What comes to your mind if I say the word counselor? Do you think of a professional in an office or do you think of a mature Christian at your church? What comes to mind when I say the word counselor? That's what we want to talk about tonight from Romans 15:14. So, I invite everybody who's got a Bible, hold your Bible up if you’ve got one. Here tonight, we're going to go to one verse in this book Romans 15:14 and I invite everybody to turn there with me. If you don't have a Bible, it's on the handout there in your bulletin, and you need to hear what this verse says. If you claim to be a Christian, we're talking about you here tonight in Romans 15:14. And we have come to the climax of Paul's teaching his master class on the gospel just finished in verse 13, “May the God of hope give you joy and peace” and believing so that you might abound in hope. We saw that last week, if you were here. We got to the climax of all he's been teaching since chapter 1, and now he's got some personal things to say at the end of the letter. And he's going to start talking about how he's going to Jerusalem to give them a gift. And after he goes to Jerusalem, he's going to go see them in Rome. And it turns out that he's going to see them in Rome. And they don't know this yet, but guess what? Everybody in Rome, you're going to be my new base of operations for when I go to Spain. And so, you guys are all going to give me a bunch of money when I come to Rome so I can go preach the gospel in Spain. Turns out, what we've been studying is the biggest missionary letter ever written in the history of the church here in the book of Romans. So, he's got a lot of things, personal greetings, shout outs he wants to give to the person in the back. He's got a lot of personal things he wants to say to end the letter. And as he turns his attention on these people, specifically, he says this in Romans 15:14. And out of respect for God's Word, let's all stand up for the public reading of Scripture. And I encourage you, I'm saying to you, if you say I'm a Christian, well then here's your verse. Romans 15, verse 14.
I myself am satisfied about you, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another.
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. Three things that he says that come to his mind. He's persuaded that this is true about these particular saints in Rome. Three things. Number one, they are full of goodness. Now, I’ve got to tell you, that raises questions right away when I hear that, because isn't Paul famous for Romans 3, where he said, “There is no one who is good, not even one.” How do we go from nobody's good to a group of people who are full of goodness? Then he says, you are filled with how much knowledge? Does he say they're filled with everybody? They’ve got all the knowledge. And then he says they are able to instruct one another. Paul's persuaded that the saints in Rome, he thinks these are the real deal, genuine believers in Jesus, justified by faith, and that means these three things are true about them.
Go back to Romans 1, and let's just remember some of the things he said at the beginning of the letter. Right? So, he really started, you could argue, in verse 16 of Romans 1, or maybe in verse 18 of Romans 1. He gave us like, here's the gospel; I'm not ashamed of it. It's how people are saved. It's the power of God to save people. And then, wow, he gave us from Romans 1:16, all the way to 15:13, he taught us a thing or two. But before he got into his teaching, he said this, look at verse 8 of Romans 1. first, “I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. The whole world. And it's a small world, after all, when you're talking about Christians in the whole world. Right? The whole world of Christian people. They're talking about the faith of the church in Rome, maybe even unbelievers. Know that there's a thriving group of Christians in the city of Rome was kind of a big deal back in the day, and there are believers there, and they're talking about their faith. And Paul wants to go there to see these believers, and look what he said. Remember verse 12? That is that “we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” So, Paul thinks these people have a real deal genuine faith in the Lord Jesus. And then if he goes and sees them, they'll build him up, and he'll build them up. It will be mutual encouragement, because we can share the life of Jesus Christ, because we all have faith together. So, he thinks these people, he's persuaded about them, and we're going to find out he knows who a lot of them are. He gives them a personal greeting, and the report that he's gotten about the church in Rome is they're full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. Could that be said about you?
If you would claim the name of Jesus here tonight, are you full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another? So, turn back to Romans 15:14, and let's think through what does this mean? Let's look at these three things. That's all we're going to do is this one verse, and we're going to have these three points about goodness, knowledge, and this power that we have to instruct, teacher, counsel one another here in the church. So, let's start with this idea of goodness, okay? And we'll throw the Greek word for goodness up here on the screen, at least the Greek word that is here used in this and we're going to follow how Paul uses this word in other letters to help us. Agathosune. What does this mean that people are full of goodness? Okay? Now this is not saying that they are good people. Okay? We need to be very clear about this. Paul does not believe in good people. And the reason Paul does not believe in good people is because the Scripture says there are no good people. Okay, one of the things you need to fundamentally understand about yourself is that you are not a good person. And every time somebody says about you, hey, you're a good guy, you're a good dude, you're a good lady, you're a good kid, you should think to yourself, no, I'm not. That's what you should think. And it will bother people if you think that. They will be like, you should just accept the compliment. That's what they'll say. They come, hey, you did a really good job preaching that sermon. I'll say something like, praise the Lord, and they'll get lowkey angry with me, like, why can't you just take a compliment? Why are you giving the glory to God? Well, that's because I know who did a good job preaching that sermon. It wasn't me; it was the Lord Jesus Christ. Can I get an amen from everybody on that? Okay? You can't just think that person's not a good person. You’ve got to be fundamentally convinced that all goodness you know is alien to you. It's not coming from the inside of you.
Go back to Romans chapter 3, and let's just remember when Paul assembled the greatest hits of the Hebrew Bible here in Romans 3:10-18. And I say the greatest hits because that's what they are meant to do is to hit you right where you live and tell you who you really are. You think you're going to get saved by doing good works, by keeping the law. You think you can get to a righteousness before God by yourself. Ha, you clearly don't know yourself very well. And then we've got all of these verses as it is written in Romans 3. Verse 10 quotes here from a lot of Psalms and other Scriptures in the Hebrew Bible, none is righteous. No, not one. No one understands. No one seeks for God. Here it is, Romans 3:12, “All have turned aside; together they have become worthless; no one does good, not even one.” You can write down next to that, that's Psalm 14. That's Psalm 53. This is something so important that two Psalms thought they needed to tell us all that not one of you are good people. I don't care what your grandma said when you were growing up. All right? This is what the Scripture says. If you think that you're going to wake up and you're going to go all of a sudden, just live a good day, because you're a good person, you are setting yourself up for endless disappointment for the rest of your life. How could people like you and me get full of goodness? We've all got to understand it's not coming out of the goodness of our own heart. Can I get an amen from anybody on this? Okay, have you heard that phrase, the “goodness of my heart”? Have you heard anybody say that? That's a lie. Does everybody understand that? Like, where did this whole heart-shaped symbol come from? You know, how people do this? Like, where did that even come from? Does everybody understand that's not what our heart, inside of our body, actually looks like? It's not even that shape. Is everybody tracking me on this? We might need a heart 101. Valentine's Day is coming up, right? Like this, oh, I heart you. Oh, okay, so you have evil thoughts and intents toward me, because that's what really is in the heart of man. Right? Somebody sends you a text. You're like, you're hearting it. Oh, you've got evil thoughts about their text that they just sent you. Like, do you see the lies here are very deep on this, like your heart?
