he had to learn that. Job is the hardest one to understand, because he was doing everything that God wanted Him to do, but he said, ‘I do this myself.’ He forgot to give God all the credit. He wanted to take God to court and have the judge decide that he was just as good as God. You know the end of that story!
By the time God came and talked to Job and let him know what he had done, let him know what God Himself had done, then Job changed his tune.
All of those who claim that they’re born again, listen up to what God told Job at the end in Job 40, ‘Now cast your rage abroad and correct all of the wicked. Clothe yourself with majesty.’
Try that! Those of you out there that are supposedly born again, have you clothed yourself with majesty? Job couldn’t and he was better than you and me, better than any other man on earth!
But everything he did was because God said to do it, and Job didn’t give all the credit to God! Then God said, ‘If you can do those things, then I will confess to you that your own hand can save you. That’s what it took for Job to repent.
God wants repentance! After repentance then God gives us His Holy Spirit, and he has a wonderful plan laid out for us. This is also true even before we come to the point of the resurrection. This is also true in relationship to how God is dealing with us.
1-Corinthians 2:9: “But according as it is written, ‘The eye has not seen… [Do you have eyes? Have you seen? No! ] …nor the ear heard…’”
How many sermons have you heard? Everything that is in the Bible you can see and read. Even the things you can see and read, a lot of them you may not understand.
“…neither have entered into the heart of man…” (v 9).
You can sit there and contemplate it. You can’t take journey someplace and sit and meditate to understand.
“…the things which God has prepared for those who love Him” (v 9).
That’s what God wants! Everything that we’ve been talking about today hinges around the love of God!
- Do you love God? He loves you!
- Do you love God with all your heart, mind, soul and being?
- Is that what you’re striving for?
God reveals things to us because of that! He doesn’t reveal them because we’re smart and intelligent, and because we have studied for years and years. Look at how people have studied for years and years and those in monasteries all locked up, they didn’t know anything. You have to love Him! In order to understand what God is doing, it is a spiritual experience.
Verse 10: “But God has revealed them to us by His Spirit, for the Spirit searches all things—even the deep things of God.”
- that’s why we have Sabbath services every week
- that’s why we have the Passover and Holy Days
- so God can teach us and we can grow in grace and knowledge
- so God can love us
- so we can love God back
- so we can anticipate what God is going to do for us
As we look out into the world and see where it’s going, it’s going ‘to hell in a hand basket’ as fast as it can get there!
Verse 11: “For who among men understands the things of man except by the spirit of man, which is in him? In the same way also, the things of God no one understands except by the Spirit of God….”
Always remember that whatever you understand has come from God! It is a spiritual understanding. We are to grow in grace and knowledge of that.
Verse 12: “Now, we have not received the spirit of the world… [Where does that come from? Satan the devil, the prince of the power of the air] …but the Spirit that is of God, so that we might know the things graciously given to us by God; which things we also speak, not in words taught by human wisdom, but in words taught by the Holy Spirit in order to communicate spiritual things by spiritual means. But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God; for they are foolishness to him” (vs 12-14). Let’s see it laid out very clearly:
2-Corinthiain 6:14: “Do not be unequally yoked with unbelievers…. [spiritually speaking] …For what do righteousness and lawlessness have in common?…. [that the way of the world] …And what fellowship does light have with darkness?”
That’s why the Sabbath! You don’t go partying on Friday night! How many went out on Friday night before they were in the Church? That’s why the Sabbath starts at sunset! So you stay home and get ready for Sabbath!
Verse 15: “And what union does Christ have with Belial?….”
Unless God brings to the consciousness a spiritual involvement in their lives, the Protestants are never going to repent of Sunday-keeping and all of the holidays that they keep, and all the false doctrines that they have. They will never repent of them!
“…Or what part does a believer have with an unbeliever? And what agreement is there between a Temple of God and idols?….” (vs 15-17).
We are a temple of God (1-Cor. 3). God wants us to build with gold, silver and precious stone. Unfortunately, too many are building with wood, hay and stubble! He wants us to:
- grow in grace
- grow in knowledge
- develop our understanding
And His Spirit is right there to help us do it!
“…For you are a Temple of the living God, exactly as God said…” (v 16).
Think about you, your life and what God is doing in you with His Spirit! When you look out and see the world coming apart everywhere, you can be strong in God because of this:
“…‘I will dwell in them…’”
Tie in John 14; we have covered this many times. If we love Christ we will keep His commandments, and the Father and Christ will come and dwell in us! That’s the important thing!
“‘…and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Therefore, come out from the midst of them and be separate,’ says the Lord, ‘and touch not the unclean, and I will receive you; and… [here’s the whole purpose right here]: …I shall be a Father to you…’” (vs 16-18).
Notice that He didn’t say, ‘to them.’ It’s to you! All of this is singular between you and God! That’s why in your prayers, and you draw close to God in praying, remember that!
- He is there
- He is in you
- He is with you
- He is there to help
“‘…and you shall be My sons and daughters,’ says the Lord Almighty” (v 18).
Let’s see how we are to take all of this, because this is our hope. Let’s see what kind of hope that we have so we can move forward in everything that we do.
