The Person and Work, of the Holy Spirit lesson 28
Mike Doyle · May 29, 2022
Holy Spirit (2021-23), No. 63
Holly Hills Bible Church
https://www.hollyhillsbiblechurch.org/teaching/messages/4926192764662

Transcribed from the recording by SermonAudio, so expect the occasional misheard word.

OK, everybody have a copy of Lesson 28? Lesson 28. No, I don't. Why not? I don't know. I didn't get it. I didn't see it on the. You know, for some reason, Cheryl, I think you've sort of dropped out of the list. And I checked it and it's on 28. Really? I know there are copies back there. I thought I had sent it out, but maybe not. Maybe not. Well, that would be the answer. I did it yesterday on the overheads for the main service. I sent out an email to everyone who has anything to do with that and forgot to put the attachment on it. So it's probably my fault. Oh, I got your one for today for the main service. I got that. Good. Oh, I got half of it right. I didn't get it either, Mike. We'll check in to check into it. Yeah. OK. Did I not send you a twenty nine at all, J.D.? No. All right. Okay, well, we're going to plow ahead anyway. Let's see how smart you are.

So we're dealing in the PDF file pages 59 to 62, or in the book page 137 to 143, and we're talking about worship. So it's a very interesting subject. The first question I have, according to Rideout, there are five features of worship that Rideout lists.

Can you name them? Answer no. I can. I got it in the book right here. Let's see. Place of worship. Don't list them all. Let's do them one at a time. Place of worship. There's a place of worship. He talks about that. Then he talks about, what's the next one? The power of worship. Three is the manner of worship. Four is the material for worship. And the last one is the time for worship. So he points out one interesting sentence. He says, let's remember that the special reference is not to the individual but to the church as a body. Let's talk about the proper place for worship. Where is it?

And the two references he gives is Hebrews 9.24 and Hebrews 10.19.

So somebody look up Hebrews 9.24 and someone else, Hebrews 10.19 through 23. So again, a focus on the place of worship. I think it might surprise you a little bit what he says. Somebody got 924? I've got it. 924 says, For Christ did not enter a holy place made with hands, a mere copy of the true one, but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us.

So, is that relevant to us as members of the body of Christ? Don't we love buildings? especially those that are shaped in a form of a cross. You ever notice that most of them are? Well, the new contemporary buildings are, but all the old ones were. So that anything on the earth, and he's talking primarily about the Jewish temple, is merely a copy of the one, but Christ entered into heaven itself.

That's where he is now. Now to appear in the presence of God for us. So, what's he do there? He appears in the presence of God for us, but understands something else. Where are you? We're there. Why are we there? Because Christ is there and we are in Him and He's in us. So it's important to understand that the body of Christ, all believers, are in Christ and wherever He is, that's where we are positioned. So we're there. So when he talks about the fact that to appear in the presence of God for us, the for us has to do with being in Him, not we're on the earth and He's up there.

All right, four verses, Hebrews 10, 19 through 23. Somebody's got that? Therefore, brothers and sisters, since we have confidence to enter the most holy place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain that is his body, And since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart and with full assurance that faith brings. Having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water. Let us, was it 23? Yeah,

23. Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. So, you know, we have found, especially in the book of Hebrews, that all believers are to have the boldness to enter into the Holy of Holies. Not when you die, now. Right now. So how is that accomplished? If we are encouraged, like verse 19 says, since we have confidence to enter the holy place by the blood of Christ.

Where is that holy place? It's the First Presbyterian Church down the street, right? Where is that holy place? Heaven. Is it within us or is it in heaven? Are we the center? Are we the church? Or is it somewhere else? Well, we're the church, yes. Are we the center of the focus of the church? Or is Christ the center? Well, He's the center. Yeah, so what these verses tell us is that in terms of the place of worship, it's in Christ, in the heavenlies.

That's the place. Do you ever think about that? Like when you Pulled into the parking lot on Sunday and come into the, you're walking into the heavenlies. Really? So, and we're there. Why? Because of the blood of Christ. Talks about the crucifixion. And then we are encouraged in verse 22, well in verse 21, since we have a great high priest over the house of God. Great high priest. What's a priest do? What's his job? Who does he represent? He speaks for the people to God. Who's the great high priest for the body of Christ? Christ himself. And he presides over the house. Oh, and by the way, he is the house.

Okay? Now, and since we have that, he says, let us draw near With a sincere heart and the fullness of faith, draw near to what? Okay. Draw near to who? Yeah. Yeah. So is that something we do now? Right now? On Sunday and maybe Monday we take the day off? You do it all the time.

