I'm honored to be able to be here this morning to preach for you.
Pastor Stevenson, I first met him before I started the church here on the Sunshine Coast.
I was very fearful to travel with a big family to another state and start all over again with new connections.
It's a scary thing to do.
And I wanted to just reach out to someone that knew the area, someone who was a brother in the Lord, someone with experience.
And Pastor Stevenson has been there from the very beginning.
The only person that I know more than Pastor Stevenson...
Brother Cameron, you've been an encouragement as well.
You've been an encouragement as well.
But your pastor's been nothing...
He probably doesn't even realize how much of a blessing and encouragement his friendship has been toward me.
You know, you don't know what you're doing.
You know, being a pastor for the first time, starting a church, you know, Pastor Stevenson's been there to just support me, pray for me, and to be a good friend.
I don't view him as my pastor, but I do view him very much so as a big brother.
A big brother in the Lord. I don't know if you feel that way.
Okay, big brothers, you know.
I can tell you off from time to time.
Well, sometimes. Sometimes.
But just like siblings, you know, you don't always get along.
Like siblings, you don't always agree necessarily, you know, on every little thing.
But one thing I definitely do see in the heart of your pastor is a love for the Lord.
A great love for the Lord and a great faith.
You know, a man of great faith.
Much more faith than I certainly have.
So I am very appreciative of him and you're very blessed to have him as your pastor.
And so I am very happy that, you know, you guys are going through this time where you're...
What's the word? Chartering.
Chartering the church.
Chartering service.
And, you know, I was kind of thinking, well, what exactly is a chartering service?
We didn't have a chartering service as it were.
But from what I understand, looking at your pastor's Facebook post, he had a telescope.
He had like a little compass.
And so obviously it's talking about the direction.
You know, what goals and what direction.
What kind of vision are you going to have together as a church?
And I think that's a great thing to have.
You know, I asked your pastor, what would you like me to preach on?
And his response was, well, as the Spirit leads.
As the Spirit leads.
And of course, you know, that kind of response means preach whatever you like.
But I'm a very literal person.
So the title for the sermon this morning is, As the Spirit Leads.
As the Spirit Leads.
No, no, it's not so much I'm a literal person in that sense.
I was just thinking about, hey, you know what, if you guys are, you know, as a church, looking at which direction to go.
And there's many ways to go, isn't there?
You know, you can go left, you can go right.
You can, you know, you can, you know, charter your direction.
You obviously, as a church, most importantly, you want to be led by the Holy Spirit of God.
And so it just makes perfect sense that, you know, the title for the sermon this morning will be, As the Spirit Leads.
And I want you to take your Bibles, if you have your Bibles, come with me to Romans chapter 8.
Come with me to Romans chapter 8.
Now, I do warn you, I normally preach for an hour.
I know your pastor preaches for a good half an hour.
Okay, I don't know if I just, I don't know if I have a lot of fluff when I talk and I don't know what it is.
But even when I try to preach a shorter sermon, it commonly goes about an hour long.
Okay, but I'll try my very best to keep it within that 40, 50 minute range.
Okay, but Romans chapter 8 and verse number 14, please, Romans chapter 8, 10, verse number 14.
I love this verse that says, For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God.
Now, do you as a church want to be led by the Spirit of God?
In order for you to be led by the Spirit of God, you must be sons of God, children of God, the very first thing.
You know, isn't it wonderful that not only does God provide us salvation by the shed blood and sacrifice of our Lord Jesus Christ,
but He doesn't leave us directionless.
You know, the Lord has given us a Bible. Apologies that it's purple. It's my daughter's Bible today.
But, you know, He's given us the Word of God and it's not just salvation.
Salvation is an important doctrine.
It is the most important doctrine, making sure that you're heading home to heaven.
But it does give us a lot of direction as to how to live our life.
And I'm very thankful because this world is very confusing.
You know, society and the philosophies of man are very confusing and they're constantly changing.
But isn't it wonderful that we've been given the Word of God that never changes?
Our Lord never changes and He continues to lead us even in 2023, even though it seems like the world is getting darker and darker.
And so you are saved and you are seeking to be led by the Spirit of God as we saw in verse number 14.
It says in verse number 15,
Isn't that another wonderful thing that now that you're saved, you can cry out to the Lord our Father.
We can call God our Father.
We are part of His family.
If we call His sons, His children, isn't it a wonderful thing that even in this world where there can be broken homes and broken relationships,
we have the Lord God created of all things, the one that's given you life that we can call Father.
Verse number 16,
And let me encourage you this morning, if you're not sure if you are a child of God, you can see here the Spirit, the Holy Spirit,
it's a bare witness with our spirit.
You see, one confirmation that you can have of your salvation is to know full well that the Holy Spirit confirms within you
that you are a saved child of God, that you've believed on Christ and His death, burial and resurrection.
You know that salvation is not by your efforts, not by your works, not by your church, not by your religion,
not by anything except the saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And if you have that confirmation within you, that is the Holy Spirit that has given you that record, that has given you that witness.
