God glorifies himself in some surprising ways.

Steve Brown:
God glorifies himself in some surprising ways. Let’s talk about it, on Key Life.

Matthew Porter:
That was Steve Brown. He’s an author, seminary professor, and our teacher on Key Life, a program all about God’s radical grace. We’re committed to bringing you Bible teaching that’s honest, straight-forward, and street-smart. Keep listening to hear truth that’ll make you free.

Steve Brown:
Thank you Matthew. If you’re just joining us, we’re talking about the doctrine of the Holy Spirit and the third person of the Trinity’s connection to the subject of love in general and loving each other within the body of Christ in particular. We have seen that an illustration is better than instruction. And that God’s way of witnessing in the world isn’t so much what we say and what we do and how faithful and obedient we are, the best demonstration and action of evangelism for the church is for you to love me and for me to love you. And that’s not always easy. When the apostle Peter was writing to debilitated Christians and wanted to encourage them, he didn’t give them a motivational talk. He told them the truth about their identity. Listen to I Peter 2:9 through 10.

But you are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, his own special people, that you may proclaim the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light.

Who once were not a people, but are now the people of God, who had not obtained mercy, but now have received mercy. Listen up. God’s methodology of glorifying himself and reaching out to the world is to lift up his people as a model. Now, don’t get me wrong. God can do whatever he wants, whenever he wants to do it. He doesn’t ask for my vote. He doesn’t need you or me as a model. And nothing we do or don’t do in fulfilling our role as the model is going to prevent God from doing what he’s planned to do. However, for his own reasons, and we didn’t get a vote, he has decided that he will love us, be gracious to us, bless us, correct us, and teach us, and then he will lift us up as an example of how he deals with people he loves. And that brings me to the main point I want to make. I’m always hearing from unbelievers about hypocritical, how hypocritical the church is. They point out the multitude of places where the people of God are something less than what is advertised. In fact, in our time, and I’m getting tired of the books, books are written by so many people outlining how they have been abused by the church. Those who are engaging in polemics will point out the Crusades, the Inquisition, the religious wars in Northern Ireland, and the anti-semitism reflected in much of church history. They tell me, when I talk to those kind of people, that the most segregated hour of the week is the worship hour on Sunday. That Christians are more interested in building empires than in feeding the poor. And that television evangelists have demonstrated the greed endemic to the Christian leaders. If it is a debate, there are, of course, significant and cogent ways to defend the Church. I engage in countless arguments with unbelievers about the Church. And as I’ve already said, I win most of them, if not all of them. Now, I’m not bragging, it’s what I do. But you see, that isn’t the point. The point is that God is still working with his people. He has made a covenant never to forsake them. Never to reject them or turn his back on them. He is creating a model and he isn’t through with his work yet. That model, by the way, doesn’t include just the good stuff like hospitals we build, or the hungry we feed, or the love we manifest, it also includes the bad stuff like our disobedience, and our unbelief, and our failure. I want to show you God’s methodology for making us his model. We’re going to examine God’s work through the Holy Spirit in calling us to himself, making us one, equipping us for what is needful, and then lifting us up that the world might see what he has done. We’re going to see how he loves us so much that we learn to love each other. That the mark of the Christian faith is that love that is given by the Holy Spirit. In America we’re very big on the individual. I love the story about the third grade teacher who asked her class if anyone knew of something right now that was here that wasn’t around ten years before. Little boy in the front row raised his hand and said, Oh yes, me! I’m glad for the emphasis in our country, and in Canada too, on the importance and the value of the individual. However, the truth is that our emphasis on the individual causes many of us to miss the Biblical emphasis on the community of faith. A community that was created by the Holy Spirit, sustained by the Holy Spirit, empowered by the Holy Spirit, lifted up in the eyes of the world by the Holy Spirit. It is important to remember that when God calls an individual, he always calls a bunch. When you became a Christian, it wasn’t just you and me, God. It was a part of a community, part of the church, the body of Christ. Everybody who belongs to Jesus belongs to everybody who belongs to Jesus. God has, by his Spirit, called individuals to himself. As important as that is, God’s covenant work with his people is probably even more important. Let me show you what our Lord, the Holy Spirit, has done with God’s people and what he’s done from the beginning. Pentecost was a Jewish time of celebration and also known as the Feast of Harvest. Pentecost, however, has special meaning for Christians. It was at Pentecost when the early Christian believers who were gathered in Jerusalem for the observance of the Feast experience the initial exciting beginning of something we still are experiencing today. Listen to how Luke describes the incident.

Now, when the day of Pentecost had fully come,

this is in Acts 2:1 through 4

they were all with one accord in one place. And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled the whole house where they were sitting. Then there appeared to them divided tongues as of fire and one sat upon each of them. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and began to speak with tongues as the Spirit gave them utterance.

Now, I’ve said something about tongues in this series, basically I taught you, if you were listening, that God has not stopped any of the gifts he talks about in Scriptures. When people say that he no longer allows the speaking in tongues, I don’t believe that’s Biblical. And I also said, because I’m an equal opportunity offender, that if you speak in tongues, it may not be the gift that the Bible is talking about. But put that aside, because I want you to see something more important. Did you know that Henry Kissinger was afraid of flying? In that sense, Henry Kissinger and I are similar. I have never put all of my weight on an airplane. But I’m told that when Richard Nixon was on the airplane that Henry Kissinger was on, Henry Kissinger was no longer frightened. That’s rather silly to feel comfortable when a mere president of the United States is on an airplane. However, Christians are not silly when they recognize that the Church is created and empowered by the Holy Spirit, and we don’t have to be afraid. Hey, you think about that. Amen.

Matthew Porter:
The best demonstration and action of evangelism is you to love me, me to love you. Well, thank you for that reminder, Steve. We’re now full speed in our study on the Holy Spirit and we shall continue tomorrow. Sure hope you’ll join us for that.

Jesus is not surprised by my failures. Jesus is not annoyed with my quirks. Jesus is not wavering in his faithfulness to me. Jesus is not about to change his mind on me. Jesus is not regretting having a relationship with me. Jesus is not hiding from me.

Well, that little excerpt was from an article slash poem by Alex Early, and it is so good. You will find that piece in the 2024 edition of Key Life magazine. Claim your free copy now by calling us at 1-800-KEY-LIFE that’s 1-800-539-5433. You can also e-mail [email protected] to ask for the magazine. Or to mail your request, go to keylife.org/contact to find our mailing addresses for the U.S. and Canada. Again, just ask for your free copy of Key Life magazine. And one more thing. If you value the work of Key Life, would you join us in that work through your financial support? You can charge a gift on your credit card or include a gift in your envelope. Or you can now give safely and securely by text. Just pick up your phone and text Key Life to 28950 that’s Key Life one word or two, just text that to 28950. Key Life is a member of ECFA in the States and CCCC in Canada. And Key Life is a listener supported production of Key Life Network.