26-1018sc Transcript

(0:04) It is that time. Well, let’s go to our Heavenly Father and pray then. (0:10) Most gracious Heavenly Father, we thank you so much for the opportunity we have to get together (0:15) on the first day of the week to be with our brothers and sisters in Christ and to be able (0:22) to come together with the purpose of studying your word.

We know that you’ve provided us (0:29) with that which you would like for us to know, and the Holy Spirit was the instrument through (0:34) which you work, and the Holy Spirit provided it through various authors, and they were inspired (0:42) by him to provide for us the information that we need. We pray that you have been with the (0:49) translators who dealt with the original language, and we pray that through their skills and ability (0:57) that they’ve provided us with an accurate translation that we can be able to rest on. (1:04) Just time we ask your blessings on us and to provide us with understanding and insight (1:11) and wisdom to be able to deal with what Paul had to write and some of the other authors too (1:17) that we’re studying Paul at this time.

We ask your blessings on us as we study Romans. (1:23) This I pray up in Jesus' name. Amen.

(1:27) Well, we’re on the 15th chapter, and as I mentioned to Joe earlier, (1:33) we should be, if possible, through with Romans today. It all depends on how quickly I go through (1:42) chapter 16. Things in there that I can’t make heads or tails of, so (1:48) if you can, I appreciate it, but if not, we’ll pass on.

So anyway, as we deal with the 15th (1:59) chapter, that’s going to be a challenge for us. We have dealt with some of the 15th chapter already, (2:06) and I brought that up from the standpoint that we need to be thinking in terms of what do we (2:12) want to study next, and so if you have any input on that, I would appreciate that very much. (2:19) And so as we get into this 16th and finishing up Romans, if you have even a subject matter that (2:29) you would like to study, I’m not much on subject matters, but the book to the Bible is my interest (2:39) more than anything.

So as we get into the 15th chapter here from the New International Version, (2:45) let’s start at the top and read on down, and then when we get to the part where we haven’t (2:52) discussed any, we’ll get into that itself too. (2:57) We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. Each of (3:05) us should please our neighbors for their good, to build them up.

For even Christ did not please (3:14) himself, but as it is written, the insults of those who insult you have fallen on me. (3:22) For everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance (3:31) taught in the scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. May the God (3:40) who gives endurance and encouragement give you the same attitude of mind towards each other (3:49) that Christ Jesus had, so that with one mind and one voice, you may glorify the God and Father of (3:57) our Lord Jesus Christ.

Accept one another then, just as Christ accepted you, in order to bring (4:05) praise to God. For I tell you that Christ has become a servant of the Jews, on behalf of God’s (4:14) truth, so that the promises made to the patriarchs might be confirmed, and moreover, that the (4:22) Gentiles might glorify God for his mercy, as it is written, quote, therefore I will praise you (4:31) among the Gentiles, I will sing the praises of your name. And again it says, quote, rejoice, (4:38) you Gentiles, with his people.

And again, quote, praise the Lord, all you Gentiles, let all the (4:47) peoples extol him. And again Isaiah says, quote, the root of Jesse will spring up, one who will (4:57) arise to rule over the nations. In him the Gentiles will hope.

May the God of hope fill you (5:06) with all joy and peace, as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power (5:14) of the Holy Spirit. Verse 14, I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are (5:24) full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and competent to instruct one another. Yet I have (5:32) written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, because of the grace of God (5:38) gave me to minister Christ Jesus to the Gentiles.

He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the (5:47) gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the (5:57) Holy Spirit. Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. I will not venture to speak (6:07) of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God (6:14) by what I have said and done, by the power of signs and wonders, through the power of the Spirit of (6:21) God.

So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel (6:31) of Christ. It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, (6:38) so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. Rather, as it is written, (6:46) quote, those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.

(6:55) This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you. But now that there is no more (7:05) place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to visit you, (7:13) I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to see you while passing through and to have you assist (7:22) me on my journey there after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

Now, however, I am on my way (7:33) to Jerusalem in the service of the Lord’s people there. For Macedonia and Achaia are pleased to (7:42) make a contribution for the poor among the Lord’s people in Jerusalem. They were pleased to do so, (7:50) and indeed they owe it to them.

For if the Gentiles have shared in the Jews' spiritual (7:55) blessings, they owe it to the Jews to share with them their material blessings. So after I have (8:03) completed this task and have made sure that they have received this contribution, I will go to (8:10) Spain and visit you on the way. I know that when I come to you, I will come in the full measure of (8:17) the blessing of Christ.

