Feb 2, 2020 Sun am 1 Thes 5:23
This morning. We are going to continue our series of lessons where there will be a different theme every month to support the yearly 3 last month of January. We dealt with the idea that there is a God and there is a God that's reality. That's not make-believe. That's not fiction. There is a guy in for the whole year. We're going to make cases like that that Christianity is reality. And so last month we dealt with the idea that there is a guy is a real man needs to face and he needs to demonstrate that in his life in some shape form or manner this month. We're going to deal with the reality that man has a soul that man has a soul and so this morning's lesson is entitled man is a soul possessing a boy. I have this backwards of the world doesn't even include the solar the reason messages like this for this month are important is because people in the world only believe as a great majority only believe in the the material the physical and so you and I need to understand that the majority of folks that are not religiously persuaded which is the second largest religious group in America today and noticed I said in America, it's even greater outside of America in most countries. Non-religious is the largest group of people in any particular country. And so I'm starting a book to book right now one is talking about Generation Z. Another book is talking about the rise of the nun n o n e s. I would highly recommend You are leadership so that we understand what we are facing in trying to preach the word of God because the the largest growing denomination of Believers today are the nuns today one in five Americans are non-religious. They have not they don't necessarily have anything against God but they have everything against religion. That's one and five and the in America. They are the second-largest group behind Catholics from a religious perspective. And so I think it would be important for us to understand how to gain some tools to be able to reach this very very large group because it seems to me that if a world is anti religion, the Church of Christ is a particularly suited to meet that desire. Until we start acting religious. Which often times is our problem but they are a big group of people that we can certainly meet and there are people that people that leave the church or any particular denomination join the ranks of the knobs that Fed Up what religion don't have anything to do it anymore and they just figure they'll just do their own thing and then that will wind up being enough our messages hopefully will be suited in approaching and dealing with that phenomenon to pay for this message, which is going to be a little different than most because today you didn't receive an outline today. You received the chart in my Logos Bible program is called a can I get a blank sheet of canvas and I can put on their whatever I want all kinds of symbols all kind of texts all kinds of line and the light and I would like to use this chart to show you. How much is a soul and how man possesses a body for my own brain? Tony always says that? But it comes from God's word. So we want to understand that man is a soul that possesses. a body recognizing that the short Soul should take control of the body is sore down the same way that how many of you own a car. What you are a person that owns a car the car belongs to you and you drive your car. It should never be that your car owns you. Although many of us could probably raise our hands if I have how many of us are upside down.
How many of us are working for our car? Play never be the case that the car should own you. And we can even teach art we can say how many of us own a home. The home is possessed by us. The home should never possess us. And the same idea goes with the soul and the body. So we see this text from Paul to the church in Corinth as the first of his Epistles known as the first of those Epistles come to a close Paul towards the end says this inverse number 23, pees himself sanctify you completely and may your whole spirit and soul and body be kept blameless at the coming of our Lord Christ. That's what I'm going to do. Today is my first want to start by considering the body. So if I got this right everything in your chart that is orangish in color whether it is circle whether it is underlined or whether there is a line of drawers to it has to do with the body. Now this sermon is not exhaustive. There are so many more scriptures that involve the body and you can refer to the body in a lot of different ways. Now the one word, which is used in the New Testament for body. You could also see the word Starks which could be in for Flash and the like but this where is soma alone is 142 times in the New Testament. So I'm only scratching the surface where this topic is concern, but hopefully we can take some good notes and see some things here that would demonstrate that the man is a soul and hat and possesses a body first thing. I want to draw your attention to is that verse of scripture on your chart for Genesis chapter 2 and verse number 7. That's where we come to learn by the revealed word of God how man came in to be The Bible says in the Lord God formed the man of form the man of dust from the ground. You see that so where do we come from? Dust from the ground. Do I have that like circled on your chart? Okay, so and then you see if you follow the line that comes from that it goes to what the body case of the body and the dust from the ground. That's the same thing a man now if you just have dust you don't have man. Hey, man, you can't go this there's there was dust that came from where? The ground it came from the earth came from the ground and God use that to bring about man use that to cause man to come in to his bill would like for you to look at the bottom right corner the scripture. There is Genesis 6 and verse number 19 their the Bible says and of every living thing of fish do I have their right is 6 in what?