And verse number 17,
Wow, not only children, but heirs of God.
You know, we obviously know that God is Father and Son.
You know, we see that obviously when we pass that inheritance, normally the parents pass that on to their children.
And of course, the Lord Father has given His inheritance to His Son, but not just His Son, but also ourselves.
As children of God, we've made joint heirs with Christ. Isn't that wonderful?
Joint heirs with Christ.
I mean, what a wonderful privilege to know that, hey, God has given us a life here on the earth, but then the Lord has also given us life in heaven.
And so what I've got for you this morning is, I believe, seven points, though I won't labor the points too long.
Seven points, seven points.
If we're a church that is seeking the leading of the Holy Spirit, what kind of leading are we seeking?
And the first thing that I've got for you based on this passage is that the Spirit leads us to cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit leads us to cry, Abba, Father.
You see, if an open door Bible church is going to be a church that's led by the Holy Spirit of God, it must be a church that preaches the gospel,
that makes the gospel the primary thing, that people can be brought into the family of God, made the children of God, where we can cry, Abba, Father.
You know, please prioritize the gospel.
You know, please, I know that is in the heart of Pastor Stevenson, the desire to preach the gospel to this community here in Caboolture.
You know, please ensure that whatever opportunity God gives you, where he opens the door, where you might be one-on-one with somebody,
you know, a family member, a neighbor, a work colleague, where God opens the doors,
where you can actually open God's Word and show them how they can be saved, how they can call upon the Lord Jesus Christ and know God as their Father.
And so if the Lord is going to be leading open door Bible church, it must be a church that preaches the gospel.
You know, I'll quickly read to you from Matthew 7, 13, the words of Christ.
He says, Enter ye at the strait gate, strait there is narrow, S-T-R-A-I-T,
for wide is the gate and broad is the way that leadeth to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat.
We will see by the words of Christ, there are many, the majority of people are headed to destruction.
The majority of people do not know the Lord Jesus Christ.
Why do you think this church exists?
You know, why do you think this church exists?
You have the strait gate.
You know what it is.
You know the gate is Christ.
You know the door is Christ and it's just through him that you can be saved.
What a wonderful message.
What a free gift of salvation.
Well, God has set up this church in Caboolture to reach this community because broad is the way that leads to destruction.
And then Christ says in verse number 14, because strait is the gate and narrow is the way which leadeth unto life and few there be that find it.
Few there be.
You know, please never look at your church and go, well, you know, man, it would be wonderful to be like the Hillsong around the corner
where there's literally thousands upon thousands of people.
Look, there'd be few that find it.
There are very few that actually understand that salvation is wholly upon Jesus Christ alone.
And, you know, please never consider your church as potentially a smaller church or what have you.
Don't forget the words of Christ where two or three are gathered in his name.
There he is in the midst of them.
And so let me encourage you as you seek to be led by the Spirit of God that the gospel is a primary doctrine, the primary thing.
You know, your primary heart's desire to win souls to the Lord Jesus Christ.
Not only that, we saw when we cry, Abba, Father, what are we talking about?
We're talking about a church that seeks the Father's will.
You know, we seek what the Lord wants.
This needs to be a church that cries to the Father in prayer.
You know, it's very easy to be led by the will of man.
We all have a flesh and we all have desires.
And many times, if you live a Christian life long enough, you'll understand that my personal desires do not always line up with the desires of our Lord.
Well, that's why we cry, Abba, Father.
And look, I'm a father of many children.
I don't think my kids understand this fully just yet.
But, you know, I love them and I want to direct them.
I want the best for them.
And even when I want the best for them, they don't always understand it, do they?
You know, one day hopefully they'll grow up and have their own families and they'll understand it at some point in life.
Okay, but many times it's like that with our Father.
Where the Father has a direction for us.
You know, he's leading us, he's guiding us.
And we don't understand.
You know, we have our own will.
We don't see how that would benefit us.
But let me encourage you as a church, whatever direction you take, that you will always look for the Father's will.
Abba, Father, you cry to him.
Say, Lord, which way do you want us to go?
You know, where do you want us to meet?
You know, what ministries do you want our church to have?
You know, how can we be a blessing to our neighborhood?
How can we be a blessing to our pastor?
You know, cry to Abba, Father, if this is a church that has been led by the Spirit of God.
Please come with me to another passage in Galatians chapter 5.
Galatians chapter 5, verse number 18.
So point number 1 was the Spirit leads us to cry Abba, Father.
Galatians 5, 18, please.
Galatians 5, 18.
And again, apologies if I have this odd cough.
Still trying to get over this cough.
It's just been lingering for a little while there.
But Galatians 5, 18, please.
Galatians 5, 18.
The Bible reads, but if ye be led of the Spirit ye are not under the law.
Now let me explain to you what it means very quickly to not be under the law.
You know, for example, I might have this wrong.
I'm not sure.
But apparently in the United Arab Emirates, for example, it's a country that we don't live in.