We just read Jeremiah 17:9, which basically says that your heart, what's really going on inside of you, it's deceitful and it's desperately sick. Who can understand it? There's only one who can really tell you who you are, and it's the Lord who searches the hearts and tests the minds of everybody, and he will judge everyone according to what they have done. And apart from Jesus Christ, no one will be rewarded on the day of judgment for what they have done. Everyone will be judged, punished for what they have done outside of Christ, because what they have done is evil. It is not good. No sweet grandmas are going to get credit with God outside of Jesus Christ, because they are evil. They are cesspools of wickedness. There is a fountain of living waters, who is Yahweh, and we are dead on the inside apart from him. And so, when it says you're full of goodness, this is remarkable that Paul, right when he gets back to the people he's writing to, right back to the personal part of the letter, we have the personal introduction. Now we're getting to the personal conclusion. And what does he say about the people? First thing, they're full of goodness. You just ripped us up with the Hebrew Bible, telling us none of us are good, and now you say we're full of goodness. How are you and I supposed to process this?
Okay, turn with me to Galatians, chapter 5. Let's see how Paul thinks about this. Let's refer to some of his other collected works where he uses these same words. So, we can put some meat on the bones here of these three phrases we've got in Romans 15:14. And if you go to Galatians, chapter 5, you'll see two categories that he gets into here. In Galatians 5, we have the deeds or the works of the flesh, and then we have the fruit of the who everybody? The fruit of the Spirit. And so, he says in Galatians 5:18, “but if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law.” So, the question here is, are you still under the Law, or are you being led by the power of the Spirit? Are you still living in your own flesh that is evil and not good, or are you now living by a new power inside of you, the Spirit of the Living God? So, look at how he breaks it down. Galatians 5:19, “Now the works of the flesh are evident.” You can see people who are in the flesh. You can see it. Look at what they do. Sexual immorality, impurity, sensuality, idolatry, sorcery, enmity, strife, jealousy, fits of anger, rivalries, dissensions, divisions, envy, drunkenness, orgies, and things like these. I warn you, as I warned you before, that those who do such things will not inherit the kingdom of God. Let's just make it very clear. Can you do the deeds of the flesh? Can you live that way and think you're going to heaven when you die? The answer to that is what everybody? No way. In fact, it says, right here, “I'm warning you, and I warned you before,” and knowing Paul, he'll probably warn him again. If you're still living that way, don't think you're going to the kingdom of the Lord Jesus Christ for eternity. But verse 22 “The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness.” And then here's one that I don't think gets enough credit, and this is its day, right here, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self control, against such things. There is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires if we live by the Spirit. Let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let's walk by the Spirit. Let's be led by the Spirit.
Okay, so let's get this down for “Goodness.” Let's make this very clear: “Goodness is not out of your heart, but a fruit of the Spirit.” Goodness is not out of your heart, but a fruit of the Spirit. You do not have goodness in and of yourself. It is something that God has to produce within you. And the way that God produces goodness in you is he has put his Spirit in you, and he took out your old heart, and he gave you a new heart. And the moment that you were born again, regenerated, when God saved your wretched soul and he gave you a new life in Christ. He put his Spirit in you, and that Spirit now makes you full of goodness. That's the fruit of the Spirit. In your life, you have a power and an ability that is not yours. It is God's. And it is now working in you to bear the fruit of goodness. Okay, so this is what has to be clear to us. I cannot just wake up any day of my life and go try to be a good person. And you can do that. A lot of us do that. And guess what happens when we try to be a good person? We hold on for as long as we can, and then we stop being a good person. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? But then, what you could do is you could not try to be a good person, but you could be a Spirit-filled person, a Spirit-led person. You could actually get your mind renewed and get your soul filled with the Spirit of the Living God, and by his power and ability, you could bear fruit in your life, completely different than what you would do if you were trying to do it yourself. That's what you have. I wonder, how many of us this last week of our life, how many of us went out there and gave it a good try, and how many of us walked in the Spirit and kept in step with the Spirit, and because we were doing it, not by our power, but by the power of the Spirit. We actually bore the fruit of goodness in our life. See, this is what Paul is expecting. What has happened between chapter 3 and chapter 15 is that the saints in Rome are not just the people they used to be anymore. They now have the Spirit of the Living God living in them. Do you live like the Spirit of God lives in you? Like supernatural power and divine ability belongs to you because you have God's Spirit.
Go over to Ephesians, chapter 5, because it talks about this fruit of goodness here in Ephesians 5, it's mentioning some of these same sins, like, if you look at Ephesians 5:3, it's mentioning again, some of these deeds of the flesh. And it's saying here, “sexual immorality, impurity, covetousness, they must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. Remember saints, we are all saints if we're in Christ, because saints are the set -part ones. We're no longer who we used to be. We're now new in Christ. We've been set apart, set apart from sin, set apart for the purpose of God, which is to make us holy as he is holy. So, the saints, the saints should be getting caught up in the sexual morality and purity and covetousness that's going on all around us. No, let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk, nor crude joking. Now, there are words that shouldn't be said, there are punch lines that should not be uttered; those things are out of place. But instead, let there be thanksgiving. Let there be speech that points to God. For you may be sure of this that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure or who covet, that is an idolater. They have no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. Do you think Paul cares about making this clear to people? Are we seeing a clear pattern in his writing? Does Paul want everybody to know that if you keep living in the sins of the flesh, you are not going to inherit the kingdom? He tries to make that very clear, and then he says this in verse 6, “Let no one deceive you with empty words,” because people are going to tell you, you can keep sinning and still go to heaven. Don't let them deceive you, for because of these things, the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. Therefore, do not become partners with them. For at one time you were darkness, but now you are light in the Lord, walk as children of light. And then look at this. Ephesians 5:9. You want to write this one down here. It says, “For the fruit of light is found in all that is” what everybody? Good and right and true. So where does the ability to be full of goodness come from? It comes from the fact that I am no longer walking in the darkness, but I am now walking in the light. And people who are really in the light, what do they start to bear? They start to bear the fruit of what is good in their life. They're suddenly able to do good works, not because they're good, but because God is doing his work to bear fruit in them. And then look what it goes on to say about this fruit, this good fruit that we can bear. Verse 10, “Try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord.” Don't get caught up in the ways of the world, the ways of the flesh. No, let's figure out what God's will is. Let's get our minds right, so we can go do what God tells us to do. Take no part in the unfruitful works of darkness, but instead, expose them, shine your light on them, for it is shameful even to speak of the things that they do in secret. But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, and so it's making a clear contrast. There should be a clear contrast in all of our lives, from who we used to be to who we are now. There should be a clear contrast in all of our lives, from the way the world is around us to the way we are now, because we're not like them anymore. We're not who we used to be. We can bear the fruit of goodness. We are now full of goodness. Why? Because we now keep in step with the Spirit, because we now walk in the light.
