Lust or Purity?

 Lust or Purity

1 Thes 1:1-8

Purity is God’s will for you (1-3)

-          Sanctification (holiness) not fornication (sexual sin)

-          Society today and in biblical times is dirty (incest, homosexuality, bestiality, adultery)

o   If lust ended our economy would take a nosedive

o   Russian man who built a special coffin to take his porn with him.

o   A growing number of divorces from porn addiction

o   Most children have been exposed to pornography by age 10

§  Phil Burress: Found a pornographic magazine when he was young. "For 25 years, he says, his waking hours were dominated by the need to view pornography. It destroyed his ability to be a loving husband, cost him financially and kept him emotionally estranged from people who should have been close." Twice-divorced. Now free!

-          Sex is not unholy. The marriage bed is honorable

-          Please God by being pure

Satisfaction is God’s will for you (4-5)

-          God doesn’t want you to be ruled by passionate lusts

-          God created sex

o   Unconditional love in marriage is the goal of our natural desire for physical union

o   Married people are more satisfied with sex (statistically)

o   Selfless union is to overflow into new life (babies)

o   Lust replaces the natural desire for love

o   Lust is selfish rather than selfless

o   Lust is "love" without selflessness

o   Lust can never produce the unconditional love marriage is about

§  Wilt Chamberlain (basketball star) said he slept with 20,000 women but said he’d trade them all for one woman that he wanted to stay with forever.

-          An itch that the more you scratch it the worse it gets

o   Perpetuates the division created at the fall

o   Addiction happens quickly and easily

-          Satisfaction in purity is God’s plan for your life

God will punish lust (6-8)

-          Do not cross the lines!

o    Matthew 5:28 But I say unto you, That whosoever looketh on a woman to lust after her hath committed adultery with her already in his heart.

o    Looking intentionally lustfully, let alone touching, crosses the line.

o    Intentionally attracting looks of lust crosses the line.

-          Tape loses its stickiness and hurts when removed – sex is like that tape

-          This message is from the Lord and carries his authority

-          God has called you to be clean

o   Guard your children – filter your internet

o   No private internet access

o   Careful about movies

o   Avoid chat rooms

o   Books

o   Xxxchurch.com/x3watch

Wounded to be Healed and Separated to be United

Acts 2:37 ¶ Now when they heard this, they were pricked in their heart, and said unto Peter and to the rest of the apostles, Men and brethren, what shall we do? 38 Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost. 39 For the promise is unto you, and to your children, and to all that are afar off, even as many as the Lord our God shall call. 40 And with many other words did he testify and exhort, saying, Save yourselves from this untoward generation. 41 Then they that gladly received his word were baptized: and the same day there were added unto them about three thousand souls. 42 And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers. 43 ¶ And fear came upon every soul: and many wonders and signs were done by the apostles. 44 And all that believed were together, and had all things common; 45 And sold their possessions and goods, and parted them to all men, as every man had need. 46 And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart, 47 Praising God, and having favour with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily such as should be saved.

A wounding message
On the day of Pentecost Peter preached a wounding message. The word of God penetrated human hearts, causing pain. It was a good pain, the pain of the great Surgeon’s knife. He cut through layers of self-righteousness and self-justification to expose a deadly cancer – sin.

God is still doing this sort of work, a work only he can do. Human wisdom can persuade us, bringing us to the place of mental assent. Without the convicting power of the Spirit there is no salvation. God cuts us to the heart, hurting our hearts so that he can heal us.

God’s victims, the ones he had wounded, did not seek to explain away their guilt. They responded in the only fitting way. They asked, “What shall we do?”

Called to separation
The answer was repentance, and baptism in water and Spirit. Repentance was to be demonstrated by obedience, confessing the Lord Jesus Christ and being baptized in water. The promise of the Father, the gift of the Spirit was to follow. This gift of the Spirit must not be confused with the gifts of Spirit. All of God’s people are promised the Spirit himself – gifts will follow. The initial sign of his coming is speaking in new tongues (Acts 2, 10, 19).

No one could repent and receive the gift without cutting ties with their evil generation. The call to discipleship is a call to separation.

Joined to a new community
Every day God is adding people into his new community. The Christian life begins with separation. It ends in matchless unity. When we look at the Pentecostal church we see a church in love. This new community gives us a glimpse of what we could, should, and eventually will be forever – a selfless community ruled by love for God and neighbor. No envy, no greed, no mean jokes, no backbiting, no hatred, no pride, no fear, no poverty, just love. Who wouldn’t want to be a part of this?

