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Summary, Part 4 (final) PRACTICAL APPLICATIONS [30:33]: 1. Heaven is a real place where Christ now is. It is not a figment of man’s imagination. 2. We are called to reverent worship. How we prepare ourselves for the highest dignitary should not compare to how we prepare ourselves for God’s presence. Church shouldn’t entertain men; it should entertain God. 3. The godly are comforted in their trials and afflictions. The Lord will never leave or forsake us in our troubles. 4. It emboldens God’s servants in danger and difficulty. The Christian response to trial is far different than the worldly one. We have a God who works all to our good, but how does the unbeliever respond to his trials? 5. It urges Christians to keep their bodies free from sexual impurity. Holiness isn’t just an attitude of mind, but a way of observable life. 6. It requires churches to separate from the wicked. The standard of holiness has not changed from Paul’s day. It is discouraging how many churches today seek to win the lost by adopting their attitudes. Do they not have the same Bible to which Paul contributed? 7. We are called to glory in the deity and sufficiency of Jesus Christ, the very one who is in our presence. 8. It moves us to desire to be with Christ in heaven. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord.
Ian Migala (9/15/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Summary, Part 3 2. THAT NO TRUE CHRISTIAN SHOULD JOIN OR REMAIN IN A CHURCH FELLOWSHIP WITH A SOCIETY OF WICKED MEN [20:25]. True Christians should sever their ties with apostate churches. God does not expect an elect to suffer the darkness of an impure body, but to leave and find a pure one. 3. THAT EACH TRUE CHURCH SHOULD SEPARATE FROM THE UNGODLY AND THEIR WICKED WAYS [21:13]. It should not receive the unsaved into membership, and should discipline members who fall astray of any basic tenet of the faith. This requires vigilance, diligence, and courage, but most of all the exaltation of God and not popularity. Pastors who practice this kind of zealousness tend to never lose their church no matter how much resistance they endure, even from their own flock. Jesus did not cleanse the Temple with diplomacy, but with holy anger at what had been done to His Father’s house. How would Jesus respond to the typical church in America today? E. COLOSSIANS 2:9 [27:30]. This text states the complete sufficiency of the Lord Jesus Christ.
Ian Migala (9/15/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Summary, Part 2 B. 1 CORINTHIANS 3:16-17 [8:21]: Christ’s special presence in His church. The church house becomes holy as God’s people gather there. We should never forget that we are on holy ground when we participate in church life. Sadly, we are more tolerant of the desecration of the church than God is. We are the temple of God, but what kind of temple are we? Are we white hot or lukewarm? C. 1 CORINTHIANS 6:19 [12:02]: the Christian as a temple. We are not His by creation, but by new creation. God cannot be glorified by a Christian who gives his body to sin. D. 2 CORINTHIANS 6:14-7:1 [14:37]. The righteous should not join in Christian fellowship with the wicked, who threaten and violate the identity of the church. They are invited to attend so that they may be convicted, saved, and then joined to the church. This principle calls our attention to three things: 1. THAT NO TRUE CHURCH SHOULD FELLOWSHIP WITH SOCIETIES OF WICKED MEN [18:01]. This includes those who deny the deity of Christ or who promote ungodly behavior such as homosexuality. Parachurch organizations are often a source of this. Congregations that don’t avoid this are prone to welcoming wickedness into the fellowship and bringing judgment on their churches.
Ian Migala (9/15/2014)
from Minneapolis, Minnesota
Summary, Part 1 [Pastor Nutter credits his former professor, Pastor Greg Nichols of Grace Immanuel Reformed Baptist Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan for the outline of this message, which can be found in Pastor Nichols’ book, *What does the Bible say about God?: The Biblical doctrine of God*.] In this message, we continue from last week to examine the biblical witness to God’s special presence: what does the Bible say about it? III. SURVEY OF THE BIBLICAL WITNESS TO GOD’S SPECIAL PRESENCE. This survey is hardly exhaustive, but we will examine five key texts. A. GENESIS 28:17 [starting at 3:52 of the audio]. God’s emphatic presence was with Jacob at Bethel, and feared Jacob. Our demeanor in God’s house should not be flippant, carnal, or casual, but sincere and reverent. How much do we need to hear this message today! A true church is a place of God’s special presence, and casualness there—in dress and attitude— is a curse in today’s church.