Now, if you keep going down here in Ephesians 5, it's drawing the contrast. But then it's going to kind of tell you what to do if you keep reading, and so you can see it calls for those who are asleep or in the dark to wake up. Wake up. You sleep or rise from the dead. Christ will shine on you if you're still in the dark. You could be saved here tonight. You could get the Spirit of God here tonight. You could step into the light by faith here tonight, you could turn to Jesus, and you could stop being defined by the flesh, and you could live by the Spirit here tonight. Wake up, is what it's saying. But look at verse 15. Look how you walk. Look at how you're living, not as unwise, but as wise. Make the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Don't think you’ve got time to get right later on. No, no, no. Don't buy that the days are evil. Your heart will get hardened. Watch out. Make the best use of the time. Therefore, do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is, and look what it says here. Verse 18, “Do not get drunk with wine.” Hey, hey, great word for Super Bowl weekend in America here, everybody. Do not get drunk with wine, for that is debauchery. That is a waste of your time, a waste of your life, but be filled with, who does it say, everybody? Here's how this works. You wake up in the morning, you're going to go live a whole day of your life. Who knows how many more of those you’ve got? Are you going to just go waste that day by trying to be good, or are you going to be filled with the Spirit who can actually bear the fruit of goodness in your life? Let's just think practically this last week, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday. If you thought back about those five days, how many days did you waste this week, and how many days were you actively filled with the Spirit, walking in the light
Point number one, let's get it down like this: We want to “Be filled with the Spirit every day.” Be filled with the Spirit every day. This is how we're going to be full of goodness. This is how we're going to abound in good works is when it's the fruit of the Spirit working in us. And look what happens when you are filled with the Spirit. Ephesians 5:19, you're going to be addressing one another, you're going to be speaking to one another. You're even going to be singing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs, singing and making melody to the Lord with your heart, giving thanks always and for everything, to guide the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, submitting to one another out of reverence for Christ. Wow. When the person is filled with the Spirit, even in this evil, dark world. Look at what they're doing. They're speaking, they're singing, they're giving thanks to God.
Have you ever seen somebody who's going through a brutal trial? They're going through something worse than anything you've ever been through. And here's that brother or sister, and they're just thanking God for this and thanking God for that, and they're going through it, and you know it. And here they are just filled with the Spirit, like it doesn't matter what's happening to them, because what matters is what's happened to them. And the Spirit is working in their lives. And you look at it and you think, that's good, even in the midst of all the evil, that's good when you can see the Spirit is working in someone. Is the Spirit working in you? Do you know how to tap into the power, how to activate the energy of the Spirit in your life on a daily basis? I’ve talked to way too many people here at the church, where they regularly say, I wish I read the Bible more, and I wish I prayed more. When are you going to stop wishing and start being filled with the Spirit? It's what you're actually saying is, I want to stop wasting my days away. I want to stop being fruitless in my life for Jesus Christ. Now, as I just said before, it's Super Bowl weekend, and I'm glad to see that we can still come to church on Super Bowl weekend, even if you are here for the Saturday night service to get ready your nachos tomorrow. I appreciate you making this a priority. All right. I also want to say that I see some Chiefs’ fans in the house, and I see some Eagles’ fans in the house, and it's great. We're all here with one spirit, worshiping the Lord together. So, I appreciate that.
Now I don't know if you can avoid the hype that is the Super Bowl, more power to you. A lot of us are going to get sucked into it over the next 24 hours, and it's American football, everybody. And how many players are on the field at a time. Let's start with the basics. How many people get on the field at a time? Does anybody know this? Forty-two people get on the field at one time. Twenty-two, you said. Okay. So how many people can each team put on the field at any given time? Okay, if you put on twelve people on the field, is it a penalty if they catch you? Yeah, some people would say they don't catch the Chiefs very much. I've heard that one. Yeah, see, shots get fired. This is what happens. People are picking up strays here at church tonight. Here's what I want to say about this. Have you ever heard of a team putting ten men on the field? Have you ever heard of a football team saying, we'll put nine men on the field? That's what happens at this church every single day. People don't even get on the field. And you think, oh, are they injured? Are they not able to play? No, they're healthy. Do they not have the equipment? Do they not have the pads and the helmet? No, they're sitting right there in the locker. No, in Christ, this person has everything they need to get on the field, but they would rather sit on the bench. Look, I'm not asking for you to be a Saquon Barclay. I'm not asking for you to be a Patrick Mahomes. I'm just asking, will you please get on the field for the love of Jesus Christ? Will you stop living life on the sidelines and go tackle somebody in the name of Jesus and do it in love? There are people here tonight, nothing I'm going to say is like something you haven't heard before. But here's the thing. You're not doing it. You don't do it. You maybe don't even see that. You don't do it. There are people that I would describe here at this church as full of goodness, filled with all knowledge and able to instruct one another. It's not everybody that should be on the field, though. I mean, there are new people coming in, and they're the people who need to be instructed. They're the people who need to be built up. But there are people who in this room right now, I'm a Christian. I'm mature. I've been a Christian for a lot of years. Well, let me ask you, how many days this last week, mature Christian, did you live filled with the Spirit of the Living God? So, it wasn't you going through the motions, but it was him putting you in motion. Because every day that we're not living by the Spirit, what are we even doing? How are we going to do good things if goodness is a fruit that comes from him working in us? And so, you have this command here in Ephesians 5:18. You’ve got to be filled with the Spirit. Because if you're not filled with the Spirit, if you're not walking in step with him, if you're not filled with the light of Christ, well then there's going to be no goodness in what you say, no goodness in what you do. And you're not really participating on the field with the people who are out there every day giving their all for Jesus Christ. And you, how you want to know how they're able to give their all every day, because they're not trying to be good, but it's the power of God working in them. And so are you. Is it a priority for you to be filled with the Spirit? Get your pads on, get your helmet on, and get out on the field like I’m seriously trying to get some of you to really think, what does this look like in your life? Because if your constant answer is, I wish I was reading the Bible more, or I wish I was praying more, then are you really getting filled with the Spirit? And we all know the difference between the day where you're filled with the spirit and a day where you're just trying to survive. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? But I mean, if you want to use the football analogy, a day you're getting tackled brutally, or a day you're breaking tackles and running through obstacles and overcoming trials and seizing open doors and loving those who are in need? And some days it's like you're able to do so much more than you possibly could have thought, because it's not you, it's the Spirit bearing the fruit of goodness in your life.