But apparently there it's against the law to show physical affection.
Like if I'm walking down the street with my wife and I give her a kiss on the cheek
and if I show her some public sign of affection, apparently in the United Arab Emirates it's illegal.
Okay?
Now you say, well, what does that matter to us?
Exactly.
Because we don't live there.
Right?
And so we are not under that law.
All right?
Now, God has given us His laws in His Word.
Okay?
And we know that we are to follow His laws.
But here's the thing.
If you are in the Spirit of the Lord, if you're being led by the Holy Spirit of the Lord,
you are not under the law because it is not a law that you can break.
Just like you cannot break a law there at United Arab Emirates because you're not there,
when you're walking in the Spirit of the Lord, you cannot break the laws of God.
You are not under those laws.
You say to me, pastor, but we do sometimes sin.
We do break the laws of God exactly because you're operating in the flesh.
And one of the truths of being a believer is you have that dual nature within you, the Spirit and the flesh.
And the Bible has a lot to say about this battle that is within us.
Okay?
The Spirit wants to do what the Lord wants.
The flesh wants to do what man wants.
And there's this constant battle between us.
Okay?
And that's another evidence of your salvation.
If you've got that battle happening within you, you know, it's because you have the new man battling the old man or the Spirit versus the flesh.
But it continues in verse number 19.
It talks about the works of the flesh.
Now the works of the flesh are manifest, which are these, adultery, fornication and cleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry, witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife, seditions, heresies, envience, murders, drunkenness, revelance and such like.
Of the which I tell you before, as I have told you in time past, that they which do such things shall not inherit the kingdom of God.
You might say, you know, I've had people say to me, Pastor, I've done some of those things on those lists.
Or I'm still struggling with some of those things on the list.
Am I not to inherit the kingdom of God?
Or just to put your mind at ease, don't forget what we just said.
These are the works of the flesh.
You know, the Bible says that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God.
You know, we are not going to heaven in this flesh.
And so when you sin, that sin is contained in this flesh.
But don't forget you have the new man, you have the Spirit.
And when your body passes away, your soul and spirit leave the body and they are eternally with the Lord Jesus Christ.
Okay?
But the reason I wanted to read that list of sins is because we saw in verse number 18, if you be led of the Spirit, you're not under the law.
You see, it's so important that we have a church.
You know, if this church is going to be led by the Spirit, that the Spirit leads us to victory over sin.
You know, I want church to be a place where you can go and you can learn how to have victory over the flesh or victory over sin.
There are many churches that do not even preach about sin or against sin.
You know, I grew up in a Baptist church.
My parents would say to each other, why doesn't the pastor preach about hell?
Why doesn't the pastor preach against sin?
You see, many churches are afraid to preach against sin because we know we're all sinners.
And if the pastor gets behind the pulpit and preaches against your pet sin, you might get offended.
Now look, it could very well be, as Pastor Stevenson, and it does get offensive sometimes, but it could be that he preaches against your pet sin.
It could be that he steps on your toes and you feel a little bit uncomfortable.
You might feel a little bit embarrassed and you might say to yourself, you know what, I don't want to be there.
Well look, if sin is preached against, let me explain to you that this is the leading of the Holy Spirit.
A Spirit-led church is a church that preaches against sin.
We must know what the Lord expects from us as far as living a holy life.
And as I said, it's a blessing to be in a church that actually will tell you what the Bible says and a pastor that is willing to offend you,
not because he just wants to offend you, but he wants to tell you the truth of God's Word.
There are very few churches that want you to know the truth.
They want you to just always feel comfortable, you know, always feel, you know, you're doing just fine.
Look, we all need to improve, we all need to grow, we all have areas of our life that we need to work on, okay?
And we need to hear the Word of God in order for us to grow.
And so the Spirit leads us to victory over sin.
A Spirit-led church is a church that preaches against sin.
And a Spirit-led church is a church which rightly divides between the flesh and the Spirit, you know?
And so, you know, I say this because I talk to a lot of believers, not just within my church but also people that give me phone calls.
And there's a lot of confusion between the Spirit and the flesh.
And someone will say to me, pastor, I don't know if I'm saved because I committed this sin.
Well, we're all sinners, that's why we needed a Savior, okay?
And you can't be bad enough to lose your salvation because you were never good enough to get it in the first place.
It was never about your performance, it's always about Jesus Christ.
And as long as you set your eyes and your faith upon Christ alone, okay, then you won't have the doubts.
Because, yeah, you know, we have good days, we have bad days, you know?
And we're trying to grow and we make mistakes and that's the fleshly part of our life.
This is why it's so important that we hear about sin and we understand, okay, that's my flesh, that's my own personal desires
and I need to find victory in that.
And a good church, a Spirit-led church will help you understand the differences between the flesh and the Spirit
and how to have victory over your sin.
Let's continue in that same chapter, Galatians 5, 22.
It says, but, so this is the opposite, right?
We have the flesh, now let's understand the Spirit.
But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, long suffering.