I urge you, brothers and sisters, by our Lord Jesus Christ and by the love (8:24) of the Spirit, to join me in my struggle by praying to God for me. Pray that I may be kept safe (8:33) from the unbelievers in Judea, and that the contribution I take to Jerusalem may be favorably (8:41) received by the Lord’s people there, so that I may come to you with joy by God’s will, and in (8:49) your company be refreshed. The God of peace be with you all.

Amen." And that basically concludes (8:58) his letter that he wants to impart to them, to the Romans. Then chapter 16 is his salutations (9:09) to the various individuals there, and where he officially closes his letter. So as we look at (9:18) chapter 15, anything anybody would like to bring up before we get really into it? Okay.

I believe (9:26) that we got down to verse 14 last week, and then we closed there. Is that right? So here’s Paul (9:37) writing the letter to the Christians in Rome. He has yet to meet them personally, but he says (9:47) in the opening of his letter that he wants to impart to them information and blessings, (9:55) and that he would like for them to encourage him too along the way.

And so he’s writing here, (10:02) and he points out here in the conclusion of this letter that he’s included things that he (10:10) wanted to emphasize to them. So he’s pointing these things out that he’s wanting to help them. (10:18) When he’s talking about his congregation that he’s writing to, what is the basic (10:25) union? What unites them the most at this point? What would you say unites them? (10:33) Yes, that they have been baptized.

They’ve put Christ on. They’ve acknowledged that Jesus is (10:39) the Christ, the son of the living God, and that God is reconciling them through him, (10:45) and that he’s extending to them the opportunity to become united with him again, and that they can (10:54) openly come to him without fear, that they are without sin, because we know that God cannot (11:02) accept sin and will not allow sin to come into kind of a mulling. He doesn’t want to have anything (11:07) to do with sin.

So sin basically separates us from God, and so we want his union. We want to be (11:17) reconciled to him again. And so that’s the basic thing.

What about the other things that he’s (11:22) talking about here? That’s the main thing, isn’t it? That’s what he wants us to make a mountain out (11:27) of. What does he want us to make a molehill out of? The mountain is we are together in brothers (11:38) in Christ, and that’s the common thing, and I believe that’s what he’s trying to point out to (11:42) us here in the last chapter, is that he wants us to focus in on why we are together, that we are (11:55) in God’s relationship with him, and that we have Jesus interceding for us. Jesus is the one who’s (12:03) providing us with the reconciliation to God, and he’s also presenting to us righteousness.

(12:12) Righteousness is the lifestyle that God wants us to live, and so the common thing we have (12:21) is we’re trying to live a righteous life. So let’s take a look at the common thing that he wants us (12:30) to do, and judging is the primary thing. He doesn’t want us to judge one another.

He (12:39) basically wants us to be able to say, you have your convictions, I have my convictions, (12:46) but the thing that brings us together is our belief in God, and that God has united us in Christ, (12:56) and we are disciples of Jesus, and as disciples of Jesus, we belong to his church, (13:05) and he is our priest, and as our priest, he is interceding for us, and so what you may have (13:16) as far as convictions about what’s going to happen at the end of time, how the Holy Spirit works in (13:23) our lives, those are things that you have convictions on, but don’t condemn me if I don’t (13:29) agree with you. Don’t condemn me if I have differing opinions about what’s going to happen (13:38) at the end of time, because those have no bearing on our salvation, does it? Those have no bearing (13:46) upon whether or not we’re right in the sight of God, and that God has promised us eternal life, (13:54) regardless of what happens at the end of time, but in my conviction, (14:01) I can’t wait until the end of time. I can’t wait for it, (14:09) because it’s there that Jesus is going to say, He is one of us, (14:16) and that’s what’s awaiting us, according to the Hebrew letter, anyway.

Yes. (14:25) After all, as the song that we sing, we’ll understand it better by and by. I mean, (14:36) yeah, you know, we may have our convictions on certain things.

(14:42) You may have a different conviction than I do, but…​ (14:48) Right. But the thing that we do have in common, and that’s what he wants us to (14:53) make a mountain out of, the thing we have in common, what is it that we have in common? (15:00) That God has extended to us fellowship. He’s giving us the right hand of fellowship through (15:06) Jesus.

And we have to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. We have to (15:12) have faith that God is extending to us that opportunity to be reconciled to Him through (15:19) Jesus, and that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of the Living God. Those are the things that we (15:25) must believe.