And so, the most important thing you're doing is getting filled with the Spirit every day. Go back to Romans, chapter 8 because maybe you can remember the deal breaker that it is between the flesh and the Spirit. Now, when I look back on our study of all Paul's teaching in Romans, one of the things that I remember the most is when we got to Romans, chapter 8, and we started seeing this idea of the flesh versus the Spirit. And look at verse 5 of Romans, chapter 8. “For those who live according to the flesh set their minds on the things of the flesh, but those who live according to the Spirit set their minds on the things of the Spirit.” And you'll hear a lot of Christians talk about it like, well, I'm in the flesh and I'm in the Spirit. But what is this saying? The same thing Paul's writing in all of his other letters, if you're still in the flesh, will you inherit the kingdom? The answer to that is, no, you don't make it. So, if you're really all about the things of the flesh, then you're not all about the things of the Spirit. And so, he says, “To set the mind on the flesh is death, but to set the mind on the Spirit is life and peace. For a mind that is set on the flesh is hostile to God, for it does not submit to God's law.” Indeed, it cannot. Those who are in the flesh cannot please God. You, however, are not in the flesh, but in the spirit. If in fact, the Spirit of God dwells in you, anyone who does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him. But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the Spirit is life because of righteousness. If the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, he who raised Christ Jesus from the dead, will also give life to your mortal bodies through his Spirit who dwells in you. Does anybody want to say amen right now? Who really believes in the resurrection of Jesus? Well, show me, show all of us, show your spouse, show your kids, your neighbors, your coworkers, your fellowship group, brothers and sisters, that you've got the Spirit of God bearing the fruit of goodness in your life. You can tell the difference between somebody who's going on cruise control and somebody who's going on spirit control. And so, we need to make this our goal. Like I don't want to waste another day of my life. I want to make sure I'm filled with the Spirit. Okay, now, now let's get more into that.
Go back to Romans 15:14. That's a good start. Let's get to the second phrase here. Because first of all, it says we're full of goodness. That might be hard for some of us who claim Christ, but then claim that we're full of goodness, well, that's what it's saying about us. It's saying you've got the equipment, you help, you're healthy. If you're in Christ, you're full of goodness. And then it says this, filled with all knowledge. And I think it's really important there. How much knowledge does it say that you are filled with, everybody? You've got all the knowledge you're going to need for life and godliness. You're filled with it. It's not like you're grasping for it or you're trying to know it, you are filled with all knowledge. So, we'll give you here the Greek word for knowledge is Gnosis, okay, and in the verb, it would be ginosco, to know something. And this isn't just knowing something in your head intellectually. This would be like a real knowledge, a working knowledge. This would be like wisdom, where you can go in and do something with the knowledge, not just this knowledge that would puff you up, but a real knowledge that you could use in your life. So, this is what if you're a Christian, this is what it's saying. One, you're full of goodness. Well, how can I be full of goodness? Well, by the power of the Spirit bearing fruit in your life. Well, two, now you're filled with all knowledge. Well, I don't feel like I know everything. I didn't go to Bible college or seminary. How could I be filled with all knowledge? We'll go over to the book of Colossians, and let's see what Paul says about it here in Colossians, chapter 2. If everybody can turn with me to Colossians, chapter 2, he's writing a letter here to another place that he hasn't been. He says, here in Colossians 2:1, that “I want you to know how great a struggle I have for you, for those at Laodicea, and for all who have not seen me face to face.” So, this is another letter where, just like Paul hadn't been to Rome, and he wanted to go there, so he wrote them a letter. Well, he writes to the Colossians and, apparently, the Laodiceans as well. Hey, you haven't seen me face to face. I haven't got there. We know from studying Colossians that Epaphras was a part of getting the church going there. So, you guys haven't seen me face to face, but I want you to know this struggle I have for you. Well, what's it about here? Look what he says in verse 2, that their hearts, that's you and the Laodiceans, that's why he says there, like two places, two churches, that “their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God's mystery. And what is God's mystery, which is what Christ wants you guys to have it all revealed to you.
I want you guys to be able to understand God's massive, epic purpose, which has always been Jesus from all the way from creation, all the way from what he said in the garden about how he's going to crush the head of the serpent all the way to the covenant with Abraham. It's always been Jesus. Jesus was always the plan. I want you to see that mystery revealed. It's Christ. And then look at this. Colossians 2:3. This would be good to write next to “knowledge” here: In Christ are hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. How can we say that we're filled with all knowledge? Because we know the mystery of Christ, and in knowing Christ, comes everything we need for our life, every good thing that God wants you to do. You can obey Christ. You can understand who God is and what he's expecting from you, all because of Jesus. In fact, even because of Jesus, you don't just know who God is and what he's expecting. You can actually experience a relationship with God, and you actually are able to do what he commands. That's what you have. In Christ, you have the treasures of all wisdom and all knowledge. So, let's make this very clear.
Let's get this down about “Knowledge”: “Knowledge is not from worldly experience, but in Christ.” Knowledge is not from worldly experience, but in Christ. Now I'm not saying there is nothing that is gained by worldly experience. And as we're going to be talking about how we're here to instruct one another, teach one another, counsel one another. I'm not saying that there aren't professional counselors who can't help you in specific situations. I'm not saying don't go to a doctor or a lawyer or somebody who is trained in a specific way to help you. But here's the thing. What are you looking for for your life? Are you thinking that everything I need for life and godliness, that all the ability, all the power, has been divinely given to me in Christ. Or is it you need Jesus in something else? Because if you're looking for wisdom and knowledge somewhere else than the treasures of Christ, you're searching for something you're never going to find. But if you're looking for knowledge in Christ, you're going to find the treasure.
