Download... October 16, 2011. Sunday Morning Service. Bro. Dave Goble.
Bought back by the Blood of the Lamb! How wonderful! When God does a complete work, we then are no longer the same. Redeemed not only for this life, but for the one to come, if we let Him have His way. We are then made to be counted worthy!
TEXT: 11 CORINTHIANS 3:1-6
1 Do we begin again to commend ourselves? or need we, as some others, epistles of commendation to you, or letters of commendation from you?
2 Ye are our epistle written in our hearts, known and read of all men:
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart.
4 And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward:
5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God;
6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life.
Verse 1 Paul was referring here to a tradition in those bible times, where when one going from one congregation area to another, would take a letter of introduction to document who that person was, to the yet un-introduced congregation.
Verse 2 Paul was declaring that the members of God’s body are actual living letters written on one another’s hearts, whose life is the testimony, observed by all men. Verse 3 The “letter” of the saved souls are written by the Spirit on fleshly hearts, and not with the mere ink on tables of stone. Do you have a letter written, IN your heart, this morning? It is much better IN your heart, as opposed to only ON your heart, ..that it may read of Christ in your life! For a letter on paper is not effective as your life actually revealing what God has done for you. Verse 2 again, ..Ye our are epistles, ..a living letter, doctrine, teaching, etc. An epistle known and read of all men. God has done such a work for us, He’s written IN our heart which becomes a letter written to all men. A living letter that testifies to those around us of God working IN our heart. Again verse 3, Written not with the literal ink of this world, but with the Spirit…the ink of God! So, without the Spirit, ..this letter doesn’t get written. Verse 4 We only possess this trust through Christ toward God.
This spiritual letter is not one that gets read/lived on some days (church) and not on other days. It is one that is lived and read the same every day. In studying about how in religion, that “supposedly” God’s Spirit causes one to act out emotionally in the services, yet are not in the everyday life (outside church) to be holy, they then still claim it is God’s Spirit. But it cannot be the Spirit of God. There is a confusion amongst many people of what happens when God’s Spirit is “produced” in someone. They often think or expect some type of “ecstasy” to be “witnessed.” An ecstasy… to be out of yourself, to be so different ..that you lose your “reasoning,” ..or that reason loses it’s control of you. That your reason is no longer governing your behavior. That you are then so different, ..without your 'control.' Strange, unusual, so that they “surmise” that it must be of God. People often misunderstand God’s ways here. When He saves us, He gives us the spirit of a sound mind. II Timothy 1: 7 For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind. He does give us an ecstatic experience, giving us access to His mind, ..above.. the reasoning of mere flesh, but He doesn’t cause us to behave in unseemly ways!
We are given Holy Spirit reasoning, which is above mere human reasoning, …a divine reasoning, ..yet still reasonable! The Holy Spirit helps us with a sound mind to have objective reasoning, and not “out of your mind” reasoning. He writes now on a fleshly heart, or conscious, and not on “tables of stone”. God’s Spirit causes us to “live” the letters of His word, on Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday consistently, and not only conveniently (i.e. like only church time). With God’s Spirit we won’t get caught up when we assemble with behavior one way, then, in "different"way, ..in our everyday life. It will be Holy Spirit motivated, ..consistently. We might, when together, in our testimony and songs, be more ‘visibly’ excited, but we won’t lose our “sound mind!” Rather what we will have, is the seed of the Spirit of God, which only through a sound mind, be evident. There will be a true and complete change from the old life of sin and darkness.
II Corinthians 3:6-16 6 Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. 7 But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: 8 How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? 9 For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. 10 For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. 11 For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. 12 Seeing then that we have such hope, we use great plainness of speech: 13 And not as Moses, which put a vail over his face, that the children of Israel could not stedfastly look to the end of that which is abolished:
14 But their minds were blinded: for until this day remaineth the same vail untaken away in the reading of the old testament; which vail is done away in Christ. 15 But even unto this day, when Moses is read, the vail is upon their heart. 16 Nevertheless when it shall turn to the Lord, the vail shall be taken away.