The point being this. that we are heavenly people. We're not earthly people anymore. We are positioned in Christ in the heavenlies. And what Hebrews is trying to explain to us is because you're there, you ought to be familiar with it. You ought to draw near. You ought to know what it's like to be there, not only from a positional and doctrinal standpoint, but from an experiential standpoint. That I do have this intimacy with the Lord Jesus Christ there, anytime. It's critical, I think, for us as believers.

Otherwise, what happens? We get all wrapped up in whatever's going around in the world. I got a book this week from a Christian person that's all about the wokeness and all this stuff that goes on and the mindset of the world and that kind of thing. But not one page can I find even, and I didn't read it all, I just skimmed through it. Does the author talk about where the believer is positioned and how well versed a believer is on what that position is? We spend all of our time thinking the boogeyman is coming, you know, and he's bringing false doctrine and boy, we better be alert or we're going to end up where? Afghanistan, or somewhere, or all these people who surround us are going to persecute us, or whatever. I mean, it's interesting to me how much focus there is in the body of Christ on the things of the world and not on Christ, where He is.

That's the whole Word of God is designed to do that, especially Paul's epistles. So, draw near. How do you do that? What's the mechanics of that? You do it by faith. You do it by believing. Just start with these verses. Are these true or not and do I believe them? And I will draw near. With what? A sincere heart and I have the fullness of faith. Without the fullness of faith, you're in reverse. Or you got it in first gear, you're not moving very fast. So having our hearts sprinkled clean from an evil conscience, isn't that cool? What's that mean? What's an evil conscience? Huh? What was that? What makes it evil? First of all, what's a conscience? What is it? What? He's not. He's not your conscience. You'll see it on TV all the time. The guy talking on the left ear saying, hey, you're doing pretty well. And the guy on the right side saying, no, you're not doing well at all. That's right.

It's a mechanism that every human being has since Adam sinned. that either accuses him of his behavior or excuses his behavior. And it's built in. Can you rely as a believer on your conscience? Answer, no, you can't. Yeah. Sure is. Sure. That's how every conscience is, how every person outside of Christ in Adam operates. That's their barometer.

And notice this verse says, a sincere heart and the fullness of faith, having your heart sprinkled clean from an evil conscience. So what is the deal with a believer? Conscience is not the deciding factor. It's God's Word and the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit, like you say, the Holy Spirit is the one who convicts us. and restores us. So that's the, it's not a conscience, it's a person. And he doesn't convict us condemnatory like your conscience will do.

Oh, I feel guilty. I remember one time in Parker at the ladies class, I asked him one time, I said, ladies, how many of you think that if you feel sorry for your sins, you get forgiven faster? Let me have a show of hands. Half the hands went up. It isn't about you. It's about the Lord Jesus and the conscience you have, this clean conscience is something that he does. So that why? Your conscience doesn't get in the way. It's interesting how quickly, it's interesting how quickly the Lord would have us restored when we sin. It's almost instantaneous. Right? If you sin, do you have to spend 45 seconds feeling bad and then confess your sins? Do you see?

Did John 1.9 ask you to say that you're sorry? It's not there. To confess.

And you're instantly restored. I mean, there's so much grace in that frame of reference that you, it's much, well, coming out of Catholicism, you know, if you sinned, you had to keep a list. And then you went to confession on Saturday. And conveniently, they do it on Saturday so you could make it to church on Sunday. Pretty cleaned up. I never could make it from Saturday to Sunday. But you had to go through all of that earthly ritual in order to, what, be forgiven?

I'd much rather have my conscience sprinkled and clean all the time. And our bodies wash with pure water. Oops, you've got to take a shower before you go to church. What does the washing of the water refer to in the body of Christ? It always refers to the same thing, I think. Washing by the Word of God. The Word is what washes us.

You see that? Okay. And then it tells us, let us hold fast to our profession or confession of our hope without wavering. Why? Because the one who promised is faithful. That's why. He's faithful. How many times have you talked to Christians and they're saying, boy, I'm really working hard so God knows that I'm faithful. No, he's trying to prove to you that he's faithful. And when you recognize that he's faithful all the time, you can rest. You can trust him because he is faithful. He's always trying to prove to us that everything he says in his word is true and he means it. And you don't get a special exemption if your faith is weak.

I've got this alert thing on my doorbell that drives me nuts. Every time a car goes by my house it goes bing. Right Out says that we have just seen a special class of men with special prerogatives. is untaught of in Christianity, so also is the thought of a special sanctuary.

In the passage previously quoted, it is declared that we have boldness to enter into the holiest, that is, into heaven. Maybe look at it this way. When we all leave the planet and go to heaven, we should not be going to a place we're not familiar with. We should know. As we grow in the knowledge and grace of the Lord Jesus and behold His glory, we recognize Him. And the place shouldn't be unfamiliar to us.