Those are the things we must believe, and those are the things that we must (15:32) have in common, and those are the things that should bind us together and be our fellowship. (15:40) Those are the tests of fellowship, not anything of opinion. But the things that must bind us (15:49) in fellowship is a relationship in God.

(15:58) When there’s differences of opinion, there’s conflict. (16:04) Right. Right.

(16:06) Depending on how much one is invested in the opinion. So, I like this verse 14, (16:17) because I think that’s what Paul was writing. And it’s interesting, because in the NIV, (16:24) I myself am convinced, so this is something he had to think about, but he’s convinced, (16:34) my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are full of goodness.

(16:39) Right. But I had to think about it, (16:45) so I could convince myself that you are full of goodness, filled with knowledge and competent [to instruct one another]. (16:56) Well, those are the things that separate us, isn’t it? Those are the things, because I remember (17:02) my dad really getting upset because we had a brother who believed in a certain thing that’s (17:08) going to go on in the resurrection or at the end of time.

And my dad definitely had (17:15) differing opinions about that. And so, when they would come together, (17:23) you could sense that tenseness, because that brother wanted to teach his opinion, (17:30) and that brother wanted us to take his opinion. And of course, my dad resisted it.

(17:36) And so, we had conflict in the congregation. And those are the conflicts that basically split (17:46) us. Those are the basic ones that split us.

That’s why we have antis over here, and we have (17:56) us over here, is because those are the things that split us. And I was involved in this (18:05) when I was in Fort Wayne many years ago, back in the 60s. The congregation that we were worshiping (18:12) in, the preacher that we had hired had an opinion that other members of the congregation did not.

(18:20) So, the members of the congregation basically outruled him. And so, he took those who believed (18:28) with him to another section, started another church. So, that’s what splits us.

And God hates (18:38) divorce. There’s no question about it. He hates divorce.

And He doesn’t want us to divorce. He (18:47) wants us to have unity. He wants us to believe together.

And that’s, I believe, is what Paul (18:53) is saying here in the last few verses here. He wants peace. He wants us to quit judging one (19:01) another.

He wants us to have one thing in common, and that is being in Christ, being (19:12) reconciled to God, having our sins forgiven from us. And that should be the common denominator (19:20) of what brings us together. Sure, I might have differing opinions about certain things, (19:28) but that shouldn’t make you sit over there and me sit over here.

(19:33) That’s one of the things that we have in congregations is we do have certain people (19:40) pile over here and certain people pile over here. What makes them do that? Section out. (19:54) And I appreciate that comment.

(20:12) So, Scott’s anxious to get into this 14th chapter, (20:16) or 14th verse, so let’s get into the 14th verse. (20:22) But he’s after peace. And we hire men to come together to bring us together and to help us have (20:35) peace among ourselves.

And so sometimes these differences have a way of (20:43) involving our attendance. Sometimes they have a way involving the fact that we have to separate, (20:51) split. And of course, that’s what is happening within the brotherhood, and he doesn’t want that.

(20:59) And this is the reason why Paul’s writing of what he is. So he says in verse 14, (21:05) New International Version, I myself am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves (21:13) are full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and competent to instruct one another. (21:21) So he’s complimenting them right away.

He’s complimenting them. I believe you have this (21:29) ability to do these things. So let’s use them constructively.

Don’t use it to separate us. (21:42) Let’s use it constructively. And so that’s what he’s wanting us to do.

(21:50) So this is the reason, this is where I got the idea that he had a purpose in writing this. (22:00) Yet, I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again, (22:08) because of the grace of God gave me to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. (22:18) He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God so that the Gentiles might become (22:26) an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.

So as I’m reading this, (22:36) my mind goes to, why did Paul go to Jerusalem after he was converted? We know he went there (22:49) three years after he was converted, and then he came back, and then he went back again (22:56) something like 13 years later. That’s what the Galatian letter points out to us, I think. (23:04) So why did he go the first three years? Remember, he wanted to compare his message, (23:17) he wanted to compare his message with that which is being taught by the other churches of Christ.

(23:27) So I said, put it that way, why do I go to school of preaching? Because I want to make sure that I (23:34) have the right perception of what the gospel is all about, right? Sure, I can sit here and study (23:45) with you all, and you all can get up and be preachers yourself, and that’s what’s happening (23:52) with this congregation right now, is that you’re homebred, and the sermons that you bring (24:00) are things that you have learned and were taught by other preachers and by other (24:09) Bible classes that you have. So when you get up here to preach and present a lesson, (24:15) you’re homebred. You haven’t had the benefits of going to school preaching.