We’re not made to be “superior beings” through Christ, but our help and sufficiency or power 'depends always' on God’s Spirit, which He gives us. Verse 6 It is God who has made us able ministers of this New Testament, ..an effective “letter” of the Spirit. Has ‘He’ ..been a letter written in your heart (life)? A letter written by the Spirit, and not of the letter which killeth, ..but of the Spirit which gives life. Verse 7 When Moses came down from the mountain, the Israelites could not look right upon Moses’ face, for the Glory of God was too glorious to directly behold. So if the ministration of death, written and engraved on tablets of stone was glorious, which was to be done away with, Verse 8 How shall not the ministration of the Spirit not be rather more glorious? Verse 9 For of the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the Spirit of Righteousness exceed in glory. Verse 10 For that which was glorious, loses it’s glory by respect and reason of the glory that exceeds it. Verse 11 The glory of Christ replaces and exceeds the glory of Moses’ leadership and prophecies. Verse 12 Seeing we have such great hope, we speak plainly. Bro Goble illustrated that he was using plain speech this morning, just as Paul declared he was a plain speaker. Sometimes it offended others, but yet he still spoke plainly.
Verse 13 We are not as those in Moses’ time who still had a “veil” upon their heart from the glory of God, and could not look upon the past which is now taken away. Verse 14 For their minds were blinded: by the remaining of the veil, which is done away for those that are in Christ, for whom now there is no more separation. Verse 15 But even today when Moses is read, the veil is upon those holding to the law of Moses. In those times there still remained a veil because Christ had not yet come. But today the veil does not still need to be there. But unfortunately today there are people still willing to accept only the writings 'on' tablets of stone or of the law, rather than the freedom found from the spiritual letters written IN the heart. They in doing this, ..keep a veil there. It is often left there, because it seems to provide an excuse, to “hide” behind.
But in Christ, regardless, we stand before Him “naked,” there is no veil to “defend” us from any behavior Christ is not pleased with. We stand totally exposed to God’s Spirit, which will prevent (if allowed) a legalistic spirit or letter, that gives no place for the letter of God’s Spirit to be written. Verse 16 Yet when one turns to the Lord, the veil shall be taken away from their heart and spiritual understanding! Verse 17 Now the Lord is that Spirit, and wherever the Spirit of the Lord is, there is spiritual liberty (the spirit 'over' the flesh). Do you have liberty this morning? If you belong to Christ, ..you have spiritual liberty! Not a liberty of the flesh, (freedom to do what ‘you’ want) but true liberty is being able to do what 'God' wants you to do. Why, ..or how? Because it is written IN your heart and not merely ON a “table of stone,” but instead the Spirit of your life (heart.) In a fleshly table of heart, ..no longer of a “stony table. Verse 18 All the redeemed are changed into the same glorious image as our Heavenly Father’s, as if we were beholding our-self in a glass, ..His image! From Glory to Glory!
“If I was traveling from Ephesus to Laodicea, with a letter of introduction and commendation, (people still do this today,) to be accepted “because I was accepted where I came from,” ..then what could happen? The information could still come out on my behavior (if known to be “otherwise,”) which would discredit the letter in “temporal” ink. (“You should of heard of what happened! They blew up at work, and their mouth, ..you should have heard what came out of it in their anger! Then they came back on Sunday, ..so pious,..and “right .”) Be careful you don’t have a “letter” of condemnation. A 'better' letter is being able to invite someone to watch your life, ..testifying to a spiritual letter in Christ! Watch the epistle “letter” that God “waters” on any fleshly idea. “I was once a letter of a stony heart, but God broke, and ground it up, and then overwrote on my previous stony condition." Not the stony letter written on any heart from sin and worldly influences. Has God written on your heart this morning? God wants to rewrite the script of all stony hearts.