319 all right by the sweat of your face is MI right now. All right, you shall eat bread to you return to the ground for out of it you were taken for you are. And to you shall return. So once again, we talked about man and his substance physically. We are talking about him coming from the dust of the ground we came from the earth a man. I love the story that was told to me once were man decided that God did a poor job in making man so they had a contest so the man ask God to meet him on the beach and then we'll see who makes a better man. And so God got ready to start making man and man bent down to take the dust of the ground and go get your own dust.
That pretty much settles it right there. Don't it? Does anything man with a Reachwater try to make something better than God. He would have had to have created himself and man does not have that ability. And so here we are trying to judge a God who knows from the beginning the purpose of the thing for which he created but man does not know the purpose when we try to judge God. We try to judge a book before we get to the end conclusion. We don't know the whole matter and God sees the end from the beginning lyrics in the middle of your chart. You'll see underlined flesh. There there. The Bible says it is the spirit who gives life The Flash is no help. At all, so the dirt is dirt until God makes it something else. It is the spirit that gives life. The flesh doesn't help where life is cuz God is the author of Life a lot better off if we understood that flash is no help at all. It is God. Who is the author of life it is God who brings about us into our existence. We also finish, finish thought that that verse a little bit later. I want you to also see in Ecclesiastes 12. And burst number 7. We also learn in Genesis to the beginnings of man where man came from and Ecclesiastes 12. We find out where man is going. Does the Bible says we also found out and in our previous reading to didn't we but in Ecclesiastes 12 the Bible says and the dust returns to the what and the spirit returns to God who gave it. Okay, we will deal with the spirit a little bit more to do. I just wanted to bring that up for you. I look at Genesis chapter 5 verses 19 through 24 or Galatians. I just finished this this morning. That's why I'm all jumbled up to 24 here. We see from Paul in his writing to the church in galatia. The works of the flesh are evident. All right, then we talked about the Dust of the ground we talked about the flesh what we talked about the first born man are our first nature. These are the things that we're talkin about. These are the things that draw the Flash. Okay, since we come from the earth, we are also drawn to the Earth. There are things in the world that draw us because that's where we came from. Is just like the child who comes from parents and not even known their parents. But they're still drawn to knowing them. Why because that's where they came from. The flesh is like a beacon. It's like a homing Beacon and it is drawing on his pulling us back to Our Roots pulling a back to where we came from church and if we know from my reading the Bible that the Flesh and the spirit war against each other and part of that war is the flesh is drawing man one way and the spirit is drawing him another way. Well, these are the things that draw us. Galatians 5:19 through the acts of the flesh are obvious sexual immorality impurity and debauchery idolatry and Witchcraft hatred Discord jealousy fits of Rage selfish ambition Ascension factions NV drunkenness, or as I did before that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God. I was just look at some facts the kingdom of God is not from the dust of the ground. If you look at a factory Les Paul is warning you if you follow your flesh, you will not inherit. The things of the spirit. The flesh is full of you one way. The spirit is pulling you another way. We see that the about the fruit of the spirit is something different. There's a pool in US pulling another way love joy peace forbearance, kindness goodness, faithfulness gentleness and self-control against such things. There is no law and order the things that for those of us that have been born again or been born into Christ are supposed to follow all the things that we need to make our passions and desires those who belong to Christ. Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires and we got to stomp on we have to crucify then we have to we have to put them away. In order that we will not be drawn towards those things. Those are our dilemmas. Those are our situations are our problems to solve. They're not gods. There are problems. Giving us the map. He's given up telling us what's wrong. He's telling us how to fix it and it's up to us to choose to fix those things. Let's talk about the spirit a little bit. We learn. When we go back to Genesis 2 and 7. There are two Bible stands in the Lord. God formed man of the dust from the ground. You see that that's what we get. That is not man alone. That is just a material that made up his physical body right then God did something with that material that came from the Earth. He breathed. Into his nostrils the Breath of Life. UCI. I have a spirit there in 1st Thessalonians 5 I should have got a circle with the blue in blue by the circle underlined or line coming from it has to do with the spirit. So the Breath of Life is circled that Spirit that's the spirit of God. I want you to know it's a little different a little subtle difference. God did inform the dust from the ground and then wave his hands to force air into the dust of the ground at a forum. Hey, man, if you understand.