You haven’t had (24:20) the benefits of going to college and taking Bible classes there. So you have to have some (24:31) reservation about whether or not you’re doing what you need to be doing, right? Yeah. Why do you go (24:40) to college? Why do you go to higher education? Why do you do that? It’s so that you can learn (24:48) and know your trade, and so that’s the main thing.

So Paul is pointing out, (24:56) you guys haven’t had the benefit of me being there to preach to you. You have been self-taught, (25:05) and you just know what you…​according to what we know about the Roman church, (25:12) that no apostle had ever been there. So the only people who (25:21) come there have been at other churches, and the Roman church came into existence because of (25:31) transients, let’s put it that way.

And so many of them, according to some of the (25:42) information I think that was pointed out, that many of them have been on Pentecostal, (25:50) in the presence of the Pentecostal church, on Pentecost that day. (25:55) And they may have been among those 3,000 who were baptized, and may have been among those (26:03) who were baptized on that day or later on. And so as they travel, they establish the church in Rome, (26:12) according to the things, unless you’re a Catholic.

The Catholics believe that Peter was there. (26:22) So we have that. And then they even have a stairway where they believe that they have (26:28) the impression of Peter’s face in the stairwell, where somebody pushed his face into it.

So they (26:36) think they have Peter’s face, and they’re in the stairwell. So as we reflect upon that, (26:45) so tradition. We’re going by tradition.

That’s what we are doing. So this is one of the reasons (26:54) why Paul wants to be there, is to give them the benefits of a trained person. And that’s (27:06) really why he wants to be there.

But he’s giving them the benefits of a trained person by writing (27:11) them a letter and trying to help them and encourage them to have the right perception (27:17) and right concept of what they ought to be doing as Christians. And so he’s trying to alleviate (27:27) some of those problems. So he says, I am convinced, my brothers and sisters, that you yourselves are (27:33) full of goodness, filled with knowledge, and competent to instruct one another.

Yet I have (27:41) written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them, because of the grace of God gave me (27:50) to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the priestly duty of proclaiming the (27:58) gospel of God so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the (28:06) Holy Spirit. Once again, we have Paul, who is going to be visiting [Jerusalem] again.

And why is he (28:19) going to [Jerusalem] this time? The first time, he wanted to compare his message with the apostles, (28:25) make sure that he was not preaching in vain. So now, why is he going there this time, according (28:33) to the Gentile letter, the Galatian letter? Because someone from Jerusalem has come and (28:45) upset his followers about being circumcised. So he wants to get this straightened out.

(28:57) He wants to have a meeting of the minds on this. So he takes with him Titus or Timothy. He takes (29:11) with him Timothy.

And so he’s confronting them, and they’re having this meeting, a council. (29:29) It’s a council, and they’re having this meeting. And so this gives Peter the chance to explain how (29:37) he dealt with Cornelius, his experience with Cornelius.

And it gives Paul a chance to give (29:44) his experience as a minister among the Gentiles. And so they all compare this information, (29:51) and they come to the conclusion that, oh, no, they’re in error about teaching about (29:58) circumcision. And Paul says, they did not compel Timothy to be circumcised.

Well, (30:04) he was circumcised, wasn’t he? It was Titus that was not circumcised. (30:10) Yeah, he did. Paul circumcised Timothy so that he would not be in (30:22) any hindrance to the message.

Because if he goes into the synagogue, he needs to have (30:32) Timothy circumcised so that Timothy can go with him into the synagogues with him and teach the (30:42) Gentiles. And so as we—or the Jews, rather. So we have them saying, he says, they did not add (30:50) anything to my message.

They didn’t add anything to it. After all, he’s been taught by Jesus. (31:04) When he was baptized, he ran off for three years, and that’s when we believe that he was being (31:14) taught by Jesus himself.

And then he’s coming back to Damascus, and there he has this problem, (31:23) and then he goes to Jerusalem, and Barnabas has to introduce Paul to the church in Jerusalem. (31:30) But anyway, that’s the difference between having the confidence of what your message is about (31:41) and being sure that you are right. And so Paul wants to make sure that the church in Rome (31:50) has the confidence in the message they are preaching.

He wants them to have that. (31:56) And we’ve been getting that out of his letter himself, right? It’s been effective to us, (32:04) as we have been studying it ourselves. So he wants them to recognize this.