And so, where are you expecting to be filled with all knowledge from man? I wonder how much some people are listening to podcasts here. And if you listen to as much Scripture as you did to podcasts, what would happen in your life? I mean, a lot of people are very interested in what the advice is, what the trending news is, what the business tip is, what the practical thing for parenting is. A lot of people pay a lot of attention to what the experts are saying. Let me tell you who the expert is on how to live life, the only one who ever lived it right. His name is Jesus Christ, and in him is a treasure of wisdom and knowledge. Now let's think about what Paul's saying here. He wants them to know the revelation of Jesus, because Jesus then is the key that unlocks all the wisdom and knowledge you're going to need. It's all there in Christ.
Now let's see what he goes on to say. “I say this in order that no one may delude you with possible arguments. What I just said that everything you need for life and godliness is all there for you in Jesus.” Someone is going to act like I'm not that smart because I said that here tonight. People are going to give you the impression, even other Christians are going to give you the impression, that trying to say, in Christ and in Scripture, the Word of Christ is everything we need. I'm not so sure about that, and they're going to bring up some plausible arguments as to why we might need more knowledge than the knowledge we have in Christ. And he's writing this because he's concerned that someone's going to delude you, they're going to water you down with this other knowledge, rather than the knowledge that's in Christ. “For though I am absent in body, I'm with you in Spirit, and I'm rejoicing to see your good order and the firmness of your faith in Christ.” Therefore, this is what he wants to say to these two churches. “Therefore, as you received Christ Jesus, walk in him.” Hey, when you learn the gospel of Jesus, keep going in that direction. Be rooted and built up in Christ and established in the faith, just as you were taught, abounding in thanksgiving. Look at this. Colossians 2:8. See to it, look to it, watch out for it that “no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to” who everybody? Maybe the reason that you don't feel filled with all knowledge is you've got multiple sources you're looking for knowledge from, rather than being filled with all the fullness of wisdom and knowledge in the treasure of Christ. So, look at verse 8. There's clearly something that Paul is genuinely concerned about, that people are going to come and they're going to have a way of thinking, these philosophies, these empty deceits, ways that people have lived in human tradition, the spirits of the world. Really, I mean, that's kind of a dark phrase there, “the elemental spirits of the world,” like even the false teaching that's out there, that goes back to the doctrine of demons, that Satan and demons are spreading lies and deceit. And some of that's going to try to take you captive. And so, hey, you’ve got to watch out for other ways of thinking that are not according to Christ. So, when Jesus was going to be born, there were many prophecies about him, and one of the ones that we got the privilege of studying this last year was that “unto us, a child will be born, unto us a son will be given, and the government shall be upon his shoulders, and his name shall be called,” what? Wonderful what, everybody? Wonderful what? When I say, “counselor,” what comes to your mind? I wonder how many people, when you need knowledge, boom, you're on the phone to somebody? How many people, when you need knowledge, boom, you need to go talk to so and so? How many of us, when we need knowledge, the first person we go to is the “wonderful counselor”? And whom, I wonder, if I'm not sure what to do here, did Jesus have anything to say about this? And I'm not talking about the things that Jesus just said himself, although there are many things to consider in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. I'm talking about the whole book, the whole collection of books that we assemble into one book. Because Jesus, he rebuked the Pharisees for studying the Scriptures, thinking they would find life, when really, the Scriptures testify about who did Jesus say? Me, that he said the whole book is the Jesus book. The whole story is about him, whether it's the prophets who wrote before or it's the apostles who wrote after. You're going to hear somebody say, well, about this issue, Jesus didn't say anything about it. Is it in the book? Because then Jesus had something to say about it. See, it's all his Word. And so, I wonder, when you have issues in your life, do you think that in here is wonderful counselor? I love that word so much because it's like, wonderful, as in a sense of ah, wonderful. We often use like, Oh, it's good, or it's pleasing, or it's beautiful, but wonderful here is like, wondrous. It's like, amazing. It's like, oh, it seems impossible. But then he tells you how it's going to work, and it's like, wow, that's wonderful. I couldn't have even seen that comment. If he didn't tell me about it, I wouldn't have even known that was the way to go. If he didn't reveal it to me, I thought I had option A, and I had option B, and I was kind of rooting for option B, and he opened up option C that I never even was able to see myself. And it's better than both the options, because he told me how to think about it right here. And I was thinking what I thought, and I was thinking what somebody else thought, and I was thinking what some experts thought, but then I saw what Jesus said about it, and it was wonderful. It was like an aha moment, like, whoa, Jesus knows better than anybody else how to live. He has the words of eternal life, because Jesus understands better than anybody else you could listen to. We're not just living for this life. We're not just living for the here and now. He understands what real life is. Real life is not defined by what you can see or what you can feel, or in being a prisoner of this moment. Real life is found in knowing God, the life of the age to come, the life outside of space and time. And Jesus, he can give you that knowledge.
See, it's sad to me that people want to ask what the pastor thinks more than they want to ask what Jesus thinks. It's sad to me that people are quicker to ask other Christians than Christ himself. It's sad how many people even go looking for wisdom outside of the people of Jesus, expecting to find knowledge, but not finding any.
Go with me to 2 Peter, chapter 3. Now this isn't the writing of Paul, but look how Peter actually refers to the writings of Paul here in 2 Peter, chapter 3, at the very end of it. 2 Peter 3:18. This is an idea. “But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” But grow. Here's his last line at the end of 2 Peter, “Grow in the goodness and knowledge of Jesus Christ.” Are you full of goodness? Are you filled with all knowledge? Well, let's grow in that goodness and knowledge of Jesus Christ. And then he says to him, “Be the glory, both now and to the day of eternity, amen.” So okay, well, what was he saying? Maybe before this that might leave us with this thought of growing in the goodness and knowledge. Knowledge of Jesus. Well, go back and look at what he says about Paul. Here he says verse 2 Peter 3:15, “Count the patience of our Lord, his salvation, just as our beloved brother, Paul also wrote to you according to the wisdom given him.” So, this is fascinating. Here's Peter writing a letter referring to the letters of Paul. And look at what he says about these letters of Paul, verse 16, “as he does in all his letters. When he speaks in them of these matters, there are some things in them that are hard to understand.” Yeah, you ever read Romans before? There are some things that are hard to understand in there which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction as they do the other what? What does he say there? What does he call the letters of Paul, everybody? He calls them Scriptures. “You therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you aren't…” look at this, “that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. You could be making the most of every day. You could be full of goodness and filled with all knowledge. But then here comes somebody else saying something, and you want to start listening to them. And now you're led away. And now you're feeling unstable. Now you're feeling tossed to and fro. Why? Because you forgot to listen first to the words of the wonderful counselor.”