God took his mouth put it on Anna Frozen breathing time nostrils. What the Breath of Life there for Every Man Has a breath of life called the dust of the ground is animated. That's how it comes into existence because God's creative Spirits his Puma his Spirit was blown into our bodies and gave life. And that's why when Jesus died on the cross the Bible says he gave up. the spirit made his body wasn't animated for for a time. Do we understand Church? So the spirit of God is the one that breathing he just didn't take a funnel and then forced air from the world into the dust of the ground. He use the air from his own body you put in I might not if the dust of the ground is a beacon that calls to us and draws us then certainly the breath of life is a beacon as well and calls to us and draws us to him as well.
Everyone that lives has a have a part of God in them in a way that draws them to their creator.
God breathed into that dust of the ground. And that is the spirit if you drop down to the bottom corner. You see in Genesis 6 and verse 3 then the Lord said my what? Shall not abide in man. forever
for he is flesh his days shall be 120 years. So God said that his spirit so he here he is confirming what we've already learned in Genesis 2 and 7 that it was his spirit that abides in men. Who were first born into the world God Spirit abides in us to give us life was he God wants us to have life abundantly. There's more to life than just living on Earth that there's a life beyond comparison when you walk with God. So God wants us to be born again. Just simply born from the dust of the ground stuff to be born of the spirit.
Because as long as manager is born from the dust of the ground he shall die.
Y'all later on sale in the New Testament that there is a sin that leak that does not lead to death. That's for those that haven't had a measure of spirit that gives life abundantly. the text life beyond the grave into heaven and Eternity so we can hopefully clearly see just from these few scriptures that there is a difference between the body and the spirit but the world refuse to recognize anything that is not physical because the moment they do they have to recognize that there is a God
Because God is not flesh. God is not that tree. That's not the grass. That's not that sand on the beach. God is a spirit. And he's looking for what those to worship Him in spirit and in truth. What's the true church true is knowledge that comes from God.
Truth is greater than facts.
but the truth is knowledge that comes from God and look what happens at the end of Ecclesiastes 12 Bible says the dust returns to the Earth as it was riding learn that right. So what happens with the spirit the spirit returns to God who gave it? We already know two parts of a man. We know there's body and we know their spirit and we already know the end of the story of the body and the end of the story of the Spirit the animated man to gave him his life and the end of the body is what it goes. Where Back to the dust of the ground from which it came right and according to what we just read what happens to the spirit. It goes back to God who did what who gave it that's where it came from and God determined that man's days will be numbered. He said enough of this foolishness going on the earth Knuckleheads. Don't they don't do nothing right? I'm trying to help them out. I'm trying to get them with me. So in order for that to happen, we're just going to have to have to a man's days are going to be a hundred and twenty days. But my spirit will no longer contend with me and my spirit will no longer be with man for he is flesh. And his days will be a hundred twenty years. We all understand. Look up there and James also. I want to see and James 1 and 21 where the Bible says therefore put away all filthiness. And rampant wickedness that we read about those and Galatians 5 starting at verse number 90. Those were the works of the Flash Junior with me he said put those things away and receive with meekness the implanted.
Do I have an underline? You know, I got that underline does the Bible says your word is spirit.
Please have put put the whirly stuff away and received the word which is able to save your soul. We haven't talked about that yet. But we do understand that man is composed other body. And a spirit know and understand that the body came from the dust of the ground and we know that when his daddy's are over that that body will return to the dust we know when his days are over that that spirit that are animated their body.
Bible says Jesus is a John 3 Verses 5 through 6 and Jesus answered very truly. I tell you no one can enter the kingdom of God unless they are born.
Mash gives birth to but spirit give birth to Spirit. That's what happens when we're born again the spirit gives birth to Spirit how we born again to a watery grave of baptism. That water and and God's spirit brings about a new birth of a new creature. And then a different measure of God's spirit that whose job is not only to animate our lives and to call us to repentance because that's all the spirit is worried about before your born again is to give you life and to call you to repentance that's his job and we see it exemplifies physically in John the Baptist who made the way straight for Jesus John the Baptist was a powerful preacher, but he only had one sermon. Get ready make the way straight. Jesus is coming. He only have one serving. That's all he preached and it's all the spirit is worried about before we are born again. And it's the spirit that gives birth to Spirit. I don't deal with the soul. Shall we are everything in green on your chart? And we see the green and in Thessalonians 5 and 23, right the first epistle we see the the Green in Genesis to Ember 7lb read the whole thing for emphasis than the Lord God from the man from the dust from the ground and breathe into his nostrils. We studied that the breath of life and the man Became a living creature that it is all your copy have for you King James readers. It actually says so. Man became a living soul. The English Standard Version. I took it this way a living creature. So if you see I have that circled and green and has a line coming from it and it points towards what does Sol we see solar 1st Thessalonians 5 and 23 sold at Circle and it points to the soul. Let's go look at 1st, Peter 2 and 11 be loved I heard you was Sir joiners in Exile to abstain from the passions of The Flash The Flash. The body UK, you know what parts of our which wages war against your soul the flesh wages war against your soul and Peter is saying take control of your bodies.