We are all born with a stony heart, which governs our fleshly choices. “In sin did my mother conceive me.” Psalms 51:5 Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother conceive me. This is in reference to the "code of carnal behavior" all are born with. Unless God rewrites it with His Spirit, it will remain a stony heart. The law of Moses could lead you to Christ, as the prophets of God, were, before Jesus’ time. The letter then could not be rewritten changing completely mankind’s nature. The law of Moses was not defected, but perfect for all, 'before' the coming of Christ, which brought freedom through the letter of the Spirit. The law of Moses could allow a soul to be pleasing before God, in those times. Yet God had for us, ...a better way! We are so blessed to be in this dispensation of time!
The following scriptures are some that "look" forward to the coming of Christ.
Isaiah 40:1-5 1 Comfort ye, comfort ye my people, saith your God. 2 Speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry unto her, that her warfare is accomplished, that her iniquity is pardoned: for she hath received of the LORD's hand double for all her sins. 3 The voice of him that crieth in the wilderness, Prepare ye the way of the LORD, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. 4 Every valley shall be exalted, and every mountain and hill shall be made low: and the crooked shall be made straight, and the rough places plain: 5 And the glory of the LORD shall be revealed, and all flesh shall see it together: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Zechariah the whole 2nd chapter “looks” forward to the coming of Christ.
Luke 2:25-30, 36-38 25 And, behold, there was a man in Jerusalem, whose name was Simeon; and the same man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel: and the Holy Ghost was upon him. 26 And it was revealed unto him by the Holy Ghost, that he should not see death, before he had seen the Lord's Christ. 27 And he came by the Spirit into the temple: and when the parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him after the custom of the law, 28 Then took he him up in his arms, and blessed God, and said, 29 Lord, now lettest thou thy servant depart in peace, according to thy word: 30 For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, 36 And there was one Anna, a prophetess, the daughter of Phanuel, of the tribe of Aser: she was of a great age, and had lived with an husband seven years from her virginity; 37 And she was a widow of about fourscore and four years, which departed not from the temple, but served God with fastings and prayers night and day. 38 And she coming in that instant gave thanks likewise unto the Lord, and spake of him to all them that looked for redemption in Jerusalem.
The coming of Christ, was God’s letter of redemption coming for all souls choosing Him, ..for all time. His glories we are to have, ...for His Spiritual deliverance. His plan (letter) is perfect! Too many seem to think God “overwrites” on our sinful hearts, ..without taking care of the sinful nature, which allows it to remain to further produce sin from that “stony heart.” Becoming, ..merely religious. It may be a polished shiny stone, but it will be a stony condition nonetheless. An illustration to give here, would be that there have been great artists who later “covered” their original painting, with one covering it later, ..for different reasons. The original would later be discovered underneath. The point here, is if a heart is just “rewritten” on, ...that sinful heart condition will never go away. The old “letter” must be eradicated, ..the stony heart broken up by God. Otherwise you will only have mere religion, ..a form. A form of “dress”, traditions, etc., is not the business of God (which is not of mere “overwriting”). He is only in the business of writing IN hearts, leaving no room for the depraved nature.
Again, II Corinthians 3:2 Ye are our epistles written in our hearts, known and read of all men: When a letter is IN our heart, (in Christ),we will be infused in/with Him, not “on.” There is a difference! There is always a generation that understands better what the life lived before the times of newer inventions came of their times. So it is with this illustration, in a time of our present computers. From the it's beginning, as now, there was a “box” with a storage place of a hard drive, where the code is stored. Sometimes that stored code becomes corrupted because of a corrupted hard drive. You cannot then get to the correct information “stored.” Even if you could, you wouldn’t be able to decipher or understand 'the why' of the corruption. This is no different, than in people’s hearts or lives. You won’t understand the corruption of your nature without allowing God to deliver you and create in you a new nature of His Spirit, and 'not' just a change to the “surface.” The surface change does nothing for the core of the nature. This, again, is likened to when a computer gets corrupted and we don’t understand why.