That's why all of this religious formality is just earthly. The coolest thing that happened here happened last Sunday. What time did you guys leave the church last Sunday? We left at about 12.20. Some of you guys skated out early. But half the people couldn't leave because they were so involved with each other and fellowshipping and talking in the middle of the aisle. I walked out of here just so exhorted because it was such a cool time.

We're all together and the whole topic of conversation was the Lord. You know, it wasn't, you know, Eccles Red Mustang. It was the Lord we talked about. And I remember we got in the car and I thought, gee, that was really cool. You know, that 45 minutes or something before we left was really neat.

Okay. So, question three, but we're on the earth, so how can we enter the holiest? Question three. Let's hash this out a bit. How can we enter the holiest if we're sitting in front of me and I'm sitting in front of you? How can we enter the holiest? How does that look? What does it look like, the holiest?

I can see you guys are really up to speed on this. Hey Mike, would it be, there's something to do with the fact that it's by faith, not by experience, right? So if we're looking for an experience of it, we're kind of looking in the wrong place. I think that's right. To trust the fact that God's Word says that we enter by faith, based on the blood. I think so. Right out says that it is by the power of the Holy Spirit of God and who has come down and makes real for faith all that Christ has entered for us, all he has secured for us.

Mal Stanford used to have a sign that he'd give people, it was think position. Think position, think position. You know, where am I? And what do I have? Am I blessed with all spiritual blessings? Positional truth, yes, I am. And the Spirit of God's job is to persuade us that our faith is real. You know, it's interesting how the human mind works. God and His Word and the Christian reveals something to us, just a wonderful truth. And we get real excited about it. And for a couple of days, it's our mantra. Right?

And then here comes the trial. And the trial is specifically opposed, it seems to be opposed, to the truth that I just entered into. What's the trial designed to do? designed to persuade me that what God said is true. And in the end of the day, by the end of the day or the end of the trial, whatever I believe now is cemented into me and my faith is solid about that issue. What happens is, is that here comes the trial and we all whine. And we all complain. And why do I have this trial?

And we don't realize what God is doing is proving to us through the trial, he's trying our faith so that when at the end of the day we are persuaded and you can't be talked out of it, or emotioned out of it, or experienced out of it, this is what I believe. Does that make sense to you? I mean, I actually have to laugh sometimes when I ask for prayer requests. What are you really asking for?

Well, God is working in this person's life, and we're going to ask God to stop it. Don't do this to him or her anymore. How would you couch that? How would you say? Keep on, Lord. Keep going. But God will comfort you in the middle of the trial. He will do it. Because he's got something specific on every circumstance you go through. Every single one. And I don't sit up here and try to explain to you that I'm better at it than you are, because I'm not.

I'm begging him sometimes. I've had enough. Can we stop now? Hey Mike, I have a question. Yeah. Do we enter into the holiness or into the holy place? Is that a repetitive thing? Did you say repetitive? Yes. Do we do that often? What's the process look like? Because in the Old Testament you have a repetition of this. I'm just curious how that translates to us.

Yeah, it's interesting because From a positional standpoint, I'm there. And that's one part of the equation that I'm persuaded about. I'm there no matter what, but I've got to be persuaded about that. Because if I'm walking in the flesh, all bets are off. I'm not observing, experiencing, or even caring about. What I'm caring about is my flesh.

But the Spirit of God, again, go through this process of restoration, and all of it clears up. But sometimes I think, boy, you know, two days ago I would seem to be walking in the Spirit. Even though I probably got all the rules right, it didn't happen in today. Am I still there? That's the point.

I'm always there because I'm in Christ. but I'm not always there consciously for whatever reason. Yeah, it's interesting. I think that's what I was thinking about is that because that presence is permanent in Christ, we never leave the holy place. Christ does not have to suffer on our behalf over and over and over again. Right.

The sacrifice has been made and the presence is permanent, but it's actually us not walking with the Lord that we don't experience the we don't take into consideration what Paul's talking about here, because when the sin nature leads us astray and we end up out of fellowship with the Lord, all the things that we are in Christ are broken in terms of some communication barriers, right? We've got a fellowship problem, and that's one of the things that we break when we decide to walk in the flesh, is we break that understanding of where we are permanently in Christ in the holy place. And that's a problem with worship, right? Because...

I think so. Yeah. I think so. I'll read something Miles Stanford wrote. He said, Yes, such a happy privilege of every saint. It is by the power of the Spirit of God who has come down and makes real for us all that Christ has secured for us. But what a priceless boon is this, boldness to enter into the place of worship, where Christ has gone for us to enter into the presence of God by the Holy Spirit. Yes, such a happy privilege of every saint. Isn't that interesting? It's a privilege. God's already done it.