This is a much better list, isn't it?
A much better list.
Long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meekness, temperance, against such there is no law.
What it's saying there, that is not, you're not, if you have these qualities in your life, there is no law that it is against.
It is not against God's law, okay?
It is exactly what the Lord requires of you.
Verse number 24 says, and they that are Christ have crucified the flesh with the affections and lusts
and if we live in the Spirit, let us also walk in the Spirit.
Brethren, if you're saved this morning, then you are living in the Spirit.
Again, you have that Spirit within you.
But the commandment is here, if you are living in the Spirit, let us walk in the Spirit.
And you can see that as you walk in the Spirit, as you're being led by the Spirit, as this church is being led by the Spirit,
the Holy Spirit is going to bring out these fruits of the Spirit in your life.
These wonderful qualities against such there is no law.
These wonderful qualities in comparison to the fruit that you see develop in the life of the flesh.
And so the third point that I have for you this morning is a Spirit led church will be a church that helps you develop the fruits of the Spirit.
A church that helps you develop the fruits of the Spirit.
You know what's wonderful about church?
That church is not about a certain individual as far as a human being goes.
And one of the great things sometimes even as a pastor, I don't necessarily feel great that Sunday morning necessarily.
But I know I need to get behind the pulpit and feed people God's word.
And what's wonderful about church is we can come to a place where we can serve one another.
Where it doesn't have to be about me.
Or you come and say, how about you come and try to be a blessing to somebody else.
And you know, there are times where I've been down spiritually and I've just gone to church and just simply a brother or sister greeting me saying,
hey brother, great to see you in church, praying for you, you've been an encouragement to me.
Just a few kind words from my brother has been the greatest blessing that I can be.
Just being there in the house of the Lord.
And the Lord can minister not just from the preaching.
The Lord can minister of the song leading.
The Lord can minister of the Bible reading.
The Lord can minister in our relationships.
But you know what?
All of that as we continue to grow as a church, the Holy Spirit will utilize the spirit that we have within us to bring forth these fruits.
Sisters in the Lord.
And I mentioned brother Stevenson as my big brother as it were, in the faith.
But we're all brothers and sisters.
Amen.
A family is a family that shares the same blood.
Well, this family has the blood of Jesus Christ that we share.
What greater blood is that?
The blood of Jesus Christ that has saved us and cleansed us from all our sins.
And so when you come to church, you know, bring out that fruit of the Spirit.
Allow the Holy Spirit to work in you that you can be a service to your brother or sister in the Lord.
Come with me to another passage, Psalm 61.
Come with me to Psalm 61 and verse number 1.
Psalm 61 and verse number 1.
And so the three points so far is the Spirit leads us to cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit leads us to have victory over sin.
The Spirit leads us to develop fruits.
So please come with me to Psalm 61.
Psalm 61 and verse number 1.
The Bible reads, Hear my cry, O God.
Attend unto my prayer.
From the end of the earth will I cry unto thee when my heart is overwhelmed.
Look what the psalmist says here.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
Wow, what a prayer.
Lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
And, of course, we know that the whole Bible points us to Jesus Christ and this rock is Christ.
But you see that the psalmist desires to be elevated, to be led by God to a place of elevation.
And then he continues in verse number 3.
For there has been a shelter for me and a strong tower from the enemy.
I will abide in thy tabernacle forever.
I will trust in the cover of thy wings, Selah.
I love how the psalmist says, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever.
What was the tabernacle known in the Old Testament as?
As the house of the Lord, as the house of God.
What is the house of God in the New Testament?
Your local church.
And so as the psalmist says, I will abide in thy tabernacle forever.
Let me encourage you.
When an open door has its open doors for church services, be here.
Be here in the tabernacle forever where you can be led to a rock that is higher than you.
And so the next point that I have for you, brethren, is the Spirit leads to spiritual highs.
The Spirit leads to spiritual highs.
He can elevate.
He can put you upon a rock that is higher than you.
You see, a church that is led by the Holy Spirit accomplishes more than the sum of its parts.
You know, if it was just Pastor Stevenson, you know, the church would not be as successful.
You know, if it was just myself, the church and my churches would not be as successful.
You know, if the church was just take you as an individual and the Lord somehow could clone you and multiply you, just you.
The church would not be as successful.
You know, what's wonderful about coming as a congregation is we come with all our strengths and weaknesses.
We come with different gifts that the Holy Spirit has given us that we can serve one another,
that this church can accomplish greater things than the sum of its parts.
The other thing that we see here in verse number 4, for there has been a shelter for me.
You know, a Spirit led church is a church that provides shelter from the enemy.
Now when you talk about spiritual highs, let me just touch upon this very quickly.
I cannot believe how much God has, I'll speak from my own experience, okay.
I can't believe how much the Lord has blessed me.
Like, I can't understand how the Lord allows me to have a church on the Sunshine Coast.
You know, with faithful members, as you heard, traveling literally hours to be there.
Because I don't think I would do that.