So it is often not well understood by people, ..why their nature is corrupted. Bro Goble shared how his computer became corrupted yesterday. He then said "Yes, ..I know there will be some after church offering advice of how to 'fix' it, even though computer problems are so complex." There are so many steps involved to fix or correct them. So a corrupted computer is of course a bad thing. So often you have to “wipe” the hard drive clean, and completely start over. Just like when people get corrupted. The code that governs our behavior, gets corrupted, just like a computer, so that person is not able to “work right” either. So 'you recognize' that your computer or life is not working right, so decide I need to “fix it.” So, I’ll erase it and start over. I . I will decide. I will diagnose my problem. I will go to my manual. I will go to my bible. I will go to my commentary. I will go to my history. I will go to my family, my pastor, etc. I will go to “places.” I will fix the corruption. I will erase it, and I will 'rewrite the code,' ..and surely it will work after that. The problem begans when we think "I" can personally handle my own problems. Bro Goble shared that he had tried to fix his computer two times now, and each time it eventually fails! "We’re getting close to doing something dramatic!! LOL"
People too often say ,”I” will do this! Though we know by experience, that there’s nothing you can do that will cure the corruption that is in the human heart. Because it is a “code” you are born with. God is the one that needs to “get inside,” to unscramble and rewrite some things. ‘You’ can’t do it! God needs to get inside some things! Again,.. II Corinthians 3:5 Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; We cannot do the things, ..that God needs to get inside of our heart to do! Just like you might say, “My computer works quite well, with only an occasional “glitch,” but I’m able to “work around it.” People are the same way, “My religion experience works pretty well for me, but occasionally I have a serious “glitch.”
People will create a “work around” ..for their sinful heart conditions. They “work around” through doctrines, theologies, their histories, etc. They practice their “work around’ to work around carnality, sin,... but claim “but all the rest works pretty good.” God though, wants to get inside their hearts to rewrite some things! The code in a computer, is what governs what they computer does. It commands that computer, since the computer cannot do anything without it. The “bits” and data inside “tell” it what to do. On and off bits, electrical patterns, that tells the computer “what to do.” So when the data is completed, that data “tells” the computer to act in a corrupted way. The computer does not have a mind of it’s own, ..despite what some people sometimes think..LOL. “This computer is not doing what it’s supposed to do!!" How many times have you said that? But yes, ..it is!! The computer is doing exactly what the code is putting out. It’s corrupted! It can only do what it’s supposed to do, directed by it’s core condition. “It” may not behave the way you want it to, ..and people act the same way. Once a heart is corrupted, the “command” is demanding that corrupt behavior! I’m still praying for some codes to be changed! Christ changes things! We don’t have to wait for the hope of Israel, ..it has already come!
Some people want to control the separations caused by sin. It seems to be human nature to want to control, to desire to create order out of chaos. Even though God created the desire for control in mankind, the danger is that although he wants to be like God in “that” respect, man still doesn’t want to be in subjection to God. People still today are like that, wanting their own way. They want to control while they are separated from God. That separation is caused by sin. They instead of asking God to “rewrite” their hearts, 'themselves' want to control it, ..so they write their own “laws.” Not talking here about national/civil laws of the land, etc., but personal laws or “codes”, spiritually. They write “commands” of substitution for the more powerful laws and codes from God, which is the letter God writes IN your heart. People still want to overwrite the outside with their personal codes, laws, or convictions, and substitute “those” for the Spirit of God. This will only create corruption. That is essentially writing on the “surface” of something, with their 'own' codes rather than having the Spirit of God write on the inside.. out.
II Timothy 3:1-5 1This know also, that in the last days perilous times shall come. 2 For men shall be lovers of their own selves, covetous, boasters, proud, blasphemers, disobedient to parents, unthankful, unholy, 3 Without natural affection, trucebreakers, false accusers, incontinent, fierce, despisers of those that are good, 4 Traitors, heady, highminded, lovers of pleasures more than lovers of God; 5 Having a form of godliness, but denying the power thereof: from such turn away.