(32:11) I have written you quite boldly on some points to remind you of them again because of the grace (32:19) God gave me, verse 15, 16, to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles. He gave me the (32:29) priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God so that the Gentiles might become an offering (32:35) acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit. What is he saying there? He’s basically saying (32:44) the Gentiles have responded to the information and to the gospel in the same manner that you have, (32:57) and they’re acceptable.

They are acceptable to our fellowship. We need to include them (33:08) in our fellowship. Why? Because they have responded to the gospel just as you have.

(33:17) And there’s nothing different. You were baptized into Christ, and so were they. (33:25) They’re acceptable.

They’re acceptable and sanctified by the Holy Spirit. We know that (33:32) because when do they receive the Holy Spirit? And how does the Holy Spirit go into an individual (33:38) and be sanctified by him? When they properly respond and are baptized for the remission of (33:45) except Jesus as the Christ, the Son of the Living God. So they’ve been sanctified.

(33:50) So he’s pointing out there is no difference spiritually, there’s no difference intellectually (33:59) from them or you. You both have Christ, and you both are reconciled to God. (34:09) That’s what he’s telling them.

So let’s have peace. Let’s don’t separate one another based (34:16) on our skin color or what we used to be. Let’s don’t make any distinctions.

We are Christ. (34:29) We are in God. So then he goes on.

Any questions or observations? (34:35) So that’s what he’s wanting us to point out. Paul says, I was ordained by God to preach (34:45) to the Gentiles, and the message that I preached to the Gentiles was the same message that you (34:51) received. I know that to be true because I’ve been to Jerusalem, and I’ve compared my message (34:58) with the Church, the message that is being taught there, and they’re not required to be (35:05) circumcised.

So don’t make that a distinction. Don’t make that, because all of a sudden here (35:15) comes the Gentiles, and they’re coming in. The only difference between them and them (35:20) is circumcision, right? So you need to be circumcised.

No, they don’t. That’s what the (35:29) we wanted to make, and that’s what Paul was pointing out in the third chapter, I believe it (35:35) is, of Romans. What’s the difference between those who are circumcised and who are not? (35:45) Spiritually, you know? It’s a spiritual circumcision.

And so that’s really why he (35:50) wants us to recognize the fact that when did God reconcile or declare Abraham to be righteous? (36:02) Was it before he was circumcised or after he was circumcised? Before. (36:09) And that’s what he wants us to recognize. What was the purpose of circumcision? Why did (36:15) God circumcise Abraham? What was the reason? As a test, as a sign, as a (36:32) test.

I recognize him. He is a righteous one. But that’s it.

So then we have circumcision (36:45) being added as a religious requirement with the Mosaic law, right? So the Mosaic law (36:55) had nothing to do with Abraham and his relationship with God. (37:03) And it had nothing to do with changing the promise that God had made to Abraham. (37:09) It was added for what reason? To teach the people what sin is.

(37:25) Paul says, if it had not been for the law of Moses, I would not have known what sin was. (37:33) And of course, he identifies a sin of being covetous. (37:42) I did not know that covetousness was a sin.

(37:47) I would not have known that either. Oh, I’d like to have what he has. (37:53) I’d like to be living the way he lives.

I’d like to have the job he had. I’d like to have (37:59) a family like he had. I didn’t know that that was a sin.

He says, I didn’t know it was a sin (38:11) until God told me it was a sin. So the law of Moses was to add recognition of what sin was (38:19) so that they could teach one another how to live righteously. That’s all the law of (38:26) Moses was added for.

It was to teach an individual how to live righteously. (38:33) They misused it, didn’t they? They used it to condemn and judge one another. (38:43) Oh, look at you.

You smoke. You dance. You drink.

Oh, man. Judging. (39:00) But he even talks about that’s exactly what the Jews did.

They saw it as a tradition (39:08) and broke the laws. Oh, that’s when he started talking about Corban. (39:21) So what is Corban? You established the rule of Corban so that you could keep from supporting (39:31) your family, your mom and dad.

But the law says what? Honor your mother and father. (39:38) What does that mean to honor your mother and father? Take care of them. They’re double duty, (39:45) double honor.

So honor your mother and father. And Jews came up with the law saying, (39:52) look, if you dedicate all of your possessions to the church, you are free from obligating. (40:01) Thank you.

You don’t have to give it to your mom and dad. (40:08) So mom and dad said, no, that’s fine. We’re free.

Turn the heat on. Oh, I’m sorry, dad. Mom, (40:18) if I had the money to get to you to turn the heat on, I would.