Let's get that down for number two: “Hear the words of the Wonderful Counselor.” Hear the words of the wonderful counselor. I just want to say this because I would want our church to be full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. And I know I've said things like this before, but I need everybody to really hear me say this that I am sick and tired of hearing people at our church butcher the words of Jesus Christ, paraphrase the words of Jesus Christ. Are you living by the words of Jesus Christ? Is what Jesus told you to do the most important thing in your life. Then let's go and make sure we actually know what he says. Can I get an amen from anybody on that? That verse that you have been not getting right for a long time, it's time to go get it right. It's time to open up the Bible and read it word for word. It's amazing to me how people quote Jesus, but what actually they do is misquote Jesus, and what actually they do is walk into a Christianese stereotype that is the opposite of what Jesus actually said.
So, this idea that you're going to hear other things than the pure words of Jesus is not just be careful if you listen to the radio, or be careful if you're listening to some other source. It's be careful what you listen to, even in a place like this, even among Christian people, because not even everybody who's quoting Jesus is actually quoting Jesus so you have all knowledge. You have the treasures of wisdom and knowledge. They're all right there for you in Christ. Are you trying to get filled with all of his knowledge? Because you could be there. You have it all in Christ, all of it is revealed to you.
Now, go back to Romans 15:14, so hopefully we're starting to think this through. We're full of goodness. Well, not our goodness, But the fruit of the Spirit. We're filled with all knowledge, well, not worldly understanding, but actual what we have in Christ, understanding of how to look at the world, and then this so if I'm really bearing the fruit of the Spirit, and I'm really knowing the words of the Wonderful Counselor, and I'm living by what he says. Like, one of the things that we all know Jesus said is, Jesus said, do not worry about your Life. Has anybody ever heard Jesus say that before? How many of us continue to worry about our life? What weight does Jesus saying, don't worry about your life, what weight does that really have for you, if you're always worrying about your life, when Jesus says, Don't worry about your life. We’ve got to think that through. Because he says, hey, there are always going to be things to worry about. In fact, you could always be anxious about tomorrow and the what-if scenarios of the future, but here's what you need to do. “Seek first his kingdom and his” what? “…righteousness and all these things will be added to you that you're worried about that everybody else is worried about.” Man, does that matter that Jesus said that to you? Is that something you meditate on, that you let fill you with the words of Christ, filling you on your mind? I don't have worry about that. Jesus told me not to worry about that. What difference does it make now, if you really are bearing fruit of the Spirit, and you're really filled with the knowledge of Christ.
Then this third one starts to make sense, that you would be able to instruct one another. And the Greek word here for instruct is noutheteo, and it's translated a lot of times, admonish, or sometimes it's translated warn. So, it's like warning somebody of a negative outcome or to admonish. See, admonish, in our mind, sounds like it could be corrective, and sometimes it is corrective, like, don't go that way, don't think that way. If you keep going that way, I want to warn you, that's not the way of Jesus. That's not going to work out. So they could be that kind of counseling. It could be that kind but, see, when it says, instruct one another here, I think it's just counsel one another, is the way I think about it. In fact, maybe you've heard this phrase before, new thetic counseling, which is a phrase that's used for biblical counseling. So new thetic counseling, they're getting that word, that idea. They're getting that from this Greek word right here, that one another, the people at church, we should have something worth saying to one another, something to warn you of the way not to go, and something to instruct you or admonish you in the way. We should have some counsel to share with one another. Like this is true of all of us. We have a power and an ability to be filled with all the knowledge of Christ, to bear the fruit of the Spirit, and because God is doing his work in us, we should have something to say to each other. And there are a lot of things, everyday things, common things, things that we all experience, that we should be able to talk to one another about. We don't need professionals. We are the people of God. We can talk about these things, the things about being filled with the Spirit. We should all talk about that. The things about how do you really study the Bible? How do you really pray? We can talk about that. The things about how we're all going to go through trials, and we're all going to go through temptations. We can all talk about this with one another. Things about how you should be as a husband or a wife, things about how you should be as a dad or a mom. These are things we all know about. We're all learning how to do them. In Christ we should be able to counsel one another about these things. Now I'm not saying there's not going to come situations that are very unique and very challenging, and we might want to go really get the help of somebody who's experienced in that kind of counseling, but we should all be able to counsel one another.
Go to Colossians, chapter 3. Go back to the book of Colossians and look at how he says this. This verse really summarizes all that we've been saying in the first two points that now lead us to this. Okay, if you've got the Spirit working in you and you are bearing the fruit of goodness, and then now you’ve got the knowledge of Christ through his wonderful counsel in his Word. Well, it makes sense then, that you might have a good word to say to somebody else. And so, Colossians 3:16, it puts it down like this, “Let the word of Christ dwell in you.” How does it say it should dwell in you, everybody? Not, not real quickly on the way out the door, not in the audio in the car on the commute. Okay, not like I'm trying to kind of work some of it in multitask style. You’ve got to get the Word of Christ till it's in you, till it's burning a fire in your bones. Now, man, sometimes it takes me hours. Sometimes it takes two minutes, but there's that moment when I am no longer thinking based on my feelings or circumstances, but I am now thinking the very thoughts of Jesus Christ. I am now filled with the Spirit of the Living God, and I am now going to attack the day in a radically different way than I would have if I hadn't spent that time in the Word of Christ, and getting it in me, and you start to feel the richness of it. You start to feel the fullness of it. And all of a sudden, when it felt overwhelming, there's clarity. When it felt hazy, you can see a clear direction. Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly, and then look what happens, teaching. And here's our word, “admonishing one another in all wisdom,” because you've got all the wisdom and knowledge that you're ever going to need in Christ. And so, you're teaching. See, teaching, it says teaching, and you could translate it counseling. This is what people think I do as one of the pastors. They think, oh, he's teaching and he's counseling. Now, is it talking about the pastor teaching and counseling here? Who's it talking about teaching and counseling here? One another, all of us. This is the big problem with the church these days. We think we need professionals for things that the Bible is saying we can all participate in. So, I've got no problem not trying to be a slacker. I'm not trying to be half a job Bob. I'm not trying to get out of doing my work here. I'm happy to equip the saints here for the work of ministry, but that's what you're supposed to do then. And yeah, you may not be able to teach in the sense that you're going to preach one of the sermons, and you may not have an office that people are going to come to and receive counsel, but if you get the Word of Christ dwelling in you richly, you will be able to teach things to other people, and you will be able to admonish one another, to counsel one another. You will have something to say when it's time to say something in life, when that person needs help, when that person is discouraged, when that person is losing heart, when that person is overwhelmed. You will be able to say something to them because you know what it's like to be overwhelmed, and you know how to think about it in Jesus Christ; you know how to endure by the power of the Spirit.