What does speaking in tongues mean?

Speaking in tongues is a sign that the Spirit has been poured out. This amazing sign is a testimony to the resurrection of the Lord and Christ. The Spirit baptism and the new tongues that follow are reminders that God's grace is being poured out in abundance, but not for long. Today is the day to call on the Christ and be saved. The day of the Lord is at the door.

Acts 2:14 ¶ But Peter, standing up with the eleven, lifted up his voice, and said unto them, Ye men of Judaea, and all ye that dwell at Jerusalem, be this known unto you, and hearken to my words: 15 For these are not drunken, as ye suppose, seeing it is but the third hour of the day. 16 But this is that which was spoken by the prophet Joel; 17 And it shall come to pass in the last days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all flesh: and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, and your young men shall see visions, and your old men shall dream dreams: 18 And on my servants and on my handmaidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit; and they shall prophesy: 19 And I will shew wonders in heaven above, and signs in the earth beneath; blood, and fire, and vapour of smoke: 20 The sun shall be turned into darkness, and the moon into blood, before that great and notable day of the Lord come: 21 And it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of the Lord shall be saved.

What meaneth this? (14-21)

They are not drunk at 9 AM (Jews did not even normally have a meal before 9 AM)

This fulfilled Joel 2:28-32

Prophecy (including tongues), visions, and dreams are a sign of the last days Spirit outpouring. God gives his Spirit right after we crucified his Son! Jerusalem becomes the new Bethlehem.

Matthew 21:33 Hear another parable: There was a certain householder, which planted a vineyard, and hedged it round about, and digged a winepress in it, and built a tower, and let it out to husbandmen, and went into a far country: 34 And when the time of the fruit drew near, he sent his servants to the husbandmen, that they might receive the fruits of it. 35 And the husbandmen took his servants, and beat one, and killed another, and stoned another. 36 Again, he sent other servants more than the first: and they did unto them likewise. 37 But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, They will reverence my son. 38 But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves, This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his inheritance. 39 And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard, and slew him. 40 When the lord therefore of the vineyard cometh, what will he do unto those husbandmen? 41 They say unto him, He will miserably destroy those wicked men, and will let out his vineyard unto other husbandmen, which shall render him the fruits in their seasons.

Grace and Judgment are intertwined here. The Spirit baptism comes with fire and foreign tongues -- signs of judgment. Still, the judgment is not yet.

In this age of the Spirit everyone who calls on Jesus will be saved.

Acts 2:22 ¶ Ye men of Israel, hear these words; Jesus of Nazareth, a man approved of God among you by miracles and wonders and signs, which God did by him in the midst of you, as ye yourselves also know: 23 Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: 24 Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it. 25 For David speaketh concerning him, I foresaw the Lord always before my face, for he is on my right hand, that I should not be moved: 26 Therefore did my heart rejoice, and my tongue was glad; moreover also my flesh shall rest in hope: 27 Because thou wilt not leave my soul in hell, neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. 28 Thou hast made known to me the ways of life; thou shalt make me full of joy with thy countenance. 29 ¶ Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David, that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day. 30 Therefore being a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him, that of the fruit of his loins, according to the flesh, he would raise up Christ to sit on his throne; 31 He seeing this before spake of the resurrection of Christ, that his soul was not left in hell, neither his flesh did see corruption. 32 This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The LORD said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ.

Who is Jesus? (22-36) A godly man through whom God performed miracles.

This was not denied by the Jews of Jesus' day nor by later Jewish writers. They simply rejected the miracles as coming from Satan's power.

God planned his execution and you performed it through the lawless Romans

But God raised him up!

David prophesied about this (Psalm 16:8-11).

David is dead and buried, so verse 10 must not be about him.

Psalm 110:1 (vv 34-35)also predicted Christ's exaltation.

Jesus is Lord and Christ

Speaking in Tongues: instantly learning a new language?

I like the idea of testing theories by tentatively accepting them and seeing if they fit the evidence. So, I want to suppose that biblical tongues is the supernatural learning of a known language for the purpose of proclamation and to test that supposition by the evidence available to me.

Expected:

The person who speaks in a tongue is speaking (or praying) in the language God has given him for the purpose proclamation.

Instead:

The person who prays in a tongue is not speaking to men at all. In fact, no man understands him. (1 Cor 14:2)

Expected:

If there is no interpreter then only the person who speaks (or prays) in a tongue will understand this speech, since God has given him this new language.