I'd rather just pick myself up and go to a church that's at least half an hour away.
I can't see myself traveling two hours to church.
You know, but the Lord is able to do a work, and I just look back and I just think,
Lord, the work is great.
And it's amazing what you've been able to do.
And I realize it's not me.
It cannot be me.
And I'm sure Pastor Stevenson has learned this a long time ago.
It's not him, it must be the Lord.
And so again, as you charter, you know, as you look to your goals and your visions,
and I guess the documentation, you know, you make sure, and I'm sure you have,
and I'm sure your pastor has, that you're seeking the Lord's heart because he wants to elevate you.
He wants you to do greater things than what you think possible.
I never would have thought I'd be on the other side of Australia in WA, in a small town, bridge town there,
winning souls, baptizing believers, and for a gathering to come together, watching my sermons, who am I?
You know, to have a group of believers together, watching my sermons, being encouraged in the Lord.
The Lord can do great things.
You know, the Lord can do great things.
And he can lead you to a rock that is higher than you.
So please, don't underestimate your value.
The fact that you're saved, that you're a child of God.
I mean, think, for those that are parents, think about how valuable your children are to you.
Then how valuable are you in the eyes of the Lord?
You know, he's promised you Jesus Christ is returning.
The blessed hope is coming back, he's going to rule and reign on this earth.
And the Lord wants you to be part of that.
I mean, what a blessing.
The book of Revelation begins by saying that we are priests and kings, if you're in Christ Jesus.
You're not just a child, and you're not just an heir, but you're part of the royal family.
I mean, when you look at England and the change of monarch, you know, recently, and all the media attention that it's been given.
What about you, brethren?
What about you? You're part of the royal family.
It's amazing. You have God as the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.
What an amazing thing to be part of that family.
But the Spirit is leading you and guiding you to spiritual highs.
And as I pointed out earlier, we saw that this tabernacle that the psalmist is at is a place of shelter for him, a strong tower from the enemy.
The next point that I have, if this church is a Spirit-led church, it must provide shelter from the enemy.
A church needs to provide shelter from the enemy.
You say, what is the enemy?
Well, first of all, we have an enemy within us, the flesh.
Ready to cover that?
We know there's an enemy, you know, a royal lion seeking whom he may devour the devil upon this earth.
You know, the world, the system, the mentality, the philosophies of this world are also our enemy.
It's a sad thing when many churches are patterning themselves after the world.
Like, I don't know about you, but I want to be in church where it's a shelter, where it's a strong tower,
where it removes me from the sadness and the confusion of the world and I can be brought to a place that preaches truth.
You know, a place that I know the Lord is pleased, where his presence is felt.
That's where I want to be at church.
I don't want to go to just another worldly club or a worldly system.
I want to be in the house of the Lord.
And that's where the shelter is going to be found if this is a Spirit-led church.
You know, please, and I know, again, I know you're hardy a pastor, but we don't want this church to just become another worldly place of entertainment
or a worldly place of man's wisdom and man's knowledge.
Man, I've got no wisdom to give you this morning if it's coming from this man.
And I know Pastor Stevenson's got no wisdom if it's just coming from man.
This is why we open God's Word, because the great wisdom is found here, found here in God's Word.
But a church, a Spirit-led church is a church that provides shelter from the enemy.
You know, this place ought to be different.
You know, the way we speak, the way we interact, our love and our service and our praise to God ought to be different.
You know, it ought not to sound like a rock concert up here.
You know, it ought to be a place where we, you know, prioritize our Heavenly Father above all things,
where it's a different place from the world, a different place from the enemy.
Can you come with me to Mark chapter 9, Mark chapter 9, verse number 2.
Mark chapter 9 and verse number 2, please.
Mark chapter 9 and verse number 2.
And I know I'm cheating here a little bit.
This is not people being led by the Spirit here specifically.
They are being led by Jesus Christ.
Well, anyway, close enough.
One God.
But there is something here that I want you to see here in Mark chapter 9, verse number 2.
Mark chapter 9, verse number 2.
This is about the transfiguration of Christ.
And this is in Mark 9 too.
And after six days, Jesus taketh with him Peter and James and John, look at this, and leadeth them up into a high mountain.
So you can see here once again Christ is leading these select few disciples here, apart by themselves, and he was transfigured before them.
What this means is Christ put on the glory.
We know when Christ came to this earth, he made himself a little lower than the angels.
He took on the form of sinful flesh, though he wasn't a sinner of himself, but he took on the form of man.
But he takes his disciples upon these mountains and he transfigures.
He turns on the glory.
He chose himself to be the almighty God, and they're afraid.
They're afraid at this sight.
But what an experience to see Christ in his glory.
Verse number 3, it says, and his raiment became shining exceedingly white as snow, so as no fall on earth can white them.
And there appeared unto them Elias and Moses, and they were talking with Jesus.
Now, of course, Elias and Moses, Old Testament saints that have already gone to be with the Lord,
we can see when Christ puts on the glory, these two Old Testament saints are just speaking with him, talking with him, fellowshiping with him.