But I gave it all to the church. (40:28) Because you have a way of violating the law, right? So the law was added basically to teach them (40:36) what sin was. And so that they could live righteously.

But they didn’t do it because (40:45) they misapplied the law. And so it was only temporary anyway, until Jesus came. (40:54) So once Jesus came, it no longer needed to be enforced.

So they didn’t need to have it. (41:03) Because we are supposed to be able to live righteously, as walking in the light as he (41:11) is in the light. Just when we were baptized, we were advised to walk in a newness of life.

(41:19) And so in various places, it admonishes us to get rid of jealousy, anger, (41:28) and all. And it gives a whole list of sins that we are supposed to eliminate from our lives. (41:36) And so then you can find a list there in Galatians, the fifth chapter, where it talks about (41:42) the flesh.

And he lists what the flesh are. And then he says, what does the (41:51) the Spirit offer? Love, joy, peace. And that’s what Paul is trying to point out to us here (42:00) in this letter too.

So the Gentiles have an offering acceptable to God, (42:06) [sanctified] by the Holy Spirit. Therefore, I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God. (42:12) I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading (42:20) the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done.

And so he recognizes the fact that (42:30) God has been with him, and that what he has accomplished has been the result of God working (42:37) in him. And he gives us the examples of how God has been working in him. And these are things that (42:46) don’t you wish we had today, that God was working in us? What does he say that God did to help him (42:54) accomplish the things that he wanted? He says, he helped me by the power of signs and wonders, (43:01) through the power of the Spirit of God, so that from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, (43:08) I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.

So he’s pointing out the fact that God (43:14) used signs, wonders, and miracles to help him be effective. And so we have that to appeal to, (43:24) don’t we? And so how does the Holy Spirit—I go back to my mantra, I guess it is—the Holy Spirit, (43:34) according to Jesus in the Gospel of John, chapter 16, where he gives a job description of the Holy (43:43) Spirit, is to convict the world of sin. So, is the Holy Spirit restricted to convicting the world (43:55) through us, or can he work divinely in the rest of the world? I don’t think he’s restricted to (44:06) you and me.

Again, that’s my opinion. But I believe that the Holy Spirit has to be working (44:17) through our government, has to be working through other nations. How do we come up with some of the (44:26) things that we come up with? We come up with them out of going around with tells.

We’re excavating (44:36) them. And what’s the word for that? Archaeology. We’re using archaeology.

Archaeology comes up with (44:45) things that confirm the message, that comes up with things. How did they get buried there? (44:52) By accident? Or is that the product of the Holy Spirit? You know, it gives us ammo. It gives us (45:01) things that we need to have in order to be effective in our message.

And so we have that. (45:12) So let’s not restrict the Holy Spirit just to you and me. Let’s let the Holy Spirit do his job.

(45:20) We are a tool of the Holy Spirit. There’s no question about it. The Holy Spirit does use us.

(45:27) There’s no question about it. But he provided us with the Bible. He provides us with a lot of (45:35) things.

So Paul says, I was able to do these things, not because I’m Paul, but because God (45:45) ordained me to do these things. And I am obligated to do these things. (45:50) And I want to do it without bringing any expense to the church.

And so he says, he recognizes and (46:00) acknowledges the fact that it’s not him. What is he saying? I believe in the Corinthian letter. (46:07) I did not choose to come with excellency of language.

I did not want to be one who stood up (46:18) and proclaimed to you, I am not an eloquent speaker. He knows he’s not an eloquent speaker. (46:27) So he knows that the Holy Spirit is working through him.

What does Paul say to, (46:34) in the second Corinthian letter, I believe it’s in the 15th chapter, (46:38) where he’s given a litany of all the things that happened to him. And he said, I have been given (46:44) a thorn in the flesh. We don’t know what that thorn in the flesh was, but he says, I have been (46:51) given a thorn in the flesh, which I have prayed to God to relieve me of three times.

And each time (46:58) he tells me what? My grace is sufficient through your weakness. So keep preaching, brothers. (47:06) Keep preaching.

So God’s grace is sufficient through you all. My time is up. We’ll finish (47:15) that chapter 15.

I was hoping we would finish it up today. We’ll finish it up. But we only have (47:25) one more chapter to go.

And so keep in mind what you would like to study. I am open to that. (47:33) Otherwise, I love to get into Hebrews or Corinthians.

I’d love to get into those. (47:40) So thank you so much for your attention. (47:43)