Instead:

The person who prays, speaks, or sings in a tongue does not understand what he is saying. Nevertheless, he gives thanks well and builds himself up. His duty is to pray that he will be enabled to interpret. (1 Cor 14:4, 13-15)

Expected:

The natural limits of tongue speaker's knowledge are not changed by the reception of this new tongue.

Instead:

The person who speaks in a tongue speaks mysteries in the Spirit. (1 Cor 14:2)

Expected:

If a person comes into a multi-lingual congregation such as Corinth it might be a good time to speak in tongues.

Instead:

Speaking in tongues would not profit them. They need to hear revelation, knowledge, doctrine, or prophecy. (1 Cor 14:6)

Expected:

Tongues is a means of instruction. Those who have received the gift should rejoice because they have been enabled to teach those who they could not otherwise teach.

Instead:

Paul rejoiced that he spoke in tongues more than any of the Corinthian believers. Yet, he contrasted his tongue speech with the teaching work that goes on in the church (1 Cor 14:18-19)

Expected:

Tongues is used to communicate whatever the recipient wants to communicate. The woman who has received the gift of English can now share a Psalm or a doctrine in the American church.

Instead:

A tongue is not a Psalm or a doctrine. (1 Cor 14:26)

Expected:

Tongues should be manifested in order to communicate the Gospel.

Instead:

Tongues are used in private prayer with thanksgiving and public praise. (Acts 2:11; 10:46; 1 Cor 14:2, 14, 17)

Expected:

There is probably historical evidence that the 120 disciples who spoke in tongues on the day of Pentecost continued to minister in their newly received languages.

Instead:

Though the 120 did speak in tongues (Acts 2), I have never seen any evidence that they retained the ability to speak in those languages. Please share any you come across.

Expected:

Tongues, as a sign of God's work, should be seen in church history. There should be many cases when people instantly received and subsequently retained the ability to speak in a new language for the purpose of Gospel proclamation.

Instead:

Though there is evidence of xenolalia, documented cases are rare. More importantly, the retention of these new languages must be exceedingly rare. Please correct me if I'm wrong.



It troubles me that so many disregard the commands to "desire earnestly the best gifts", to "desire earnestly to prophesy", and to "not forbid to speak with tongues". Though other places may feel the pressing need to bring public meetings into greater order, my burden is for the lukewarm churches in America who have "quenched the spirit" and "despised prophecy". We need to rightly understand and welcome the gifts of the Spirit. The Spirit comes bearing gifts. We need to welcome him, gifts included. We need revival.

Baptized with the Holy Ghost and Fire

Acts 2:1-13

Those who wait on the Lord are always blessed
After an extended prayer meeting (perhaps 7 days), their time of waiting was finally over. At last, the promised Spirit came. The last days began. Now the Gospel would be declared to all the earth in the power of the Spirit.

The account of the dedication of Solomon's Temple (2 Chronicles 5) bears some resemblance to this first Christian Pentecost. When the Temple was finally completed, all of the priests were sanctified, 120 priests sounded trumpets, then, as the priests sang and played in harmonious praise ("were as one" v. 13), the glory of the Lord filled the house in a cloud.

On the day of Pentecost about 120 people were in the house. They were together in prayer and praise. Rather than a cloud, this time the Lord came with the sound of a mighty wind (spirit and wind are denoted by the same word in both Greek and Hebrew).

The association of God's presence with mighty natural phenomena is witnessed repeatedly in the Old Testament (Ps 18:7-15; 97:2; 104:7; Hab 3:3-6; Deut 4:11).

The Spirit came with the sound of wind and the appearance of fire
"Our God is a consuming fire" (Heb 12:29; Deut 4:24 cf. Ex 24:17, 3:2-5). Spirit Baptism was prophesied by John the Baptist as a baptism "with the Holy Ghost and fire" (Luke 3:16). The Holy Spirit comes with fire, consuming all that is not like itself. We do well to welcome this consuming Flame, inviting him to judge all that is contrary to his holy nature.

A new temple

Now the temple of God is human. In this last day God lives in the bodies of men and women. Jesus, the new and better Temple, has taken us into himself, making us fit to receive the Spirit into ourselves. What a privilege to live in this wonderful age of grace.

For I say unto you, Among those that are born of women there is not a greater prophet than John the Baptist: but he that is least in the kingdom of God is greater than he. -- Luke 7:28

New speech
When the Spirit came the disciples began to speak in tongues, giving praise to God. This was a sign (1 Cor 14:22), and it sure did work. A large crowd was drawn to these tongue talkers.