And so, you do have counsel to offer them. You do have something to teach them. See, one of the things that's happening at our church with us rejoicing in planting Long Beach. And I'm so excited to hear the reports of people getting saved. Is anybody else looking for that? I mean, I can't wait to hear some of the baptism testimonies of Compass Long Beach. Right? I mean, I'm really looking forward to it, and I'm really happy that we did that, but, at the same time, we just went from five pastors to three pastors. And so, who can counsel people here at the church? Is it just pastors who do that? Is it just fellowship group leaders who do that, or is it all of us who do that? There are the everyday things of the Christian life that we are all going through, and if you are learning how to go through them by the power of the Spirit in the knowledge of Christ, you should be teaching that to someone else. Like, I just need to say to some of you, there are only a few of us on the field, and the other team has eleven players, and the helmet is right there. The pads are right there. You could put them on, and you could get in the game, or those of us on the field will just get worn out. I'm tired of hearing people say they've been Christians for 20 years, but they are teaching no one. You are able to instruct one another, is what the Scripture says about you. You are able to counsel one another. This is what we're all being called to.
Go with me to 1 Thessalonians. Let's see how he uses this. These are passages where he uses this about the elders, about the pastors that they should counsel, that they should admonish and warn. So, it's definitely something that I should be doing, and that Pastor Bill and Pastor Taylor should be doing. But then look at what it says here in 1 Thessalonians 5:14. In fact, here in 1 Thessalonians, chapter 5, we can see both examples. Look at it here in verse 12. This is 1 Thessalonians 5:12. “We ask you, brothers, to respect those who labor, labor among you and are over you in the Lord and they counsel you, they warn you, they admonish you, they instruct you.” Okay, so who are those who are over you in the Lord? Well, that would be the overseers. We might call them elders or pastors. So, we're supposed to respect those, esteem them very highly in love because of their work. But then, look what it goes on to say. It doesn't just talk about the elders, those overseers, admonishing or counseling. Look what it says in verse 14, “We urge you, brothers, admonish the idle,” counsel the idle, “encourage the faint hearted, help the weak. Be patient with them all.” Do you see that we're urging you, we're encouraging you, we're speaking into your life, and we're saying there are people who are not doing the work. Now, one of the problems we find in the Thessalonian church is that people were not even doing physical work, like men were not going to work to provide for their household, and so they needed to be counseled that that's God's purpose for them, to provide for their household. So, it's like there are people that need to be counseled there in the church. There are people who are faint hearted, they're losing heart. They need someone to speak into their life. They need to be encouraged. There are people who are weak. They need the strong to come alongside of them and bear their burdens. And guess what? When you're working with people, it's going to be hard work. It's not going to just happen, just because you said so, so be patient with them. Bear with them. Be in it for the long-haul kind of love. So, it's saying, yeah, do you see the pastor doing that? Respect them, but don't just let the pastor do it. You go do it. In fact, there are different kinds of people you should go and counsel or encourage or help. Go over to 2 Thessalonians. He says this same thing towards the end of 2 Thessalonians, look at verse 15. And he's talking about somebody here in 2 Thessalonians 3:15 he's saying, do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him, admonish him. The same word, noutheteó him, instruct him, counsel him. Say what you know to be true from Jesus. Do not regard him as an enemy but warn him as a brother. Now, who is this person that we're supposed to be admonishing or counseling here as a brother? We'll go back to verse 13. This is 2 Thessalonians 3:13, “As for you brothers, do not grow weary in doing good.”
And let me just pause right there and say that, to some of you who are here, because some of you, you do live filled with the Spirit, you do seek for the knowledge that is in Christ, and you do counsel and teach other people, there are many teachers at this church. There are many people who know what Jesus says, are doing what Jesus says, and are able to teach others also what Jesus says. Faithful men and women here among us, a precious, too few of them, but we are very, very thankful for the players here that are on the field, and I just want to say to you, “As for you brothers, don't grow weary in doing good.” One of the things that can happen to those of us who are on the field and we're getting involved in other people's lives and we're seeking to see Jesus build his church, is we can then start to see the people who are not on the field, and we're out here sweating, and we're out here getting knocked down and hit every play. And then that guy's just sitting on the bench, and he's got one of those big Gatorade bottles, and he's taking a big swig of Gatorade, and he's looking at one of those little iPads they've got on the bench, and he's looking at the film of what we're doing on the field. And you think, man, it looks nice to sit on the bench. I'm out here getting knocked around. I'm out here trying to tell people. Not all of them are willing to listen. It's hard work out here in the being one of the laborers in the field of Huntington Beach, North Orange County souls, it's hard work out here. And look at that guy sitting on the bench. Yeah, looks kind of nice. They’ve got those big fans on the bench blowing that cool air at you when you're sweating. And if it's cold, they’ve got those big jackets on the bench. You've seen those big jackets. Looks nice over there on the bench. So, some of you out here on the field, you start losing perspective that Jesus, he went to the cross, Paul, he went to death. And you stop comparing yourself to those people, and you start comparing yourself to the bench. And you start saying, I put some pretty good stats out here on the field. It might be time for me to retire. It might be time for me to, you know, maybe I'll just sit this last quarter out. I've already got some really good stats. This game my team might lose, but my personal stats are going to look pretty good. I just want to encourage those of you who are out there and you are in the trenches with real souls, and you are trying to tell them what Jesus has taught you, and you want to pass it on to them, please don't compare yourself to the bench. Don't grow weary in doing good. What you are doing is worth doing. What you are saying is worth saying, even if people aren't listening to you. Jesus cares what you're doing, and you will know him in the fellowship of his sufferings, and you will know him in the power of his resurrection. And if Jesus is on the field with you, you can keep going. So, to those of you who are out there playing when you're outmanned, don't stop. Don't grow weary in doing good. But then he says this, verse 14, “If anyone does not obey,” look at what he says, “If anyone does not obey what we say in this letter, take note of that person and have nothing to do with him that he may be ashamed. But do not regard him as an enemy, but warn him as a” what? do you see? How he says the letter is the standard. Like you just go by the letter. Just follow the instructions. Just do the play that is called. See the letter, that's what we do. This is what we do at our church. We try to say what the letter says. This is what Paul wrote in the letter. It's Scripture. It's inspired by God. Let's look at the letter, and then we sit around in our fellowship groups, and it's like, hey, let's all open up. What did you think about what Paul said in the letter? And when people don't listen to what the letter says, that's the person that needs counsel, that's the person you need to admonish. And you don't have to come up with your own thoughts, you’ve just got to say, hey, why aren't you listening to what it says in the letter? Why didn't you hear what Paul said? Because Paul's not speaking his own opinion. Paul's speaking the gospel he got sent by Jesus. Paul's given us the truth worth telling.