Because your body's wage war against your soul.
And I put it this way for those who have heard me preach for a long time. Always put this way, right you want to know whether you're going to heaven or hell you need to determine who you follow me.
Are you following the body? Are you following the spirit? Are you following the things of God? Are you following the things of this world? Are you following the things of the spirit? Are you following the things of the flesh? And you can easily determine your Eternal destination by who controls your soul.
Now you should be in the driver's seat you dictate to your car where it's supposed to go. Your car should not be dictating to you. Where you go. If you all got cars like that you need to get out.
Need to be born again.
Get a new car. Write matter fact people who study demon possession one of the things that they say is is that demon possession is the equivalent of Ctrl demon control over your body.
Number words the soul steps aside and allows some other influence over their body. That's not what this sermons about just illustrative to try to bring home a point here. We saw also see in John 6 and verse number 63. it is the who gives life the flesh is no help at all. We talked about that right at the words that I have spoken to you or an you see life and underlined in green there. So the life that God wants us to live comes from the From the spirit because the flash is what? No help at all. What salvation is concerned that the flesh is no help at all? Our help comes from the spirit. The spirit that is the word of God. And so the soul is a determining Choice it is it is it is man who comes about from the the spirit and the dust of the ground put together becomes a living Soul it is that soul that uses that that possesses the body that has to determine who is going to listen to It's going to listen to the spirit. That gives life. That's what we read, right? I want to listen to the The Flash that Wars against the soul. Who puts on salvation in to Jeopardy the Bible says I'm very very close. There are often used interchangeably in the scriptures.
And and so I love Hebrews 14 and 12 because it kind of demonstrates. Just how close they are. Cuz it says the word of God is alive and active sharper than any double-edged sword it penetrates even. to dividing Soul and Spirit Joints, and Marrow is it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart that just how sharp God's word is and and and God's word doesn't want to cut the soul off from himself God's word wants to cut the soul off from the body. That's what the surgery is. Cuz we are too attached to the Flash. Which who dominated we we are the instance where the car drives us. Are cars a home? I really possession dictate to us whether or not we'll attend worship service. Our possessions dictate to us whether we'll study God's word. Our possession in our place in society dictates whether or not will turn the other cheek. consider our neighbors greater than ourselves Worldly possessions are flesh.
Have got us all out of whack.
Man is a soul. This is a by. And one day we're really going to find out. Because this dust will return. To the ground that is gay. And this spirit that animates this body will return back to God who gave it and this soul. Will be in a place. I have been determined determined by who it has followed. I finished follow God. My eyes wake up on the other side of Eternity on the other side of the Grave. I'll be in a place of comfort.
But this body is this Soul has followed the body. I put its faith that is trust in the body was allow the body to dictates of it what how it's supposed to act and respond and live there when I open my eyes or the other side of the Grave. I'll be in a place of Torment.
Man is a soul that can that possesses a body do not let your body. dictate to your soul allow the spirit of God to dictate to your soul because the spirit gives life. The Flash brain about death in a few minutes that I have left. I want to share with you a little chart that I did. The Prytania I didn't hear that
On Wednesday night bible class called the Triune man. I want to go through the whole thing all these charts I put on my website. So if you if you want to chart that just has body you want to talk to just as a spirit you can go on my website and you can drop pullo's down and I'm sure I'll show them a share them share this this video as well. But I drew the body this way. And then the body I talked about things that are associated with the body. I didn't include Galatians 5 19 through 21 Parts, but the body is World conscious you see that up there and and and the body operate some hearing seeing tasting smelling in Philly right to learn in this class at the body was temporal. That means it done last forever will not remain in right he is Flash and his days shall be a hundred and twenty years same as you remember his body's temporal. It is physically came from a physical state. It will return to a physical state in the Bible often refers to it as carnal. Hey, man. Then I showed the spirit this way and it's the spirit is a kin to the fruit of spirit that we continue reading in Galatians 5 starting at about 22 and the fruit of the spirit with those things were but some characteristics of the fruit of the spirit is that the spirit is God conscious. You see that the world the body is World conscious. The spirit is God conscious.