God's choice of tongues as a sign of his work is certainly fascinating. Speaking in a language that one does not know is without doubt an impossible task. Just as we cannot possibly speak in tongues ourselves, we cannot save ourselves, we cannot baptize ourselves in the Spirit, and we cannot live the Christian life to any degree ("for without me you can do nothing" John 15:15). Pentecost demonstrated clearly the absolute supernatural nature of the Christian religion.

The impossiblity of this sign immediately gave rise to an alternative explanation of the tongues speech -- they must be drunk. And history continues to repeat itself. Some people are receptive to mighty acts of God such as baptizing in the Spirit and the sign of tongues. Others scoff or try to explain it away. Some commentators on the book of Acts even claim that the disciples did not really speak in languages they had never learned. Barclay, for instance, gave reasons why he thought Luke's account highly unlikely, questioning this portion of Acts based on the idea that Luke was probably not an eye-witness. For me, the question is whether we will accept or reject the supernatural workings of our faithful Creator as revealed in Scripture.

The baptism in the Spirit given to the disciples is still being given today
The baptism is being given and the sign of tongues is being revealed today. The gift is not received by human merit. It is not manufactured by human zeal. The gift of the Spirit is freely given to those who will ask our loving Father and wait in the way God chooses (Luk 11:5-14; 24:49).

Acts: God's Mission Continues (Prayer's Payment or Carelessness' Cost, 2)

Acts 1:12-26

Compare Elijah and Elisha with Jesus and Apostles
If you need power – Pray
3/4 mile (2000 cubits) = Sabbath journey
50 days from Passover to Pentecost. Jesus was in tomb, and then seen for forty days. Therefore maybe a week these people were in prayer.
Prayer preceded Pentecost!

KJV Luke 11:13 If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children: how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?

If you need comfort – Promises
Scripture must be fulfilled: 69:25; 109:8

KJV Psalm 69:25 Let their habitation be desolate; and let none dwell in their tents.

KJV Psalm 109:8 Let his days be few; and let another take his office.

If you need warned
Judas had been in the ministry
• Sin entered his heart.
There were other eye-witnesses from baptism to Resurrection

KJV Luke 22:28 ¶ Ye are they which have continued with me in my temptations. 29 And I appoint unto you a kingdom, as my Father hath appointed unto me; 30 That ye may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

If you need hope
Judas descended but Matthias ascended

Acts: God's Mission Continues (Promise and Program, 1)

Acts 1:1-11

Acts is the sequel to Luke’s Gospel. In that previous writing he told what Jesus began to do and teach. But Jesus said that he would be with us always. Jesus is still doing and teaching mightily in the Holy Spirit.

Jesus showed his followers that he was still alive after his passion (suffering). Death could not hold him. He revealed himself to be more than a spirit. Jesus lived on in flesh and blood, even eating and drinking with his disciples (Acts 10:41; Luke 24:42).

He continued to teach them about the Kingdom of God. It seems that his disciples nevertheless still held some false expectations concerning the Kingdom. As Jesus told them about the promise of the Father, the gift of the Spirit, his disciples naturally thought about the end of the age. The coming of the Spirit and the Messianic age are tied in OT prophecy (Isa 32; Ezek 39:29; Joel 2:28-32). So, the disciples asked about the timing of its arrival. Would their prayers that “thy will be done” be answered immediately? Jesus simply tells them that it is not for them to know when. Their duty was to wait for the “Promise of the Father,” the one spoken of by John the Baptist (Luke 3:16). They would receive power from on high and become God’s witnesses to the entire world.

Their witness began at Jerusalem, moved to Samaria, and continues into the “uttermost part of the earth.” This is the program for the book of Acts and the spread of Christianity: first power, then witness, beginning with Jerusalem and ending in the most remote regions of the globe (1-7; 8-11:18; 11:19-29:1 f.).

Jesus reaffirmed the promise of the Father, and then God’s Shekinah glory is witnessed by his people once again (Ex 40:34-35; 2 Chron 7:2-3; Ezek 10:4). Jesus ascends on clouds of glory, leaving behind heavenly messengers to assure God’s earthly messengers that Jesus will return just as he left – in clouds of glory (Mat 24:30; 26:64; Mark 13:26; Rev 1:7). This promised coming is an important part of the Christian message. The Savior is returning in glory to judge the human race. We too must spread the glorious message of his Kingdom and love in the power of the Spirit.