And the Lord wanted his disciples to see this, to experience this wonderful transformation.
The next point that I have for you, point number 5, is the Spirit leads us to experience Christ's glory.
The Spirit leads us to experience, experience Christ's glory.
Have you ever seen Jesus Christ?
You say, well, I think he's got long hair.
No, no, that's the movies.
I think he's got blue eyes and blonde hair.
No, no, you're looking at some Roman Catholic picture.
I've never seen him with these eyes.
I wasn't there 2,000 years ago when he walked this earth.
I didn't see him crucified on the cross.
I did not see the empty tomb.
But somehow I've seen him.
And I'm not talking about these physical eyes.
I'm talking about I've seen him through his word.
And it's just amazing what faith can do to a believer.
Because just as much as I can see here this morning, just as much I know this is reality,
and I can greet you and shake your hand and speak to you, I know that I've seen Christ.
I know he existed.
I know he walked this earth.
I know he was crucified.
I know he shed his blood for me.
I know he was taken to the tomb.
The door of the tomb was rolled away, and it was an empty tomb, and then he rose again from the dead.
And I know that he saved me, and he's given me everlasting life.
I know it just as much as I can see here physically in this room.
You see, what the Spirit does, it allows us to experience Christ's glory.
And again, I've not been seeing that whiteness of light as these guys have here,
but I know in my spirit that I've had sweet fellowship with the Lord.
And again, we walk this earth, and it's confusing, and the devil wants to mess up our lives.
God's given us his word, and the Holy Spirit is leading us to be in sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ.
Please don't forget, this is such an important part to your life.
It's wonderful to come to church.
It's wonderful to hear a preacher.
It's wonderful to sing together, but you also need to find your own quiet time to spend with the Lord,
and to experience Christ's glory personally one on one.
And it's wonderful to be at a fellowship with our Savior, in a fellowship with the one who died for our sins.
And so the next points that I have, this is all on point number five here.
A Spirit-led church is a church which encourages a personal walk with Christ.
Look, this is not a cult, right?
We're not saying the only place you can know God is here at open door Bible church, you know?
And the only one that knows the answers, and the only one that can speak to you or speak to God on your behalf is Pastor Stevenson.
No.
You know, what's wonderful about being saved, you've been given the Holy Spirit of God.
We saw that already.
That bears witness with your spirit, and you are able to spend time with Jesus Christ one on one anywhere.
On a high mountain, at home, in your bedroom, in a quiet place out there in nature, by the beach, whatever's nice and comfortable,
you can spend time one on one in the presence of Christ's glory.
And a Spirit-led church will encourage you, okay, to have sweet fellowship with Jesus Christ.
The next thing that I have here is a church that has been led by the Spirit is where fellowship with the brethren is still centered on Christ.
Still centered on Christ.
You know, as I stood here, I spoke a little bit about Pastor Stevenson, and again, I do appreciate him, okay, but we're really here for Jesus Christ, aren't we?
We're here to worship him.
We're here to praise him.
We're here to have fellowship.
Now, what's wonderful about being in a church, and we serve one another, and you know, you may not always get along,
and you might see things differently, but you know what?
If you can set that aside and say, you know what?
This is my brother and sister and Lord.
I'm going to serve them regardless.
I'm going to lower myself.
I'm going to humble myself and try to be a blessing to the person here at church.
These are the words of Christ in Matthew 25, 40.
He says,
And the king shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.
Boy, when you have sweet fellowship with Christ, you know, your heart is going to yearn to be with Christ and to serve him.
Say, what can I do for Christ?
He's not walking this earth.
You know, I can't wash his feet with my tears like some of the ladies did.
You know, I might not be able to go and loosen the donkey so Christ can be carried by the donkey to Jerusalem.
These are things that I can't do for Christ because I wasn't there 2,000 years ago.
So Christ has made it very easy for us.
You want to serve Christ, you serve each other.
You serve each other.
And it's all about Christ at the end of it.
You say, but I don't get along with...
Look, you get along with Jesus.
He saved you.
All right?
The person you don't get along with him, you know what?
Love them more.
Serve them more.
And show Christ how much you love him.
That's what a spirit-led church will do.
You know?
And look, we can all work on this.
Again, we've got the flesh, the spirit.
Don't like it.
Don't like serving.
Just look.
Do it for Christ.
Okay?
And this will be a spirit-led church.
Come with me to Psalm 78, please.
This is the last passage that I will get you to turn to.
Psalm 78, please.
Psalm 78.
Psalm 78, verse number 12.
The Bible reads, marvelous things did he in the sight of their fathers in the land of
Egypt, in the field of Zoan.
Now, this is going to speak about when the Israelites came out of Egypt.
You know the famous story, right?
The Egyptians had them.
The Lord did great miracles.
Moses was used to lead the children of Israel out of Egypt.
It says in verse number 13, he divided the sea, that's the Red Sea, and caused them to
pass through, and he made the waters to stand as a heap.