I went I purposely gave me the example. God didn't push air from the world into the dust of the ground he breathed. into that body making us God conscious
then I went to show the soul this way not a soul. That's our personality. That's our mind. Let me give you something by I really struggle with this one cuz it could get deep, you know, right but there is a law called The Law of identity. And the world I've already said does not want to believe in anything that is not physical. So atheist and those are opposed to God want to say that your mind and your brain are the same thing. When it can be proven scientifically that you're mine is different than your brain. Okay, the brain is obviously the the carnal part the flesh part. Book. The mind can be ideas and things that you imagine and everything else. You can cut that mind open if I told you right now everybody close your eyes and and picture and orange. Close your eyes picture in Orange. And get their money.
Charles picture orange now smell the orange thing smelly Church Where's the orange at is a physical? How about peel the orange and I'll peel the orange? Can you see the inside of the orange as you peel it how many when you peeled it saw the little drizzles of citrus come off and and the smell intensified even more right? No, none of that. You can open your eyes. None of that was physical was it and it happened where in your mind not in your brain. Now, the law of identity says if two things are identical that everything that are belongs to item a also must belong to item be And everything that belongs to be must belong to a but we can obviously demonstrate a difference between what's in the mind and was in the brain. I had you imagine an orange in your mind. Now if somebody would allow me to crack open your skull and cut up their brain. We would not find an orange in it would we Therefore they are not identical.
Now atheist is working real hard to try to work around this one. I'm not that smart to come up with that argument. I'm stealing that. This is the argument that is given if you understand, please raise your hand.
There is a spiritual Realm. and we are body in the green so in the blue and spirit, what color is that? Ladies pink purple seat?
And what we have to do is the soul has to take control of the body by listening to the spirit. So what the soul has to do. Hopefully this will happen for dramatic effect is he has to take more control?
so that the body does what the mind? Tells it to do. a man
If you're here this morning. Please understand that you are a soul that is precious to God. So precious that he sent his own son. To come in this world to Die For The Souls of men. He didn't die for your body. That's a verdict that is already in place for it. He didn't die for your spirit cuz it will return back to God who gave it. He died for you and he died for me and he knows that we're caught in this war this war this jug of water is drawing us to good and drawing us to evil is drawing us to the world and is drawing us to God. There's a drawing us to the temporary and drawing us to the to the permanent the eternal. And so he came to demonstrate for us by his life how we should live how one with a soul and a body can live in a way that is pleasing and acceptable to God.
We do that by first hearing God's word. We've learned in this very short lesson that God's word is life. That God word is spirit that God's word puts an end to the war between the Flesh and the spirit allow that word right now like a scalpel a sharp two-edged sword to cut your thinking away from this world. To cut your soul away from your body. And I joined it to the life-giving principle. That is God's spirit. The principle that he intended when he first created us that we would have communion with him that we would walk with him that we would be with him for all time and all eternity.
Allow that word to take up residence in your mind in such a way that you believe it.
We understand that faith comes by hearing and hearing by God's word. Understand that without that faith. It is impossible to please God for those who want to please God have to know that he exists.
Then we have to change because we've been operating in our first nature for far too long where that picture previously where there was a lot more body. Then there was spirit.
And we need to actively work to turn that around. We have to confess with our mouths that Jesus Christ is God's son. It's an acknowledgement. That is also made in heaven by Jesus to the father. We have to be baptized for the remission of our sins. A lot like what Paul said happened to him and ask 22 + 16. He said now, why do you wait? Rise and be baptized wash away your sins calling on his name. That means worship Him in spirit and in truth and be long before lot of us have done that what remains for us is to take control of your body's I keep saying it but I told him what we missing in this world today. self control we think just cuz nobody wants to do it. It must be all right. If the body says it feels good. Must be all right, if the body says it smells good. Must be all right if it's good for the body. Good for me. The Flash is no help. at all remain faithful until death And receive a crown of life you're here this morning like to be baptized. We have prayer we ask you, as we stand and saying I song of encouragement.