Of course, that's always the problem with faith. Most of it's based on what God has already done and we really don't believe Him. We really don't when it comes down to it. We say, well that's nice, I read it in the Bible and I can quote it, but that isn't what, I don't experience it, or it's not working out for me. Yeah it is. Yeah it is. By the way, you probably already know this, we're really tough to persuade, you know that, don't you? We've got this little thing called the sin nature that doesn't believe anything but what's right in front of it.

Now, one thing I did, right off goes through question four, does it impress the world that we go to the holiest for worship? And right before that, he actually asked four questions, so I put them all into one. Question number one is, what's the tendency of all this church architecture? Number two, does it make us more heavenly? Three, does it suit our pilgrim profession? And lastly, does it impress the world that we go to the holiest for worship? In other words, does the building matter?

He asks a question, but what is the ordinary thought about a place of worship? What do you normally think? Is it not in some sense the house of God? Is it not consecrated? And is it not more or less sacrilege to use it for any other purpose? Don't you think that way? Well, what about the statement, I really need to go to church?

Yeah. That's probably twofold, right? But it generally means I got to get in my car and get somewhere because there's some stuff that needs to be dealt with in a certain place at a certain time. Let's talk about that for a minute. Why do we get together?

Fellowship. That's the big reason. It isn't any more holy in this building than it is in your house. But this is the place of fellowship. So we gather together. That's the big advantage of having a building that we can all go to. It isn't that the building itself is any more special than your own personal residence. But you don't have the fellowship. And the fellowship, I think, That's a great way to say it. The church isn't here till we're here. Yeah. Come down here on a Wednesday afternoon sometime. It's a grim place. Nobody's here. It's just the building.

Mike, you remember I was saying up here that when you take your building away, fellowship is actually that much sweeter. I think the way I said it is. when it's illegal to get together. It's that much sweeter, you know. Yeah, I do. Boy, that's a great point, Miles. Let's say that the government in all of its wisdom says, well, you know, now you all have, what's the latest one?

Monkey pucks. And you can't be together. So no church locking it down. We're going to put a cop in front of every church. If we could sneak away and get together, It would be so much sweeter. We've experienced that in the last year and a half. I remember the first time we could kind of get back together. We couldn't kick them out hard enough. I got to go eat lunch. I'm talking, don't bother me. I'm fellowshipping, don't bother me. In one extent, Zoom is a detriment to us. In another sense, we can communicate, but it's not the same thing as being in the same location as believers.

I know, Miles, in talking to you, if you could find the right group of fellowshipping believers, you'd probably spend all day Sunday going to and coming back from there. I know I would. I'd probably live closer than anybody. I can't tell you how cool fellowship is. And when you begin to appreciate it, you start looking for opportunities to hang out with other believers, whether it's two of them or forty of them or a hundred of them. You just do.

Why this constant reference to a place of worship? Before that, Rite Out says, I say not a word about the neatness and comfort, but if there's not something peculiarly sacred in the building, why this resemblance to Rome in the architecture? So why the constant reference to a place of worship? Is it in accord with the divine fact that our place of worship is by the Spirit of God in the very sanctuary? God, can you imagine Holly Hills thinking that, oh, we're the sanctuary of God? Yeah, we are, actually. Like Gal says, when we come together, that's where we are. That's where we are. And there is no church until we get here.

I like that a lot. Do we need anything to accentuate the fact, and if so, Is it to be adornment and reminders in earthly sanctuaries? In other words, if you're coming over to my house for Bible study, I better get the crosses out, the pictures of Jesus on the wall. That's right. I have this sign. I live in a two-story house, and when you come down from the second floor to the first floor, There's a big wall in front of you where the stairwell is and so you put up there, what, 20 years ago now? Keep looking down for your life is hidden with Christ and God. I can't tell you how many people walk down and say, what does that mean? We know what that means. One more paragraph, then I notice it's 9.45.

The beauties that attract us are seen by the eye of faith alone, and they are the glories of a sanctuary which no human hand has built. Let nothing mar our thought of that. Let the place where we assemble for worship be simple, unpretentious, and which can in no way convey the impression that there is such a thing as an earthly sanctuary."

That's kind of cool, isn't it? So, not that you don't keep the building that we gather in, upkeep it, so that we can, we really must recognize when we come together really as a body, We are really entering into the Holy of Holies. That's what we're doing, to behold the glory of the Lord Jesus. That's where we live. Questions?

I'm going to stop. There's one more that has to do with the power of worship. I'll send out 28 and 29 to everybody. If you're here in the classroom, I think there's 28 over there you can take with you. Anything else? All right, let's close. Father, how we thank you for your grace and your mercy and your love towards us, and for the place that you've placed us, which is in your Son, right before you, sanctuary, where your very presence is, and that we may grow moment by moment to realize that's where we are. And from that position we can behold through the word the glory of you and your son. And we thank you. We pray in his precious name. Amen.