Look at verse number 14.
In the daytime, also, he led them with a cloud and all the night with a light of fire.
So we can see that as the Lord pulled them out of Egypt, and brethren, this is an illustration
that the moment you're saved, you've come out of this world, the Lord wants to lead
you.
He wants to guide you.
Verse number 15.
He claved the rock in the wilderness.
He gave them drink as out of the great depths, and brought streams also out of the rock,
and caused waters to run down like rivers.
It's amazing that the Lord led them in the wilderness.
And the wilderness is a place, well, it's a place that doesn't have much, does it?
It's not a place that you would typically think there's going to be great pools of
water.
How are we going to nourish ourselves?
One of the things with the Lord is, it's mind-boggling how he can literally lead you in a place
of wilderness.
You say, Lord, why are you sending me here?
Lord, why are you guiding me here?
There's nothing here.
And the Lord is able to bring out running waters out of the rock, symbolically, at least
for us.
Okay?
And all of a sudden, you see the hand of the Lord, and you know full well, wow, the Lord
has led me all the way.
And of course, this is a parallel here.
I'll quickly read to you from John 737.
In the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried, saying, if any man
thirsts, let him come unto me and drink.
He that believeth on me, as the scripture have said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water.
You know, like these rocks in the wilderness, you might say, well, that's all I am, pastor.
I'm just this rock.
I'm not much.
I don't have much to add.
But with the Holy Spirit of God, the moment you trust Christ, he's able to do great work
in you.
A great work in you.
He's able to take something that is dry and lacking moisture and bring those rivers
of living water out of you.
It's amazing what the Lord does.
But what I want to, if you're still there in Psalm 78, just look at verse 15 again.
He claved the rocks in the wilderness so the rocks opened up and the water gushed out.
It's a miracle that took place.
And gave them drink, look at this, as out of the great depths.
Great depths.
Now, the sixth point that I have for you this morning is the Spirit leads to great depths.
Great depths.
Deepness.
The Spirit leads to deepness.
And what I have for you, if this is going to be a Spirit-led church, which I know it
is, okay, it's a church that teaches the deep things of God.
It needs to be a church that teaches the deep things.
The Bible has many, many layers.
There are so many applications.
You can read one story and you know the truth of that story and aren't we all different?
Don't we all have different backgrounds?
Haven't we all been saved at different points in our life?
Don't we have different experiences and different problems one from another?
The Bible has an amazing way of taking something that is surface level, a surface level story
and with great preaching, great depth can be found.
It can satisfy your thirst.
And you say, wow, and I'm sure Pastor Stevenson has experienced this.
I've had people say to me, Pastor, did you preach that for me?
Did you know what I was going through?
No, I didn't.
I don't know.
I'm just preaching the Bible.
The Holy Spirit knows that it was for you.
The Spirit of God knows how deep His Word is and how you can be nourished
and your thirst can be quenched by hearing great truths of the Word.
Let me encourage you to be a church that enjoys the deep things of God.
Once again, I already mentioned a lot of churches don't preach against sin.
A lot of churches don't preach about hell.
But we need the whole Word of God.
Hey, the milk of the Word is great.
Salvation is the milk of God's Word and it's wonderful.
It's the best doctrine.
It's the best doctrine I've ever heard.
Salvation by Jesus Christ.
There's a lot of great milky doctrine.
And I'm glad you've got a pastor and I've been hearing his preaching
and he really, I can tell, he really wants to get deep.
You know, he really wants to get deep into God's Word
and to teach you everything there is to know.
You know, please, let it be a journey that you enjoy.
Enjoy the milk.
Enjoy the meat of God's Word.
But a Spirit-led church is a church that teaches the deep things of God,
the deep things of God.
Very quickly, you don't need to turn there.
Stay there in Psalm 78 because we are coming back.
But in 1 Corinthians chapter 2 verse 10, the Bible says,
But God hath revealed them unto us by His Spirit,
for the Spirit searcheth all things, yea, the deep things of God.
You want to know the deep things of God?
The Holy Spirit is going to lead you.
The Holy Spirit is going to lead this church,
the Holy Spirit that lives within us.
Then it says in verse 11,
The only way for you to know God is by the Holy Spirit of God
teaching you and guiding you into these deep things.
Then it says in verse 12,
So the Lord wants to reveal great truths to you.
He wants to reveal great truths to Open Door Bible Church.
And He's going to utilize Pastor Stevenson as your primary preacher
here on Sundays and any other services you might have.
You know, please pray for your pastor.
Please pray that the Lord will put on His heart the messages
that need to be received by you.
Sometimes we need the milk.
Sometimes we need the reminders.
Praise God for those things.
Sometimes our visitors need the milk.
But as you continue to grow, ask the Lord to show you the deep things.
You know, the true things.
And one great thing about your pastor,
you know, almost six years that I've known him,
I can see that, you know, some pastors are just stuck in their ways.
And it's like, I've learnt it all.
I know it all.
I've got the Bible college degree.