In going through the Psalms, I tell you, David sure had to go through a lot. I read some just recently in the latter chapters of the Psalms, and he was depressed. He says, ‘No one loves me! No one cares for me! No one thinks about my life! Then all of a sudden he would say, ‘But You are there, God!’
That’s why God let’s these things come, so that we will come close to Him! We will see how all of this works. This how we grow, overcome and let God lead us. We need to make the commitment and then ask God to help us to do it.
Psalm 39:1: “I said, ‘I will take heed to my ways so that I do not sin with my tongue; I will keep my mouth with a bridle while the wicked are before me.’ I became dumb, keeping silent; I said nothing good, and yet, my sorrow grew worse. My heart was hot within me; while I was musing, the fire burned; then I spoke with my tongue” (vs 1-3).
He thought the whole thing all over, then he came to the Lord and said:
Verse 4: “O LORD, make me to know my end… [today we can figure out what that is for all of us] …and the measure of my days, what it is, that I may know how short lived I am.”
That is sure true! Solomon wrote and said, ‘What if you live a thousand years twice told, 2,000 years! Think about that! Here we are 2022, go back, that’s before Christ.
Verse 5: “Behold, You have made my days as a handbreadth…”
Whenever you are tempted to get lifted up in spirit and think this, that or the other thing, pull up you hand and look at it; a handbreadth. That’s not much.
“…and the span of my days is as nothing before You. Surely every man at his best state is altogether vanity. Selah” (v 5).
We have to understand the vanity that we have so we can get rid of it!
Verse 6: “Surely every man walks about in a vain show! Surely they are in an uproar in vain…. –we have vanity and vain] …He heaps up riches and does not know who shall gather them. And now, LORD, what do I wait for? My hope is in You” (vs 6-7).
It doesn’t matter what the circumstances are, keep your hope in God!
Verse 8: “Deliver me from all my transgressions; make me not the reproach of the fool.”
If there’s anything we need in today’s world, it is the hope of God. We need to stay close to that.
Psalm 71:4: “Deliver me, O my God, out of the hand of the wicked, out of the hand of the unrighteous and ruthless man, for You are my hope, O Lord GOD, my trust from my youth. By You I have been upheld from the womb…” (vs 4-6).
Quite a thing, especially talking about that, what God does and is doing! There is the help for us.
Psalm 146:5: “Happy is he who has the God of Jacob for his help… [which we do; He said He will be with us and help us] …whose hope is in the LORD his God. Who made the heavens and earth, the sea and all that is in them; Who keeps Truth forever” (vs 5-6).
That is our hope and what we look to! That’s how we keep our sense in things like it is today.
Colossians 1:3: “We give thanks to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying for you continually.”
We do that, pray for all the brethren and all the elders. Pray for those in other Churches of God, that God will be with them and help them. We don’t wish anything against them, but only what God can give them.
Verse 4: “Since hearing of your faith in Christ Jesus, and the love that you have toward all the saints, because of the hope that islaid up for you in heaven… [which Christ is going to bring when He returns] …which you heard before in the Word of the Truth of the Gospel.”
Verse 23: “If indeed you continue in the faith grounded and steadfast, and are not moved away from the hope of the Gospel…”
Everything in the Gospel is built upon the foundation of Christ from God the Father with the Truth of His Word. The inspiration of His Spirit and everything that goes with it.
“…which you have heard, and which was proclaimed in all the creation that is under heaven; of which I, Paul, became a servant” (v 23). That is also a prophecy.
Verse 24: “Now, I am rejoicing in my sufferings for you, and I am filling up in my flesh that which is behind of the tribulations of Christ, for the sake of His Body, which is the Church; of which I became a servant, according to the administration of God that was given to me for you in order to complete the Word of God; even the mystery that has been hidden from ages and from generations, but has now been revealed to His saints; to whom God did will…” (vs 24-27).
- we’re here because of the will of God
- we’re here because of the Spirit of God
“…to make known what are the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory” (v 27).
So, when we come to difficult times like we have been seeing around us, let’s keep our mind on what God wants us to focus in on:
- prayfor one another
- helpone another
- do the things we need to do
Scriptural References:
- Romans 8 19-23
- Proverbs 29:15-18
- Psalm 8:1-6
- Psalm 139:1-13
- Revelation 2:23
- Psalm 139:13-17
- Jeremiah 1:4-5
- John 3:2-8
- 1 Corinthians 15:47-54
- 1 Corinthians 1:24-29
- 1 Corinthians 2:9-14
- 2 Corinthians 6:14-18
- Psalm 39:1-8
- Psalm 71:4-6
- Psalm 146:5-6
- Colossians 1:3-4, 23-27
Scriptures referenced, not quoted:
- John 3; 20
- Matthew 1:18
- Revelation 1:5
- Matthew 13; 22
- Job 40
- 1 Corinthians 3
- John 14
Also referenced:
Book: From a Speck of Dust to a Son of God: Why Were You Born? by Fred R. Coulter {truthofGod.org}
FRC:bo
Transcribed: 6/1/22
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