Let's get that down for number three: You need to “Believe you have the truth worth telling.” You have something worth saying, the thing that you're trying to teach other people, something that you've learned yourself, whether that person listens to you or not. What you are saying is worth it. What you are saying in Jesus Christ is the treasure of all wisdom and knowledge. What you are saying is the power of the Spirit to live a changed life. What you are saying to people. Have you ever been trying to tell somebody the gospel, that Jesus really loved them enough to die for them? And he really did. On the third day, they went to the tomb, they ran down there, and there was no body, just as he said, because Jesus is alive. He's risen from the dead, and everyone who believes in him, you don't have to live the old way. You get to walk in a new life. Man, I've been preaching that to people one on one, and at some point I started realizing, even if this person doesn't believe it, I do, and I'm going to keep telling it to anybody who will listen, even if they don't want to listen, but they'll sit there; I'm going to tell it to them, because what we have the Spirit in Christ, it is worth telling to other people. Can I get an amen from anybody on this?
So, here's a question for you to consider about yourself. When was the last time you taught someone something? When was the last time you counseled someone on something? You referred to Jesus Christ, you quoted Scripture. You took something that you've been taught and you passed it on. You paid it forward. That's what this is saying. You've got the goodness, you've got the fruit of the Spirit, you've got the knowledge, you know it in Christ. So, what are you able to say to other people?
Now look at the back of your handout, because here's what we're going to do this week. This is different than anything we've ever done before in the history of our church. So, on the back of the handout, you can see we're doing fellowship nights, okay? We're doing fellowship nights, so on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday night, at 6:30, we're all coming into this room. So, raise your hand if you're at a Tuesday night fellowship group. Okay, we're in here. Raise your hand if you're a Wednesday night fellowship group. Okay, we're in here. Raise your hand if you're a Thursday night fellowship group. We're all in here. Even those of you who meet at the houses, come on down to church this Thursday night. We're all going to meet in here, and we're going to have a team huddle. We're going to get the three pastors together, and we're going to say, hey, you, there are conversations you can have with people. They don't need to talk to a pastor about this. They could talk to any person here in the church about this. And so, you can see, we're going to have seminars, and you can see what the titles are. There are three different seminars. You only have time to go to two of them. I know that's frustrating, but you'll have to take good notes and share them with a friend. All right? And so, these are things that we think you would be able to instruct someone else in and we want to equip you and encourage you about talking about these things with other people. So that's what we're doing now. Even if you're not a part of one of the fellowship groups, you could come and check this out. You could be a part of this on one of these nights. And these are the issues that we all need to counsel one another about. We all experience them. We all need to be there for each other when we go through them. Now, next week, you can see we have the marriage conference, so that's going to get into the issues of parenting, the issues of our families, what happens in our homes. There's a lot we need to counsel one another about that happens among our families in our homes. So that's going to open up a lot of things. And then, in two weeks, we'll have a fellowship group. Okay, so we heard some examples at those fellowship nights. We heard some examples at the marriage conference. Okay, what are we ready to instruct one another about here in the group? What are things that you know, things that you could share with somebody else, things that you need to actively go seek, to instruct and teach other people. Okay? Because that's what the Scripture is saying that we are full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another.
So, we are about to have one of the most awkward crash landings in the history of church services, okay? Because there's no song coming out at the end of the service. There's no music that's going to start playing to drown out the conversations we're about to have. We're at church right now. This is where the people of God assemble in the name of Jesus. Jesus, and it is regular for people to just bounce out of here without talking to anybody, when we are all full of goodness, filled with all knowledge, and able to instruct one another. Can I get an amen from anybody on this? So, here's what I'm going to ask you to do at the end of this church service is to actually be the church, is to actually go find somebody and talk to them like, talk to them in a meaningful kind of a way. Talk to them like, hey, is there something I could pray for you about, hey, what is there something I could share with you? How have you been doing, being filled with the Spirit,, like I'm going to ask you before you leave right now, to have a meaningful conversation with the one another's here at church. It's kind of like, you know, when we do a greeting time. Well, this isn't a greeting time. This is an instructing time, a counseling time. So, let me pray, and then we're going to break up and have some conversation. So don't just go run and pick up your kids. The kids’ ministry will bear with you on this one; you can talk to somebody. All right, let's talk to somebody. Let me pray for us.
Father in heaven, I come before you so encouraged by this verse and so wanting to see it happen here with us. God. I thank you that people who are no good could be full of goodness by the power of your Spirit, Father. I thank you that people who were blind and deceived and lost could be filled with all knowledge and the treasures of the wisdom of Christ. And Father, I thank you that people who didn't know what to say and we're going the wrong way, that by your power and ability, we could have something to say to one another, truth worth telling. And God, I get sad sometimes when everybody leaves so quickly, when there's so much work that could be done right here, right now. There's definitely somebody idle who needs to be admonished. There's definitely somebody faint-hearted who needs to be encouraged. There's definitely somebody weak who needs help, and they're right here in the room. So, Father, I just pray for our church. I pray for our church because I get very concerned that we're in more of a rush to get to the parking lot than we're concerned about how somebody else is doing next to us. And I just am afraid that we go along with the cultural expectations of what church is, rather than the biblical expectations of what church is. And so, God, I pray that it would be true what was true of the saints in Rome. I pray that it would be true here and the saints in Huntington Beach, that there are people here who are good even though they weren't born that way, people here who know what to say, even though they didn't discover it themselves, and people here who care enough to counsel one another even when they're afraid of what the other person might think. God, I pray that we would be that kind of a church where we don't just have free people who teach and counsel, but we have a room full of people who teach and counsel. So let that happen right here, right now. Let us overcome our own awkwardness and our own expectations and let us speak to one another the truth in love. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.