And I'm ready to go.
What I love about your pastor is I've seen him grow and learn
and be humble enough to go, you know what,
I'm still learning and I'm still learning.
There's something wrong with us if we're not learning God's word.
Because who is at God's level of knowledge?
Nobody.
Okay.
It's a wonderful thing to have a pastor that is willing to say,
you know what, I'm willing to reassess some of the things that I've learnt
or some of the things that I've believed
as long as I can see them true in God's word.
That's a wonderful pastor to have.
Ask that the Lord will continue to lead him and to guide him
so he can teach you the great deep things of God.
You're still there in Psalm 78.
Let's keep going.
Drop down to verse number 51 for me.
Psalm 78, verse number 51.
And smote all the firstborn in Egypt,
the chief of their strength in the tabernacles of Ham.
So again, talking about the fact that they came out of Egypt.
Verse number 52.
But made his own people to go forth like sheep
and guided them in the wilderness like a flock.
I wanted to read that part to you
because it says here as the Israelites came out, they were like sheep.
You know, the Bible often associates a church as a sheepfold.
Pastor, the Latin word...
Sorry, pastor is the Latin word for the word shepherd.
And as a church, you are a flock.
You're a sheep.
And you can see the parallels here.
We've been led.
It continues in verse number 53.
What is the advantage of being led as sheep?
What is the goal of the shepherd or the pastor
and the leading of the Holy Spirit?
Verse number 53, it says,
And he led them on safely so that they feared not,
but the sea overwhelmed their enemies.
Look at this.
And he brought them to the border of his sanctuary,
even to this mountain which his right hand had purchased.
This mountain that has been referred to as Mount Moriah
where the temple would eventually be built.
And again, you've got the tabernacle, the house of the Lord.
Eventually the temple became known as the house of the Lord.
And as I mentioned to you in the New Testament,
the house of God is your local church.
It's open door Bible church.
And so if it says here that again,
we're looking for the Lord's leading
and he brought them to the border of his sanctuary.
You know, you here this morning,
you that are the founding members of this church,
the Lord has brought you to this sanctuary.
The Lord has brought you to the house of the Lord.
And the seventh point that I have for you, brethren,
is the Spirit leads his flock to the house of God.
Okay, the Spirit leads his flock to the house of God.
The Bible says in 1 Timothy 3.15,
But if I tarry along, that thou mayest know
how thou ought'st to behave thyself in the house of God,
which is the church of the living God,
the pillar and ground of the truth.
You know, with the Lord's leading,
this church will be a pillar and ground of the truth.
And I think it's wonderful when you consider
if the Lord has brought me to this sanctuary,
the Lord has a plan for you here.
The Lord wants to work in you.
He wants to teach you. He wants to guide you.
You know, he wants to give you a place of safety.
But then, as you know, he also wants you to contribute.
You know, please ask the Lord,
Lord, what is my gift?
How can I contribute to the house of the Lord?
What is it that I can do?
You know, can I song lead?
Can I read the scriptures?
Can I just be a support, an encouragement?
You know, how, Lord, can you utilize me
because you've led me here to open the Bible church?
I'm excited about what the Lord's going to do here.
You know, and I think more churches need to be started.
You know, I believe churches have been led by the Holy Spirit of God.
You know, and again, speaking to your pastor,
I know he wants to be led by the Spirit.
There's nothing more scary than stepping out
and trying to do a ministry, not knowing what the Lord wants.
No, you want to ensure that, Lord, you are guiding me.
You know, you're directing our church,
Lord, what would you have us to do?
So in conclusion, brethren, the seven points,
let me give them to you very quickly, the seven points.
For this to be a Spirit-led church,
you know, this is your chartering service.
You know, looking direction, guidance, goals,
Lord, what do you want us to accomplish?
Well, let me encourage you to meditate on these things.
The Spirit leads us to cry, Abba, Father.
The Spirit leads us to have victory over sin.
The Spirit leads us to develop the fruit of the Spirit.
The Spirit leads us to spiritual highs.
The Spirit leads us to experience Christ's glory.
The Spirit leads us to great depths.
And the Spirit leads his flock to the house of God.
Let it be true for open, Lord, Bible church
that this is exactly what you want from the Lord.
Let me encourage you founding members,
you know, as you, you know, you come together
and again, the chartering service is not something I fully comprehend,
but I know just a simple truth.
You want to be led by the Lord.
You know, you want the Lord's blessing.
Without the Lord, this church will not be successful.
Without the Lord, okay, we need the Lord's guidance.
And I know you do. I know you want that.
So, okay, we got Abba, we got our Father.
We cry, Abba, Father.
I say, Lord, guide us, direct us, direct our pastor's heart.
You know, put upon him, upon his heart,
the things that we need to hear,
the direction that we need to go.
Lord, direct us to the deep things of the Lord.
God, give us victory over sin.
Help us to be utilized by your Spirit
to do great things for you in the house of the Lord.
And thank you for leading me to Open Door Bible Church.
Okay, let's pray.