The above scripture is a clear description of a sinner. It is also about those sinners wanting to retain a form of godliness. They want their own way. A wolf in sheep’s clothing, while still denying the power thereof. Why are they denying the power? Because their “writing” is only on the outside or surface. That’s what a religious spirit does. It writes on the outside of the heart, and tries to control behavior from the outside-in. It has never worked before, and will still not ever work! God says theirs is a bitter covenant. The old covenant has passed away. What is marvelous to know is, that even before one could follow Jesus, one could be led to Christ. Read about David’s life of worship, and try to tell someone that David did not know the same Lord we know today. Read the Psalms and deny that. And yet today, we even have a better way than that.
There is no longer grace to live under the law of Moses, for God. For God has made and given a better way. So why do people still want to try and live under the law of Moses, not only as a literal Jew, but a spiritual one? Because men impose their own laws, ..for their own ways. They impose on some “You must live this way (theirs), or you cannot serve God. Stony hearts! It is one of the greatest curses in the land today. Masquerading as fleshly hearted people. A fleshly heart is not unkind and cruel. A fleshly hearted person is kind, merciful and compassionate. You extend your hand to greet some, and they turn away, ..'stony hearts.' It divides families, friends, and etc. Bro Goble said, “I’m not speaking about anyone here this way, but of the world we live in, and it’s spirit. I don’t know of any here this morning, that wouldn’t love to see any of their family and friends saved this morning.
But I do know about a stony hearted spirit that masquerades as a fleshly one. Those even 'calling' themselves a child of God, ..but would divide families. God doesn’t divide families. Now there can be someone that is confused, or one that would divide (by leaving), but that doesn’t mean the other one wanted it to happen. People are going to do whatever they choose to do. Br Goble shared “I have loved ones who “look” at things differently than I. I look forward to Thanksgiving time, so we can be together. When I go to the cities where loved ones live, we stay in their home, and have a good time, and do what we can do. We may have 'different ways', to live, but it’s not in my heart to turn my shoulder away," (imposing my convictions/laws on them). Unfortunately this behavior is often still going on, indicating a “stony heart” attitude. Who wouldn’t want to see those that have gone away, come back to be recovered? There’s still an “overwriting” going on in these stony hearts, masquerading as a fleshly infilling of the Holy Spirit! We can’t have a substitute! We must have a fleshly heart infilling of the Holy Spirit.
In every generation there’s a new group that doesn’t remember what their previous ancestors lived through. Such as those that still might remember the horse and buggy, do so, although the next generation has no real life experiences of that, only of the car. Our children today will never know a world without computers. There are other examples like this. Some people will never know the world you knew. As their children will know a world that their parents didn’t know. Each generation only knows what they have grown up with. They may get some insight on some things through “education” of some type. But they only get ‘experience' ..from their own times. We want to have the ability to reveal to each succeeding generation, the Spirit which “writes the letter,” in the fleshly tables of the heart.
We don’t ever want to have a condition where it changes to laws being written on a “stony heart.” Because with each generation growing up, if that is what they think is going on, ...we lose that generation. Speaking from, or for the pulpit? No, this is for each one. Mom, Dad, if what that child learns from you is the law of Moses being written on tables of stones, 'when are they going to be able to see what Paul is talking about here in our text?' The law of the Spirit, ..please don’t confuse this message, and proper conduct, ..with anything goes! You’re missing the whole point if that’s what your thinking! I’m not saying “anything goes!’ Just the opposite! There are things that 'must go' ..in order for the law of the spirit to be written on the tables of the heart. Those that are as "petrified forests," are so because they became "calcified," ..that were once “fleshly tables.”
Some might say “shame on the ministry for letting that happen." No! Sometimes the ministry is trying “like crazy” to keep that from happening! But 'the people' began to accept and demand something less. So then,.. that lively fleshly heart starts to “harden.” Don’t let your heart harden! Let it be soft and pliable, like clay that God can form into the image He wants. Do you have a letter written in a fleshly heart table..OR..does your heart have some stony places? A stony place, ..is a place of self. “They say it’s this way, but I’m going to do it the way I want.” That’s a stony place!
Is Christ's letter written IN your heart?
